Gifted and Talented Pilot Project

Executive Summary

Findings
Conclusion
Appendix A
Appendix B
Acknowledgments

This report documents the results of the Gifted and Talented Pilot Project conducted during the Spring of 2001. The report discusses the purpose of the pilot and the process by which the pilot was organized and implemented. It identifies relevant issues important for consideration for future pilots or programs evaluating electronic courses. Finally, there is an evaluation of the costs associated with the pilot. The findings in this report reflect the opinions of the participating parties. These include the students, teachers and Gifted and Talented coordinators, school district administrators, IBM, and the University of Texas at Austin Distance Education Center.

The purpose of the pilot was to demonstrate the use of electronic commerce in delivering educational opportunities to the students of Texas. The project aimed to provide eleventh grade Gifted and Talented students in four targeted areas around the state with access to an electronic U.S. Government course and further encourage the use of technology for education. Though this pilot focused on Gifted and Talented students, the findings have implications for all students in all parts of the state.
Findings suggest allowing Gifted and Talented Students access to electronic courses opens up opportunities for them to take other courses that advance their education and broaden their academic experience. These electronic courses provide students access to classes that might otherwise be unavailable due to rurality, limited resources, or inadequate class size. While accessibility to classes may increase, accessibility to an instructor may be needed to enhance the program’s success. The students’ success, however, was hampered by difficulties in organizing and implementing the pilot. Finally, the pilot findings indicate that as electronic classes become more Web-based, schools and students will need access to high-capacity phone lines.
Purpose
The purpose of the pilot was to determine the viability of providing special-population students, such as the Gifted and Talented, better access to technological resources in order to accelerate their education. These technological resources included access to an electronic U.S. Government course provided by the University of Texas at Austin and supplemented by IBM’s Web-based Learning Village application that provides students, parents, and teachers with online communication and collaborative tools. Videoconferences were also included in the pilot. Though this pilot was limited to the Gifted and Talented students, there is potential for all students in all parts of Texas to utilize electronic courses to gain access to educational opportunities.
Partners
To fulfill the scope and purpose of the project, several contributing partners came together. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts coordinated the efforts of the project participants and contracted with the University of Texas at Austin Distance Education Center to provide basic course content in the form of a CD-ROM-based curriculum as well as a textbook and study guide for a U.S. Government course. The University of Texas portion of the course would meet the Texas Education Association’s (TEA) statewide standards and allow the course to be accredited.
With the basic curriculum in place, IBM Global Education donated 31 laptop computers to the schools as well as access to the IBM Educational Software Learning Village. Cisco Systems, Inc. provided dial-up assistance. For this pilot, Learning Village provided the following:

Home Page Designer – Allows teachers and students to create and maintain Web pages;

Team Projects – Virtual project rooms that allow student collaboration on assignments; and

Private Conferences – Secure online communications between parents, teachers, and students.

With the help of the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, an instructor was chosen as the point-to-point contact for the pilot. Dr. Rosemary Morrow was contracted through the University of Texas to conduct three videoconferences with the students as well as serve as the pilot contact. The conferences were held at Education Service Centers across the state. The first videoconference was an introduction and overview of the course. The two subsequent videoconferences were specific to course assignments.
Participating Schools and Terms of Participation
The following school districts were selected to participate in the pilot due to their location and size: Paris Independent School District (in East Texas), Plainview Independent School District (in North Texas), Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (in South Texas) and Donna Independent School District (in South Texas). These school districts agreed to participate according to the terms set forth in the Gifted and Talented Pilot Project General Information Packet. Those terms included:

Assist in determining and encouraging student participation. This included the guidance of an appointed person on staff at the participating high school to aid in the recruitment and designation of those students who would most benefit from a technology-based course.

Accept course credit awarded by the content provider to meet graduation requirements.

Apply “weighted” Grade Point Average status to this course as determined appropriate by the local school board. The basic course is TEA-approved and shall be accepted as any other TEA-approved course in the state of Texas. The enhancements to the course clearly designate it as Gifted and Talented curriculum and, as such, the district agrees to apply weight to the GPA as they would any other traditional Gifted and Talented course offered in their district.

Make the required computer facilities available to participating students. The district made computer labs available to participating students as needed including before and after school and at other times when it was appropriate for the students to work on their assignments.

Maintain the inventory of ThinkPads. IBM Global Education provided 10 ThinkPad laptop computers to each district. The computers were to aid those students who did not otherwise have access to an Internet-ready computer. They are also intended to allow students to utilize the 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week model of this program.

The districts were accountable for the computers. A library-style checkout procedure for the units was suggested so that the schools would know who had a laptop and when it should be returned.

IBM retained ownership of the laptops and provided maintenance on those laptops during the pilot project. The district can take ownership of the units at any time, but once ownership has transferred, IBM will no longer be responsible for maintenance. The units may remain in IBM’s inventory for up to one year while in the district’s possession. IBM will not be liable for lost or stolen computers. The school districts will not be required to replace lost or stolen units.

At the end of one year, the districts will take ownership of the laptops and be solely responsible for them from that point forward.

Assist in the distribution, tracking and return of the textbooks. The Comptroller’s office purchased the course materials, including CDs, study guides, and textbooks. Upon completion of the course, the University of Texas will buy back each textbook from the Comptroller’s office.

Cooperate with all pilot partners to ensure the success of the project. Accommodation of any participant was essential to the success of this program.

Participate in the evaluation phase of the project. The districts helped the project by keeping detailed records of day-to-day problems, concerns and successes, and by answering survey questions and participating in any needed exit interviews or activities.

Process
Each district’s Gifted and Talented Coordinator recruited Gifted and Talented students in the eleventh grade to participate in the pilot. During the recruitment, several incentives were given to the students. Many of the students were in the top 10 of their class and wanted to accelerate their learning and gain an edge over other high-ranking students. By participating in the pilot, the student could gain Level One credit (honors or weighted) as well as free up a semester of their senior year to take another Level One course and raise their GPA. The other incentive was the full-time use of a donated laptop computer for the duration of the pilot. Thirty-five students in the four districts signed up to participate. They included 10 students from Donna High School, seven students from Plainview High School, nine students from Paris High School, and nine students from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo North High School.
Students were required to complete an application to participate. The applications were reviewed and signed by each school district’s Gifted and Talented Coordinator. This coordinator had the authority to certify a student’s qualification as Gifted and Talented and of junior standing. The application was also signed by the parent or guardian of the student indicating the acceptance of the terms of the pilot. As soon as the applications were received, the information went to the University of Texas where the students were officially registered for the course. The course materials, including the CD-ROM, workbook and text, were mailed to the schools and distributed accordingly to the students. Laptops were then distributed to the students.
Due to delays in receiving laptop computers, timelines for assignment and videoconferences were pushed back. The program began in early February. Students began their first assignments prior to the first videoconference. During the first videoconference, students were introduced to the course instructor and received an overview of the course. There were a total of three videoconferences, six self-paced assignments, two independent research projects, one team project, and a final exam. The syllabus used for the course is presented in Appendix A.
In addition to the course materials, the Learning Village Web site was available to students at any time. Learning Village is a framework of applications that allows students to communicate and collaborate with other students. This online suite of services also allows students to communicate with mentors, parents to communicate privately with instructors, and gives teachers access to evaluated lesson plans. Students were encouraged to develop their own homepage through Learning Village as a means of introducing themselves to the instructor and other students.