1. Recognize the related legislatures and regulations to support the needs from your institution.
The Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 states that professional development opportunities must be offered to make sure that educators have the Technology Applications skills recognized by the SBEC Technology Applications Standards, mainly those skills that support administrative tasks, lesson planning, and classroom management. To meet the needs of Texas students and prepare them for success in the 21st Century, Texas must devote significant time and resources to the adequate preparation of and ongoing professional development for all teachers (Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020).
According to Aldine ISD Technology Plan 2009-2015, a need was identified to provide ongoing technology professional development to improve teachers, staff, and administrators job performance and student achievement.
2. Develop the objectives for the school technology plan based on the needs from your institution.
Based on the information collected through surveys, interviews, and Aldine technology plan, the needs from Aldine-Black Elementary is focused on teacher-learning. These objectives are aimed at improving teacher content and instructional knowledge with an integration of technology.
Goal:
To engage teachers and staff in professional development that will teach them to effectively integrate technology into all areas of instructions in the curriculum and to enhance student achievement.
Objectives:
- To provide teacher training opportunities that involves SMART Board Technology integration that aligns with curriculum and instruction with 98% participation.
- To offer teachers training in an introduction to PowerPoint and share instructional strategies of how to integrate this tool into the curriculum.
To help teachers overcome barriers for using technology.
Objectives:
- To provide time to use technology through designated professional development and in-service days.
- Collaborate with administration to guarantee support as well as determine times to implement professional development with teachers and staff (Aldine ISD Technology Plan, 2009-2015).
3. Identify the objective for each area of Technology, Funding, and Management. Provide the needed elements for each objective to make sure that it's measurable.
Technology
Continuing professional development and training sessions throughout Aldine district will be provided on an ongoing basis and will be centered on preparing our students, staff and community to use technology to be responsible, productive citizens, critical thinkers, and problem solvers. By focusing on the theme of interdisciplinary instruction, Aldine ISD will provide a model for teachers to use in integrating technology in every subject area. Professional development models will be evaluated on a continuing basis and updated as necessary. Aldine will provide and train a technology specialist and librarian at each campus to train and assist teachers to integrate technology into all curriculum areas. In addition to evaluation of the district level technology plan, training models, implementation strategies, campus technology plans will be analyzed as part of the annual campus peer and self review process (Aldine ISD Technology Plan, 2009-2015).
Funding
Aldine ISD has established a technology support budget to provide for infrastructure, equipment, training, and support personnel to implement new technologies and assure current technologies are integrated successfully. Aldine will obtain funding for technologies through local, state, federal, grant, and private partnerships sources. Local, state, technology allotment, e-Rate, grants, etc. (Aldine ISD Technology Plan, 2009-2015).
Management
Aldine ISD management will encourage all teachers and staff to participate in state and national educational technology organizations as well as training opportunities offered by these organizations. Management will also require participation in the School Board Educator Certification (SBEC) Master Technology Teacher program (Aldine ISD Technology Plan, 2009-2015).
References:
Aldine ISD. (2009). Aldine ISD Technology Plan 2009-2015. Retrieved February 4, 2012, from http://www.aldine.k12.tx.us
Texas Education Agency. (2006). Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html
Donzella,
ReplyDeleteYou listed one of the goals for your district as "To engage teachers and staff in professional development that will teach them to effectively integrate technology into all areas of instructions in the curriculum and to enhance student achievement." You are so right. Technology should be incorporated in the presentation of materials, the student participation in the material, and in the assessment of what has been learned. "When combined with learning systems, technology-based assessments can be used formatively to diagnose and modify the conditions of learning and instructional practices while at the same time determining what students have learned for grading and accountability purposes."
Reference: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. National Education Technology Plan 2010. U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf
Kayle,
DeleteToday's teachers are asked to prepare students to live, learn, and work successfully in an increasingly complex and information-rich society. Growing research indicates that learning must incorporate computer-based, electronic technologies and that learning to use these technologies should be incorporated into learning in context. Teachers need to develop the knowledge of how to use technology as a productivity tool, and as a problem-solving and decision-making tool.
Boelens-Lane, G. (2010). Goals and Objectives. Retrieved February 27, 2012, from http://people.oregonstate.edu/~boelensg/SED597/Goals&Objectives.html
Donzella,
ReplyDeleteI think helping teachers to overcome barriers for using technology is a challenging goal. Surveys indicate that only about half of U.S. teachers use technology in classroom instruction. Anecdotal evidence obtained from school technology specialists and education technology proponents indicates that the effective use of education technology is even less common than those surveys indicate. Many teachers, the experts say, still are reluctant to use technology, mostly because of a lack of time, a lack of resources, or a lack of confidence in their ability to use the available technology (Starr, 2009).
Robin Smith, an educational technology specialist for the Hollidaysburg (Pennsylvania) Area School District, offers this advice for those encouraging technology use among their school's staff:
* Get support from the top. If your superintendent does not support the push to use technology, and does not use technology himself or herself, it is a hard sell to other employees.
* Make sure you are pushing the district vision and not your own personal agenda.
* Principals need to use technology and support their teachers with extra staff development if necessary.
* Expect bumps in the road. Some things you expect to be a huge success at getting teachers hooked, end up flopping.
* Provide some sort of incentives.
* Show them how it will save time. If the savings won't be apparent for a year, be honest about that. Putting assignments into a grade book program is extra work, but if those assignments can be saved and used next year, it will be a time saver.
* Remember, most teachers are very busy; they're already juggling many tasks. Try to make things as easy as possible, and provide them with time to learn the technology before expecting them to use it (Starr, 2009).
Starr, L. (2009) Encouraging teacher technology use. Retrieved February 28, 2012 from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech159.shtml
Angela,
DeleteAccording to Mike Johnson, Lexington Kentucky district technology resource teacher, The most important thing their district does to encourage teacher technology use is to assign each school a technology resource teacher (TRT) to work directly in the classroom. The TRT's model lessons with kids, find online resources for teachers, show teachers how to use equipment, and provide one-on-one training during planning time. Mike Johnson stated that one reason the program has been so successful is that teachers don't have to go to after-school training sessions or figure our technology activities on their own. The TRT's find the teachers, ask what they're doing in their classroom, and work with them to integrate technology into existing lessons.
Starr, L. (2009). Encouraging Teacher Technology Use: Making It Easy. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech159.shtml
Donzella, please elaborate more for each question.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: Based on the needs and weaknesses you indentified in your Report I, please list the standards from the Long Range Plan for technology to direct your proposed technology plan.
Question 2 & 3: Each objective should include a minimum of 3 elements - targeted population, objective, and the measuring methods. Please refer to the writing format for the objective in CSTE5337. The objectives you proposed in question 2 & 3 should match with the direction of required standards in Question 1.
Please let us know if you need some clarification for writing the objectives.
Dr. Shannon,
DeleteThanks for the clarification. Am I to elaborate more on each question back in last weeks blog or do you want me to elaborate more for each question in Report II?
For this blog's discussion. If you elaborated for this blog, you would be ready for your Report II as well. Thanks!
DeleteDonzella,
ReplyDeleteJust by reading some of the post here it seems that the majority of the schools we are involved with are in the same boat. Teachers on my campus complain daily about how to learn how to effectively use their brand new Smartboards. It is so strange that the assistant technology specialist is certified on how to use it but has not trained a soul on the elementary campus where 75% of the Smartboards are in classrooms. These devices can enhance learning tremendously for students with special needs.
Research supports the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for special needs students as a supplement to traditional instruction. One of the obvious benefits is that a computer allows special needs students to work at an individual pace. (Technologies for special needs students, 2003)
Technologies for special needs students. (2003, March). pp. 50-53.
Marlise,
DeleteThe use of computer technology for word processing, communication, research, and multimedia projects can help students with specific learning and emotional disorders keep up with their non-disabled peers. Computer technology has enhanced the development of sophisticated devices that can assist the students with more severe disabilities in overcoming a wide range of limitations that hinder classroom participation from speech and hearing impairments to blindness and severe physical disabilities. Many teachers are not adequately trained on how to use technology effectively in their classrooms, and the cost of the technology is a serious consideration for all schools.
Hasselbring, T. (2000). Use of computer technology to help students with special needs. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11255702
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