Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1

Professional Development Plan

for Implementing Dragon Dictation
as an Assistive Technology
Alyssa L. Reph
Wilkes University
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2

Table of Contents

Introduction..3

Data Analysis...3

Barriers to Implementation..4

Recommendations....5

Implementation Schedule.....7

Resources.....9

Charts and Timeline.......10

Training Required for Special and Regular Education Teachers.......10

Training Required for Instructional Technologists and Support Staff...11

Implementation Timeline.......12
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Introduction
Students may have difficulty within the various stages of the writing process, whether
with brainstorming, transferring ideas, drafting, revising, editing or publishing. Finding creative,
effective, and engaging ways to support students in this area is key to their success. According to
Joe Leineweber, Where there is a profound challenge and display of difficulty with writing,
there are students who could benefit from Dragon, (Joe leineweber, n.d., para. 8). He is
referencing Dragon Dictation, a tool used by educators to support their students in writing and
communication. Dragon Dictation enables students with physical and learning disabilities to
grow in the areas of writing, reading, and spelling.
For example, Benjamin Snow is a college student who has cerebral palsy, and has used
computers since the age of four, due to his physical disabilities resulting in poor pencil grip.
Dragon Dictation allows him to focus more on content and less on typing and spelling
(Benjamin snow, n.d.). Benjamin doesnt worry about losing his train of thought when trying
to type and think through his ideas. He has written scripts for plays, and won scholarships and
awards for his writing. Joe Leineweber, a middle school teacher, describes two different students
in his classroom who have benefitted from this assistive technology (Joe leineweber, n.d.).
Noah has obsessive compulsive disorder which causes difficulties with handwriting, along with
vision impairment. Al has trouble transferring his ideas onto his writings. Both students have
produced better quality of work, shown increased confidence, and used the technology at home
to tackle their heavy workload.
The goal of this report is to analyze the data, explain barriers to implementation, and
recommend Dragon Dictation as an assistive technology to support students at various levels of
writing ability. Students will be equipped with the tools they need to write to their fullest
potential, increasing both their quality of work and confidence level.
Data Analysis
The data gathered raises some concerning questions regarding the professional
development and training required for staff. As shown in Chart 3, it is surprising that almost
one-third of the Instructional Technology (IT) staff require training on writing applications.
Why is there is such a large percentage? The job titles have been changed this year from IT to
Educational Technology Integrator, and with that change some new teachers have been hired for
some of the positions. This percentage may account for those newer technology specialists. The
primary concern with beginning this initiative would be to train the IT staff, because without
knowledgeable staff, the support system would not be strong enough to assist the teachers. In
order to implement Dragon Dictation properly, the professional development will need to start
from the staff who will train the teachers and support staff.
Also, there is a higher percentage of special education teachers who need significant
training than regular education teachers, shown in Charts 1 and 2. Is there more training
available for regular education teachers, or is the training offered at a time more suitable for their
schedules? It is likely that the special education teachers have more after-school IEP and team
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 4

meetings, thus they are not able to attend as many trainings. Though special education and
regular education have the same access to technology, regular education teachers sign out the
laptop carts most frequently, according to the electronic sign-out sheet. This may be due to the
fact that special education teachers have scripted basals, and many hands-on programs to teach
their students. It is reasonable that classroom support staff and special education teachers have
strikingly similar percentages for the three areas of training, as shown in Charts 1 and 4, since
the support staff work most closely with the special educators.
Based on the data, training must begin with the instructional technology staff prior to the
start of the school year. The implementation timeline would need to begin in August, in order to
provide ample time for those teachers to become trained and experiment with the new
technology. Training for the rest of the staff would begin in September at the start of the school
year.
Barriers to Implementation
When implementing a new tool, there is always potential for challenges and barriers to
implementation. As Klopfer remarked, But the challenges may not be as great as you think, and
the easiest way to avoid the hiccups is to spend a little bit of time with these technologies before
hitting the classroom floor, in order to address any potential obstacles (2009). Three barriers
foreseeable with the addition of this technology are: access to ample amounts of resources,
adequate knowledge and skills, and time to experiment, adapt and reflect.
In order for this implementation to be successful, there must be adequate amounts of
resources and technology. Groff and Mouza raise the questions: What kind of technology
infrastructure does your school have? Does the technology within the school itself exist to
support your project (i.e. access to computers, high-speed Internet, access to other necessary
peripherals)? (Klopfer, 2009). Since the district isnt 1:1 which would give all students a laptop
or device, access to technology is concerning. Depending on the need in each building, the laptop
carts and set of iPads would need to be shared, meaning students may not have access as often as
they would need it. In order to work around this issue, IT staff in each building will devise a plan
for teachers to share the technology. For example, if third grade teaches writing in the afternoon,
and fourth and fifth teach it in the morning, the schedule would give those teachers access to the
number of devices needed to support their students at their writing time. In this way, the
technology would be utilized efficiently, without signing out the entire laptop cart to support a
handful of students. It would enable the teachers to meet their students needs, while still having
other laptops and iPads available for teachers to integrate in their classrooms.
Secondly, in Elys Conditions of Change he notes that when initiating change the
intended adopters must have the knowledge and skills to implement change (Overview,
n.d.). Given the current data regarding staff training, the Instructional Technologists must be
trained first, in order to have the knowledge and skills necessary to train the teachers. Change
will be ineffective if all staff arent adequately trained in how to use the technology.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 5

Lastly, Ely remarks that adopters must have time to learn, adapt, integrate, and reflect
(Overview, n.d.). Once the staff has been trained, they will need ample time to learn the new
technology, experiment, and make changes. In working with Dragon Dictation, teachers have
found that it doesnt work properly for students with speech impediments because it translates
their words incorrectly (C. Jurcik, personal communication, July 31, 2015). When teachers
become aware of issues such as these, they are better equipped to find solutions. In this case,
support staff could assist the student by repeating their ideas so Dragon Dictation translates
accurately. As teachers experiment and find issues and solutions, they are better able to use the
technology to support their students learning.
Recommendations
Professional development for this initiative reflects the roundtable theory, hinging on
shared leadership by distributing leadership and learning equally across participants (Henk,
2010). The roundtable theory creates an environment where leadership is divided equally, in this
case, the leadership of Instructional Technologists in each building within the district.
Furthermore, the roundtable theory is a continuous process with a goal of excellence in schools,
fitting perfectly with Cumberland Valleys motto Soaring to greatness, committed to
excellence. Participants in the implementation would have an equal voice and given time
throughout the process to share and reflect, in person and through surveys. The Instructional
Technologists and administrators will work alongside teachers to continuously improve upon the
implementation.
Before training can begin in August for the Instructional Technologists, Dragon Dictation
software will need to be downloaded onto district laptops. For teachers and support staff, two
one-hour trainings will be offered: an initial training in September and follow-up in January. The
first training will cover the use of the software, and overview of ways to integrate it within the
classroom setting. The follow-up training will demonstrate new ways to integrate it, and allot
teachers time to share and discuss in small groups how they are using the technology.
In order for all Instructional Technologists to have the same knowledge base, they will be
trained in August by their peers who have experience with Dragon Dictation. Also, they will
need time for collaboration to create their outlines for trainings, as well as find or create
resources for teachers. In Elys Conditions of Change, he notes that leaders at all levels must
buy into the process and express continuing support (Overview, n.d.). It is imperative that
the instructional technology staff be on board with the initiative, and show teachers they will
support them in the classrooms. Similarly, Groff and Mouza posit, Are there technical and
pedagogical support people in your building or district to support you in this endeavor?
(Klopfer, 2009), and the response from our district would be a resounding yes. Instructional
Technologists will support teachers by giving a time they are available before or after school to
answer questions, and help with any issues encountered. Furthermore, they can let the staff
know they can also be reached via email and will respond as soon as they are able. In this way,
teachers will know how best to reach them in order to get a response to their question without
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 6

interrupting a class. As for continued support throughout the process, a question and answer
(Q&A) Google Document will be created and shared with staff in the district. As questions arise,
Instructional Technologists will add them to the document along with their responses for
teachers to view as needed. Teachers will have a resource to refer to when they have a question.
In the September training, the core content for all trainings will be identical for all three
groups as this is the foundation for implementation. Teachers will learn about the features of
Dragon Dictation such as: speech-to-text, reading back transcribed text, and voice commands.
Instructional Technologists will demonstrate the speech-to-text feature by speaking to the
computer as it transcribes 160 words per minute. Teachers will learn how the program can read
back transcribed text, such as text in the program, other class readings, emails, or assignments.
Students can use the reading back feature to revise their writings, as well as participate with
peers in regular education settings by listening to grade-level texts. Voice commands will assist
students when researching or sending emails. Lastly, teachers will be given time to reflect on the
following: How distant is the innovation from your current practice? Will using this
instructional tool be similar to your current methods of teaching? Have you done something
similar in the past to draw from? (Klopfer, 2009). Teachers will be asked to discuss and share
their responses.
The differentiation of content in trainings will come in January at the follow-up trainings.
At this time, Instructional Technologists will meet with each of the three groups separately to
discuss, share, and reflect on current practices. Special education teachers will have the training
time determined based on their schedules, due to the amount of IEP and data meetings. Their
training will include discussions on implementation with their diverse population of students,
including input from speech and language pathologists, learning support teachers, emotional
support teachers, and others. The discussion will begin with two important questions meant to
guide the training: What are the attitudes and beliefs of your students toward the innovation and
its use for educational purposes? What is the general attitude of the class towards the
innovation? (Klopfer, 2009). Seeking to understand the students perception of the technology
will steer this training by focusing the teachers discussions. For instance, if students have
positive perceptions of the technology, then teachers will highlight what has been successful and
brainstorm new ideas to include. However, if the students perception is negative, teachers will
need to reflect and dissect how they have been integrating Dragon Dictation, pinpoint what isnt
working well, and how changes can be made so students will have a more positive experience.
The regular education training will be held before school on a day there isnt a team
meeting. At this time, teachers will discuss how theyve utilized Dragon Dictation in their
classrooms. The follow-up for these teachers will include sharing how they have used it during
whole class instruction, during activities such as Daily 5 or guided math stations, or during small
group instruction. The focus for this training will differ in that teachers will be asked to reflect on
their beliefs of technology pedagogy. The reason for this shift is due to the fact that regular
educators do not work with assistive technology to the same degree that special educators do.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 7

Therefore, it would best for them to reflect on their pedagogical mindset (Klopfer, 2009),
which influences how often and in what way they have been utilizing the technology. Teachers
will share their views on technology use in the classroom, the amount and type, as well as the
purpose. After theyve identified their mindset, they will reflect on how their integration of
Dragon Dictation is reflective of that belief. Lastly, they will be asked to describe the success of
Dragon Dictation in their classroom, and how it may be influenced by their technology mindset.
The goal is for teachers to understand their mindset, connect it to the integration of new
technologies, and understand how that affects their students learning.
In the classroom support staff training, also held before school, staff will discuss ways
they have worked with children in both regular and special education settings. Common themes
from the two previous trainings may be present as these staff members work in both classrooms.
They will be shown new ways to use the technology, using the ideas generated from the other
trainings. In this way, the support staff will have the same knowledge base as both the special
and regular education teachers, in order to best support instruction for students. Classroom
support staff will be encouraged to partner with a colleague by finding someone in their
department, or a teacher more knowledgeable with the program (Klopfer, 2009). As support
staff, they would benefit from the support a colleague may provide, by working collaboratively
to learn and experiment with Dragon Dictation.
Implementation Schedule
Professional development will consist of two trainings, an initial and follow-up, with
formative assessments after each. Formative assessment will also be gathered midway between
the two trainings, as well as a summative assessment at the end of the school year. Training will
begin on August 11th with training for Instructional Technologists. During this training,
technologists will learn how to use Dragon Dictation, outline and create the presentation for the
upcoming September training. Also, Instructional Technologists will need to create Google
Forms for the prior knowledge survey, to be sent out the following week, and the first formative
assessment. On August 18th, the prior knowledge survey will be sent to staff to gather teacher
input on prior knowledge and experience with Dragon Dictation. This information will be
utilized to refine the September training based on staff experience and needs.
All teachers and classroom support staff will have their initial training together led by the
Instructional Technologists in their building on September 1st. Following this training, the first
formative assessment will be sent via Google Forms, and the second will be distributed on
November 3rd. Instructional Technologists will utilize the information in November to create a
bar graph depicting the data to be shown at the January training. Also, the data collected will be
placed into a spreadsheet, organized by level (elementary, middle, high school, and special
education), to be shared with teachers as a resource.
In January, teachers will be broken up into three groups: special education, regular
education, and classroom support staff for trainings on January 5th, 12th, and 19th respectively.
The follow-up training will consist of small-group discussions with teachers sharing and
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 8

reflecting upon current implementation of Dragon Dictation. The third formative assessment will
be sent on January 20th to collect teachers new ideas to integrate and reflect upon the success of
the program so far. Lastly, summative assessment data will be gathered on May 14th as teachers
fill out a form reviewing the effectiveness of the program as evidenced by student growth.
Professional development for this initiative will consist of four formative assessments,
and one summative assessment. As Aimee Guidara stated, data should be viewed as a flashlight
to shine a light on whats working (Rosenberg, 2013), or to highlight the positive aspects of a
program. Data collection and analyzing throughout the process will enable Instructional
Technologists and administrators to view successes, and areas for refinement in order to improve
on the success of the initiative. Surveys and questionnaires will be sent to staff through Google
Forms to gather data for each assessment.
The first survey will be the prior knowledge survey, sent August 18th, to gather
information about teachers knowledge of Dragon Dictation and prior experience with it. The
second formative assessment will be sent September 1st after the initial training. This will
include questions regarding teachers knowledge before and after workshop, how they plan to
integrate it, and effectiveness of resources provided, such as the Google Slideshow from the
presentation. The third formative assessment will be sent in November to assess how teachers
have been utilizing the technology, a rating scale to gauge their comfort level with the program,
impact on student success so far, and questions they may have. The data from this assessment
will be put into a bar graph to be shared at the next training, and also put into Google
Spreadsheets to be shared with teachers. The spreadsheet categories will be elementary, middle,
high school, and special education, and will list the ways teachers are using technology at each
level. The fourth formative assessment will be conducted after the follow-up training in January,
inquiring about the progress made by students since November, and new plans for integration.
Finally, the summative assessment in May will collect final data on the overall effectiveness of
the program as evidenced by student growth and success.
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Resources

Benjamin snow: Dragon helps achieve academic success. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31, 2015, from

http://www.nuance.com/ucmprod/groups/dragon/@web-enus/documents/collateral/nc_01

8398.pdf

Henk, M. (2010, January 28). Change theories in education. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from

http://www.weteachwelearn.org/2010/01/change-theories-in-education/

Joe leineweber: Unlocking students writing potential with dragon. (n.d.). Retrieved July 31,

2015, from http://www.nuance.com/ucmprod/groups/corporate/@web-enus/documents/

collateral/nc_026615.pdf

Jurcik, C. (2015, July 31). Dragon Dictation as Assistive Technology [Telephone interview].

Klopfer, E. (2009). The instructional power of digital games, social networking, and simulations

and how teachers can leverage them. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from

http://www.academia.edu/5239911/The_Instructional_Power_of_and_How_Teachers_

Can_Leverage_Them

Overview - Ely's conditions of change. (n.d.). Retrieved July 30, 2015, from

https://sites.google.com/site/elysconditionsofchange/history

Rosenberg, H. (2013, September 17). Embracing the use of data for continuous program

improvement. Retrieved July 30, 2015, from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-

resources/browse-our-publications/embracing-the-use-of-data-for-continuous-program-

improvement
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 10

Chart 1

Chart 2
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 11

Chart 3

Chart 4
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN 12

Implementation Timeline

Below are screenshots depicting an overview of the implementation timeline. For more detailed
information regarding trainings and assessments, please visit:
http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/485809/Implementation-Timeline/