McREL Online Learning Communities help teachers use technology to accelerate learning
It was the right time to focus on technology, it was the wrong time to focus on technology, there were brilliant innovations making our lives easier, there were disturbing innovations invading our privacy, there were those calling for scientifically based research, there were those calling for creativity, we were all trying to improve student learning, we were all trying to meet AYP—in short, 2006 was like most other years in education, with various authoritative voices insisting on there being a right way to help the two districts, which were strikingly different—one large and urban, the other small and rural—yet each found that McREL’s Educational Technology Services were the answer.
Research tells us that professional development is most effective when it aims to create professional learning communities — places where teachers have ongoing opportunities to learn from research and each other.
In a McREL OLC, our staff meets with each participating school twice a month by using voice conferencing software that provides virtual face-to-face contact. We share research-based practices, show teachers how to apply them in the classroom, answer questions, and instruct teachers in using technology. Participants also have access to a Web portal that supports teachers’ ongoing learning and application of new knowledge by providing threaded discussions, live chat rooms, and handouts and presentation slides from sessions.
OLC connects a fast-growing district to educational research and to each other
Teachers and administrators at Deer Valley Unified School District in Phoenix, Arizona, are experiencing high quality professional development and regularly coming together to discuss the research about teaching and learning. The story about how this happened is the story of a McREL Online Learning Community (OLC), and it begins, appropriately, with a collegial conversation.
Associate Superintendent Kent Davis and Howard Pitler, McREL’s senior director of educational technology, sometimes saw each other at professional conferences. On those occasions, talk invariably turned to the challenges posed by 367 sprawling square miles, 36,000 students, and 36 schools and counting.
Growth has slowed to about 3 percent a year, down from 5–7 percent, but the district still gets over 1,000 new students and several new administrators every year. To some, successfully delivering professional development for such a large and widespread district would be an insurmountable problem, but not so for Davis and Pitler.
Pitler knew how well OLC was serving small, geographically isolated districts, and although Deer Valley was at the opposite end of the spectrum, he was confident OLC could deliver the same good results. Davis, in turn, was participating in McREL’s Balanced Leadership training, and he knew that our professional development was grounded in research and focused on best practices. Seeing the opportunity for a great collaboration, Davis and Pitler moved forward with one objective: deliver online professional development that emphasizes improved teaching and learning and is supported by principals who understand their role in leading change. So, in October 2006, about 100 participants began participating in an OLC. “When we opened this up, we had five schools jump at the opportunity to participate, even though schools also pay part of the costs,” said Davis.
Holding a 350-way conversationAll along, Davis was adamant on one aspect—the content of the professional development and not the technology had to be foremost. Appropriately, the content in OLC sessions is based on the nine categories of strategies that McREL’s research indicated have a high probability of enhancing student achievement for all students in all subject areas at all grade levels. After the first session that focused on a particular strategy, teachers discussed their new knowledge online, making an astounding 350 posts.
“If teachers continue to post at this rate, there will be thousands of posts at the end of the year,” said McREL Consultant Matt Kuhn. “A conversation this size would never take place in a regular school year in a brick-and-mortar building or even around a district,” said Kuhn.
Deer Valley’s teachers are not the only group benefiting from professional development in OLCs. Administrators meet online once a month to discuss their role in supporting change, engage in book studies, or learn about McREL’s research on leadership. “The emphasis is on finding ways to have conversations about leadership, instruction, and improved student achievement,” said Davis.
OLC is enabling the staff of Deer Valley to move to higher levels of technology integration while experiencing a sense of belonging to a larger collegial network. One principal told Davis, “I thought teachers would do it to help meet a requirement, but they’re doing it because it’s their choice.” Davis hasn’t seen any real drawbacks. “This is exactly how professional development should be offered,” he said.
MTS keeps a small rural district well ahead of the curveMcREL Technology Solutions (MTS)
MTS is a comprehensive, customized service package for moving a school or district forward in its use of technology as a tool to enhance student learning.
The three stages of MTS begin when McREL conducts a comprehensive assessment of a school or district's technology infrastructure and surveys teachers and administrators regarding use, comfort, and understanding of technology as a tool for learning. These survey results guide the development of the second stage, which is working together to create a comprehensive plan. In the final stage, McREL consultants provide clients several professional development options, such as workshops, one-on-one mentoring, and technical consulting, to meet their unique needs.
Two years ago, Superintendent Rick Pass sat with members of Knappa School District’s technology committee and made a commitment to bring technology into the Oregon district in ways it never had before. Specifically, he committed to finding whatever resources teachers needed to infuse their classrooms with technology and to prepare students for the future. Access to computers was the easiest part—finding the right kind of professional development for teachers to integrate technology into their instruction was the challenge. Pass began a nationwide search that led him to McREL. With McREL Technology Solutions (MTS), Knappa is focused on their goal to get ahead of the technology curve, and to stay there.
The wait list growsKurt Donaldson, a high school social studies teacher, was never on the district’s wait list; he was one of the original six teachers to join MTS. He recalls having had a very minimal computer lab when he started teaching at Knappa six years ago and especially appreciates the six new computers, software, and personal laptop the district supplies MTS participants. “When it comes to technology, the kids know a lot, but not necessarily the things that help them learn. With the district’s support and MTS, students are learning to use Excel to make climate graphs, compare domestic products, and to do population pyramids,” he said. Donaldson also is one of the teachers providing classes on technology basics to his colleagues. “Whether teachers want to know how to use Inspiration, Microsoft Publisher, or simply how to burn CD-ROMs, the district supports us and rewards participation,” said Donaldson.
Scott Peters, who mentors a second-year teacher, values his MTS experience. “With the preparation I received from McREL, mentoring has gone smoothly. MTS emphasizes team work, dialogue, and collaboration,” said Peters. Finding ways for all of his students to use the computers requires creativity, but Peters considers it a positive challenge: “It’s not about integrating technology in large ways, but on a day to day basis, so that students become fluent with it,” he said. Access to the Internet also is an advantage, as students look for basic information and answers to their questions right away. “I see my students getting very involved in the content we’re studying,” he said. An unexpected outcome is the broad appeal that technology has for all learners: “I saw quick results with my lower level learners. Now, I set up expectations, check for understanding, and let them go! They go well beyond the tutorial I show them, doing thorough, thoughtful work and research while creating their own products,” said Peters.
Veteran language arts teacher Lucille DeVargas is a first-year mentee, but “technology novice” definitely doesn’t apply. Recently, DeVargas’ students used MovieMaker to bring stories to life after they read and analyzed a novel. She also sees students who are more engaged, noting that students who don’t like to write enjoy writing when it’s part of producing a movie or PowerPoint presentation. “I also have students who don’t like to present in front of their peers, but they don’t mind presenting with technology tools,” she said. “It’s very rewarding to see them confidently reporting and demonstrating their content knowledge.”
Principal Nanette Hagen confirms that there’s a high level of interest school-wide: “Teachers see a new way to do an old project. For example, instead of a standard poster, students use Publisher to create brochures—it jazzes up their products while preparing them for the real world.” When teachers in MTS present their students’ work to colleagues, those teachers realize that they can do the same things. “Seeing last year’s projects and what kids could do in writing, as well as technology, excited everyone last year,” said K–8 principal Paula Mills. “I see teachers and kids using technology everyday—they’re presenting current events, accessing the Internet, doing daily oral language, and editing in front of the classroom,” she said. She, too, stresses that kids at both ends of the spectrum, including students with significant disabilities, are more engaged. “The biggest surprise to me is also the biggest benefit: it draws out such a wide range of learners,” said Mills.
As Knappa School District enters its third and final year of MTS, it’s preparing to administer teacher and student post-assessment surveys to take a close look at results. Their broader purpose is to increase student achievement as seen in state assessment scores in mathematics and language arts, but the increased student engagement and collaborative districtwide culture they’ve already experienced are putting them ahead of the curve.