3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources
Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Artifact:
Nearpod in Elementary Classrooms
Reflection:
The Neorpod presentation was developed as an introduction and promotion of the tool at Shiloh Point Elementary and used to communicate its benefits to teachers and parents. The overview of the tool, its benefits, pricing, and comparability with the school infrastructure were explained at the faculty, PTA Board, and Local School Council meetings. The presentation was built on collaborative research and explorations by the instructional technology specialist, media specialist, and a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) leadership team of teachers.
When the school began implementation of the BYOT, teachers were looking for technology tools to deliver lecture-like lessons in a more engaging way. Teachers wanted to be able to formatively assess student understanding of a topic, have control over the lesson pace, and keep every learner accountable for active participation. The BYOT leadership team met to discuss specific characteristics of an ideal digital resource, and its comparability with various operating systems was the key element identified by the members. Of course, the budget was taken in consideration to minimize a financial burden of the school. In addition, the county rubric for evaluation of technology tools was used to ensure that the software would work seamlessly on the Fotsyth County BYOT network. Neorpod software was the tool that met the needs of the team and specific requirements at the time.
Before making an account purchase for every teacher in the building, three team members were selected to pilot the free version of the software to explore its learning possibilities and test its technical alignment with the school infrastructure. The teachers soon discovered that the tool worked better on desktops, laptops, and iPads, but it had many technical issues with Android devices. Student work would not submit to presentations and/or students could not connect to the current lesson ran by the teacher. Both issues limited an ability of teachers to conduct formative assessments, the very element they wanted to work flawlessly. In addition, piloting teachers noted that the process of developing a lesson presentation within Nearpod was not very user-friendly and required time to learn and freely navigate the system. However, the overall experience with the tool convinced teachers to consider the purchase of accounts for Shiloh Point Elementary. At that time, the presentation was delivered to all stakeholders, and PTA grants were written to receive financial support from the organization.
The experience of collaborative tool evaluation allowed for all opinions to be heard. The fact that a few teachers agreed to pilot the free version of the software helped the school make a decision based on personal experiences with the resource. Classroom observations and troubleshooting assisted the team in understanding all pros and cons of the program and make a collaborative decision based on facts. This experience allowed teachers at Shiloh Point Elementary to take a lead in the instructional decision-making process and own their professional choice. It helped teachers become a stronger team, in addition to learning about the technology tool evaluation process required in Forsyth County Schools. Future classroom observations of Nearpod implementation could be used to measure the impact of this digital tool on teaching and learning.
If the team were to go through the process of evaluation again, it would be important to compare and contrast the tool with a similar platform. For instance, Classflow could be a perfect competitor to put side by side with Nearpod, evaluate pros and cons of each, and make collaborative decisions. It could be a powerful strategy to present both tools to the PTA and allow them to voice their opinions and be actively involved in the school decision-making process in regard to adoption of technology tools.
Reflection:
The Neorpod presentation was developed as an introduction and promotion of the tool at Shiloh Point Elementary and used to communicate its benefits to teachers and parents. The overview of the tool, its benefits, pricing, and comparability with the school infrastructure were explained at the faculty, PTA Board, and Local School Council meetings. The presentation was built on collaborative research and explorations by the instructional technology specialist, media specialist, and a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) leadership team of teachers.
When the school began implementation of the BYOT, teachers were looking for technology tools to deliver lecture-like lessons in a more engaging way. Teachers wanted to be able to formatively assess student understanding of a topic, have control over the lesson pace, and keep every learner accountable for active participation. The BYOT leadership team met to discuss specific characteristics of an ideal digital resource, and its comparability with various operating systems was the key element identified by the members. Of course, the budget was taken in consideration to minimize a financial burden of the school. In addition, the county rubric for evaluation of technology tools was used to ensure that the software would work seamlessly on the Fotsyth County BYOT network. Neorpod software was the tool that met the needs of the team and specific requirements at the time.
Before making an account purchase for every teacher in the building, three team members were selected to pilot the free version of the software to explore its learning possibilities and test its technical alignment with the school infrastructure. The teachers soon discovered that the tool worked better on desktops, laptops, and iPads, but it had many technical issues with Android devices. Student work would not submit to presentations and/or students could not connect to the current lesson ran by the teacher. Both issues limited an ability of teachers to conduct formative assessments, the very element they wanted to work flawlessly. In addition, piloting teachers noted that the process of developing a lesson presentation within Nearpod was not very user-friendly and required time to learn and freely navigate the system. However, the overall experience with the tool convinced teachers to consider the purchase of accounts for Shiloh Point Elementary. At that time, the presentation was delivered to all stakeholders, and PTA grants were written to receive financial support from the organization.
The experience of collaborative tool evaluation allowed for all opinions to be heard. The fact that a few teachers agreed to pilot the free version of the software helped the school make a decision based on personal experiences with the resource. Classroom observations and troubleshooting assisted the team in understanding all pros and cons of the program and make a collaborative decision based on facts. This experience allowed teachers at Shiloh Point Elementary to take a lead in the instructional decision-making process and own their professional choice. It helped teachers become a stronger team, in addition to learning about the technology tool evaluation process required in Forsyth County Schools. Future classroom observations of Nearpod implementation could be used to measure the impact of this digital tool on teaching and learning.
If the team were to go through the process of evaluation again, it would be important to compare and contrast the tool with a similar platform. For instance, Classflow could be a perfect competitor to put side by side with Nearpod, evaluate pros and cons of each, and make collaborative decisions. It could be a powerful strategy to present both tools to the PTA and allow them to voice their opinions and be actively involved in the school decision-making process in regard to adoption of technology tools.