Effective Projects Case Study

Media Cart Deployment at Profile School District

www.profile.k12.nh.us/

This is a story about a project that started 9/1/2004.

For more information, please contact: Jacques-Jude Lepine at jlepi@profile.k12.nh.us.

Assembly and deployment of 12 media carts throughout Middle and High School

Funding: This project was supported by $3,600 from NCLB Title II-D (Educational Technology) and $14,400 in local funds. The project illustrates how federal funding supports “Access - Enhancing existing technology and acquiring new technology to support education reforms and improve student achievement (includes servers, desktops, laptops, peripherals).” The project addressed the following grades and content areas: 

   Gr6-8  Gr9-12  EngLangArts  Math  Science  SocSt  TheArts  All areas

The Setting: The strongest force came from faculty requests to have a classroom media cart as a result of the deployment of the first unit as a loaner to teachers. Another driving force was the increased teacher awareness of the versatility and “user friendliness” of the media cart for the integration of technology in instruction and the use of web-based material and student activities.

The plot: The biggest challenge during the planning phase was the selection of quality, cost-effective components and then justifying the inclusion of the cart in the Media Center budget. We started by advocating the possibility to the School Board and providing a demonstration, which resulted in the use of a cart by the School Board for their own meetings. The biggest challenge during implementation was prioritizing classroom recipients of the new units, since only 3 or 4 units could be deployed per year. The technology committee established a policy about prioritizing requests and intense use of the loaner unit.

The teachers: 37 teachers were directly involved.

The students: The media cart is composed of a multimedia projector, a sound system, a double deck VHS/DVD, cable to connect to desktop/laptop, and mobile cart. Humanities, Social Studies, Science and Technical instruction are benefiting from the use of these carts. In Humanities, a primary use is in the showing of literature-based movies and video segments, along with the use of web-based material and activities projected on a large screen with excellent image and sound quality, and presentation of student digital projects produced individually and collaboratively. A good deal of what was said about humanities applies to Social Studies and History as well. Here is some typical feedback from faculty: “The media cart is used daily. I've become dependent on it for things such as project web sites, daily assignments, and opening acts. Students use it to display/present their work. Here’s one example of how I use the cart. Last week, as an introduction to a unit on Africa, I projected a YouTube video of satellite images of the earth, about 50% of which were on Africa or parts of Africa. I was able to teach some geography and get students excited and grounded for the unit on Africa. Students loved the images and could clearly compare electrical use from night photos between North America and Africa.” In Technical instruction, our AutoCAD course was greatly enhanced by projecting teacher laptop-based instruction.  

The data: We gather feedback from faculty and students. There is a demand for equipment and training from faculty.  

The difference: The cart is a central piece in various facets of technology integration. It boosts active, creative use of multiple technologies by both faculty and students, individually and in teams. We have deployed about three new carts per year during the last four years. It should be noted that the only classrooms without a cart today are already equipped with  multimedia projectors connected to teacher’s laptop and that their type of instruction does not require a full media cart. This is the case of math teachers, who, on the other hand, have enhanced the use of multimedia projector with a SmartBoard. From French teacher: I am currently equipped with a video cart consisting of a DVD player, a VCR player, and a video projector. In the foreign language context, students view videos pertaining to France and French culture. They also view films in the language itself, i.e.: comedies, documentaries, first-hand accounts of historical events, etc. The DVD player also functions as a CD player. Students complete comprehension exercises by listening to oral dialogs and conversations on CD. The video projector has USB capability. This allows for both teacher and students to present computer-based projects, i.e. Power Point Presentations, virtual Internet tours of French-speaking countries.

Essential conditions: Aside from the necessary funding, the availability of Tech Coordinator was critical for researching, purchasing, assembling carts and training faculty. Another essential condition was the faculty awareness of the immediate applications of the Media Cart in instructional practice.

Changes for the future: 

Recommendations: Based on our school district response, this is a good fit for the needs and possibilities of rural schools with a modest technology budget. Talking points: Vast array of applications for technology integration; Cost-effectiveness; User-friendliness; Incremental implementation offers benefits at every stage. All classrooms should be equipped with, or have access to multimedia and digital instructional tools such as multimedia carts. We managed to do this in incremental steps. The cost of a unit is decreasing (about $1,200.00), as the main component (projector) is getting cheaper.

Telling our story: The SAU-wide Media Action Team included a presentation and workshop on how to assemble these carts. It resulted in the deployment of such units in the other schools.

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