Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

Internship Proposal
Transfer Learning with Seesaw- New Town Elementary

Rationale
I started off as in intern at New Town Elementary school in the 2014-2015 school year.
Technology was used throughout the building by teachers and staff to engage students in
learning. Students were able to use devices in library and technology class. Now I am working
at New Town as a third grade teacher and students have one-to-one devices. The devices are
used in the classrooms for students to access tools such as Dreambox and iReady. These tools are
used to help students with their own needs and allows teachers to assign specific lessons.
Although these programs have been proven to increase student performance in math and reading,
I would like to introduce a new technology tool that will engage students in collaboration and
connect what they are doing in class to what they are doing at home. Dreambox and iReady can
be used at home but it does not show parents what we are currently working on in class. Nor
does it allow them to see an online portfolio of their child’s work. Sometimes graded work will
make its way home and other times it will fall out of the student’s folder in the hallway or while
he/she is on their way out of the door. We need to find more ways to integrate technology to
support teaching and student learning.
The innovative tool that I would like to introduce to my school is called Seesaw. It is an
online application that allows students to connect through a device. “Seesaw is used by millions
of students in more than half of the schools in the U.S. and in over 150 countries around the
world.” (web.seesaw.me) This innovation allows students to take ownership of their own
learning. It also gives them the skills that are needed to self-reflect on their progress. This tool
encourages communication and involvement with family and friends. Which allows parents to
show support and be aware of what their child is working on in class. This tool can be used as an
online portfolio for students to access in the classroom and at home.

Learners
There are many people who I would like to be included in this technology innovation. I
would encourage all primary and intermediate teachers. I would also include special education
teachers who collaborate and plan with the homeroom teachers. Special area teachers such as the
library media specialist, art, music and gym teacher would all be invited to participate in some
shape or form. Students usually bring their devices to special area classes, so they will have the
materials that are needed. I would also like to have all 3 administrators and the STAT teacher
involved with the planning process.
There are two technology liaisons at my school and I am one of them. I oversee the
intermediate students and teachers and the other technology liaison oversees the primary students
and teachers. I would like to have the other technology liaison help with leading the technology
committee as well as help with troubleshooting computers when things go wrong. I would
encourage teachers to invite their parents by introducing them to the technology tool. Teachers
can do this by showing them how to connect and support their child by viewing their child work
and leaving voice or text comments. Teachers can also utilize the messenger feature on the
application by communicating with parents online.
Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

Objectives
Two or more objectives will be met during each session to help teachers understand
Seesaw and learn how to integrate it into their own classroom. Teachers will have an
understanding on how Seesaw can be used to assess learning and encourage collaboration
between students and their peers. Teachers will be able to involve parents and allow self-
reflection for students as they use this tool to document their learning.
Session One:
 Teachers will develop an understanding of Seesaw and how it can be used in the
classroom.
 Teachers will add a class and share an assignment with their students.
Session Two:
 Teachers will learn how to customize learning by creating assignments that align to the
curriculum.
 Teachers will learn how to access Zoom to participate in online meeting sessions.
Session Three:
 Teachers will encourage collaboration between the students and their peers.
 Teachers will learn how to set up student’s online portfolios.
Session Four:
 Teachers will learn how to access student portfolios and assess their learning.
 Teachers will encourage communication and involvement with family members.
Session Five:
 Teachers will explore the blog feature that Seesaw offers.
 Teachers will be able to collaborate with other teachers in their building.
 Teachers will explore ways to collaborate with classrooms around the world.
Change: Research (ACOT Model)
After analyzing Ely’s Eight Conditions of Change, there are some conditions that my
school meet but there are also conditions that my school has not met. Teachers are disappointed
about not having training for the technology tools on BCPS One that are available for us to
use. Parents would like to have more resources from the school to use at home to support their
children. There are also problems that cannot be solved such as the large classroom sizes of 30
students. Some teachers are not willing to change or try new things therefore, they would not
consider changing their teaching procedures. This is part of the reason why we see poor
performance on examinations.
Although there are things that cannot be changed, many teachers agree that they have the
knowledge and skills that are needed to implement change. They also believe that they have the
resources that are needed to assist their learners. At my school not, all teachers have eco-
Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

strengths but most of them are willing to learn through professional opportunities. The things
that are needed to make this innovation happen are devices for each teacher and student. My
school provides laptops for each teacher and each student to use for the duration of school.
Students will have the same device from 1st grade to 5th grade. So, the students will have the
necessary materials easily ready for implementation.
Educational change takes time and time may be a factor that is not as convenient for all
teachers. All teachers may not be available to meet before or after school at the same time due to
other obligations. Therefore, they might want to meet up one-on-one during their planning or
lunch time. Some teachers are willing to meet up for professional development sessions. One
thing that I have to make sure is that I am using everyone’s time wisely. Since there will be a lot
of time needed to receive training, revise plans, practice new materials; time is necessary for
implementation to occur.
Just like our students and children need incentives when learning something new,
teachers need incentives too. I plan on motivating teachers by using incentives such as giving out
teaching resources, food and professional development opportunities during the training
sessions. In order to find out who would be willing to participate in this innovation, I will be
sending out a survey using google forms. The survey will include 10 questions; including both
multiple choice and short answer responses. This will be a good way for me to give the staff
information on what the training sessions will be about and what will be expected of them if they
would like to participate. Once I build a team of people who are willing to implement this change
I will send out a sign-up genius with all of the preplanned dates for training. I will also hold
some training sessions online for teachers to join synchronously and asynchronously.
Teachers are willing to participate and commit to the implementation of this technology
tool. Commitment is a condition that is being met at my school. Administration is committed to
giving teachers the time and tools that are necessary for creating ways to engage students with
technology. They also encourage teachers to include technology in their lesson plans and daily
activities to allow students to become more familiar with using it.
Teachers are expecting to see leadership from someone who can give assistance and
guidance on how to use this tool. I am willing to use their time wisely by allowing them to
practice using the technology during the training sessions and allowing them time to become
experts. I will also provide one-on-one assistance and support to teachers who need more time
than others to learn the skills that are needed. As questions come up, I will upload screencast
videos showing how to use Seesaw.
The strengths at my school is that teachers are willing to participate and commit to the
implementation. Teachers are also willing to learn, adapt and integrate a new technology
tool. Our learners have one-to-one devices and materials that are needed for the change. The
weaknesses are that teachers do not have training on everything that is offered on BCPS One.
They have previously had many different technology tools thrown at them at once so, they were
not able to become an expert at any of them. Some potential challenges are that people may not
be available to meet at the same time before of after school. Getting teachers to push themselves
to become experts might be a challenge as well.
The Apple Classroom of Tomorrow (ACOT) is research on students and teachers that
focuses on technology. The data that is collected shows what happens when teachers change
their teaching styles as they adapt to incorporating technology into their everyday activities.
Teachers experience these changes in five phases; Entry, Adoption, Adaption, Appropriation and
 Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

Invention. Their research shows the effects of teachers and students who have instant access to
technology.
For the teachers who are at the Entry level and feel frustrated with resource management
I would give them ideas on how to manage these behaviors. I would also set up times for them to
observe another teacher who is already managing these behaviors in their classroom. Sometimes
it is more helpful to see it done by a teacher who is already past this stage. There are not many
teachers at my school who will be at this stage. Most of the teachers have been teaching for years
and are able to manage behaviors when trying something new with technology.
The teachers who are at the Adoption stage will be encouraged to collaborate and share
ideas on how they are able to master skills at using the technology. These teachers will be pushed
by becoming more familiar with how to use the technology and manage it. The hands-on
sessions will allow them to create and explore while having me for guidance if they have any
questions or concerns.
The teachers who are at the Adaption stage already feel comfortable with using the
technology and incorporating it into daily instruction. However, they may need to be pushed
further by learning new strategies for instruction. They will need valuable feedback from either
me or an administrator on what is going well and how to improve. During this stage, teachers
will finally see the benefits of all their hard work and dedication.
The teachers who are at the Appropriation stage can use the technology as a tool and
will be pushed further by incorporating project-based learning and instruction. As well as new
instructional patterns. The teacher will become more of a facilitator and encourage more
collaborative work among the students. Teachers will be encouraged to do team planning with
teachers from different grade levels and subject areas.
When teachers are at this final stage (Invention) they will be encouraged to implement
interdisciplinary learning activities to engage their students in finding the information that is
needed, analyzing and synthesizing to build more knowledge and add to their past experiences.
My school has a very large staff and there is a large age gap between the new teachers and the
veterans, however most of the teachers are willing to learn and try new things. They are excited
about implementing a technology innovation this school year.

Overview of Learning Activities

Session Objectives: Tasks
1. 10/3/18 Teachers will develop an understanding  Introduce Seesaw
of Seesaw and how it can be used in the  Explain how it works
classroom.  Show teachers how to set up a free
account and add a class.
Teachers will add a class and share an  Browse the Activity Library
assignment with their students.  Demonstrate how to choose an
activity that’s already made and
share it with students.
 Show how students can join with
QR code.
 Charmaine Futch Loyola University
2. 10/17/18 Teachers will learn how to customize
learning by creating assignments that
align to the curriculum.
Teachers will learn how to access Zoom
to participate in online meeting sessions.
3. 10/31/18 Teachers will encourage collaboration
between the students and their peers.
Teachers will learn how to set up
student’s online portfolios.
4. 11/14/18 Teachers will learn how to access student
portfolios and assess their learning.
Teachers will encourage communication
and involvement with family members.
Fall 2018
 Show how students can respond
using Seesaw’s tools. (Photo, video,
drawing, camera, note and link)
 Teachers will complete a google
form survey for me to evaluate their
learning.
 Demonstrate how to create an
activity.
 Demonstrate how to upload
templates to guide an activity. (ex:
KWL Chart, Story Map, Venn
Diagram)
 Explain Zoom and show teachers
how they can access it to join live
sessions online.
 Teachers will complete a google
form survey for me to evaluate their
learning.
 Explain how students can
collaborate on Seesaw.
 Demonstrate how to approve new
student responses.
 Demonstrate how the student’s
portfolio can be organized into
different folders by subject area.
 Show examples of how it can be
used to document a reading, writing
and math journal or used during
rotations and calendar math.
 Teachers will complete a google
form survey for me to evaluate their
learning.
 Explain how teachers can view
student work in one place and
access portfolios.
 Explain how to get parents
connected to access their child’s
work and respond by leaving a
comment. Show how parents can get
notifications from the app and
explore the messaging feature that
 Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

can be used between the parent and

5. 11/28/18 Teachers will explore the blog feature
that Seesaw offers.
Teachers will be able to collaborate with
other teachers in their building.
Teachers will explore ways to collaborate
with classrooms around the world.
the teacher.
 Teachers will complete a google
form survey for me to evaluate their
learning.
 Explore the Blog feature.
 Explain how to connect with
classrooms around the world.
 Allow teachers to collaborate and
share ways that Seesaw has worked
in their classroom.
 Have teachers show examples of
assignments they have created and
how the students are documenting
work in their portfolio.
 Encourage teachers suggest
strategies on when it is appropriate
to allow students to add to their
portfolio in class. (ex: during
rotations)
 Teachers will complete a google
form survey for me to evaluate their
learning.

Tech Tools & Online Learning

Most teachers have responsibilities outside of work which might make it difficult to meet
in person for every session. Therefore, I will be holding some sessions online after school. The
technology tool that will be used for the online sessions will be Zoom. It is easily assessible and
allows people to join with a link. Sessions can also be recorded for viewing later in case teachers
are not able to view it live. I will upload “how to” videos to answer questions that may arise once
teachers begin using this tool.
Along with Seesaw, I will also be using presentation tools such as PowerPoint and
Genially. When collaborating I will encourage teachers to use google docs to share ideas. At the
beginning of my internship I will use a google form to collect information from a survey that will
go out to all staff members.

TPACK/SAMR
Integrating Seesaw into teaching and learning will go along with the Modification level
of the SAMR Model. Students will be able to use audio and video to capture pictures of their
work and use their voice to explain it. Teachers will use QR codes to have students join the class
and complete assignments on Seesaw. A writing and text tool can also be used by students to
show their work. Teachers will be able to use this tool to enhance instruction by assigning work
and allowing collaboration between students and parents. It can be used for students to practice
Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

their skills learned in reading, writing and math. Teachers can use this data to personalize
learning based on student needs.
The TPACK Model will also be supported using Seesaw. Students have one-to-one
devices and will be able to access technology to use Seesaw. The content will align with the
curriculum and be used to assess those standards. I will use the pedagogical part of TPACK to
understand how to teach adult learners at my school. My recent classes at Loyola has given me
skills on how to keep adults engaged in presentations and understanding the importance of
making use of their time by allowing them to explore the tool.

Conclusion
At New Town Elementary School, students are expected to take ownership of their learning by
being respectful, responsible and ready to learn. Students can use technology to capture and reflect their
learning and share it with others outside of the classroom. Seesaw is an innovative technology that allows
teachers to actively engage their students while getting an insight on what they know and still need to
learn. Our mission is to allow students to connect with their peers not only in the classroom but, all over
the world.
Charmaine Futch Loyola University Fall 2018

References
Dwyer, D., Ringstaff, C., Sandholtz, J. Integrating Technology into Classoom Instruction: An

Assessment of the Impact of the ACOT Teacher Development Center Project.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T0Zn4WLNud2A2-8n_ymR8F-2bXXmCsUO/view

Ely, Donald P. Conditions that Facilitate the Implementation of Educational Technology Innovations.

Journal of Research on Computing in Education, Vol.2 Issue 2

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tXQUy2l--C427T9XLrqYNfm8KxLB3Jxu/view
Rogers, Everett M. Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11yKJdvCZveoAKxKKbc-EJCTK0sLVeahz/view