I’m heading to Washington DC (and actually composing this on a bus hurtling down I-95) to present at the COSN conference starting March 5, 2012. The presentation is about the College YES i3 grant we are involved in with the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools in Los Angeles. In College YES, middle and high schools in the Alliance are building on their success with getting students ready for college – both to enter and to graduate!
The grant focuses on introducing more hands-on, project-based work in STEM classes, and helping students create e-portfolios of their work in STEM and college-readiness classes.
College YES uses a coordinated support system of planning, collaboration, training, and on-site support to help make this happen.
The role of Generation YES is to help each campus build a Student Technology Leadership program so that the PD and collaboration the teachers do has a built-in support system of students. These students are trained to become Student Technology Leaders (STLs), and are taught how to mentor peers, help students with projects, and help support teachers with technology integration. The STLs are each given an iPad to help them do their work.
We are also providing an easy-to-use online system for the STLs, students, and teachers of the Alliance schools to use to manage, track, and assess their projects. The system also provides messaging and forums, online portfolios for the students, and assessment of projects using the ISTE NETS standards for student technology literacy. Next year we are planning to add alignment to the new Common Core standards for these projects.
There is more information here about College YES.
If you are going to be at COSN – please come by our session! It’s combined with another successful technology integration project from Forsyth County in Georgia:
Shared Vision – Two Cases Studies Using BYOT and Mobile Devices to Transform Learning
Wednesday, 8:45AM – Congressional B Room
This session will present two case studies of schools using innovative models of technology as leverage to create a shared culture of learning and leadership across multiple campuses. Forsyth County Schools (GA) is working with schools and teachers to implement the practice of allowing students to bring their own technology (BYOT) to use in the classroom. College YES (a federal i3 grant) is creating a culture of high quality tech-infused STEM education, career and college readiness, and student leadership in 20 Los Angeles area middle and high schools.
The ultimate goal of both initiatives is to accelerate student learning and increase rigor, high order thinking and inquiry through the use of student-owned technology. This session will explore the use of technology tools, leadership experiences at all levels, and Professional Learning Communities to make the vision a reality.
As you can see, we are emphasizing technology (it’s a technology conference, after all!) but like any successful initiative, there has to be a well-rounded support system that creates lasting ownership, cultivates local expertise, and builds towards a self-sustaining project.
I look forward to sharing more as College YES goes along – but now it’s time to push the “Publish” button and hop off the bus at the Delaware rest stop!
Sylvia
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