Catherine Holthaus EdTech 551 Final Grant Application

Opening Doors With Tablets

Needs Assessment Schools across America, both public and private, are facing a financial crisis. Private schools in particular are experiencing financial hardships not previously encountered. Due to increased operating costs and decreased enrollment, funding for the Spanish program at All Saints Catholic School (ASCS) in Lewiston, Idaho has been eliminated. Currently, the school is depending on a volunteer to teach Spanish to 134 students in grades K-6, twice per week. Of those 134 students, ten percent are minorities. We live in a world that has evolved from one of relative isolation to one of a highly mobile population. Success is often based on ones ability to clearly articulate using more than one language. Those pursuing professional careers and pleasure travel abroad realize the importance of being able to verbally communicate in the host country. We can no longer afford to be monolingual. Currently, ASCS is the only elementary school in the city out of nine providing a foreign language to the students. The students at ASCS currently participate in two thirty-minute Spanish classes per week. With the integration of tablets, students would potentially have access to Spanish classes five days per week. The additional foreign language classes will better prepare the students as they enter high school. All students in Idaho must complete at least two credits of a foreign language prior to graduation. The

Idaho Department of Education recommends for college freshmen have more than two credits of a foreign language prior to applying for enrollment for post-secondary schools in Idaho. Students who begin learning a foreign language in elementary school experience increased listening ability, memory, creativity, and critical thinking skills. As adults, students who have studied a foreign language in grades K-12 and in college, are highly sought after in the workforce. There is an ever increasing demand in America for workers who speak a second language, specifically Spanish, in both the corporate and blue-collar sectors. The demand for bilingual workers is also high internationally.

Unfortunately due to budget constraints, many schools are discontinuing foreign language classes. The lack of available classes poses a threat to people seeking Workers not meeting the bilingual

employment nationally and internationally.

requirement criteria set forth by the employer will not be hired. Being bilingual has many benefits other than professional success. Research has shown bilingual senior citizens perform general tasks at a faster rate than their monolingual peers. Senior citizens who speak multiple languages daily produce more

brain activity. Young children who have access to bilingual education and continue to speak more than one language throughout life will experience a healthier existence as they age. It is desirable all children learn to speak more than one language fluently. In order to achieve this, students beginning in kindergarten, need to regularly participate in foreign language education. Should funding for a state certified teacher be unavailable, educators must resort to an alternative means. Tablets are a viable option in filling this gap.

Goal Graduates of All Saints Catholic School (ASCS) will be exposed to language and culture important in the bilingual and multi-cultural globalized workforce of today with the integration of tablets. Objectives To increase the availability of bi-lingual instruction for ASCS students by more than 50% from two thirty minute sessions per week to five by Fall 2014.

To increase individual classroom scheduling flexibility in grades K-6 for bilingual instruction by 40% by Fall 2014.

To increase scaffolding options for students in grades K-6 depending upon learner ability from beginner to advanced by Fall 2014.

To increase exposure to the Spanish culture by 50% utilizing technology by Fall 2014.

To increase the creation of bilingual visual or auditory presentations by 100% for all sixth grade students graduating from ASCS.

Narrative The focus of this grant project is to increase the accessibility to bilingual instruction for students at ASCS with the integration of technology, specifically tablets. ASCS is committed to educating the whole person and helping the students grow in knowledge, preparing them for the multi-cultural globalized workforce of today. At this time ASCS students attend Spanish classes taught by a volunteer twice per week.

Equipment purchased with the approval of this grant proposal will allow all students to receive foreign language instruction five times per week, therefore increasing instructional availability by 50%. Currently class scheduling for Spanish instruction is restricted to the volunteers schedule depending upon their availability. With the addition of the tablets, the teaching staff will collaborate to create a schedule meeting the needs of each individual class vice working around the volunteers schedule. The existing schedule allows two thirty-

minute class periods per week. A revised schedule will increase instruction time to two sixty-minute periods or four thirty-minute periods. As the primary source for guiding instruction, the tablets will be available for each class to use at the designated time. When the tablets are not in use, teachers wanting to incorporate additional foreign language instruction will have the flexibility to achieve this. The tablets will be available on a first come basis and will be returned promptly to ensure availability for the next scheduled class.

At the present time, regardless of individual ability, all students participate in Spanish as a whole class. Scaffolding, which is an assisted learning process supporting students according to their ability, is not an option due to the lack of resources and length of existing class periods. Students at ASCS have varying levels of understanding of the Spanish language. Depending upon student ability, tablets will allow the teacher to scaffold instruction starting from novice through advanced language knowledge. Scaffolding will allow students to proceed at their own pace while learning a second language.

Expanding exposure to the Spanish language and culture will help prepare the students attending ASCS for the bilingual workforce of today. Utilizing the equipment purchased with this grant, students will experience an increased availability of bilingual language and cultural instruction by 50% each week. With the increased accessibility, the additional exposure will result in overall greater knowledge of the Spanish language and culture. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of Spanish by actively using the language in all oral and written work. All audio and video presentations will also be completed in Spanish.

In addition to oral and written language, students will be exposed to the music, dance, and art of the Spanish culture. Each quarter throughout the school year, the students will focus on one style of Spanish music, dance, and art. Students will learn about four genres of Hispanic music including but not limited to Salsa, Mariachi, Latin pop, and Latin Jazz. After researching and listening to the different styles, the students will be able to identify the differences between the four genres. Students will create a slide presentation discussing the music styles focusing on the significance each style on the Spanish culture. Students will also create audio clips using the tablets replicating the sound of the focus genre. These will be included on the slide presentations. In addition to learning about music, students will learn the steps to the Mambo, Salsa, Merengue, and Flamenco dances. Working in small groups, the students will create a video montage

using the camera on the tablet demonstrating the four different styles of dance. They will be able to identify and discuss the meaning of each dance. Art is another important aspect of the Spanish culture. Studying about such artists as Salvador Dali, Jean-Michael Bazquiat, Pablo Picasso, and Frida Kahlo, students will learn about the style and impact

each artist has had on the world. Students will demonstrate knowledge of each style of art by creating a drawing, scanning the work using the tablets, and downloading the file to a slide presentation. All slide presentations will be downloaded and embedded on the school website for viewing.

As stated earlier, all students graduating from ASCS will be able to create visual and audio presentations using tablets using Spanish. These presentations will become more complex and exhibit higher order thinking as the student progresses through the grades. The integration of tablets will provide the students with the resources necessary to complete the assigned tasks along with increasing their knowledge and demonstration of a second language. Students will not only be developing a greater understanding of a second language and the culture, but they will also be improving technology skills necessary to be competitive in the bilingual workforce they will be entering as adults.

Budget

The goal of this grant proposal is to ensure the graduates of All Saints Catholic School (ASCS) are exposed to language and culture important in the bilingual and multicultural globalized workforce of today with the integration of tablets. By providing the students the opportunity to study foreign language with the use of tablets, they will have increased access to bi-lingual instruction.

For ASCS to achieve its goal, the school is requesting funding for the following equipment:

Nomenclature Tablets Charge & Sync Station Protective Covers Wireless Keyboards Cleaning Kits Estimated Shipping Costs

Quantity 10 1 10 10 2

Unit Cost $499.00 $1,199.95 $49.95 $59.95 $29.95

Total Cost $4,990.00 $1,199.95 $499.95 $599.95 $59.90 $500.00

Total

$7,849.75

The tablets will serve as the primary means of instruction with lessons being managed and guided by the classroom teacher. The Charge & Sync Station will be stationed in a secure location to house the tablets when not in use. Protective covers are a necessary component to protect the tablets from possible damage if dropped. The

wireless keyboards will provide the students with an authentic replica an actual computer. Typing skills acquired from the keyboards are transferable to other subject areas as the students progress through the grades. For hygiene purposes, two cleaning kits are being requested. All applications used to achieve the goal of this grant proposal will be at no cost in order to reduce procurement and maintenance costs. Since the tablets are highly portable, this will allow for quick set up and take down in the individual classrooms. The

proposed budget provides funding for ASCS to procure the equipment necessary to provide students in grades K-6 access to a foreign language.

Evaluation Grant Evaluator Contact Information: Denise Hammrich, Principal, All Saints Catholic School 208-743-4411 dhammrich@ascs-pk6.org 641 5th Avenue, Lewiston, Idaho 83501 To best manage the implementation of the tablet driven Spanish program at ASCS, the following procedures will be put in place immediately upon receipt of funding. The objectives will be evaluated by the following means.

To increase the availability of bi-lingual instruction for ASCS students by more than 50% from two thirty minute sessions per week to five by Fall 2014. Teachers will provide the principal with a schedule documenting the newly revised schedule for Spanish instruction increasing class length from two thirty minute classes to either four thirty minute classes or two sixty minute classes per week. Teacher lesson plans will be reviewed by the principal quarterly to ensure compliance to the agreed upon schedule for Spanish instruction. To ensure the equipment purchased with this grant is used to its fullest potential, the principal will conduct unannounced spot checks quarterly during scheduled foreign language periods.

The principal will conduct quarterly observations in grades K-6 and complete an evaluation for each teacher. The recipient will make comments as necessary.

The program will be continually assessed. Teachers will collaborate quarterly during a staff meeting regarding the effectiveness of the applications being used. Applications used in all grades will be reviewed quarterly and either be updated or replaced as necessary. A running record of all applications being used in grades K-6 will be maintained on the school server. The running record will include name of application, site URL, comments, and the date the application was initially used or the date the site was determined to be no longer useful.

All serial numbers will be recorded and kept in a file maintained on the school server.

To increase individual classroom scheduling flexibility in grades K-6 for Spanish instruction by 40% by Fall 2014. Classroom teachers will complete quarterly surveys assessing the program.

To increase scaffolding options for students in grades K-6 depending upon learner ability from beginner to advanced by Fall 2014. Lesson plans will be collected quarterly documenting the applications used in each grade and the level of difficulty ranging from novice to advanced will be annotated.

To increase exposure to the Spanish culture by 50% utilizing technology by Fall 2014. The implementation dates will be disseminated to the teachers prior to the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Teachers will collaborate and provide the principal with a schedule documenting the newly revised length of class. To ensure compliance with the program, the principal will assess all lesson plans associated with this program quarterly in grades K-6. Student work will be assessed using a grade level appropriate standard four-point rubric. To increase the creation of bilingual visual or auditory presentations by 100% for all sixth grade students graduating from ASCS.

Student slide presentations will be collected and kept in an electronic portfolio demonstrating an increased level of difficulty as the students progress through grades K-6. Students in grades 4-6 will be responsible for posting their work into a pre-assigned folder. The classroom teachers in grades K-3 will maintain student portfolios.

The evaluations from the observations will be collected and assessed by the principal. Once the assessments are completed, the evaluations will be placed in the teachers personnel record for future use. Quarterly surveys completed by the teachers will be collected, evaluated, and stored for three years. The principal will consider all All lesson plans for the

suggestions or recommendations to improve the program.

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program will be collected quarterly and assessed by the principal to ensure compliance with the program. The lesson plans will be stored on the school server for future reference. Classroom teachers will be responsible for assessing student work in accordance with a grade level appropriate rubric. All students participating in the

program at ASCS will to create an electronic portfolio beginning in kindergarten and culminating in the sixth grade upon graduation. The portfolio will document the

students progress in the acquisition of a foreign language while attending ASCS and serve as an artifact for future foreign languages classes.

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