SED 464 Signature assignment

Classroom Technology Proposal

Based off of the
Arizona Technology in Education Association (AzTEA) and Century Link
Innovation in Classroom Technology Integration (ICTI) Grant
2015-16 Project Proposal Template

Parker Abel

School Environment

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The school that is in question is Gilliland Jr. High. It is located in Tempe Arizona and is a
Title 1 school district. The school is fully inclosed in a gate that surrounds the perimeter of the
school, along with all the classes being located indoors. There are no windows for the
innermost classrooms. Each class period is broken up into one hour segments along with a 45
minute lunch and a 45 minute prep time for all teachers. Since all the classes are inside, the
hallways get very congested during the end of each period, causing a large hustle and bustle for
all students to get out of their classrooms, and into the next one. There are adequate lockers
for all students to utilize, yet none are used due to the following problem stated above. Each
classroom is fitted with a desk, some are mobile while others are bolted to the ground, along
with ample counter space around the edges of each class. There are also white boards placed
throughout the classroom, again either mobile or bolted to the walls. Almost all the classrooms
also have a smart board for the us as teachers to utilize. Many classrooms are over filled with
students, where a class size can range anywhere from, 20 students to 45+ students. Since
there are so many students per classroom, backpacks are usually lined up in the rear of the
class. This can cause a large number of students to forget the materials needed for the class,
giving them an excuse to get up and cause a distraction in the back of the room. This is an
hourly problem. This also makes for a congested entrance and exit area. This is where there is
a smart periodic table of the elements board is located. Due to class size, and congestion of
the main area for this tool, I will be suggesting a tool to allow all students to use this fun
technological tool, as well as keep the exit areas clear for; entrance, exit, and emergencies.
There is one large cafeteria that allows students one of two different lunch periods.
The demographic of the school is a title 1 school, yet this does not do the numbers
justice. There are 876 students total and 739 of them are on free or reduced school lunch
programs. This is approximately 84-85% of the entire student population. A large portion of
these low income homes are also going to be single parent homes. In the United States in
2013, over 35% of homes were single parent households(Kids Count). So by taking the lowest

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possible outcome of the 739 and taking 35% of these, it leaves 259 students with a 1 parent
household. Title 1 schools are at a disparagingly large disadvantage to accommodating
students with less than sufficient help on their studies. The ethnic demographic is broken down
as follows:
Hispanic- 643, or 61.83%
White- 104, or 10%
Black or African American- 168, or 16.15%
American Indian or Alaskan Native- 56, or 5.38%
Asian- 17, or 1.63%
Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander- 28, or 2.69%
(TD3 Ethnicity Distribution). Many of the students with a hispanic background also do not speak
any english. In one classroom, there is a group of only spanish speaking ELLs. There is a
student aid in the classroom that can translate, but even this form of help for 5+ students is not
adequate. This is allowing bright students, who do not understand the language, to be left
behind, or inversely, letting students whom did not get a full grasp of the material to pass, just
due to the language barrier. Now students who do not speak english in school will typically
indicate a parent who also cannot speak, or read, or write, in english. This will most likely cause
a lack of parental involvement, whether intended or not. When families knew about and guided
high school students to classes that would lead to higher education, students were more likely
to enroll in a higher-level program, earn credits, and score higher on tests. Regardless of family
background, the issue of parent expectations had the strongest effect on grade 12 test scores in
all subjects(Catasambis, 1998). It is an undisputed fact amongst researchers that a large
factor on student success is involvement at home from the parents .Gilliland has lessened the
amount of homework that students must complete, per class, to accommodate the children who
go home and have no parent to help, or are in fact taking care of their younger siblings, in place
of their parent while they are at work.

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Introduction and Biographical Description

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The science classroom is becoming more and more undesired, and has a stigma of
boredom, or extreme difficulty amongst students. These new Interactive Periodic Table of the
Elements (IPTE) boards will increase student participation and bring a large notion of self
motivation and discovery amongst the students as a whole. Since the IPTEs will be utilized per
student, the project based learning will allow students to; find out what molecules look like, how
they combine, what they are made up of, the definition of subatomic particles, and a discovery
of what these molecules can make in the real world, for themselves. Teachers and students
alike can use their smart devices to view all the information on the periodic table, whilst not
bringing the costs too high, since it is a free app, along with the smart boards. There is currently
one in the back of the classroom, but I am asking that all students may receive a personal sized
IPTE. This will directly impact the students from day one, once the chemistry section begins,
showing them how to use technology properly for the gaining of information and not just for, but
is not limited to, fun. There will be a slight learning curve for the first year students receive the
new IPTEs while the learning curve will stay mostly constant throughout future classes. As the
teacher, I will take a few class periods presenting a project, using the new smart boards, to
create an element and bring it to class. This will greatly impact the learning of the periodic table
in all classes past this point due to its recyclability and the nature of ease it is to access per
class period. I dare to say it will impact all students in the science level of 7th grade and up.
This is a tool that could benefit college level students. The number of students impacted in 3
years could reach approximately 630 students and upwards. Since students will be taking an
ownership of their own learning, while navigating the app, it will increase engagement and
implement project based learning from the very start of periodic table lectures and projects. I
am both the teacher of the classroom, as well as the author of this grant proposal. My name is
Parker Abel, I am a first year chemistry teacher and a graduate of the Arizona State University,
Mary Lou Fulton teachers college. I have gone through many technology infusion courses as
well as being born in the turn of the technological age, especially in regards to teaching.

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Although my teaching career has only just begun, I am on fire for getting students to become
more involved. Almost everyone has an innate desire to make a difference in the world and
taking science more seriously can jump start that potential into a reality.

Project Narrative

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I am suggesting an Interactive Periodic Table of the Elements (IPTE) board, that is
small enough for each student to have one at their desk. With the application that works on
smartphones and smart devices alike, or even a computer with a viewing lens, like
chromebooks. I mention chromebooks because Gilliland is implementing a plan to allow all
upper level students to have a chromebook at their disposal. The smaller, IPTE will allow all
students to use them without congesting the exit and entrance areas that are already
overflowing with backpacks, cubbies and desk space. With an ever growing student population,
these IPTEs will allow all students to utilize information of the periodic table, at their own pace,
while absorbing the maximum amount of information available. Providing students with a more
interactive form of the periodic table of the elements will give students an ownership of their
learning while also allowing them to gain a confidence in navigating, an otherwise, difficult
conceptual map. This is an application that could be used by a science student of any age.
Anywhere from junior high throughout a college career. The periodic table is never going away
as long as a student is involved in science. During the year, anytime the periodic table needs to
be referenced, it is at the touch of a button. This will increase speed and accuracy of the
provided work, and help students become more involved rapidly and excitingly.
The application called (Popar Periodic Table of the Elements chart). This application has
the ability to be viewed through a camera lense on a smart device, and then display the periodic
table in three dimensions. You are able to choose what element to observe and then the
application gives the typical information like, atomic mass, atomic number, and name. As well
as extra information, such as, what type of objects are made of these elements, electron
configuration and orbitals, melting point, boiling point, density, state of matter it is in, and a three
dimensional picture of the matter of the element. Not only is this information going to be helpful
to students in 7th-8th grade, but this chart can be used throughout a college career. To do a
proper MSDS, all this information is required. If the application is purchased, there is extra
information that can fulfill an accurate prelab and postlab. An application I would like to suggest

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to go along side by side the above application, would be the molecule reader app. This
application can take a molecular formula, or element name, and display a rotating, three
dimensional compound or atom. With the two apps side by side, the students will be able to
take responsibility and understand the material with minimal instruction and a large amount of
self learning. This will also tie into self regulation techniques that all students, and human
beings alike, should develop for their later careers and lifestyles.
The state and district requirements that will work cooperatively with the desired
applications are, (PO 2. Describe how a major milestone in science or technology has
revolutionized the thinking of the time (e.g., global positioning system, telescopes,
seismographs, photography). PO 3. Analyze the impact of a major scientific development
occurring within the past decade(standards). Within the next three years, I would predict that
students will be able to proficiently use the periodic table before their high school careers begin.
This impact could begin within a school district, and expand to a state standard. As a teacher I
will be able to spend less time on the lecturing and, in fact, boring use of the periodic table, and
instead use more time introducing students to a technology, ie the apps in question, for future
use. This will allow there to be more self learning and exploration of the subject to promote
ownership of science in general. With a prior knowledge of the elements before their high
school education, the nomenclature section shall be able to be understood more swiftly, due to
increased exposure along with aesthetically pleasing scenarios.
It is no mystery that students are becoming less and less involved in science, at the
junior high age. This is a, what some might call, boring activity that causes a large number of
students to lose interest in the study of science. Creating a more impactful way to learn a,
boring, area of content can, and will, produce a larger number of interested and involved
students in their communities, as well as the field of science. What is soap made of, what
books and movies have accurately portrayed science and the use of the elements, how can
knowing what elements bond with other elements help clean up a community or produce a new

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product that can make millions? These are the things that can really set a student's desires on
fire.
This is a technology that will not only transform student learning, but the way it may be
presented by the teachers within the school district. The periodic table of the elements is a
necessary tool for any student to learn, so it is an obligation for teachers to develop the ability to
use and manipulate the periodic table in students. The new IPTE will not change what students
need to know to use the periodic table, but it will make it more interactive. So as far as being
able to teach it, us as teachers must learn to manipulate the new technology well, and then to
use it to display our students work. It will cause this to become more of a project based learning
strategy, rather than a direct instruction activity. Therefore causing this to a more well
understood lesson and more interactive for both the students and the teacher.
Since the app is free to use and accessible anywhere, if using the bare bones model,
then parent involvement can, and will, go up. If a student is having trouble, then their parent
can just bring up their smartphone and view the same information as their child, even if they are
in different locations. This brings a uniformity to the learning process and allows parents to stay
on the same page as their children when learning to use the periodic table of the elements. I
would like to restate that parental involvement is one of the strongest indicators of student
success in the classroom.
This project will not only instill project based learning by introducing the students to a
free flowing view of an otherwise stationary subject, but it also follows all five of the Arizona
ISTE standards, along with the common core standards in strand 1 for science in 7th grade, PO
1,2 and 3.
The unit will be a project based learning unit with students first taking notes on how to
navigate the periodic table, and then introducing them to the new technology. All students will
have their own boards at home, and/or at their desks, so they may begin exploring and
visualizing what their notes actually meant. Then students will pick an element to make a model

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out of at home, with any materials they deem fit, as long as they have the required parts of the
atom consistent and correct(PO2). Then finally they will do a 3 paragraph report on what; who
discovered the element, what it is used for, what are some creative uses you might think of, and
why they chose their element(PO2/PO3). This will be a formative assessment for this project.
Students will present their elements by doing a gallery walk, and using their own expertise to
create their new model out of anything they like. This is their summative assessment for this
project. This will be a differentiation technique used that is dependent on the student's choice
entirely. Certain elements will be more difficult and others will be quite easy to explain their
uses as well as the model will vary in difficulty. Depending on the student's level of
skill/comprehension of the material I, as a teacher, can assign specific elements to specific
students.
The tempe school district, which is an increasing technology district, will support this
proposal and the furthering of the students education in this manner as well as the science
department at Gilliland Jr. High and the students parents will get behind this technology as well.
To sustain the project for years to come, teachers of 7th grade science will need to commit a
lesson section for the periodic table of the elements as well as learn how to use the new app
and IPTEs. Collaboration amongst teachers and students is paramount to have the project
succeed past a one year trial. Evidence for the success will be more valuable at the high school
level, when students begin using the PTE more regularly. Depending on how well this project
goes, getting the IPTEs for students every year may yield the best results. But this is only
speculation at this point and can be further evaluated at a later date.
The actual implications of this project are far reaching. A student falling in love with
science at a young age, as well as developing a strong skill set to use the knowledge obtained
can reach as far as being the next Albert Einstein, even though he did not finish high school, but
my point still stands. The next great invention, the next great idea, the next world changer is
going to come through our classrooms, so we must equip as many students as possible with the

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tools necessary to grow and develope that drive and inspiration, and to nurture the backbone to
any good idea. If every student every year got to keep their IPTE, that would mean a
generation of students who have a tool that is capable of being used into a college career and
further.

Budget Table

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Item

Cost

Number of Units

Cost per student

Molecule Application

$0.00

280

0.00

Poplar Smart Periodic

Table of the Elements

$30.00

280

$8400.00

The smart board will be accessible by all students at any time. Now that they are able to
keep their phones with this new app, even if they do not have the smart board, they will still be
able to access the necessary information. It is a smart and interactive way to teach the periodic
table of the elements. It is necessary to make this more project based, rather than direct
instruction based, to insure that students do not become disillusioned with science before the
fun stuff even begins. The smart boards are a fantastic way to inspire creativity in learning and
in teaching, of this otherwise dull portion of the science curriculum.

References

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The Science Standard Articulated by Grade Level. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015, from
http://www.azed.gov/standards-practices/academic-standards/science-standard/