Trying to Do More with Less: Technology Approaches to Coaching & TA in Montana

In Montana, rural means that you don't get cell service, DSL, daily mail service, or pizza delivery. In Montana, rural means that the distance to your nearest neighbor is measured in miles. It means that the number of students in your child's grade in school is a single digit. It means that you look out your back window and see this:

Our motivation to explore technology applications….. The Pressures: Distance/Time Travel budget Scheduling Our Assets: Availability of technical support within our agency Some positive experiences with distance education Our Context: Face to face, interpersonal interaction is valued in Montana.

New Tools in our Toolbox

The Wonderful World of Wikis A wiki is a collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content, using a simplified markup language.[1][2] Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is one of the best-known wikis.web pagesmarkup language[1][2]collaborativewebsitesWikipedia

Why a Wiki? You're tired of waiting for Brad in IT to help set you up You want to increase group engagement using a safe online wiki You're tired of complicated solutions that nobody uses You want a central place for your group to collaborate You want one place to put your files and thoughts so you can access them anywhere You want partners to share the experience of using best practices on collaboration Firewalls/spam filters used by districts Restriction on attachments/size Amount of time required to post/update content on a website Interest in collaborative tools (everyone has resources to share) Relatively good access to the internet across Montana Vendor Perspective:Project Perspective:

Google: Free Wiki Websites

Wiki’s are …… Designed to bring people together who have a shared interest Easy to create and use, and can be free Places to share video, photos, discussions Created by a group – “potluck dinner” on the web Accessed by invitation (can be public/private) Easily edited/updated

My initial attempt…..

Provides Weekly Data About Usage

A Word of Caution Still evaluating accessibility –Survey monkey vs. Survey Gizmo What starts out free often doesn’t end up free

Skype, E-Pop, Netmeeting, iChat, etc. etc. etc. Using videoconferencing as a coaching and TA tool

Collaboration Tools via VideoConferencing: Skill-Building Applications Shared desktops: –Teaching software use through application sharing –Can avoid copyright problems associated with loaning software –Collaborative development of student-specific materials (e.g., visual supports, adapted books, etc.)

Secure Webcasting of Live Events

Zoom IP Network Camera Can “broadcast” live event on the web by providing the IP address to the those you want to view the event Event can be recorded and archived for later viewing Has zoom, tilt and panning capabilities

Applications We Have Explored Assistive technology evaluation –Demonstrate use of equipment –Model teaching strategies –Record/archive eval and share with other team members later

Marcia L. Rock, Ph.D. Project TEEACH Director H325K Cyber Coaching: Advanced Online Bug- In-Ear (BIE) Technology in Action A Signetwork Presentation

What is BIE? Bug-in-Ear Inexpensive portable radio communication system (Earpiece and microphone components) used to deliver immediate feedback to teachers delivering classroom instruction (Herold, Ramirez, & Newkirk, 1971; Scheeler, McAfee, Ruhl, & Lee, 2006). AKA Mechanical Third Ear Device Wireless Earphone Electronic Audio-Cueing System

State of the Art BIE Technology Components Four Components Bluetooth Headset Bluetooth Adapter Web Cam Skype ( a free Internet-based telephony – Voice-over-IP – [VoIP] system ) Pamela Recording for Skype

State of the Art BIE Technology Components

Cost of State of the Art BIE Technology Components Four Components = $136.36/*$ P1-Voyager 510 Bluetooth Headset = $41.36 IOGear Enhanced Date Rate Bluetooth Wireless USB Adapter GBU221= $34.00 Creative WebCam Live! Ultra-Web Camera = $61.00 Skype = $0.00 (Free) & *Pamela Business Version 3.5 ($36.95)

Summary of Tools We Are Using/Considering for Coaching with Individual Student/Agency Teams Joint Planning 1 ObservationActionReflectionFeedback Development of TA Agreements via phone and video conferencing Video Conferencing Secure Webcast “Bug in Ear” technology Action Planning via video conferencing (real time interaction); Collaborative refinement of plans via wiki sites (asynchronous) Listserv discussions of TA plans Discussion boards (on private wiki sites) Secure webcast of student performance 1 Based on coaching characteristics defined by Rush & Sheldon (2005)

Final Thoughts/Caveat…..