Evaluation Report-Course Project

7/27/2019 Evaluation Report-Course Project

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Evaluation of iSchool Campus 1:1 Device Training Program

By Tiffany Galloway

A report submitted to Minidoka County School District

August 1, 2013

Tiffany GallowayEDTECH 505

Boise State University


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Tiffany GallowayEvaluation Report

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Summary

In fall of 2012, Minidoka County School District joined with iSchool Campus tocreate a pilot program for Paul Elementary. This program consists of 1:1 iPad devicesfor each student in the school building. iSchool Campus goal is to have an effective,relevant, replicable approach to classroom teaching and learning resulting inmeasureable gains in student achievement and digital competency. iSchool has beenimplemented in nine states and is demonstrating school improvements in a variety of areas including: test scores, student engagement, and attendance.

iSchool Campus believes the key to the success of this program is to equipteachers with everything they need to feel comfortable and supported. This evaluation isfocused on the training program this staff received prior to implementing this technologyin the classroom. The purpose of this report is to evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness,and impact of the training. The training includes educators experiencing how the iPadcan be used in their own individual classrooms by watching demonstrations and eachhaving their own iPad and MacBook at hand. The personalized training program isbroken down into three days from 8:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m. The first day is focused on thedevices themselves. An overview is conducted on how to utilize each and every buttonexternally and then how the settings are configured. The following two days incorporateapps, programs and examples of classroom experience, safety measures and criticalthinking for use at various age levels.

The goal-based evaluation model is used in this evaluation through a survey thatwas created to measure the objectives of the iSchool training for educators. The endresult demonstrates what changes occur with the educators after the three-day trainingand offers suggestions for the following trainings. The data was collected with this

survey from a sample population of two teachers at each grade level K-5, resulting in adata collection from 12 participants. The training was delivered; the staff received theequipment involved, and had the time to use what they learned from the training in their classroom. The schools administrator can use thee findings to further benefit thefaculty.

iSchool Campus has specific objectives they set out to meet in this training.There is a range of age levels, subjects taught, experience with technology, and comfortlevels among the staff at Paul Elementary. Based on the results, four out of the fivemajor objectives were met. These educators gained valuable knowledge in core skillsand concepts of using an iPad connected with a MacBook and their comfort level with

technology in the classroom grew as a result of the training. Improvement areas for thetraining that the school administration should consider for upcoming iSchool trainingsinclude: deeper critical thinking skills for all grade level instructors and a link betweenapps and daily subjects covered. The participants want and need to be able to use theinformation learned directly with their students. As a result of this evaluation,recommendations are included for the benefit of this training program and theparticipants.


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Description of the Program Evaluated

Program Objectives

A highly skilled teacher is what iSchool entails as the single greatest element of a21 st century classroom, and technology plays a role through facilitation and as a tool inthe learning process. The objectives for the iSchool Campus training program are to:

Enhance the user experience by developing core skills and techniques withiPads and MacBooks.Practice and implement basic apps for increased student engagement.Demonstrate programs that create a teaching and learning environment thatgoes beyond the traditional classroom.Create critical thinking through the use of interactive teaching strategies.Apply skills and brainstorming techniques to utilize iPad implementation withcurrent curriculum.

The evaluation purpose measures the impact of these objectives and how theparticipants react to them. If these goals are met successfully, there can be newobjectives developed for the next training. If these are not achieved, further recommendation will be made for the following trainings to offer the best possibleprofessional development.

Program Components

The iSchool Campus training program is designed solely to the specific schoolsneeds. At Paul Elementary, the objectives are clear to enhance and develop the comfortlevel of iPad use among each participant and feel supported enough to take what islearned and use it as a teaching mechanism. Two trainers from iSchool presentinformation and coach educators in teaching essential 21 st century skills.

For this first training, iSchool Campus provides the funding for their trainers for 3full days and accommodations. A personnel from iKeepSafe is also provided for 1 dayof the training. This Generation Safe provides resources for a positive mediaenvironment and its goal is to minimize negative effects of online incidents. The overalltraining consisted of 3 days, a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8:00a.m. -3:00p.m. Each day is broken up to cover the devices externally and internally, meaningevery button is discussed and then the focus goes deeper. The above five objectivesare covered in order beginning with the first two on Day 1, the third on Day 2, and thelast two objectives on Day 3.

Creativity is constant throughout the training along with problem solving, criticalthinking, and communication. Grade levels have the opportunity to work and collaboratetogether to meet their needs and encourage thinking of ways for classroom motivationwith the curriculum and devices. The training is set up in tables for groups to work


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question required an answer before it could be submitted to record results. The attitudeof the participants was positive as the evaluator was greeted with many questions aboutwhy and how a program evaluation should take place for professional developmenttraining.

Results

The evaluator of the iSchool Campus training that was provided receivedfeedback through an online survey from the 12 participants that were chosen tocomplete it. The first two questions were asked to identify comfort level of usingtechnology in the classroom before and after the training. One of the objectives was toensure a greater comfort level among the staff and that indeed did occur. Before thetraining, 75% of the educators felt average or below with their comfort level of usingtechnology in their own personal classroom and after the training, 91% felt average or above with the use of technology. The short answer questions, made it clear that theseeducators had a support system including the rest of the staff and iSchool Campuspersonnel.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.53

3.5

4

4.5

Comfort Level with Technology beforethe Training

Comfort Level withTechnology before theTraining


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The importance of future professional development trainings is critical to thisevaluation. The evaluators goal is to provide feedback on this training and suggestcriteria for following trainings based on the experiences of the participants. The resultsof this question appear to represent that the staff feels as though future trainings arevery important and the first one may not have been as important as the upcomingtrainings.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Comfort Level with Technology in theClassroom after the Training

Comfort Level with Technologyin the Classroom after theTraining

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Not at all 1 2 3 4 Very 5

How important was this first training

How important will futureiSchool trainings be


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The time frame the trainers used seemed to be appropriate for the programs theypresented. 11 out of 12 participants felt it was very appropriate and 1 out of the 12said the time spent to utilize the programs was just average. Overall, the training metone if its main objectives by helping to develop skills on the devices used, an iPad andMacBook. 91 % of the participants felt that the training very much helped to developsome skills with these devices.

There were two short answer responses on the survey. These two questionswere addressed to see if the objectives are being met. 9 out of the 12 participantsdemonstrated that they did think critical thinking skills were involved in this training. For example, two participants discussed the creativity of given tasks to createmovies/trailers in an app within a small group. Time was given to critically think howstudents would use this app and then demonstrate their thinking by actually goingaround the school to make a short clip. Another participant discussed howbrainstorming ideas for grade levels and school wide for the use of iPads is a form of critical thinking. The average response was just a couple sentences. The remaining 3out of the 12 felt that little to no critical thinking aspects occurred during the training.One in particular felt that information was just given without the opportunity to explore

first.

The last question pertained to the apps involved in the training and how theycould be related to the current curriculum these participants are using. 6 out of the 12participants expressed how particular apps shown and explored would relate to whatthey were already doing. It was described as excitement in these responses and howenrichment could take place in lessons, especially math. The remaining half coulddescribe some apps they liked and yet still expressed confusion or disbelief on how they

Development of Skills withiPad and MacBook

Not at all

Somewhat

Average

Very Much


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could tie it in with their curriculum without completely shying away from it. Theevaluators revi ew of the short responses demonstrates the similarity felt from the staff.

Discussion

The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the efficiency, effectiveness, andimpact of the training provided for an elementary school by iSchool Campus. Tomeasure these aspects, the evaluator looked at the objectives to identify their goals andif indeed they were met. Analysis of the data portrayed that the objective of developingcore skills with the devices was definitely achieved. The walk through of a step-by-stepprocess on how they worked externally was important for many of the beginninglearners. The objective to increase student engagement was also met with 83% of theparticipant surveys feeling very confident that specifically the training provided ways toincrease motivation and engagement with their own students.

Based on the results, the objectives of demonstrating programs and criticalthinking were met. The objective of relating and brainstorming the integration of thedevices with current curriculum was not identified as being sufficient enough based onthe data collection. The first training may also not have been deemed as important asthe following trainings provided by iSchool Campus because the staff was not exactlysure wha t to expect. A short response from an educators survey states, I have nowhad the opportunity to utilize and experience technology in my classroom and with mystudents. I have a lot more questions now than I ever dreamed of having before!

As the evaluator of the program, it is recommended that the training continuewith the time frame that was used on each topic. It is crucial that the participants haveenough time to explore the topic at hand and be able to collaborate with peers. The

majority of the objectives were met and future training is desired. Brainstorming ways of how a variety of apps and programs will relate and improve lessons in individualclassrooms is encouraged. At the next training, it is recommended to reserve an amountof time for questions and answers to take place for those who need or want it.

The main suggestion for this training is to hire someone who has experiencedealing with new technological devices actually in the classroom. Based on some of theshort answer responses, classroom management was brought up. Only providing thedevices and unique ways of implementation is not completely enough for an educator tofeel comfortable in delivering and changing their ways of teaching. Another objective of how to handle the devices in the classroom and still allow the exploration of learning

and teaching should be a key component in the next training.

In summary, the training was successful and the faculty is pleased with it. Myrecommendations should help improve the objectives for the same training taught againand encourage changes for the future training of this staff and their needs to relate thetechnology integration with their curriculum and new standards of teaching and learning.The next step is for these educators to feel more comfortable in how the devices are


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being used in their particular classroom, it is not enough to have the great ideas theyneed to be utilized.

Project Cost

The budget of the evaluation is focused on the evaluator and the survey creator.The program itself would be rather expensive if the funds covered the trainers andcatered services at the training itself. The evaluators daily rate includes 3 days at thetraining and 3 days for data collection and analyzing into a final report. The surveycreator worked for 3 days at a rate of $220 per day.

Evaluator 6 days x $500/day

(Trainers provided and funded by iSchoolCampus for this program evaluation)

$3,000

Survey Creator 3 days @ $220/day

$660

Supplies and Materials $500

Total Budget $ 4,160


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Appendix A: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9L6L7RL
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9L6L7RLhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9L6L7RLhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9L6L7RLhttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9L6L7RL

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Evaluation Report-Course Project