202 Mann Hall 248 Colchester Avenue University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405 www.uvm.edu/~tiie

1. Harnessing the Power of Technology to Engage Learners 202 Mann Hall 248 Colchester Avenue University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405 www.uvm.edu/~tiie Penny Bishop, Director John Downes, Associate Director Made possible by the Richard E. and Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation

2. Middle School Matters Students are at greatest risk for disengagement in middle school Students who choose ultimately to drop out often make this decision in middle school We can identify almost half of all potential high school drop outs as early as 6th grade 8th grade achievement predicts later life success more than any high school academic factor

3. TIIE Goals to increase middle school student academic engagement; to increase adolescents’ likelihood of school completion; and to prepare students for 21st century citizenship.

4. History • 2006-2010: Developed/evaluated technology-rich, student-centered model (I-Leap) in Site 1: Milton Middle School • 2009: I-Leap Site 2 established at Edmunds Middle School • 2010: Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education (TIIE) established • 2010: TIIE engaged 6 e-Learning sites statewide • 2010: I-Leap Site 3 established at Manchester Middle School • 2010: TIIE began innovation planning with Burlington and Winooski School Districts • 2011: TIIE begins to offers wide-ranging professional development

5. TIIE’s I-LEAP Model Teaching and Learning Should Be… Technology-Rich Personalized Relevant Authentic Diverse Active

6. TIIE Principles • Effective middle schooling • Effective technology integration • Effective student voice and involvement • Interactive effects of all three

7. Effective middle schools are characterized by… meaningful student involvement in the design of schooling relevant and integrative curriculum taught and assessed in varied ways healthy relationships across stakeholder groups courageous and collaborative leaders safe, inclusive, and supportive culture interdisciplinary team organization common planning time flexible block scheduling flexible grouping teacher-based guidance service learning

8. Effective technology integration means… drawing on the talents and dispositions of ‘digital natives;’ closing the “widening gap,” or integrating into school the technologies and learning habits that students use out of school; looking more deeply into society's technology use for clues about effective teaching and learning; and understanding that today’s students often learn best through trial and error, process information quickly, connect with graphics before text, and require relevance.

9. Types of Technology Integration “Type I educational computing uses computers to mimic the same behaviors and procedures that teachers use without the technology.” “Type II applications make available new and better ways of teaching” (Muir, 2007).

10. Types of Technology Integration Students learn "from" computers—technology used essentially as tutor to increase students’ basic skills and knowledge; Students learn "with" computers—technology applied to a variety of learning goals and serves to develop higher order thinking, creativity and research skills

11. Technology as Media for inquiry(such as data modeling, spreadsheets, access to online databases, access to online observatories and microscopes, and hypertext), for communication(such as word processing, e-mail, synchronous conferencing, graphics software, simulations, and tutorials), for construction(such as robotics, computer-aided design, and control systems), and for expression(such as interactive video, animation software, and music composition).

12. Technology Levels of Use Rubin R. Puentedura, http://hippasus.com/

13. Redefining Learning? • Student collaboration beyond school day • Google Apps • Student participation in classroom learning • Backchanneling • Student Response Systems • Understanding teaching and learning • Timesliders • Revision histories • Video annotation http://justpaste.it/nzaims

14. Student Voice: The Gap • “What would happen if we treated the student as someone whose opinion mattered?” (Fullan, 1991) • “We educators and educational researchers must seriously question the assumption that we know more than the young people of today about how they learn or what they need to learn in preparation for the decades ahead. It is time that we count students among those with the authority to participate both in the critique and in the reform of education.” (Cook- Sather 2002)

16. When we seize upon the positive interactions of the middle level concept, technology integration and student voice we find: • Technology rich, community-based projects provide powerful learning opportunities for all kinds of students, including those who have historically underperformed in other contexts. • Presentations to authentic audiences, such as members of the community or on-line peers, motivate students to achieve levels of quality not seen in their prior school work. • Student voice, choice and project-based learning help effectively differentiate curriculum and expectations, leading students to improve their work and enhance their sense of competence, confidence, and group pride.

17. What Teachers Say • “For the first time in the history of my teaching career, every student’s hand was raised.” • “With this technology I am seeing new opportunities to differentiate instruction for all levels of my students.” • “I am seeing kids that never engaged in class discussion chime in. I was teaching the concept of slope and students were able to manipulate the line on the graph and watch the coordinates change. Every student wanted to come up to the SMART Board.” • “It’s 4:30 now and I know my kids are over there working on their PhotoStories. We’re reaching kids. It’s not just the top of the class who’s staying after school to work on their PhotoStories. It’s fun for them.” • “The shift isn’t in the students. The shift is in the teachers. We don’t have to convince the students that this is the way to learn.”

18. What Parents Say • “This is the first time he ever wanted to come to school.”Parent of a 7th Grader • “My daughter’s grades have improved since being involved in this program. She has always had a problem with focusing, but now with the laptop, I have seen her sit, focused, completing her work. I really see the advantages of bringing our teaching methods current with technology. It is making a difference, engaging my child into learning again. School is fun again and interesting. If this can bring my daughter to that conclusion, then you know that it has major potential to be successful.”Parent of an 8th Grader

19. What Students Say • “There’s a point to what we are learning.” • Projects “show what we are interested in,” and are “more interactive and involved.” • A student with a history of behavioral difficulties noted, “It’s easier to be an individual on this team. You don’t have to fit into a mold.” • “You get to use your voice and express yourself.” • “Usually in class, you know, you do a project and you throw it in the trash the next day because you’re just there to get the grade and then be done with it. When we actually put it out to the community, now it’s kind of like it’s going somewhere, there’s an actual point to it.”

20. “One-to-One Computing Has Failed Our Expectations.” District Administration, May 2010 “One-to-one computing has not lived up to its expectations. Providing each student with a laptop computer has not resulted in significant achievement gains. In an analysis of previous studies on 1:1, Boston College researchers found that the impact of a one-to-one computing implementation is largely a function of the classroom teacher. Some teachers know how to make good use of a one-to-one situation, and some don’t. If extracting value from an innovation is dependent on the teacher, then the value added by the innovation per se is limited.” (Norris & Soloway, 2010)

21. TIIE Strategies Technology Assistance 1:1 ubiquitous computing, e.g. netbooks, laptops, iPads Additional hardware and software supporting project goals Professional Development Graduate coursework Coaching model Conference attendance Ongoing Support Virtual professional learning communities Regular convening

22. Currently Participating Schools I-LEAP Milton Middle School Edmunds Middle School Manchester Middle School Vermont e-Learning Project Barnet School Riverside Career and Technical Center Manchester Elementary/Middle School Enosburg Middle School Woodstock Middle School Peoples Academy

23. Examples of I-LEAP Technology Use Personal Timelines (xTimeline or Prezi) Team Image (Digital Photography, Voicethread) Personal Speaking Avatars (Voki) What I Want to Be When I Grow Up (Prezi, PowerPoint, Moviemaker) Personal Note Taking (Evernote) Collaborative Writing, File Sharing, Surveys, Quizzes (Google Docs) Collaboratively Constructed Topical Web Pages (Google Domain) Student Email, Electronic Student-Teacher Communication (Google Domain) Functions of a Cell (Claymation) Public Service Announcements (FlipCams, Moviemaker) People of the Revolutionary War (xTimeline) Species Web Pages (Google Domain)

24. Harnessing the Power of Technology to Engage Learners 202 Mann Hall 248 Colchester Avenue University of Vermont Burlington, VT 05405 www.uvm.edu/~tiie Penny Bishop, Director John Downes, Associate Director Made possible by the Richard E. and Deborah L. Tarrant Foundation