Proposed Action Plan Technology
Organizational Chart:
Board of Trustees:
Provide direction and support through policy and funding
Superintendent of Schools:
Provide the vision and direction for the district. Lead in the the developing, implementation and evaluation of the action plan.
Technology Planning Committee:
Review data, determine the current state of technology, administer needs assessments and make recommendations.
Director of Technology:
Responsible for district wide implementation of the technology plan. District wide infrastructure, hardware and software installation and maintenance.
Campus Principal:
Responsible for the integration of technology into the classroom. Lead in the interface between available technologies and their proper use in enhancing learning. Responsible for enforcing the acceptable use policy.
Classroom Teacher:
Responsible for classroom integration of technology. Use technology to enhance learning. Enforce all acceptable use policies. Provide feedback via STaR chart and other campus level surveys.
Campus tech:
Installation and maintenance of campus level infrastructure, hardware and software.
Goals, Objectives and Strategies
Goal 1: Teach the use of technology to facilitate life-long learning and success for all
Objectives:
1.1: To create an environment where information and resources are used effectively and efficiently by students and staff to enhance instruction in all content areas.
1.2: Improve communication with parents and community using district technology resources.
1.3: Continue cooperation and support of the Educator Initiative Program (EIP) funded by the Decatur Education Foundation.
1.4: Identify and provide resources to assist in development of adult literacy in Decatur ISD.
Goal 1 resources:
Budget: $20,000
Profession development:
Online lesson planning
Acceptable use policy management
Proper use of technologies (as needed)
Goal 2: All Decatur ISD personnel will continue to advance technologically
Objectives:
2.1: 100% of Decatur ISD educators will demonstrate proficiency in SBEC Technology Standards.
2.2: Provide resources necessary for continued training enabling life-long learning and advancement in technology.
2.3: Implement LoTI (Levels of Teaching Innovation, formerly Levels of Technology Implementation) to enhance teaching strategies district wide that take full advantage of 21st century learning.
Goal 2 resources:
Budget: $45,000
Professional development
LoTi Training
Software training as needed
Goal 3: Establish a comprehensive technology system networked among a multiplicity of entities to carry video voice and data maintained and updated continuously as a fundamental part of Decatur ISD’s instructional goals for students, staff and administrators
Objectives:
3.1: Purchase and install technology services throughout district to increase safety and security of students and staff.
3.2: Maintain system functionality and integrity to meet growth.
3.3: Create and develop an effective disaster recovery plan that includes reliable backup policies and procedures to ensure the safety and integrity of district data and resources.
Goal 3 resources:
Budget: $40,000
Professional Development:
Technology updates and certification trainings as needed.
Goal 4: A system will be established for information and communication access in order to efficiently and effectively meet the needs of all stakeholders.
Objectives:
4.1: Use Skyward Information System and it's Web-Enabled feature to provide secure access to student data to parents and secure student and financial and human resource data to employees.
4.2: Increase access to library and media services throughout district and community.
Goal 4 resources:
Budget: $25,000
Professional development:
Skyward information system use
District wide technology use
Evaluation Process:
Evaluation Process:
Evaluation of the Decatur ISD Technology Plan will be a systematic ongoing process. The plan will be reviewed by the distict Technology Committee twice a year in October and February.
The Technology Committee will be responsible for the ongoing evaluation of this plan. The intention of the evaluation will be to make decisions on the impact that technology has on the learning process for all students. A report will be given to the Superintendent and the Board of Trustees once a year.
Evaluation Method:
Texas STaR Chart results for each campus will be used to help assess progress made toward meeting the goals of the Technology Plan.
Other methods used for evaluation will include:
- Data gathered from the delivery of the LoTI Details Questionnaire which determines teacher Level of Technology Implementation, Personal Computer Use, and Current Instructional Practices.
- Records of staff member participation in the Professional Development Incentive Program.
- Results from workshop evaluations.
- Integration of training into the classroom as measured by lesson plans and number and type of technology learning projects.
- Monitoring and documentation of community access to technology resources and information on the campuses on the web site.
- Reports generated by Technology Work Order management system.
- Yearly inventory of hardware and software.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
A draft of the National Educational Technology Plan
In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education released a draft of the National Educational Technology Plan: "Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology." This plan describes how information and communication technologies can help transform American education.
In it's opening paragraphs, the report illustrates the need to match our teaching strategies to the way people in the 21st century learn. A model of learning powered by technology is suggested as a way to "enable, motivate and inspire all students".
At it's conclusion, the plan describes goals for the various areas of concern in modern educational settings. These goals are:
1. Learning
All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.
2. Assessment
Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
3. Teaching
Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.
4. Infrastructure
All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
5. Productivity
Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.
Each goal is accompanied by many suggestions which will help reach the goal. While these are noble goals, and I believe that this is the direction of education in the 21st century, nowhere does the plan mention where the funds to implement these lofty goals will come from. It is my opinion that education is at a crossroads. Technology has obviously changed the way we do education, and yet we are faced with one of the worse funding crises this nation has seen in education. It is vital that we educate our children, yet in order to do that we must invest in the technologies that will "enable, motivate and inspire" them.
Just a thought, but what if we take some of the money we are spending to produce expensive drafts and government reports stating what most already know and divert it to the actual costs associated with education? Perhaps then we will come closer to achieving these lofty goals. Mandates without funding have a history of not reaching the original goal of the mandate.
In it's opening paragraphs, the report illustrates the need to match our teaching strategies to the way people in the 21st century learn. A model of learning powered by technology is suggested as a way to "enable, motivate and inspire all students".
At it's conclusion, the plan describes goals for the various areas of concern in modern educational settings. These goals are:
1. Learning
All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.
2. Assessment
Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
3. Teaching
Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.
4. Infrastructure
All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
5. Productivity
Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.
Each goal is accompanied by many suggestions which will help reach the goal. While these are noble goals, and I believe that this is the direction of education in the 21st century, nowhere does the plan mention where the funds to implement these lofty goals will come from. It is my opinion that education is at a crossroads. Technology has obviously changed the way we do education, and yet we are faced with one of the worse funding crises this nation has seen in education. It is vital that we educate our children, yet in order to do that we must invest in the technologies that will "enable, motivate and inspire" them.
Just a thought, but what if we take some of the money we are spending to produce expensive drafts and government reports stating what most already know and divert it to the actual costs associated with education? Perhaps then we will come closer to achieving these lofty goals. Mandates without funding have a history of not reaching the original goal of the mandate.
The state of technology in Texas classrooms
Classrooms are changing rapidly, not only in Texas, but worldwide. Teachers today are using technologies in the classroom that were not invented when they were the age of their students, yet those students have grown up with those same technologies. Advancing technologies in education is imperative. One of the primary goals of our education system is to prepare students for their lives beyond school. Obviously the use of technology is a big part of those lives.
Not only is it mandated that schools have a plan to advance the use of technology, the progress of that advance is required to be monitored. The most recent report indicates that while we have come a long way in the advancement of technology, there is much work to be done. The vision of the 21st century school, for example, is that infrastructure is provided for an "always on" infrastructure that is always available to students and teachers. Many areas are not anywhere near this vision.
Another area that needs to be addressed is simply how we conduct the business of learning. A traditional view of "seat time" may need to be revisited, and innovative ways to bring curriculum to students need to be explored. Never before has it been so important to find innovative ways to bring information, regardless of subject matter, to students.
Todays students have been raised in a technological world. How these students assimilate knowledge is different than students a generation ago. Progress has been made toward the vision of the 21st century school, but we have much work to do to make this vision a reality.
The link below is the latest progress report by the TEA:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg_reports/2008/08pr_to_1rpt.pdf
Not only is it mandated that schools have a plan to advance the use of technology, the progress of that advance is required to be monitored. The most recent report indicates that while we have come a long way in the advancement of technology, there is much work to be done. The vision of the 21st century school, for example, is that infrastructure is provided for an "always on" infrastructure that is always available to students and teachers. Many areas are not anywhere near this vision.
Another area that needs to be addressed is simply how we conduct the business of learning. A traditional view of "seat time" may need to be revisited, and innovative ways to bring curriculum to students need to be explored. Never before has it been so important to find innovative ways to bring information, regardless of subject matter, to students.
Todays students have been raised in a technological world. How these students assimilate knowledge is different than students a generation ago. Progress has been made toward the vision of the 21st century school, but we have much work to do to make this vision a reality.
The link below is the latest progress report by the TEA:
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/comm/leg_reports/2008/08pr_to_1rpt.pdf
Texas Long Range Plan for Technology: Infrastructure
According to it's most recent report to the Texas Legislature, the Texas Education Agency indicates that infrastructure is the critical element of support for all aspects of technology. The 21st century classroom relies heavily on the use of technology. Students and teachers in these classrooms are being exposed to more and more technology and are using that technology in more innovative ways than ever before. It seems obvious, then, that infrastructure must be in place for this type of classroom to exist. In fact, the most recent data from the Texas STaR (School Technology and Readiness) Charts, the official data gathering device used by the TEA to determine the level at which technology is being implemented in our schools, indicates that more schools are at the advanced level in terms of infrastructure than in any other reporting area. The other areas of reporting are: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; and Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support.
This is rather surprising when you consider that educators compile these charts. What this means, in effect, is that more educators across the state feel that they are advanced in infrastructure more so than in the areas of teaching and learning, administrative support, or teacher preparation programs. If this were in fact a truth, then that would be good news for education. How many times have we seen cities built up faster than the infrastructure to handle the new population? By building the infrastructure and having it in place to handle the increased use of technology, we will be making it a much easier transition to the use of that technology. In areas where this infrastructure lags, it can be very frustrating. In these cases, teachers are given technologies and training only to find out that there is not enough bandwidth to handle it.
Hopefully, this data is an indication that the infrastructure for advancing technology in the 21st century classroom is, if not in place, advancing rapidly and teachers and students will be able to advance 21st century skills in the classroom.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Originally, I was planning on focusing my action research project on the impact of extra-curricular activities on student success. I have plenty of anecdotal evidence to support the idea that students that are involved in activities beyond the school day have greater academic success and fewer discipline issues than those that are not. It would be interesting to see if data supports those ideas.
My current situation, however, has given me cause to reconsider. I am changing schools this year, and changing subjects as well. I recently learned that I will be teaching a TAKS remediation class this year. This will not be the first time I have taught such a class, and my previous experience has me thinking of ways to better serve the needs of those students. I know that my approach to this type of class last time was not the most effective method, so I am looking at ways that might be more motivational and effective this time. Another important piece of information is that each student on my new campus will be isssued a laptop computer. This has me wondering if perhaps there is a computer based remediation program out there. And if not, if simply using the computer on a daily basis to teach the objectives of the TAKS test will somehow increase the motivation of these students to learn.
Considering all of this, I believe that the purpose of my action research project will be to test the effectiveness of computer based TAKS remediation. The significance of this study will be to find a methodology that best motivates struggling science students and effectively prepares them for the science TAKS test.
Obviously there are a few details that need to be worked out, but I feel better about the direction of the project now. I am at least headed in a direction. I now need to research the available computer based programs and check the available research on programs that have already been used. This will lead me to a determining which program I will focus on in my project.
My current situation, however, has given me cause to reconsider. I am changing schools this year, and changing subjects as well. I recently learned that I will be teaching a TAKS remediation class this year. This will not be the first time I have taught such a class, and my previous experience has me thinking of ways to better serve the needs of those students. I know that my approach to this type of class last time was not the most effective method, so I am looking at ways that might be more motivational and effective this time. Another important piece of information is that each student on my new campus will be isssued a laptop computer. This has me wondering if perhaps there is a computer based remediation program out there. And if not, if simply using the computer on a daily basis to teach the objectives of the TAKS test will somehow increase the motivation of these students to learn.
Considering all of this, I believe that the purpose of my action research project will be to test the effectiveness of computer based TAKS remediation. The significance of this study will be to find a methodology that best motivates struggling science students and effectively prepares them for the science TAKS test.
Obviously there are a few details that need to be worked out, but I feel better about the direction of the project now. I am at least headed in a direction. I now need to research the available computer based programs and check the available research on programs that have already been used. This will lead me to a determining which program I will focus on in my project.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Using Blogs in Eductional Leadership Roles
As an educational leader, the gathering and sharing of information is very important. With all of the demands placed on the school principal it is often hard for one to find the time to meet with colleagues for information sharing purposes. It is often too easy for the school principal to get isolated inside the four walls and get inundated with the busy day to day running of the school campus. By taking the time to blog, a school leader is accomplishing several important tasks.
One, it is a great way to reflect and share your reflections with others. Sometimes simply writing ones ideas down gives clarity to your thought processes. That clarity, combined with the helpful input of others through comments, can help to focus our thoughts and keep our ideas headed in beneficial directions.
Another great advantage of blogging is to obtain helpful input from others. We tend to think of our situations as unique, and for the most part they are. Regardless, there are probably others out there who have faced similar situations and are willing to help. Blogging is a way to reach out to a community of like minded professionals and get plenty of free advise.
Because time is always an issue in schools and educational leadership, blogs can also be used to in place of some traditionally time consuming school functions. Faculty meetings that are expository in nature might be replaced by blogging information. Blogging is a way to get not only your thoughts, but other useful information to a large number of people in a short amount of time. Using the comments is helpful as well by allowing dialogue. Those who have concerns or questions can be heard and the entire staff is not held hostage until all questions are answered. This seems to be a much more efficient use of everyone's time.
By taking advantage of the technology available, and using blogs, an educational leader can expand his personal horizons and run a more efficient school at the same time.
One, it is a great way to reflect and share your reflections with others. Sometimes simply writing ones ideas down gives clarity to your thought processes. That clarity, combined with the helpful input of others through comments, can help to focus our thoughts and keep our ideas headed in beneficial directions.
Another great advantage of blogging is to obtain helpful input from others. We tend to think of our situations as unique, and for the most part they are. Regardless, there are probably others out there who have faced similar situations and are willing to help. Blogging is a way to reach out to a community of like minded professionals and get plenty of free advise.
Because time is always an issue in schools and educational leadership, blogs can also be used to in place of some traditionally time consuming school functions. Faculty meetings that are expository in nature might be replaced by blogging information. Blogging is a way to get not only your thoughts, but other useful information to a large number of people in a short amount of time. Using the comments is helpful as well by allowing dialogue. Those who have concerns or questions can be heard and the entire staff is not held hostage until all questions are answered. This seems to be a much more efficient use of everyone's time.
By taking advantage of the technology available, and using blogs, an educational leader can expand his personal horizons and run a more efficient school at the same time.
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