Featured School: Todd Elementary

Grace Eden, Principal at Todd Elementary, had a vision for her new assignment. Eden had seen very successful technology integration at Country Springs School in Chino Valley District and wanted to incorporate many of those strategies at her new school.

Eden knew what she'd like to see as the vision for the school, and for each classroom, but was not clear how to turn that vision into a reality. After many discussions and a conversation with Kevin Mulligan from On-Point Technologies of Ontario, CA, Eden was now on track to transform her vision into a reality. A main goal was to make teaching easy for the teachers, and the learning enticing for the students.

Now in their second year, each classroom is equipped with a projector hung from the ceiling, an Expo Mimio^® device that turns the white board into an interactive display board, a Mimio^® tablet, and student responders.

Before the classrooms were equipped, the teachers needed extensive staff development on the appropriate use of the new teaching tools that were being used in their classrooms. The teachers, just like the students, came to Todd at a variety of technology skill levels. After some basic skill training, the teachers were grouped depending on their skill levels and grade levels. More advanced teachers were paired with teachers who needed extra help. Teachers were all cross-trained in effectively using the new tools. To support the teachers, there is an on-site tech for 3 1/2 hours each day.

Mulligan's company, On-Point Technologies, provided the initial and early follow-up professional development so that the teachers all had a running start with the new technology in their classrooms. On-Point Technologies is also developing a web portal for teachers where they can upload and download lesson plans, templates, and practice lessons. One of their philosophies is to build new on what was learned in the past from working with other districts, schools, and teachers. Their best success has been working with changing the systems. While integrating technology in a single classroom can be beneficial to those students, once they move from that environment, they are no longer experiencing the enriched environment. By changing the system, all students and teachers at the site can benefit. But that does take the vision, and that vision needs to be translated into the commitment by the teaching staff.

When walking onto the Todd campus, one immediately sees a pride in the "Toucans." Each student is aware that their newly built school is something special. When one walks down the halls and peeks into the classroom, one can see students that are engaged - students that are learning - and having fun while they are learning. Principal Eden did mention that the office received a lot of calls at the beginning of the school year from parents who were concerned when their students came home and told them that they "played" all day in school. Learning being fun? School being fun? Not what most parents are used to.

Looking into classroom after classroom, anyone can see technology being successfully integrated into the daily curriculum. And how is this success measured? When seen from the eyes of the students, successful technology integration doesn't look that much different than successfully integrating pencil and paper, crayons, or the white board. Computers, pads, and student responders are just additional tools that address and enhance the learning experience of the student.

While all the new tools have varying effect on student learning, the teachers have found that using the responders give them immediate feedback. With this, they can further advance the accountability of student learning in the classroom. Teachers have also found that using the responders in the classroom can be used to dignify the analysis of the wrong answer to a question. No longer does a student need to be embarrassed by being questioned about why a response was chosen, since the responders provide the level of anonymity to allow a free flow of discussion.

The first year of standardized test scores for Todd Elementary were well established. The school reached an API score of 815. The test scores from 2008-2009 school year will help show if the infusion of technology has had a positive effect by maintaining the high scores. Sixteen schools in Corona-Norco District have attained API scores over 800, so there is an expectation of excellence across the district.

To make yet another stretch, Mulligan approached the teachers with the idea of developing a center-based approach to teaching. Two brave teachers offered to stretch their learning curve to expand their classrooms into a learning-center approach. These classrooms result in a problem-based learning environment blended with whole-group instruction. For a part of every day, students have assigned rotations to work with their fellow students at learning centers. While some students are working on a project and research information on the Internet, others are at the board working on vocabulary or math activities from the computers presented through the mimeo on the white board. Others might be working paper and pencil preparation activities before they move to the computers or the white board.

In a specially designed room for English-language learners, another center type design was chosen. Students are part of a two-hour after-school program designed by Todd teachers Ed Calvillo, Angela Helmer, and Heather Myers. During that time, the students are rotated to one of five stations which include Rosetta Stone software, oral discussions with a classroom aide, teacher-centered direct instruction of small groups, dance pads which work in tandem with computers that display multiple-choice questions, and Sonica software for English-language development that works on computers with touch screens. This learning center has been expanded to provide a learning experience for students with special needs. The parents of one student were so pleased with their child's success, they wrote an article which appeared in an issue of the Orange County Autism Magazine.

Many have questioned how a young child can successfully use responders in the classroom. Todd has shown that students in as early as kindergarten have been able to use them successfully.

Initial funding for much of the technology came from Todd's Furniture and Equipment budget. Being a new school, Principal Eden wanted to be sure that all classrooms were equipped to bring her vision of a technology infused classroom to reality. It was also noted that fundraisers at the school have also brought in a goodly amount of money to further support the technology tools needed by the teachers. Everything from scooping ice cream to a regular pizza night has encouraged parents to support the school's vision. Both Eden and Mulligan have seen donations skyrocket at sites where fundraising money is focused, and parents can see the results.

The school board is also very supportive of Eden's vision. She presented her vision for the school, and the board, the district office, and the superintendent are involved with the Todd Elementary plan.

In final words, Eden commented, "These new technologies can bring the world to the kids, especially for those kids who won't have the opportunity to visit those places themselves."