Digital Learning Environment Inventory

Jasmyn Wright (2016-2017)

The digital tools and resources available to teachers and students vary throughout Wilmington,
DE public and private schools. The following Digital Learning Environment Inventory assesses
the technological tools and resources available to teachers and students at EastSide Charter
School. EastSide Charter School used to operate as its own district. It wasnt until this current
school year EastSide has accepted 2 other school to be a part of the district.

1. What tools, software, operating systems, and equipment are available in your school and classroom?

EastSide Charter School provides each teacher with an Acer laptop with access to the
internet, YouTube, google chrome, Microsoft Office, and Microsoft Publisher.

On the teacher computer, Firewall blocks access to Pinterest and any social media
sites.

Each grade is given 2 laptop carts for students to share. Teachers have to arrange and
schedule time of use for the laptops. For instance, I currently teach 2nd grade. There
are 3 2nd grade classrooms. Each classroom has 17-19 students. However, there are
only 20 laptops in each cart. There are some instances when a couple of the laptops
in the cart are broken, which decreases the supply of laptops. Students sometimes
have to share laptops when working on projects and activities.

There is a computer room in the school, with a computer teacher. Each student takes
Computers as a specials class, one day a week. The computer room has 30 desktops,
30 headphones, and a printer. Students are still blocked from going on any social
media sites.

If he or she requests one, teachers are given an iPad. This can be used for small
group instruction during reading or math time. Teachers can also use it to log
behavior and take attendance. Students are not allowed to touch or use the iPad.

eSchool is used to teachers to log behavior, take attendance, put in grades, or find
contact information for parents.

Each classroom has a phone. The phone can be used to call parents or other teachers
in the building during school hours. It makes local and long-distance calls, but not
international calls. Students are not allowed to answer the classroom telephone.

Intercoms are located in the main office and in each classroom. There are no
intercoms in the hallways. Intercoms are used for special announcements from the
office.

Students are not allowed to bring any technology with them to school (ie tablets,
electronic games, cell phones, etc.) If a teacher finds a student with any technology,
the teacher has permission to take it and hold until the end of the day. Its at the
discretion of the teacher if he or she should call the parents.

Microsoft Outlook is used for work email databases.

Each classroom teacher is given a document camera that teachers can use for
instruction.

Brand new SmartBoards are in each classroom. Both teachers and students are
allowed to manipulate and use the SmartBoard for learning. Some teachers are given
clickers to help them navigate the SmartBoard without actually touching it.

There are 2 printers in the teachers lounge. Teachers are not allowed to print in color
on these. However, there is a printer in the office. Office staff is allowed to print in
color.

Skype can be used in the classroom. However, permission must be given from the
Director of Technology. He is the one who has to approve its download and put the
administrative password on the computer to use the program.

EastSide Charter School District subscribes to:

Brain Pop, Jr.
Reading A-Z
Scholastic
Study Island
Fun Brain

 Starfall
CoolMath4Kids

2. How does your school make use of school and/or teacher websites?
EastSide Charter School has a website that provides access to district news, calendars, and links
to individual school websites. Here is the link: www.escs.charter.k12.de.us. There are now 3
schools within the EastSide Charter School District. Each individual school has its own website
which contains specific information such as staff directory, curriculum information, testimonials,
parent resources, board meeting minutes, and career opportunities.

3. How are you currently utilizing technology for learning?

On a daily basis, the students and I use our classroom SmartBoard and document camera. Both
are great interactive visuals used for instruction. The SmartBoard is used to display digital readalouds or math Do Now activities. Students can come to the board and highlight, circle, or write
down answers to questions. The document camera is used primarily during writing, when Im
modeling how our mini-lesson. I also use it to display exemplar student work. A few times,
Skype has been used to communicate with other 2nd grade classrooms in Memphis, TN and
Berlin, Germany. Students use the laptops to research information about people living in those
places. They also use the laptops during Science, so that they to go on YouTube and google to
research information about what we are studying for the month.

4. From the list of global e-learning sites included below, which are available and which sites are blocked
by your firewall?
All of the following websites are accessible by educators and students at EastSide Charter
School:
a.Skype www.skype.com

b.iEARN www. iearn.org

c. ConnectAllSchools http://www.connectallschools.org
d. Peace Corps Speakers Match http://wws.peacecorps.gov/wws/speakersmatch/
e.ePals http://www.epals.com
f. Global Nomads Group www.gng.org
g. Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org
h. Outreach World http://www.outreachworld.org
i. The UN Works http://www.un.org/works/
j. Global Education Conference http://www.globaleducationconference.com
k.Online Newspapers http://www.onlinenewspapers.com
l. Peace Corps Culture Lesson http://files.peacecorps.gov/uploads/wws/lessonplans/files/culture.pdf

5. What sites and tools are colleagues in your building using?

Technology usage at EastSide Charter School varies by teacher. Some educators use little or no
technology while other teachers find it more engaging to incorporate as much technology as
possible. Here is a list of sites and tools colleagues in my building are using:

a.

Class Dojo: www.classdojo.com

b. Brain Pop Jr.: https://jr.brainpop.com/

c. Engage NY Flip
Books: https://www.engageny.org/sites/default/files/resource/attachments/ckla_gk_d2_fb.
pdf

d. Go Noodle https://www.gonoodle.com/

6. Is there a system for evaluating student technology literacy in your school? If so, how effective or helpful
have you found the assessment?
No, EastSide Charter School does not currently have a system in place for evaluating student
technology literacy.

7. Gather suggestions from students on their ideas for integrating technology into their learning.
Here are my 2nd graders ideas for integrating technology in their learning:

Allow each classroom to have their own set of laptops for students.

Keep switching out laptops if some dont work.

Make computer class longer so we can learn how to type fast.

Make Skyping other classrooms a part of the curriculum.

Answer questions in class on the computer, just like we do for our Interim
Assessments.

Include technology games every day for learning.

8. What tools that are not presently available, would help to achieve district objectives?
In order to prepare students for the 21st century, the following steps should be taken:

Hold weekly professional developments for teachers to learn how to

operate/utilize technology in the classroom.

Give each classroom a set of computers for students to use at teachers discretion.

Unblock sites like Twitter and Pinterest. Its the 21st century. Twitter can be used
for informational purposes, and Pinterest can be used to spark creativity in
teachers and students.

Slowly and gradually provide options for online text books or student
workbooks.

Evaluate student technology literacy on a regular basis either each school year or
at specified intervals during their time in Alexandria City Public Schools. 9.

Create a rubric which specifies the technological skills students should master at
each grade level in order to be prepared for college and the work force.

9. Using your Digital Learning Environment Inventory, develop a solution or suggest an improvement
customized to your circumstance and curriculum. Create, implement and evaluate one change in a
globalized lesson plan to use technology for learning in a meaningful way. To document and
reflect on this change, please submit two paragraphs:

one paragraph describing your creation and implementation of one change in a

globalized lesson plan to use technology and

one paragraph evaluating what you learned in the process of creating and
implementing one change in a globalized lesson to use technology,

In the beginning of the year, I noticed that my students struggled with writing. Not only did thy
struggle grasping the basic foundations of 5-7 sentence paragraphs with proper grammar and
punctuation, but they also showed zero to little enthusiasm with following the 5 steps of the
writing process. Writing was dreadful and it felt like I was continuously pulling teeth. I came up
with the idea of writing friendly letters to Pen Pals in Berlin, Germany. This interested the
students. They asked many questions about how students are in this country. We used the

SmartBoard to search the internet and watch videos related to the German culture. We ended our
Pen Pal unit by having 2 Skype sessions with the same classroom.

I learned that the reason my students didnt feel the sense of joy and enthusiasm for writing
wasnt because it was so hard for them, but because they never saw or understood the purpose of
being a great writer. They were never given the chance to apply their learning in the real world.
Also, they were bored with the old fashioned pencil and paper method. A common phrase I
was used to always hear my students say was, I dont know what to write about. By allowing
them to use the SmartBoard and laptops to research the German culture, they were able to
generate many ideas and questions for the students in Berlin. Writing the friendly letter was
exciting for them, because they genuinely wanted to learn more about the person they were
writing to. The Skype session finale allowed students from both classrooms to finish their Pen
Pal exchange with a virtual and real-life application.