Northport - East Northport School District technology questionnaire

These are the replies from some districts to the Newsday questionnaire regarding the use of new technologies in their classrooms.

Some of the answers are elaborate, and have not been edited or reduced. Some districts did not answer the questions directly.

Moodle Learning Management System: This is an open-source LMS (like Blackboard, JoomlaLMS, and Saba) which enables educators to create on-line “courses” that allow them and their students to post/link to resources, develop on-line forums, create assessments, develop collaborative curricular documents, share best practices, communicate and learn.

The District has been moving forward with our Moodle LMS initiative for over a year, and more and more teachers are creating virtual extensions of their physical classrooms within the Moodle environment. Last year, teachers were introduced to Moodle and began exploring how the LMS could enhance their classroom instruction.

All curriculum writing endeavors were also moved into this on-line environment to facilitate the creation of dynamic, “living” curricular “documents” that can be updated, enhanced, and revised regularly to incorporate what works best and give teachers, parents and students access to the most up-to-date, effective resources and activities. This year, students have begun to use Moodle in many classes to extend learning beyond the walls of the school, incorporating learning and collaboration tools similar to ones they are using at home into their formal education. Many teachers and students are excited about moving down this path and enjoy exploring the possibilities of learning on-line. Here are a few of the Moodle activities that have been taking place in the District:

o The Music Department is developing a Moodle page for elementary string orchestra students and their parents. Students will practice at home with their teachers.
Parents will watch that their child is utilizing proper posture, bow grip, etc. The hope is that our parents will eventually learn alongside their kids and even join us for the spring concert!

o The Music Department is also developing a Moodle page that contains the entire interactive music curriculum for the third grade. Included will be guided listening for students and their families, choral music and piano accompaniments, recorder music and accompaniments, and information such as concert dates and healthy practicing habits.

o International Baccalaureate History of the Americas (IB HOTA) students are reading articles and posting their comments in on-line Moodle forums. During the marking period, each student will be asked to act as the "discussion leader," posting questions that will promote further discussion and reflection from their peers.

o Advanced Placement US History students are also posting discussion comments as they examine historical research, and Global Studies students are commenting on key questions posed by their instructor related to their classroom instruction.

o Academy of Information Technology (AOIT) internship students are discussing their internship experiences using Moodle on-line forums o Cyber Security students are analyzing security policy documents and sharing their findings on-line with their classmates

o Middle school English teachers and library media specialists are participing in on-line threaded collegial discussions through Moodle to preview, discuss, and critique young adult novels. Teachers participating in these on-line collegial circles are also learning how to use threaded discussions with their students.

2. Please tell us about any major innovations you are planning to introduce within the next year.

· NWEA MAP Assessments: The District is in the process of introducing the Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) MAP assessments in grades K – 6 district-wide. NWEA MAP assessments are computer-based, adaptive, formative assessments that provide granular prescriptions along the K-12 continuum in Reading, Mathematics, Language Usage and General Science.

The District has decided to begin with K – 6 Mathematics assessments for the coming school year. Students will take the MAP assessment three times during the year, and teachers will use the information NWEA provides to identify students strengths and needs and adjust their instruction to better promote each student’s individual academic growth.