Organizational
Strategy and Media Overview
This instruction will be
“hands-on”. There will be an
instructor’s laptop with a power Point Presentation of the lesson. There will be an LCD Projector and a screen. Each participant will have a copy of the
PowerPoint hand outs, a tutorial of the software, and a laptop PC computer with
the software SOLO installed on it. The
computers are part of a mobile lab that will have wireless internet access. The
Internet will be accessible for use with the product completion so that
participants can experience the entire span of writing tools. This is the same lab the teachers will use in
their own classrooms with students. The
participants will identify the components of the writing workshop method they
use in the classroom and then use that familiar method as they learn how to use
the software to accomplish the steps.
Each person will be expected to create a written piece using the
software. They may work in small groups
during part of the workshop. They can
help each other as the instructor works to encourage, instruct, and scaffold
help. The instructor will assess the
skills as they are practiced and make corrections as needed.
During the Workshop
I.
The participants will have a simulation of
a learning disability as the hook for learning.
II.
Prior knowledge will be explored as to the
methods of teaching the writing process.
III.
An outline will be generated using
Draft:Builder to model the program.
IV.
The participants will be guided through the
steps of the writing process using the software.
V.
The participants will be matched with a
partner to generate a simple outline of a given topic with 2 subtopics each
having 4 parts.
VI.
Each participant will take turns role
playing the teacher and the learner for half of the outline created.
VII.
The participants will then explain their
outlines and comment on any observations and/or difficulties in the process of
using the software.
VIII.
Misconceptions and difficulties will be
addressed by the instructor and volunteers.
IX.
The Final topic will be chosen by each
learner.
X.
The learners will be given 10 – 15 minutes
to generate an outline using Draft:Builder.
XI.
Outlines will be assessed and feedback
given.
XII.
Steps II. Through XI will be repeated for
the notes section and the final draft process.
When training people to use software
each person needs to try the software so he/she can see the screens,
directions, and glitches that will be encountered as the program is taught to
others.
This will give the participants a chance to use the software and
become familiar with it before being required to train students to use it. This
is a way of modeling the approach that they can use while training their
students to use the software.
Using
software programs has a degree of familiarity and a degree of novelty. The software program being introduced has
similarities to many other word processing programs that will help the learners
to work with the new program. There are
also features and directions that will be new to the participants. It will take concentration, practice, and
reviewing the notes and tutorial to become familiar with the new software
enough to create a written piece.
Evaluation
4.
Expert
review
I have a fairly complete rough draft
of my training. I will go though it with
Bob Keller who is a Don Johnston trainer for SOLO. I have been consulting him through this
process. I will have him go over it with
me and make comments while we are both looking at the prototype on our
computers. He would be examining the
materials for accuracy of content and sequence of steps. We have been reviewing things over the phone
while on websharing. He could give me
suggestions and I could consider the learners and the environment to see how to
incorporate changes. We would go through
the project from start to finish.
5.
Small
group evaluation
I have a small group of teachers who
have been asking me to show them how to use the software. I would use them for my small group. I would have a questionnaire they would fill
out after going through the program. I
would evaluate their responses to the assessment and to the questionnaire. I would see if they indicate a need for
program adjustment. Their roles are to
try out the materials & make constructive comments. My job is to interpret the results and the
comments and determine how they would affect possible revisions.
6.
Field
trial
My learners and teachers/trainers
would be the Special Ed teachers at two of our districts schools. Each school has been given a mobile laptop
lab that we would use during the training.
At the smaller school, 8 computer laptops have been loaded with the
writing production software SOLO. At the
larger school, 11 laptops have been similarly set up. We would use the respective schools’ library
consultation rooms for the training. The
trainings will begin with a 90 minute introductory session. The part of the training for this project
will be in the second session of training.
The purposes will be to determine:
I.
The effectiveness of the revisions made in
the small group sessions,
II.
The problems that may arise during the
program administration,
III.
The validity, reliability, and
effectiveness of the program with a larger group.
The teachers, trainers, and learners
will go through the program as designed completing the training and all
assessments. At the conclusion a
questionnaire will be administered to get feedback from the teachers/learners
as to the effectiveness of the program.
As the designer, I will observe the training, gather the data, interpret it, make revisions as needed, and present a report to the district supervisors.