University of Puerto
Rico, Humacao English Department
Special Project: Classroom of the 21st Century
Dianel Santos RodrĂguez & Megan GarcĂa Santa EDPE 4006 Prof: Nilsa Lugo Colon Classroom of the 21st Century
I.
Purpose During our practice teaching, Mr. Bonkosky has been complaining about the lack of internet and computers in his classroom. In his classroom, there are a total of four computers available to the students. The computers are fully functional. However, they do not have any internet connection. Without the internet connection, there is not
much that the students can do with the computers. There is a router inside the classroom with cables and wireless internet connection for the computers. However, the cables are not long enough to reach the computers, and the computers lack the wireless connection receiver device. Mrs. Garcia and I have come up with the idea to supply the computers with internet connection and provide more computers for Mr. Bonkosky’s classroom. We want the classroom to have the technological facilities so technology can be a big part of the learning process of the students. We also want to encourage the students to use the computers when they are going to work on special assignments and homework that requires the use of the internet. Another reason that motivated us to provide the technological materials is that the school has no place where to offer computer and internet services. If a student does not have the facilities at home, he/she will have them at school. We want that every student that needs to use the internet and a computer, can go talk to Mr. Bonkosky and ask if he/she may use the computers to complete a homework assignment or look up information for a class. In the 21st century, technology has become a big part of our lives and as teachers; we need to integrate it to our classes in order to provide the students with a greater learning experience. It is of great urgency that these materials are supplied in the classroom.
II.
Justification
Classroom of the 21st Century is focused on providing technology as a source of information to the students of the Juan Ponce de León (JPL) Intermediate School. This project is a necessary
source that should be provided to the students. To better understand this we need to explain the current state of the school. At this moment in time, the JPL School is currently lacking a school library. There is no librarian available to attend this area therefore it has been closed for more than a year. If the school had a functioning library, students might be able to do their homework easier or faster since many of the students in the school do not have internet access at home. Since this is not the case, many times while giving assignments, students mention that they need more time because they do not have internet at home or we as teachers avoid assigning them research for the following day since we know that it will be difficult for them to complete that requirement with brevity. Through this project we wish to affect the school community in the sense that its availability will be extended to the entire student population to utilize in the completion of any assignments they might have regarding the English class. The way it will be used is that the computers (which we will attempt to acquire more of) and printers which we will provide through funds, will be available for the students to use as long as they have proof that they have an assignment for the English class. The way the teachers will have control over this is to be in constant communication and aware of what is given in the other English courses. By having technology available in the classroom, the teacher will also be able to integrate this tool as a main source of information. Not only that, but the curricular maps provided by the Department of Education demand that the students engage in performance tasks which should be observable by the teacher inside the classroom. Therefore, by having internet and functioning computers the teacher will be able to provide a more interesting and engaging way of developing and examining those performance tasks. This is especially important since this student population is part of “Generation Z�, a generation that is based on constant communication and a
large dependency of media technology. The influence technology has had in this generation extends to all aspects of their life including cognitive aspects which connect directly to the way they acquire knowledge. That is why we believe technology should be available for them in the classroom environment.
III.
Permanence
The permanence of Classroom of the 21st Century will be completely dependent of the use given to the technology that will be provided to the classroom. Since this project is service based and directed specifically for students’ use, the project will be passed down to teacher, Harry Bonkosky. He has politely agreed to take on the responsibility of the project. This includes following the original intentions of the project, as well as its maintenance. First, the durability of the tools and materials provided, like mentioned before, will depend on the use and care they receive. This means that the computers, the internet access and printers as well as the necessary materials such as ink and paper need to be taken care by someone. This is where Mr.Bonkosky comes in. Since this will be the only area available with open internet access we are aware that it will be given a good amount of use. That is why Mr. Bonkosky will solicit help from technicians of the Department of Education, who are available to provide maintenance to the computers as a way of keeping malware and viruses away. They will also make sure that the computer is up to date in regards of the programs it has installed, for example, making sure they have Microsoft Office. As to the printers, after they are provided, Mr. Bonkosky also agreed that he will take the responsibility of acquiring the ink and paper directly from the Department of Education’s budget.
Since he is in charge of the purchases of the school materials, he will make sure this area receives priority. Classroom of the 21st Century’s permanence will be observable through the availability of this service in the long run. As long as Mr. Bonkosky is working at the Juan Ponce de León Intermediate School, this project will be providing its service to the student community.
Action Plan The objectives are: a. That every computer in Mr. Bonkosky’s classroom has access to the internet. b. At least two more computers will be added to the computer section of the classroom. c. Any student with Mr. Bonkosky’s permission is allowed to use the computers. d. That the computers will facilitate the learning process of each and every student that
requires it. We have talked to Mr. Bonkosky about the usage of the computers and the people that will be allowed to use them. Mr. Bonkosky agreed to allow students that are not of his grade to use the computers for the English class. These students will have to sign a sheet that documents who used the computer, when did the person use it and for what purpose. The student will follow a code of conduct when using the computer. If the student does not follow the rules and the code of conduct, he/she will be asked to turn off the computer and leave the classroom. Mrs. Garcia and I will be sending letters to the nearby
businesses asking for donations to by the necessary materials for the integration of technology into the classroom. We will send the letters to the Kia dealer, the Humacao mayor, the nearby doctors, the internet provider close to the school and The Gamer’s Place store, which works with all types of electronics. We will try to acquire a minimum of $200.00 to buy all the necessary materials to get internet for the computers. The people responsible for the acquirement of the money and materials will be Mr. Bonkosky, Mrs. Garcia and Mr. Santos. We will begin sending letters to all the nearby businesses next week. After receiving the funds from the different centers, we will distribute the budget and figure out which materials we can buy with the acquired money.
IV.
Action Plan Table Date
Activity
Purpose
Persons Involved
March 2-6
Write the letters directed specifically for each business and professionals.
To create professional and well written letters that convinces the owners of the businesses to donate the money and/or materials.
Mr. Harry Bonkosky
Decide in which account the funds well be deposited.
Mr. Dianel Santos Mrs. Megan L. Garcia
March 9-13
March 16-20
March 23-27
March 30following years
Deliver the letters to the different businesses.
To request the funds and/or materials from the different businesses.
Mrs. Megan L. Garcia
Collect the donations of money and materials. Make estimation about which materials we need to buy and how much money will be spent.
Buy the materials missing with the received money. Connect and integrate the materials into the classroom.
Mr. Dianel Santos
Decide the specific rules and guidelines for the uses of the new materials. Determine which plan will be carried out for the maintenance of the materials.
To have a control of the uses of the materials. To keep the materials in great condition for the continuous uses of the materials.
Mr. Harry Bonkosky
Continue with the stablish guidelines, rules and plan.
To provide every student Mr. Harry Bonkosky in the school with the computer and internet services.
Mr. Dianel Santos
Mrs. Megan L. Garcia Mr. Harry Bonkosky
Mr. Dianel Santos Mrs. Megan L. Garcia
PHASE II Results For our special project, we decided to bring more comfort in the area of technology for the 9th grade English classroom. Our goal was to provide Internet service to the computers as
well as prepare the area for a more formal use. The objectives were partially met. When we distributed the presentation letters of our project to local shops, most of the managers and owners let us know that they couldn’t provide funds for our project nor donate materials. Some other places simply told us they would let us know if they could be part of the project but unfortunately we never received a reply. Knowing that we still had to attempt to reach our goal, we were able to provide a computer from one of our homes which is under the process of getting repaired. This was not enough to comply with the goal we had set for this project so that is why we decided to work with our own funds until (hopefully soon) we are able to receive funds from elsewhere. We bought a new printer as well as mouse pads for the computers. We created a log portfolio to keep record of the students that use the computers and we are looking into purchasing headphones and wireless internet extensions for each of the computers, giving most priority to the wireless extensions which are the most necessary as well as useful. See appendix. At first we wanted to supply the internet services by connecting Ethernet cables to the computers. This was a problem because the router located in Mr. Bonkosky’s classroom is damaged. The only we were able to make this connection available was by changing from cable connection to wireless adapter receiver but this option was far too expensive for the budget we were relying on. Opting for wireless adapters seemed like a better choice and also more effective since next to the 9th Grade English classroom there is a computer lab, one which has functioning wireless Internet service. Mr. Caraballo, the lab technician and teacher allowed us to use the Internet connection of his classroom for this area of the English class. Regarding the people responsible with the internet and computers, the person left in charge will be Mr. Bonkosky. He will allow the students to utilize the computers, printers and internet connection for special assignments and the completion of works related to his class and
other classes. The students will have to sign a log sheet, where they will write the date and hours spent using the computers, and they will also notify if they printed. Reactions The implementation of this project has made us a part of the school. We left a small contribution in the classroom and it is something that will hopefully help to a good extent especially considering that we provided technology, something that comes very useful in learning environments. We now know that more than teaching inside the classroom for two hours every day, practice teaching is about integrating ourselves as a fundamental part of the school and bout becoming agents of change. We have left something of importance in the school that will help all the students that continue studying in the Juan Ponce de Leon Middle School. This will also help Mr. Bonkosky by integrating technology to his classes and facilitating the research of information for the students since many of the students do not have these resources at home. We were also able to interact with other teachers since getting internet access extended to the classroom was a task that required permission from different teachers. The students seemed happy over the new printer since a lot of them leave everything for last minute and Mr. Bonkosky’s classroom is always the go-to place for printing. Now they know that if they need to print material for their English class, they can do it in Mr. Bonkosky’s classroom. They were really appreciative of our effort. This project has not concluded and we plan on looking for more funds in the days we have remaining because we really want to complete all the goals we had for this project. Recommendations
There are many influential factors that come into play when doing special projects. The first piece of advice is to do everything as quickly as possible. The special project should be one of the first things any practice student prioritize when they begin their practice. It is necessary to be clear with what the school needs, what you want to do, what needs to be done, and how you are going to do it. We studied projects that had been done before by other practice students and realized that many of the projects they developed, though they were developed with good intentions, the projects were eventually let go of so we wanted to provide something useful and more permanent. After this, we deem it important to call up connections because the only way you can move funds your way is through connections and knowing the right people. Unfortunately, we were not lucky enough to receive this help and we relied solely on our skill of persuasion. Another important aspect and something we would recommend to other practice students is to recognize if what they are doing is really going to have a positive impact in school community. They need to know that this is project is directed to better the teaching and learning experiences simultaneously and that that the goal should always be centered on the needs of the school. The project should definitely be continues and that is why finding the key person to continue the project is important. This person has to be responsible and honest. The best candidate would be the cooperating teacher; however this might not always be the case. In our case, we decided to base our project in our practice classroom so we know that as long as Mr. Bonkosky is working there, the project will always be available to the students. We know that he is very careful with his material so he will take care of them and make sure the students do so as well.
Appendix
Old computer donation from home.
We were able to buy a new printer, with paper for copies and new mousepads for the computers since they didn’t have any.