New Idea, New Concept and More!!!
Starting Over
When I first started this journey of Digital Learning and Leading at Lamar University, I had a different innovation plan. Now that time has involved and the needs in education have changed so has my idea. I started off with the idea of wanting to implement ePortfolios in the classroom.
Check out my original innovation plan by clicking the link below:
https://shunti618.wixsite.com/website/news-resources
Now I have decided that although that concept is still worthy, it needs to be taken a step further. So I have decided to incorporate the use of smartphone applications in the classroom.
Smartphone Applications Will Work!
Making The Learning Experience Better
This is my new innovation plan of utilizing smartphone applications to impact student success and to encourage parental involvement.
Innovation Proposal
Smartphone Applications and the Use of Digital Tools for Parent and Family Engagement
Date: October 5, 2020
To: Superintendent Dr. Nyeshba, Lake Worth ISD
From: Shunitra L. Bonner, Campus Librarian for Howry STEAM Academy
RE: Innovation Proposal – Digital Tools for Parent and Family Engagement
Dear Dr. Nyeshba,
Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently released the current 2018-2019 Lake Worth ISD Texas Academic Performance (TAPR) Report. According to the report, Lake Worth ISD’s total enrollment of 2,042 students includes approximately 1,473 students who are economically disadvantaged and a total of 1,003 students who are at-risk of failing, being retained, or not graduating. The 4 yr. longitudinal rate of our students in grades 9-12 is only 37% that are college, career, or military ready graduates as compared to the state’s rate of 54.2%. The U.S. Department of Education stresses the importance of Parent and Family Engagement in school systems and how involvement increases student academic achievement, increases attendance, and decreases disciplinary issues. Scholarly research indicates students whose parents are involved in schools are more likely to meet academic expectations and earn higher grades, thus graduating and not falling at-risk.
To help our students be more successful, we need to use today’s digital tools to help increase Parent and Family Engagement campus wide. We offer so many opportunities for our parents and family members to be involved but the events simply do not provide effective engagement. In today’s society, every family has at least one cell phone with text messaging features and many have smartphones with applications. Lake Worth ISD currently has several digital tools that we subscribe to or have active but are not being fully utilized that can help provide effective opportunities for Parent and Family Engagement. I respectfully propose that we utilize the Blackboard Connect (mass notification), Remind Application, and Smore Online digital tools that we currently have available for school wide parent engagement. Each one of our families has at least one cell phone number in the school registration system that has authorized permission for text messaging and at least one active email address for notification and engagement.
We currently only utilize Blackboard Connect to send voice messages of early releases or school closures, principles only use Smore Online to create weekly newsletters for their staff members, and less than one-fourth of our teachers are using their Remind Application accounts. I request permission to collect the Parent and Family Engagement opportunities from each of the principles’ weekly newsletters they send to their staff members and utilize Blackboard Connect, Remind, and Smore to push text messages and postings to our district social networks and send emails. Blackboard Connect allows me to create one message and publish it by text, email, social networks, and website. I will copy and paste the data entered into Blackboard Connect to create Remind messages for those who prefer this application and into Smore Online for parents who prefer to have one email with the entire weekly newsletter. In the event one digital platform is down we will continue to utilize the other platforms which also allow for text messages, email, and posting on social media networks. All three platforms have the same features of pushing notifications but simply are not being utilized. Our campus principles are already sending weekly newsletters to their staff with important dates and upcoming events and this proposal will not require any additional time from them allowing them to focus on their administrative duties. This proposal will not disrupt the current forms of communication each campus utilizes which includes sending notes home and intercom announcements to students. This proposal will simply allow the district to take full advantage of the digital tools we have available to engage with our parents and family members campus wide. The goal of this proposal is to increase Parent and Family Engagement at the many opportunities our schools offer each week. I feel confident the utilization of our digital tools will help increase Parent and Family Engagement. If this proposal is approved, I will be able to provide accurate numbers of attendance to each Parent and Family Engagement opportunity as I already collect sign-in sheets from each campus for every event to meet the federal compliance and requirements of documentation. I greatly appreciate your consideration of this proposal and look forward to discussing more with you and providing scholarly research as needed. Together we can increase Parent and Family Engagement at our campuses which will help our students meet academic expectations, earn higher grades, and graduate, thus not falling at-risk.
Respectfully in Service and Support,
Shunitra L. Bonner,
Howry STEAM Academy Librarian
Literature Review
The Use of Smartphone Applications Will Work!
The purpose of this literature review is to examine interactive smartphone applications in the classroom for student academic achievement. Student academic achievement is important in helping create a significant learning environment and can enhance classroom instruction. Smartphone applications and mobile technology have advanced into many areas across the globe including the classroom. Today’s swift changing technology has made mobile devices become a learning tool with great potential in the classroom (Sung, Chang & Liu, 2015). Mobile devices have become popular around the globe in the form of laptops, tablets, and smartphones. With the increasing use of smartphones in today’s society by students comes learning opportunities for the classroom.
To continue reading click the link below:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dqZDz3d9O8bX3q7jJdbTMNy43AYa6bLerKsjJAv7jzk/edit?usp=sharing
Innovation Plan Timeline
The Execution
March 2021
Discuss Innovation Proposal with Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum / Instruction & Federal Programs – thoroughly explain how and provide research on utilizing today’s digital tools to effectively communicate with parent and family members
If Innovation Proposal is supported, discuss with Superintendent of Schools for approval
Upon approval, explain Innovation Proposal to campus administrators and stress how this plan will not require any additional time from them allowing them to focus on their administrative duties
Meet with technology department to discuss Innovation Proposal and provide following timeline
April 2021
Meet normal timeline to prepare the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Title I evaluation of programs; District is required to annually survey students, staff, and parents & family members to meet ESSA compliance; Survey Monkey is utilized and survey links are open for 2 weeks to collect responses
Edit required ESSA parent and family survey via Survey Monkey to include which forms of school communication is preferred:
if email is selected include a pop up field for primary email address; survey how often communication is preferred
if text messaging is selected include a pop up field for 10 digit cell phone number; survey how often communication is preferred
if social networking is selected, include a pop up field for parents to select from the networks the district currently utilizes which is website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
May 2021
Collect and analyze survey results and share with key stakeholders of district administration, parents and family members, and community
Begin cross referencing and updating the district student registration program with the information provided in the surveys with email addresses and cell phone numbers
Each student account in district registration system will be updated with preference of electronic / digital communication and those who opt out
June 2021
Technology department will test and confirm district student registration system is updating every night with new data entered and updating in Black Board Connect
Begin testing digital tools of Blackboard Connect, Remind, and Smore Online by sending messages to staff cell phones and staff email accounts
Troubleshoot any issues, as needed
July 2021
Technology department will create 1-2 minute video clips on the digital tools the district will begin implementing to effectively communicate with parent and family members and post via social networks and video link via Blackboard Connect to all registered email addresses only
Technology department will create 1-2 minute video clips for parent tutorials on how to effectively utilize each digital tool and post on district social networking sites only
Parents and family members will be encouraged to update their cell phone numbers and email addresses via the district student registration site as soon as possible to prevent missing key dates and important information and help provide effective communication via local newspaper, district social network sites, and school letter mailed home
During the 3rd week of July send a test message to all registered parent and family member email addresses and cell phone numbers welcoming them to a new school year and congratulating them for going digital to help communicate more effectively
Technology department will print and provide Blackboard Connect communication reports confirming which email address accounts and cell phone numbers are not valid
Parents and family members with invalid email address accounts and cell phone numbers will be mailed a letter provide updated information, only those who opted to communicate electronically
August 2021
During the 1st week of August collect the back to school events from each campus principal and create Smore Online to send via Blackboard Connect to all registered email addresses and cell phone numbers, push to district website and social network sites; Push out Remind Class Code for each individual campus event communication
Technology team members will have a booth set up at each campus Open House or Meet the Teacher to help family members register and / or update email addresses and cell phone numbers
Upon school starting, collect each principal’s Smore Online they currently utilize and send to their staff members
Create weekly communication via Smore Online to push to parents and family members via Blackboard Connect and Remind; Weekly communication will be set up to push out every Sunday evening at 5:30 PM
September 2021
Technology department will generate usage reports and troubleshoot communication errors, correct data entry information, update email addresses and cell phone numbers as needed
Weekly collection of campus principle’s Smore Online will continue to prepare each week’s communication for parents and family members
Weekly communication via Smore Online, Blackboard Connect, and Remind will continue
October 2021
During the required parent / teacher conferences parents will be asked to sign the ESSA required documentation, be given a form to sign up or opt out for electronic communication and provide an email address and cell phone number as needed
Technology team will have a booth set up at each campus during the week of parent / teacher conferences to help parents with any digital communication issues and help families register as needed
ESSA required documentation will continue to be sent to me for documentation of compliance; student registration information will be updated as needed
November – December 2021
Sign in sheets will be collected from each campus for required documentation of parent / teacher conferences, parent and family engagement events, after school tutoring, and student clubs and organizations involvement
Current semester documentation of attendance of every parent and family engagement opportunity will be compared to last school year’s attendance numbers
Report comparing attendance numbers for current school year 2019-2020 and previous school year 2018-2019 will be created and shared with district and campus administrators
January 2022
During Superintendent Cabinet Meeting parent and family engagement attendance reports will be reviewed and discussed
February – March 2022
Weekly communication will continue with utilization of digital tools to provide effective communication
Technology department will continue to provide usage reports with invalid email address accounts and cell phone numbers
April 2022
District annual ESSA Title I evaluation of programs; District is required to annually survey students, staff, and parents & family members to meet ESSA compliance; Survey Monkey is utilized and survey links are open for 2 weeks to collect responses; Parent survey will seek responses and feedback from parents and family members regarding electronic communication received throughout the school year:
Was communication by email effective in providing important information
Was communication by text messaging effective in providing important information
Was communication by district social networking sites effective in providing important information
Which form of electronic communication is more desired and useful; which form of electronic communication is not desired or useful
May 2022
Collect and analyze survey results and share with key stakeholders of district administration, parents and family members, and community
Campus meetings with staff members will be scheduled face to face to evaluate and seek feedback on digital tools for effective communication
Thoroughly evaluate the Digital Tools: Effective Communication for Parent and Family Engagement plan via:
Annually required parent and family members survey
Annually required faculty and staff survey
Required ESSA documentation of sign in sheets from the campuses parent and family engagement events and compare attendance rates from previous school year
Technology department’s usage reports of each digital tool to demonstrate evidence of effective communication; Provide information on any new digital tools or platforms that have proven effective for communication as technology advances
June 2022
District and campus administration will make decision on which digital tools will continue and budget appropriately for the new school year
Technology department will update or configure any new digital tools; testing of each digital tool and compatibility will begin to implement another successful school year of utilizing digital tools for effective communication for parent and family engagement
My Final Reflection
School districts need a meaningful and ongoing partnership with families to positively impact student academic achievement and help create a significant learning environment. Engagement and collaboration are the key to establishing a partnership with parents and family members. School districts can utilize today’s mobile technology to help provide opportunities for effective parent and family engagement. My Innovation Plan focuses on utilizing smartphone applications for parent and family engagement to increase student academic achievement in middle school.
Many projects and studies have been conducted across the globe that integrate smartphone technology and mobile applications to positively impact teaching and enhance learning experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Of the many projects I researched, I found several to help me update my Innovation Plan with practices that worked. Many projects have been successful in their quest for utilizing mobile technology to positively impact student learning and some others have not been as successful.
The readings helped me to see the bigger picture. For my technology implementation plan to be successful and sustainable, we can learn from the numerous successful projects and the not so successful implementations. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel all on our own, we should utilize the proven and best practices. For the innovation plan to be successful, we will need to ensure that prior to the implementation all administrators, teachers, and support staff receive the proper training and are prepared to begin. Throughout the technology implementation we need to provide opportunities for our educators to have access to meaningful and ongoing professional learning, collaboration, and reflection. It is important for our team to meet regularly to monitor progress, share what worked in the classroom, what can be done better, and what did not work.
Most importantly, we need to realize today’s mobile technology and smartphone applications are a tool to enhance classroom instruction and not solely rely on it to provide everything students need to learn to be successful in life. We need to provide student opportunities for discussion, collaboration, and reflection. When used properly, smartphones and the many interactive mobile apps are a learning tool that can help create a significant learning environment for all students and positively impact academic achievement.
Sources:
Lapowsky, I. (2017, June 3). What Schools Must Learn From LA’s iPad Debacle. Retrieved October 28, 2019, from http://www.wired.com/2015/05/los-angeles-edtech.
Minero, E. (2017). Parent engagement in the digital age. Retrieved June 26, 2019, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/parent-engagement-digital-age
Obringer, S. J., & Coffey, K. (2007). Cell Phones in American High Schools: A National Survey. Journal of Technology Studies, 33(1), 41–47.
Olmstead, C. (2013). Using Technology to Increase Parent Involvement in Schools. TechTrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 57(6), 28–37.
Patrikakou, E. N. (2015). Relationships among parents, students, and teachers: The technology wild card. Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, 2253–2258.
Patrikakou, E. N., Weissberg, R. P., Redding, S., & Walberg, H. J. (2005). School–family partnerships for children’s success. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Patrikakou, E. N. (2016). Parent Involvement, Technology, and Media: Now What? School Community Journal, 26(2), 9–24.
Serdyukov, P. (2017), “Innovation in education: what works, what doesn’t, and what to do about it?”, Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 4-33.