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In This Issue...
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Education
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New Grant Extends Pajaro’s Writing Technology Program North
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New Grant Extends Pajaro’s Writing Technology Program North
By Linda Fridy
Building on its successful $1 million technology and writing program, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District has received another $323,000 federal grant to expand the program to three more schools.
Four classrooms each at Aptos Junior High, Valencia Elementary and Bradley Elementary will get computers, “smart boards” and training to extend the SWEET program (student writing enhanced by education technology).
Pajaro Valley was the only district to receive full funding in the four-county region, and only one other Monterey County district was awarded partial funding, said Grant Coffin, the district’s SWEET administrator. Pajaro operates public schools from Aptos through North Monterey County.
SWEET has been credited with playing a major role in the vast improvement of the district’s seventh graders on statewide writing tests in the five middle schools that piloted the program. Students increased both the amount of writing they did and their skills using software on new laptops.
Only 2 percent of those school’s seventh graders in 2006 scored at the proficient or advanced level, while the next year 49 percent achieved those rankings �" a phenomenal increase. Under state growth measurements, the district showed a 22 percent increase compared to a state average of 19 percent. The north zone schools included in the new round of the grant will benefit from the experience of the middle schools and get the chance to experiment with their own approaches as well. Different Schools Use Different Approaches The middle schools have used a laptop cart to bring computers to the classrooms, and Aptos Junior High will follow this example. The two elementary schools, the first to be included in the SWEET program, have elected to use desktop computers, said Coffin.
Bradley chose to put the new computers within the classrooms, while Valencia opted for a lab setting.
The participating classrooms in the three new schools also will be getting “smart boards,” 77-inch, interactive electronic boards with integrated sound and projection. “They allow things you can’t do with an overhead projector,” said Coffin, who described a recent classroom visit during which students moved words on the board into the proper categories simply by touch. “They bring a visual, auditory and kinetic piece to teaching,” he said. Surprisingly, when installation costs are added, the smart boards are less expensive than mounted projectors, he added.
The SWEET program includes curriculum coach Kathy Corcoran, who helps teachers maximize the technology’s potential.
“We hope to build a storehouse of lessons that are standards-based,” explained Coffin. “The goal is to incorporate the equipment into what [teachers] do daily.”
Adding to the Program
The five original schools �" Alianza Charter, E.A. Hall, Lakeview, Pajaro and Rolling Hills Middle �" continue innovations as they enter their second year of the grant. Eight classrooms will add a digital publishing component, giving their students the chance to convert their writing into a movie or a PowerPoint presentation.
“We want to see how the motivation of digital publishing affects the students,” said Coffin.
Teachers have also expressed interest in experimenting with pod-casting or blogs.
Along with digital video and still cameras, the district purchased wireless slates, and keyboards for use in joint projects.
Five classrooms already have the new smart boards and are experimenting with electronic response devices, Coffin said. These allow teachers to create true/false or multiple choice quizzes that the students take by pressing buttons. Unlike a traditional quiz, the teacher needs only one copy and gets instant scoring.
Teachers can use this approach to check that students understand key concepts, said Coffin.
Benefits Beyond Improving Writing
“The main focus of this grant is to bridge the gap between students who are low performing and those who are average in writing,” Coffin said.
The first round of testing scores certainly seems to indicate that the approach is working.
The grant also aims to increase student access to technology, and that aspect reaches beyond improved writing. It brings education into the 21st Century, Coffin said.
“Many of our classrooms haven’t changed much from the 1970s,” he said.
Up-to-date technology makes education more relevant to students growing up in an increasingly computerized world.
“The students are comfortable with it. It’s the teachers that aren’t,” Coffin said.
The success of SWEET opens eyes to technology’s possibilities, he noted, and more teachers come on board when they see what their colleagues are doing.
“Other teachers are saying, ‘Gosh, why didn’t I do that?’” he said.
He attributes the program’s growth to the teachers. All the participants chose to be a part of it, and Coffin acknowledges that any attempt is going to be more successful with people who embrace the idea.
“You need personal buy-in with a technical initiative,” Coffin said.
Given the program’s success, he is optimistic that the district can qualify next year for special third-year funding at the five pilot middle schools.
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