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Technology Rich Classrooms: Changing By Kari Stubbs, Senior Project Coordinator, ALTEC
As program manager for the project, ALTEC facilitates the planning, design, and evaluation of professional development provided to the teachers, facilitators, administrators, and grant evaluators on each of the grant teams. The purpose of TRC is to provide evidence that technology integrated into a Technology-Rich learning environment and supported by strong, ongoing professional development can produce positive changes in the classroom environment that result in improved student learning in the areas of reading, math and science.
Each of the schools involved with the grant have identified a core content area of need. To address this need, teachers are trained in best practices to improve student achievement in the identified area of math, reading, or science. TRC teachers are given access to a universal set of technology resources, including: a 2:1 student to computer ratio, an interactive white board, digital camera and camcorder, scanner, printer, software to support content, and access to the Internet. The power of this grant, however, is not found in the technology itself. Education in Kansas has been revitalized because of the changes in how our teachers teach and how our children learn. Through the TRC grant, these Kansas teachers have the opportunity to work with a personal facilitator who guides them toward connecting the electronic resources to content, standards, higher order thinking skills, and authentic learning experiences. These personal facilitators assist in developing lessons, researching, coaching, team-teaching, and mentoring. Research on professional learning communities supports just-in-time staff development and job embedded training, the core of the facilitator program. TRC teachers, through the support of grant facilitators, are learning to use these technology resources as an integrated component of their classroom teaching to foster changes in student learning and achievement in core content. One critical resource for the grant is the Levels of Technology Implementation (LoTi) Framework, which has been applied as both a tool for evaluation as well as a resource for teacher training. This framework has enabled teachers and facilitators to work toward connecting these electronic resources to higher order thinking and authentic learning experiences with the goal of increasing student achievement. The LoTi Framework is also a valuable resource as schools work to construct their building and district technology plans based on their experiences with TRC. To learn more about this framework, visit the LoTi website. ALTEC also supports the TRC program through the development and maintenance of the project website that supports the Kansas learning community. The website serves as the anchor for regional and grant training events, online professional development opportunities, online resource exchange, as well as resources for local evaluators of the project. Additionally, ALTEC coordinates separate monthly Marratech video conversations for both facilitators and grant evaluators. Utilizing this video-based technology breaks down geographic barriers and enables ALTEC to support the TRC learning community that spans the entire state. Technology Rich Classrooms are something to celebrate. This November, ALTEC, the Kansas State Department of Education, and many of the participating schools will be hosting TRC Days. Technology Rich Classroom project schools will open their doors to share the value and possibility of what TRC holds for all Kansas students. Visit the project website, and click “events,” for more information or to participate in an event near you. Learning without limits…. It is more than a vision. Through our Technology Rich Classrooms, it is becoming a reality in Kansas. |
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The seed of change is spreading across Kansas. Since 2003, 168 classrooms have participated in a Title IID initiative that has invested over $7 million dollars to improve learning in the content areas in our state. They are called Technology Rich Classrooms, and they are changing the way that teachers teach and children learn. The vision behind the statewide grant is the integration of technology, standards, and best practices to make learning without limits a reality. The Advanced Learning Technologies in Education Consortia, 