A Web Based Grant Proposal . . .
Evaluation
I will measure the success of this transformative technology integration in multiple ways; both formal and informal. First I will survey how my students feel about writing at the beginning of the year and compare those results with how they feel after they have used the laptops as a form of communication for a year. I will also survey parents to find out what technology they have available at home and determine how comfortable they are with computers. I will also include questions about how parents feel about home-school communication and what works best for them. By finding out experiences, thoughts, and feelings about using technology, I will have an idea of their background knowledge and perceptions so I can teach from where they are.
In addition to surveys, I will compare the fall and spring Common Writing Assessment scores with those of my previous year's class. I will also look at the scores of the children in the other 4th grade at Red Cedar for the current year. This group will serve as a control group because they will have similar Writing instruction with a minilesson, an extended period of writing time, editing and revising, and teacher and peer conferencing before they publish a finished work. However, their writing period will not be aided by technology and they will have traditional home-school communication.
Throughout the year, I will keep a journal to note student participation, attitudes, time on task, application of skills, and development of deeper thinking. I will also have a place for teacher lesson plan reflection so I know what worked and what did not. I will take what works and make it better for the next class.
The students have writing portfolios that follow them through the years. We will add paper and pencil works, but I would also like to keep samples of their best blogs so different writing methods are documented. Additionally, their blogs will be saved from the beginning of the year until the end. I will compare how their ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, and conventions have progressed in that time. I will also use informal observations to teach and reteach necessary writing skills and safe and proper communication online.
In addition to surveys, I will compare the fall and spring Common Writing Assessment scores with those of my previous year's class. I will also look at the scores of the children in the other 4th grade at Red Cedar for the current year. This group will serve as a control group because they will have similar Writing instruction with a minilesson, an extended period of writing time, editing and revising, and teacher and peer conferencing before they publish a finished work. However, their writing period will not be aided by technology and they will have traditional home-school communication.
Throughout the year, I will keep a journal to note student participation, attitudes, time on task, application of skills, and development of deeper thinking. I will also have a place for teacher lesson plan reflection so I know what worked and what did not. I will take what works and make it better for the next class.
The students have writing portfolios that follow them through the years. We will add paper and pencil works, but I would also like to keep samples of their best blogs so different writing methods are documented. Additionally, their blogs will be saved from the beginning of the year until the end. I will compare how their ideas, organization, word choice, voice, sentence fluency, and conventions have progressed in that time. I will also use informal observations to teach and reteach necessary writing skills and safe and proper communication online.
