Updating the Cobb County School District Assistive Technology Website and Transitioning to Blackboard
Sally Jackson Capstone Proposal Kennesaw State University
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Setting/Context The Cobb County School District Assistive Technology website has not been updated in over four years. The information on site is outdated; no longer providing current resources to promote teacher education of Assistive Technology tools that students use. At this time, information from the site is available only on the Intranet; therefore, only the school district employees have access to information on this site. This significantly restricts how the information on this site is viewed and shared with members of Cobb County Learning Community. Capstone Problem and Rationale The present Assistive Technology website for Cobb County School District contains outdated resources and provides limited information to its teachers regarding currently used software, hardware, or instructional tools available as classroom resources. The site has not been updated in over four years, has many broken links and outdated information. Consequently, the site no longer functions as an informational resource to teachers; and this has had a negative learning impact on student achievement of students with disabilities. This Capstone project will be completed by revising and modernizing the website for the Assistive Technology Department of Cobb County School District and placing it in the Learning Management System (LMS), Blackboard. Once completed, the Assistive Technology website will provide updated video tutorial information regarding specialized software titles frequently used with students who have special needs throughout Cobb County. It will also contain lists of resource materials for differentiated instruction that are available for teachers to check out around the county. Forms needed to complete an Assistive Technology (AT) referral for consultation are found here. 3
Learning resources for classroom teachers; checklists for student and classroom accommodations, software comparisons, and online learning resources are also listed. When teachers have learning needs, AT specialists frequently make recommendations which involves visiting the AT website where teachers can learn information regarding software and hardware operations, lending library options, and acquire Assistive Technology forms needed to request a consultation. It is felt that this updated site will allow the teachers to construct their knowledge through activities presented (on the site), allowing educators to generate their own knowledge (Roblyer, Doering (2013), p.37). Objectives/Deliverables Problem Objective Timeline Deliverable Outdated information on Assistive Technology site. Update Assistive Technology website December 1, 2013 Updated Assistive Technology site on Blackboard Broken links on website Replace with current links, make screencast videos if software tutorials are not available, or find appropriate online content December 1, 2013 Current video tutorials, appropriate online content, and no broken links will be displayed on the site Lending resources for differentiated instruction resources not current Make current list of resources for differentiated instruction that may be loaned to teachers December 1, 2013 Lending library will have a current list of resources for check out to teachers
Parent tab not working in previous website Create informational area where AT specialists post information for parents and teachers. This will be viewed without having to login to Blackboard. December 1, 2013 Interactive area will be created where AT specialist will post information for parents and teachers; viewing without having to log into Blackboard. Assistive Technology List training December 1, 2013 Interactive calendar 4
trainings are conducted around the county, but this information is not readily available to teachers. information on a calendar that is accessible for all AT specialist to list training sessions they will offer in their clusters. where all AT specialists will list training sessions offered in their clusters. Unable to determine efficacy of Assistive Technology site Create survey (Appendix A) questions that determine if website meets the needs of Cobb County Learning Community December 30, 2013 Create a survey in Google Docs that will give data to the Assistive Technology Coordinator on the efficacy of the site in hopes of creating website improvement, and help the AT team plan how they determine future training sessions in the county.
PSC Standards PSC/ISTE STANDARD 1.1/1a Shared Vision- Facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision for the use of technology in teaching, learning and leadership. 1.4/1d Research, recommend and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations for managing the change process in schools. 3.3/3c Develop, model, and facilitate the use of online and blended learning, digital content, and learning networks to support and extend student learning and expand opportunities and choices for professional learning for teachers and administrators. 2.6/2f Model and facilitate effective use of research based best practices in instructional 5
design when designing and developing digital tools, resources, and technology- enhanced learning experiences. 3.7/3g Utilizes digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers, and the larger community.
Project Description The Assistive Technology Coordinator was contacted for approval on this project. She indicated she would prefer to have the updated information transition to Blackboard since so many departments within the county are posting their departmental information on this Learning Management System. Since the target audiences for this project are teachers, and they are accustomed to using this LMS, it would enhance their access to the Assistive Technology resources if this information was converted to Blackboard. At the time of this discussion, additional input was gathered regarding specific ideas and concepts the Assistive Technology Coordinator would like to have included in the Assistive Technology Blackboard site. It became vital to update the site to include: current information on staff members, update links for video tutorials, remove broken links, list available learning resources for check out in the county, a team-training calendar and provide forms needed to make a referral for a request for consultation. A discussion ensued regarding the tremendous resources the Assistive Technology team have, yet there is no place for them to share these resources with teachers or parents. These resources may take the form of informational articles in journals, tech tips handouts Assistive Technology specialists create, or strategies for teachers to use in special education classrooms. 6
The Assistive Technology Coordinator recalled when the original website was created, it was hoped that the parent area would act as an interactive vehicle in the website. However, this never came to fruition. Therefore, it was agreed that a place should be created on the current site for AT Specialists to share their knowledge with parents, students, and teachers. The Assistive Technology Coordinator requested the former webmaster and present Cobb County Technical Training Specialist (TTS) be contacted for support during this process. Upon contacting the TTS, the AT departmental needs were discussed, and she assisted with constructing the shell once the needs of the project were outlined. To facilitate navigation in the site, tabs were created with these headings: Announcements, AT Staff, AT Forms, AT Workshop Calendar, Free resources, Tutorials, Whats new in AT!, and Tech Tips. The new areas AT wished to showcase and share as public areas are Tech Tips, AT Staff, and AT Workshop Calendar tabs. The Assistive Technology County Training Calendar will be posted so teachers in the county can choose to attend training sessions they are interested in at a convenient location around the county. The video tutorial page will include working links for currently used tools and software that teachers can readily watch for quick start instructions. The Tech Tips, Tutorial, and Workshop Calendar tabs have been made public and do not need a Blackboard login. A link to this site is provided in the AT Specialists Cobb County email signature. Ready access to the Blackboard site will facilitate the shared knowledge and resources that the Assistive Technology team wishes to showcase with the Cobb County Learning Community. Problem Timeline Contact TTS to discuss construction of the Assistive Technology shell September 1, 2013 Transfer information from Assistive Technology website to Blackboard October, 30, 2013 Revise list of current Assistive Technology resources available for check out in the county October 15, 2013 7
Revise video tutorial link and remove broken links November 15, 2013 Create shared gmail account where AT specialist lists training sessions on a calendar that is posted on Blackboard. November 15, 2013 Create public area where AT specialist places resources for parents, students, and teachers. November 15, 2013 Create survey linked to Google Docs to determine efficacy of site. December 30, 2013
To start construction of this project, A Blackboard shell was created by the TTS. The TTS is an employee of Cobb County School District and is accessible by appointment. If problems rose, she supports construction of the Blackboard shell, as well as troubleshooting. The way this learning management system is structured, various tabs will be created to visually support visitors as they navigate the site. The shell is constructed with teachers as the target audience, focusing on student Assistive Technology tools they need to successfully use in the classroom. Resources The materials needed to complete this project will include: Computer Internet access Intranet access/VPN access (while working at home) Blackboard access-through Cobb Intranet Technology Training Specialist (TTS) support Assistive Technology Coordinator support
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Evaluation Plan The present Assistive Technology website does not have a way to track visitors, making it impossible to know how often it is visited. It has been outdated for quite a while, does not have current information, many broken links, and it no longer serves as a functional learning resource. Instead, teachers use it solely to access forms and request an Assistive Technology consultation. Instead, once the site has transitioned to Blackboard, it will have the ability to track the number of visitors to this site; this will give data on which areas are being visited most frequently. General tracking information will be helpful in knowing which areas of the site have been most useful to the visitors. Additionally, a survey (Appendix A) is embedded in the site. This survey requests information in the following areas: visitor demographics, desired information retrieval, if the desired information was not found-why not, teacher plans for information implementation, and suggestions for how the site can be improved. This survey is linked to Google Docs which will provide the AT coordinator with data to guide future AT training sessions around the county, determine the efficacy of the site, and lead to possible future improvements and revisions of the site to meet the needs of the Cobb County Learning community.
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Appendix A Blackboard Survey 1. Choose your role. General Education Teacher Special Education Teacher Parent Paraprofessional Administrator Other
2. Choose appropriate grade level. Elementary School Middle School High School Other
3. Did you find the information you were looking for? Yes No
4. If yes, will you implement this information with a Student Group of students Both Other
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Appendix A
5. If you didnt find what you were looking for, why not? Text box
6. How can we improve your experience when visiting the AT Blackboard site? Text box
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References Doering, A. & Roblyer, M. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching (6 th