RMC Research Findings
Impact of Continued Implementation
According to past participants interviewed, the grant continued to affect teaching practices during the year(s) after participation. Of 3 teachers interviewed, all 3 had continued to use the computers to emphasize writing. They specifically mentioned the ongoing use of word prediction and talking word processing software, along with the trait-based writing model learned through NCS Mentor for Washington.
Writing:
All of these interviewees highlighted long-term improvement in student writing skills. One interviewee reflected that before becoming involved with the grant her students had been exempted from taking the WASL, but a year after the grant all of her Grade 10 students took the WASL using laptop computers and word processing software. Further, other special education teachers in her school noticed the impact on students' writing abilities, and her department director came to believe that laptops should be mandatory for every special education student.
Another interviewee reported that 2 of his 3 continuing students "worked their way out of" the resource room into mainstream classes, and he believes the technology was partially responsible. The third interviewee mentioned a student who had refused to write when he first became part of the grant but was, at the time of the interview, using technology to write a senior paper using the scanner and optical character recognition software for college applications.
One of the teachers reported that he assigned more writing during the year after participating in the grant than he had before participating because his students had become more willing to write. They would complete rough drafts and were less afraid of misspelling words, and the students generally found writing less difficult than before.
Writing Assessment Using NCS Mentor:
A high school teacher had continued to use the grant-provided writing assessments and NCS Mentor scoring methods to prepare his students for the WASL. He also hoped to include the use of voice recognition software as an accommodation for some students, allowing them to use it on the WASL in 2001. Another teacher reported requiring more writing samples from his students and expecting their papers to be written according to the trait-based standards learned from NCS Mentor for Washington.
Technology Proficiency - Expanded Use:
The year after participating in the grant, all of these teachers had developed innovative ways to use the technology. For example, one teacher used computers to facilitate peer editing as part of the writing process, which she found too difficult when students had to read each others' handwriting. Another one of the teachers, who teaches lower elementary grades, reported that the talking word processing and word prediction software had helped teachers at his school teach writing to both special and regular education students.
Some high school LD students incorporated a digital camera with the talking word processor to create safety manuals for their shop class. The manuals described correct safety techniques in words next to digital photographs of students demonstrating the techniques. Other students incorporated the use of "PowerPoint" to create slide shows that featured scanned pictures as an alternative to written reports in their mainstream classes.
The two high school teachers noted that after 2 years the continuing students were very technology literate and even able to provide technical support in the classroom or around the school. One teacher commented that the most apparent long-term outcome of using the technology was simply that technology became a regular, everyday resource for the students. The other high school teacher reported that his students were less afraid to try things after 2 years of using the technology. For instance, his students submitted a successful application to the principal to beautify a hillside by the school as a project for Earth Day. For the application, the students took digital photos of the hillside and explained in writing why it needed beautification something, the teacher indicated, they would not have been willing to do in the past.