Iowa Learning Technology Grant Final Report

                                               

Executive Summary

 

The Iowa Learning Technology Commission (ILTC) Grant was written to provide funding for the infusion of technology into science classrooms at Southeast Polk High School (SEPHS) and the Southeast Polk/Metro Waste Authority (SEP/MWA) Field Station during the 2007-2008 school year. Prior to the ILTC grant funds, students had limited access to computers and data collection tools. We believe that this technology has improved student motivation and achievement in the area science.

 

Project Description

 

The technology secured through this grant has allowed our high school science students to perform authentic research using cutting-edge tools for data acquisition at our high school and in the field (Appendix A). This equipment included laptops, multimedia tools, and probes. Laptops were used by the students for background research, report writing and for presentations of their research. Cameras, digital microscopes and probes provided our students with accurate tools for measurement and collection of data during scientific investigations.

 

Goals and objectives

 

The SEPHS Science Technology Infusion Project was designed to provide 21st century tools to enhance the science curriculum at the high school and the new SEP/MWA Field Station. This project was written to serve all Southeast Polk High School science students. Thirteen high school science teachers facilitated the technology infusion.

 

Involvement of school and district personnel

 

The integration of new technology required the commitment and support of the school district, the community and business partners. The following school district personnel were instrumental in the implementation of this technology project.

 

Karen Hobbs and Amy Johannsen are the lead high school science teachers and the ILTC grant writers. Their role was as follows:

 

·        Researched the available technology

·        Made decisions on the purchase of technology

·        Communicated with each vendor to secure competitive prices

·        Designed a system for labeling and tracking the technology used

·        Organized the technology

·        Planned and implemented the professional development for our teachers

·        Designed and administered surveys

·        Collected, processed, analyzed, and presented data

·        Troubleshot all the problems and issues with the technology

·        Facilitated the use of each type of technology in the classroom.

 

These measures were implemented to ensure the equitable distribution and use of the ILTC technology.

 

The following individuals provided additional support concerning district policy.

 

·        Tom Downs, Superintendent

·        Steve Miller, Director of Technology

·        Dr. Kris Condon, Curriculum Director

·        Chuck Bredlow, High School Principal

·        Joe Horton, Associate Principal

·        Steve Pettit, Assistant Principal

·        Mike Hamilton, Business Manager

·        Steve Cullinan, Science Department Chair

 

Tom Downs arranged the governor’s reception for the spring. Dr. Kris Condon provided guidance in the areas of curriculum and professional development. She helped to finance professional development during the 2007 Summer Technology Workshop and the 2008 Inquiry Science Class using our district’s teacher quality funds. During teacher in-services, she scheduled time for the science department to collaborate and learn how to integrate these new technologies into the classroom. She also provided expertise in data collection, data processing, and data reporting.

 

Marti Kline is responsible for district relations and gathered photo documentation of our students using the ILTC technology. She used these photos to create a PowerPoint presentation (PowerPoint 1, email attachment) for the April 2008 Technology Open House (Appendix B) and to compliment an article in our district newsletter the Unifier (Appendix C).   

 

Rybolt Consulting Firm handles the Southeast Polk Community School District technology. Their team purchased the laptop computers, assembled the mobile carts, loaded software onto the laptops, and installed personal response systems (“clickers”) in two science classrooms.

 

The Southeast Polk Community School District contributed additional funds and resources to ensure the success of this project. They installed wireless Internet hubs in the high school, digital visualizers and projectors in two science classrooms, and one Mimeo board and one tablet in each of these classrooms. Our technology personnel were available to troubleshoot problems and repair damaged laptops.

 

The involvement of community and business partners

 

Metro Waste Authority is a valuable supporter of our district science programming. In addition to funding inquiry-based science projects, Metro Waste Authority provided the seed money needed to turn a farmhouse into a field station with two science classrooms, a mudroom, a storage room, and a lab area. The surrounding eighty acres contain a creek, wetlands, ponds, restored prairie, and timber. This location provides the opportunity for students to conduct environmental research using the new ILTC technology. They have continued to maintain the grounds by mowing the lawn, trimming trees, and removing solid waste.

 

Polk County Conservation Board (PCCB) was instrumental in the development of the Environmental Biology curriculum that was taught at the Southeast Polk/Metro Waste Authority Field Station. A meeting was held between the PCCB and members of the high school to discuss a potential partnership. The conservation board donated preserved specimens of local animals and provided naturalists in the areas of prairie plant identification, invasive species, and bird identification.

 

Heartland Area Education Agency (AEA) 11 helped to guide our technology choices by providing us with expertise in the area of technology. Denise Krefting, one of the technology instructors, assisted in professional development during the Summer Technology Workshop, at in-services, and clicker training. A grant secured through Heartland AEA 11 provided a videoconferencing unit for our school.

 

Other community members have been interested our efforts. In November 2007, our Molecular Biology, Environmental Biology, and Earth Science students participated in a community service-learning project to test the water quality of Mud Creek and clean up the banks of this creek. Photo documentation of the Mud Creek watershed project and the progress of the SEP/MWA Field Station were incorporated into a multimedia presentation. The students used ILTC technology to create the PowerPoint that was presented to our local Rotary Club at their December 2007 meeting (PowerPoint 2, email attachment). The Southeast Polk Planning Committee was given a guide tour of the MWA/SEP Field Station during November 2007. The Environmental Biology students’ independent research projects were on display. Both community groups were impressed and very supportive.

 

The involvement of institutions of higher education

 

Our science department has been involved in a variety of projects.

 

·        2007 ILTC Grant Award

·        Creation of the Southeast Polk/Metro Waste Authority Field Station

·        Water quality monitoring and watershed cleanup

·        Establishment of an active Science Club

·        Development of a successful summer elementary science camp

 

One college heard what our department is doing and has contacted us with the hope of establishing a partnership between our institutions. We would like to continue to develop relationships with other Iowa universities and local colleges. Our goal for next year is to use the new ILTC technology for scientific research. The findings of this research will be submitted for presentation at the Iowa Junior Science Symposium at University of Iowa in February of 2010.

 

The nature of and any changes in vendor relationships

 

Our vendor relationship with Hewlett Packard was excellent. They gave us a deep discount on the original 32 laptop computers purchased. Apple gave us a small discount on the 10 laptops and free multimedia bundle with our purchase. Since the Hewlett Packard discount was better, it convinced us to use Hewlett Packard, for the majority of our laptop purchases. On the other hand, our experience with Vernier was frustrating. We received the probes from this company at the end of the summer, but the LabQuest (a touch screen device that supports the probes) did not arrive until February 4, 2008. They explained this delay as a problem with their manufactures and continued to move the backorder date. This delayed the implementation of this type of technology into the science classroom.

 

The resources, materials, software, equipment, infrastructure and other durables acquired

 

The durable equipment purchased through the ILTC grant funds (Table 1) included mobile laptops, digital tools for data acquisition, personal response systems to assess learning, and software programs. Additional equipment and support (Table 2 and Table 3) was provided by the Southeast Polk School District and a grant through Heartland AEA 11.

 

The professional development, curriculum development, and planning

 

Professional development was essential during the implementation of the ILTC grant-funded project. Each teacher was trained on the care and use of each piece of equipment. Additional time was allocated for individualized instruction, lesson plan development, and team collaboration. This allowed all teachers to increase their comfort level with the new technology and increased the use of this technology in the classroom. The ILTC grant was used to support the planning, implementation, and assessment of this professional development. Additional professional development funds were covered by the Southeast Polk School District.

 

Professional Development

 

Technology training began immediately following the 2006-2007 school year and was continued on a regular basis as the new technology arrived (Table 4). The Summer Technology Workshop was held at the beginning of June in 2007. Each teacher in the science department was trained in the use of the Mac laptops, Proscopes, Vernier probes, PolyCom, and Internet databases. By comparing the results of the pre-survey and post-survey given at the summer workshop, the comfort level of the teachers improved on all of the technologies (Figure 1). Additional technology training for the science department was held during teacher in-services. We found that there was a need for flexible training before school, after school, and on weekends to meet the needs of individual teachers. In June 2008, an Inquiry Science class integrating technology was taught to district teachers at the field station (PowerPoint 3, email attachment). What developed was a stronger collaboration between the elementary, junior high, and high school science teachers. The teachers expressed an interest in having the older students help the younger students investigate science using the new technology tools. Professional development and training in the new technology is continuing through the summer of 2008 and into the 2008-2009 school year.

 

Curriculum Development

 

The SEP/MWA Field Station was the ideal location for two new block courses. Curriculum was developed for Environmental Biology and Earth Science to utilize technology in the field. Many students designed, executed, and presented their research projects to their peers and the Southeast Polk Planning Committee. The ILTC technology was used to document and share individual student research projects.

 

Planning and Instruction

 

The planning for the professional development and the curriculum development was a cooperative effort between the two organizing science teachers, the SEP Curriculum Director, and Heartland AEA11. The teachers facilitated the technology instruction with assistance from Denise Kreftling of Heartland AEA11.

 

Impediments, barriers or problems and how they were dealt with

 

One of the significant barriers to this project was the fact that the field station is a remote location. This is a blessing for natural studies, but is a curse for Internet accessibility. The district is still trying to get Internet access to the field station, but the high cost has prevented this from being realized. Until the Internet is available at the field station, video conferencing and live podcasts are impossible. The remote nature of the field station has also posed a security risk for high-priced technology. A gun safe and locking metal case were purchased to allow heightened security for the new technology. Motion sensor lights were installed and a security system was purchased.

 

Our teacher and student population continues to grow. This has resulted in overcrowded hallways and classrooms. To alleviate this problem our district purchased portable classrooms for ninth grade physical science. The other science classes were located on the second floor of the main building and the field station classes were in a refurbished farmhouse five miles from the high school. This made the equitable distribution of the laptops more challenging. At times, the laptops were carried back and forth to the field site. Ultimately, we purchased a separate mobile cart for the portables and brought the field station classes back to the high school when they needed to work with the laptops.

 

Description and Identification for Identified Outputs and Outcomes

 

Student engagement

 

Student engagement was measured with technology surveys, anecdotal comments, and tardy data. The Student Technology Survey (Appendix D) was administered at the beginning and end of the 2007-2008 school year. The results of the Student Technology Survey (Figure 2) show an increase in the use of computers, Internet, and other technology tools as the availability of these resources increased through the ILTC grant-funded initiative.

 

Anecdotal student comments (Table 5) are a testament to the power technology has to excite and motivate learners. “Technology is cool!” “Awesome lab!” “Can I take these home!” “The COW’s (computers on wheels) are pretty darn sweet.  We’re lucky to have them!”

 

The technology facilitated authentic, hand-on-learning and allowed students of multiple learning styles to succeed. These student comments support this statement. “The technology we used this year made learning a lot easier and more fun.” “This information really relates to my life. It feels like I’m really learning something.” “I am able to learn more because it gave my brain a chance to use a different resource other than a book.” One student, who will be begin a pre-med program at college next fall stated, “As a student that wants to study further into science, I really value the new technology and the hands on experience I gained.”

 

The teachers’ responses (Table 6) show that the teachers felt that the ILTC technology increased student engagement. One teacher stated, “The laptops are great!  Students enjoy using them and are actively engaged while doing so.  Classroom management is easy when the students are doing something they like to do, and I have the time to help students with questions they have. The students are not only learning science, but also how to use this technology.”

 

Tardy referral data (Table 7) from 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 was compared. The percent of referrals given by science teachers each semester increased from 13.43% to 25.28% during the 2006-2007 school year. During the technology pilot school year (2007-2008), the percent of tardy referrals given by science teachers decreased from 30.55% to 25.47% between the fall and spring semester. All science classes, with the exclusion of the field station, are located either on the second floor of the high school or outside in the portable classrooms. This makes it more difficult to get to class on time especially with the increased number of students in an overcrowded school. A second factor that may have influenced the number of tardy referrals during the pilot year was the institution of a firm tardy policy by our administration. Truancy data was omitted since it was determined to be unreliable data for determining student engagement in the science classroom.

 

Disciplinary problems

 

The number of discipline referrals written by science teachers in the 2006-2007 and the 2007-2008 school year (Table 8) were measured to identify trends in discipline problems. The total number of discipline referrals written by all high school teachers increased during the pilot year. The overcrowding in classrooms and hallways might cause this. The total number of discipline referrals written by science teachers remained constant, yet the number of students taking science classes increased by 235 students. The percent of school-wide discipline referrals written by science teachers declined from 26.96% to 15.72% during the ILTC technology pilot year. When students are engaged in relevant activities, there are less discipline problems.

 

Use of computers and software for writing, analysis, and research

 

Laptop computers and digital accessories were used to gather, analyze, and report data during student experimentation. Technology use (Table 9) was tallied using individual teacher technology record sheets that recorded the daily use of the technology. The science technology check out calendar was used for comparison. The laptops, digital cameras, and ProScopes received the most use. The LabQuests and probes were not available for use until February due to a high consumer demand and manufacturing problems with this technology. This would explain the lower use of this technology in the classroom.

 

The mobility of the laptops facilitated the use of this technology by all but one retiring science teacher. Students were able to access Internet library databases, animations, and computer simulations. The computers were used by students to write science reports on levers, genetics, and other topics of investigation.

 

The ProScopes, digital cameras, and LabQuests with probes were valuable data collection tools. The digital microscopes were used in biology during a genetics unit to document the offspring of Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) crosses. The fruit fly images were later incorporated in lab reports. In Molecular Biology, the ProScopes were integrated into a unit on microscopes. Students could actually see sweat form on their fingertips! The digital cameras were used in multiple settings. At the SEP/MWA field station, cameras were used to record native prairie plant species for an independent research project. These images were incorporated into an iMovie multimedia presentation. In anatomy, students used digital cameras to record the internal structures of cats during their dissections. They used these images to create “Cat”alogues as a final assessment. The LabQuests and probes were used by students in chemistry to measure pressure changes, biology to run heart EKGs, and physics to measure light intensity.

 

Movement toward student-centered classrooms

 

The movement toward student-centered classrooms was measured through anecdotal teacher surveys (Table 6). The technology allows all students to become active participants in the scientific process. The teacher becomes the facilitator. One science teacher summarized this eloquently. “I feel that when I pair inquiry-based science and technology, students are actively involved in critical and complex thinking. The students also have the opportunity to explore and investigate receiving concrete data immediately. The data instantly appears on a meter screen keeping students engaged in analyzing their results. The results appear not only in graphs, but also in tables and charts giving students many options to visualize and evaluate the data.”

 

Parental involvement

 

A concerted effort was made by our school district to inform the parents of the ILTC grant initiative. On February 13, 2008, during parent-teacher conferences, the teachers demonstrated the new technology. One parent described the LabQuest and temperature probe. “This is great! It’s similar to what we are using at Anderson Erickson Dairy to test the temperature of ice cream.” On April 9, 2008, Southeast Polk High School hosted an open house to showcase the ILTC Grant technology. High school students were present to demonstrate the laptop computers, Proscopes, and LabQuests. One student prepared a multimedia presentation of her research on Native Prairie Plants found at the SEP/MWA Field Station. She also displayed the plants that she had identified, collected, pressed, and archived on herbarium paper. Attendees were quizzed on the microscope images taken with the Proscopes. One parent was given an EKG using the LabQuest, EKG probe, and laptop computer. He then asked the students to give him a diagnosis!

 

Improved vendor and other business relationships

 

Hewlett-Packard gave us significant price cuts on our first order of 32 laptops. Apple gave us a free multimedia bundle which included a Proscope, digital camera, camcorder, and keyboard when we purchased our Mac Laptops. Vernier gave us a 10% discount and free shipping on all merchandise. Metro Waste Authority continues to be an important district supporter of the field station. They have provided Southeast Polk with the field station property and funds for the upkeep and maintenance of this property.

 

Increased student achievement

 

Increased student achievement was measured by comparing ITED scores, ACT scores*, ACT college readiness data*, and failure rate in science classes during 2006-2007 and 2007-2008. (*ACT college readiness scores will be added when the district receives this information.) Science and reading proficiency were measured using ITED National Percent Rank based on 43% as proficient compared to National School Norms. The ITED results were analyzed using grade level comparisons and cohort groups.

 

When comparing the number of correct responses to each of the 48 questions on the 2008 ITED science section, all three grades scored above the national average on 46 questions (Figure 3). All three grades scored at least 95.8% above the national average on the percent of questions answered correctly (Figure 4). The percent of each grade level scoring 10% above the national average was compared (Figure 5). The 9th grade had 58%, the 10th grade had 23%, and the 11th grade had 85% of their respective questions scoring 10% above the national average.

 

During the technology pilot year, our 9th grade students achieved a 15% science ITED proficiency growth from the previous year and our 11th grade students achieved an 11% growth (Table 10). During the technology pilot year, our 9th grade students achieved a 6% reading proficiency growth from the previous year and our 11th grade students achieved a 16% growth (Table 11). The percent of free and reduced lunch students in the Class of 2009 that are science proficient progressed from 78.9% to 81% over a two-year period (Figure 6). The general student population increased greater in science proficiency than the free and reduced lunch subgroup. This failed to close the gap; however, this shows a growth of greater than two years in all three cases.

 

When examining science proficiency in the subgroups, free and reduced lunch students and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) students demonstrated growth (Table 12). ITED scores show a 14% growth for free and reduced lunch students and 11% growth for IEP students in science proficiency during the ILTC pilot year.

 

Graduating seniors are required to successfully complete a minimum number of credit hours and pass the eight district exit outcomes (Appendix E). Each graduating senior demonstrated the district exit outcomes through senior presentations or a portfolio. Failure rate data shows an increase in the number of students taking and failing a science course between the 2006-2007 school year and the 2007-2008 school year (Table 13). The percent of failures each year showed a slight decrease from 3.34% to 3.31%. It should be noted that the technology pilot year was the first year students were required to have three years of science to graduate. If students felt forced to take a difficult or unwanted science class, this may have contributed to the number of failures.

 

When looking at student achievement, the ITED data supports continuing the technology initiative to compliment our inquiry-based science curriculum.

 

 Other outcomes important to the project

 

Another important outcome to the science technology project was the use of this equipment by the Southeast Polk Science Club. At the end of the school year, a one-week summer science camp was held for the elementary students in our district (Appendix F). The high school students suggested using the ProScopes and LabQuests to teach the students about biology. It was a very successful week. The “campers” had fun learning and became excited about science.

 

The reward for the high school students working the science camp was a ten-day trip to Yellowstone and the Black Hills. Camping in the snow in the Grand Tetons, observing bears and wolves, horseback riding in the Shoshone National Forest, hiking to Inspiration Point at Jenny Lake, and rock climbing the Needles in Custer State Park were all part of the adventure. The students decided to document their travels in journals and with the ILTC cameras and camcorders. These memories will be integrated into a presentation at the 2010 National Science Convention. One student, who will study earth science education this fall at the University of Northern Iowa, wants to accompany us to this convention to speak about his experience.

 

Overall Value of the Project

 

Conclusions about overall value of the project

 

The value of this project is immeasurable. The excitement of the students, the ability to reach students with a familiar medium, and the 21st century skills that the students have acquired that will enhance their future are difficult to measure in this short amount of time. Our school administration realizes the benefit that technology provides to our students. This prompted them to purchase two mobile carts with 16 laptops each for the school. They were also convinced to purchasing another set of clickers for the school. I believe this was a direct result of ILTC grant project.

 

Lessons learned

 

We continue to learn new things as we proceed through the ILTC grant initiative. The biggest challenge for the grant writers was to find the time to execute this grant while maintaining quality instruction in our classes. It is easy to fall into the role of the technology “police” because so much personal time was spent during the grant process. Don’t fall into that trap. To other grant recipients, our advice is “Two heads are better than one.” If you can convince others to help, “The more the merrier” and “Many hands make light work.”

 

Impediments

 

A project of this magnitude is going to have a few stumbling blocks. There were delays in the set up of the equipment due to all available technology personnel working around the clock to equip our new elementary building for the first day of school. Other delays that we encountered were with vendors delaying the shipment of several key pieces of equipment – the laptop carts and the Vernier LabQuest. It took us some time to put all the technology pieces in place and train our teachers.

 

Following the submission of our original grant proposal and prior to the implementation of the grant project, our district changed from the Winschool database to the Infinite Campus database. This made data collection more challenging because we didn’t know the capabilities of the database system or how to obtain the necessary information. Educational research data may be skewed due to the difficulty in isolating one variable from other influences.

 

The remote location of the field station prevented access to the Internet and live podcasts from field station. Our future plans are to connect Internet at the field station and conduct these broadcasts.

 

Suggestions and recommendations

 

We recommend that teachers be given the maximum amount of support to implement this new technology into their classes. We would have liked more guidance during this grant process in the area of purchasing and data collection.

 

Another suggestion is to disperse the grant money sooner to give the schools plenty of time to purchase the technology and train the teachers before the beginning of the school year. That would give the school a full academic year to implement the project.  

 

We highly recommend that the commission consider monitoring the grant recipients for longer than a year. This short time frame of one year hardly gives the schools or teachers time to fully incorporate the new technology. More than one year is needed to see the effects of any new initiative. The data obtained from such a short amount of time may not be credible. We also recommend that the commission continue to provide additional funds to cover continuing professional development and other costs necessary to maximize the integration of the initial grant.

 

Plans for the coming year

 

The infusion of technology into the science classrooms will continue to grow as the “kinks” get worked out and the teachers become more comfortable with the new technology. We are moving to a new building in January 2009 and each high school department will be given 32 laptops on mobile carts to provide the students with the necessary access to computer and Internet technology.

 

There is a commitment to continue professional development as new teachers are added to our staff. The returning teachers are more comfortable with the technology and will be able to integrate this equipment into their curriculum at the start of the year. This means that students will have more opportunities to use these tools.

 

We have laid the groundwork for increased collaboration between the high school and other grade levels in our district. This will allow more students the opportunity utilize this technology. The SEP/MWA field station will provide the opportunity for all classes in our district, and perhaps others, to perform ecological studies. Our district is looking for funding to supply Internet to the field site. This would open global access to this location. 

 

This fall, a select group of students will begin the process of long-term science research. We hope to partner with colleges to facilitate this student research. The ILTC technology will be used at each stage of their research. They will use computers for a literature search, technological tools for data collection, and software for report writing and presentations. In February 2009, these students will visit the Iowa Junior Science Symposium at the University of Iowa to watch other high school students present their research projects. Their research will be submitted the following December to the Iowa Academy of Sciences. Those who are selected will present their projects at the February 2009 Iowa Junior Science Symposium. If selected, these students will go on to compete at the national level.