Staff Development Workshop www.Storybird.

com Summary Report Kecia McGouirk

Face-to-Face Workshop Impact Overview This workshop was designed to help K-5 grade teachers at T.G. Scott Elementary learn how to implement instructional technology by using the Web 2.0 tool, Storybird. This workshop was centered on helping teachers understand how the use of instructional technology can engage students and improve their reading, writing, and literacy skills. In order to see this, teachers had to practice using Storybird and create a sample Storybird. At total of 10 staff members were present including field supervisor, Kelvin Hughley, and 9 additional educators representing areas of: media specialist, art teacher, technology teacher, Kindergarten teacher, 1st grade teacher, 2nd grade teacher, 3rd grade teacher, 4th grade teacher, and a 5th grade teacher.

Planning for this workshop was based on material and resources that I obtained through online research. However, the activities and learning experiences were adjusted to reflect the delivery of the material. I created a summary PowerPoint for the hook and introduction of the subject material. Participants were given ideas on how to design assignments using this Web 2.0 tool in a variety of ways to allow for all types of learners. Written step-by-step instructions were given during the PowerPoint as well as instructional handouts were given for understanding purposes. Additional website

McGouirk Page 2 resources were also mentioned. The delivery of the instruction was presented to the participants under the supervision of field supervisor, Kelvin Hughley. Twenty hours of instructional planning was included during the design of this workshop. Challenges with planning this workshop included: the timing of how long it would take participants to complete the various sections and making sure participants completed all instructional steps in order.

The participants selected for this course were strictly volunteers. Having a well-balanced amount of teachers who represented all elementary grade levels was vital to the workshops success rate. Including all grade level teachers helped expose the Web 2.0 tool and show a variety of ways the instructional tool can be used. During the workshops task performance teachers began to collaborate different ways they could utilize Storybird depending on their grade level. They were also able to synthesize the degrees of difficulty assignments could offer depending on the grade level. During the workshop which was held in a computer lab, there were a few technical problems including inaccessible internet connection. Some participants were unable to access the website due to wireless issues; therefore, the suggestion of changing browsers from Internet Explorer to Firefox was the answer. Another problem occurred when two participants were not able to log on to the laptop. Thankfully this issue was resolved when Mr. Hughley used his administrator log on privileges for them. One last issue arose when I discovered that the internet was somewhat laggy or slow. This was disappointing since the teachers were very excited and anxious to get started. However, I was pleased to see teachers show a high interest in using Storybird and their sincerity of applying it as instructional technology in their lessons.

McGouirk Page 3 Questionnaire

Table 1: Assessment of Individual Data

Participant Identifier Workshop Rating Recommendations Storybird Creations

Participant 1 Participant 2 Participant 3 Participant 4 Participant 5 Participant 6 Participant 7 Participant 8 Participant 9

Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent Excellent

None None None Offer this workshop during the summer None Make it longer None Come demonstrate to my class None

2 Pages 4 Pages 3 Pages 4 Pages 2 Pages 2 Pages 3 Pages 3 Pages 2 Pages

Analysis and Interpretation of Data Data results from the questionnaire proved that participants chose a unanimous decision of rating the workshop excellent overall. Participants verbally commented on how Storybird is user-friendly for teachers and therefore, should be for students as well. They were also impressed that there was a wide variety of artwork and that it was easily attainable. Therefore, it is my opinion, that the workshop was a success with few technical issues. Participants willingness to perform well during the module was quite evident. They also demonstrated enthusiasm when creating and writing their Storybird creations.

Recommendations for Revisions There are a few areas that would benefit from revision in future implementations of this workshop. First, it would be helpful for participants to include two different types of student exemplars including a storybook and a poem. Second, it would be more likely to

McGouirk Page 4 provide more time for participants to create an example for all the other teachers in their grade level. Though, for this to occur, teachers will need to be willing to stay longer than an hour for the workshop. It was also mentioned by participants to offer this workshop during the school systems summer program for teachers and to provide a tutorial for students in their classes. Testing and evaluating all technical issues before hand is probably the biggest advice to offer but sadly this sometimes cannot be discovered until after implementation has begun.