Hillcrest High School Hillcrest High School

Advanced Team Advanced Team ProjectProject

2006-20072006-2007

Professional Professional Development: When Development: When

and Wherever You Wantand Wherever You Want

Hillcrest High School

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The Project The Project

• During the first year of our During the first year of our designation as a 21st Century School, designation as a 21st Century School, we began the Hillcrest Faculty blog at we began the Hillcrest Faculty blog at http://www.patriotsfaculty.edublogs.orghttp://www.patriotsfaculty.edublogs.org .  . 

• We began working with our blog late We began working with our blog late in the spring and we added new in the spring and we added new material this year.  Our project is material this year.  Our project is intended to aid us in reaching at-risk intended to aid us in reaching at-risk students. students. 

• Faculty members will be participating Faculty members will be participating in staff development on the blog and in staff development on the blog and in development from other sources in development from other sources intended to help us achieve our goal.intended to help us achieve our goal.

Project Goals and Project Goals and ObjectivesObjectives

• Develop a professional development Develop a professional development blog. blog.

• Create a non-threatening climate for Create a non-threatening climate for learning the use of 21st century tools. learning the use of 21st century tools.

• Create a learning community to study Create a learning community to study successful strategies for teaching at-successful strategies for teaching at-risk students. risk students.

• Create a body of work that can be used Create a body of work that can be used as part of our school improvement as part of our school improvement plan.plan.

Resources and StrategiesResources and Strategies

• Create a blog for use by faculty for Create a blog for use by faculty for professional development. professional development.

• Creating and utilizing the blog in Creating and utilizing the blog in as a group enables our faculty to as a group enables our faculty to experiment with blogging before experiment with blogging before actually implementing the use of a actually implementing the use of a blog in their own classrooms. blog in their own classrooms.

Resources and StrategiesResources and Strategies

• Utilize materials gathered by Utilize materials gathered by teachers and administrators that teachers and administrators that illustrate successful strategies and illustrate successful strategies and read and reflect on how they could be read and reflect on how they could be implemented at Hillcrest High School.implemented at Hillcrest High School.

• Utilize materials and strategies Utilize materials and strategies gathered by teachers and gathered by teachers and administrators from various locations administrators from various locations on the web and in print that improve on the web and in print that improve student performance on standardized student performance on standardized tests. tests.

The Faculty Blog was created in the first year of our 21st Century

School project. http://

www.patriotsfaculty.edublogs.org

Our first posts were about “getting to know 21st Century

tools.”

As we began to work on our learning community projects,

we posted events and discussion questions on the

blog along with links to articles collected from the Internet and educational

journals.

Benefits of the Professional Benefits of the Professional Development BlogDevelopment Blog

• Online staff development allows teachers to Online staff development allows teachers to determine the time and place of their staff determine the time and place of their staff development, making it much more convenient development, making it much more convenient and efficient.and efficient.

• Blogging allows collaboration within the learning Blogging allows collaboration within the learning community between teachers and administrators.community between teachers and administrators.

• Online staff development has the potential to Online staff development has the potential to include experts from many locations, not just local include experts from many locations, not just local ones.ones.

• Working with a professional development blog Working with a professional development blog encourages experimentation among faculty encourages experimentation among faculty members with blogging and other 21members with blogging and other 21stst Century Century tools in their classrooms.tools in their classrooms.

The Patriot Faculty Wikihttp://www.patriotfaculty.wikispaces.com

The wiki served as a project log for the project.

The wiki served as a

diary of events

Problems…Opportunities??Problems…Opportunities??

• There were problems early in the There were problems early in the year with our blog which made us year with our blog which made us unable to launch the new page on unable to launch the new page on the blog as planned. the blog as planned. • Server/security issues caused Edublogs Server/security issues caused Edublogs

to briefly block our use of our site.to briefly block our use of our site.• These were corrected and we These were corrected and we

conducted our Faculty introduction to conducted our Faculty introduction to the blog in January. the blog in January.

Problems…Opportunities??Problems…Opportunities??

• In January our system installed a new In January our system installed a new server which has intermittently been server which has intermittently been offline as the “bugs” have been worked offline as the “bugs” have been worked out of the system. out of the system.

• The result: The project has been slow to The result: The project has been slow to get off the ground. get off the ground.

• Our expectations for next year: Continued Our expectations for next year: Continued use of the blog with a re-introduction of use of the blog with a re-introduction of 2121stst Century tools to the faculty and Century tools to the faculty and renewed emphasis on their use, both for renewed emphasis on their use, both for staff development and in the classroom. staff development and in the classroom.

What Have We What Have We Accomplished?Accomplished?

• Our exposure to the 21Our exposure to the 21stst Century School Century School project has been invaluable. project has been invaluable. • We have changed our methods to incorporate We have changed our methods to incorporate

web 2.0 tools into our teaching. web 2.0 tools into our teaching. • Several of our classrooms have been using blogs Several of our classrooms have been using blogs

and in at least one classroom we actively use and in at least one classroom we actively use www.tappedin.org and wikis for classroom projects. www.tappedin.org and wikis for classroom projects.

• We have students and teachers using We have students and teachers using www.Flickr.com and www.thinkfree.com to complete www.Flickr.com and www.thinkfree.com to complete projects. The days of the poster board project are projects. The days of the poster board project are over. over.

• The seeds of change have been sown and as more The seeds of change have been sown and as more teachers experiment with the new tools both the teachers experiment with the new tools both the faculty and students will benefit.faculty and students will benefit.

• Samples of this classroom work follow…Samples of this classroom work follow…

Tapped In was employed in the AP and Advanced

Government/Economics classes and the AP Psychology class. It

provided unexpected benefits to both the teacher and the students.

http://www.tappedin.org

Tapped In includes a discussion board that allowed us to discuss items related to our

curriculum. Students responded

enthusiastically to the addition of our Tapped

In pages.

The online chat section allowed students to work

collaboratively and to receive help from the instructor during

“after-class” hours

The Advanced Placement Psychology Tapped In Room

http://www.tappedin.org

Tapped In allowed students to collaborate on group

projects and upload their work for further

collaboration with the class. Also present in the files section were student

constructed reviews for the Advanced Placement test.

Benefits of Tapped InBenefits of Tapped In• Created an online presence for the class.Created an online presence for the class.• Tapped In contains a discussion board that Tapped In contains a discussion board that

encouraged extended discussion of encouraged extended discussion of classroom curriculum. classroom curriculum.

• The real-time chat feature allowed students The real-time chat feature allowed students to work together collaboratively and to get to work together collaboratively and to get help from the instructor when she was “in help from the instructor when she was “in the room” also. the room” also.

• Students are better prepared for online Students are better prepared for online work required in college courses they will work required in college courses they will take in the future.take in the future.

• Tapped In allowed students to experiment Tapped In allowed students to experiment in a safe environment controlled by the in a safe environment controlled by the instructor.instructor.

Government classes elections campaign sites wiki – each political party constructed a campaign

site

Each class created several political parties and elected a

“president” as part of their

elections project.

http://hchscampaignsites-2007.wikispaces.com

Samples of Student Products The OPP – Opportunity Party- Powerpoint platform presentation - http://hchscampaignsites-2007.wikispaces.com/OPP+Party

The Common Ground Party – Powerpoint platform presentation - http://hchscampaignsites-2007.wikispaces.com/The+Common+Ground++Party

Student Campaign Site Student Campaign Site SampleSample

Campaign CommercialCampaign Commercial

The CARROP Party Political Platform

Goals for Continued Goals for Continued ProgressProgress

• Planned for next year:Planned for next year:• Use the blog as a means continuing work on Use the blog as a means continuing work on

the solution to poor performance of at-risk the solution to poor performance of at-risk students.students.

• Continued collection of other staff Continued collection of other staff development topics for use on the blog.development topics for use on the blog.

• In-school workshops on the use of various In-school workshops on the use of various 2121stst century tools in the classroom. century tools in the classroom.

• Further expansion of Web 2.0 tools into the Further expansion of Web 2.0 tools into the classroom. classroom.

Many Thanks To:Many Thanks To:

• All the wonderful folks at the Alabama Best All the wonderful folks at the Alabama Best Practices Center who have contributed so Practices Center who have contributed so much time and effort to making the 21much time and effort to making the 21stst Century Schools Project a success.Century Schools Project a success.

• Microsoft Corporation for the generous Microsoft Corporation for the generous grant that made the project possible. grant that made the project possible.

• The Tuscaloosa County School System The Tuscaloosa County School System which allowed team members and the 21which allowed team members and the 21stst Century Fellow professional leave time to Century Fellow professional leave time to expand their horizons and grow as expand their horizons and grow as professional educators.professional educators.