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[ Music ]
>> Imagine a classroom where every student's engaged,
where discipline problems are down and attendance is up,
where students of different abilities are simultaneously
receiving just what they need to excel,
and students are taking responsibility
for their own learning,
mastering content like never before.
[ Music ]
What may sound like the classroom
of the future is here today.
A quiet revolution is transforming teaching
and learning across Texas, a state with more
than 1,200 school districts and 4.7 million students.
To see this revolution in action, we visited seven
of these districts, observing classrooms in the large, urban,
independent school districts of Irving, Klein and El Paso;
the small, rural districts of Arp and White Oak in East Texas,
Floydada in the Texas panhandle, and the small,
central Texas district of Manor.
In each of these districts,
technology is making the revolution possible,
teachers are making it happen;
teachers like Nina Peery of White Oak.
>> We had several students with a fourth grade science teacher
out at our nature center.
The teachers that were out there, one had an iPad.
There was a scope on a rope, a couple of magnifying glasses,
and the fourth grade teacher had a laptop where Skype was loaded.
So, they were out in the field doing the research.
We had the other; the fourth grade teacher's classroom was
in the computer lab, and they Skyped in.
They would show us; the students in the computer lab,
they would show us a branch from a tree,
and ask us to help them identify that branch.
[ Sound of several children talking ]
So, there was a website that those students were going to,
trying to find the information in order to come
to a definitive identification of the tree.
They figured out really quick; they're not very observant,
you know, to be able to identify things.
So, that really engaged them and they were all engaged.
They wanted to find, you know, the answers to the questions.
And, it connected the two.
So, these students were doing things here,
and in a completely different location,
these students were doing something else,
but the two were connected and their learning was connected,
and I think that increased the learning.
>> Although that project is unique, those high levels
of engagement and motivation are typical in schools
that have fully embraced the use of technology
to transform teaching and learning.
Ask administrators in those districts why they felt the
urgency to join the revolution.
They'll answer in part that the classroom model
of yesterday isn't serving today's students.
In fact, from their technology charged, 21st century point
of view, a traditional classroom feels like the 19th century.
>> There was a report done where a student is quoted as saying,
when I go to school, I have to power down.
>>School, especially middle school, was always a prison.
>> It was boring.
>> The students that we're teaching today are
digital natives.
They have never not had the internet.
>> Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
Cell phones have always existed in the time span
of these children's lives.
So, to expect that we would continue
to do school the same way that we've done school
for the last 100, 150 years doesn't seem
as though it is very relevant
to the person whom we're trying to serve.
>> From that common understanding,
each district began grappling with how best
to serve its students.
What does it take to reach these digital natives, to engage them,
to create a learning environment
that reflects the world they live in, and prepares them
for the world they'll work in?
In other words, what does a 21st century classroom look like?
In Klein, that question fell to teachers as part
of the district's plan for technology integration,
among the most methodical
and comprehensive plans in the state.
>> In the early 2000's, about 2001, 2002,
our superintendent made a committed effort to really learn
about technology and learning,
and the impact that it would have.
And so, we at that time had a program called the Technology
Integration Program, in which we pulled 19 teachers,
one from each of our 19 elementary schools
in the district at that time, and they were pulled for two
and a half days a week for a spring semester,
and they were really charged with two tasks; one,
to study brain based learning, and two,
to design a model classroom for 21st century learning.
>> We spent the majority of our time researching,
because we didn't know what a model classroom looked like.
We knew what we wanted.
We knew what ideas we had.
But, we had to spend time researching ideas as well
as best practices for teaching and learning.
We really came together and we had a lot of ideas,
but we had to narrow them down.
But, the one thing that was really supportive, that we felt
from the district level, was the superintendent,
the associate superintendents and all
of the curriculum officers said,
this is your project; you go forth.
There are no limitations; the sky is the limit.
>> And so, out of the TIP program came our Technology
Baseline Standard Initiative, and it was simply that it was
to say that as a baseline, we will assure that every student,
within core content instruction,
has access to a minimum level of technology tools.
>>A decision was made that four classroom computers
that were wired for the Internet would be available
for all students.
An interactive whiteboard would be available for all students.
A projector and a document camera would also be available
for all students, as well as e-instruction for assessment.
And, notice how I ended that of that with,
it's available for all students.
It's because these tools were put in classrooms for kids,
not just for teachers to teach.
And the reason why four computers were chosen is simply
an issue of funding.
We could not put a digital tool in the hands of every kid.
So therefore, students can work collaboratively at a computer.
Two to three students can work at a computer
and you can just assign different duties
for each student.
One could be the navigator, one could be the researcher,
one could be the person sharing the information,
and so the collaboration was the key component tool before
computers being issued to the students.
>> Other districts have relied on the viral approach
to spread enthusiasm for technology.
This strategy exceeded expectations in White Oak.
>> We just picked out some people in the primary school,
basically, that we felt like had some talents and some desire
to integrate technology, and we gave them the tools.
We gave them a Mac Book, we gave them some freedom to look
at some software, to do some things with their teaching.
And in so doing, we kind of just let them go with that.
And, we sat back and they were having success.
They were doing some neat things.
And then, all of a sudden, the teacher next door says,
what do you have to do to get one of those computers?
And the answer was; well, you just did it.
You asked for it.
>> You get one teacher in a grade level
that sees the benefit and begins to integrate
that into their classroom, and it just spreads.
>> And with that start in the primary school,
it spread much faster than I thought.
Teachers embraced the technology.
They embraced the idea of, you know, the content is important;
my place as a teacher is the most important thing here,
but there are a lot of tools out there that I was unaware
of that will allow me to do my job better for the students,
more fun for the students, and consequently, more fun for me.
>> Whatever the approach,
all plans to integrate technology may be met
with a certain amount of resistance.
>> The biggest issue, I would say, is overcoming the fear
of technology as a teacher, because you're opening
up a whole other world, and a world that most
of our students are more familiar
than some of the teachers are.
>> I must admit, in the beginning and even now,
there are times when I'm hesitant.
I'm a little reluctant.
There's a fear factor.
What's going to happen in the classroom?
>> The reason, I believe, that most teachers don't go
to technology is not the fear of it not working, but the fear
of them not being in control.
>> When the kids were all given their laptop computers,
that first day I was; boom, I was taken back
to day one of teaching.
I was very overwhelmed.
And for the first three weeks
that the kids had their computers, it was a struggle.
>> There was a lot of resistance from the seasoned teachers,
who have been teaching the same way with their overhead
and their same run off copies for 20 years.
It's worked for me for 20 years, it's worked for the kids.
Why do I need a change?
>> As with any group, you will have some teachers
who were saying, bring it on, and you know, I'm so grateful
that you're doing this for me.
And, there were others who might have initially the sense of,
what are you doing to me?
You know, so you just work through that and you work
through it as a professional learning community,
both as a team, as a campus, and as a district.
>> Training and ongoing support are essential
to overcome these barriers.
>> In my role, one of the most important things I can do is
to listen, because these people
who are resistant have very legitimate frustrations.
They have very legitimate fears and ultimately,
these professionals want the best for their students.
So, the most important thing
about my job isn't any sort of technical savvy.
It's the ability to listen to people and to help condense
and distill their needs and their vision for what they want
to accomplish in their classroom and to provide them the training
and the tools that they need in order to make that relevant
to the students and applicable to their curriculum.
>> We go directly to our curriculum.
We look at the standards and at the activities
that the teachers have to do with students,
and we use that as the context of the training
when we are doing the training with them,
so that they are ready to go into their classroom
and actually apply what they have learned
because they've experienced it in the training.
But, beyond that initial training,
the part that is probably even more critical is the follow
up support, and one of the ways that we do
that in Klein is we have a system
with our teachers operating
as professional learning communities that's called a PLC,
so that as a team, they will plan together.
They will support and they will help each other.
>> The concept
of the professional learning community has worked well
in other districts, such as Irving ISD.
Here, teachers at the Jack E. Singley Academy gather
for a weekly Tech Tuesday meeting
with the campus instructional technology specialist,
who is also an experienced teacher.
>> Teachers, learning from teachers,
that's really what it is.
Our Tech Tuesdays are designed not only
for our instructional technology specialist to deliver, you know,
the latest and greatest in instructional technology,
but also for our teachers to essentially sometimes show off
to their other peers; to say, I tried this and it worked,
and here's how it worked.
And, it allows; everybody knows that usually when you hear it
from your peers, you're bound to get more from it than maybe me
or even the ITS sitting up here.
>> Well, because it's easy to stand up in front of someone
and say; you should use this in your classroom
because look how cool it is.
But then, if you can say; here's how I used it,
here's what went well, here's what went wrong,
here's different steps that you can do,
then it kind of works better.
Plus, it's easier to have; when we do that, we have teachers
from different subjects, so everyone can kind
of bounce ideas off each other to see.
Because, what I might use it for in history is maybe going
to be different than what they use it for in math.
>> On a larger scale, teachers also pool ideas
for digital learning through Irving's Tech Fusion Program
by submitting one lesson plan each semester.
>> It gives our teachers a clearinghouse
of lessons they can use in the future.
And so, there's many little different components
that the district has put in that has allowed us to,
that go from here's the computer,
here's how the computer kind of works,
to now let's really put it into instruction, and to making sure
that we don't do anything else with it
but increase the level of instruction.
>> In addition to training
and professional development programs, teachers have found
that students are a dependable resource
for unlocking the mysteries of technology.
>> I'm not; as an adult,
sometimes we're intimidated by it.
The teachers here are not intimidated
by the students' knowledge of technology.
Instead, they embrace it.
And, I think what happens in that situation is teachers learn
from students just as much as students learn from teachers.
>> They will probably always know more
about technology than I will.
And, I think that has actually been something fulfilling for me
because if I want to launch something in my class;
let's say I want to have a project
that involves creating wikis, say,
and I don't know how to do it.
I know that I have a handful of students
that do know how to create wikis.
And, they will actually sort of get, you know,
a thrill out of the fact that they can teach me something.
And so, it's neat to see that it's not necessarily that,
you know, a teacher/student relationship
where I'm always the one with all of the knowledge and skills
and I'm just delivering to them.
But, we really are collaborating together.
I'm offering knowledge to them and they're offering knowledge
to me and we're working together; we're collaborating.
[ Music ]
>> Recognizing the natural skills of digital natives,
Arp ISD created a formal student mentor program.
>> Each of the student mentors, they signed a contract.
They take it home with their parents.
They decided that they would be able to share
so many little modules with a teacher and then they get
to take a Netbook home.
>> I have a laptop and I'm used to getting on it all of the time
and it's just normal for me.
>> Knowledge is power.
And, when these kids see
that what they have is something that's needed and wanted,
that's better than gossip; they're ready to share it.
>> They feel that this information
that they're imparting is appreciated by the teachers
and I do feel that it builds their confidence.
>> It's been very beneficial and it's good for the kids.
I think our teachers actually are less intimidated
with a kid teaching them than they would be,
you know, another teacher.
>> Once teachers get comfortable with technology,
creativity starts to blossom.
>> Federal guidelines require that we teach internet safety.
So, we have some very innovative elementary teachers
who have taken that a step further
and created their own programs
to teach the kids in a fun manner.
>> First, I found this site at PBSkids.org,
that had a little map.
And, you drive to all of these destinations and you have
to answer questions about internet safety.
And, it forces you to answer the right question
and once you get all the way
around the map, a license prints out.
That's their temporary license.
They can't get their permanent license
until they've taken the written test and made 100 on it.
When they show me they've made 100, then I take their picture
and I print it out on a little, you know, three by five card.
They have to sign it and then I laminate that for them.
And when you hand them that license, you can see.
There is so much excitement that they have that little piece
of paper, because they feel big, you know,
and they feel responsible.
They also know that if they break the rules, they're going
to get a ticket, and I'll write them a ticket.
And if they get so many tickets, they lose their license
and then they have to do defensive driving to be able
to get their license back.
>> Just as the Web license program uses technology
appropriate for young students,
this Spanish teacher creates lessons using technology that's
in tune with today's teenagers and their nimble fingers.
>> I did actually divide my class up, or classes up,
one day, and just handed out regular vocabulary words
like I would do on any Monday.
Monday is vocabulary day.
And, I had part of the class use just paper dictionaries,
and I had the other part of class use their iPods.
And, what was interesting to me was the students
who used the iPods; not only did they finish quicker,
but just in the turnaround of just a few minutes,
when I gave them a quiz,
they actually remembered more vocabulary words
than the students who looked them up in the dictionary.
Now, to me it takes less time to look a word up in the dictionary
than it does on a dictionary on an iPod, because you're typing.
But, what I noticed when I first did this was kids were
manipulating with their thumbs
and they were saying the letters with their mouths.
It's almost as if they were whispering the letters
as they were typing them in.
>> It's more, like hands on, and it's something
that I enjoy doing more.
And so, I'm more willing to listen and actually learn.
>> It was helping the kinesthetic learners.
It was helping kids, you know, already put those words
in their word banks in their minds,
much more so than the kids who were using the dictionary.
[ Music ]
>> Simply letting digital natives express themselves
through technology often means the difference
between tuning in and tuning out.
>> I had one student, when I did the lesson, that does not care
about literary terms at all;
does not like to participate, come up to the board.
What word am I going to get out of the box?
He was excited about what word he was going to draw
out of the box and in the Mimeo.
And, I'm thinking; wow, this is amazing.
This Mimeo is making it exciting.
And, that's the difference for me.
>> Across the board, teachers acknowledge
that there's something about the electronic presentation of ideas
that draws students in.
>> I've seen kids that didn't want to do much
with pencil/paper tasks.
They're flying with technology.
>> One of the most profound benefits
that technology provides is in the area
of differentiated learning.
>> We are farther along in being able to meet individual needs
with the use of technology than we ever have been able to.
>> We have GT students that are very, very creative
and they can do a lot of fun projects
and show their creativity, whereas we have some
of our struggling students that need it more
for basic skills building and review.
It really allows us to adapt and tutor in the classroom
to help meet any of these needs.
>> At the project level, teachers skilled
in digital learning often make a point of using technology
to address a range of learning styles, like this project,
focusing on The Odyssey.
>> I broke down some key components into some stations.
The stations allowed me to teach a lot of information at once.
The technology came about because of different students
who are very gifted in a lot of different areas.
So, I thought; well, if they weren't good at one station,
the next station they moved
to would work a lot better for them.
And so, it gave them a chance to level the playing field
and give everybody a chance to grab onto something
that they were good at.
>> Technology also allows teachers
to fine tune a learning experience that's
developmentally appropriate.
For example, in Arp, teachers subscribe to the theory
that engaging the large muscles along
with the mind helps promote learning
that sticks with young students.
Technology brings those two activities together.
>> The dance mat gets the whole body involved
and those kids absolutely love it.
So, when they're looking at the screen,
they're actually using large muscles to answer that question.
The same thing with the e-blocks.
The e-blocks are very tactile and we get to touch those
and move those around
and basically bring together the learning of the language arts
or the mathematics using that tactile,
large muscle experience.
>> That tactile experience even applies
to interactive whiteboard activities.
>> We use the wands in the smaller grades
because they're not able to actually reach
up to the top level of the smartboard,
so the wand helps them to actually have that reach.
And, as they're dragging things around and moving things across,
they have that large muscle involvement,
and for younger kids that's a really big issue.
They also write with that wand,
so they're learning their letters while they're writing
with the wand.
>> Technology also provides targeted solutions
and repetition that can mean the difference between success
and failure for special needs students.
>> We have those that have dyslexia or come to us
with low reading scores.
So, we have several software products that we use,
one of them being eye Q. It's a software product
that trains the eyes and the brain.
They follow these bleeps across the screen.
It tracks their speed.
It tests them before they do the training and it tests them
over the same sort of passage after they've done the training,
and it's done wonders.
[ Music ]
>>Additionally, technology is proving invaluable as a tool
to move ELL students more rapidly toward
English proficiency.
[ Woman speaking Spanish ]
>> If she's standing there or if she's sitting
down at a desk or a table.
>> We're currently creating public service announcements
based on the health topics that we have been studying in class.
We have them create a script based on a topic
of their choice relating to health.
Some of the kids have chosen brushing their teeth,
physical activity and exercise, washing hands.
>> Make sure to wash in between your fingers
to get rid of germs.
Let me show you how.
[ Sound of water running ]
>> So, they took their topic and we've written scripts,
and now we're filming the videos,
so it's all the kids doing it hands on,
and I've never been more amazed
at how much they've taken it and run with it.
>> They did a great job on that.
>> Good job.
>> All right, so I will upload that.
>> When we do these kind of videos,
they're definitely having to take what they've learned
and teach it to somebody else, which is the best way
to learn something yourself.
And, it's great for them.
It's great to help their English,
because they're required to process and think.
No longer are you asking them to use the lower levels of Blooms.
It invites them to use the higher level thinking
and to create their own products, which requires them
to analyze things a lot.
Not only are they having to come up with it themselves
when they write it, they're having to read it and speak it
and they're going to hear it again
when they're editing video.
But, it's just so much more engaging.
They want to participate.
They want to do well and they definitely become more engaged
in what we're doing in the classroom.
>> It was fun because you can express yourself.
>> We get to act and also learn words
in English that you didn't know.
>> Like hygiene and all of that stuff.
>> Because you say the words and with a book, you just read them.
And, it's better saying them than reading them.
>> The acting was fun.
[ Child speaking Spanish ]
>> While technology helps students connect
with the material, it also helps teachers connect
with individual students like never before.
The DyKnow software used
in Klein provides the most sophisticated example
of this real time connection.
>> DyKnow I use on a daily basis, because I do a lot
of group work where I'm moving around the room
and helping individuals, where I can look across the room
at a student's computer and I can see
that they haven't done anything in awhile, and I can make my way
over to that group because I know
that that one needs to be focused on.
From my computer, I can watch all of my students' screens.
I immediately get a screenshot of what is
on their computer screen, and then if I choose,
I can select a computer
to actually physically monitor and live stream.
I can take control of their computer if I see
that maybe they're not quite getting it.
I can, like type in hints or direct them; redirect them
to where they need to be.
If they're completely off task, I can completely freeze
up their computer and send a message, you know,
letting them know; hey, you're off task.
You need to get back to what you're supposed to be doing.
We can talk back and forth through the computer.
I do that quite often, especially kids who are not
in my class for one reason or another,
or maybe they're in a study hall.
I can get on there and I can communicate with them
through the DyKnow system and help those kids,
even though they're not in my classroom.
>> More commonly, teachers connect with their students
through classroom blogs or real time Twitter-like commentary
on a class presentation, like the back channel used
in a White Oak classroom.
>> I had read a lot of different blogs
from educators saying how useful this was to them
in the classroom because it opens up the conversation.
You've got students in your classroom that are way too shy.
They never raise their hand and speak or be able
to contribute anything to the conversation,
and how they had found that this opens up the conversation
for those kinds of students.
So, I began to do some search
and I found this site called todaysmeet.com.
They type in their name, they hit join, and then just
like Twitter, it gives you 140 characters to type a message.
And, the most recent message comes on top,
so everybody that's on that web page
at that time can read what everybody else is writing.
I noticed a couple of things.
Number one, every single student was totally engaged
in the video; every single one.
I've got students that would not ever sit down
and watch a video in a classroom.
If people were just watching a video, their eyes would glaze
over and they would be, you know,
gone somewhere in their mind.
Every single student is engaged
because they're not only watching the video,
but they're seeing what other people post
and that takes them back to the video
and that keeps their mind engaged.
Number two, I noticed a student this morning
that has never contributed anything, that I know of,
to any of the class work.
And, he was posting some
of the most unbelievable comments and observations.
And so, another thing that it showed me is it kind
of lets you see into their mind for a minute.
I mean, you get to see what they're actually thinking
because, especially at this age, when they get
on the computer they're pretty transparent.
And so, they are more likely to type what they think
or what they're feeling than, you know, if you're trying
to have a conversation with them or even
if they're trying to write.
[ Music ]
>> An ordinary classroom blog can have the same liberating
effect on shy kids.
>> They're often very, very smart.
They're just shy.
They are not confident.
>> Most of the time, I don't like to raise my hand
and I don't like to be called out and, you know,
have everybody else know that I'm not understanding.
>> I started a blog in my classroom, and so now,
instead of having to raise their hand and answer questions
in class, they can type their answer in and instead
of just reaching the ones who talk a lot,
now I'm reaching all of my students.
>> Technology not only connects students and teachers,
it plays a vital role
in connecting students to the outside world.
For example, in tiny Arp.
>> There's about 900 and maybe 80 students
in the whole district.
Our economically disadvantaged population is
about 54 to 56 percent.
We have no radio station, no television,
no museum, no library.
We're just a small, bedroom community basically,
for the Tyler/Longview area.
And, since we don't even really have a whole lot of business
in Arp area, we don't have employment opportunities
in the Arp area, either.
And so, what we're trying to do is work with our students
to give them skills where they will be ready for the future,
for any future in any city where they go for employment.
>> So, the first task
for teachers is stimulating intellectual curiosity
and a desire to learn that will take students wherever their
interests lead them.
>> Our kids do not typically get a chance to go out
and see museums or go out and see things that, you know,
a kid in a big city might get to see.
So, you know, we have to find ways to spark learning.
>> Technology has pushed our children
to think outside the box and get out of this community and see
that there's other things out there that they can do.
>> Floydada ISD, a small, West Texas district more isolated
than Arp, faced similar challenges.
>> Ideally, we would like our students
to see past the city limit signs here in Floydada.
>> Some students are less fortunate, and so a lot
of them have not been able to travel,
I would say within maybe a hundred miles from Floydada.
And, the way it's impacted them is, you know,
they would never talk about; well, I'd like to travel
to a different country or so forth.
>> They had such very short limitations
on themselves before they got out of high school
and they really didn't see their futures progressing very far.
>> In doing these projects and allowing the world to come
to them through technology, you know, after they've presented
and they're talking, they're collaborating.
I've heard, you know, several of my students emphasizing
that they can't wait to travel to South America, Australia
or these exotic places that they've researched on.
>> I was able to take that opportunity
and benefit even more from it by being able to do something
like study in Spain for a summer semester.
>> Technology closed another gap for Floydada students;
the physical gap between them
and the nearest college or university.
>> When you're 70 miles away
from the closest community college,
85 percent low socio-economic students; you know,
that doesn't compute into kids continuing or going
on to post-secondary education.
>> Having a laptop for every student made taking dual credit
courses with far away South Plains College practical
and affordable.
>> So, this is huge for our students
to begin their college coursework
at Floydada High School, where they have the support
of their high school teachers to help make them successful.
More than half of our seniors this year took at least one,
and most of them took many more than one, online course.
>> There are several people I can think
of that wouldn't have gone to college without it,
just because they do have a head start and they've saved
so much money doing it this way.
It's way easier for them.
[ Music ]
>> In El Paso, educators are also closing distances;
in this case, through video conferencing.
>> We're so excited to see you, Dallas.
How are you this morning?
[ Sound of cheering ]
Everybody say; Hi, El Paso!
>> We were looking up to video conference with someone
in our state, Cowart Elementary in Dallas, Texas.
It looks to me that we're at the same level
of socio-economic impact and cultural impact
as the school in Dallas.
>> We have 19 students in our class.
How many do you have?
[ Several children speaking at once ]
>> 20
>> Our class sizes were the same, which is really neat.
And so, this should be a perfect set up this year
for students to have e-pals.
>> I think the greatest thing that children can get is
that not only are there other children out there
in the world the same age besides just their school
and neighborhood, but that they're able
to see different cultures in different cities.
>> Have any of you been to the state fair?
[ Several children speaking at once ]
>> A few of you have.
>> We're able, as we're writing our letters to our pen pals,
to do editing and publishing.
We're able to send e-mail electronically.
So, all of that can be involved through language arts.
>> I speak both fluent English and Spanish.
[ child speaks Spanish] It's nice to meet you.
Do any of you speak Spanish?
[ Several children speaking at once ]
>> Yes.
>> Wow, is that about half your class?
>> That's pretty awesome that you guys...
>> I think the greatest thing that video conferencing brings
to us is social etiquette.
Children must learn to sit still because it distorts the picture.
Children must learn to be quiet and allow others to speak.
Common manners are reinforced during video conferencing.
But, what we tell the children is;
you think about it, boys and girls.
There's jobs all over the world and if you want to go work
in Africa or you want to go work in Europe,
chances are for your first interview it's going to be
over a video conference.
>> We're going to get to show them things and they're going
to get to ask us questions and everything.
>> You get to talk to new people.
>> We're going to be, like friends.
>> We're going to write them letters and send them pictures.
>> I'd like to do a video conference every day.
>> Say goodbye Dallas!
>> Goodbye, Dallas!
>> Have a good weekend, everybody.
>> The really important thing
about the video conferencing equipment, and actually all
of Web 2.0, is that it knocks down the walls.
It just completely knocks down the walls of their campus.
They're no longer limited to staying within that classroom.
The video conferencing equipment, the Web 2.0 tools,
allow students to jump way beyond our geographical area.
>> Video conferencing is also used to great advantage
within the district, extending a single teacher's reach
to several classrooms.
>> We've created a network within our district
of video conferencing, another virtual school where students
in a school that may not have access
to a particular course could through video conferencing take
that course with another one of our campuses.
>> Now we're really breaking the mold and we're finding ways
that we can use technology
to really overcome teacher shortages
in these advanced areas.
AP teachers are very hard to get,
especially AP teachers in very niche areas.
AP art teachers are very difficult to find.
AP music teachers are very difficult to find.
So, if you find one and you're able to share that teacher
on multiple campuses,
that's what that technology allows us to do.
Those students that wouldn't be able to take those courses,
all of a sudden through the use
of video conferencing technology,
have access to that teacher, have access to the course.
It enriches their entire high school or learning experience.
>> How many of you think you have it already?
Okay, cool.
Good. Let's give you one more shot at it, though.
If you think you have it, check your work.
>> What we're seeing is that the enrollment
in dual credit classes is exploding in our district.
A few years ago it was just a few hundred students,
and now there's thousands of students in our high schools
that are actually enrolled in dual credit classes.
And so, that tells us that we're putting the idea of college
into the minds of kids
that wouldn't normally have those ideas.
[ Music ]
>> While technology enhances teaching in a variety of ways,
the truly transformative experience
of digital learning occurs when teachers combine technology
with project based instruction.
No school has made a greater commitment
to project based learning, or had greater success,
than Manor New Tech High.
>> Project based learning is a pedagogical shift
in delivery of instruction.
No longer is the teacher in the front of the classroom,
pushing information out to the students.
What happens now is the teacher designs
and creates projects using the state standards.
And, most of our classes are integrated,
so all of our humanities, social studies
and language arts, are team taught.
If they're a team taught class, we take the standards
in English/language arts, the standards in social studies.
They put them together to create a project based upon our scope
and sequence in the district.
When you see the depth of the projects,
you really see there is learning going on to a level
that is equivalent to AP.
Often times we wish our name wasn't Manor New Technology;
technology wasn't in the name,
because that gives the misconception that because
of the technology, that's why we're successful.
And, reality is for us,
the technology is the invisible tool.
The technology isn't what makes the school;
it's project based instruction.
However, the technology is integrated throughout
the courses.
>> I think it's great because it offers
so many different possibilities
as to how they can deliver what they've learned.
>> And, project based learning is a very important,
critical component for us, so that teachers use projects
as a way to teach content throughout the whole course.
And, the key to that, of course, is making sure
that teachers know what that is.
And so, we do have a very rigorous,
four day training institute that we are now cycling our teachers
through so that they understand what that is,
and then when they come back into their classroom,
they are practicing those particular skills.
>> Think Forward is a project based learning institute.
It's a four day long institute in which actual practitioners
in the classroom, so Manor New Technology teachers;
we develop modules to show really six essential elements
to project based learning.
>> So, we picked teachers that were good at certain systems
and we had them write the components of the systems
that we feel that are important for project based instruction.
>> And so, what we do is we bring in teachers,
and we started out with seven elementary school teachers
from Manor ISD, and four middle school teachers from Manor.
>> See how it zoomed in from something
that was itty bitty and made it big?
>> I didn't have any hesitation about it.
I like to do new things
and I don't mind being the first to do something.
I like challenges and it seemed a good way to change the mode
of the classroom and the mode of learning.
And, I've read about project based learning
and when she asked me if I wanted to do it,
I went and did research on it and I just became excited
about being able to bring a new approach
to learning back to the kids.
>> We took them through four days of these six elements
and we would teach them the critical attributes
of each element and then give them time
to develop their own project with that.
>> I had a previous lesson I'd done with the class and it was
from a math website and it was building a playhouse.
Okay, and so, from the idea of building a playhouse,
and we started with, you know; this is fourth graders
and we were going to do Popsicle sticks and all of that.
But then, as we got deeper into the training, we felt; okay,
this could be more sophisticated,
even though they're fourth graders.
So, we kind of kicked it up to designing a house.
And then, we thought of, you know, doing the blueprint,
but then someone mentioned; well, there's Google Sketch,
so they could do a 3D model.
And so, as the week went on it just kept getting more
and more sophisticated.
>> For the Manor teachers,
at the end of the four days then they go return back
to their home campuses and they're expected
to implement a project pretty quickly after that.
>> I am going to serve as a mentor and a resource
to the teachers that are coming into the project.
In fact, we've been doing that the past two weeks.
We've been just kind of going, because we're all
in the same wing, and so we can interact with each other
and we've just been doing that constantly.
>> I've got practitioners who are doing it daily,
teaching other teachers the successes, the struggles,
the strategies, the nuances of how
to create a really good project that has depth to it.
And, the feedback we've gotten so far
from the cohorts who've been through have been very good.
>> One of the major advantages of project based learning,
combined with technology, is that it empowers teachers
to build lessons around state standards that are creative,
engaging and meaningful to students.
>> When I talk about the kids learning area, perimeter;
that's part of what the state standards say
that fourth graders should learn.
So everything, every lesson plan that we do,
is based on the standards that the kids must learn.
They had to also say, what's the perimeter of each room;
what's the area in each room?
And then, what's the perimeter and the area
of the total drawing that they designed.
We looked at the Habitat for Humanity website
and saw different designs of houses.
And, we of course looked at examples of blueprints.
I had an architect talk about what it means to design a house.
>> Remember what Mr. Segura taught us
about your design methods, and I think;
what kind of method are we all using in our houses?
>> It was just a matter of providing that scaffolding
for them, that support to give them the background knowledge
they needed to move forward.
>> Look back at your PDL and look at the entry document,
and it says three bedroom, two bath.
The website that we used in completing the project
and using the 3D shapes was one that's dedicated
to Frank Lloyd Wright, and its whole premise is letting
students design houses in 3D form, and where they go
through all of the steps of having a client.
When you pick your client, then they're describing
to you what they want in the house.
And, picking out where they're going to build a house,
what style of house they're going to have.
What's the height of the house?
What's the roof going to look like?
Where am I going to put my bedrooms?
Where am I going to put my bathrooms?
And so, the kids used the technology,
I think quite capably.
>> Often times, at the end of our projects
when students put together their end product,
it's usually presented to an external panel,
not to the teacher and not to the class.
We'll have parents come sit on panel.
We'll have experts, whatever that project's on,
to come in and sit on the panel.
And then, the students are presenting
to experts, not to the class.
And what you find is that it takes
on a whole different meaning.
>> I think for the kids it just validated what they were doing.
You know, it wasn't like; oh, there's going
to be an architect here.
How do we handle this?
It just validated to them that what we've done is so important
that an architect is going to come
and listen to us present it.
>> I was kind of proud because she was hearing me
and I didn't thought an architect would be hearing me.
And, yeah; I felt proud of myself.
>> I felt a little bit nervous,
because it was kind of our first time.
But, we also practiced a lot and we got
through it together as a team.
>> For me, I was nervous because we needed to wear,
like professional clothing.
And, I needed to wear a tie, so I was nervous because I thought,
like people will make fun of me, but.
>> Did anybody make fun of you?
>> No.
>> What did they think when they saw you with a tie on at school?
What did people say to you?
>> I had a lot of complements.
I looked elegant.
>> Collaboration is one of our learning outcomes,
and they always have to work in collaboration.
Our students work always in groups of two
to three, three to four.
And, in that group when they come together,
they draw up a contract;
what their roles are within that group.
And, they hold themselves accountable to that group
because you can be fired from the group,
just like in a professional model.
>> And, one of the things with having group members;
when you wake up in the morning and you might not feel
like going to school, you have
that obligation to group members.
You're like; I have to go to school
because I can't just leave my group out there.
So, it actually gives you motivation to come
and then while you're here, you're having fun because you're
on computers, you're building things.
While you're doing that, you're actually learning something.
>> This school has a zero percent drop out rate.
These kids want to come to school.
The school administrators
and teachers hold them accountable
for coming to school.
But, their peers hold them accountable.
They work on projects together.
If somebody's not there, their peers call them and say;
hey, why aren't you here?
You know, if you ask a high school dropout why he
or she stopped coming to school,
you overwhelmingly hear things like; well,
nobody knew if I was there anyway.
Nobody cared if I came to school.
So, these kids, knowing that somebody cares if they're there
or not, they come to school every day.
[ Music ]
>> There's something else happening
in classrooms that's even more revolutionary;
something that teachers
and students recognize wherever project based learning
is practiced.
>> The most transformative thing that I've seen
with the technology, with project based learning,
all of it, is just simply the way
that it empowers the students, the responsibility
that they take for learning.
>> No longer is the student just this recipient of information
and the teacher just the dispenser of information.
But, now the student is someone who has the ability to construct
and create information.
>> It's making the students strive
for more and more excellence.
You work to do projects and you get more active
in your projects, and you want to make it the best it can be.
>> It makes you want to work harder because you know
that you have the opportunity to make something great.
>> In the future, the possibilities for engagement
and technology will expand exponentially.
Irving ISD gives us a glimpse of that future.
Here, forward thinking educators have broadened the concept
of technology integration into the design of the school itself,
the first school in the country
to produce more power than it consumes.
>> The building is built with geothermal wells, solar panels,
wind turbines, and like, rainwater harvesting devices
so that it can maintain and create enough energy
on that property to be able to sustain the energy that is used
through a school year.
They'll do modules there;
they might build their own wind turbine.
They might go outside on the deck
and see the solar panels that are on the roof.
It's going to have an environment
to create a constant push for creative thinking
and problem solving
and in innovative ways of doing curriculum.
It's very powerful to know
that on the first day this campus opens,
I might have 750 kids that ten years
from now might be global leaders in green technologies
because of the experience that they got
to have in this building.
[ Music ]
>> All of this sounds exciting and inspiring,
but what have we gained from technology integration to date?
Has it produced measurable results?
>> The first year of our implementation,
we immediately saw great results.
>> In science, 80 percent passing rate,
which is phenomenal.
And, all of my math and science teachers had zero
years teaching.
The following year, last year, we had a 73 percent passing rate
in math and an 85 percent passing rate in science.
>> The attendance data for the first year
of the Manor New Tech High School was a 97 percent
attendance rate.
And, for a secondary or a high school to have
that large percentage,
a 97 percentile attendance rate, is phenomenal.
>> Students who have never passed the state assessment
or were always, you might say, in the wrong place
at the wrong time, ISS or suspended,
they're coming to school.
They're engaged.
They're passing the state assessment;
they're passing their classes.
>> My grades have greatly improved
since I came to New Tech.
>> And, I think that having all of the technology right
at our fingertips, right when we need it, allows us to learn it
in a way that's suitable for us as individuals.
>> They showed us that it's not that hard, that we can do it;
that I'm actually smarter than I thought I was, and now I know
that for a fact that I'm going to college.
>> We took students from here, and got them here.
>> In the TIP Program, the way the outside evaluator measured
success is she did focus groups with parents, with teachers,
with principals and with students.
We looked at some student data on various benchmark scores,
test scores and that sort of thing.
And, the data came back really overwhelmingly showing that,
number one, students were more engaged.
They became more independent in their learning
and over time we saw increases in math scores
and other areas along that line.
>> Some kids; technology, no technology,
they're not going to do the work.
But, for those kids who struggle, the kids who you know,
borderline, you know it's going to push one way
or the other; it's pushed them up.
>>The joy that comes back to learning is something
that is just immeasurable,
but you can see it in students' faces.
We can see it.
When it's used effectively, there is a drop
in discipline problems, attendance goes up.
And, that's true not just in Klein;
that's in research that's done across the nation.
>> I think it's really paid off.
We have some great stories of students getting into college
or getting jobs based on the fact that they had all
of this great training using technology in our district.
And, I think it has given them an edge over others.
>> The biggest change for our district
with integrating more technology into it; obviously,
the first thing you see is our TAKS scores.
You know, our kids are achieving.
We began looking at our commended performance students,
for example, about four years ago.
And, we had roughly, about 20 percent
of our students were commended performance.
Now, it's about 50 percent.
I mean, it's just the kids are becoming more active.
They like coming to school.
We have a very high attendance rate
because it's fun to come to school.
>> They spend more time.
They want to be in there during lunch; during afternoons,
they want to come in during other periods
when they're not doing anything.
When they're extending their own learning and expanding
on their own learning, to me that's success
and you will reflect it in your TAKS scores.
>> We've seen a big increase in our commendable performance
on the TAKS test as well.
>> From a teacher's perspective,
the benefits are equally exciting and transformative.
>> It's almost like night and day, the difference
between before the computers and after.
>> What I find in using a lot of the technology
that we have used is that it becomes a lot less
about the grade and more about the learning.
And, I think really and truly in education,
that's where we need to go.
>> The interactive whiteboard, the assessment tool,
the software and the laptop allowed me
to do the things I had always envisioned
as a teacher in my classroom.
And, when you had struggling and gifted learners in your room
and every learner was running to get
into the classroom every day, my attendance was up
and my discipline was down.
And, what greater gift to have as a teacher
than to have those two things come together.
>> The rewards are, I think, pretty simple
and straightforward that you get students,
children who are motivated by what they're doing
and who are excited about what they're doing.
One student said to me during the break, he said;
this is so good, what we're doing now.
>> A classroom teacher that's been teaching longer
than I have stood up in front of the board members and said;
it's like starting all over.
I'm excited to go to work.
I love what I do and the children are excited
to come to my class.
You can't ask for anything better than that.
>> Anytime you align people with their passions, they're going
to be great, not good.
>> I'm overwhelmed and I am so pumped for what we can do
in the months and years to come with our students,
because it's just opened up a whole new world for us.
>> Quite honestly, I have to tell you; every day that I walk
into a classroom and see the magic that teachers are creating
with technology and see the power, the products
that students are creating, you just know we're
on the right path and we're going to continue to get there.
>> Rather than asking them to power down and to shut off,
we're finally, finally meeting students where they are.
>> If you got into the profession
to truly reach students, to truly make a difference,
to truly affect the future.
Then, you need to start doing things in a way
that reaches this generation of students,
the way that will have an impact on their future.
Give them skills that they're going to need to succeed
in the world that's coming.
You know, don't get them prepared for the 20th century.
That's over and done with.
Get them ready for tomorrow.
>> To learn even more about getting your students ready
for tomorrow, go to powerontexas.com
and join the digital learning revolution.
[ Silence ]