Quick Tech Help Story: Prince Edward Learning Centre (PELC)

Prince Edward Learning Centre (PELC) uses Google Slides to help students develop multiple skills independently. Lori Farrington, a veteran classroom instructor at PELC, shares her experience using Google Slides with her learners.

Single tool, multiple skills
After struggling with PowerPoint, Lori switched to Google Slides as a presentation and collaborative learning tool. To get students to use it, she asked them to create a presentation on ancient Egypt. “Most of my learners are A2, B2 and D2. This gives them an alternative platform to use research, writing and computers skills,” she says. Her students found Google Slides easy to use and enjoyed the process of learning to manipulate photos and text while building the content for their presentations.

Building independence through virtual collaboration
Using the collaboration feature, Lori could answer questions and support her students while they worked at separate computers. “Most of my students have trouble with anxiety and don’t like people sitting right next to them, sharing one mouse and keyboard. It’s awkward.” Google Slides gives learners the freedom to experiment and the option to ask for help while maintaining their independence and personal space. Since Lori is the only instructor in her classroom, the collaboration feature also saves her from having to jump around from student to student. “We are able to watch each other edit and work on the slide. It makes editing much easier. I can show them how to do a certain action and then undo it and have them redo it.”

Not only did the switch to Google Slides eliminate version control issues and the need for USB drives, it got students learning multiple skills more independently.

Learn more about quick tech help

Read more case studies

Coaching Story: Simcoe County District School Board

Charlotte Parliament is the Literacy and Essential Skills Program Coordinator at Simcoe County District School Board. Responsible for the MAESD learning programs, she is on the move around the county, supporting six learning centres delivering a range of programs. As someone in constant contact with individual instructors and coordinators, Charlotte decided to use AlphaPlus technology coaching services to build a digital program delivery system to complement their online student-learning platform.

Why did you decide to work with an AlphaPlus technology consultant?
Last year we learned our credit students would soon be accessing courses via a web-based platform. They’re no longer going to be using paper-based textbooks or be in a classroom with an instructor. They’re going to be in a classroom on their computer.

For a long time, each program had been using hundreds of USB sticks to help students save files and take them away from class. So after we learned we’d be working from a web-based platform in the future, I started talking about the cloud and how we should be teaching our students using Google Apps. I didn’t know much about it; I just knew it was there and I really wanted to figure out how to use it.

I started trying to learn Google Drive on my own but it wasn’t working. Around that time, I got an email from AlphaPlus asking if we wanted to sign up for technology coaching the next year. I thought it was the perfect time for us. We needed to do this!

When I got the call to talk about what I wanted, the cloud (getting on Google Apps) was the biggest thing for me. I wanted to incorporate it into everything we do — to learn how to use Google Drive not only for our students but also how we could use it in our programs and make sure we’re all comfortable with it.

Describe the training and learning activities you did with your coach.
After the consultations, we scheduled Technology Consultant Monika Jankowska-Pacyna to train our team during a few PD days. She ran a number of different sessions, from the basics of Google Drive all the way to creating and using the custom forms. She also helped us understand the difference between Google Drive and OneDrive, a tool more supported by our school board. To help us teach our students in the future, she directed us to a training site that would help us share our knowledge with students over the long term. It’s hands-on, and the time taken is well worth it for what we’ve learned in our program. There’s no way you can get this from going to a webinar and taking this back to your office and telling yourself you’ll learn how to use it.

Is your team using Google Drive to stay more connected?
Monika helped me implement weekly Google Hangouts with my instructors. This was something I didn’t even know I would be able to do, but we love it. We had tried this in the past but couldn’t figure out what platform would work with everyone’s laptops, tablets and cellphones. Nothing seemed to be compatible with all of them. So now I have a Google Hangout with my instructors once a week to talk about the system and keep the learning going.

What benefits have you noticed so far?
The technology coaching program has really been a benefit to us as a school board program. I know that some organizations will say, “I just don’t have the time as a manager to set aside,” but AlphaPlus has been very flexible, and it only takes a short time every couple of weeks.

The instructors are excited. The technology coaching sessions and support made them ready to share what they learned with the students. This is also important for our students who are going to go home and use a tablet or smartphone. With this cloud-based system, they can save a file and they can create or edit a Google document right on their tablet or laptop without having to pay for (or navigate) MS Office. So that’s a huge improvement, and it makes sure they’re ready and they know how to use the platform when they go into a credit program or an office. And we’re saving money on USB sticks!

Tell us about your next steps.
With this, you’re actually learning how to use technology. I’ve benefitted because Monika has been able to share with me the things that other organizations in the province are working on. So I get to learn from our changes but also what others are creating. We’re sharing the documents and to me, that has been a huge benefit.
Learn more about our technology coaching services or to sign up, contact Alan Cherwinski.

Learn more about coaching

Read more case studies

Coaching Story: The Literacy Group (TLG) of Waterloo Region

AlphaPlus technology coaches can give your old laptops new life with a Chromebooks makeover (part of the Chromium OS Conversion PilotProject). Check out our conversation with The Literacy Group’s Program Manager, Chris Prosser, about how the Waterloo-based organization is building a Chromebooks laptop lending library for their clients.
Q: Why did you decide to engage in the Chromebooks Conversion Pilot Project?
A: We had old laptops that were once used for a mobile computer program that have older operating systems and no longer have valid updates. But even though they were older computers, their hardware had barely been touched and they look brand new. As a community-based organization, we don’t have the time or financial resources to upgrade or replace these computers, so theChromium OS Conversion Pilot Project with AlphaPlus was a great fit.
Q: Describe working with an AlphaPlus technology coach to convert old laptops into Chromebooks.
A: Working with Matthias was awesome! We had some old laptops and wanted to be sure they would work with Wi-Fi, since many learners don’t have Internet access at home. We wanted to maximize use by converting them to run the CloudReady Chromium OS so that learners could take the Chromebooks to coffee shops or the library, where Wi-Fi is available for free. Matthias was very kind to spend the whole day showing me how to load the program, which operating systems were free, and the difference between the individual and the classroom use. Because the laptops are all different, converting each one had its own challenge —either it was a different make or had a different reboot page. But Matthias was really helpful. If he wasn’t sure how to complete a conversion, he would take pictures of screens that would pop up and troubleshoot issues. He would go away, learn to fix an issue and send us the directions. I managed to get eight converted myself, and then Maria and Matthias gave our team training to show them the capabilities of the Chromebooks, which was great.
Q: What was your vision for the laptops once they were converted?
A: It’s a fantastic chance for our learners to improve. Our learners are at the lowest level of literacy and have very little or absolutely no computer training whatsoever. During on-site, in-class sessions, we teach clients computer skills, but they can be lost in the time between sessions. We decided the converted laptops would be put to use in a laptop lending library to give learners a chance to take them home and learn at their own pace, away from the pressure of the classroom.
Q: How will the laptop lending library operate?
A: Our lending policies have been crafted, and the Chromebooks have been tested, so the lab will be launching soon. Clients who want to access the Chromebooks can apply for a membership to the lending library. They must have been with us for six months and present the goal for which they want to use the laptop in order to be approved. It’s great because the Chromebooks have protection from viruses and downloads as well as a really simple platform that provides 90% of the things our learners want to do, like online learning through the learning hub, accessing Facebook or using Google Docs to do homework. Also, because the laptops are old and no longer a financial asset, we are less concerned about them being broken, lost or left on a bus.
Q: What benefits will learners gain from accessing the Chromebooks?
A: I love that Chromium OS is so user-friendly and I love the fact that learners can safely and securely go online to use the extensions and apps. Some find it really difficult to relate to a Windows environment because they’ve never used it, but because Chromebooks have similar functions to smartphones, it helps them relate to the technology better.
We haven’t set the Chromebooks to have an employment path but rather focus on our learners taking away a laptop and improving typing and navigation skills with a computer. Clients who have tested the library model have said that being able to use a computer at home has improved their understanding of how it works. They’ve also been able to use laptops to apply for work online and navigate job-training applications.
As we’re going along, we’re finding challenges but learning ways of making it more suitable for our learners. If one of these laptops is used in a learning experience, that’s great. But if they are used to help with the enjoyments of reading and engaging learners with online resources, that has made our day.
For more information about technology coaching, contact Alan Cherwinski at acherwinski@alphaplus.ca

Learn more about coaching

Read more case studies

Have you ever wondered what our technology coaching services are really like?
In this Q&A with Jessa Reitsma, Learning Coordinator at Alexandra Park Neighbourhood Learning Centre, discusses her organization’s experience with AlphaPlus Consultant and Technology Coach, Monika Jankowska-Pacyna.

Q: How did having a technology coach help your organization achieve its digital learning goals?
A: Monika was awesome. Her coaching style was really effective for us. She helped us find technology tools that we were interested in and showed us how to apply bits and pieces of them in the classroom. Whenever things came up in the classroom with some of the barriers, she would always think of great solutions.

Q: What tools, strategies and equipment did coaching help you adopt?
A: Our technology coaching sessions allowed us to articulate what digital tools and program enhancements we wanted to work on. We did that as a team, which was awesome. During this process, we identified current challenges around technology, current barriers and ultimately created a list of ten key areas of focus. Each of us then had the opportunity to rate them and identify what was most important to us. In the end, we all wanted our learners and programs to be significantly improved by implementing tablets as a learning tool as well as integrating content management and learning apps.

Q: How did technology coaching change the way your team works?
A: Our coach really encouraged us from day one to get tablets for our learners. Because tablets are so much like a smartphone, and because everybody has a phone, it’s often easier for learners to apply that prior knowledge into greater understanding of that technology.
She also helped show our organizational leaders how much value they would bring to the classroom and helped us identify, track and present important data to justify the purchase.
The coaching experience also yielded a digital technology assessment that we now use in our intake process. Through this assessment, we are now able to determine where people are coming from when it comes to their digital literacy.

Q: How did the coaching sessions impact your learners and instructors?
A: For our program delivery team and instructors, just learning about the free apps that are available was amazing. There’s a lot of paperwork involved with our job, and the app we adopted, Quizlet, has made things easier for the instructors and for the learners.

With tablets, class time is spent learning instead of troubleshooting laptop issues. In fact, when things come up on the tablet, learners are often able to fix the issue independently. That’s a huge thing.

Q: Describe training and workshops the team received from the technology coach.
A: So that was really cool. The tablet learning is really interesting in the sense that it’s very hands-on. I think the best thing was we actually talked about this as a team because most of the instructors here are visual learners. We also had that conversation about our learning styles with Monika and she gave us instruction with that in mind.

Q: What’s the next project you’ll be working on with Monika?
A: She’s helping us with Chromebooks (part of the Chromium OS conversion pilot) right now. We’re hoping to convert about 12 of our old laptops into Chromebooks. I’m really excited about this because they’re image-based like a tablet and there’s only one browser that learners use and navigate, which makes it easier for them.

For more information about technology coaching, contact Alan Cherwinski at acherwinski@alphaplus.ca

Learn more about coaching

Read more case studies