Appendix U

This is a comprehensive technology plan based on the educational goals of my school system that ensures that the most appropriate technologies are effectively integrated into the schools instructional and/or administrative programs.  This was developed for EDU 577, and is not the actual plan currently used by my district.  The development of this district technology plan shows my understanding of the following elements from the NETS-T, CTTC, and CCCT.

NETS-T – V.a, V.c, V.d, VI.a, VI.c, VI.d, VI.e

CTTC – I.b, I.d, I.c, II.d, III.a, III.b, IV.a, IV.b

CCCT – 2.4, 3.1, 3.2, 3.5, 3.6

 

Robert H. Ives, Jr.

EDU 577

A10 – Technology Planning

6/19/07

 

 

            Developing a comprehensive technology plan based on the educational goals of the school system will ensure that the most appropriate technologies are effectively integrated into the schools instructional and/or administrative programs.  A comprehensive technology plan should demonstrate clear targets for technology use, spell out desired goals for learners, and help to determine future directions.  An effective plan should include specifics about professional development, equipment acquisition, and assessment strategies.  In order to effectively develop and implement a plan, a technology planning committee should be formed. The technology committee would develop, implement and evaluate the technology plan. Local experts in technology and those with interest would be chosen from the staff and community to form the technology committee.  These committee members would represent the school and the community, and would remain on the committee during the technology plan implementation.  Scheduled quarterly meetings would be held throughout the plan’s term. This committee would update the technology coordinator, administrators, and/or Board of Education once per year on the status of this plan.  A technology plan cannot be successful without the continuous support from educators and the community.

            Before starting a plan, I would survey the professional staff about current technology use and needs.  These surveys would be used to develop a plan specific to their needs as well as state standards. 

            The success of any plan is very much contingent upon ongoing professional development in the school system.  The Professional Development Facilitator, Superintendent, Principals, Language Arts, Math, Library, and Technology Coordinator should do technology professional development planning and scheduling.  Most of the Technology Professional development in my school is done onsite with very few people taking advantage of off site venues.  Decisions on types of professional development should be based on technology surveys and administration requests for teacher professional development.  The trainers for teacher professional development are the Technology Coordinator, 4-8 computer teacher, EastConn trainers when grants are written and awarded, and staff members with specific skills to share with colleagues.

The district should set an educational proficiency for teacher integration.  This benchmark will help the committee design needs assessments, evaluate teachers, and help us differentiate professional development for teachers with different needs. 

            Plan implementation should focus on meeting standards of goals of the state of Connecticut and the specific needs of the professionals in our district.  My plan will focus on meeting the following goals:

 

Ř      Improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools with a target of fully integrating technology into the academic curriculum.

Ř      Ensure that all educators are proficient in the use and integration of technology and ongoing professional development activities are provided. 

 

Ř      Ensure that all K-8 educational institutions have the capacity, infrastructure, staffing, and equipment to meet academic and business needs for effective and efficient operations.

Ř      Develop a continuous process of evaluation and accountability for the use of educational technology as a teaching and learning tool.

Ř      Develop a schema of current and future financing requirements to support the Technology Plan.

 

            To meet my first listed goal, there are many strategies that should be implemented.  First, administrators and coordinators will create a master timetable for all curriculum revision.  Next, teachers will instruct students in all aspects of Internet safety and provide supervised laboratory time for student web searches and technology used in connection with academic learning. Also, software purchases will be made with curriculum objectives as primary criteria.  Students will be taught to use the software appropriately. Keyboarding and practice should also be a component of a student’s technology skill acquisition and a part of their required performance. For professional development, teachers will be made aware of technology training and conference opportunities by posted offerings in central locations. Professional development training will be encouraged.  To assess whether students have met the student computer technology standards, grade eight students will take a technology assessment developed by the district.

            The second goal is to ensure that all educators are proficient in the use and integration of technology and ongoing professional development activities are provided. To meet this goal, staff will be provided with release time and funding to attend technology-training opportunities both in and out of the district.  Staff should also attend peer mentoring training and utilize staff expertise. In-house training will be provided for the following: grading, attendance and communication software; special needs software and equipment; Microsoft Office applications Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; curriculum based software; classroom technology integration.  Also, the district should increase the budget for substitute coverage to allow for professional development, team teaching, mentoring, modeling, coaching, and class visitations.  To assess change, staff will complete an annual self-assessment to measure their progress in attaining technology literacy to align with state technology competencies for teachers. 

The third goal was to ensure that all K-8 educational institutions have the capacity, infrastructure, staffing, and equipment to meet academic and business needs for effective and efficient operations.  First, the district should continue to maintain maximum connectivity speed in their connection between the schools.  Also, the district should explore the implementation and cost of laptop, LCD, and whiteboard presentation hardware placed in several classrooms for experimentation.  The district should also, within the five-year period, acquire funding for laptop carts with wireless printing at both schools.  The district should also look into training and paying teachers as technology mentors to maintain, support, and fix any issues with technologies.

As a fourth goal, I would develop a continuous process of evaluation and accountability for the use of educational technology as a teaching and learning tool.  I will write a Technology Plan evaluation goal for each year the plan is in place.  Then I will monitor and recommend changes to the plan at goals meeting with the Superintendent.  The school district, during coordinator and administrative meetings, with the help of administration, special education director, LA, Math, Library, and technology coordinator will discuss an implementation plan to add student assessment data to the existing student database program.  The data will include CMT and other district student assessments. 

The fifth goal consists of the development of a schema of current and future financing requirements to support the Technology Plan.  The Technology Committee, Technology Coordinator, and Administration should work closely with Board of Education to develop a budget to support funding requirements and implementation of the technology plan.  Also, the district should pursue state, federal, and private grants to support funding requirements and implementation of the technology plan.  The district will also continue to take technology hardware donations from private organizations and state agencies.