1. Recognize the related legislatures and regulations to support the needs from your institution.
Navasota Junior High is an accredited TEA school. We are required to follow the standards that TEA sets for public schools. The state board of education has developed a long range technology plan that we must follow. “Recognizing the need for a consistent, systemic approach to implementing educational technology throughout Texas, the Texas Education Code, Section 32.001, requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop a long-range plan for technology.” (Texas Education Agency) Each year an update is given to check on the progress of how schools are meetings the goals outlined in the report. Part of the long range plan discusses the high immersion rate of students to laptops. Currently my campus does not have a 1:1 environment, so that can be seen as a weaknesses. We aren’t able to decide if it improves student learning because of the lack of equipment.
Our school also recognizes the need to meet the learning needs of all students. Professional development is an area that our teachers could benefit more from. The long range plan recognizes this need for professional development. “By including these other frameworks, participants learn to incorporate the CCRS and ELPS into the classroom and provide instruction that meets the needs of a diverse student population.” (Texas Education Agency)
NISD also received federal funding, so we are held to their standards also. “By including these other frameworks, participants learn to incorporate the CCRS and ELPS into the classroom and provide instruction that meets the needs of a diverse student population.” (Understanding the No Child Left Behind Act) In order to meet the requirements of NCLB, our school has to continue to integrate technology in the classroom. As the years go by, our school has to be able to upgrade our infrastructure in order to continue to add technology and meet these standards.
2. Develop the objectives for the school technology plan based on the needs from your institution.
After developing my first report, several needs were recognized for my campus. I have developed some objectives based on the needs of Navasota Junior High school.
Objective 1 - NJH will increase funding for technology updates that will directly effect elective teachers and the students who take these courses.
Objective 2 - NISD will work towards updating the infrastructure in order to support the 1:1 environment the district hopes to move toward within 2 years.
Objective 3 - NJH will increase the amount of professional development training and time given to teachers, so they will feel comfortable with the technology in their classrooms.
Objective 4 - NJH will decrease the need for some of the management at a higher level in the district and outside the district by increasing the teachers’ knowledge and increased use of the technological equipment.
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 is most influential when integrated with curriculum and assessment. In a review of studies, the (CEO Forum, 2001) concluded that "technology can have the greatest impact when integrated into the curriculum to achieve clear, measurable educational objectives." (CARET)
Technology
Every teacher at NJH will meet technology standards inside the classroom by following the technology application TEKS. The objective can be measured through observations of students working collaboratively, increased knowledge of programs, etc. This can also be observed by administrators visiting the classrooms and seeing the standards being taught.
The teachers will outdated equipment will receive upgrades to better utilize the technology to increase student achievement. This can be measured by reviewing student progress in these elective classes.
Funding
Funding will continue to be pursued from outside sources (such as grants). The increased funding is necessary to move to the school to a 1:1 environment. The updating of the infrastructure will need to be funded too. These goals will be measured by analyzing the results of state mandated and local tests the students have to take.
Management
The teachers will attend more training to increase their knowledge of the equipment, so they will be able to better trouble-shoot problems. This will lead in a decrease in the number of times outside help has to be called in to fix minor issues. This can be measured by keeping a log of issues and noting when they are corrected by the teacher versus when the technology team has to fix them.
References:
CARET (Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology) Retrieved from
Texas Education Agency. (2011, August). Long range plan for technology,2006-2020.
Understanding the No Child Left Behind Act. 2007. Learning Point. Retrieved from
Objective 3 reflects the need for professional development that allows teacher to have confidenance. Teachers either don't use technology because they don't have access or lack the skill/knowledge of how to implement a lesson effectively. Douglas Cruickshank (2009)states, "The culture of learning is changing, and technology is playing a major role in the transformation. Educators and students are altering the very nature of the classroom experience by increasingly turning to technology as an integral component of learning." As a teacher I personally feel that it is my job to teach to date. By this I mean keeping up with the times as well as the interest of our students. Student no longer learn the same was they did 15 years ago. To capture their attention takes creativity in this world of multitasking. Students still want to learn but their way by using iPhones, notebooks, iPads, tablets etc. We are in the digital age and moving forward fast. Schools need to stay ahead of the use of technology instead of always trying to catch up - our students are missing out.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Cruickshank,D. (2009). Technology tools to get teachers started. Edutopia. Retrieved (2012, February 26) from http://www.edutopia.org/dg-manual
Lori, overall, you did a great job to try to match with the standards from your proposed objectives. For each objective statement, please review the measuring methods again, to avoid using the words of increase or decrease, unless a targeted number or performance is described. For example, "NJH will increase the amount of professional development training and time given to teachers, so they will feel comfortable with the technology in their classrooms."
ReplyDeleteAlso, it is suggested to reword the following statement: "The teachers will outdated equipment will receive upgrades to better utilize the technology to increase student achievement. This can be measured by reviewing student progress in these elective classes."
Thanks!
How do we measure "increase"? Do we measure the number of training workshops or do we measure the comfort level of using technology in the classrooms?
Dr. Shannon,
DeleteThank you for your reply. I have re-written my objectives. Can you please let me know if these are correctly stated?
Objective 1 - NJH will purchase an additional 10 new laptops that will affect upgrading core and elective teachers’ current technology equipment, and push them to being more efficient using the teacher technology tools available to them.
This will be measured by evaluating the teacher lesson plans to check for technology integration on a weekly basis.
Objective 2 - NISD will update the existing infrastructure to support the 1:1 environment the district plans to have in place within 2 years.
This will be measured by purchasing additional bandwidth and wireless access points for the campus to be completely wireless.
Objective 3 - NJH will add an additional day of professional development training per month. The specific training offered will be based on the current needs of the campus. The needs will be obtained though principal and teacher input.
This will be measured by observing an increase in the technology tools be used in the classroom. These observations will be done by the campus principal and the campus technology specialist.
Objective 4 - NJH teachers will show mastery of the maintenance of the technology equipment issued to them, such as use of the projector, interactive board, document camera, and a laptop.
This will be measured by observations and written reports of the campus technology specialist. The teachers will be responsible for minor maintenance on the equipment. (re-setting, cleaning filters, running the anti-virus software etc.)
Thank you fo much for the updates, Monica! Great job!!! These updated objectives will work. Excellent!!!
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