Beaumont ISD- Tanya Anderson

1.   Recognize the related legislatures and regulations to support the needs from your institution.

After evaluating the contents of the required readings, our district technology plan is related to an assortment of legislatures and regulations. Because Beaumont ISD is accredited by TEA, we are required to follow the standards set forth by TEA for public schools.  According to The state board of education, a long range technology plan has been developed and must be followed.  The long range technology plan is based on the state curriculum standards, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, staff development in the integration of technology into the curriculum for teachers, principals, administrators, and school library personnel, E-rate application guidelines, and the Technology Application Standards.   The legislatures and regulations that support the needs of Beaumont ISD are:

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Technology Applications Standards are required of all new teachers and recommended by TEA and SBEC for all Texas educators.

Standard I. All teachers use technology-related terms, concepts, data input strategies and ethical practices to make informed decisions about current technologies and their applications.

Standard II. All teachers identify task requirements, apply search strategies and use current technology to efficiently acquire, analyze, and evaluate a variety of electronic information.

Standard III. All teachers use task-appropriate tools to synthesize knowledge, create and modify solutions and evaluate results in a way that supports the work of individuals and groups in problem-solving situations.

Standard IV. All teachers communicate information in different formats and for diverse audiences.

Standard V. All teachers know how to plan, organize, deliver and evaluate instruction for all students that incorporates the effective use of current technology for teaching and integrating the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) into the curriculum.

Standard VI - Standard XI. Teachers who are not technology application specialists are not responsible for these standards.

Standard VI. The computer science teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in computer science, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V.

Standard VII. The desktop publishing teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in desktop publishing, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V.

Standard VIII. The digital graphics/animation teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in digital graphics/animation, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V.

Standard IX. The multimedia teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in multimedia, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V.

Standard X. The video technology teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in video technology, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V.

Standard XI. The Web mastering teacher has the knowledge and skills needed to teach the Foundations, Information Acquisition, Work in Solving Problems, and Communication strands of the Technology Applications Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in Web mastering, in addition to the content described in Technology Applications Standards I–V. (SBEC, 2000)

TEA

NO Child Left Behind Act II Title D Section 2402 Purposes and Goals

(4) To promote initiatives that provide school teachers, principals, and administrators with the
capacity to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction that are aligned with
challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards, through
such means as high-quality professional development programs.

(5) To enhance the ongoing professional development of teachers, principals, and administrators by providing constant access to training and updated research in teaching and learning through electronic means.

(8) To support local efforts using technology to promote parent and family involvement in

education and communication among students, parents, teachers, principals, and
administrators. (TEA, 2006)

2.               Develop the objectives for the school technology plan based on the needs from your institution.

The objectives for the district technology plan fall into 4 categories. Category 1 is teaching and learning.  The goal of this category is to incorporate technology as an integral part of education. Category 2 is staff development.  The goal is to provide staff development for all in the use of appropriate emerging technologies and their integration as a natural part of education. Category 3 is Administrative and Support.  The goal of this category is to include technology-based information systems when making district or campus instructional and management decisions. The last category is infrastructure.  The goal of this category is for the district to establish the human and technical infrastructure to encourage communication and to improve access to data and educational resources.

Teaching and LearningOBJECTIVE 1

·       In 3 years student graduating from BISD will demonstrate knowledge needed to direct their continued pursuit of knowledge in digital world.

·       In 3 years instructional leaders will articulate and advocate a vision of what technology can do for teaching and learning.

·       In 3 years staff will instruct students using technology-rich curriculum empowering students to collaboratively construct, use and communicate knowledge appropriate to a chosen task.

Staff Development

OBJECTIVE 2

·       Plan staff development activities to meet expectations for technology proficiencies for educators.

·       Develop and implement staff development activities to meet expectations for teacher technology proficiencies as outlined in the STaR Chart and SBEC teacher standards.

·       Develop strategies that enable teachers to integrate technology into all areas of TEKS/TAKS implementation.

Administration and Support

OBJECTIVE 3

·       Provide and support appropriate software and the ethical use of resources.

·       Integrate technology planning into all classrooms, campus, and district plans

·       Integrate technology into instructional management and administration.

·       Coordinate school-community and adult literacy resources for technology.

Infrastructure

OBJECTIVE 4

·       The district will secure adequate funding for maintaining state-of-the-art technology resources for all BISD facilities.

·       The district will acquire necessary personnel to install and maintain the network infrastructure.

·       The district will protect computers, networks, personnel, and facilities from destruction, misuse and harm.

3.  Identify the objectives for each area: Technology, Funding, and Management. Provide the needed elements for each objective to make sure that it’s measurable.

Technology:

·       The district will continue to provide student access to electronic information in classrooms, labs, libraries and other appropriate areas, including extended hours. To measure this objective, the district will take inventory of the hardware, conduct campus needs assessment and provide network access to all classrooms.

·       The district will ensure accessibility by all students to technology-based instruction. To measure this objective, the district will require student products and competency checklists, technology generated products for each core subject and provide laptops for homebound students to access the curriculum instructions.

Funding:

·       The district will continue to make E-Rate applications for technology funding.

·       The district will utilize grant writing teams to obtain external funds for technology purchases.  The measurement tool for this objective is the number of grants received, Grant proposals, Success level of implementation and the  Annual report of Research Director.

·       The district will have each campus allocate a percent of their local budget to technology needs, including professional development. The district will use the Campus plans and Campus budgets the measure this objective. The district will require that 10% of campus budget be committed to technology.

Management:

·       Campus administrators will monitor and assess classroom application of technology-rich curriculum. The following will be used as a measurement tool: PDAS, 90% of lesson plans; observation and student products reflect technology, TEKS and integration Implementation of a web-based classroom walkthrough program utilizing smart devices. This will be accomplished in accordance to the District’s Technology Plan as indicated on page 5 of the current plan (Thomas, Harris, et.al., 2010).

References:


Texas Education Agency, (2006). Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020: A Report to the 80th Legislature from the Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menu_id=2147483665

Texas Education Agency, (2010). 2010 Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. Retrieved February 26, 2012 from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=2147494561&libID=2147494558

Texas State Board for Educator Certification, (2000). Technology Application Standards. Retrieved February 26, 2012, from: http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/sbeconline/standtest/standards/techapp.pdf 

Thomas, C., Harris, D., et. al., (2010). Beaumont ISD Technology Plan