TeacherMate_2008-2009

=**TeacherMate 2008-2009 Pilot Project**=

Round Rock ISD was selected as the first pilot site by E3 Alliance, a collaboration of educational institutions in Central Texas whose mission is to improve educational outcomes in the region. The TeacherMate hand-held computer system is a product of Innovations for Learning, a Chicago nonprofit organization. The TeacherMate handheld computer is a mobile learning tool that has been designed specifically for early elementary students. The TeacherMate system enables teachers to differentiate instruction and to engage all students. Students are attracted to its resemblance to a handheld game, and they quickly learn to use the few buttons necessary to control the interface. The handheld is rugged enough to withstand the treatment of young students, yet is light and safe, with rounded edges and extra protection over the screen. The TeacherMate system includes beginning reading and math programs and has Spanish support.

The Reading Program covers the components of beginning reading instruction, including activities for phonics, fluency, and comprehension. The TeacherMate can save student’s voice recordings for later review by the teacher. The Reading Program is aligned to the district’s adopted textbook for students in kindergarten – 3rd grades. All stories in the TeacherMate system are in both English and Spanish.

The Math Program contains activities for math facts as well as well as many early elementary math concepts, including measurement, fractions, telling time, geometric shapes, and coins.

Participating teachers will use the system’s Classroom Management Program to support differentiated instruction for various reading and math groups or for individual students including on level instruction, advancement or remediation.

In cooperation with researchers from Stanford University’s School of Education, Round Rock ISD will evaluate the effectiveness of the TeacherMate system on student achievement through classroom observations, interviews, and assessments.

The TeacherMate System has been created by Innovations for Learning, A Chicago-based nonprofit that has developed the system with leading reading and math educators over a 15-year period. The TeacherMate System is in use in over 200 schools in Chicago, as well as schools across the country. The Round Rock ISD pilot is the first of its kind in the state of Texas.

- - - - **__SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING TEACHERS__** - - - - The following campuses/classrooms were selected to participate: - - - - - Caldwell: Veronica Morin (1st Grade Teacher, 18 students), Debby Acevedo (ITS) - - - - - Bluebonnet: Amy Blacklock (1st Grade Teacher, 22 students), Debby Acevedo (ITS) - - - - - Cactus Ranch: Jenny Strong (1st Grade Teacher, 22 students), Robert Heard (ITS) - - - - - Teravista: Zoe Garrett (1st Grade Teacher, 19 students), Karen Jackson (ITS) - - - - - Wells Branch: Crystal Misplay (1st Grade Teacher, 24 students), Mark Kania (ITS)

- - - - **__HARDWARE DISTRIBUTION__** - - - - Five boxes of TeacherMate hardware delivered from Innovations for Learning and - - - - distributed to the campuses according to class size and potential for increase in class size. - - - - - 120 TeacherMate Handheld Computers - - - - - 21 Sync and Store Cases - - - - - 11 Sync and Store Power Adapters - - - - - 5 USB Cables - - - - - 105 Headphones

- - - - **__INITIAL SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR PILOT GROUP__** - - - - **Tuesday, January 20th (afternoon) = Campus: Wells Branch** - - - - Since this was the first experience with installing the TeacherMate software on a computer - - - - within the district network, Robert Autrey (TIS) and Mark Kania (campus ITS) worked - - - - together in case of any unexpected issues. Along with unboxing and labeling the hardware, - - - - installation of software, connecting the devices, entering student data, establishing appropriate - - - - user settings, and syncing the devices, issues addressed were: - - - - - mapped drive conflicts - - - - - profile permissions for program/data folders - - - - - non-working devices - - - - Although this process took approximately 5 hours to complete, the result was a well defined - - - - procedure to be used during the installation at the other participating campuses. - - - - **Wednesday, January 21st (8:30) = Campus: Cactus Ranch** - - - - Installation went smoothly and took approximately 1 hour 45 minutes - - - - **Wednesday, January 21st (1:30) = Campus: Caldwell Heights** - - - - With the exception of 1 non-working devices, installation went smoothly and took approximately 2 hours - - - - **Thursday, January 22nd (9:30) = Campus: Bluebonnet** - - - - With the exception of 2 non-working devices, installation went smoothly and took approximately 2 hours - - - - **Thursday, January 22nd (2:30) = Campus: Teravista** - - - - With the exception of 2 non-working devices, installation went smoothly and took approximately 2 hours.

- - - - **__INITIAL TRAINING FOR PILOT GROUP__** - - - - Monday, January 26 - - - - - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Group Training Room A201 at Teravista - - - - - 1:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. Caldwell (V. Morin) - - - - - 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Teravista (Z. Garrett) - - - - Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - - - - - 8:30 a.m. -9:30 a.m. Wells Branch (C. Misplay) - - - - - 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Bluebonnet (A. Blacklock) - - - - - 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Cactus Ranch (J. Strong) - - - - Wednesday, January 28, 2009 - - - - - 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Bluebonnet (A. Blacklock)

- - - - Notes regarding training of pilot group: - - - - - Each Participating Teacher was provided with a 1/2 day sub - - - - - Cary Zakon of Innovations for Learning visited each participating teacher's classroom to - - - - - help them begin their use of TeacherMate with students. At that time he collected any - - - - - non-working devices. - - - - - Instructional Technology funds were used to purchase some additional headphones. A student - - - - - at one of the campuses chose to bite a headphone cord and made it non-useable.

Obviously the students and teachers are enjoying and finding value in using the devices despite the locking issue as demonstrated by the comments below: -It's great! I really like integrating it with my Lang. Arts. We use it Monday, Wednesday, Friday to give my students a chance to work at other centers on Tues. and Wed - Overall, it is going well. The students are liking the program. - The students love using the devices. - My students really enjoy using them and are always engaged.
 * __COMMENTS FROM TEACHERS THROUGHOUT PROJECT__**

**__ISSUES AND "FIXES" OF TEACHERMATES__** - - - - **Thursday, March 5th (2:00 - 7:00 pm)** - - - - Installed repaired files provided by Cary Zakon of Innovations for Learning. It was necessary - - - - to modify the instructions provided by Cary to meet the parameters of the district network settings. - - - - **Friday, March 6th** - - - - Placed the updated TeacherMate files on the servers of each of the participating campuses. - - - - **Monday, March 9th** - - - - Created this wiki page in order to provide an efficient means of providing the software and update - - - - instructions to the campus ITS's - - - - **Tuesday, April 14th** - - - - Replaced 2 TeacherMates at Teravista that were locking-up and upgraded the firmware on the two new ones. - - - - Took away a case that was not permitting the devices to sync. - - - - **Week of April 27th** - - - - Received backup hardware from Innovations for Learning: 10 TeacherMates and 1 Case. - - - **Week of June 1st** - - - - Since the locking issue of most of the collected TeacherMates was resolved by using the Reset button on the - - - - back of the devices and following the step to fix the locking-up issue (see below), I only returned 4 devices to - - - - InnovationsforLearning.com.

- - - - Step 1: Upgrading the Firmware on the TeacherMate - - - - - Open My Computer and disconnect all network drives (make sure that nothing is open - - - - - that could be lost by doing this) - - - - - Using the case or individually, connect the TeacherMate(s) and turn it (them) on - - - - - Navigate to the TeacherMate _Files folder in NetAdmin on the campus server. - - - - - Copy the _MTL2320firstboot.bin file and paste it on the root director of each TeacherMate - - - - - Turn off the TeacherMate - - - - - Disconnect the TeacherMate(s) from the computer - - - - - Turn on each TeacherMate that has the new file - - - - - You should see yellow text on a red background indicating that an update is in - - - - - progress. A progress bar should fill from left to right over a period of about - - - - - 15-30 seconds. - - - - Step 2: Updating the TeacherMate software on the computer - - - - - Navigate to the folder called TeacherMateCMS that is in the TeacherMate_Files - - - - - folder in NetAdmin on the campus server - - - - - Do an select all and copy the entire contents of the TeacherMateCMS folder - - - - - (NOTE: Do not copy the folder itself. There are files on the teacher's computer - - - - - that we do not want to replace.) - - - - - Navigate to the folder called TeacherMateCMS that is in the Program Files folder - - - - - on drive C: of the teacher's computer and open it. (NOTE: As stated in the bullet - - - - - above, there are files in this folder that we do not want to replace. Make sure you - - - - - copied the contents of the folder on the server and not the folder itself.) - - - - - Paste the files you copied into the TeacherMateCMS folder and say "yes" when - - - - - asked to replace. The files that you replaced will update the program but leave the - - - - - student data and teacher settings safe. - - - - - Navigate back the the TeacherMate_Files folder in NetAdmin - - - - - Copy the file called dispatch.swf from the server and paste it into the folder called tm - - - - - that is the TeacherMateCMS folder on the teacher's computer.
 * __Steps to fix issue of TeacherMates locking-up during student use.__**