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Achievers Track STEM Creation CenterEducational Technology Plan 2016-2020

TSUI, LIK TO RICKY

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Table of Contents

TIP 1: Vision, Mission, Goals and Strategies………………………………………………………. 3

TIP 2: Needs Assessment..………………………………………………………………….……..… 4

TIP 3: The Planning Process..……………………………………………………………………….. 6

State Goals and Objectives with Local Strategies and Measures .…………………………. 6

Environment …………………………………………………………………………….….. 7

Engagement…………………………………………………………………………….…..… 7

Application………………………………………………………………………………..….. 7

Tools………………………………………………………………………………….….…… 7

Results……………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

TIP 4: Implementation: Timetable and Budget for Goals, Objectives and Strategies……………….. 8

TIP 5: Executive Summary…..…………………………………………… ………………….………. 13

TIP 6: References..………….……………………………………………………… ……………….. 15

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TIP 1: Vision, Mission, Goals and Strategies of Achievers Track STEM Creation Center

Mission

Achievers Track STEM Creation Center (ATSCC)will provide consultation, training and activities for students and teachers from various cultural, socioeconomic and ability backgrounds in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education through effective technologies implementation in order to strengthen their faith in the Lord of Trinity and to support the effective proclamation of the Gospel by providing credible answers that affirm the reliability of the Bible, in particular its Genesis history.

Vision

Our vision is to equip students and teachers from different backgrounds to discover the laws of nature that were created by the Lord of Trinity through interesting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) exploration activities and to honor the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator and Savior of the world

Goals and Strategies

To obtain this vision, Achievers Track STEM Creation Center will:

Goal 1: Help teachers to develop STEM skill in biblical prospective for students from various backgrounds.

o Strategy: Teachers will learn how to guide students with different cultural diversity, special needs, and varying socioeconomic groups to carry out STEM projects. Teachers will perform a series of STEM projects with biblical prospective and the resulting STEM project will present in video format that will upload into an online Teacher STEM Hub for the information sharing between other teachers.

Goal 2: Assist students in exploring STEM projectso Strategy: Understanding the strengths and limitations of different cultural

diversity, special needs, and socioeconomic groups of the students so that teachers will choose some of the standard STEM projects with them either through hands-

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on activities or online video presentations in order to discover their interested STEM topics suitable for their unique requirements.

Goal 3: Guide students in conducting their STEM projects with biblical prospectiveo Strategy: Each student will perform one STEM project on a topic that they choose

according to their unique requirements. Teachers will guide them in researching their topic background and proper procedures online or offline together with a biblical prospective on that topic. Students will present the result in STEM exploration week as well as on an online Student STEM Hub.

TIP 2: Needs Assessment

Strengths – What are the current strengths?

Achievers Track STEM Creation Center is built upon the successful science, technology, engineering and mathematics foundations of the parent company, Achievers Track Company Limited (ATCL), since 2003 in Hong Kong. ATCL designs over 20 different types science education courses and camps ranging from astronomy, robotic, food science, DIY science discovery etc. It has accumulated over 5000 science teaching hours, over 20,000 students and over 200 science courses and camps teaching experience. Achievers Track has students from all different cultural diversity such as local Hong Kong students, Mainland Chinese, Japanese, Korean, European, American and Indian etc. We have experience in teaching students with different special needs such as Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Visual-motor Integration Deficit and gifted. A wide range of socioeconomic groups in students from private schools to Social Security Assistance family organizations has been taught constantly.

Achievers Track has invented many unique science teaching material such as Wind Matrix for allowing students to learn hands-on wind energy engineering construction, Paper Circuit for creating various 3D electronic circuits, Planet Explorer Card Game and Constellation Explorer Card Game for allowing students to learn planets and constellations in a unique card game format. All these are created in order to enhance the learning of students as well as the teaching experience of school teachers. In 2013, Achievers Track was invited to create the first private science center for kindergarten in Hong Kong and this project was presented at Asia Pacific Network of Science and Technology Centres (ASPAC Brunei 2014) on the section about how to build a low cost school-type science center.

Another strength is the flexibility of a private company. Achievers Track STEM Creation Center does not need to go through all the complicated procedures from the government in order to launch any program as it is self-funded. Furthermore, we can discuss our Christian prospective openly as it is clearly stated in our mission and vision statement.

Weaknesses – What are the current weaknesses?

One of the weaknesses of ATSCC is operating under the umbrella of Achievers Track Company Limited. ATCL is a private company and one of the principles in operating any new project is self-funded

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without borrowing any capital. With the high rental price of venue in Hong Kong, the starting scale for ATSCC will be quite small.

Another weakness is hiring new instructors to operate ATSCC. There is a tremendous difficulty in recruiting well-qualified, creative, energetic as well as love and caring Christian instructors with experiences in teaching culturally diverse, special needs and various socioeconomic background students. The principle in hiring always emphasizes on quality rather than quantity because one bad apple can spoil the whole barrel very quickly. Thirteen years of success can be spoiled in just a few days.

Opportunities – What are the future opportunities?

The Education Bureau in Hong Kong has launched a new STEM Education programs to all the schools in Hong Kong (Education Bureau, 2015). This program will commence on 1st September 2016. Each school will have extra funding in order to launch the STEM Education. The opportunities are tremendous as this is the first time STEM Education is officially launched in the schools of Hong Kong. Furthermore, with the lack of knowledge about STEM education among majority of the teachers in Hong Kong and the experiences in dealing with diverse cultures, special needs and different socioeconomics background from the past will definitely help in customizing suitable STEM activities for different needs in schools, the business opportunity in training and consulting for STEM Education is unprecedented.

Threats – What threatens those future opportunities?

With great opportunities also come with great competition, ATSCC needs to compete with not only different private companies that are launching STEM education training programs but also with the education department from local universities. The universities with their huge government funding as foundation, they are able to launch free of charge programs for many schools to train teachers and students in STEM education and offering consultation and products without asking the participating schools to pay anything. With the limited resource ATSCC has, it is a huge threat to overcome.

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TIP 3: The Planning Process

State Goals and Objectives with Local Strategies and Measures

Goal NETS Strategy1. Help teachers to develop STEM skill in biblical prospective for students from various backgrounds.

Facilitate and inspire learning and creativity (ISTE, 2008)

Teacher needs to learn how to facilitate how STEM skill is related to biblical prospective for their students

Teacher will need to inspire student learning and creativity in how to present their STEM project into the online platform.

Teachers will learn how to guide students with different cultural diversity, special needs, and varying socioeconomic groups to carry out STEM projects.

Teachers will perform a series of STEM projects with biblical prospective and the resulting STEM project will present in video format that will upload into an online Teacher STEM Hub for the information sharing between other teachers.

2. Assist students in exploring STEM projects

Critical thinking, problem solving, research and information fluency (ISTE, 2007)

STEM tutor will guide student to think critically and to apply problem solving skill in their STEM project.

Students will research, evaluate and select information sources based the appropriateness to their STEM project

Understanding the strengths and limitations of different cultural diversity, special needs, and socioeconomic groups of the students so that teachers will choose some of the standard STEM projects with them either through hands-on activities or online video presentations in order to discover their interested STEM topics suitable for their unique requirements.

3. Guide students in conducting their STEM projects with biblical prospective

Creativity, Innovation and Technology Operations (ISTE, 2007)

STEM tutor will guide student both creatively and

Each student will perform one STEM project on a topic that they choose according to their unique requirements. Teachers will guide them in researching

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innovatively to present their STEM project. They will be trained in how to present their STEM project on an online Student STEM Hub.

their topic background and proper procedures online or offline together with a biblical prospective on that topic.

Students will present the result in STEM exploration week as well as on an online Student STEM Hub.

Environment

Blended environment is the most suitable instruction model for Achievers Track STEM Creation Center (ATSCC). It has both the face-to-face and online component for the learners. According to Reisslein, Seeling, and Reisslein (as cited in Spector, Merrill, Elen & Bishop, 2014, p. 442) stated that even students who need to work online would prefer to meet face-to-face beforehand. Different forms of blended environment can be used such as frequent weekly face-to-face meeting to discover which STEM project is suitable for learners, then a week-long online discussion when the learner is conducting the experiment. For those learners who have access to computer at home while for those who don’t have access to computer at home, school needs to work out a schedule in order for them to use the computer.

Engagement

The learner will be guided in choosing their STEM projects. Teachers will be taught how to use the Teacher STEM hub while students will be taught how to use the Student STEM hub in presenting their STEM project result. During the STEM experiment period, ongoing online guidance and discussion will be conducted in order to monitor the progress of the STEM project and to teach learner how to distinguish reliable explanation for their results.

Application Tools

Learner will need to use computer device such as desktop, laptop or tablet to complete their STEM project. They will use Microsoft Office to record and to organize their STEM project result. Using the internet to search for explanation for their findings and uploading all the project content into a server as to secure the content will not be lost due to accident or technical problems. Furthermore, they may use video camera or simply their own mobile phone video function to record their experiments findings and compile by a movie making software to create a complete video presentation. The results will be uploaded into a STEM Hub to share with their peers. Software will also have to be purchased such as Microsoft Office, Movie Making Software. Budget is needed to allocate for the purchase of those software packages.

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Results

Learner will develop their analytical and critical thinking skill when conducting and explaining their STEM projects. They will learn how to search for reliable explanation through creditable sources. Organization skill will be increased when they need to understand the procedures in conducting the experiments as well as in presenting their results in a video format. More confident will be created in utilizing various software packages such as Microsoft Office, Movie Making Software as well as using online discussion board to learn and communicate in order to complete their project.

By integrating technology in STEM education, it encouraged students to become self-motivated learners and researchers (Chacko, Appelbaum, Kim, Zhao & Montclare, 2015).

TIP 4: Implementation

Budget

Continuation of Technology

Laptops Tablets Printers Multimedia Projectors Internet Server – Teacher and Student STEM Hub Server Microsoft Office

Technology that Needs to be Purchased

Movie Maker Software (CyberLink Power Director) -- $49.99 / laptops Tablet Apps ($0.99-$4.99 / tablet)

o Solar Walk

Free Technology to be Utilized

Youtube channel for sharing videos Smartphone Video recording Tablet Apps

o Science 360 o Creation Ministries International (CMI)o Institute For Creation Research (ICR)

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o Answers In Genesis (AIG)

Professional Development Costs Presenter -- $ 150 / session (minimum of 4 sessions) Access to all technology resources listed above

Total Estimated Cost

Technology Cost Quantity Total CyberLink Power Director $49.99 20 $999.8Tablet Apps $4.99 60 $299.4Presenter $150 4 $600

Grand Total $1899.2

Professional Development (PD) Plan

Timetable for Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Measures: Each session will be about 1.5 hours and all STEM tutors and STEM participating teachers will be encouraged to use the technology learned at least once over the next week. When participants meet for the following week session they will be allotted a few minutes to discuss comments and concerns of their experience implementing the last week’s technology.

The four weeks of continuous professional development is designed to give all STEM teaching bodies enough time to tryout the new software. Teachers can choose what they would like to implement into their guidance for their learners.

WEEK 1 – Creation Ministries International (CMI), Institute For Creation Research (ICR) and Answers In Genesis (AIG)

Where does it fit: CMI, ICR and AIG are the three leading biblical creation institutes that believes in the authority of Bible. In our STEM project, all tutors, teachers and students will raise a lot of questions about science and the Biblical creation as this is one major aspect they need to cover. In these three institutions’ apps, they have over 20,000 articles on all the science subjects. In case, an answer is not found. A real scientist who also believes in the authority of the Bible is only an email away to answer the question.

Backup Plan: You can go to their online websites to search for the answers or subscribe to their quarterly magazines for latest and updated information about Biblical creation and science.

Effectiveness: All learners will have a knowledgeable foundation to explain the origin of science with the authority of our Lord and the Bible.  

PD: With the prevailing of postmodernism, science becomes one of the methods to prove the superiority of human beings over an authority especially with God. All STEM tutors, teachers and students need to have a proper prospective of science with the authority of biblical creation. They need to understand the underlying assumption of science is there is a rational creator who created all things in order so that we can uncover the laws of nature by science and experiments.

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This part of the training is the core of ATSCC. As the bible mentioned that anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock (Matthew 7:24-25, New Living Translation). We need to put our students and teachers in a solid ground to build the knowledge upon it.

WEEK 2 – CyberLink Power Director

Where does it fit: All STEM learners will need to use this video software to edit their movie in order to present their STEM procedure, experiment data and explanation of their findings.

Backup Plan: Students can use the Youtube editor for very basic video editing.

Effectiveness: CyberLink Power Director software is ranked as the best video editing software among other video editing software available in the market. It has the highest ranking in terms of editing tools, ease of usage and overall rating. Even STEM learner without prior video editing experience can use this software for presenting their project in ease.

PD: All STEM tutors and school teachers need to use the sample video that is 10 minutes long to practice their editing skills such as trimming the video to last for only 5 minutes, inserting photos and subtitles, addition of special effects, voice over and background music. They need to be very familiar with all the functions so that they can guide their STEM students to create the video to present their projects.

WEEK 3 – STEM Server Hub and Grading System

Where does it fit: The edited videos will enter into a STEM Server Hub. Teacher STEM projects will go to the Teacher STEM Server Hub to create a database for future reference. Student STEM Server Hub will enter the student STEM projects and they will be graded by STEM teachers as well as review by 5 classmates randomly chosen. It has a built-in grading system to input their grade under different specifications required.

Backup Plan: Teachers STEM projects can save at their own computer while student STEM projects can be emailed to the corresponding teachers for grading and review purposes.

Effectiveness: STEM server hub creates the database for teachers to search similar projects in future. It will be a tremendous STEM resource when more projects are built up. Students can review their peer projects by going into the Student Server Hub. Built-in grading system allows each project to be graded accordingly and the scores are stored systematically for future review.

PD: All STEM tutors and teachers need to familiar with the procedures in how to upload the STEM projects into their corresponding server so that they can guide their students how to upload the projects. Furthermore, they need to know how to grade and write personal comment to each project. As student projects need to be reviewed by peer, therefore all tutors and teachers need to know how to use the random selection function to send out student projects for 5 of their classmates to review.

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WEEK 4 – Tablet apps

Where does it fit: Students will encourage to use reliable sources for finding science theories to explain their data and findings. Science 360, Solar Walk and other STEM apps from reliable institutes have correct information for them to base their theories on.

Backup Plan: These apps usually have online websites. Therefore, if the apps doesn’t work out, they can still find the resource needed.

Effectiveness: STEM projects covered over various topics in science. A wide variety of information to source from is very important for the learners to carry out their experiment, explaining their data and mapping out the theory behind the experiment.

PD: All STEM tutors and teachers need to get themselves familiar with these resources in order to help students effectively to search for appropriate information for their STEM projects. Teachers need to know which app is suitable for find which science subjects. Therefore, teachers will be given time to pace around all the apps and to spend time understanding the strength and weakness of each app.

Lesson PlanBefore the lesson:

Topic/Subject/Grade: Science and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) / General Studies / 3-6

Primary SOL: Hong Kong Education Bureau Standard (Education Bureau, 2011) Develop basic knowledge, investigate skills and problem-solving capabilities in science and technology.

Other related standards: NETS 4 Critical thinking, problem solving and decision making – Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.

a. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a projectb. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisionsc. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions

(ISTE, 2007).

Objective: Students will choose a STEM project from their STEM tutors or teachers. They will need to solve the STEM problem by conducting experiments and present the result in a video format.

Condition of the task: Students need to find the theories underlying in the experiment and explain the foundation in a biblical prospective

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Observable task: Students will create a video presentation that will post in an online server hub

Measurable criterion: Each STEM project will be graded with a set of criterion by STEM teachers and 5 classmates.

Classroom diversity: Cultural Diversity – Students can create their own cultural unique video to present their

STEM projects and they can incorporate culture music in the background. Special Needs – Students will be guided by STEM teachers to research the best methods

to conduct their experiments and to find the reliable source to explain their data as well as the foundation theories in biblical prospective

Socioeconomic Groups – Students will be supplied with all the necessary equipment for them to complete the project at our Center. For those who do not have access to internet, Center will give them extra working section in order for them to complete the project.

Materials/Equipment: Laptops, tablets, internet, server and video recording equipment

Technology Integration: Please see above.

During the lesson:

Set: Students will engage with a STEM teacher to discuss their field of interest in science. Teacher will judge according to the student’s ability, level of understanding and commitment to assign a reasonable STEM project for them to carry out.

Lesson: Student will report their progress of the STEM project to their designated teacher. They can ask for advice regarding their experiments and to review the experiments procedure, potential errors in their data collection method as well as their interpretation of their result with their teacher. Teacher will have the responsible to guide them to conduct their experiments correctly and to help them get a biblical prospective on their science principles.

Instruction/Modeling: STEM teacher and student can schedule appointment to meet in person to go over the progress or they can use online communication tools such as skype, whatsapp, Messenger or email to correspond with each other.

Guided student practice/Formative assessment: Student will upload their video presentation of the STEM project into the Student STEM Server Hub for designated teacher to grade their projects

Independent practice/Formative assessment: Each student STEM project will be reviewed and graded by 5 randomly chosen classmates.

Closure: Students will be very familiar with their STEM topic that they carry out research and experiments on.

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Summative assessment: Student will be assessed with a standard specification in term of accuracy of their procedure, possible error prevention, data collection, interpretation of findings, explaining science theories and most important of all, it will assess the accuracy in relating science foundation with the biblical foundation.

After the lesson:

Teacher candidate reflection: To be determined.

TIP 5: Executive Summary

Achievers Track STEM Creation Center (ATSCC) educational technology plan for 2016 -2020 are aligned to the Hong Kong Education Bureau standard and the International Society for Technology in Education, National Educational Technology Standards (ISTE NETS). This plan reflects the Achievers Track STEM Creation Center vision, mission, beliefs and goals. This plan is specified to the STEM education that will start to commence on September 2016 in the entire Hong Kong primary school system by the Hong Kong Education Bureau.

This educational technology plan has installed different learning and teaching components to adapt for students from various backgrounds and with special needs. The implemented technology will assist teachers and students to conduct their STEM experiment and to visual their findings. In order to effectively apply the suggested technologies and to carry out the necessary professional development training for teachers, adequate funding needs to be allocated.

The three goals that are set in this technology plan will help both students and teachers to learn how to conduct their STEM experiment and to explain their findings in a biblical prospective. Professional development will conduct in how to utilize the following resources: Creation Ministries International (CMI) app, Institute For Creation Research (ICR) app and Answers In Genesis (AIG) app and other Tablet apps, CyberLink Power Director, STEM Server Hub and Grading System. The technology that will use in the STEM project is not limited to only the above stated resources. It takes training and integration for teachers to get the full functions and to train their learners how to utilize them to complete their STEM projects.

With the rapid development of STEM education in Hong Kong education field starting from this year on, there is a sudden surge in demand for quality STEM education program for teachers and students. ATSCC has experience and knowledge over a decade in partnering with schools and educators to equip them for this STEM challenge. This technology plan will definitely be a guiding post for the field of STEM education in Hong Kong in many years to come.

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Crosswalk of Goals

National Educational Technology Plan / ISTE - NETS

Educational Technology Plan for Hong Kong

Achievers Track STEM Creation Center’s Strategic Plan

Learning:Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources (ISTE, 2007).

To facilitate the STEM learning of students (Education Bureau, 2015)

To help teachers and students in conducting their STEM projects with biblical prospective.

Assessment:Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessments incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes (ISTE, 2008).

Assessment strategies should be used to suit the needs and interests of students (Education Bureau, 2015 p 7)

Each student STEM project will be evaluated by STEM teachers and 5 classmates

Teaching:Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments (ISTE, 2008).

Teachers need to guide and supervise students in carrying out their STEM projects(Education Bureau, 2015)

Learners will be trained on how to carry out their STEM project skill and how to use technologies to present their project. Above all, learners will equip on their biblical prospective in STEM education.

Infrastructure:Teachers demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations (ISTE, 2008).

Schools are recommended to make good use of existing resources for supporting the implementation of the curricula of the STEM education such as equipment in the special rooms, IT facilities, audio-visual aids, library books, learning and teaching resources packages, to promote STEM education (Education Bureau, 2015, p 17)

New apps, software and technologies will be integrated for the completion of the STEM project

Productivity:Teachers collaborate with students and peers using digital tools and resources to

To effectively use school-based flexible time of central time allocation and outside classroom learning for

Various communication tools will be used to monitor the progress of student STEM projects. STEM Server Hub

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support student success and innovation (ISTE, 2008).

engaging students in worthwhile learning experiences (Education Bureau, 2015, p 16-17)

and Grading System will enhance the productivity of the STEM projects in term of storage and grading of projects.

TIP 6: References:

Chacko, P., Appelbaum, S., Kim, H., Zhao, J., & Montclare, J. (2015). Integrating Technology in STEM

Education. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 5(1), 5-14.

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3926/jotse.124

Education Bureau. (2011). General Studies for Primary Schools Curriculum Guide (Primary

1– Primary 6). Hong Kong: Education Bureau. The Retrieved from

http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/curriculum-development/kla/science-edu/curriculum-documents.html

Education Bureau (2015) Retrieved from http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/curriculum-

development/renewal/Brief%20on%20STEM%20%28Overview%29_eng_20151105.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2007). ISTE Standards Students.

Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-students

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). ISTE Standards Teachers.

Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers

Spector, J. M., Merrill, M. D., Elen, J., & Bishop, M. J. (Eds.). (2014). Handbook of research for

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educational communications and technology (4th ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

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