pdgrant

= Piedmont Educational Foundation (PEF) = **// Application for Funding //** Please refer to // “Guidelines for Completing the Piedmont Educational // // Foundation Grant Application Form” // on the following page

Description and Title: District-Wide Professional Development on Instructional Technology
Offer district-wide professional development focused on technology supporting instruction. Grant would underwrite a multi-prong approach: 1) once or twice a month afterschool classes for teachers and staff on using technology tools and services to support instruction; 2) a quarterly newsletter with best practices, tech tips and innovative uses of technology in education; 3) a district “private label” wiki to serve as instructional online medium for teachers, and as a living respository of PD materials and newsletters across the district.

Need Statement:
Currently technology support and training has been site based and mostly a hodge-podge one on one approach. Teachers aren't getting the benefit of the collective wisdom of district tech wizards and even more importantly, each other! Each school is a tower unto itself, and our teachers rarely get a chance to learn from each other and cross-pollinate best practices and ideas from each site. This proposal creates a phyical place where teachers can learn from district staff and each other, and a virtual space on a wiki and newsletter. The district needs to train teachers and administrators on web 2.0 tools also, as outlined in its Technology Plan, in order to increase productivity and effective communication.

Budget:
//What is the total amount requested? $4150// (Includes current tax and shipping). Identify other funding sources being used and/or considered. 13 classes 3.5 hrs (2 hours prep and 1.5 hour teach. prep time includes posting materials after class to wiki) $175x13=$2,275, refreshments/materials $275 newsletter 8 hours $400 Private label wiki- a complete wikispaces wiki system with our domain name and branding $1000/yr total $4150

PEF Focus:
//The Piedmont Educational Foundation wants to promote innovation and excellence in Piedmont Schools. PEF also wants to support the District in its implementation of the District Goals. Please indicate how your application responds to these focus areas.//

Our greatest assets are our teachers. This grant proposes to invest in their professional development by attracting participants from all sites, so that: knowledge is shared across district, not just within the site; articulation between grades and schools is enhanced; new learning communities among staff are built; cross-pollination of ideas occurs across schools; reportoire of teachers tools is expanded; knowledge is formalized for collective use on a wiki

The proposal addresses several goals from the PUSD Technology Plan:
 * Teachers use tech to improve instruction and to assist students in meeting state content standards.
 * teachers will use web 2.0 tools for research and collaboration
 * provide teacher and adminstrator training on the use of web2.0 tools
 * provide training for teachers in developing and publishing lesson plans for shared teacher use
 * provide training for teachers in designing own website

class ideas?
using wordpress/Teacher Note system online bookmarking- diigo working with wikis for collaboration and instruction- wikispaces Google tools: custom igoogle pages, using rss feeds/readers, custom google searches using doc cameras and your lcd smartboards tools, tricks and tips web 2.0 tools- various

Evaluation:
//An evaluation(summary report) that provides information on the measure of the success of the project must be submitted by grant recipients to the site principal upon completion of the grant project. The evaluation will be forwarded to the Piedmont Educational Foundation Grants Committee Chair, Dana Serleth.//

Name: Stephanie Griffin Principal/Supervisor: Position: Technology Coordinator Home Phone Number: Site: Beach School Date: 3/6/09

extra thoughts A wiki system would provide a egalitarian central depository for all training materials to which anyone could add. It would be editable by any teacher or staff member to add ideas, lesson plans, what works for me, etc. The system also would allow teachers to create wikis for instruction- an easily editable webspace for units and lessons. The grant would tackle a district goal from the Technology plan to train teachers and administrators on web 2.0 tools.

Teachers and administrators aren't getting training in web 2.0 tools as outlined in the district Technology Plan. There isn't a technology orientation procedure for new staff. We lack a way of collecting and communicating all of our stuff. District focus on community communication but lacks internal communication egalatarianism. Take ownership of our tech and teaching.

We need the ability to get training from across the districts resources, to learn to use a web 2.0 tool, the wiki, to access and add to our collective knowledge.

In 2007 Thomas L. Friedman described the new flat world. We propose to flatten PUSD a bit by offering technology training open to e Flatten the district-outsource and insource our training. Ten years into the 21st century and we are only now beginning to define w his approach fails to move district staff to may address teacher needs, but Innovative ideas and technology support teacher note's good for communication/home page, but for instructional needs a wiki is better