Technology+Initiative

 ** Technology Initiative **


 * __ Description __** My technology initiative is called BrainPOP. BrainPOP is a program that has been proven to help increase student achievement along with increasing student engagement. Too often I find that my students are not engaged in my lessons and I am continually trying to come up with ways to get them excited about the learning process. I teach currently teach 8th grade so my initiative is based on implementation in a middle school setting where there are approximately 800-900 students. I first began by giving a survey which showed that teachers are looking for ways to get their students engaged in the learning process and to help increase student achievement. If given the opportunity to have access to a program that could help with this, teachers would definitely use it. Once I selected my initiative I then researched every aspect of the program. I researched the effectiveness of BrainPOP along with pros and cons of BrainPOP. I then looked at ways that I could get funding to purchase BrainPOP. In addition to this I created a template to follow for professional development for the staff who will be implementing the new program. Lastly, I create a survey that would be used, along with other criteria, to evaluate the effectiveness of BrainPOP at the end of the school year. This will be used to determine whether the subscription will be renewed the following year.

I. Vision and Personal Philosophy of Education II. Needs Assessment & Identification of Focus Area III. Initiatives to Address Needs IV. Addressing Standards V. Hardware & Software Components and Licensure VI. Funding VII. Professional Development & Support VIII. Maintenance Procedures & Recycling Timeline IX. Evaluation & Modification Strategies X. Bibliography
 * __ Technology Initiative Table of Contents: __**

**__ Process for Determining: __** When given this assignment I decided right away that I was going to look for something that was going to get students engaged in the learning process. I have been trying to get BrainPOP implemented in my current school for about a year now. This year we will be implementing it for the first time. I figured that now that I am going to have access to this particular program it would be good to become familiar with all that the program has to offer. For this particular project I first created a survey which reinforced my thoughts and reasons for wanting to implement a program like BrainPOP.


 * __ Reflection: __** I really found this project to be very useful for me. Like mentioned before, I have been trying to get my school to purchase a subscription to BrainPOP for a couple years now, and this year we are finally going to have access to it. I found this activity helpful for several reasons. One, it helped me to research an initiative that my school will be implementing this year, and I became familiar with all that BrainPOP has to offer. I now have confidence to share with my colleagues about ideas and ways to use BrainPOP in their classrooms. Two, by completing this project I am now aware of all that it takes to introduce, convince, and implement a new initiative. I never realized how much was involved in this process. Now that I have completed this assignment I can now take the initiative upon myself to help push for items or training to help improve student performance in our schools.