Hanover Community School Corporation: Jane Horton Ball Elementary
The Digital Storytelling Initiative Providing 21st Learning through the use of iPad 2 Daniel Gibson
2012-2013 School Year
December 9, 2011 Theresa Crussen, Principal Jane H. Ball Elementary 13313 Parrish Avenue Cedar Lake, IN 46303 Dear Sir or Madam, Jane Horton Ball Elementary, which is part of the Hanover Community School Corporation, is submitting a proposal to request $41,468.00 from the Comcast Foundation to support The Digital Storytelling Initiative. The traditional definition of reading and writing has become out-dated; consequently, reading and writing instruction must change to meet the needs of digital learners. In order to prepare for future jobs and technology, students must engage in current technologies through varied educational situations. With the implementation of The Digital Storytelling Initiative, we expect to improve our fourth grade students’ written and oral communication skills, while facilitating familiarity with contemporary hypermedia production tools. The Digital Storytelling Initiative will provide 104 students with iPad 2 tablets, which will be used to integrate children’s literature, writing, and technology within the general education classroom. Overall, close to 80% of the students at Jane Ball Elementary passed the English/Language Arts portion of the Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+). From test results and academic growth over the years, Jane Ball Elementary is rated as an “Exemplary: A” school by the state of Indiana. However, Jane Ball’s fourth grade is the lowest performing grade. Through the implementation of The Digital Storytelling Initiative, we anticipate fourth grade students will improve their overall pass rate on the English/Language Arts portion of the ISTEP+. The overarching purpose of The Digital Storytelling Initiative is to provide 104 fourth graders at Jane Ball Elementary with 21st Century literacy skills. Your contribution will increase the fourth-grade English/Language Arts ISTEP+ scores from a 78% to 82% pass rate. While interacting with digital forms of reading and writing, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will provide students with 21st Century literacy education. I can be reached at (219) 374-3700 or tcrussen@hanover.k12.in.us to provide additional information. I would also like to extend an invitation to visit our school. Thank you for considering the enclosed proposal. Sincerely, Theresa Crussen Principal, Jane H. Ball Elementary
Summary Jane H. Ball Elementary School is requesting $41,468.00 from the Comcast Foundation to provide technology and professional development for The Digital Storytelling Initiative. The Comcast Foundations contribution will be used to purchase an Apple iPad2 Learning Lab, which will facilitate fourth-grade reading and writing instruction. With these 21st Century learning tools, fourth grade students will construct digital stories, read with the iBook app, and write using various iPad2 apps. Overall, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will improve students’ digital literacies. Agency Description The Hanover Community School Corporation resides in Cedar Lake, Indiana, which is located in southern Lake County approximately 45 miles from Chicago, Illinois and 145 miles from Indianapolis. Altogether, there are 2,021 students in the Hanover Community School Corporation. The age breakdown includes 957 elementary schoolage children, 466 middle school-age students, and 598 high school-age students. The Hanover Community School Corporation is made up of two elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. Lincoln Elementary School houses grades K-5 with all of the kindergarten students in the district and provides both half and full day opportunities to families. Named for one of the first 19th century school teachers to teach in Cedar Lake, Jane Ball Elementary school contains 1st-5th grade students. Five hundred seventeen of the Hanover district’s elementary school-age children attend Jane Ball. Over 36 % of the families that attend Jane Ball qualify for the Free/Reduced Lunch program. Because there is a higher poverty level, Jane Ball is considered a Title I (1965) school, which provides additional government funding as long as the school continues to improve educational standards and test scores. To promote academic growth, Jane Ball’s school improvement plan focuses on improving written communication in all areas across the curriculum. Altogether, 79% of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students passed the English/Language Arts portion of the 2011 Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress-Plus (ISTEP+). When considering all the grade levels, Jane Ball Elementary ISTEP+ scores are on target with the state average. In fact, the Indiana Department of Instruction has labeled Jane Ball an “A: Exemplary” School under Public Law 221; this was based on the state’s new accountability evaluation which measures improvement and student achievement. (A list of school board members is included in the Appendices.) Need for Project During 2008-2009 school year, Jane Ball’s 4th grade English/Language Arts scores dropped dramatically. This was the same year Indiana switched the ISTEP+ from the Fall to the Spring semester. For the 2008 fall test, students’ overall pass rate was 62%.
Then, at end the year, 71% of students passed the English/Language Arts portion of the ISTEP+. Since then, Jane Ball’s school improvement plan has been to improve written communication in all areas across the curriculum. Fourth grade students have demonstrated less than adequate results on the ISTEP+ exam. In 2011, the state of Indiana’s pass rate on the English/Language Arts averaged 82% for fourth graders. Jane Ball’s 4th grade earned a 78% pass rate on the statewide test. If this pass rate was increased by four percentage points, the fourth grade will at least be on target with the state average.
Percentage Passing the English/Language Arts ISTEP+ 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40%
79% 71%
74%
78%
62%
3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade
2007-2008
2008-2009 2008-2009 2009-2010 Fall Test Spring Test
2010-2011
In viewing the graph above, a significant percentage of the fourth graders are not passing the state ISTEP+ exam in the area of English/Language Arts. The Jane Ball staff is constantly working toward increasing the percentage of students that pass the state exam. For at least three years, the fourth grade has been performing well below the other grade levels. Currently, Jane Ball is implementing the Fountas and Pinnell (2011) guided reading curricular framework, and we utilize the Fountas and Pinnell (2011) Benchmark Assessment System to determine the reading levels of each student three times per year.
Benchmark Reading Levels 100% 90% 80% 70%
27% 42%
32%
32% 59%
60% 50%
Below Grade Level
40%
Grade Level
30% 20% 10% 0% 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade
The above chart represents the percentage of students who were at a level considered proficient for each grade level. Over 30% of the current fourth graders are reading below grade level. As you can see, fifth grade demonstrates an even greater need with nearly 60% of the students reading below grade level. These gaps must be closed in order for students to develop a strong literacy foundation and succeed in the upper grades. Currently, the state of Indiana has mandated schools to begin ISTEP+ testing online. For the 2011-2012 school year, Indiana Department of Education is requiring every school to provide online testing for at least two grade levels (Erdahl, 2011). Without regular accessibility to computer-based technologies, student scores will plummet with the online version of the ISTEP+. To further support the implementation prior to testing, O’Hara and Prichard (2009) revealed the lower achieving student scores were raised through the use of digital tools. As a result, we believe additional opportunities to engage in digital reading and writing will benefit the students’ future academic needs, while also developing tech-savvy, productive members of society. The current 2011-2012 fourth grader learners will graduate in 2020, which makes it critical to integrate current technologies into the traditional classroom. The landscape of career options is ever-changing. By 2020 technology, job responsibilities, and careers will have changed drastically. It is projected that several new engineering fields and social technology fields will open by 2020 (Gibbs, 2007). Students must be provided 21st Century learning instances to motivate learning. By providing students with multiple opportunities to engage in digital literacy’s, students can “enhance reading comprehension and vocabulary development” (O’Hara &
Prichard, 2009). As a result, the Digital Storytelling Initiative will allow students to improve their literacy skills, while improving student familiarity with current technologies. Ultimately, students will be prepared for future technologies. Project Description The Digital Storytelling Initiative is a program designed to apply one-to-one computing and hands-on technology to enhance student’s digital literacy. The program will engage students in e-reading, e-writing, and video production to share their own stories. Overall, the program will offer students authentic, meaningful writing contexts to motivate reading and writing. Daniels and Bizar (2005) encourage opening the doors of the school to provide students work with a realistic audience. Goal Through the application of 21st Century digital reading and writing tools, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will improve the reading and writing skills of 104 fourth-grade students. Objectives By the end of the 2012-2013 school year, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will…
Increase the 104 fourth-grade English/Language Arts ISTEP+ exam scores by at least four percentage points (from 78% to 82% passing). Improve fourth-grade literacy skills, while improving student familiarity with current technologies. Provide iPad 2’s and several reading and writing applications to improve student’s digital literacy. Improve the ability of four fourth-grade teachers to integrate a variety of digital teaching tools into the curriculum.
The table below provides the events required to train the teachers involve in The Digital Storytelling Initiative. This training will allow the teachers to implement the program with fidelity. Professional Development for Teachers Time Period Week 1
Objective
Learning Strategy
Teachers will attend an iPad training to iPad training workshop manage apps and use iPads effectively in classroom instruction.
Technolog y iPad and synchronizin g apps with MacBook Pro
Assessment Piece Teachers synchronize iPads with app store.
Week 1-2
Week 3
Week 34
Teachers will develop their own digital storytelling models through the use of online tutorials. Teachers will receive onsite training to carry out the digital storytelling lessons effectively. Teachers will receive onsite training to construct a blog website. Teachers will receive onsite training to manage a blog website.
iLife training to develop digital stories.
iLife software
Teacher’s digital storytelling models.
Blog Training through the construction of a blog.
Eblogger.co m
Teacher’s blogs with security settings and student sections attached.
Through The Digital Storytelling Initiative, students will engage in reading, writing, and video storytelling. For reading, students will engage in reading stories from the iBook app. Reading frequently has proven itself to increase reading levels (Allington, 2001). With these stories and iPad applications (app), students will construct digital notes and responses while reading. Research upholds that story retelling fosters comprehension (Cox, 2002). Thus, students will record retellings and/or review the ebooks completed in class. To record, students will utilize the Garage Band App within the iLife software suite. Then, students will post them online. As stated by Rosenblatt (1938, 1978), reading is a “transactional process,” which suggests that readers “make sense” of words as they apply, reorganize, revisit, or extend encounters with text. In other words, readers make sense of a reading through thinking, discussing, and writing; as a result, readers engage in personal meaning making of the text. Larson (2010) claims, with e-book reading, students can utilize a plethora of digital tools and features to physically interact with and manipulate text. Students are able to adjust the settings to accommodate their individual needs. In addition, readers are able to express thoughts and feelings through the note-taking function within the iBook app. As a result, the e-reader functions facilitate an interactive experience for students to make meaning while reading. This practice with e-reading, note-taking, word processing and recording is the initial stage to developing students’ storytelling abilities. The following table displays The Digital Storytelling Initiative’s scope and sequence.
Digital Storytelling Initiative Time Period
Objective
Students will be Weeks 1- introduced to 3 writer’s workshop and the 6-traits of writing.
Weeks 2-3
Students will read leveled text with understanding. Students will make comments and response using the software note-taking capabilities.
Week 2end of year
Week 3
Weeks 3-4
Learning Strategy
Technology
Various lessons used to Interactive establish the White Board procedures for Technologies carrying out writer’s workshop. (The program already in place to provide a framework for research-based writing instruction). Utilizing e-readers iPad 2 students will become iBook app familiar with the use of the iBook app and the iPad’s note-taking capabilities.
Assessment Piece Students are producing notes and ideas for writing.
Students’ notes will be informally assessed.
Student will describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text.
Provide students various opportunities and lessons on responding to text according to various literary elements.
iPad Writer’s Studio app Word processing software
Students work will be assessed.
Students will be introduced to a series of lessons on narrative writing.
Students will begin compiling lots of prewritings and writings dealing with narrative writing.
iPad Writer’s Studio
Students prewritings and writings will be reviewed.
Students will apply writer’s workshop procedures to writing apps found on the iPad
Each day, students will be previewed to the various note-taking, organizing, and word processing apps on the iPad
iPad Writer’s Studio app WritePad app iMindMap app
Students writing products created using the various apps will be assessed.
Week 4
Students will preview several digital storytelling examples
Weeks 4-5
Students will identify the functions of the iLife suite
Week 45
Week 56
Week 6-7
Week 6-7
Week
Students will preview teacher created digital stories. Students can preview other student created stories online. Students can watch various clips from documentaries. Each day, students will be introduced and preview the functions of the iLife apps
Students will construct a storyboard from their personal narrative writing.
Students will organize the main parts of their story into sections.
Students will locate images to go with their stories.
With their iPads, students will find various images, pictures, or graphics to aid their story narration.
Students will construct a slideshow/video with their rough draft storyboards.
With the iLife suite, students will begin to finalize their slideshow/video productions.
Students will narrate their stories (slideshow/video) using recording software.
With Garage Band software, students will provide an oral narrative for their written story. Student’s attention will be focused on fluent and expressive reading. Students will be introduced to the
Students will present their final
iPad Writer’s Studio app Internet SMART Board iPad iPhoto iMovie Garage Band iPad StoryBoard app
After watching the examples, students will list what they liked and want to learn using the Writer’s Studio app. Simple student tasks can be assessed from each program. Storyboards will be peer evaluated for gaps in the story using a checklist and question sheet.
iPad Writer’s Studio app Camera booth app Internet iPad iLife iMovie iPhoto
Student image collections will be evaluated based on connection to their stories.
iPad iLife Garage Band
Student’s published work will be evaluated by their peers with a checklist and question guide (to provide feedback)
SMART Technologies
Students’ projects will be
Student’s published work will be evaluated by their peers with a checklist and question guide (to provide feedback)
7-8
stories to various members of the school community.
function of the SMART LCD Board for ease-of-use Projector during student presentations. Then, students will present to various grade levels, classes, classmates, teachers, administrators, staff members, and family members.
assessed using a project rubric. Students speaking skills will be assessed using a presentation rubric. Other teachers will be able to evaluate their perceived success of the program with an end-of- the-year survey.
As displayed in the table, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will take around 8-weeks to introduce. After the 8-week introduction, students will continually develop their prowess with digital storytelling. These production and storytelling skills will be used with various writing genres. Larson (2010) explains that the “traditional definitions of reading and writing are insufficient in today’s world” (p. 16). Students are encountering multiple forms of literacy today, and they will encounter new digital literacies with the advent of new technology. As a result, to be prepared for the future job market, students must interact with these innovative forms of literacy. In the end, The Digital Storytelling Initiative will contribute to students’ written and oral communication skills, while fostering their familiarity with current technologies. Evaluation To informally assess The Digital Storytelling Initiative, students’ digital storytelling will be published and shared with 517 students and 34 teachers/administrators at Jane Ball. Students will be given the opportunity to travel to other classrooms to present their work. Some students may present in front of the entire school. With parent permission, student projects may be shared on the web, which drastically expands the young author’s audience. To then evaluate The Digital Storytelling Initiative’s perceived effectiveness, surveys will be distributed to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Teachers, parents, and learners will be surveyed twice (once in August and June) to gauge the success of the iPad technology within the curriculum. To determine the
success of The Digital Storytelling Initiative, all students will be assessed with three separate evaluation tools. 1. Students will be tested three times per year in September, January, and May with the Fountas and Pinnell (2011) Benchmark Assessment System II. The results of these assessments are used to determine the percentage of students reading at grade level. These tests will also demonstrate student reading growth. 2. The Jane Ball staff will administer Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) in October and May to identify student weaknesses and strengths. This will demonstrate reading growth over time. 3. Lastly, students will be given the ISTEP+ in April and May. As stated in the Need for Project section, Jane Ball expects to achieve a 4% growth on the English/Language Arts portion of the ISTEP+, which will put Jane Ball’s fourthgrade on track with the state average. With these assessment tools, student’s reading and writing improvement can be quantified and the effectiveness of the Digital Storytelling Initiative may be verified. Financial Information For The Digital Storytelling Initiative, the Comcast Foundation’s contribution is asked to contribute $41,468.00 total. This contribution will provide 104 students (four classrooms) with 30 iPad 2’s with cart, 30 iPad keyboards, and $100 per iPad worth of applications. Each teacher will receive a MacBook Pro in order to manage video files, classroom blogs, and iPad 2 applications. In addition, the four teachers involved will be provided with onsite and offsite professional development training to utilize these products effectively. Apple will provide professional development within a two day program at $4,500. The Digital Storytelling and Blog creation training will be provided by a current Jane Ball teacher. Bernajean Porter will provide additional training with digital storytelling with iPad applications. Her services are $4,500. All three training sessions will require substitute teachers for the four teachers involved in the program. Budget A detailed line item budget reflecting the total cost of $41,468.00 is included in the Appendices. All additional information about the project, budget, evaluation, or investment plan will be made available by contacting Dan Gibson, Project Coordinator, at (219) 374-3700 ext. 3732 or dgibson@hanover.k12.in.us. Please refer to the Appendices for Project Budget.
References Allington, R. L. (2001) What Really Matters for Struggling Readers. New York, New York: Addison Wesley Longman. Cox, C. (2002) Teaching Language Arts: A Student and Response-Centered Classroom, 4th Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Daniels, H. & Bizar, M. (2005). Teaching the Best Practice Way: Methods that Matter, k-12. Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers. Erdahl, K. (2011). Indiana Mandate to Require Online Testing. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/09/29/06mct_inistep.h31.html?print =1 Gibbs, H. (2007). Social Technologies Forecasts New Jobs for 2020. Retrieved from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/05/prweb528154.htm Larson, L.C. (2010). Digital Readers: The Next Chapter in E-Books Reading and Response. The Reading Teacher. 64 (1), 15-22. O’Hara, S. & Pritchard, R. (2009) What is the impact of Technology on Learning? Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/what-impacttechnology-learning/ (O’Hara, S. & Pritchard, R. (2008). Reprinted from Teaching Vocabulary with Hypermedia, 6-12. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson). Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. Horizon, 9(5), 1-6. Rosenblatt, L.M. (1938). Literature as exploration. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts. Rosenblatt, L.M. (1978). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Sylverster, R. & Greenidge, W. (2009). Digital Storytelling: Extending the Potential for Struggling Writers. The Reading Teacher, 63(4), 284-295.
School Board and HCSC Administration
Position President
Name
Mary Joan Dickson
mdickson@hanover.k12.in.us
Pat Kocot
pkocot@hanover.k12.in.us
Secretary
Dana Griner
dgriner@hanover.k12.in.us
Member
James Sakelaris
jsakelaris@hanover.k12.in.us
Member
Julie Mueller
jmueller@hanover.k12.in.us
HCSC Superintendent
Carol Kaiser
ckaiser@hanover.k12.in.us
Jane Ball Principal
Theresa Crussen
tcrussen@hanover.k12.in.us
Jane Ball Assistant Principal
Christine Waugh
cwaugh@hanover.k12.in.us
Vice President
Project Budget for The Digital Storytelling Initiative
Part #
EQUIPMENT
Per Unit
Qty
Total
BG713LL/A
Apple iPad Learning Lab (with 10 iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi devices) AppleCare
$
7,859.00
1
$7,859.00
BG704LL/A
iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi - Black (20) with Apple Care Protection Plan
$
5,380.00
2
$10,760.00
MC979LL/A
iPad 2 16GB Wi-Fi - White with Apple Care Protection Plan
$
499.00
4
$1,996.00
MC917ZM/A
Apple Component AV Cable
$
39.00
5
$195.00
MB203G/A
Apple Mini-DVI to VGA Adapter
$
19.00
5
$195.00
MC533LL/B
iPad Keyboard Dock
$
69.00
30
$95.00
BG018LL/A
MacBook Pro (White/13.3" LED/2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo/2GB DDR3/250GB)
$
1,082.00
4
$4,328.00
iPad Camera Connectional Kit
$
29.00
10
$290.00
iTunes Gift Card ($100)
$
100.00
30
$3,000.00
Apple Professional Development Program (Two Day)
$
4,500.00
1
$4,500.00
Digitales Digital Storytelling Production Training (One Day)
$
4,500.00
1
$4,500.00
Trainer Compensation (1 trainer x 1 day x $750)
$
750.00
1
$750.00
Teacher Compensation (4 teachers x 3 days x $100)
$
300.00
4
$1,200.00
MC531ZM/A
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT D2460LL/A
MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT Technology Support from in-house IT (12 hours/$150)
COMCAST FOUNDATION'S SUPPORT
$1,800.00
$41,468.00