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| What's
New |
Information
| Curriculum
| Resources
| Intranet
The project will provide four major
activities to assist teachers, mentors, and community members in
enhancing student learning through integrated curricula supported by
technology. The activities will include professional development for
teachers, curriculum development activities, community connections
programs, and statewide and national dissemination of 400 project
curriculum models and resources through a website and CD-ROM.
The project will: increase the
capacity of educators to teach effectively through integrated
curriculum reflecting Nebraska frameworks, the creation of a cadre of
600 teachers able to assist colleagues in effective use of curriculum
integration and technology, improved achievement by high risk
Nebraska students, and the creation of a national and statewide
learning community of middle and secondary teachers.
The project is a part of the
High-Performance Learning (HPL) Model established as the school
improvement effort in Nebraska. The HPL Model allows local school
districts to determine how best to meet community needs by providing
for a quality education for all students and be
accountable to the district patrons and the state that these
services are provided.
Nebraska's commitment to education
reform includes a commitment to educational technology. Nebraska's
satellite dedicated solely to educational purposes, the established
Internet hub sites providing servers, toll-free access, the two way
interactive distance learning pods infrastructure, and CD-ROM
capabilities will be the major technologies utilized in this
project.
Goal 1: Improve learning in core
subject areas by middle and secondary school students in Nebraska
through more effective teaching and technology-supported integrated
curricula reflecting state curriculum frameworks based on Goals 2000
and national standards.
Objective 1.1 Educators will
develop, implement and evaluate a minimum of 400 technology-supported
integrated curriculum modules emphasizing core subject areas.
Project Activities
The Connections Project began in the
fall of 1996 with the arrival of the Project Director, Dr. Lawrence
Bundy, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The first planning meeting for The
Connections Project was held on November 3 and 4, 1996 at Mahoney
State Park, Ashland, Nebraska. Attending this meeting were Dr.
Marshall Adams, Superintendent, Seward Public Schools, Dr. Dean
Bergman, Administrator, Nebraska Department of Education, Ms. Ann
Masters, Administrator, Nebraska Department of Education, Dr. Neal
Topp and Dr. Neal Grandgenett, Project Evaluators, University of
Nebraska-Omaha and Dr. Lawrence Bundy, Project Director. This meeting
was to review the goals and objectives of the grant, to outline a
timetable for action and to discuss the project's evaluation. On
November 6, 1996, an orientation meeting was held at Kearney,
Nebraska. (See Attachment #1) This meeting provided an opportunity to
review the goals and objectives of the grant, to distribute budgets
to the respective sites and to give instructions for hiring Site
Coordinators and Technology Specialists. The timetable called for
each site to complete their hiring by January 1, 1997 so that the
Project Director, with the assistance of the Site Coordinators and
Technology Specialists, could begin implementing the major planning
activities for the grant. (See Attachment #2) Once a majority of the
planning team was in place, a series of meetings were established in
order to bring together the key players needed to plan the major
staff development workshops scheduled for the summer of 1997. (See
Meeting Timetable, Attachment #3) Essential to the success of this
staff development was the inclusion of the classroom teachers from
the lead sites as part of the planning group. It was critical that
these teachers and the other members of the planning team have open
lines of communication with other teachers in their schools so that
the Project had easy access of communication in the planning model.
This process is essential if we are to have active and full
participation in the Project's activities. As a result of our
planning sessions, the grant will be conducting two major workshops
this summer. The first of these will be the week of June 22-27, 1997
in Kearney, Nebraska. This workshop will be unique in that the other
Challenge Grant in Nebraska, The Community Discovered, will be
joining us in this week's activities. A total of 50 teachers from The
Connections Project and a total of 40 teachers from The Community
Discovered Project will participate together in this week-long
workshop. The second workshop will be for a second group of 50
teachers from The Connections Project and will be held the week of
July 27 through August 1, 1997 in North Platte, Nebraska. The
planning team has identified several significant skills they want
participants to know and be able to do at the close of the summer
professional development activity. (See Attachment #4) These
activities are seen as essential as we take teachers in new
directions in their classrooms. Included in these are: The
understanding of constructivisim, how it helps students and how
teachers can make the transition in their classrooms; the Nebraska
Curriculum Frameworks and how teachers can incorporate these models
into their unit plans and classroom activities; how to apply the
skills of teaming, both with students and with colleagues; and the
ability to identify and use available technology resources. From this
model the planning team began to identify the workshop activities,
the presenters for those activities and the sequence for the
activities.
Evaluation Activities Timeline (See Attachment #5)
Teacher survey Years 3, 4, 5
Module review as developed 1-5
Status
A teacher survey has been developed
and administered for all teachers in the lead sites to provide
baseline data for the evaluation of the effectiveness of this grant.
This pre-survey includes the understanding of the state curriculum
frameworks, Goals 2000, and the other national standards. Portions of
this pre-survey will be used in the teacher survey for years 3, 4,
and 5.
The strategy for the content and
format of the modules is being developed. The evaluation team has
been involved in the process and the appropriate web site is being
developed to store these modules so that all project teachers, and
all web users, have access to them.
Objective 1.2 A minimum of 20%
of the curriculum modules developed will relate to the theme of
global education, a goal endorsed by the Nebraska State Board of
Education. Perspectives, a program featuring international and
national leaders and accessible to all Nebraska schools via
satellite, will be integrated into these modules.
Project Activities
Planning for the summer workshops has
included the participation of the Director of Social Science for the
Nebraska Curriculum Frameworks. He will be working with the Project's
teachers during the summer workshop and during the academic year to
provide the themes from the Perspectives Program.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Module review as developed 1-5
Status
See Objective 1.1
Objective 1.3 By 2002, 80% of
participating teachers will be effectively implementing integrated
core curricula that reflect state curriculum frameworks.
Project Activities
The focus of the summer workshops is
to prepare two sets of 50 teachers from the lead sites so they can
begin effectively implementing integrated core curriculum using
technology. (See Attachment #6) The two week-long sessions (See
Attachment #7) will begin on Sunday evening with a visual
introduction to the project plus a series of activities so
participants can get acquainted. The project is focusing its
theoretical approach to learning and knowledge upon Constructivism.
The keynote speaker at Kearney will be Dr. Jacqueline Brooks, of
Stony Brook, New York, author of In Search of Understanding, The
Case for Constructivist Classrooms. She will present
research-based findings that support a call for Constructivism. In
addition, she will present the guiding principles of Constructivism
and show the teachers how they can create Constructivist settings.
The keynote speaker for the North Platte workshop has not been
finalized. We are currently in discussions with Dr. Lynell Burmark of
San Francisco from the Thornberg Center. The second and third day of
each workshop will include presentations by representatives from
Susan Kovalik and Associates. At the Kearney workshop we will have
Susan Pearson from Syracuse, New York. She will focus on brain-based
learning, integrated thematic instruction and skills for working in
teams. At the North Platte workshop will be Jill Hay from Waco,
Texas. Also on the second day will be presentations by curriculum
coordinators, representing the core subject areas in the Nebraska
Frameworks, who are from the Nebraska Department of Education. The
third day will be a continuation of the Susan Kovalik and Associate
presentation plus an opportunity for teachers to begin receiving
hands-on technology training. The fourth day will focus on teams
working together to create practice units that include: Integration
of curriculum using the frameworks; the principles of Constructivism;
brain-based learning theory; and the use of a specially designed
lesson format. These sessions will be led by presenters from the
North Platte schools and Educational Service Units. The final day of
each week's activities will be opportunities for the teams to share
their progress and to identify the themes they have selected, the
technology resources they used and the problems and successes they
encountered.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teacher survey Years 1, 2, 3, 4,
5
Status
The baseline survey has been
administered. The annual survey will be developed using items from
the pre-survey, as well as additional items as appropriate.
Objective 1.4 Nebraska middle
and secondary students in the target school districts will
demonstrate their ability to achieve at high levels in the core
subjects of mathematics, science, social studies, language arts and
foreign languages.
Project Activities
See evaluation activities under
Objective 1.4.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
California Achievement group scores for Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
core subjects or school-adopted achievement
tests review by group and grade level annually
Individual teacher assessment report Years 3, 5
Student focus groups Year 4
Status
The California Achievement group
scores will be reported annually by each participating school.
Objective 1.5 Effective
technology-supported integrated curriculum modules will be
disseminated for statewide and national use through a CD-ROM, the
Internet and a cadre of technology and curriculum integration
facilitators.
Project Activities
Each of the lead school sites will be
installing a CD-ROM Lab. In year one the CD-ROM Lab is being
installed at Seward, Nebraska. In addition, each of the lead school
sites is installing a minimum of five computers and printers for
their teachers to access the Internet and to submit materials to our
web site for dissemination.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Report on progress and dissemination
on CD Year 5
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 5. Currently, the web
server is being developed.
Goal 2: Build the capacity of
Nebraska educators to effectively use technology and curriculum
integration to promote student learning and achievement.
Objective 2.1 80% of
participating teachers will be able to identify appropriate
technology-based educational resources that support integrated
education and state curriculum frameworks based on national
standards.
Project Activities
Beginning with the summer workshops
in 1997, Project Site Coordinators and Technology Specialists will
work with participating teachers regarding appropriate technology
that can support integrated curriculums. The summer workshops will
have specially designed sessions on technology. In addition, special
computer labs will be open each evening for the workshop teachers.
Follow-up activities during the academic year will include on-site
assistance, plus mini-workshops and related staff development
activities.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teachers will list resources and panel of Years 3, 4, 5
experts will evaluate their lists
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 3, 4, and 5.
Objective 2.2 80% of
participating teachers will demonstrate competency in the use of
educational technologies including: the Internet; CD-ROM; and
distance learning including two-way interactive video.
Project Activities
Planning for ways that teachers can
demonstrate their competencies in the use of educational technology
is currently underway by the Project's Site Coordinators and
Technology Specialists.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teacher self-assessment based on technology Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Competency standards
Participant evaluation of professional Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
development workshop program
Status
The baseline survey has been
administered. The annual survey will be developed using items from
the pre-survey, as well as additional items as appropriate.
The evaluation instruments for the
professional development workshop program are being developed, with
the collaboration of the evaluation team and participating schools.
This evaluation will be conducted at the end of each day of the
workshop and will be used both for evaluation and participant
reflection. Some of the instruments will be administered on the
web.
Objective 2.3 Participating
teachers will regularly use the resources available through The
Connections Project web page. (The network will be used a
minimum of four times per year by 60% of project participants in the
project's final two years.)
Project Activities
See evaluation activities under
Objective 2.3.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Web server data analysis Years 1, 2,
3, 4, 5
Status
The web site is in development
currently. The web server has a statistic program that will identify
all users and the amount of use by each user.
Goal 3: Strengthen educational
achievement of high risk students including those who are
economically disadvantaged, minority geographically isolated, or
adjudicated youths (delinquent or incarcerated) through
technology-supported integrated curriculum.
Objective 3.1 High risk
students in the target areas will have access to computers both at
school and after school and will use these computers to help them
succeed academically.
Project Activities
Each of the lead school sites will be
ordering equipment in year two of the grant for high risk students to
use both at school and after school. The Project Director and Seward
Site Coordinator are meeting with the Staff Development Administrator
at the Nebraska Department of Education. The focus of the meeting
will be upon tested programs involving parents that can be used in
this Project.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
School district survey Years 2, 3,
4
Status
A baseline report was written by each
site containing the availability of resources before the beginning of
the project. (See Attachment #8)
Objective 3.2 Students in
Nebraska's school districts with enrollments of under 1,000 will
experience a 50% increase in the use of technology-supported
education.
Project Activities
This objective is under review and
will need to be addressed at a future date.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
School district survey Years 1, 2, 3,
4, 5
Status
The baseline survey has been
administered to each lead school. The annual survey will be developed
using items from the pre-survey, as well as additional items as
appropriate.
In addition, a statewide teacher
survey has been administered to gain an understanding of the amount
of technology-supported education currently. This statewide survey
will be given each year.
Objective 3.3 80% of teachers
who serve Nebraska's adjudicated and incarcerated youth will
demonstrate their ability to use educational technology appropriately
in their classrooms and improve the educational achievement of their
students.
Project Activities
Teachers from both the Adjudicated
Youth Center at Geneva and the Adjudicated Youth Center at Kearney
have participated in the planning for the summer workshops. There
will be a total of eight teachers attending the summer workshops from
the two centers. In addition, a meeting was held April 2, 1997 in
Geneva, Nebraska attended by teachers from both sites, the Kearney
Site Coordinator and the Project Director, to discuss the unique
needs of the respective populations and to begin plans for ways of
using educational technology at both sites.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teacher survey Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Classroom observations Years 3, 4, 5
Student product examples Years 2, 3,
4, 5
Status
The baseline teacher survey has been
administered. The annual survey will be developed using items from
the pre-survey, as well as additional items as appropriate.
A rubric for classroom observations
and the evaluation of student products is being developed.
Objective 3.4 70% of
adjudicated youths, students at Kearney YRTC, Geneva YRTC, and the
Secure Youth Confinement Facility in Omaha with a stay of three
months or longer will demonstrate competence in using computers for
word processing and budget management and will be able to access the
Internet/World Wide Web, CD-ROM, and other technologies to seek
information. Students will use multi-media presentation skills to
produce information designed to prevent delinquent behavior by other
youths.
Project Activities
Computer equipment has been ordered
for both Adjudicated Youth Centers. The Geneva Center for girls
operates as a more traditional classroom setting while students at
the Kearney Center for boys have more individualized instructional
programs. Following the summer workshops the teacher representatives
from both sites, along with their Site Coordinator and the Project
Director will be meeting to plan appropriate uses of educational
technology for their respective students. The Omaha facility is still
under construction.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teacher survey Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Classroom observations Years 3, 4, 5
Status
The baseline teacher survey has been
administered. The annual survey will be developed using items from
the pre-survey, as well as additional items as appropriate.
A rubric for classroom observations
is being developed
Goal 4. Establish partnerships
among educators, business, agriculture, industry, and parents to
infuse "work world" problem-solving and perspectives across the
curriculum and to support student learning.
Objective 4.1 Business,
agriculture and industry partners will work with Connections
Project teachers to document integrated problem solving at
work in their organizations.
Project Activities
The planning team has begun visits to
community, business, agricultural and industry partners as the
project seeks ways for teachers to create connections between work
world tasks and the curriculum. On Wednesday, April 23, 1997, a visit
was made to Valmont Industries, Inc. In Valley, Nebraska. Tom Whalen,
Vice President of Human Resources, Valmont Industries, and Dr. Ken
Jones, Metropolitan Community College, met with the group to give the
planning team background information on the Corporation and the
workplace training program they currently have in place lead by Dr.
Jones. Valmont Industries was founded in 1946 and has grown to a
half-billion dollar manufacturing company. They are the largest
provider of street lighting standards and traffic signal poles in the
world. Valmont's second major industry is in the irrigation business
where they are the largest producer of mechanized irrigation
equipment. Valmont currently has a workplace training program in
place called Valmont 2000 in connection with Metropolitan Community
College. Valmont 2000 is training designed to increase the skill
levels of employees for their current job. This training includes:
reading in the workplace, communication in the workplace (speaking,
writing), and math in the workplace. Mr. Whalen stressed the
importance of employees having problem solving skills and the ability
to work on teams as being key components to employee and business
success. Valmont Industries will work with the Project as we find
ways to bring "real life" problem solving into the classroom.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Review of video vignettes produced
Years 3, 4, 5
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 3, 4, and 5.
Objective 4.2 Examples of
"work world" problem-solving documented on videotape and through
CD-ROM will be accessible to every teacher in the state for inclusion
into their course curricula.
Project Activities
Each CD-ROM Lab plan for the five
lead school sites will have videotaping equipment that will be used
with each of the project's business, agriculture and industry
partners. We are in the process of rescheduling a visit to the
Sundstrand Aerospace Corporation in York, Nebraska.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Report on accessibility Years 4, 5 (or upon
completion of CD and
WWW pages)
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 4 and 5.
Objective 4.3 A minimum of 20%
of lead school district parents will learn to use computer-based
educational resources and will use these resources in family-centered
learning projects developed to supplement students' in-class
work.
Project Activities
Lap top computers are scheduled for
purchase in year two of the grant. This equipment will be used with
lead school district parents and their sons and daughters. (See
Attachment #9)
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Survey school districts on number of parents Years 3, 4, 5
attending workshops
Status
The baseline teacher survey has been
administered. The annual survey will be developed using items from
the pre-survey, as well as additional items as appropriate.
Objective 4.4 Teachers will
demonstrate the involvement of project business, industry and
agricultural partners to improve student learning across the
curriculum.
Project Activities
The Project's Site Coordinators have
responsibilities for working with the other members of the planning
team and the teachers in the Project in what are called areas of
specialization. Our lead Site Coordinator at Ainsworth has the
responsibility to work with the planning team and their respective
teachers in developing the Project's connections between the
classroom and business, industry and agriculture. Seward's lead Site
Coordinator is responsible for curriculum integration by disciplines.
Parental involvement in the use of technology in the classroom is the
area of specialization for lead Site Coordinator in Morrill. Our lead
Site Coordinator in Kearney has the responsibility for professional
development of teachers. Helping planning team members and teachers
understand the theory of constructivism is the area of specialization
for our North Platte Site Coordinator.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teacher survey Years 3, 4, 5
Survey of partner participants Years
3, 4, 5
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 3, 4, and 5.
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Objective 4.5 In partnership
with the Indian Center, Inc.'s and its six community-based resource
centers, Native American students will have increased access to
information about job opportunities, career planning, and the
educational requirements for those jobs.
Project Activities
Several meetings have been held with
Indian Center, Inc. officials. These discussions have included the
necessary equipment and training needed at each site in order for
Native American clients to access the Job Placement files through the
Nebraska Department of Labor. The Department of Labor officials have
also been included in these meetings. The topics have included
software needs; Internet connections and phone connections; and
appropriate training needed for each of the sites. Technology
Specialists from the Project are visiting each of the Indian Center,
inc. sites throughout the state to discuss the above topics. (See
Attachment #10)
Evaluation Activities Time line
Student survey and follow-up Years 1,
2, 3, 4, 5
Status
A computer usage log at each Indian
Center, Inc. site will be kept, detailing the users of the computer
and the types of activities performed at the computer.
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Goal 5. Create new communities of educators and students through technology to facilitate shared learning, expanding educational resources and barrier free collaboration across Nebraska and the United States to further the national educational goals of educational reform.
Objective 5.1 Educators
across Nebraska and the U.S. will be able to access Connections
Project curriculum, resources and results through the project web
site and CD-ROMs, and collaborate with project participants.
Project Activities
The Project's web site is being
developed at the University of Nebraska-0maha. A web site design has
been selected by our evaluation team. Our web site designer plans to
have our web page up by May 14, 1997 at the following address:
http://ois.unomaha.edu/connections/. Our Project's Technology
Specialist at North Platte is working with our planning team and the
web site designer in order to select appropriate software and teacher
lesson plan format for inclusion on our web site.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Monitor web site usage and CD-ROM Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
distribution
Status
The web site will be available to all
web users and the use will be monitored using the server statistics
program. CD ROM's and collaboration activities will be assessed after
their inception.
Objective 5.2 Technology will
enable students from across Nebraska and the U.S. to collaborate on
learning activities.
Project Activities
Planning for these activities will
occur during year two of the grant.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Teachers logs of collaborative distance Years 3, 4, 5
learning or Internet-based
projects
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 3, 4, and 5.
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page
Objective 5.3 Educators
serving the nation's highest risk students including those in
juvenile correctional settings will have access to effective
curriculum and instructional resources.
Project Activities
Planning for the curriculum and
instructional resources will begin following the 1997 summer
workshops.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Determine whether curriculum modules for Year 5
juvenile corrections settings are completed
and marketed and promoted
nationally
Status
The assessment is in the planning
stages and will be implemented during year 5.
Objective 5.4 The
Connections Project web site, part of the South Central
Regional Technology in Education Consortium's electronic network,
will provide efficient access to a comprehensive group of resources
relating to the project, curriculum integration and technology in
education.
Project Activities
Planning and development is underway
for the Project's web site. This will include connections with the
South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium.
Evaluation Activities Timeline
Report on web server resources Years
1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Status
The Connections web site will be available to all web users and be linked to and from the South Central Regional Technology in Education Consortium's web server. The use will be monitored using the server statistics program.
V. Supplemental
Information/Changes
This section deals with budget
adjustment requests that we wish to make in order to meet several
missing items in the Project. The items were identified in a letter
to Ms. Wanda Chambers (See Attachment A), our Program Officer, in a
letter dated January 13, 1997. Basically what is missing in the grant
are three key items that still need to be addressed. These are (1) a
Technology Specialist at ESU #10. All of our lead school sites have a
Technology Specialist assigned on a .50 FTE through their respective
ESU. Somehow this position was omitted from the proposal for our
Kearney site. This position serves both the Adjudicated Youth Center
at Kearney, Nebraska for boys and the Adjudicated Youth Center for
girls at Geneva, Nebraska. This critical position is needed to
support our technology activities at two sites where we have
all students in the category of "at risk." The second missing
item is for a .50 FTE Clerical Support position at Seward, Nebraska
for years 2, 3, 4 and 5. Seward is our site for financial record for
the grant. In order to free time for their budget officer to handle
the grant's budget activity, involving 12 different sites around the
state, it is necessary that we have a Clerical Support position in
that office. The third major missing funding is for fringe benefits.
The original proposal calculated fringe benefits at 20 percent. This
calculation was based upon a formula used at the state level for
certain types of positions. However, that should not have been used
as these positions are hired through each of the lead sites across
the state. A recalculation of the cost of fringe benefits, meeting
state statute requirements, finds the figure at 30 percent. In order
to address these missing items in the budget, we are proposing a
carry over to year two of approximately $63,400 as calculated at this
time. These funds are primarily accrued as a result of starting the
various positions several months into the budget cycle thus realizing
salary savings during this first year. This carry over would meet
most of our projected needs for year two and would require
approximately $9,400 additional dollars. Funds needed for years 3, 4
and 5 would be higher due to unrealized salary savings during those
years. (See chart attached to January 13, 1997 letter.)
Last updated 9/22/99. Copyright: Connections Project 1999. Contact: Susan Dahm (sdahm@nde.state.ne.us), 402-471-8574.