SMART Board Project EvaluationJones 1
Project Evaluation
SMART Board Professional Development
Project Director: Jennifer Jones
Formative Assessment
I was able to complete the basic implementation pieces that I had planned in my proposal. A final copy of my proposal is ready to be submitted to my administrators. The tentative timeline of the phases of the project is complete. A pre-training survey has been designed according to past research on the SMART Board, but customized to fit the needs of this training. It is created on surveymonkey.com, but can still easily be modified based on feedback from administration or the Media Specialist. I was also able to compile resources (both research/testimonials and instructional resources/lesson ideas) specific to each department.
Implementation should now be able to carry on as planned in the tentative schedule. I specifically built in extra time into the schedule for each phase to allow for setbacks.
A key part of the formative assessment of this project lies in way that the training sessions are set up. My schedule has each department being trained by our Media Specialist on a different week. Although it will take longer to reach every department, this leaves time for the teachers (“learners”)to be an informally surveyed. The input from these informal surveys will then be used to adjust and improve the training sessions(“subject matter”). Although the formal pre-training survey will do much to customize the training, it is this type of formative assessment that will fine-tune the subject matter and provide the best training possible.
I took many valuable lessons away from preparing this project. I learned how important it is to take each of the four common places into account and to think about the influence that they have on each other and on the project as a whole. I learned how vital it is for the teacher to take the learner into account when determining the exact subject matter. For example, when designing the survey, I had to think about which questions would give me the best overview of what the staff knows in order to later focus the training on their exact needs.
Summative Assessment
The now-implemented portion of the project will expedite the creation of the training materials once project approval is granted.
The project as a whole will be evaluated based on comparison of data from the pre-training survey to the post-training survey. The tentative survey can be found at:
With the pre-training survey scheduled to be completed in September and the post-training scheduled in May, we will be able to determine if the staff’s use and perception of the SMART Board has changed following the training.
The questions are designed to do so by asking the staff:
- To choose how frequently the SMART Board is used in their classroom
- To select all the ways in which they use the SMART Board
- To choose how frequently they use certain software and applications
- To rate the effectiveness of their prior training
- To rate student perceptions of the SMART Board based on classroom observations
- To describe their overall satisfaction with the SMART Board
The hope is that in comparison of the pre-training survey to the post-training survey, the staff will have:
- Increased their overall use of the SMART Board
- Explored new ways to use the SMART Board
- Used more software and applications in conjunction with the board
- Increased their ratings on the effectiveness of training
- Rate student perceptions of the board as more favorable
- Describe their own overall satisfaction more favorably
Additionally, I hope that the results from the summative assessment could be used to possibly expand the setting to include more schools within our district.
Side Effects
By assigning department meeting time to this project, it is, in turn, taking time away from other topics. Our school has scheduled meetings for the first four Tuesdays of every month, which means that we generally meet every week. Due to the frequency of our meetings, there is often discretionary time for departments to work on topics as they see fit. Much of the “crunch time” for necessary department work comes in the second half of the school year. Therefore, by scheduling these training sessions in the first half of the year, it not only allows teachers to use the technology during the remainder of the year, it also puts the least imposition on the department’s time.
Also, the issue of money should be addressed. Funds would need to be taken from the budget if release time is granted for me to work with the Media Specialist on training materials. However, if one or two days are allowed for work time, it would require approximately $150-300 total. This seems a minimal cost when compared to the price of the SMART Board equipment which runs approximately $1400 a piece. Additionally, this proposed project will save money as compared to the alternatives of SMART Technology on-site or off-site training. My proposed training taps into the knowledge of a “resident expert” and thereby eliminates the need to pay for outside instruction.
Finally, in addition to time and money, the final factor to be taken into consideration is the effort that is being placed on this project. Putting our effort into this focus means that it will not be placed on another. However, since this project focuses on a beneficial technological resource that we already own, but is not readily used, the effort is very purposeful.
An additional side effect that I truly hope comes as a result of this project is that more teachers will open up to the idea of incorporating technology into their classrooms. Currently, there are many teachers in my school who are hesitant to try any new technology. A positive side effect of this training would be that the teachers would see the ease in which such valuable resources can be used and would hopefully begin to experiment more with it. Because of the versatility of the SMART Board, it can be a gateway to using other programs, such as Notebook Software, Microsoft PowerPoint or web-based resources, more fully in their classrooms. Therefore, I see this training as a start-up to an overall increase of technology in our school.
Overall, the proposed training is the most effective use of time and resources. Overall, costs for this project would be kept to a minimum and seems a small price to pay for the utilization of a technology that can be used to increase student achievement.