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| Generation www.Y project
Onecia Mercer, a teacher in Topeka, Kansas, tells about the Gen www.Y project, a grant project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. By Onecia Mercer |
| Background The timing could not have been worse. Two large stacks of uncompleted paperwork sat waiting on my desk alongside more than half a dozen requests from colleagues for technology assistance, questions that needed answered in the shortest time possible. On one wall was a calendar with a March date circled in red--the date our school's accreditation visit was scheduled, at which time, the effectiveness of our school's improvement plan would be the object of a colleague peer review. Above my desk was a D.A.R.E. slogan, adopted by me in this accreditation year as a reminder that as committee co-chair, I must focus my energy on our spring accreditation visit. My plan that fall was "just say no" to any request that divided my time and energy. Of course, that was when the opportunity for a far-reaching program for staff development and student involvement came to my attention--a program my school and I could not possibly say no to. |
 Teresa Rush, Landon Middle School Gen www.Y teacher, sits side-by-side Topeka Public School students as they examine projects on the Gen www.Y Web page. |
 -mail brought a few details
about the Generation www.Y (Gen www.Y, spoken as "Gen Y") program, described as
an innovative program developed and piloted by Dr. Dennis Harper in Olympia,
Washington, and one of the funded U.S. Department of Education Technology
Innovation Challenge grants. From the beginning what caught my attention for
this project was its emphasis on pairing students and teachers. Students provide
technology assistance to teachers and teachers provide crucial skills, such as
effective communication and team building for today's workplace. The Gen www.Y
program directly aligned with one of our tech plan goals. And, more importantly,
their curriculum materials were developed, tested, and in print.
I wanted more information. Our assistant principal, who is also our tech committee chair, made phone calls until she located a video tape produced by the Gen www.Y project. Alas, from the introduction by Olympia Gen www.Y's graduate, Ryan Powell, I was hooked. An extraordinarily poised high school freshman, Powell detailed the Gen www.Y's purpose and goals. |
 he
purpose of Gen www.Y is to involve secondary school students in a heavily
integrated collaboration project with teachers. As they complete the project,
they will develop their own technology skills, communication skills, and teaching
skills. The second portion of the Gen www.Y program involves collaboration with
their teachers to create a lesson plan that utilizes technology. Students in
grades 6-12 complete an 18-week course designed to teach them the necessary
skills to mentor and support teachers in the use of technology in the classroom.
"We have to do this," I thought. No other program so closely matched the tech committee's vision for our school. Somehow we needed to plan, draft, and write a grant proposal to our State Department of Education, who planned to fund 50 Kansas schools to participate in the Gen www.Y program. Many details ran through my mind as I made a list of things that had to be done in order for us to submit our grant application. |
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"A general rule to
determine the level of technology in a school available to its students, is to
look closely at its building-level administrators." |
Getting school board approval A general rule to determine the level of technology in a school available to its students, is to look closely at its building-level administrators. My theory is, if they keep records electronically, communicate via e-mail, and access the World Wide Web for information, most often they aggressively find ways to offer technology opportunities for their students. Administrators want the best for their students. In our building, the principal found his way to advanced technology use the summer he hosted a state-wide education conference. He mastered the database application that allowed him to address brochures, make reservation confirmations and name tags, and print conference certificates. He remains a strong proponent for student use of technology. The assistant principal favors multimedia presentations which allow audiences to experience her message in color with video and audio. The curriculum coordinator keeps us informed with word processed notices which include tables and charts. The activities coordinator is an ace digital photographer who records student achievements on 8 x 10 color glossy photographs. The pictures are captured to a 3.5 inch floppy, printed on an Epson printer, and displayed in showcases around the school. The media specialist is a champion for students who advocates equity for technology use. My administrators were an easy-sell group for the Gen www.Y program. It was no surprise that within hours of their viewing the video, I got their approval. The administrative staff wanted us to be a Gen www.Y school. |
 s
easy a sell as it was to administrators, it was even easier to propose to the
tech committee. We had been in place as a committee for three years. At the
request of our principal, several of us began keeping a "wish list" of our
equipment needs. The first year we were very informal, meeting only when
necessary. We leaned heavily on the experience of parent volunteers who offered
several recommendations for equipment as well as for the direction technology
should take at our school. As we began the next year, our school was connected to
a local area network, and our committee grew, becoming a more formal committee
that met once a month. The tech committee consisted of administrative staff,
teachers, and parents.
After attending a SCR*TEC (SCR*TEC) summer for student leadership in technology, I approached the group about adding students to the committee, so that all stakeholders for technology would be represented. Very soon, we became the largest committee at our school, that met for the longest time, and served the best treats. At the October meeting, the tech committee agreed that Gen www.Y program was the way to meet our tech plan goal. |
Topeka High School student Stevie explores the Gen www.Y Web page with
its online curriculum. |
Grant application process Once the decision was made to participate, the rest was details. Yet the amount of activity required to see the grant application to submission tired the staunchest of us. When we let our district technology people know of our intention, we learned that the deadline for grant submission was less than three weeks away. We also learned that Robinson was not alone in its desire to be a Gen www.Y school--a high school and another middle school wanted to apply. Because of our district size, three schools from our district could write a joint proposal. Although we all teach in the same district, we three prospective Gen www.Y teachers rarely visit in person. One teacher had presented sessions at a tech inservice at our building, so I knew and had worked with her. Although we both live in Topeka, the other teacher and I met several years ago at the Mid America Association for Computers in Education (MACE) conference. Held each fall and spring in Salina, Kansas, MACE provides well-prepared hands-on classes in technology. Between sessions, I visit with people from around the state and with people from my district that I would not otherwise have the opportunity to see. |
| he high school grant-writing team had the best information about the
history of the grant. We learned that the Gen www.Y program was originally part
of the national Technology Innovation Literacy Challenge Grants. When the
federal monies were made available to the states, State Department of Education
Technology Coordinator, Jayne James, lobbied strongly to incorporate Gen www.Y as
a means to most effectively provide technology training and support for teachers.
The "James" name sounded familiar. Looking back through my notes, I learned
that her office loaned us a copy of the video that started us on the Gen www.Y
journey. I also remembered her name from a 1997 SCR*TEC summer session.
"She's good, and she gets things done," was the unattributed quote about her I
found in my notes from that summer.
All three of the schools were equally excited about the Gen www.Y program. We wanted a well-written grant that would survive the competitive award system. We met with sketchy first drafts in a 9 a.m. meeting that somehow stretched to the wee hours of the next morning. One of the printer time stamps on an early draft reads 2:30 a.m., a testimony to a dedicated three-school grant-writing team of six school employees and a community volunteer. We did not rest until our 25-page proposal was posted to an online grant clearinghouse several days in advance of the deadline. Our break was short-lived as we realized contingency plans--should our grant be accepted--must be in place. The time window from notification to implementation would be a little more than a month, and that month included two weeks of winter break. We began making lists of Gen www.Y candidates, both students and partner teachers. We encouraged our student tech committee members to spread the word about the program. Within a few days time, we had enough prospects to fill our slots. Many students came to me in groups of two and three because they had ideas for specific projects to help specific teachers. |
| "True school improvement takes place when effective communication
determines the needs of a school and when those concerned about education work
together to see to it that those needs are met."
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Success of the project continues I am glad I abandoned my original "just say no" plan about Gen www.Y in order to have enough time to prepare for the school accreditation visit. The two never needed to be considered mutually exclusive. In fact, the purpose of the accreditation visit--to gauge the effectiveness of the school improvement plan--complements the purpose of Gen www.Y--to provide technology training in a teamwork format. True school improvement takes place when effective communication determines the needs of a school and when those concerned about education work together to see to it that those needs are met. I write this testimony on the three-day Martin Luther King, Jr., weekend and think of the dreams we all have--to provide the best possible educational experience for our students. Looking back on our school's participation in this project, I see the foundation was laid several years ago with a simple request from our principal to keep a wish list for equipment needs. That request made us see the need for technology planning. Our school's tech plan included a goal so similar to the Gen www.Y program that it could have been the program description. Networking with others in the district demonstrates we have similar goals. By working together, we work more effectively. Technology conferences such as MACE are excellent places to meet others doing the same work. We are not alone in our quest for better experiences; the state technology coordinator provides leadership, guidance, and opportunities. At the regional level, SCR*TEC offers many resources to keep us all thinking about how to infuse technology into the entire curriculum. Time will always be in short supply, and our best hope when "the timing could not have been worse" is that somehow the goals will be compatible. Reading comprehension and problem solving are our areas for improvement in this accreditation cycle. We believe technology can serve as tools to provide opportunities and resources for student improvement in both areas. As I worked through the grant writing process, I came to believe that Gen www.Y is a viable component for school improvement and the accreditation process. Ahead of us is a lot of hard work, both for implementation of Gen www.Y and in preparation for our accreditation visit. Perhaps one of our accreditation team will ask, "Why did you decide to participate in this particular program?" I will answer honestly, "Gen www.Y is a program I could not say no to." |
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Look at some of Onecia's favorite sites!
|  Gen www.Y. This page contains details and curriculum
information about the Gen www.Y program. Take note!  TAKE This site is the Technology Assistance for
Kansas Educators page.  Profiler. Strengthen your school
district's ability to share technology expertise with Profiler! Take a survey,
assess your technology abilities and weaknesses, then find out where you can get
help within your school. |
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