Slide 1: Grant Information for Classroom Performance Systems Note: This info is meant to provide the wording about CPS One might need for a grant application
Introduction / Summary
CPS is a powerful, versatile, communication tool that can be used both for instruction and for assessment in either an individual or team mode with students of all ages. The system incorporates wireless infrared response pads in the hands of every student allowing a teacher to (1) engage students during classroom instruction, (2) grade, record, and analyze paper tests into 12 detailed reports (3) review for standardized tests both individually and as a class. (4) record grades and attendance automatically into an integrated gradebook. Instructional Use: - On-screen Interactive Tutoring
1. CPS allows teachers to interact with the every student on every question during classroom instruction in
real-time without sacrificing the child’s confidentiality. It is a methodology similar to traditional classrooms where student would write answers on a slate board and hold them up for the instructor to see how each person answered on a particular question. CPS however displays only a class percentage score on the screen for the benefit of the instructor, while behind the scene’s CPS generates detailed individualized reports that can be printed, edited, and saved. The essential benefit of the system is that it allows a teacher to actively engage every singe student on every single question and know to a percentage level how well a class understands a particular concept before proceeding to the next topic. Since class responses are displayed and calculated instantly on the screen, the instructor can address areas of misunderstanding as they occur rather than reviewing them later after a formal assessment is taken. This methodology is comparable to one-on-one tutoring except that it is occurring with 32 students at once and every response is captured and graded automatically.
Formal Assessments: Grade, record and analyze multiple version paper tests
Slide 2: 2. CPS also can be used to administer formal assessments (i.e. exams, quizzes, benchmark tests ect...) where
students can take up to 8 versions of a paper tests at the same time, working at their own pace. This is done by displaying a testing grid on-screen. Students focus on two numbers; their responder number and the current test question number as they navigate through a paper test at their own pace. Students can skip, change and confirm their answers using a color code system. Many instructors have students complete their exam on paper, turning in a hard copy answer key in addition to entering their answers into the CPS system as a backup. Before the class leaves the room, the tests are graded, analyzed and recorded into an integrated gradebook program. The reports include both class and individual performance, as well as detailed item analysis based on learning objectives that are associated with each test item.
Test Preparation: Review for State-wide testing and Course exams individually or as a class.
3. CPS offers the most practical and effective means of preparing students for state-wide testing and
course exams. Teachers can review as a class using the Challenge Board interface which allows students to review test items in a jeopardy-like competition based on point value. This can be done individually or collaboratively in team mode. Students receive instant feedback and remediation from the instructor on each question during the game. Point values determine the winning individual or team, but behind the scenes, every student’s performance is evaluated. Student can also review on their own using a paper study guide, a textbook, and the CPS testing grid in the practice mode setting. In Practice Mode, students must answer correctly to advance to the next question. If they respond incorrectly on their first attempt they are charged with an incorrect answer, but through process of elimination, they must find the right answer to advance. At the end of the practice test, students are graded by percentage and objective score. Classroom Mgmt: Record Grades and Attendance Automatically into the CPS Gradebook. 4. As a productivity tool, CPS saves teachers hours of grading objective based quizzes and tests. CPS now has the ability to eliminate manual data entry as it imports scores directly into an integrated gradebook. Students can use the response pads to log attendance at the beginning of class. All grade and attendance records can be edited by the instructor. A class that uses objective based assessment in their curriculum can easily manage class information saving time reducing the amount daily routine tasks that instructors are required to do. Teachers who use CPS are more free to focus on the instructional elements of the job, such as lesson preparation and remediation and less time working with mundane activities of paper sorting, grading, and grade reporting. CPS has full print and authoring capabilities and can be easily taught to any teacher with moderate technology skills. Its versatility allows CPS to satisfy many different philosophical approaches to teaching. • Lessons can be delivered either on a television screen /projection or in a printed hard copy format. • Teachers can directly teach students through real-time guided practice activities or turn them loose to self-paced independent practice activities from a textbook. • Teachers can use CPS to teach subject area content or they may choose to use it to prepare for state and national standardized assessments • Many teachers use CPS interactive lessons while they teach while others may use it primarily as a grading tool.
Slide 3: • • •
Some instructors play Challenge Board as a fun interactive review for a test while others may use ad hoc to quickly find out how many students understand show to work a particular math problem before moving on. Teachers have the ability to build their own questions or purchase pre-packaged databases of questions CPS lessons can be down in team mode or individually
Examples of classroom use of the system would be broken down into four areas:
1. Instructional - Lecture, PowerPoint, Videos, Demonstrations ( in this case CPS is used to keep
students engaged as well as to assess areas of misunderstanding before advancing to the next topic. An individual grade is generated at the end of the session) 2. Review – Challenge Board Review (jeopardy-like game with point values based on the difficulty of the question), Student Managed Practice (an electronic scantron that gives feed back when you miss) 3. Independent Practice – worksheets, directed readings, vocabulary development using a text book as a resource (these activities are usually done at the students own pace from a print copy using SMA (student managed practice mode) 4. Assessment – FAST Grade ( program that allows you to correlate a key to any hard copy assessment for automatic grading) Student Managed Assessment – (electronic scantron that generates 9 individual and item analysis reports. This mode has multi-test capability)
Administrative
The following are issues of concern from a principal-superindent’s perspective. CPS is relevant to and has had an impact in each these areas. Benchmark testing The Classroom Performance System was originally designed to bolster standardized test scores by allowing schools to administer practice tests in a real-time atmosphere while generating detailed reports in a quick and efficient manner. Many districts today are using CPS with benchmark testing at scheduled intervals during the year to gather useful information about the expected performance of students on upcoming tests( i.e. TAAS, PASS ect.) CPS also allows teachers to go over practice test question with every student in the class at the same time and apply immediate incentives to there performance. CPS offers all of the reporting features of an elaborate computer lab based testing program (CBT), as well as real-time instruction. The information in these reports can be made instantly available to every administrator in the district through the network. The standard analysis report can also direct teachers by identifying which learning objective have been met and which areas need remediation. Failure Rates CPS most directly effect students who are less motivated and engaged in class by the nature of the methodology. All students have to respond during an instructional activity and performance is assessed instantly so teachers can identify who is doing poorly and in what area. The hand held response pads also offer an element of “fun” which also may stimulate their motivation. Anytime communication and participation are enhanced, learning must improve. Teacher Attrition
Slide 4: Many teachers reach a point of frustration with student apathy and poor test scores as well as the tedious responsibility of grading papers every night. CPS provides a tool in there arsenal to engage students during classroom instruction and to reduce much of their administrative workload. Legal Issues –Student Confidentiality Districts are enforcing student confidentiality laws which are eliminating the “trade and grade” method of grading papers. Many teachers will be greatly receptive to a way of dealing with daily grading. Training and Support eInstruction offers excellent training and support through every available medium. All calls are directed to live support personnel via a 1-800 number for instant solutions to any problem that arises. Each school is assigned a consultant to train, support, troubleshoot, and promote CPS in the district. The consultant also in required to keep schools informed of product updates and special offers provided by the company. Cost effectiveness vs. other technologies CPS can facilitate 32 students at a fraction of the cost of the cost of a computer lab. The cost to student ratio for a class with a total enrollment of 100 students would be $20.00 per student to enjoy all of the rich benefits that CPS offers.(Based on price of IR pads) Utilization of existing technologies All a classroom needs to use CPS is one Pentium class computer. (G4 for Mac computer). CPS makes the classroom computer an integral part of the curriculum, both instructionally and administratively. Data projector become less of a luxury item when used with CPS as grades are collected and information is disseminated in a multimedia interactive environment. No reoccurring expense Every sale constitutes a site and there are no annual maintenance fees. All software upgrades are free.
Technical Abstraction
CPS is an elaborate software program that uses specialized hardware components to simultaneously capture data from multiple locations in a classroom and is, by definition, classified as a wireless response system. It consists of a set of individual wireless infrared response pads that are each numbered according to a frequency. In this way each pad number correlates with the student to whom it was assigned, allowing each response to be tied to that individual in the computer. This makes it possible to capture and calculate individual and class scores instantly. The CPS reporting engine can then take the data and generate several detailed reports for the class session. All of the responses are captured by an infrared receiver (Regis) which connects to the computer through an available com port. Once the signals are received, the software instantly displays accepted student responses, an answer distribution for the class and both a cumulative and individual question percent correct. The instructor controls the scope and the sequence of the questions asked, and also determines how many seconds the class has to respond. At the end of a session, reports are generated as follows: Receiver Unit One receiver unit is required to support a set of student response pads (24 or 32 pad sets are available, with the ability to expand a system, up to 64 pads). This receiver unit is responsible for collecting students’ responses to questions and then providing that data to CPS for immediate display, as well as for data collection in performance files. Response Pads
Slide 5: Each CPS receiver unit supports up to 64 student CPS response pads. Individual student or team information must be entered into a roster (whether that be a default roster or a class specific roster) and assigned a specific response pad. Each CPS IR response pad is uniquely numbered. Pads can be ordered in sets that run from 1-128, if a school wants to divide up pads among teachers, but 64 is the highest maximum supported. Einstruction also offers RF response pads. RF pads have been tested with up to 1000 simultaneous pads in use. They are also sold in sets of either 24 or 32. RF pads can be reset and renumbered by the users.
System Requirements To run the CPS package, you must have the following: PC System Requirements: o Intel Pentium III or higher processor o One open USB port o A minimum of 512 MB RAM o At least 300 MB of hard drive space for CPS software o Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4, Windows XP Service Pack 2, or Windows Vista o Screen resolution of 800x600 or higher Mac: * Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher * PowerPC G3 300 MHz or better processor, including Intel * 256 MB of physical RAM (512 MB recommended) * 200 MB of free hard disk space * One open USB port * Screen resolution of 800x600 or higher
Slide 6: Need
All of the following are essential elements for effective teaching. CPS was created with these elements in mind and it greatly enhances each of these areas in the classroom. CPS provides a solution to school with low income students, to facilitate learning in the interactive environment possible. Essential element # 1 : Essential element # 2: Essential element # 3: Essential element # 4: Essential element # 5: Accountability Participation Feedback Communication / Interaction Remediation
Objectives
CPS Objectives are course/lesson goals that can be associated with individual questions. Add objectives now and refer to them throughout the year for benchmark measurements of progress. CPS reports allow you to generate performance reports based on objectives, so you can see what goals still need to be met or have been achieved. State standards are now included in the software.
Assessment
The CPS Reporting System is designed to let you access, view, and print performance data recorded during instructional sessions without learning a complex database system.
Instructor Summary Lists the report type, lesson name, date and time of lesson delivery, pad ID, student name, student ID, ratio of correct to attempted questions, percentage of correct questions and the total average for all students selected in this report. This report type also offers the option of exporting the data to an Excel spreadsheet, if you have that software application Study Guide Lists the report type, lesson name, date and time of delivery, student name, pad ID and student ID, the number of correctly answered questions, a percentage of correctly answered questions, the lessons question stem, answer choices and your answer. This report is ideal to give to students for review. Question Report Lists the report type, lesson name, date and time of lesson delivery, every question and answer option delivered during this session, correct answer is indicated by asterisks, the name of every respondent, what answer option each respondent selected, and the percentile of respondents per answer option. This report type also offers the option of exporting the data to an Excel spreadsheet, if you have that software application.
Slide 7: Response Detail Report The Response Detail lists the report type, lesson name, date and time of lesson delivery, every question and answer option delivered during this session, correct answer indicated by an asterisk, and the percentile of respondents per answer option. This report does not list any respondents or the answer options they selected. Objective Analysis This report type is only available if the questions delivered in the engage session had objectives associated to them. If that is the case, then this report type will display the percentage of correctly answered questions per the objective. This percentage does NOT take into account any questions in the lesson that were not associated with objectives. Item Analysis The Item Analysis report type lists the number of questions delivered in a session. At the top of the report are all the possible answer options available in CPS questions, A-E. The report displays the percentage of students who answered A, B, and so on, per question number. An asterisk indicates the correct answer for each question. Item Analysis (Objectives) The Item Analysis with Objectives report type is just like the Item Analysis report except that below each question number that has been previously associated with an objective, that objective is listed. Question Grid The Question Grid report type lists each student in the roster who was a part of the engage session. The number of questions delivered in this engage session is listed along the top of the report, creating a grid between the student names and question number. Below each question number, the letter that represents the correct answer is displayed. If a student answered a question correctly, then there is an asterisk in line with their name under that question number. If a student answered incorrectly, then there is the letter that represents what they answered in line with their name under that question number. Session Data Export While many of the previous reports can be exported to CSV file format and the data used in other software applications, this report is formatted in CPS especially for immediate print out. It contains only the performance data, and not any text about the session, date, etc. It has the same data in the same columns as the Instructor
All of these reports can be made available online through a web service called CPS Online. CPS online is a district-wide management system for tracking student progress on benchmark tests as schools prepare for state-wide accountability assessment. All of the information is available to the administration instantly following a testing session. Parents can also view there child performance in school on a daily basis using a secure access password
Funding
To date, einstruction has seen funding come from the following sources: Entitlement Funds
Title I Title II Title III
School Budgets
Technology Budget Discretionary Funds General Budget Special Education Funds State Standardized Testing Allocations
Slide 8: Other Sources
Bond election PTA/PTO Fundraisers Foundations
State and Federal Grants
Eisenhower (through Professional Development) TIF (as part of a hardware package i.e. Distance Learning equipment or Multimedia Carts) ESEA or Target Grants (from the NCLB Funding – Title 2 Section D) 21st Century Challenge Grants TIE Miscellaneous State specific and District based Competitive Grants This website is a site with links to all kinds of info about school grants: http://www.schoolgrants.org/
