The Ohio SchoolNet Telecommunity Grant will expand the educational and distance learning component of ImagiNet to include more school districts and more sites for student interaction. Specifically, this Telecommunity grant will provide summer courses for high school students; a social problems course in which students from a variety of districts will be connected to collect information that leads to a solution of a specific problem affecting the area; and interdisciplinary problem solving units. The problem solving units will use Problem Based Learning as their model. In addition to course offerings, the network will provide students with individualized intervention, career exploration with area businesses, enrichment opportunities, Tech-prep training, and cross district cooperative learning.
The network will also provide staff development for teachers and administrators as well as trining needed for licensure. The netowrk will have an "information broker" who will assess the needs of the four county area and then find programming to satisfy the needs.
This grant will support the Ohio SchoolNet Initiative and interface with the State of Ohio Multi-Agency Communications System (SOMACS), the Ohio Education Computer Network (OECN), initiatives of the Northwest State Community College, and the NorthWest Ohio Computer Association (NWOCA). The network will build upon an existing data communications network to provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver information resources in the form of integrated voice, compressed video, data, and graphics. The network itself will utilize the standards adopted for use by all government agencies within Ohio, and the Ohio SchoolNet project standards.
This grant will allow schools to become an active part of the telecommunity and expand their services to businesses and community members in the four county area
The governance structure of any project is significant in determining its success. The network will be facilitated and coordinated by a council of governments called the Northern Buckeye Education Council (NBEC). The NBEC serves many functions in the four county area. The proposed network will be operated by the network committee under the auspices of the NBEC Board of Directors in cooperation with the Northwest Ohio Computer Association (NWOCA).
The NBEC is a not-for-profit council of governments organized under Chapter 167 of the Ohio Revised Code. The purpose of the council is to provide educational entities in greater northwestern Ohio access to a variety of cooperative administrative services thereby reducing the costs of obtaining these services. Currently, the council manages life, dental and health insurance benefit programs; provides data processing services through it NWOCA subsidiary; and offers inservice training sessions to employees of its member school districts.
There are currently twenty-eight consortium members in the Ohio Counties of Defiance, Fulton, Henry, and Williams counties that belong to the NBEC. These consortium members are comprised of public school districts and county boards of education and are voting members of the NWOCA. NWOCA is located in the Four County Joint Vocational School building in Archbold, Ohio. Four County JVS, one of NWOCAÕs member districts, is centrally located within NWOCAÕs service area and functions as the fiscal agent for NWOCA.
NWOCA is a not-for-profit computer service organization that is a subsidiary of the Northern Buckeye Education Council. The primary function of NWOCA is to provide information technology services to its member school districts with the major emphasis being placed on accounting, payroll and inventory control services. Other areas of service provided by NWOCA include student scheduling, registration and grade reporting; career guidance service; handicapped student tracking; test scoring; bus routing optimization; and instructional technology consultation.
The NWOCA is one of twenty four regional service organizations serving over 600 public school districts in the State of Ohio that make up the Ohio Educational Computer Network (OECN). These service organizations are known as Data Acquisition Sites (DAS). The OECN is a collective group of Data Acquisition Sites authorized pursuant to Section 3301.075 of the Revised Code, and their member school districts. Such sites, in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education, comprise a statewide delivery system to provide comprehensive, cost-efficient accounting and other administrative and instructional computer services for participating Ohio school districts. Major funding for this network is derived directly from the State of Ohio. In addition, a majority of the software utilized by the Ohio Department of Education is developed by the State Software Development Team housed at NWOCA.
Leadership for the Telecommunity project will include Mr. Robert Morrison, Supervisor, Fulton County ESC; Mr. Duane Baker, Executive Director, NBEC; Mr. Roy Vivian, Superintendent, Fulton County ESC; Dr. Larry McDougle, President, Northwest State Community College; Dr. Dan Holden, Director of Instructional Technology, NBEC/NWOCA.
Napoleon Area Schools United Patrick Henry Schools United Liberty Center Local Schools Sprint/United Wauseon Exempted Schools United Pettisville Local Schools United Millcreek-West Unity Schools GTE Montpelier Exempted Schools GTE Edgerton Local Schools GTE Pike-Delta-York Local Schools ALLtel Stryker Local Schools GTE Four County JVS NW State Community College United NW Ohio Private Industry Council United Corrections Center of NW Ohio GTE Defiance County ESC United Henry County ESC UTC Fulton County ESC United Williams County ESC GTE
This project will build upon an existing data communications network to provide sufficient bandwidth to deliver information resources in the form of integrated voice, compressed video, data, and graphics. It will use a distribution model of information repositories and servers to deliver these information resources upon demand through appropriately equipped networked computers.
The network itself will utilize the standards adopted for use by all governmental agencies within Ohio, and the Ohio SchoolNet project standards. This will permit this regional network to interconnect with statewide networks which are interconnected to worldwide networks. The network will be a switched segmented 802.3 Ethernet using 10baseT wiring technology within buildings. Buildings will be interconnected utilizing multi-protocol bridge routers. Where appropriate, programmable codec devices will be installed to dynamically reallocate available communications link bandwidth as needed.
The physical interconnect between buildings is anticipated to be a mixture of linkages provided by area telephone and cable television companies. In addition, some buildings may be serviced through wireless (e.g. - radio frequency, microwave, etc.) communications technology in areas where physical wiring infrastructure does not meet the needs.
This network will use deployed hierarchical information repositories and servers that will supply information resources as close to the end-users as needed to provide quick and reliable delivery. At the same time, these devices will be used to keep information centralized and available to as many users as possible. These techniques will help to minimize the cost of delivering and maintaining the information resources and maximize the benefit to users.
Students from various districts will be grouped to work on designated social problems that impact them. For example, in rural areas the problem may concentrate on genetic research and the social implications of such research. Because each school is on a separate schedules, there will be several times during the day when different groups meet. Also, all disciplines will be invited to join into the debate. In the genetics problem, beyond the inherent interest of science and social studies classes, discussion could lead artists to look at ÒdesignerÓ genes that make vegetables more attractive or the genetic qualities that would be desirable in a good musician or artist.
The social problems posed will be open for all to engage and a product will be produced and presented by students at the end of the unit. The product will then be archived and remain in a repository to be viewed Òon demandÓ by other students.
We anticipate that the ÒregularÓ courses offered during the summer will closely resemble a ÒtraditionalÓ classroom at the onset. We realize there is a degree of comfortability on the part of both teachers and students that will need to be met. It is our goal, however, to move away from the Òtalking-headÓ lecture model after the first two weeks of the courses. It is our intent to combine video with data, fax, and telephone to create courses that have lecture, information on demand, and helplines for students. Included with video/audio will be HTML pages available from the Internet which will supply Òon-demandÓ textual and visual information. Included on these pages will be pre/post tests, hot buttons for email responses, video clips, related anchor sites, and tutorials.
Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a series of career exploration programs. Students at Òhome schoolsÓ can participate in the ÒSchool to WorkÓ and ÒTech PrepÓ programs that will be offered at Four County Joint Vocational School and Northwest State Community College. In addition, we anticipate the creation of ÒdistanceÓ apprenticeship programs that include establishing and building relationships between schools and area businesses.
Three studios will be created by the ImagiNet project. One of the studios will be located at Four County Joint Vocational School, one at Northwest State Community College, and another at a location yet to be determined. The studios will contain room for seating for 18 students, a teacherÕs station, a tv cabinet with four 35Ó monitors, four 19Ó monitors hung from the ceiling, JBL speakers, presenterÕs computer with PowerPoint, audio system, fax and phone, phone lines, touchscreen monitor, VCR, Laser/DVD player, switcher, ceiling pad camera, student camera, fixed student camera, teacher camera with IR controller, wireless clip-on mic, and ceiling mics for students.
The sites created by this Telecommunity grant will be in classrooms, preferably dedicated, provided by the districts involved. They will contain a different configuration of equipment than mentioned above. The remote sites will contain a teacher station but will have only one camera and two monitors. While we understand the desirability of having identical sites, we also are under cost constraints.
By January of this year, each of the four county Educational Service Centers will merge into one ESC. The leadership of the new ESC is in support of this venture and will be using the network to supply a variety of staff development opportunities described elsewhere in this document. In addition, the network will be open for use by RCOP, RPDC, and other organizations providing professional development to teachers. In addition, those who are designing instruction for the network will receive training in creating environments which are conducive to engaging students in meaningful learning and using strategies which will include, but not be limited to, problem based learning and constructivists techniques.
The telecommunity will be useful and productive because the content of the programming will be based on needs - teachers personal and professional development needs, students academic needs, and the needs of a variety of community agencies, was, and institution. The telecommunity will be useful, productive and successful because those involved will be highly motivated to participate in real life, problem-based and constructivist learning.
A needs assessment survey of the teachers and school administrators in the Defiance, Fulton, Henry, and Williams County area was taken in April, 1996. Topics ranking extremely high were: Motivational Techniques; Integrating Technology Into the Curriculum; New Technology Hardware; Classroom Intervention Techniques; Developmentally Appropriate Instruction; and Parent/Community Involvement in Schools (survey results in appendix). These topics along with state mandated training programs (i.e. Child Abuse Identification and Prevention, Blood Born Pathogens) will be the focus for teacher staff development.
Teachers need continuing education units (CEUs) and/or university course work for certification renewal. The telecommunity will allow many teachers the opportunity for professional development without leaving their school building or district. Other lifelong learners in the teaching profession will be able to make use of the staff development and sharing opportunities of the telecommunity. An example will be those Mentors, Entry Year Teachers, and Teacher Scholars of the Northwest Ten Mentor Program for the support of beginning teaching professionals.
The telecommunity will focus on the needs of high school students with Proficiency Test deficits as well as providing enrichment opportunities that extend the curriculum of our small high schools (calculus, special foreign languages, environmental science, and a social problems course). SAT and ACT review courses will be made available to college bound students and GED and Adult Basic Education courses for those seeking high school Equivalency. Career exploration utilizing the local workforce as studio presenters will further link the student with the community and the community with the schools.
Many community agencies, workplaces, and institutions have needs that will be met by the telecommunity programming. Continuing education opportunities will be provided for community members who need licensure or certification renewal (OSHA, blood born pathogens, CPR, real estate, etc.). The Correctional center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO) will be served by the telecommunity with courses provided by Four County JVS to those incarcerated learners.
Parent involvement in the telecommunity will initially be local site open house and orientation tours. Programming for parents will be provided by Training OhioÕs Parents for Success (TOPS) parent trainers, and each local site will conduct a needs assessment for the continuing education of parents and other community members.
Our intent is to move away from the omni-directional, static delivery of information. We foresee a variety of on-demand information such as video information that can be downloaded on SchoolNet PCÕs using HTML language to create instructional pages, plus live two-way video and audio. Such versatility will allow students to dip into a repository that will meet individual learning styles and needs.
As with any tools, there is a time and a place for their use. We plan to use a variety of tools and techniques to produce a mix that will challenge and engage students. For example, all programming on the network will have a collaborative component. In addition, the instruction will contain some lecture when necessary, some individual work when necessary, and the most effective tools will be used at the most opportune time to foster learning.
The staff development provided by the network will be designed to encourage collaboration and will model appropriate techniques of instruction that show the teacher as a facilitator of learning.
Two major improvements are available through this grant: 1) Providing high quality instruction from the very best in a particular field to a wide range of students in a very large geographic location (1700 sq. miles). This two-way interaction will allow for better access to professionals from students, both in education and business; 2) professional development of teachers as well as community members (EMT, firefighters, and any other person requiring CEUs) will be offered at local sites and at times which are more convenient to those needing training. A very large number of research documents strongly point to the fact that the closer the point of service of professional development is to the participant, the better the message is received and more participants are involved in the training. Many students in northwest Ohio attend schools that suffer under the constraints of restricted curricula and the lack of opportunity to partake of the diversity of educational technology. Many of these small rural districts have been unable to secure public funding through the passing of levies to provide for operating moneys, let alone the addition of technology to the classroom.
These small rural districts suffer from their geographic isolation and small student populations which limit the curricular offerings which can be provided. Smaller districts are often unable to offer classes in foreign language, advanced math and science. In some cases these classes are needed to fulfill college entrance requirements. The result is that the Òbrightest and bestÓ students are denied the right to an equitable education simply through the circumstance of living in a rural part of the country.
Limited access to technology will also severely hamper the ability of these students to participate in the workforce of the Information Age. The ability to manipulate the technology of communication is a critical requirement for todayÕs worker.
Current telecommunications technology allows numerous ways to offset these limitations and provide for additional benefits:
Our telecommunity believes that we have an obligation to meet the unique needs of our population. Geographic limitations have hindered our success in the past, but we are about to take great strides. We can take ESL classes into schools just a few miles from the fields where migrants are working (we have a migrant population of 15,000 in the area). Various certification and training classes can now go into the workplace, increasing both access to the training and employee time on task. Previously, one student, one business, one agency or one adult had unmet training needs. Those needs can now be compiled across four counties and we can offer answers economically.
The network will not be exclusive to one class or group of students. It is our intent to actively seek a variety of programming that will be of interest and applicable to all populations. The Fulton County ESC has assigned a supervisor, Bob Morrison whose job will be to ÒbrokerÓ and seekout a variety of programming for student, staff, business, and community needs.
The changing roles of the providers of instruction to students and professional development to teachers and community members will be one of expanded contact to a wider group without having to present the information at several different sites on differing dates. Providing the instruction through a broadcast center, allowing several different sites to interact will make for more effective, efficient, and less costly delivery of these services. On the other hand, the learners (students, teachers, and/or community members) will be able to learn from an ÒexpertÓ in the field, be able to ask questions in real time, and be able to interact with other locations all of which will increase the learnersÕ achievement. The image of a practicing artist or scientist appearing to remote sites on the network and allowing these sites to interact, is going to change the way of doing business in the educational setting.
The network will constantly iterate and model and instructional design where the teacher provides leadership to help students access information, evaluate information, and use the information in problem solving situations. The network will use programming that provides this model as well as staff development to help teachers adopt this model in classrooms.
The four county Educational Service Centers will combine into one service center at the end of December of 1996. This new ESC combined with the Northern Buckeye Education Council, Northwest State Community College, MICRO (an organization of libraries in the four county area), ImagiNet (a high speed network established by seed money from the State of Ohio), the PIC council, and Four County Joint Vocational School all serve the four county area (Defiance, Fulton, Henry, and Williams counties) and have established cooperative ventures in the area.
These organizations will encourage the development of a telecommunity by providing a variety of programming. Appropriate training of the use of the telecommunity equipment will be supplied by the NBEC/NWOCA. Those who are to appear as teachers/presenters/facilitators will be given this training. In addition, as mentioned elsewhere in the proposal (question 6), staff development will be provided to assist districts make organizational changes and the implementation of innovations.
The grant will provide instruction in problem solving by requiring students from different sites to interact to solve major social issues (four sites will be given a social issue, i.e. placement of a nuclear dump site within our four county area, and be asked to create a plan for the placement of this site and the impact of the dump site in the area). The students will use Email, live, interactive broadcast and the Internet to research, communicate, and create this plan. This project might be part of a senior level course offering in Social Studies and will also be offered as interdisciplinary units. Other needs will be met by having video clips from presentations that will be accessed at the time the learner needs the information, which making the information readily accessible.
The telecommunity will demonstrate improved learning performance using technology by examining evidence collected in the following ways: 1) student grades; 2) number of student courses passed; 3) Ohio 9th and 12th Grade Proficiency / High School Graduation Test results; 4) student ACT & SAT scores; 5) high school graduation rate and dropout rate; 6) student, teacher, parent, and community perception survey results; 7) student portfolios; and 8) participant anecdotal records.
Each participating school will collect and report the data requested by the NBEC Telecommunity Governance Board. The evaluation committee of the governance board will have the data aggregated and the data will be presented as part of the telecommunity annual report.
It is expected that: 1) student grades will improve (average GPA increase); 2) more Carnegie units will be acquired by high school students (average number of courses passed by students will increase); 3) more students will pass all the required subjects on the 9th and 12th Grade Proficiency / High School Graduation Tests in a shorter time period (increase in the percent of students that pass tests after each intervention); 4) higher average ACT and SAT scores for each participating school (increase of .1 percent); 5) more student graduate and fewer drop out of high school (increase of graduation rate and decrease in dropout rate); 6) positive attitudes, perceptions, and acceptance of the telecommunity programs by teachers, students, parents, and community participants; 7) alternative, authentic assessment products that demonstrate student achievement; and 8) positive anecdotal reports of telecommunity participantsÕ experiences.
The telecommunity is a cost efficient way to provide instruction and staff development. The obvious savings in travel and sharing of personnel provides efficiency but the real benefit will be a valid use of time in an industry that is plagued by time constraints. On-demand information, peer tutoring, on-site apprenticeship training, and cooperative ventures across geographical barriers add to the efficiency.
It is very expensive for one district to bring in a recognized expert for staff development. Sharing the cost across the four county area makes it less expensive while bringing the message to a larger population. Also, the network will provide a chance to go beyond Òone-shotÓ staff development. Through the efforts of the ESCÕs, staff development will target topics and provide opportunities for teachers to continue good pedagogical practices. Teachers will be able to implement what they have learned and find support for venturing into new practices.
While some aspects of telecommunity may not be less expensive, it will add a new dimension beyond effectiveness and efficiency: convenience. As schools change from industrial models of organization to service models, convenience will be a highly valued commodity for students, teachers, and adult learners.
Once the educational institutions dedicate one classroom for the point of service, teachers will be able to use this room thought the day and the community members will be able to use this room in the after school hours. This will make the telecommunity resource room in the school a center of professional development, instruction, and community out-reach. The more all various groups use this center, the more it will be used, resulting in its institutionalization. The most important consideration is to base the programming from the broadcast center on the needs of the clients it is serving. Programming will include, but not be limited to, summer school course work, student enrichment activities, telecommunication linkage conferencing, ÒexpertÓ instruction, career awareness, etc.).
The telecommunity will also utilize existing SchoolNet networking and computers to provide on-line instruction to augment the video aspects of instruction.
The telecommunity will use technology to provide on-going programming based on needs -- teachers personal and professional development needs, studentsÕ academic needs, and the needs of a variety of community agencies, workplaces, and institutions. Each staff development program will be video taped for follow-up review by those attending. Participants will also be able to receive coaching from Teacher Scholars or other peers via technology without the effort of driving to a distance site. These teachers will conduct and video-record demonstration teaching lessons modeling the instructional strategies to be learned. A needs assessment survey of the teachers and school administrators mentioned above resulted in the listing of several staff development priorities (Motivational Techniques; Integrating Technology Into the Curriculum; New Technology Hardware; Classroom Intervention Techniques; Developmentally Appropriate Instruction; and Parent/Community Involvement in Schools). Other staff development opportunities will include programs offered by the Northwest Ohio SERRC and the Northwest Ten Mentor Program. Ohio Department of Education subject area consultants will be able to provide programming on the implementation of the state model courses of study. The technology will allow teachers to participate in programs without leaving their school districts and will provide curriculum updates, reviews, and/or coaching follow-up sessions. Follow-up, review, and coaching are key elements of effective staff development programs (Joyce & Showers).
Many other programs will utilize the resources of the community, social agencies, hospitals, libraries, businesses, and work force personnel into the school. In return, the telecommunity will also offer programming to meet the educational and training needs of parents, social agencies, libraries, businesses, and other community members.
The concept of a staff development training and information video collection (library) on demand to each site will be developed for teachers, students, parents, and the community. This concept is an innovation that can be achieved through technology.
One of the concerns expressed in the four county area is the training of administrators. While there has been an emphasis on teacher training and exploring schema of school reform, the most disconcerting component has been the lack of ability to create school cultures where the organization can allow innovative ideas to flourish. A component of the network will be an ongoing series of discussions and ideas that will lead to systemic organizational change.
The ImagiNet project will provide a ÒbrokerÓ who will actively seek the input from school personnel, business, and higher education. The broker will match local resources and incorporate remote resources when applicable. The broker will also actively seek evaluation of programming.
Another aspect of telecommunity will be providing information to parents and community about schools in the four county area. Such sharing of information leads to ownership of new ideas and valuable community support when introducing innovation in schools.
On December 30, 1996, Defiance County ESC, Fulton County ESC, Henry County ESC, and Williams County ESC will combine into one entity called the Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center. This will add to the four county effort to create a high speed network and will enhance the spirit of a telecommunity.
Our telecommunity will facilitate the participation of parents in the educational process in various ways. The "Train Our Parents for Success" program has been an ongoing success story in Fulton County. We will put this program on the network, thereby making it readily available to more of Fulton county and to the other three counties as well. The "TOPS" program stresses the need for parental involvement throughout the education process and supports the "it takes a village" concept. We hope to create a "televillage."
The Four Counties are also recipients of a "School to Work" grant which, among other items, includes a focus on parents as mentors. The grant will set up a speakers bureau in which parents -- as homemakers, carpenters, doctors, businessmen, factory workers, etc. explain the ways in which they need math, science and communication skills on a daily basis. Our telecommunity can share these experiences with students and other parents across the network. This will help the concept to grow and hopefully more parents will enter the classroom to share their experiences.
Presently, the districts in the four county area tend to be isolated. While this isolation is beginning to break down due to the use of email and the emergence of SchoolNet connectivity and computers, collaboration among teachers of different districts is rare and collaboration among students is virtually non-existent.
The districts are upgrading technology and most districts have successfully made application for SchoolNet and will soon have the infrastructure in place to use a high speed network. We view the datafication of rural areas in the next century to be as significant as rural electrification was to this century.
This grant will allow schools to become an active part of the telecommunity and
expand their services to businesses and community members in the four county
area.