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District Technology Training Plan

Queen Anne's County Public Schools are diverse how much technology they have. The majority of classrooms have one desktop computer. Each of the twelve elementary and middle schools have one desktop computer lab, with additional computers in their media centers. The two high schools each have two computer labs with additional desktops in their media centers as well. Each building contains at least one Smart Board, and two of the middle schools will be receiving one for every classroom this fall. All of the science classrooms in middle and high school currently have Smart Boards. Ipads have been purchased for each special education teacher in the district. Items that can be checked out at the board of education for classroom use include clickers, a wireless laptop lab, and a Smart Board. Each school is generally responsible for determining the technology purchases for the building. Several schools now supply laptops to all of the teachers, but this is not across the board. Many of the administrators have expressed concerns about staff training on data utilization and differentiated instruction. An issue many parents wish teachers had more training on is online communication. Teachers need more staff development on what to do with the technology they already have. They are looking for more model lessons and ideas on differentiating their lessons. For the parents teachers need to utilize classroom websites, the online grade book, email, and other types of communication for parents to have a better understanding of what their children are doing in school and how their children are doing in school. Students themselves are asking for more interactive technology based lessons.

Goals and Objectives:
 * 1) To increase the number of technology based lessons in Queen Anne's County by 20% as measured by weekly submitted lesson plans by June 2013.
 * 2) To provide increased communication with parents via the internet by June 2013 as measured by parent feedback surveys.
 * 3) To increase student achievement by 5% as measured by quarterly benchmarks and state assessments.
 * 4) To provide increased support to teachers via staff development by June 2013 as measured by teacher feedback surveys.
 * 5) To have each teacher use an interactive white board for 5 lessons as measured by administrative observations and submitted lesson plans.

Required Courses:
 * 1) Technology and the Differentiated Lesson Plan – Teachers advanced in technology use will work in groups to evaluate lesson plans they currently have to see how technology can be added to assist in differentiation. Teaching basic in technology will take part in interactive model lessons.
 * 2) Parental Communication in the 21st Century – Teachers advanced in technology will critique each others web sites. Teachers basic in technology will work through hands on tutorials.
 * 3) Administrative Support and the Struggling Technological Learner – Advanced administrators will roll play how to assist teachers either struggling or reluctant to use technology. Basic administrators will work through interactive tutorials in order to gain the knowledge needed to offer support to their staff.
 * 4) Using Interactive White Boards to Motivate Students – Advanced teachers will model lesson plans for teachers with a basic skill level in using interactive white boards.

The biggest complaint from parents always seems to be communication with teachers. With the technology we now have at our disposal, there is simply no longer a reason for this. The workshop on parent communication would include a presentation on the importance of parental communication, research showing how parental involvement benefits student achievement, ideas on creating a parent friendly website, a tutorial on the online grade book system, and a lesson on keeping emails professional. Each workshop will include a survey at the end of the development. Teachers taking part in Technology and the Differentiated Lesson Plan will be asked to submit two lesson plans during the next quarter demonstrating what they have learned. Parents will be given surveys, and teachers will submit communication logs, to assess the effectiveness of Parental Communication in the 21st Century. Follow up surveys will be sent to the staff at schools to determine if the number or teachers comfortable with integrating technology has increased. Finally, observations will be done by the district to determine if the use of Smart Boards has increased, and administrators will begin to keep track of Smart Board use in submitted lesson plans and their own observations.

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A combination of strategies will be used to engage the teachers during the professional development training. First, the teachers will engage in role-playing. When discussing the importance of keeping a level of professionalism in email, teacher will break up into groups of two. Each teacher will take turns pretending to be a parent sending a nasty email, while the other must respond in a much nicer manner. Teachers will be taken to a computer for the segment on web pages. A screen cast will show examples of several different types of web pages they can choose from. The teachers will then be asked to create one of their own using any of the methods. The entire group will discuss the pros and cons of each type after they show them to one another. The staff will also be given a lecture and Power Point presentation on the online grade book system. The district’s policies will be discussed, and teacher will be given a refresher on its use.



Directions – On the top half pretend you are a parent, and write to your child’s teacher about a concern you are having. Here, feel free to be rude and unprofessional. Have your partner respond as the teacher on the bottom half in a professional manner, while you do the same for them. To: teacher@qacps.org From: mychildisanangel@parenting.com Subject: Concern

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

To: mychildisanangel@parenting.com From: teacher@qacps.org Subect: re: Concern _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


 * Centreville Middle School || ||
 * Queen Anne’s County Public Schools ||  ||

**Course Syllabus ** **Parent Communication in the 21st Century **


 * INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION **


 * Instructor Name: Stephan Neidenbach **


 * Instructor Contact Information: **
 *  E-mail: stephan.neidenbach@gmail.com **


 * COURSE INFORMATION **


 * Course Description **

Teachers will examine the realities of communicating with parents in the age of the internet.


 * Required Materials **

Laptops


 * Objective **

To provide increased communication with parents via the internet by June 2013 as measured by parent feedback surveys.


 * Tasks **

Teachers will create WebPages designed to keep parents informed of what is happening in the classrooms. **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Engagement **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Web Page **

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Teachers will be expected to participate in role playing activities.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">CLASS INFORMATION **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Class Schedule: **
 * **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Day ** ||  **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Date **  ||  **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Learning Activities **  ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">1  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Monday   || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Blogs and Web Pages ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">2  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Tuesday   || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Wikis and Social Networking ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">3  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Wednesday   || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Email Professionalism ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">4  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Thursday   || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Online Gradebook ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">5  ||  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Friday   || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">Roleplaying and Evaluations ||

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13.3333px;">The schedule and procedures in this course are subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Budget:
 * 50 Staff Members @ $150 per day || $150,000 ||
 * Presenter @$200 per day || $4000 ||
 * Total: || $154,000 ||


 * **<span style="color: #fefffe; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">TechnologyWorkshop Lesson Plan ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">YourName Stephan Neidenbach || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Parental Communication in the 21st Century || <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Day# 3 ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Subject(s)oftheday'sworkshop

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Email professionalism |||||| <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">PrerequisiteKnowledge

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Email ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Content(Describeinaparagraph)

It can be difficult for teachers to remain calm when dealing with parents, and it can be even more so when email allows parents to say things they would sometimes not normally say. Teachers will learn how to write professional emails through several strategies. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Listtheobjectivesforthislesson.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">To provide increased communication with parents via the internet by June 2013 as measured by parent feedback surveys. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Howwillyouteachthelesson?Detailshelp.

The presenter will lead with examples of unprofessional emails sent from both staff and parents. Teachers will role play send emails back and forth. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 14px;">Additionalmaterialsyouwilluseandhowwillyouusethem.

LCD projector and a laptop will be used for the presentation. Handouts will be given for the role play assignment. ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">EvaluationStrategies

Year end survey will be given to parents to critique teacher communication. ||

End of year parent survey: http://goo.gl/4NPfW