Handheld Educators Leadership Program:Handhelds in the Hands of Learners

Lynn A. ElderMarsha GladhartWSU College of Education

Project M3

PT3—Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use Technology

Models, Mentors and Mobility

Handhelds evolved as key component

Project M3

Faculty, staff and student use

Handheld lab Graduate level

workshop Handhelds for all

COE faculty

Wichita Public Schools

Personal use by technology support providers

Student models at conferences and workshops

Aligned with Instructional Technology Department Mission

Wichita Public Schools

Palm Users Group initiated September 2001 meet monthly

Handheld Advisory Group initiated January 2002 teacher, administrator and

university representation study use of handheld computers

in classroom

Handheld Computer Learning Proposal Product of Handheld Advisory Group Finalized June 2002 Framework for implementing handheld computers Included budget, timeline and participant selection

parameters

How we got started…

Technology Integration Projects (TIPS) Project M3 activity Teachers met regularly with Project M3 instructors Web-based units aligned to standards Focused on subject areas and grade level Model for handheld integration project

Why handhelds?

1:1 equitable access Conveniently available 24/7 Low support requirements Easy to use Real world tool Improve learning

H.E.L.P. is born

Partnership between Wichita State University and the Wichita school district

Both organizations provide support

Both organizations responsible for managing the project

H.E.L.P. mission

Cultivate teacher-leaders Develop standards-based

lessons using handheld technology

Integrate handheld technology into content learning

H.E.L.P. design

4 classroom sets of 25 handheld computers

4 full day workshops Funding for substitute teachers Biweekly 2 hour workshops Budget to purchase handheld

software & accessories

Participant selection

2 elementary, 1 middle, 1 high school

Interest in using handheld computers in classroom

Strong administrative support 3 additional schools “selected

themselves”

Participant responsibilities

Attend training sessions Implement handhelds in

non-technology classes Prepare and use lesson

plans Share experiences

Participant responsibilities

Final Showcase presentation in May

Conference participation encouraged

How we operate

No paper—information online or on Palms

Technology use modeled—Blackboard, wireless, videoconferencing

Teamwork Group norms established Hands-on exploration

How we operate

Self determination: Classroom deployment Student use Subject area Additional hardware Software choices

Full day training

Out-of-the-box training Classroom management Models of deployment Resources and web sites

Full day training

Downloading software Documents to Go PEP grant findings Collaboration and

sharing

Full day training

Video conference with Elliott Soloway

Sharing lesson plans

Feedback from teachers

Exhilarating to be among Palm users. I am ready to bring in my students

A chance to meet with colleagues about similar ideas and issues using Palms in the classroom.

Time to play and search for Palm software

Feedback from teachers

I want to have more actual software downloads and evaluations

I like the time we have to focus on technology These day long workshops are better than

the two-hour ones

Challenges

Disparate skill levels Different levels of

adoption Teaching styles Using Blackboard Making the meetings Technical problems Communication

Where are we now

Lesson plans are being used H.E.L.P. web site Developing lesson plan

database Developing final project

action plan

What we are learning

Work in progress Data Strengthened K12-higher

education ties Model of implementation

Lynn A. Elder lynn.elder@wichita.eduMarsha A. Gladhart, Ph.D.Marsha.gladhart@wichita.edu

http://education.wichita.edu/m3

H.E.L.P. http://www.education.edu/m3/help.htm