Making Connections

Louisiana Department of Education

Baton Rouge, LA
 

Introduction/Overview
Organizational Change
Budget & Finance
Professional Development
Technology Infrastructure
Outcomes
Evaluation
Contact Information
 

Introduction/Overview

Making Connections is a standards-based, technology-rich curriculum project of the Louisiana Department of Education’s Louisiana Center for Educational Technology (LCET). Through the creation of an electronic resource center, Louisiana teachers access “a one stop shop” for instructional materials that enhance teaching, learning, and technology opportunities in Louisiana’s K–12 schools. The Louisiana content standards are the heart of the project and provide the context in which all resources are selected, presented, and implemented. The resource center includes model lesson plans, Web resources, and sample assessment items. The Making Connections Builder allows educators to use an online template to create technology-rich, standards-based lesson plans and Web site previews. Educators may also choose to submit lessons for publication on the site, or to store lessons in a personal "file cabinet" for future use or editing.

Key Components/Activities of the program:

1. An interactive, searchable, database-driven Web site that provides K–12 lessons linked specifically to the Louisiana content standards and K–12 educational technology guidelines.
2. The Making Connections Builder allows educators to use an online template to create technology-rich, standards-based lesson plans and Web site previews.
3. Training workshops that instruct participants in the use of the Making Connections resources and in the development of standards-based, technology-rich lessons using the Making Connections lesson plan template and rubric.
   
   Key Outcomes:

1. Classroom lessons that are technology-rich and standards-based, providing students the opportunity to collaborate, communicate, and problem solve effectively.
2. Teachers who demonstrate a better understanding of the application of standards to lesson plan development and delivery.

Organizational Change

In response to 21st century workforce demands, Louisiana educators and citizens collaborated to develop an action plan to establish content standards that would raise the academic expectations of all students. These content standards stood as the cornerstone for the development of the Making Connections project. The LCET collaborated with members of the Division for Student Standards and Assessment to provide a resource for educators to locate high-quality, standards-based instructional resources. Common templates and criteria were developed to address the creation of lesson plans and provide Web site resource previews for public reference. Initially a software preview component of the site was available, but has since been removed due to the difficult task of providing current and up-to-date production information.

An advisory committee made up representatives of educational associations throughout the state served as a springboard for the beginning phases of the online resource. Eight regional Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center Facilitators, district technology coordinators and instructors help to provide professional development and assistance to educators using the site. A national partnership with the MarcoPolo Education Foundation has also provided many of the resources available for public review. A project coordinator and webmaster with SQL database experience are also required.

Budget & Finance

Making Connections is funded through state and federal dollars. Approximately $50K–$65K per year in salaries, updates, maintenance, and support is allocated to this project.

Professional Development

Professional development opportunities are offered to educators in the following topics:

• Informational—How to navigate the online curriculum resource.
• Using the MC Builder—Creating standards-based, technology-rich lesson plans.
• Locating online resources—Accessing the online curriculum resource to locate high-quality instructional resources to include in lesson planning activities.

Technology Infrastructure

Making Connections is written in php programming language. The data are stored in an SQL database. The site will be updated to .net this spring to facilitate additional growth and program capabilities.

Outcomes

• 9,000 educators registered to use the MC Builder as of July 19, 2004.
• Trainings are offered by the 8 TLT Center locations, districts, and the LCET.
• 80 educators from the general and special education K–12 curriculums/added accommodations/modifications to over 400 lesson plans located on the site.
• The new grade level expectations (GLEs) were added to the site to be included in lesson plans April 2004.
• Approximately 460 lesson plans have been aligned to the GLEs.
• Joint presentations with the divisions of the Louisiana Department of Education have been conducted.
• Plans are under way to include the Making Connections site in the Grade Level Expectations Education Modules (GLEEM) Workshops conducted through the Office of Quality Educators.
• The site design is being updated to include the new comprehensive curriculum created by the Division of Standards and Assessment.

Evaluation

The project’s success is attributed to the fact that the content standards are the basis for all materials and resources located on the Web site. An evaluation process for lesson plans and Web site previews was determined before materials were submitted for publication. This ensures that the resources provided to educators are high quality and meet the needs of the state education goals.The resource is simple enough with the planning steps involved to be reproduced in other state/district networks. The upkeep and man power are minimal.

Contact Information

Hailey Ridgeway
Hailey.ridgeway@la.gov
225-763-5575