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Babson College MCFE team presents
Sugar Deployment in
US Schools
Management Consulting Field Experience Team:
nna !"ash#o$ %atalia &rigoras$ and 'ei (in
)ro*ect Manager: &eorge + (ee
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Table of Contents
!+ Executive Summary3!+. Introduction
3!+- Methodologies3
!+/ Findings and Summary3
!!+ Introduction5
!!!+ Methodologies5!!!+. Secondary research
5
!!!+- Primary Research6!!!+-+. Interviews
6!!!+-+- Meeting Oservations
!!!!+/ Financial Research
!!0+ Findings and "roundwor#
!!0+. Secondary Research
! !0+.+. Existing Mar#et$
!0+.+- School Systems%
!0+.+/ &eacher &y'es()
!0+.+1 Sugar "ames()
!0+.+2 *O"O(+
!0+- Primary Research(3
!0+-+. Sugar,s -dvantages(3
!0+-+- Sugar,s .isadvantages(3
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!0+-+/ Insights(3
!0+-+1 O'inions on Im'lementation(/
0+ -nalysis
(60+. Secondary Research -nalysis(6
0+- Primary Research -nalysis(!
0+/ S0O& -nalysis(%
0+1 -''roaches to the School System+(
0+2 Financial -nalysis++
0+3 Funding++0+3+. 1o 2hild *et 4ehind
+30+3+- Race to the &o'
+30!+ Sugar on a Stic# Im'lementation Plan
+60!+. Ste' ( Initial
Ex'osure +!0!+- Ste' + alidate and Receive Feedac#
+%0!+/ Ste' 3 Execute Pilot &esting and Identiy Prolems+%
0!+1 Ste' / Reining the Process3)
0!+2 Ste' 5 Pre'are or 0ide System Im'lementation3)
0!+2+.Estalishing the team and environment3(
0!+2+-Pre'are the 'rogram and consumer communities3(
0!+2+/ Mar#eting3+
0!+3 Ste' 6 .e'loy System33
0!+3+.Introduction33
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0!+3+-&raining33
0!+3+/2ommunication and Synchroni7ation35
0!+4 Ste' ! &ransition o Ownershi' to the Perorming
Organi7ation 360!!+ &imeline o Im'lementation 8 "ant 2hart3!
0!!!+ 2onclusion and Recommendations3$
!5+ 0or#s 2ited 3%5+ -''endix I9 Interview with 2aroline Mee#s
/)5!+ -''endix II9 Interview with -nn :ouman
//5!!+ -''endix III9 Interview with "erald -rdito
/65!!!+ -''endix I9 Interview with Michael O,:eee5+
5!0+ -''endix 9 Interview with Roert Mc:enna56
50+ -''endix I9 Interview with 4arara incent5%
50!+ -''endix II9 Interview with Ro Stergis6+
50!!+ -''endix III9 Phone Interview 2old 2alls63
50!!!+ -''endix I;9 Summary o the *owell School Princi'als, Meeting65
5!5+ -''endix ;9 Excel S'readsheet -nalysis o Interviews6$
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!+ Executive Summary
1.1 Introduction
Sugar *as is a non9'roit organi7ation that has develo'ed an award9winning
educational sotware 'latorm< called Sugar< to 'rovide children ages 59(+ with
su''lemental education tools and now 'lans a road level o im'lementation in the =S>
&his 4ason M2FE consulting team has com'leted the ollowing tas#s =nderstand the targeted audience and create a model or Sugar im'lementation
=nderstand the arriers currently limiting Sugar sotware ada'tion in elementary
schools
Study the im'act o Sugar sotware im'lementation in several initial 'ilot school
'rograms
Recommend a general strategy or eectively im'lementing Sugar sotware in =S
school systems
1.2 Methodologies
&he team has conducted 'rimary research y interviewing su'erintendents &he team also conducted secondary research that identiied teacher
ty'es< sources o unding< 'revious sotware im'lementations< and the usiness
ramewor# o new 'roduct develo'ment cycles> &he eedac# has created groundwor#
or recommendations to im'rove the existing ramewor# or im'lementing Sugar>
1.3 Findings and Conclusions
4ased on our research< Sugar,s most 'rominent strengths are
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the readth o integrated content
that it is lexile and customi7ale to roadly meet teacher,s needs and
curriculums
the collaorative and interactive learning ex'erience tailored or children
On the other hand< challenges acing Sugar include
the necessity or heavy introduction training
a lac# o a centrali7ed su''ort system or educators using Sugar
the sotware,s lac# o certain advanced eatures im'ortant in -merican school
systems
the current orm o Sugar on a Stic# is unreliale>
the largest ostacle or Sugar is the teachers, lac# o ree time as well as 'ressure
to u'hold mandated testing standards> Resistance to innovation and change in the school
systems creates additional ostacles or Sugar im'lementation>
4ased on our analysis< the team recommends our 'oints or im'roving Sugar
im'lementation
.+ Sugar *as should enale greater educator su''ort and collaoration using an
online we9ased su''ort center? or educators and end users>
-+ Sugar *as should centrali7e and standardi7e introductory training> &his im'lies
that Sugar *as should 'rovide more tangile guidelines or teachers during their irstex'osure>
/+ &he est initial 'oint o contact with the school mar#et should e targeted at
educational technology teachers and su'erintendents>
1+ Sugar *as should have a standardi7ed 'rogram to 'resent its introduction to
school systems>
&he ollowing re'ort contains a detailed im'lementation 'lan as well as an
analysis o the conse@uences o each ste'> -dditional research on sources o unding
exem'liies how the 'lan can ecome reality>
!!+ Introduction
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Sugar *as is a non9'roit organi7ation ormed in May o +))$> &he com'any
distriutes Sugar sotware< an award9winning educational sotware 'latorm that 'rovides
children ages 59(+ with an alternative to traditional education> &he 'rogram reinorced
and enhances teacher,s curriculums to serve as a learning tool uses its easily customi7ale
ormat> Furthermore< aside rom the learning enhancing activities< Sugar can educate
children in sim'le com'uter 'rogramming> Sugar *as< originally wor#ing in close
collaoration with the One *a'to' Per 2hild initiative< egan distriuting the Sugar
sotware o'erating on ;O la'to' com'uters to underdevelo'ed countries including
=ruguay< Peru and other gloal location>
In May +))$< 0alter 4ender ormed Sugar *as< giving the Sugar sotware
ca'aility to run o a =S4 memory stic# without the use and ex'ense o an ;O la'to'>
Mr> 4ender,s ocus was to ring the sotware into the =S and create a standardi7ed
im'lementation ramewor# or Sugar sotware on a road scale in elementary schools
nationwide> &o hel' acilitate a road de'loyment o Sugar< the 4ason M2FE team has
created a coherent introduction 'lan with recommendations>
&he team,s research 'rovides not only a usiness ramewor# o the new 'roduct
develo'ment cycle< ut also a 36)9degree evaluation o Sugar,s ca'ailities in relation to
needs o the target mar#et> &he eedac# has created groundwor# or recommendations
to im'rove the existing ramewor#s or im'lementing Sugar>
!!!+ Methodologies
!!!+. Secondary Research
&o egin< the team conducted secondary research on the existing environment< the
demogra'hics o the school systems included in the 'roAect,s ocus< and the sotware,s
target mar#et> Research included general eedac# on the 'roduct< dierent teacher ty'es
and their a''roaches to education< case studies on *ogo B a sotware similar to Sugar in
its design and 'ur'ose< and a general ac#ground on the Sugar sotware and activities
Sugar oers>
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&he initial research laid the groundwor# or areas to 'ursue in 'rimary research>
!!!+- Primary Research
Primary research involved interviews with elementary school and high school
em'loyees o dierent ran#s and rom schools with dierent levels o ex'osure to the
Sugar sotware> &he research included the Meadowroo# School in 0eston< M- and
Rising &ide 2harter School in Plymouth< M- B schools with no 'revious ex'osure to
Sugar< the 0atertown School System in 0atertown< M- B currently 'iloting the
'rogram or the irst year< the Pierre an 2ortlandt Middle School in 2roton< 1C 8 one
and a hal years into their im'lementation< and inally the 4irmingham School System in
4irmingham< -*B actively using the One *a'to' Per 2hild la'to's running the Sugar
sotware since +))$>
&he interviewees included individuals who ranged rom su'erintendents to
&echnology Education teachers< oth with 'revious amiliarity with the Sugar sotware
and without> &he dierent 'ers'ectives oered a ull9'icture o the strengths and
wea#nesses o Sugar and identiied a numer o recurring 'rolems in a maAority o the
im'lementations>
!!!+/ Meeting bser!ations
&he team attended several meetings with educators to oserve the irst hand the
reactions o the attendees and their degree o rece'tiveness to the sotware> 0alter
4ender,s introductory meeting with the 'rinci'als< technology education teachers and
educators o the 0atertown schools systems also 'rovided ex'osure to his introduction
methods allowing the team insight to give s'eciic recommendations on the introduction
rom an Doutsider,s 'ers'ective>
!!!+1 Financial Research
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&he team has conducted cost o ownershi' research and 'in'ointed an
a''roximate cost o 'roessional develo'ment in the =S elementary schools to 'resent
the cost o Sugar to the schools>
Research on unding availale to su''ort Sugar *as in their im'lementation
identiied two national unding 'rograms the 1o 2hild *et 4ehind -ct99targeting
technology integration99and the Race to the &o' ederal grant targeting innovation in new
teaching method> Find urther inormation in 5>6 Funding Section?
!0+ Findings and "roundwor#
!0+. Secondary Research
IV.1.1 Existing Market
.avid Farning< a Sugar *as re'resentative< stated there was Dno estalished
mar#et or com'uters in early childhood education in Gul +))% I-EP Mar#et -nalysis
notes Farning?> &his is ecause the mar#et has Dnot yet 'roven inancially viale or
existing sotware or hardware vendors to uild a usiness while the existing< large
vendors have the mar#et 'ower to Ddrive out individual smaller com'etitors who threatentheir existing mar#ets Farning?>
4ased on the indings< Sugar *as should encourage vertical collaoration to
'romote or9'roit irms< li#e 2aroline Mee#s,s ac#u' system or the =S4< to uild a
mar#et around the Sugar 'latorm and Sugar on a Stic# technology> -n interview with
2aroline Mee#s in the later sections o the re'ort discusses her or9'roit usiness idea to
ac# u' the Sugar on a Stic# =S4s> 2reating a collection o irms and a 'ac#age o
services that su''ort the 'roduct will solidiy and roaden its standing as develo'mental
education sotware>
IV.1.2 School System Demographics
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&o examine the demogra'hics or 'otential Sugar de'loyment< the team examined
the 4oston city schools or statistics on student teacher ratios and com'uter availaility
crucial to Sugar,s im'lementation> &he Massachusetts .e'artment o Elementary and
Secondary Education lists a total o 56$ students> "iven 4oston,s 'restigious academic system and
relatively wealthy residents< the high ratios give Sugar on a Stic# the accessiility
necessary to reach children through com'uter access and teacher involvement>
&he rea#down o the students in the district also aligns with Sugar,s de'loyment
strategy> .uring the +))% school year the 'o'ulation o students :indergarten through 5th
grade was +5 0ith the
addition o the (( &he
statistics show elementary schools hold the largest numer o students in the district>
&hese acts su''ort Sugar,s aim to reach elementary school children< as it gives
access to the largest 'ercentage o the school 'o'ulation in the "reater 4oston area>
More im'ortantly< when examining the 4oston schools< a general 'rolem in retaining
students ecomes evident> -lthough the retention o students is high in elementary and
middle schools< y high school the dro'out rate hovers around +) according to the
Focus on 2hildren +))6J+))! statistics> Introduction o alternative teaching methods at
the elementary level can hel'< over time< retain more students to the middle school and
high school< ultimately lowering these dro'out rates> Sugar,s interactive @uality as an
alternative education method may hel' ameliorate the retention 'rolem directly see
interview with Roert Mc:enna< administrator o the 4irmingham School system?>
IV.1.3 Teacher Types
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&he secondary research on teaching styles identiied two ty'es o teachers
instructivist and constructivist teachers 1iederhauser< +))(?>
&eachers o the irst ty'e include those with Dtraditional elies aout teaching and
learning tend to use didactic instructional methods 1iederhauser< +))(?> &hese teachers
are more resistant to change< and less li#ely to alter their teaching style to incor'orate
new educational technologies> &hey also do not trust the decision ma#ing o the system
that would e controlling teaching time in their classroom>
2onstructivist teachers allow students to ex'lore dierent strategies in targeting a
'rolem> &he teachers allow the students more reedom to ex'and their way o thin#ing
outside o the conventional> &heir methods are more in@uiry9ased and align etter with
the 'hiloso'hy and ramewor# o the Sugar sotware>
In a study o the two teacher ty'es< Dteachers with more constructivist elies
tended to use student9centered in@uiry ased methods Kwhile introducing a conce'tL> In
contrast< teachers with a more didactic 'ers'ective directed their students to use
mani'ulative methods Kto learn the disci'lineL in s'eciic ways> Students were instructed
to arrange the mani'ulative oAects in grou'ings to 'rovide a concrete re'resentation o
standard mathematical algorithms 1iederhauser< +))(?
&hese studies suggest two main indings> First< oth styles o teachers re@uire
educational sotware to ada't to some degree to their teaching style> Since Sugar is
'rimarily oriented toward constructivist and in@uiry9ased teaching< there may e a
arrier to a''ealing to teachers with traditional instructivist teaching methods> Second? Research
o the -ctivity dataase within Sugar showed a wealth o dierent activities ut ew
ex'lanations o each -ctivity,s unctions and 'revious uses in a school curriculum> -
etter organi7ation system or the -ctivities would add to the user9riendly nature o the
sotware< allowing the teachers to search or -ctivities ased on their disci'line and
oering 'ossile a''lications o the activity in standard curriculum See Im'lementation
Plan section on -ctivities .ataase?
IV.1.5 LOGO
Research on 'revious similar develo'mental sotware im'lementations led us to
the *ogo sotware> .evelo'ed in the (%6),s y Seymour Pa'ert and irst im'lemented
the $),s< the sotware greatly resemles Sugar,s &urtle -rt and aims to im'rove
develo'mental education and com'uter 'rogramming s#ills in middle school children
Pa'ert?> Many case studies have een conducted documenting ste's o *ogo,s
im'lementations in the =S and gloally> D*ogo BPhiloso'hy and Im'lementation
descries *ogo,s im'lementation in Saint Paul< Minnesota recorded y Seymour Pa'ert
himsel and draws many 'arallels to hel' guide Sugar,s im'lementation Pa'ert?>First< the study noted the signiicance o a state,s involvement in sotware
im'lementation> *ogo egan targeting s'eciic schools in the Saint Paul School system
to serve as eta sites or *ogo> Pa'ert comments Dwithout KtheL state su''ort< the Saint
Paul *ogo ProAect would have 'roceeded in essentially the same manner< ut Kthe stateL
did ma#e things easier or us< es'ecially in our outreach eyond the Saint Paul Pulic
Schools themselves to other Minnesota districts Pa'ert< +!?> State involvement
sim'liied *ogo,s roader level o im'lementation>
Second< training structure was #ey to *ogo,s success in the school> &he training
methodology *ogo im'lemented was the summer Institute> &he Institute constituted a
Dwee#9long intensive wor#sho' Kthat served asL the starting 'oint or new teachers in
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Kcreating aL 'roAect Kor their classroomL> KItL 'rovides a 'eriodic renewal or ex'erienced
teachers< some o whom have attended our or ive Institutes over the years Pa'ert?>
&he introduction included Dgrou's ormed > > > to address areas o interest or teachKingL
s#ills with teachers collaorating with sotware ex'erts Pa'ert?> &hen the teachers
com'leted an initial disci'line9s'eciic 'roAect Ddesigned to give 'eo'le an overview o
the maAor eatures and ca'ailities o the *ogo environment including drawing tools &he wee#long immersion gave teachers the conidence and
asic s#ills to control the *ogo environment and mold it to their curriculum>
&hird< the study conronted teacher reactions to the alternative learning ex'erience
the sotware 'rovides> &he ex'loratory way o learning may not wor# well in a
structured environment as DKteachersL may see students or only one or two 'eriods 'er
wee# &he instructivist teaching style clashes with the reedom
the *ogo sotware gives to the students< so Pa'ert oers Dinstead o using K*ogoL as
instructivist sotware Kto @ui7 childrenL< 'resent it to the children as a model o what they
could do KandL they can then write @ui77es o their own Pa'ert< 3/?>
Finally< this study descries 'reliminary cases com'leted Din (%$/ KyL Peter Fire
.og o the =niversity o Minnesota Sociology .e'artment KindingL that in the Audgment
o teachers< students wor#ing with *ogo had im'roved 'erormance in school and that the
eneit was availale to all children( Pa'ert?> *ater studies corroorate the claim and
aid *ogo,s eligiility or additional unding due to its 'roven eneicial eects> For
urther inormation on necessary 'rogress measurements ind the Funding Section?>
. . Fire Dog$ )+$ Exciting effects of Logo in an urban public school system, Educational (eadership$
.762+ 1/: p+ 12914+
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!0+- Primary Research
&he team has conducted one ace9to9ace interview< seven 'hone interviews< one e9mail
@uestionnaire< one lirary visit< and two meeting oservations> &he list o interviewees
includes
-nn :ouman B ormer teacher and current su'erintendent o the 0atertown -ll the 'hone interviews lasted or
a''roximately /5 minutes and included a series o +) @uestions on the advantages and
disadvantages o Sugar sotware< teacher training necessary< 'otential ostacles o
im'lementation< the im'lementation 'rocess< im'lementation cost< and so on> &he team
varied its @uestions ased on the interviewee,s ac#ground< the schools, involvement
with Sugar< and the interviewee,s role in the Sugar im'lementation 'rocess> - list o
@uestions and answers or each interview can e ound in -''endix I9I;>
&he team was ale to gather inormation rom educators< su'erintendents -ll the
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'rimary research was hel'ul or the team,s understanding o dierent mindsets towards
the sotware> &he interviews com'ensated or the little ex'erience we have had
'reviously regarding educational sotware and its de'loyment>
IV.2.1 Sugars Advantages
-ddressing the @uestion on Sugar,s advantages< 2aroline Mee#s and -nn
:ouman admitted to li#ing the lexiility o Sugar wor#ing or dierent disci'lines< in
dierent languages< as well as or students with disailities> In the meantime< "erald
-rdito and 4arara incent em'hasi7ed Sugar,s aility to enale students to collaorate
with each other> Michael O,:eee< Roert Mc:enna< -nne Suday< and Michael
Mc.ermott strongly avored Sugar,s it into a classroom as a teaching tool>
IV.2.2 Sugars Disadvantages
-ddressing Sugar,s disadvantages< 2aroline Mee#s noted Sugar needed moretraditional content in addition to its creative activities> "erald -rdito and 4arara
incent would have li#ed Sugar to e more advanced in its ca'ailities or their students Michael O,:eee
IV.2.3nsights
&he M2FE team as#ed aout the successes and laws o the current teacher
training that educators undergo to amiliari7e themselves with Sugar> -nn :ouman and
Michael O,:eee re'lied that they would li#e to see teachers share ex'eriences with each
other and teach one another aout incor'orating Sugar into their lesson 'lans> 2aroline
Mee#s< -nn :ouman< Ro Stergis< as well as 'artici'ants in our irst oserved meeting
with the 0atertown school district li#ed the idea o uilding an online community B a
common hu where all teachers using Sugar could com'ile useul data including lesson
'lans< D&o' &en .os and .on,ts o Sugar im'lementation "erald -rdito 'reers one9on9one training with
teachersH however< Michael O,:eee< Roert Mc:enna and 4arara incent 'reer a
wor#sho' to counsel the teachers as a grou' or involving them in a wee#long
'roessional develo'ment session similar to the one used during *ogo,s im'lementation>
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Michael Mc.ermott thin#s that a +9hour introductory demonstration< similar to 0alter
4ender,s meeting with the 0atertown 'rinci'les< will e enough i it includes the level o
detail to ex'lain the asic unctionalities o the sotware>
One o the most im'ortant @uestions as#ed o interviewees was to identiy
'otential ostacles or Sugar im'lementation in the school systems> -ll interviewees
mentioned the im'ortance o teachers 8 their attitude and engagement with the sotware Furthermore< 2aroline Mee#s< Roert Mc:enna< and -nn
:ouman raised the @uestion o ma#ing sure that Sugar aligns with the teachers,
curriculum> Instead o having classroom curriculums wor# around Sugar< Sugar must e
ada'tale to school curriculums to ensure teaching is more eicient and easy> -s a
su'erintendent< -nn :ouman is concerned with the si7e o the 'ilot 'rogram in a school
system> She @uestioned what grade Sugar should 'ilot in and what activities the 'ilot
'rogram should ocus on> -s a 'rivate school teacher< 4arara incent worried how
Sugar com'etes with the other sotware availale to her school including oth 'aid
sotware li#e!ractionationut also un'aid sotware li#e the collaorative eatures o
Googleand "ouTu#e> Michael Mc.ermott worried aout sources o inancing Sugar
im'lementation> e noted that -nn :ouman had 'rovided active su''ort and set aside
udget or Sugar> Other school systems around the country< however< may not have the
same< well9estalished com'uter system< that 0atertown does>
IV.2.4 Opinions on mplementation
-long with @uestions aout teacher involvement the M2FE team wondered 2aroline
Mee#s thought that Sugar needs to have suicient mar#et share and rand recognition>
She elieves that 'arents and 'rinci'les might e a great entry 'oint to mar#et the
sotware> -nn :ouman thought that the third grade would e a good level to 'ilot the
sotware< and due to this Sugar needs to e constructive< un< and suAect relative> "erald
-rdito thought that Sugar needs to e sensitive to two things 8 'roessional develo'ment
and the e@ui'ment availale> Sugar should ada't to diverse schools< students< and
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teachers across the country and e sim'le enough and roust enough to unction
lawlessly under a variety o conditions> Michael O,:eee elieves that charter schools
are great 'laces or Sugar to start> =nli#e -nn :ouman< O,:eee thought 6thgrades to
e great to introduce Sugar> Roert Mc:enna em'hasi7ed that standardi7ed training
methods are #ey to a successul im'lementation8 easy enough to introduce teachers to
Sugar< ut with enough variaility to allow teachers to customi7e the sotware once they
understand the 'rogram> 4arara incent suggested that Sugar might not e suitale or
=S 'rivate schools as it may e more a''ro'riate or Dunderdevelo'ed areas without
resources> &he our educators rom the 0atertown 'rinci'les meeting ex'ressed great
interest in Sugar and ull conidence in its im'lementation in their district>
-lthough many interviewees could not gage the cost o Sugar im'lementation< all
noted that teachers must e com'ensated or their time during training> &he
com'ensation method can e monetary or ac@uisition o college credit to serve as
'roessional develo'ment> 0atertown ty'ically 'ays teachers Q35 'er hour or summer
'rogram training< while the Meado"broo#Private School in 0eston ty'ically 'ays Q())
'er day to com'ensate summer 'roessional develo'ment>
&hroughout the interviews< the team received additional comments uni@ue to the
interviewee,s 'ers'ective>
2aroline Mee#s commented on the "ardner Pilot -cademy in -llston< M- and
ac#nowledged that Sugar,s ailure there was 'roaly the result o ive #ey actors (>
Sugar was rought into the school y a non9'roit organi7ation allowing the school to
not com'letely invest in the 'roAect as they are not monetarily invested?< +> &he schools,
resistance to change to ada't to Sugar< 3> &he 'rolems with the Strawerry version o
Sugar on a Stic#< /> &he lac# o su''ort 'rovided to teachers y oth the school and
Sugar *asH and inally 5> &eachers, other 'riorities and lac# o time emedded in their
system or Sugar>
Meanwhile< -nn :ouman shared her ideas or Sugar im'lementation in
0atertown> She noted (> Sugar could wor# very well in oreign language classes in
oth elementary and high schools?H +> .uring the irst introduction o the sotware to
su'erintendents< -nn suggested having students do a demonstration o the sotware,s
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ca'ailitiesH and 3> &he ocus o im'lementation should target only the teachers interested
in the sotware instead o 'ersuading others that are resistant> &he teachers who are
resistant will either eventually get on oard due to the mass im'lementation o the
sotware school9wide< or will never have ownershi' o the sotware to ensure its success>
Sugar *as should not e s'ending energy trying to convince them>
"erald -rdito would li#e to see Sugar used or aterschool 'rograms as well as a
homewor# tool> Michael O,:eee endorses the sotware,s use in aterschool 'rograms as
teachers there are under ewer time constraints and are thereore more willing to try new
technologies> &he aterschool 'rograms also oten have enough unding or a''ro'riate
training o the sotware>
0+ -nalysis
0+. Secondary Research $nalysis
4ased on analysis o the secondary research indings on the *O"O sotware 4ecause Sugar introduction is a #ey to success< it is im'ortant to
most sure that Sugar *as inds the right a''roach to teachers that will e urther
discussed in Section 6 on the Im'lementation Plan>
0+/ S%T $nalysis
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From the 'rimary and secondary research< the M2FE team 'erormed a S0O&
analysis Figure (?< which outlines Sugar,s strengths< wea#nesses< o''ortunities< and
threats>
Figure ( Sugar S0O& -nalysis
-ccording to the S0O& analysis< Sugar reinorces a schools, need or technology
integration and has many com'etitive advantages that have attracted a lot o attention>
On the other hand< Sugar needs to watch out or com'etition as well as create a more
systematic way o a''roaching schools and su''orting teachers>
0+1 $&&roaches to the School System
In addition to a S0O& analysis< the M2FE team also develo'ed a gra'hical
structure re'resenting dierent ways o a''roaching a school system Figure +?>
Figure + Pyramid o -''roaches to School Systems
-s illustrated y the Pyramid Figure +?< there are six individual routes o
introducing Sugar into a school system> .ue to the limitations in resources< Sugar *as
must consider each a''roach and come u' with the est 'oint o introduction>
&he advantage o a''roaching the state to' down a''roach? is that it can
mandate that all schools im'lement Sugar on a Stic#> owever< 'urely mandating
sotware without a''ealing to the teachers does not always wor#> It can e diicult to
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generate trust and collaoration among teachers Kas "erald -rdito mentioned on Octoer
+(< +))%L>
&he advantage o a''roaching su'erintendents is that the interactions are more
'ersonal and more targeted> Su'erintendents are inluentialH they are the leaders>
Su'erintendents and 'rinci'les view the 'rogram rom a high level and evaluate the
eneits and cost> owever< they may not a''reciate the 'rogram rom an o'erational
'oint o view> 0ithout ully understanding how Sugar can e integrated into each
s'eciic school or district< the 'rogram will ail>
&echnology education teachers are an attractive entry 'oint ecause they connect
with oth su'erintendents and teachers> 1ot only do they train and su''ort teachers with
technology< they also 'artici'ate in the decision ma#ing 'rocess o choosing a''licale
technology with 'rinci'als and su'erintendents> 4ecause teachers are Sugar,s inal
customersJim'lementers< a''ealing to teachers increases Sugar,s li#elihood to succeed in
a sustainale way>
-lthough targeting teachers will e o'timal or the sotware,s success< there are
so many teachers that it is hard or Sugar *as to mar#et solely to teachers within a
reasonale timerame and with limited resources>
Finally< students and 'arents re'resent the largest numers and can e very
inluential in a school system,s decision9ma#ing 'rocess> owever< the si7e o this grou'
will re@uire signiicant mar#eting costs or Sugar *as> &he a''roach is not eicient
and 'roaly too time consuming>
0+2 Financial $nalysis
V.5.1 %ost o$ O&nership
&he team ro#e down the cost o ownershi' o Sugar sotware into the ollowing
categories
.+ =S4 stic#s
-+ Proessional &raining and .evelo'ment
/+ Maintenance
1+ *ogistics and Overhead
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&he M2FE team has recogni7ed that most o the cost o ownershi' o the Sugar
'latorm or schools will come rom 'roessional training and develo'ment> .uring the
0atertown 'rinci'als meeting that the M2FE team attended< a 0atertown teacher
mentioned that 0atertown 'ays Q35 'er hour o 'roessional training during the summer>
In com'arison a 'rivate school li#e Meado"broo#School o 0eston 'ays Q()) 'er day
or 'roessional training during the summer 'rogram> Since most interviewees elieve
that Sugar on a Stic# will re@uire at least one wee# o intense training /) hours? &he goal o this grant is to Dhel' districts im'rove student achievement
through the use o technology in their schools and assist students in ecoming
technologically literate y the end o eighth grade> &he und also targets students elow
the eighth grade< which matches the target demogra'hic o Sugar on a Stic#>
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Massachusetts has een awarded Q+
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technology plan and that addresses the statutory local plan
re
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Thereore Sugar (abs needs to be able to produce
measurements?metrics that e"aluate the result o Sugar@s
implementation+
V..2 !ace to the "op
Similar to the #o $hil% Left &ehin%"itle II, 'art ( grant$ !ace to
the "opis a ederal grant that aims to =encourage and re;ard States
that are creating the conditions or education inno"ation and reormA
achie"ing signiicant impro"ement in student outcomes$ including
ma#ing substantial gains in student achie"ement$ closing achie"ement
gaps$ impro"ing high school graduation rates$ and ensuring student
preparation or success in college and careersA and implementing
ambitious plans in core education reorm areas Massachusetts
Department o Elementary and Secondary Education+> The merican
eco"ery and ein"estment ct pro"ides 1+/2 billion to the
!ace to the "opund+ ! successul$ Massachusetts expects to recei"e
more than .88 million rom the und or the -8.8 iscal year+ !n that
case$ 28 o the unding ;ill be passed on to participating (Es "iaTitle ! ormula and the other 28 ;ill be allocated to districts+
In order to a''ly or the grant< a state must sumit a high @uality 'lan to the
government that addresses the ollowing issues
9 Gering a rigorous course o study in mathematics$ the sciences$
technology$ and engineering
9 Cooperating ;ith industry experts$ museums$ uni"ersities$
research centers$ or other STEM9capable Science$ Technology$
Engineering$ and Mathematics community partners to prepare and
assist teachers in integrating STEM content across grades and
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disciplines$ in promoting eecti"e and rele"ant instruction$ and in
oering applied learning opportunities or students+
9 )reparing more students or ad"anced study and careers in the
sciences$ technology$ engineering$ and mathematics$ including by
addressing the needs o underrepresented groups
Similar to the #o $hil% Left &ehin%"itle II, 'art ($ !ace to the "op
places a huge emphasis on standards and assessments+ !t re
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&his 'lan contains seven ste's o the im'lementation 'rocess Figure 3?> It guides
the user through the initial ex'osure o the system< the validation o the received
eedac#< 'ilot testing and 'rolem identiication< the reining 'rocess< 're'aration o the
wide system im'lementation< system de'loyment and inally9transition o ownershi'>
-ccording to our oservations< Sugar *as is currently in the third ste' o
im'lementationB 'erorming 'ilot testing and 'rolem identiication or the Sugar
'roduct>
Figure 3 Sugar on a Stic# Im'lementation Plan
Ste&s Pur&ose
Ste& 1' Initial ()&osure 2reate #nowledge
S'ar# interest
Receive early eedac#
Ste& 2' *alidate and Recei!e Feedbac# -nalysis and validation
o data
Pre'are or Pilot
&esting
Ste& 3' ()ecute Pilot Testing and
Identify Problems Execute 'ilot testing
Oserve 'rocess
Identiy Prolems 2ollect data
Ste& +' Refining the Process -naly7e data rom 'ilot
testing
Fix 'rolems
Ma#e changes
Perect the 'rocess
Ste& ,' Pre&are for %ide System
Im&lementation "ather necessary
resources team?
Estalish environment
Pre'are the community Start Mar#eting
Ste& -' e&loy System Introduction
Set9u'
&rain teachers
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Ste& /' Transition of "nershi& to the
Performing rgani0ation Pre'are the 'erorming
organi7ation
Provide long9term
maintenance and su''ort
0!+. Ste& 1' Initial ()&osure
&he main 'ur'ose o this ste' is to s'ar# interest aout the sotware the target
mar#et and create awareness> -t this irst stage o im'lementation< Sugar *as 'resents
the Sugar sotware to someody who does not have any 'rior #nowledge o the sotware>
It can e a teacher< 'rinci'al< su'erintendent or even a 'arent> - rie demonstration o
the sotware should 'resent the main unctions o Sugar>
&his demonstration will amiliari7e the user with the 'rogram and its main
eatures and eneits> It should not go into much de'th to ma#e the sotware a''ear user9
riendly> &he initial 'resentation o Sugar sotware should show only a ew activities on
the main screen> &his ste' oers valuale eedac# rom the initial reaction o the irst9
time user that can e used in the next ste's o im'lementation> Sugar *as has egun
utili7ing this method< as 0alter travels around the country 'resenting the sotware to
dierent grou's>
0!+- Ste& 2' *alidate and Recei!e Feedbac#
&his ste' re'resents the analysis and validation o the early data rom the irst
time ex'osure o the user teacher< 'rinci'al< 'arent< or su'erintendent? in order toim'rove the im'lementation 'rocess> I the initial ex'osure was successul and there is
enough interest to continue< oth 'arties should 're'are or a 'ilot introduction o the
sotware> From the 'rimary research we have done< this ste' was successully carried out
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in the 0atertown school system> -ter irst9time ex'osure to Sugar< -nn :ouman was
interested enough to continue with a 'ilot 'rogram> -nn :ouman then conducted several
meetings with 0alter as well as technology education teachers and 'rinci'als< in order to
discuss urther ste's o im'lementation> &he eedac# received rom Ms> :ouman was
im'ortant to understand the needs o this 'articular community and the main
re@uirements rom the Sugar sotware>
0!+/ Ste& 3' ()ecute Pilot Testing and Identify Problems
-ter careul review and 'lanning< the Sugar system will e 'iloted in the school>
&he est way to 'ilot is to introduce Sugar to one grade at a time> -ccording to eedac#
that we received rom -nn :ouman and "erald -rdito< the est grade or introduction is
the third grade or elementary schools or the sixth grade in middle schools> Since this
stage o the 'rocess re@uires a lot o involvement and time rom the teachers< leadershi'
should e given to only a ew teachers who are truly 'assionate aout s'ending time with
Sugar> .uring this initial ste' they will identiy the glitches and 'italls o the system
eore it is im'lemented school wide> &he 'rocess must e overseen y the technology
education teacher< in collaoration with the Sugar *as .e'loyment &eam< who willremain in close contact with the school< monitoring the 'rogress and receiving eedac#
rom teachers< students and administrators> &his inormation will hel' identiy 'rolems
and 'otential ostacles< which will serve as guidance or uture de'loyment> -s oserved
y the M2FE team< Sugar *as is currently at this stage in the 'rocess> Sugar *as has
run several 'ilot 'rograms and needs to collect as much inormation as 'ossile rom
these sources in order to move to the next ste'>
&he main advantage o 'ilot testing is a smaller range o ex'osure and extra
o''ortunity to test the system eore releasing it to other school systems> &he main
disadvantages to this a''roach are having to maintain and coordinate 'arallel 'rocesses owever< those disadvantages are oset y the greater
advantages>
0!+1 Ste& +' Refining the Process
&his ste' is necessary 're'aration or a ull im'lementation o Sugar in other =S
school systems> -ter the system has een tested< the data collected is used to reine the
im'lementation 'rocess and ix the ostacles met in the Pilot &esting>
-t this time there is a lot o data and introduction material that needs to e
collected and centrali7ed rom the 1C2< -llston< 0atertown and other 'ilot 'rograms>
&he 'ilot 'rogram in 4irmingham< -* will es'ecially oer im'ortant inormation< since
research studies have een done y the =niversity o -laama on the eect o the Sugar
on grades and overall im'rovement o school attendance in the 'ilot schools> &he Sugar
*as .e'loyment &eam will collect all data received rom the schools where Sugar has
een 'iloted as well as the data rom any consulting teams that have een involved in the
'rocessH li#e the "$ Four consulting 'roAect com'leted or the 4irmingham school
system> -ccording to the sources interviewed y the M2FE team< the main areas where
Pilot Programs have seen 'rolems with Sugar have to do with reliaility o Sugar on a
Stic# and the 'rogram interace>
0!+2 Ste& ,' Pre&are for %ide System Im&lementation
&o 're'are or 0ide System Im'lementation< Sugar *as must ta#e into account
all the recommendations that are generated y the 'revious ste'> -t this stage o System
Im'lementation it is im'ortant to ta#e all ste's needed eore de'loying the system on a
large scale> It is #ey to ensure that the system,s de'loyment runs smoothly< eiciently
and lawlessly>
&he 'revious ste' included gathering data and eedac# rom 'ilot testing> -ter
receiving eedac# rom some o those 'ilot schools< the M2FE &eam ound the main
areas o ocus in 're'aring or the 0ide System Im'lementation> O course< there is
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much more data availale that is outside the reach o the M2FE &eam< including other
'ilot 'rograms< ut rom the data analy7ed so ar< the team identiied 're'aring oth the
'rogram and the consumer communities< and estalishing the team and environment or
system im'lementation as areas or ocused im'rovement>
VI.5.1Esta#lishing the team and environment
%ommunication System, First o all< Sugar *as must create a centrali7ed system
that will ensure that all 'rocesses are synchroni7ed and standardi7ed> &his centrali7ed
system will include a orum with access to the Sugar *as .e'loyment &eam< the
volunteer community< the school system community and other 'artici'ants in the
de'loyment 'rocess> It is crucial to create a strong communication system etween all
'arties involved> 2urrently< Sugar *as has involved a large numer o volunteers in the
=S and around the world< ut etter collaoration is 'ossile> &hese 'arties need to e
aware o each other,s roles and activities> &hey need to communicate not only y 'hone
or online< ut also in 'erson to ensure a smoother 'rocess>
Online hu#, 4eore Sugar can e im'lemented on a large scale< the team o
volunteers needs to gather all data existing on the internet aout Sugar< including logs
and training material and comine it in one centrali7ed hu that will re'resent a so9calledSugar server or an intra9net o all wesites> - lot o wesites and articles that exist right
now are scattered on the Internet and only conuse the user> - more centrali7ed
re'ository o all o these will serve as a more eicient and user9riendly collaoration
s'ace or the Sugar &eam as well as or the educators using Sugar> It will include lesson
'lans< course materials< introductory videos< a teacher community with customer service
and I& su''ort> .uring the interview 'rocess< the M2FE team discovered that many
educators< who have had ex'osure to Sugar< share a common desire or such a resource>
VI.5.2*repare the program and consumer communities
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Training, &o 're'are or a road im'lementation< it is im'ortant to schedule and
coordinate all training activities> -t irst< Sugar *as will need to standardi7e the
teaching curriculum and create teaching manuals as well as an online course or Sugar
introduction to teachers> &he online course will serve as an introductory course on the
main unctions o Sugar and the teaching manuals will com'liment the teacher training
y 'roviding su''ort> &his can e done involving a team o 'roessionals in the ield o
education in collaoration with I& 'roessionals>
Support Materials,-nother im'ortant 're'aratory ste' is to create a dataase o
activities with a detailed descri'tion o the various Sugar activities and their 'ossile uses
in the curriculum> It will e 'rovided to every school using Sugar in 'rint orm as well as
an online version in the online hu> &his will serve as a guideoo# and will 'rovide the
savvy technology education teacher with a consulting guide< as well as or teachers at the
stage o customi7ing Sugar to their curriculum> &he creation o such su''ort materials
will ease the inal ste' o &ransition o Ownershi' to the 'erorming organi7ation>
VI.5.3Marketing
-s all ste's in the 're'aration or large9scale im'lementation are com'leted< thesystem is ready or roll9out< the resources needed are availale and the communication is
arranged< it is time or the last ste' eore im'lementation> Sugar *as should utili7e all
'ossile ree mar#eting tools in order to create Du77 in the community< or in other
words create interest in the target mar#et> &he Sugar *as Mar#eting &eam will utili7e
ree mar#eting tools such as< Faceoo#< &witter< *in#ed In< and .igg>com> 0ith an
existing #nowledge aout Sugar in the mar#et it will e much easier to 'enetrate the
mar#et and introduce Sugar on a large scale> &he interview with 2aroline Mee#s
reinorced this recommendation< as she ex'ressed the need or more rand recognition>
0!+3 Ste& -' e&loy System
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In this stage o the 'rocess< the ull de'loyment 'lan develo'ed in the 'revious
stage is executed> &he .e'loyment &eam will egin introducing the Sugar sotware to
schools< 'erorm training or educators and 'rovide sam'les and necessary co'ies o
Sugar on a Stic#>
VI..1ntroduction
&he rollout o Sugar on a Stic# will start with a ottom9u' to'9down a''roach>
&his a''roach will a''eal to school systems y ocusing on the to' B the
su'erintendents B and the ottom B the savvy technology education teachers? see the
'yramid o school system in Figure +?> -s the irst ste' o the roll9out 'rocess< it is very
im'ortant that the irst ex'osure to individuals is conducted as 'roessionally and as
com'etently as 'ossile> &his 'romotes the customer,s acce'tance and ensures the right
'erce'tion o the system> &his ste' is dierent or the very irst stage o Initial Ex'osure &hey need to e shown how Sugar sotware eneits
and com'liments school education< es'ecially how it its into the Math< English< Science
and istory curriculum> Math is an es'ecially signiicant suAect since all school districtsin =S strive to im'rove their Math scores> From our 'rimary research -nn :ouman
suggests that the est way to 'resent to su'erintendents is to have children demonstrate
the 'rogram so that the su'erintendent gets sold on the sotware wor#ing> &his riendly
and hands on ex'osure may create interest in a su'erintendent< who might not e
technologically savvy>
Tech Ed,&o a''roach another level o the target mar#et B the technology
education 'ersonnel B Sugar will visit technology conerences and seminars in the =S>
Every school generally has at least one technology su''ort 'erson in the uilding that is
dedicated to hel'ing teachers incor'orate technology eectively into the classroom>
&echnology su''ort 'ersonnel usually attend various technology conerences> - ew o
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such conerences are &he 1ational Educational 2om'uting 2onerence< International
Society or &echnology in Education or &echnology in Education or the Real 0orld>
Sugar *as should Dmar#et themselves at these conerences to target the &ech Ed
teachers>
&he ottom9u' a''roach will e a good ase target or im'lementation< ecause a
technology savvy 'roessional is li#ely to e interested in Sugar on a Stic# and will e
ale to inluence the 'rinci'al o the school> &he to'9down a''roach< ocusing on the
su'erintendent< is im'ortant ecause the su'erintendent has the 'ower to im'lement
something new into the school system> 2omining the two as routes o a''roaching the
school system is ideal>
VI..2Training
-t irst< all educators will receive the same asic standardi7ed training using
manuals and online courses> &hen< in collaoration with &ech Ed &eachers< the educators
will wor# on customi7ing the sotware to their s'eciic curriculum> 0e do not
recommend Sugar *as to develo' a 'lan o how to use Sugar in dierent suAects< ut
leave it u' to educators to tailor the system to their needs> It is im'ortant to schedule thetraining at the right time> Perorming training too ar ater the system has een rolled out
to the consumers may cause them to orm 'oor 'erce'tions o the system due to the
diiculties associated with an unnecessarily lengthy learning curve> Premature
de'loyment rings the challenge o having to recall what was taught< leading to
rustration and unha''iness o the system>
VI..3%ommunication and Synchroni-ation
It is essential that everyone is synchroni7ed with the .e'loyment 'lan> &he
.e'loyment &eam needs to ta#e into account how the System .e'loyment will im'act
the Perorming Organi7ation,s normal usiness o'erations> &his means that the training
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and the set9u' 'rocess will interere with the normal school activities< such as class
schedule and teacher,s 'ersonal time> &he &eam needs to reduce that im'act as much as
'ossile> &hey need to 'erorm installation o new hardware< increased networ# 0hile the new system may
'rovide overall eneits to the school< those eneits may come at the ex'ense o
additional wor# res'onsiilities to some o the individuals who interact with the system>
&hose extra res'onsiilities include the time that educators s'end on training and
customi7ation o the material> &hus< the com'ensation system or the teachers needs to
e set u'> &he eedac# received rom the teachers that we interviewed reinorced the
necessity o com'ensation and the value o time or educators>
0!+4 Ste& /' Transition of "nershi& to the Performing rgani0ation
Finally< ater the .e'loyment has een run in ull orce it is time to successully
're'are the transition o the res'onsiility and ownershi' o Sugar rom the 'roAect team
to the 'erorming organi7ation the school?> -t the successul com'letion o this 'rocess
we assume that the &ech Ed 'ersonnel in the school 'ossess extensive #nowledge o thesotware and are ale to 'rovide system maintenance and su''ort> &he teachers are
comortale in using the sotware and have develo'ed curriculum9tailored 'rogram>
&o hel' achieve this< Sugar *as needs to 'rovide the school with technical
documentation< training and hands9on assistance> - &echnical Services Personnel &eam
created within Sugar *as will 'rovide long9term su''ort and will serve as Dcustomer
su''ort service or Sugar users> In addition< schools should e given a Sugar *as
guideoo# that consists o a detailed descri'tion o the 'rogram and an activities
dataase< which can serve as a user guide or the &ech Ed teacher> 0hile the &ech Ed
teacher will assume control and main su''ort o the sotware in the school< heJshe will e
ale to reer and consult the user guideoo#< availale in 'a'erac# or online> I there is
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a 'rolem< we recommend the use o a centrali7ed hu to contact Sugar re'resentatives
aout technical @ueries> In the case that the &ech Ed teacher re@uires more hel'< heJshe
will e ale to contact the &echnical Services Personnel9 Dcustomer service>
0!!+ Timeline o !mplementation
&he aove chart re'resents a timeline o the seven ste's o Im'lementation
descried in the 'revious section> Every ste' re'resents a dierent color and length>
Initial ex'osure is the shortest ste' as it re'resents Aust a @uic# 'resentation to a irst time
user> It is directly ollowed y the next ste'< alidate and Receive Feedac#> Pilot
&esting is a long 'rocess that goes along with Reining the Process< ecause the
.e'loyment &eam should constantly monitor the 'iloting o the 'rogram and collect data>
&he Pre'aration or 0ide Im'lementation starts while the Reining is still ta#ing 'lace>
-lso< the Pilot &esting will still e occurring until 0ide System Im'lementation> 0hen
&he Pre'aration or 0ide Im'lementation is concluded< the .e'loyment o the System
starts> &he .e'loyment cannot e started until all 're'arations are done> &he &ransition
o Ownershi' overla's with the .e'loyment relecting the gradual 'rocess o the
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&ransition o ownershi'> It relects how in the eginning o .e'loyment the control o
the Sugar system is in the hands o Sugar *as> &hen< as teachers get trained more< the
ownershi' is gradually transitioned to the school and the control o technology educators
as well as teachers>
0!!!+ 2onclusion and Recommendations
Our team has conducted a thorough study o 'ilot introduction o Sugar sotware
in several =S schools> &he team has created a seven9ste' im'lementation 'lan that
outlines how Sugar *as could accom'lish its goal o rolling out in elementary schools
across the nation> &he ste's include
.+ Initial Ex'osure
-+ alidate and Receive Feedac#
/+ Execute Pilot &esting and Identiy Prolems
1+ Reining the Process
2+ Pre'are or 0ide System Im'lementation
3+ .e'loy System
4+ &ransition o Ownershi' to the Perorming Organi7ation
&he #ey recommendations include
- centrali7ed online su''ort wesite online hu? that has lesson 'lans
- more reliale Sugar sotware 8 whether that includes ma#ing sure the sotware
is roust and ootale on a variety o hardware 'latorms using the =S4 drives< or
switching to a dierent medium or the sotware> or exam'le downloading Sugar rom
the we?
0or# on the user9riendliness o the Sugar 'latorm to include eatures such as an
automatic reoot and automatic exit or the 'rogram>
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Reairming the unctionalities with hel' o guidelines and ex'lanations
Introduce sotware y mar#eting to oth technology education teachers and
su'erintendents>
IX. %or#s Cited
1iederhauser< .> S> +))(?> &eachers instructional 'ers'ectives and use o educationalsotware> Teaching and Teacher Education ./< (593(>Farning< .avid> htt'JJlists>Sugar *as>orgJarchiveJiae'J+))%9GulyJ))!+(/>html> +!1ovemeer +))%>
Massachusetts .e'artment o Elementary and Secondary Education> +))$9)%Massachusetts State Re'ort 2ard> +))%> Massachusetts .e'artment o Elementary andSecondary Education> +$ 1ovemer +))%Thtt'JJ'roiles>doe>mass>eduJstatercJenrollment>as'xy2odeU+))$V>Race to the &o'J-RR-> +3 Octoer +))%> Massachusetts .e'artment o Elementaryand Secondary Education> +( 1ovemer +))% Thtt'JJwww>doe>mass>eduJ-RR-JV>&itle II9. Enhancing Education &hrough &echnology> / -ugust +))/> Massachusetts.e'artment o Elementary and Secondary Education> 3) Se'temer +))%Thtt'JJwww>doe>mass>eduJnclJtitleWiid>htmlV>One *a'to' Per 2hild> O*P2 -merica 1eeded in 4irmingham Pilot and Illinois.eate> / -'ril +))$> One *a'to' Per 2hild 1ews> 3) Se'temer +))%
Thtt'JJwww>ol'cnews>comJ'eo'leJleadershi'Jol'cWamericaWactionWneeded>htmlV>Pa'ert< Seymour> *ogo Philoso'hy and Im'lementation> 2ase Study> (%%%>Sugar *as> Sugar *asJ2urrent EventsJ-rchiveJ+))%9)%9+(> +( Se'temer +))%>wi#i>Sugar *as>org> 3) Se'temer +))% Thtt'JJwi#i>Sugar*as>orgJgoJSugarW*asJ2urrentWEventsJ-rchiveJ+))%9)%9+(V>0eiss< Goanne> Remar#s o Goanne 0eiss to the -nnual Meeting o the -merican.i'loma ProAect 1etwor#> () Se'temer +))%> =S .e'artment o Education> (+1ovemer +))% Thtt'JJwww>ed>govJnewsJs'eechesJ+))%J)%J)%()+))%>htmlV>
ppendix ! K Interview with Caroline Meeks
Mem#er o$ Sugar La#s Deployment Team) 'ovem#er ..) 0112
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&he Sugar *as de'loyment team voices the needs o Sugar de'loyments to the Sugarcommunity< inds ways to su''ort those needs< organi7es orums or the exchange oex'eriences etween Sugar users and Sugar develo'ers< and uilds local Sugar *asorgani7ations worldwide> 2aroline Mee#s is the main 'erson who ocuses on Sugar on aStic# ased de'loyment in the =nited States>
N(> escribe your "or# and in!ol!ement "ith Sugar>2aroline Mee#s is a volunteer or the =S school de'loyment> She is wor#ing closelywith -llston "ardner Pilot -cademy and 1ew Cor# Pierre an 2ortlandt Middle School>In addition< she tal#s to teachers in other schools on a regular asis>N+> $s "e all #no"Sugar on a Stickis being used at $llston ardner Pilot $cademyand e" 4or# Pierre *an Cortlandt Middle School. %hat is going "ell and "hat
&roblems do you see5
Mee#s identiies three main issues> One is that a lot o the schools want a more traditionalcontent< such as Flash games> -lthough these games are not eective< they tend to wor#very well with the school curriculum> Sugar on the other hand su''orts 'roAect9aselearning> Most o the Sugar tools are not traditional teaching tools< ecause they are
creative and re@uire a lot o 'lanning and time s'ent on incor'oration into the classroom>&hereore< according to Mee#s< Dit is im'ortant to lower the loor or teachers> Inaddition to adding more 'roAect9ased activities< Sugar on a Stic# should also includemore traditional learning tools> &he second issue is that< even though Sugar on a Stic# hasthe eneit o allowing students to ring it home< neither -llston nor 1ew Cor# has doneit yet> In act< it is a diicult 'rocess to get 'eo'les, com'uter set u' at school< let aloneat home> Finally< 'rograms on Sugar are designed or high level training and re@uire a loto s#ills rom teacher side> &hereore< it re@uires a considerale amount o training99moreso than many other sotware 'rograms>
N3> In your o&inion "hat "ould it ta#e forSugar on a Stickto be successfullyim&lemented in the school system5
Mee#s thin#s that it is im'ortant to ma#e Sugar on a Stic# Dcomortale or students andteachers> For exam'le< it should e easy or students to ta#e the stic#s home> Second It is im'ortant to have 'eo'le #now aoutSugar> Finally< Sugar on a Stic# should e easy to e im'lemented and should align withteachers, curriculum> It is crucial to have technology integration 9 su''ort rom to' stateandJor su'erintendent level? and ottom teacher level?>N/> %hat do you thin# of ha!ing guides or manuals5
Mee#s thin#s that a manual li#e the one made y the woman in Peru is great> Manualsexist in many 'laces and should e continued>
N5> The de&loyment team has a fi!e ste& de&loyment &lan on the "ebsite. Can youbrea# do"n in detail5
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Mee#s thin#s that the 'lan is not realistic> It was written long time ago and is not eingused anymore> Right now< she is waiting or the next release> Once the release comesN6 In your most recent meeting on Se&tember 2nd your team tal#ed aboutfeedbac#. Could you &lease briefly describe the feedbac# you got from teachers
students and !olunteers5Most o the eedac# comes rom the "ardner Pilot -cademy> One ig lesson is that thecontent on Sugar is too hard to align with teachers, curriculum> 4ecause there is not alin#age< teachers are not using Sugar eectively>N! %hat is the cost of o"nershi& forSugar on a Stick5
Schools have dierent ways or measuring the cost o ownershi'> In a traditional school &hereore< most measurements generated y dierent organi7ations areinaccurate ecause they measure the cost o ownershi' 'er com'uter ut not 'er hour ousage y students> &here is very limited com'uter usage in many schools> One advantage
o Sugar is that it reduces the cost o maintaining< es'ecially i Sugar can e extended andex'anded eyond normal classroom usage> For exam'le< Sugar on a Stic# can e a toolor homewor# assignments> Students can download the we 'age onto the stic# and usethe right tool to write their 'a'er>
Mee#s eels strongly aout changing the conversation rom tal#ing aout total cost oownershi' 'er com'uter to total cost o ownershi' 'er hour o learning time>
N$6o" many hours of training time are needed for Sugar5
Mee#s thin#s that it really de'ends on the situation> She is curious to ind out the traininghours in 4irmingham> 0hen she designed a 'resentation< she assumed one day o'ersonal< ace9to9ace wor#sho' and (+ 9 (/ wee#s o online training> &his is ased on ()hours or every + wee#s>N%%hich le!el to start' state su&erintendent &rinci&al teachers students or&arents5
1o one #nows the answer> Mee#s thin#s that 'arents 'lus 'rinci'al a''roach can e veryeective> She would li#e to create a 'arent community> Parental su''ort is a veryeective means or change> It ta#es away the urden o wor#ing with schools> Parents'ush ehind Sugar on a Stic# could ma#e it more successul>
N()%hy is it that the $llston &ilot &rogram is not going "ell5Mee#s thin#s that the non9'roit a''roach is com'letely non sustainale> First< educationresearch shows that non9'roit never have a result> Second< the -llston school is veryresistant to change> Sugar comes in as a non9'roit is already a ad start> &here are a loto 'rolems with the Strawerry version> 4ut most im'ortantly< there isn,t much
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administration su''ort> 1on 'roit is the least im'ortant thing on the school andteacher,s agenda>Mee#s also mentioned that teachers are very hard to wor# with> &ime is very im'ortantor teachers> One thing Sugar lac#s is access to teachers> &eachers are the customers< utit is extremely diicult to reach them>
4ecause o that< Mee#s thin#s that it will e im'ortant to ocus on su''orting teacherswho are actually excited aout using technology< even though this may e 5 o totalteacher 'o'ulation>
N((6o" can the 7abson consulting team be hel&ful for you5
Mee#s wants the 4ason consulting team to investigate in the unding or Drace to theto'> She tal#s aout the strategy o the new ederal education de'artment> &hede'artment has a com'etitive contest or states to Drace to the to'> &his 'rogram has aig technology com'onent> She wants to #now the 'eo'le in M- who Sugar can reachout to> She mentioned that wor#ing with the state education de'artments will generate a
much etter result than wor#ing as a non9'roit organi7ation>
Meanwhile< Mee#s would li#e the team to investigate ways to translate the success with-nn :ouman to' ()? to other su'erintendents> She reali7es that it will e too timeconsuming to reach out to all su'erintendents> 4ut she would love to get the to' /) osu'erintendents> &hings that are im'ortant to su'erintendents are total cost oownershi'Jlearning timeH Sugar,s dierentiation and classroom ex'erienceH ca'aility towor# with disaility and dierent learning stylesH extending time s'ent on homewor# ystudentsH assisting teachers on teaching standards and testsH 'roviding students +(st
century s#ills>
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ppendix !! K Interview with Ann Koufman
The Superintendent o$ 3aterto&n) MA) Octo#er .0) 0112
-nn is a su'erintendent o the 0atertown School System with a ac#ground in education
technology> 0atertown is im'lementing Sugar in their /th
grade classes or the irst year>N ( %hat training system do you ha!e in &lace5&eachers are re@uired to 'artici'ate in 'roessional develo'ment 'rograms that are Aoemedded> $) o the teachers at 0atertown are willing to try new technology< are notresistant o integrating technology into their classrooms> Princi'als ta#e ris#s and su''ortnew things> &he administration has a strong vision to im'rove technology>0atertown is conducting the &IP teaching in 'ractice? 'rogram> &he 'rogram is one yearlong and consists o (59+) mini courses online> &eachers choose courses de'ending ontheir technology level> &IP meets throughout the year ace9to9ace< as well as online usingsotware called First92lass> .uring the training teachers utili7e ree sotware such as"oogle dot and &o'ox or ile sharing and video emails> -t the eginning< teachers
usually show what they have done in the 'revious year student wor#s?> 4y the end o&IP< every teacher has a wesite< which serves as a digital s'ace or classes> &IP is a Dtwoor one deal< ecause teachers get credit or 'artici'ating and in the meantime< theydesign a 'roAect or their students in class>N+ %hat do you thin# about Sugar5&he main strength o Sugar is its aility or students to networ# and 'lay educationalgames> -nn li#ed the Gournal and the dierent languages that Sugar can e used in> &heScratch game is great or middle school>-nn recommended letting :9/J:95 teachers #now what Sugar is and su''ort them withtime and resources> Ideally< all :9/J:95 students will have a thum drive> It is not #nownhow much training is needed> &eachers can decide on their own whether and how they
would use Sugar in their classrooms> She as well recommended that it is etter to startsmall and do a 'ilot 'rogram than a ig 'roAect and have not enough resources to su''ortit> It is 'reeraly to start at :93< ecause :9( and :9+ ocus on elementary learning< :9/and :95 ocus on writing and social s#ill and :93 is let out> owever< :93 is now a 'iloton Faor ision in 0atertown> 0ithin this 'ilot 'rogram< teachers meet at least once amonth to discuss 'rogress> It is also not done in summer ecause o udgetXN3 %hat #ind of com&uter resources do the %aterto"n schools ha!e5-ll schools are e@ui''ed with .ell Mini> &here are +5 la'to's or every / classrooms anda com'uter room in every school< 0atertown is seeing troule with the iggestelementary school< ecause it needs u'grade or the wireless system and hardware"ood things aout Sugar it is constructive< un and suAect related> It ma#es math2+ Overvie& $or principals, Octo#er 0/405&he meeting will e attended y the curriculum coordinator< :9(+ teachers tech ed &he meetings will ta#e 'lacemonthly and will start in 1ovemer>4+ Develop a *lan6+ (egin 6messing around7 &ith the technology 8students and teachers9
N/ Ideas for Sugar in the %aterto"n School System(? Start training next year with the &IP 'rogramH +? =se Sugar in ater school 'rogramsE**? starting this yearH 3? Start a summer teacher institute with grad credit next summer/? Involve college students to co9teachH 5? 2reate tas# orces this year and have mathteachers teach at grade level meetingsH 6? Possile use in -dvanced -rmenian class athigh schools this yearH !? Possile use in other oreign languagesH $? Emerging models o'roession develo'ment< a course -nn teaches at arvard "rad SchoolH %? Possile use oSugar in the rooticJengineering classH ()? &IP or music teachers>
-''endix III 9 Inter!ie" "ith erald $rdito
Science Teacher) *ierre :an %ortlandt Middle School) 'e& "ork) Octo#er 0.) 0112
N( 6o" did you hear about Sugar5 $nd "hy did you "ant to try Sugar soft"are5"erald heard aout Sugar one and a hal years ago when "erald was a !J$ grade science teacher>e is also the technology su''ort 'erson in the uilding> One 'arent got a ;O la'to' as a 'art oDget one9give one 'rogram> e immediately ell in love with the small la'to'> e es'eciallyli#ed the organi7ation o games and the idea o having more collaoration among students>"erald tal#ed to the 'rinci'le o the school> &he 'rinci'le agreed to write to a local educationde'artment and share their idea o having everyone in middle school use it>&he school got some Dgrass money and they ordered (/) ;O la'to's> &he la'to's arrived oneyear ago> Each teacher o the 5thgrade class 'ic#ed /95 students> &he students learned to re9image the la'to's and ta#e them a'art> Ideally< everyone would get training> 4ut in reality< 5th
grade teachers didn,t get enough training> Instead< "erald decided to train the students> &he resulto training students was good>&wo months ago< all 5thgraders received an ;O la'to'> &he tech team was there to su''ort thestudents> Students were taught y "erald< outside o the class time> "erald also decided to hire aconsultant rom &eaching Matters 2om'any> &he com'any has een wor#ing with 39/ schools in1C> &hey have done more training with ;O than any other grou' in the =S>
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One diiculty o training is that< Dit is one thing to wor# on your own and another thing to ring(/) 'eo'le with you> It re@uires a lot o time and enthusiasm or the teachers who need to etrained>&eachers don,t consider themselves great with com'uters> One 'rolem with the school is thatthey haven,t wor#ed out what teachers need to do and what they don,t need to do> On the other
hand< students did a good Ao> &his year they reimaged all machines and u'graded them to Sugar$>+>"erald was interested in what Sugar is trying to accom'lish> :ids love little la'to's> owever "erald 'reers #ids to ta#e Sugar home< ut cannot> Sugar on astic# is a solution>In addition< #ids relate to ;O li#e they relate to IPod> &hey do not seem li#e com'uters or li#ecell 'hones> &hey are something that elongs to them> It ma#es a Dhuge dierence> "erald li#eshow #ids interact with the ;O la'to's>*ast year< there were ive 5thgrade classrooms> &his year< there are six 5thgrade classrooms> &helast classroom doesn,t have ;O la'to's> Instead< they use .ell la'to's and are running on Sugaron the Stic#s>
N+ %hat is the difference bet"een 8 la&to&s and Sugar stic#s5 6a!e you run intodifficulties "hen "or#ing "ith Sugar on the Stic#5"erald has already urned thirty to orty stic#s y now> e has not run into troule with thestic#s> Stic#s have all eneits o ;O la'to's> In addition< it runs much asterXXX DSugar on a stic#liesXXXX =nli#e ;O la'to's< students can now ta#e their stic#s home> &he school 'rinci'al and"erald himsel loo# at stic#s as the model or the uture>N3 Is Sugar a&&ro&riate for 12 13 1+ year olds5"erald does not thin# that student outgrow Sugar>Originally< Sugar has een used in develo'ing countries> ere in 1C< students have een usingdierent 'latorms< such as 0indows and Mac> In a certain sense< Sugar is a ste' down> Forexam'le< now in "erald,s classrooms< he can,t use Sugar or video and audience 'odcast> ecan,t im'ort video on Sugar> -nd certainly< there are things that #ids want to do and Sugardoesn,t oer>On the other hand< the education games &urtle -rt< Etoys< Scratch are very challenging> &heyare incredily dee' and hard> Even 0alter and "erald 'lay with them>In general< sotware in Sugar has to evolve and more activities need to e designed>N/ 6o" has Sugar been used in the classroom5&he irst thing 0alter said when he visited the school ew wee#s ago was< D&his KSugarL is notthe curriculum< this is a tool>*ast year< the way technology was 'ushed in classrooms was that technology ecomescurriculum> It created a urden on teachers> &eachers have time strain and standard test strains> Itwas a 'ainul 'rocess>&his year< teachers use Sugar
.+ &he 'rogram 3rite> Students o'en ;O< go to Sugar< create a word 'rolem< and use s#illsin math>
-+ "erald and other teachers leave res'onses on the 'rogram< li#e a wal#9around logging>/+ One teacher who teaches social studies and government studies< wanted to orm a class
government ased on constitution> She tried to ind a way to teach #ids this to'ic> :ids
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too# notes and had them set u' in rows and columns> &hey wrote what they have learned &hen they wal#ed around andcommented on each other,s wor#> &his way #ids collaorate and are learning>
1+ &he class s'ent an entire class 'eriod on Sugar>2+ *ast year< 5thgrade studied immigration> Students rought amily and riends who
emigrated rom other countries> &hey used Sugar to document the interviews> One classdid a silence air> &hey ex'erimented and 'resented their inding using Etoys> &heycreated a oo# using 'icture and words> -lthough they didn,t use scri't< they did a niceAo>
Sugar serves as an assignment tool> It,s an aective and engaging way o teaching>&eachers want students to create their own game< things li#e lashcards> &eachers have millionso ideas on how to use Sugar>N5 Is Sugar a good fit for afterschool5Sugar can deinitely e used in aterschool 'rograms> "erald 'lanned it once> Six out o the (/)students came to the 'rogram> It was not ecause they didn,t want to< they Aust don,t have time>&hey have other activities li#e music< s'orts< and 'lay>
Sugar can e a good 'rogram to do during lunch> It,s inormal and un> owever< students willneed to give u' their lunches>Ideally< 3 days a wee# "erald could go to aterschool 'rograms> 4ut he really doesn,t have time>N6 escribe the teacher training in your school5Ideally< "erald will want to have a lot o training with teachers> owever< right now "erald isasically theteacher> e doesn,t have that much time or training> Every wee#< he sits withteachers one on one or two on one during their 're' 'eriods> &eachers as# what to do or someideas and "erald 'rovides a technological solution> "erald also goes to classes to e the extraadult>&eachers, time is s'lit into three 'arts time with students< time with other teachers 'lanning< andtime alone doing their own teaching 'eriod>
"erald has nine classes< three 're' 'eriods< meetings and classes> Right now< he has eenwor#ing with the 5thgrad team during the 're' 'eriod>"erald has een 'aid very little or going to the 're' 'eriods> e is doing Sugar or hisdissertation>N! %hat is the biggest &roblem in scaling5&here are two things that 'eo'le need to e aware o 'roessional develo'ment and e@ui'ment>&his is a small district> It will e even more diicult to im'lement Sugar in a large district withthousands o students> Nuestions to as# the schools are do they have com'uters .o #ids have acom'uter at home .o #ids #now how to oot u' the stic# at homeProessional develo'ment is a time issue> .uring the school< who 'ays or sustitute Outside theschool 'eriod< who 'ays or the trainingIt is hard to orce teachers to use Sugar> Mandatory does not wor# well with anyone>&echnology initiatives are to have teachers decide whether they want to do it or not>
.+ Find who wants to do it-+ Ma#e it 'ossile or them to train/+ ave them do it
Potentially< teachers can e trained through
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.+ "ive them 'roessional develo'ment credit-+ -ctually com'ensate them
N $ o schools ha!e budget or find grants5Many grants don,t 'ay salaries> It is not im'ossile or teachers to volunteer> &he teachers that"erald wor#s with are 'assionate aout Sugar> owever< one needs to #ee' in mind that they
teach our core suAects< they are with students on average or six hours a day and they have astandard test strain> -s a result< s'ending one hour a wee# on Sugar is a lot o timeXN% 6o" feasible is it to incenti!i0e5It would e a local decision or the district< not a gloal issue> Elementary schools are local>Sugar needs to start rom the ottom u'>For exam'le< the 1C state mandates a certain numer o hours o 'roession develo'ment time>&eachers can decide whether they want to e trained to use Sugar or ta#e courses or credit>N() Recommendations for Sugar50hat is undamentally dierent aout Sugar is that it is incredily customi7ale to one,s need>0ith Sugar< irst @uestion is Dwhat do I want to do Dwhat am I interested in D'laying with it is a'art o the design> 0hat comes to mind is DI have this curriculum and how can I marry the
two>Sugar could im'rove y Drelecting and wal#ing around< having a collection o est 'ractices -nother idea is to ind a grant to host aconerence or 'eo'le who use Sugar> .uring this conerence< a grou' o educators withdevelo'ers would s'end a wee#end creating a lesson 'lan and est 'ractices> It would eeneicial to have teachers ta#e ownershi' o Sugar as# teachers what they need and em'owerteachers with an aility to modiy and customi7e Sugar to suit individual needs> For schools itwould e useul to #now what teachers can do and what they shouldn,t do> ere comes also theidea o a guide> &he guide shouldn,t e too s'eciic ecause each activity can e used in dierentclasses> -ll tools are integrative>
N((. 6a!e you come into contact "ith the blog5- log would e great> I a teacher needs to ind a way to teach multi'lication next day< it woulde good i he could ind a s'eciic 'lan in the log written y another teacher> Otherwise thelog is ineicient> 4ecause Sugar has only een used a year and a hal< the log could hel'teachers orm relationshi's and hel' each other> &he wesite would e used as a re'ository orteachers< including lesson 'lans< #ind o li#e a tas# ased log> &he social 'iece matters< utconerences come eore>Pa'ert is the est 'erson to wor# with< he started *ogo> 0alter wal#ed in with ac#ground< Dheis very smart< he has een develo'ing this or many years and sugar is an ex'ression oeverything that has een wor#ed in the last +) years> 1ow there are DSugar 'arties all over the'lace< could e adults and #ids< that re'resent undles o 'eo'le interested in Sugar and are'assionate aout it>N(+ %hat do you thin# of targeting the &rinci&als as the first ste& of an im&lementation&lan5
&hat model is wrong< ecause in "erald,s o'inion the targeting should start with the teachers>&hey are easy to reach< rom ottom u'X Starting that way< rather than the DSoviet a''roach -ll those teachers li#e "erald go there> &here is another 2anadian conerencecalled DE.=2-1< held in Philly>
On the other side< Sugar can advertise in maga7ines IS&E memers o IS&E organi7ation< &he1ational Society o &echnology Educators? and through 'ulications< not scholarly Aournals>&he reason why it is good to target conerences is ecause the teachers who attend go there ontheir own time> D&hese are the 'eo'le you wantX 4ring ()) stic#s and *E& &EM P*-C< invitestudents to 'lay< or go to a school and videoconerence it directly to 1E22>"erald already 'ro'osed a 'resentation at 1E22 in Gune o next year< where he is going to tal#aout his dissertation> &hey invite you to sumit a long astract and then the committee decideswhether it is im'ortant and worth eing a 'art o the conerence>N(/ 6o" much is Sugar #no"n right no"5DRight now there is 4u77 li#e a good restaurant< teachers u77 a it aout Sugar> It is more li#e alarge 'arty< ut not a town< not a society CE&X
DI #now teachers would li#e to 'artici'ate< get with other teachers
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ppendix !0 K Interview with Michael OKeefe
The Assistant ;ead o$ +ising Tide %harter School in *lymouth) MA) Octo#er 05) 0112
Rising &ide 2harter School in Plymouth< M- is an elementary school or grade 59$>
Students are age () to (/> &here are three hundred students in the school> Most areas inthe =S have charter schools> &his school started in (%%$> &he maAor dierence etween acharter school and a 'ulic school is that charter school doesn,t run o a traditionalmodel in which students go to local schools where they live> In addition< charter schoolso'erate inde'endently> It has its own district> It re'orts to the state li#e a district>N(> 6o" does the charter school &urchase soft"areIt de'ends> -lthough the charter school o'erates inde'endently< the State can stillmandate certain 'rograms> For exam'le< they still ollow the State standards or teacher@ualiication and or standard testing> Sometimes states will 'rovide new technology< utoten times those technologies are less than desirale> For exam'le< a ew years ago thestates im'lemented math9related sotware as an online data warehouse> &he 'rolem was
that it was too asic> It,s not easy to use and thereore the teachers did not see it eingeneicial>N+ oes a charter school follo" MC$SCes< in act< the charter school is held accountale or the same or even stricter standardthan the average district>N3 %hat soft"are or technology does the school use no" and "hy-s a small organi7ation with aout 3)) students< we listen to what teachers need and'rovide resources they need> &hat may not e the case or igger school> &he technologydirector is usually the 'erson that comes u' with sotware and tells us what to do withthem>One *a'to' Per 2hild share many 'hiloso'hies with the school such as e engaged< e
curious< e willing to ex'lore> &he irst thought on One *a'to' Per 2hild is that it is awonderul su''lement to classroom> It is highly individuali7ed>N/ %hat staff de!elo&ment system does the school ha!e no"5&he iggest challenge in any usiness is that there is never enough time> &he 2harterschool is already ocusing so much trying to structure things and to 'rovide time> Oursta develo'ment is a lot o collaoration with one another> One teacher may initiateideas related to curriculumJtechnologyJsotware>I Sugar were to e im'lemented< the school will run wor#sho' internally ater theschool> Either Michael or the technology director will run it>&he sta develo'ment is very structured> &eachers get together twice a month or +93hours> Sometimes the training will e as a grou'> Sometimes it will e s'lit u' y
academic disci'lines< grades< technology< etc>One thing aout im'lementing new sotware is to 'lan ar in advance> &he school can,tim'lement anything right away es'ecially once the school year starts>-nother dierence etween a small and a ig school is that a small school has a asterturnaround time> It res'onds aster to changes than ig schools> I Sugar re@uires tons o
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