Overview... 2 Institutional Context... 3 Financial Considerations... 4 Pedagogical... 5 Content Analysis... 5 Learner Analysis... 5 Learner Perquisites... 6 Learner Collaboration and Feedback... 6 Learner Assessment... 6 Learner Objectives... 7 Best Practice Research... 8 Technological Requirements... 8 Interface Design Considerations... 11 Assessment... 11 Management... 12 Support Resources... 12 Ethical Concerns... 13 1
Overview Instructional staff within Lakeland Roman Catholic School District 150 (LCSD150) have a variety of Web 2.0 tools to engage and communicate with students and parents. The development of a teacher or classroom website designed in HTML is one means to accomplish this outcome. Over the last ten years staff have been provided with various Adobe design applications to assist in this process of developing and posting classroom or subject specific websites to provide updates to students and parents. Hence, creating a window into the classroom. Currently all staff laptops are equipped with version 6 of the Adobe Creative Suite which includes Dreamweaver and Flash which are commonly used to create HTML content. The challenge with a number of staff members has been the time required to develop the necessary computer and application skills necessary to adequately develop a web site. We all know there isn t enough time in the day for teachers to complete their job so LCSD150 reviewed a number of different support and training resources to address the concerns of producing a classroom or subject area website. 1. ICT Support Teacher providing Adobe group training sessions. 2. ICT Support Teacher providing Adobe teacher- training sessions within the classroom. 3. ICT Support Teacher reviewing alternative HTML editing solutions such as Apple iweb suite, Google Apps, OSX Wiki and Blog Services and Aquamind s Noteshare application. 4. ICT Support Teacher creating podcasts reviewing the creation and posting of HTML files. 5. District subscribing to Lynda.com support video resources for all middle school and high school instructional staff. 2
Institutional Context LCSD150 is a small school district located in north eastern Alberta consisting of 2000 students, 200 instructional and support staff located in three different communities (Cold Lake, Bonnyville, Waskatenau) LCSD150 had the opportunity to review a number of different school district s one to one deployment strategies. One of the projects reviewed was the State of Maine s 1 to 1 project. A key products developed in response to this massive 1 to 1 initiative was Notetake and Noteshare produced by Scott Love the founder of Aquaminds. These Apple or OSX based applications were developed around addressing classroom collaboration within and outside the traditional instructional practices. In a nut shell the Noteshare application provides a means for teachers to organize, collaborate and share content with students and parents without any prior knowledge of HTML editing. This workflow provides the means for instructional staff to focus on creating content and collaborating with parents and students vs. spending time on learning how to create HTML documents using various WYSIWYG applications. Currently the school district supports over 2000 Apple Macbooks for students and staff. LCSD150 has also started a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) program, which will allow students to bring a variety of devices into the instructional space. The variety of devices makes it important to develop instructional and collaboration resources that can be utilized on a number of different platforms. Noteshare fills a unique niche in that it allows all the teachers working on Apple OSX devices to dynamically create HTML documents that can be shared with a variety of different devices and platforms. 3
Financial Considerations LCSD150 maintains a district wide license for Noteshare and Notetaker at a cost of $4.99/seat for 1800 students and $9.99/seat for instructional staff. A secondary cost involves licensing the server application software at a cost of $299.99/installation. Prior to adequate access bandwidth the school district setup and funded Noteshare server installations on each LAN to reduce the latency and traffic across the WAN. Now that the school district has a fiber backbone connecting all the school sites all the Noteshare servers have been consolidated onto one district server instance. Item Instructional Device (Macbook Pro) Noteshare Client Volume Application Noteshare Client Application App Store Notetaker Client Application (Student) Noteshare Server Application Noteshare Server (Mac Mini) ISP Services Podcasting Capturing Tools (ScreenFlow, Camtasia 2) Media Streaming and CMS Management (Ensemble Video) Note: This product is used to feed the itunesu instance and feed local school district content. Ensemble Streaming Server Local Media File Compression Solution (Sorenson Squeeze or Apple Compressor) Cost $1300.00 $9.99 based on volume pricing $50.00 $25.00 $299.99 $1500.00 Configuration varies (Core i7, 16 Gigs RAM, 256 SSD, External Thunderbolt Back Drive) The costs will vary depending on the Internet Service Provider monthly and traffic/bandwidth fees. Currently the school district ISP fees for a centralized ISP service is $1300.00/month $100.00 Educational volume licensing and pricing could vary based on project proposals with the company. $2.00/seat yearly support license fee - $2000/year fee $10 000.00 Configuration varies (Intel Quad Core, Windows 7 Server, 256 Gigs RAM, Redundant Power Supplies, 2 Mirrored System 1 Terabyte Volumes, 2 Mirrored and RAID 5-4 Terabyte Data Volumes, 2 Gig Ethernet Cards $1000.00 to $50.00 4
Pedagogical Content Analysis The course will be developed and delivered using the Noteshare client application and Noteshare server instance. This will allow the course participant (LCSD150 instructional staff member) to access the self- paced course content using the Noteshare client application on a district Apple OSX laptop or any device that can provide Java or HTML processing capabilities. Accessing the course content using the Noteshare application will enhance the course objective completion in that the participant will be using the Noteshare application functions throughout the course. The course will be accessible via the Internet or it will be available for download for offline course completion. The Aquaminds application guide will be used as a resource throughout the course to supplement the podcast resources, which outline the various functions of the application used to create a classroom or subject area website. The modular objectives will focus on the application function features in a progressive manner culminating with a final summative project involving the creation of a classroom or subject specific Noteshare instance that is dynamically shared in an HTML format. Learner Analysis The online course is being developed to address the following identified learner characteristics: 20 25% new teacher turnover rate in the school district 75% female instructional staff ratio with ages ranging from 21-55 75% of first year staff surveyed rate their computer skills at beginner the beginner level 100% of instructional staff have Internet access at home LCSD150 provides a dual track program (French Immersion and English) Majority of the target audience lacks the ability to identify a given technology to address a collaboration or communication outcome in a mobile wireless laptop environment and looking for the Magic Button approach Minimal computer collaboration and networking skills upon exiting post secondary institutions First year instructional staff are extremely busy preparing course content and lack time for professional development and extracurricular activities Willingness to complete training after hours or during assigned preparation time (anywhere anytime) All instructional staff are equipped with district maintained laptops and the Noteshare software All instructional staff are allowed to take the laptop to and from the school All school administration strongly encourage the use of collaboration tools that engage both students and parents Need to communicate and collaborate with students and parents outside classroom instructional times Limited OSX Apple finder and application knowledge 5
Learner Perquisites The following items represent a list of perquisites for participating in the suggested course. Need to collaborate with students within the classroom Need to collaborate with students outside the classroom Need to update and inform parents on classroom instructional practices and course content Administrative expectations for developing classroom collaboration strategies using technology Access to district laptop technology with the Noteshare application Access to training resources to support Noteshare application usage Learner Collaboration and Feedback The following items describe how collaboration and feedback would be provided during the course completion. Access to ICT Teacher support within the classroom Access to the online helpdesk to address training or technical challenges Access to ichat services to text or video conference for additional support services anywhere in the school district Laptop supervised by Jamf Software and Remote Desktop to provide LAN and WAN application support and training The Noteshare instance can be setup to allow for dynamic editing for all participants making it possible to comment on the course content The Noteshare instance can be setup to provide RSS feedback which provides the instructor and participant updates on editing and comment changes Completion of Noteshare and Survey Monkey questionnaires Learner Assessment The following items describe how the participant assessment would be completed throughout the course. Each module would been assigned questions to highlight major concepts and objectives Upon all the course content being completed a summative survey/exam through Survey Monkey would asses the level of knowledge in regards to application functionality The final summative assessment would be the creation of a classroom or subject specific Noteshare which provides a teacher profile page, curriculum objectives, lesson objectives, assignment information, assignment timelines and related course links 6
Learner Objectives The course will be designed in a Linear Designed Instructional format. The course modules will be broken up into application functions, individual module assessment surveys/quizzes and a overall summative project which includes producing an interactive classroom Noteshare instance. Module One o To become aware of the collaboration possibilities for the Noteshare suite. Module Two o To understand how to create and maintain a Noteshare instance o To become aware of the navigating features of Noteshare Module Three o To understand the importing, attaching and annotating features of Noteshare Module Four o To understand how to insert pictures, interactive content and various tools of Noteshare Module Five o To become aware of the design and customizing features of Noteshare Module Six o To understand how to use tags and templates Module Seven o To understand the sorting and information retrieving in Noteshare Module Eight o To become aware of the voice recording features Module Nine o To become aware of the web browsing and searching functions Module Ten o To become aware of the sharing, publishing and printing features of Noteshare Module Eleven o To become aware of the LCSD150 Acceptable Use Policy guidelines o To become aware of the Canadian Copyright Guidelines o To become aware of the FIOP guidelines o To become aware of the Creative Commons Guidelines o To become aware of the design criteria for a LCSD150 classroom website 7
Best Practice Research No formal research has been completed at this time other than the personal experience in the school district in regards to using Web 2.0 tools to engage and collaborate with students and parents. The school district provides a variety of tools to address unique learning and instructional requirements from grade to grade. (Blogs, Wikis, Google Apps, Noteshare, Collaba, CMap, Papaya, Stoneware Portal) The central instructional requirement for the course is to develop an efficient means by which teachers can create, share and collaborate with students and parents. The technology should work seamlessly and let the teacher focus on mastering the instructional content instead of the technology. I will be looking for research focusing on collaboration technology that requires minimal teacher training and work effectively regardless of the platform. Technological Requirements There are a couple different approaches that can be taken given the use of the product and collaboration goal in mind. 1. Intranet Workflow This involves the enabling of the Sharing feature on the Noteshare client on the teacher s computer. The Noteshare client address or instance is broadcasted via Bonjour across the local subnet and is only accessible on the LAN. All the student Notetaker instances connect to the single teacher instance and being the collaboration process. 8
2. Internet Workflow This involves setting up a teacher Noteshare instance on a server with a dedicated Internet connection with a routable DNS value. The teacher would then connect to the Noteshare server and publish all their content onto this server. At this point all the students would be able access the Noteshare via the Noteshare client or through a HTML browser. An important consideration for sharing content via a Noteshare is the relationship between the amount of simultaneous connections and the available amount of bandwidth. Typically a single page in Noteshare can support up to 30 simultaneous connections using the client application. This access can be increased by providing access to the Noteshare content by using the HTML export features which then off sets the application access limitations to the server s web services ie. Apache. This can be greatly scaled by improving the server hardware requirements to support increased user access (RAM, Processor Speed and Solid State Drives or Raid Solutions). 9
Technology Infrastructure Overview Item Instructional Device (Macbook Pro) Noteshare Client Volume Application Noteshare Client Application App Store Notetaker Client Application (Student) Noteshare Server Application Noteshare Server (Mac Mini) ISP Services Podcasting Capturing Tools (ScreenFlow, Camtasia 2) Media Streaming and CMS Management (Ensemble Video) Note: This product is used to feed the itunesu instance and feed local school district content. Ensemble Streaming Server. This provides the means to stream video files instead of embedding them in the Noteshare files. Draw back is the need for an Internet connection. Local Media File Compression Solution (Sorenson Squeeze or Apple Compressor) Ensemble is an encoding server also which is one less step to be concern with in regards to compressing video training files. These products can encode and compress the video support files on the instructor s computer vs. using a cloud based solution. ichat services Video and chat support services from IT and ICT Support staff. Remote Desktop MacHelp Mate Remote IT Support Access for software or hardware support and troubleshooting. JamfSoftware Management IT Support for software and hardware support and troubleshooting WebHelp Desk IT and training support requests Survey Monkey CMap Services Cost $1300.00 $9.99 based on volume pricing $50.00 $25.00 $299.99 $1500.00 Configuration varies (Core i7, 16 Gigs RAM, 256 SSD, External Thunderbolt Back Drive) The costs will vary depending on the Internet Service Provider monthly and traffic/bandwidth fees. Currently the school district ISP fees for a centralized ISP service is $1300.00/month $100.00 Educational volume licensing and pricing could vary based on project proposals with the company. $2.00/seat yearly support license fee - $2000/year fee $10 000.00 Configuration varies (Intel Quad Core, Windows 7 Server, 256 Gigs RAM, Redundant Power Supplies, 2 Mirrored System 1 Terabyte Volumes, 2 Mirrored and RAID 5-4 Terabyte Data Volumes, 2 Gig Ethernet Cards $1000.00 to $50.00 OSX ichat server $1500.00 Configuration varies (Core i7, 16 Gigs RAM, 256 SSD, External Thunderbolt Back Drive) $80.00/Apple Remote Desktop This provides remote video and texting support services. $10/client volume licensing This server- based application provides inventory, application support and remote desktop support for all OSX clients. Server Requirements Vary $1500.00 Configuration varies (Core i7, 16 Gigs RAM, 256 SSD, External Thunderbolt Back Drive) $100/Technician Account Server Requirements Vary $1500.00 Configuration varies (Core i7, 16 Gigs RAM, 256 SSD, External Thunderbolt Back Drive) $200/year The district has a yearly subscription to develop training feedback forms. This information is used to customize training sessions to meet the needs of the participants. Open Source Software hosted on a local server. 10
Interface Design Considerations The course will be designed and delivered using the application (Noteshare). The course design will serve as an exemplar for the final summative project evaluation. This form of course delivery will also be important in exposing the instructional staff members to the environment that the students and parents will be operating in. Course delivery could vary depending on the participant s access to the Internet. The course design and delivery will accommodate the following learner conditions: 1. Scenario One Adequate Bandwidth and Internet Access LCSD150 Instructional Staff Member District deployed and maintained OSX laptop, latest Noteshare application installed, Internet or network access to Noteshare server where the course will be posted. The final summative project can be developed from the Noteshare server. 2. Scenario Two Limited Bandwidth and Internet Access LCSD150 Instructional Staff Member District deployed and maintained OSX laptop, latest Noteshare application installed, Limited access or bandwidth to the Internet thus limiting access to Noteshare server where the course will be posted. The Noteshare instance will be setup for the participants to be able to download from the school network and view offline or in a limited bandwidth setting. The final summative project can be developed and shared or presented from the staff member laptop. This project can then be uploaded to the Noteshare server with the Noteshare Admin application once adequate bandwidth is provided. Assessment This will be completed after each module in the form multiple choose questions in Noteshare or a link to a Survey Monkey form. The intent of the module by module assessment questions is to ensure the key topics are assess prior to moving onto the next module. The final summative assessment will involve the creation of a classroom Noteshare that is published in an HTML format. At this point the ICT Support Teacher will meet face to face with the instructional staff member to address any questions or concerns in the final project. Example: http://portal.lcsd150.ab.ca/noteshare/noteshare/mindsonstaff/emergeproject/ Once the participant has completed the final summative Noteshare instance they will be asked to complete a Survey Monkey form questionnaire. This feedback will be used by IT and ICT Support Staff to make adjustments in the course design and delivery plus assist in determining the future design of other application based training courses. Is there a need and are we meeting the need. It is important to note that access to the course is controlled by a password to the specific Noteshare instance but once the Noteshare is published to an HTML format anyone with the url can access the site. The site can be restrict with a password also but that involves setting up Apache website restrictions. 11
Management The course will be stored and posted on a Noteshare server within the school district. The course will be accessible as long as the user has Internet access, Noteshare, directory path to the instance and the password to the specific Noteshare. The course will also be published in an HTML format which will make the course available to anyone with a web browser. HTML access only provides a read- only format and limits the collaboration tools of specific to the Noteshare application. The intent of the course is not to mandate and monitor the participant (LCSD150 instructional staff) completion of the course. The development of the course is to supplement or replace the need for face to face training with the ICT Support Teachers. Support Resources Resource Noteshare Course Instance Noteshare HTML Course Instance Noteshare Application Guide ichat Services HelpDesk Remote Desktop, MacHelp Mate, Jamf Software Survey Monkey Questionnaires Function The entire course will developed in the Noteshare format and will be made available for download using the Noteshare client making it possible to complete the course online or off line. The entire course will be dynamically exported to a HTML format so it can be viewed by any device using an HTML or Java based browser. This will limit the Noteshare specific collaboration features but the course content can be viewed on any platform. Permission to use the application guide as a resource has been obtained from the Aquaminds. The guide is contained in each application installation and be printed in a pdf format for electronic distribution. Each staff member is setup with an ichat account which allows the opportunity to text and video chat to address course questions. Each staff member is setup with a web HelpDesk account where they can create face to face training requests to address any course completion concerns. Each laptop has remote management software that allows IT staff to troubleshoot any technical concerns with the software or hardware. This service will provide the ability to create assessment forms to determine or assess the module- by- module understanding. These questions will be lower order process questions. The final project assessment will be a higher- level assessment of the understanding and application functions of the course. 12
Podcast Resources and Aquaminds Best Practice Research Resources Cmap Server ICT Support Staff Each module will be supplemented with podcasts demonstrating the use of each function in the school environment. These resources will be directly embedded into the Noteshare and made available for streaming using the Ensemble Video services. Creating streamed resource links decreases the file size of the Noteshare course making it easier to download in low bandwidth conditions. The modules will be supplemented with a concept map to link out the learning progression for creating a Noteshare instance published in HTML. The district currently employees two teachers to provide instructional and technical support within the classroom. These staff members can address questions and concerns throughout the course completion. These staff members will also facilitate the face to face meeting reviewing the final course project. Ethical Concerns The course needs to be designed around providing self- paced training to accommodate the busy schedules of instructional staff. It is anticipated the course will be accessed during instructional prep times and after school hours. The course also needs to be translated in French to provide support for 30% of the instructional staff who provide French Immersion instruction across the district. Lastly it is important to design the course to support a female population with limited computer application skills. At the moment a step- by- step podcast resources provide the means for self- pacing learning and for process review at a later date. The focus of the course is to keep the end in mind in that the instructional staff have an effective means to create and maintain a classroom website that a technical or onerous process on behalf of the staff member. 13