Major Project Stage 3
http://cter.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/edpsy487/uiuc_glef.htm
Abstract
To allow K-12 teachers to earn 3 CEUs in the state priority area of special education, a one-semester professional development activity focusing on hearing loss, its educational ramifications and communication modes is being proposed. This activity would be especially valuable to teachers who have mainstreamed or included students with hearing losses who wish to fulfill the Illinois State Board of Education Certificate Renewal Plan, Purpose B, to develop knowledge and skills in special education.
Justification
Teachers participating in the PDA will be able to earn CEUs to assist in their fulfillment of Illinois Certificate Renewal Plan. This PDA will address the Illinois state priority of special education for any teacher K-12 who wish to improve their knowledge and skills that are critical to student performance of students with hearing losses who are mainstreamed or included in regular education classes.
Implementation
This PDA will specifically target teachers in K-12 classrooms who have or who will have students with hearing losses in their regular education classroom. During the first module, teachers at Parkwood Elementary School, Tefft Middle School and Streamwood High School would be given enrollment priority because the Northwestern Illinois Association Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program is housed in these buildings, and these mainstream teachers are in daily contact with students with hearing losses. If space allows, teachers from other schools or districts in Illinois could participate in the module. Completion of this PDA would also be beneficial to any educator, pre-school to high school, wishing to increase their knowledge of sign language, hearing loss and adaptations necessary to successfully include a student with a hearing loss and who would like to use these new skills to address Purpose B of their Certificate Renewal Plan. Community employers from our NIA Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program or other work programs that employ deaf or hard of hearing students would benefit from the content of this PDA and could enroll as space allows.
Each semester 30 participants could enroll in this PDA. This number is derived from the number of final projects that could feasibly be presented at the semester end 3-hour face-to-face meeting. Because the class work would be asynchronous, computer lab space limits are not a concern. Participants in each building may wish to be online synchronously and access the information in order to practice their signing skills together. Teachers in this PDA could access the online classes from home computers, classroom computers that are networked to the district server and computer labs with Internet access in any district building.
Participants would need basic computer knowledge. The facilitator would send a mailing to all participants explaining the process for the online PDA. Teachers in this PDA will access lessons/activities through the online syllabus. WebBoard will be used for office chats, reflections and major project questions. Instructional sign language videos will be streamed from University of Illinois’ server. Participants will have technical support in this program. Questions and concerns could be emailed to this tech support person or during established hours calls could be made.
One face-to-face meeting will be held at the end of this PDA. U-46 Professional Growth and Development personnel have given permission for a room to be used in our district. Participants will meet at the specified time and date to share their final projects. An interpreter and student along with the facilitator will be present to assist the participants in their final lessons.
The facilitator needs to be a person trained in Deaf Education, working for Northwestern Illinois Association and familiar with online environments. A CTER student or other teacher who has extensive technology experience or a degree along with experience in teaching NIA students would be an ideal candidate.
An online syllabus would be given. Teachers would complete weekly online activities that include viewing streamed sign language videos, reading about assistive technology that aids the students with hearing losses, reading about hearing loss and its educational ramifications and reflecting on their learning of these issues while visiting web sites that assist in sign language acquisition. A final project will be presented at the end of the semester in which participants meet face-to-face to share a lesson which they have adapted to meet the needs of all students in their classroom assuming that includes at least one student with a hearing loss. A sign language interpreter and a student will attend to assist in this presentation. Thirty minutes of the face-to-face meeting will be “silent.” This means that all participants will exchange ideas through sign language or note writing as the facilitator assesses every participants’ feelings about the PDA and its effectiveness. This “silent” component will give participants a clearer understanding of sign language and the disability of deafness.
At this time no additional series of PDA modules would be available. Teachers who have completed this PDA could become part of the facilitating team for future modules allowing the sharing of experiences and frustrations.
This PDA would be given 3 CEUs equivalent to a 1-semester hour course. Thirteen weekly lessons and one three hour face-to-face meeting would be required for completion of this PDA module.
Timeline
This PDA would be repeated as often as necessary to satisfy enrollment lists. Teachers in any Illinois school district would have access to this online PDA following the first semester.
|
Beginning Time |
Completion Time |
Activity |
|
September 2001 |
December 2001 |
Facilitator will develop online course and materials, digitize videos, and set up server space at U-46 and University of Illinois and WebBoard accessibility at University of Illinois. |
|
January 2002 |
June 2002 |
Facilitator and secretary will notify teachers of PDA through U-46 Professional Growth and Development Office and newsletter, the NIA Program website, and the daily teacher announcements at the district schools. They will collect enrollments, complete informative mailing to participants and handle equipment needs. |
|
September 2002 |
November 2002 |
Online course would be held for 13 weeks culminating in a three-hour face-to-face meeting at Streamwood High School, Streamwood, Illinois. Facilitator and secretary will continue to notify teachers of second semester PDA through the above methods as well as expanding to other Illinois districts as space allows. Facilitator and secretary will collect enrollments, complete informative mailing to participants and handle equipment needs for second semester course. Tech support person will give assistance to facilitator and PDA participants. |
|
January 2002 |
May 2002 |
Online course would be held for 13 weeks culminating in a three-hour face-to-face meeting at Streamwood High School, Streamwood, Illinois. Tech support person will give assistance to facilitator and PDA participants. |
|
June 2002 |
August 2002 |
Facilitator will evaluate the need for continued offering of this PDA or the need for the formation of a second level course. If need is shown, notification for fall semester PDA will proceed by facilitator and secretary. Tech support person will evaluate technology needs and updates for continued use of online PDA. |
Budget
|
Item |
Cost per unit |
Units per semester |
Total per semester |
|
Lead Facilitator |
$45.00 |
68 hours |
$3060.00 |
|
Interpreter |
$25.00 |
4 hours |
$ 100.00 |
|
Student |
$10.00 |
4 hours |
$ 40.00 |
|
Secretary |
$14.00 |
70 hours |
$ 980.00 |
|
Technical Support |
$25.00 |
140 hours |
$3500.00 |
|
Video storage space for U-46 |
$7000.00 |
1 time purchase |
$7000.00 |
|
Access to WebBoard |
Will be determined by University of Illinois |
|
Not known |
|
Video streaming server space at University of Illinois |
$500.00 |
1 |
$500.00 |
|
Paper supplies |
$100.00 |
1 |
$100.00 |
|
Total for known costs |
|
|
$15,280 |
Total to develop course and facilitate one semester of this PDA = $15,280.00 + costs to be determined by the University of Illinois. $7,000.00 of this total is a one-time expense for computer storage upgrades to handle digitized videos. Subsequent semester cost would be $8,280.00 + costs to be determined by the University of Illinois
Personnel – Total per semester = $7680.00
Facilitating Team
Lead facilitator – One facilitator would develop, coordinate and implement the lessons and evaluate the teachers’ presentations in the PDA. For the 13 weeks of one-hour lessons and office chat time the facilitator would be paid for 3 hours of work time per week at $45.00/ hour. The face-to-face meeting would involve 2 hours of preparation, 3 hours of presentations and feedback and 4 hours of evaluations for the participants’ projects. Set up of this online PDA would require 20 hours for digitizing videos, setting up WebBoard, and syllabus. This is a total of 68 hours at $45.00/hour = $3060.00/semester.
Interpreter – The interpreter and student would only assist in the planning and implementation of the face-to-face meeting. An hourly stipend of $25.00 would be given for preparation and presentation time. $25.00 X 4 hours = $100.00/semester.
Student – The student would assist in the presentations at the face-to-face meeting. An hourly stipend of $10.00 would be given for presentation time. $10.00 X 4 hours = $ 40.00/semester.
Secretary – 1/8 time position to support the lead facilitator in office duties. $14.00/hr X 5 hours/week = $14.00 X 70 hours = $980.00/semester.
Technology Support Person – ¼ time person to support the lead facilitator in technological issues. $25.00/hr X 10 hours/week = $25.00 X 140 hours = $3500.00/semester.
Equipment – Total per semester = $7,500.00 plus costs determined by University of Illinois.
Computers – Teachers could use district computers or their home computer to access this class. The facilitator could use the district computers to present the class.
Video streaming equipment is in place at U-46, however additional hard drive storage would be required. Digitizing equipment and software is in place, and could be used by facilitator. $7,000.00 would buy storage as stated by Jim Ege head of Instructional Technology for U-46. This would be a one-time cost.
Access to WebBoard – cost to be determined University of Illinois.
Video streaming server space at University of Illinois = $500.00/semester.
Face-to-face meeting room at Streamwood High School provided by U-46 free of charge.
Supplies – Total per semester = $100.00
Sign language videos are owned by the NIA Program, and they could be used free of charge.
Paper supplies = $100.00/semester.
Teletypewriter – The NIA Program has one that could be used free of charge.
Television with closed captioning – Streamwood High School has one that could be used free of charge.
Hearing aid and listening device – The NIA Program has these that could be used free of charge.
Resources
Certificate Renewal Manual
http://www.isbe.net/recertification/crmanual.htm
Deb Schmalholz, U-46 Professional Growth and Development Coordinator, interview June 14, 2001
Fingerspeller – A site that allows persons to practice receptive and expressive fingerspelling
http://members.iquest.net/~powers/speller/speller.html
Handspeak – A site designed to teach sign language and facts about deafness
Illinois State Board of Education- this lists professional development activities and their CPDU points
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/recertification/Default.htm
Jim Ege, U-46 Instructional Technology Coordinator, interview June 14, 2001
Northwestern Illinois Association web site-This PDA would be announced in this page.
U-46 web site – This PDA would be of special interest to teachers at Parkwood Elementary School, Tefft Middle School and Streamwood High School
Conclusion
Deafness is a low incidence disability so many teachers faced with the inclusion or mainstreaming of a student with a hearing loss may have no prior experience with this disability and its ramifications on learning. As inclusion becomes more widely used teachers will have contact with students with hearing losses. In Illinois teachers must submit their certificate renewal plan every five years detailing what they will do the meet the requirements of certification. This PDA will foster an understanding of how to present knowledge that is critical to improving students’ performance. It will develop knowledge and skills in the state priority area of special education. As teachers seek out activities to include in their renewal plans online professional development activities such as this one will be in high demand as few schools have self contained programs for deaf and hard of hearing students that could be tapped as a resource.
New research suggests that sign language is beneficial to language development of ALL children. Regular education teachers may find learning sign language to be of benefit when planning and implementing lessons in their classrooms.
Appendix
Online Professional Development Activity Syllabus
Course: Deafness, Sign Language and Education
Facilitator: Jill McCue
(All links would be activated once PDA was finalized. Only PowerPoint and websites are currently accessible.)
|
Week |
Activities to complete |
Date Due |
|
1 |
View introductory video, View NIA Power Point (slides 1-6) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
2 |
View sign language video 1, View NIA Power Point (slides 7-11) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
3 |
View NIA Power Point (slides 12-18) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
4 |
View NIA Power Point (slides 19-21) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
5 |
View NIA Power Point (slides 22-26) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
6 |
View NIA Power Point (slides 27-34) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
7 |
View NIA Power Point (slides 35-41) Write a reflection of no more than one page regarding these slides and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. |
Saturday of this week |
|
8 |
Go to http://www.handspeak.com Post in this WebBoard conference 5 signs you practiced from handspeak.com that are not conceptual (the sign does not look like the word). |
Saturday of this week |
|
9 |
Begin adapting a classroom lesson you teach in your area or level to accommodate the special needs of a deaf student. An interpreter and deaf student will be provided for your presentation of your lesson. In this WebBoard conference, post a brief (1 paragraph) summary of the adaptations or assistive technologies you will be using. |
Saturday of this week |
|
10 |
Find a place in your lesson to integrate some sign language that you sign. Post in this WebBoard conference a short description of what you will be signing. |
Saturday of this week |
|
11 |
Practice your lesson in front of a video camera. Evaluate your adaptations and sign language in a 1-page reflection. Post this reflection in WebBoard. Mail a copy of this video to the facilitator for suggestions. |
Saturday of this week |
|
12 |
Practice fingerspelling words in your lesson along with the Fingerspeller at http://members,iquest.net/~powers/speller/speller.html Write a reflection of no more than one page about your feelings while learning sign language and post this in the WebBoard conference associated with your name |
Saturday of this week |
|
13 |
Make a list of adaptations that you currently use or will begin using in every lesson to assist every student learn. This may include things like not talking while facing the board or varying note-taking processes. Post this list in the WebBoard conference associated with your name. Participate in a pre-arranged chat with the facilitator discussing your lesson, signing and concerns. |
Saturday of this week |
|
14 |
Participate in 30 minute “silent” assessment of course, Present adapted lessons (5 minutes) using the interpreter and deaf student Facilitator will share and allow hands on use of assistive technology that assist deaf students. |
At face-to-face meeting (Date to be determined) |