NISD, John C. Webb Elementary, Robyn Allphin

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

Based on the needs of Navasota ISD and John C. Webb Elementary, our district technology plan is related to various legislatures and regulations.  The 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.  Additionally, the district plan is based on the 82^nd Texas Legislature report that was submitted and approved by the Texas Education Agency for the years of 2006-2020.

According to the TEA’s 2010 Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, the No Child Left Behind, Title II, Part D goal is that “every student be technology literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade” (Texas Education Agency, 2010).  Since the technology plan of Navasota ISD is written based on the NCLB guidelines, Navasota is following the regulations to meet their requirements. 

John C. Webb Elementary is striving to meet the Prekindergarten guidelines and K-8 Standards since it serves students in grades Pre-K thru 3^rd grade.  These guidelines “ensure appropriateness of requirements through time and alignment with 21^st Century skills and Texas College and Career Readiness Standards” (Texas Education Agency, 2010).  The technology standards and regulations on our campus are based on technology foundations, information acquisition, work in solving problems, and communication. In addition, Navasota ISD has an internet safety policy designed as required by the 80^th Legislative Session, House Bill 3171, Section 38.023 that requires the TEA to “develop and make available to school districts a list of resources addressing Internet Safety (Texas Education Agency, 2010).

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

The objectives for the Navasota ISD technology plan include:

·          *All teachers will demonstrate competency in and regularly use district provided email, voice mail, electronic grade book, electronic attendance, Internet and instructional delivery tools.
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·         *All teachers will use technology to move students into higher level thinking and problem solving skills. All K-12 campuses will integrate technology applications curriculum into all subject areas. K-8 students will be taught vertically aligned TA TEKS and anytime anywhere on-line Technology Textbooks will be made available to both teachers and students for technology enriched teaching and learning in all foundation subject lessons. Grades 9-12 students will be taught TA TEKS in specialized computer courses as well as in all subject areas. Results will be monitored through documentation in teacher lesson plans, teacher evaluations and student work samples.

·         *NISD in collaboration with Region VI Education Center, will encourage increased use of distance learning programming for student, teacher, administrator and board member educational development.

·         *NISD will use technology effectively to promote parental involvement in the school.

·         *NISD Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and the Principal at Carver Learning Center will continue to provide and promote adult literacy programs to the community throughout the duration of this plan.

·         *A minimum of 60% of professional and paraprofessional staff will demonstrate SBEC technology proficiencies by either testing out of or completing the district’s required on-line professional development program (LearnKey) to demonstrate SBEC proficiencies.

·         *All new hires will either bring documentation of SBEC proficiencies with them or complete Navasota’s professional development requirements within two years of hiring.

·         *All professional and paraprofessional staff will recognize and be able to identify exemplary use of technology in instruction.

·         *All teachers will be able to read and interpret student data from benchmark tests and previous year’s TAKS tests and STAAR tests.

·         *Technology integration professional development will be REQUIRED for all teachers.

·         *Technology planning will begin at the campus level collaboratively developed by campus administrators and teachers on a campus technology committee--guiding policy and practice.

·         NISD will continue to provide instructional and administrative management technology tools to all teachers and administrators.

·      *   Central technology will use remote management software tools to reduce response time and to track services to shorten down-time improving access to educational technology .

·         NISD will use technology to expand parental communication and involvement in their child’s educational progress.

·         *All students and staff will have increased and continual access to the necessary technology equipment and software needed for teaching and learning and for furthering their study and workplace skills.

·         *All NISD electronic records and databases will be protected with daily backups and a disaster recovery plan.

·         *Campus and district technology specialists will follow procedures for opening and closing trouble tickets as established through customizing new software purchased by the district to handle and track requests for technology support. Secondly, procedures for software installations will also be followed to ensure licensing compliance.  

·         *All classrooms and offices will have a working land phone and other tools for conducting school business.

·         *Every NISD campus will have a student to computer ratio of 4:1 and a teacher to computer ration of 1:1. The computers will meet the specifications of the district’s Obsolescence Plan.

·         *Central technology will continue to provide, monitor and update an Internet filter and will enforce NISD’s CIPA Plan. 

(Gonzalez, 2010).

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:

It is important for NISD and John C. Webb Elementary to have objectives in the area of technology because “the teaching and learning process must be receptive to a wide variety of options, including the expansion of learning extended into the home and into the broader community, development of virtual relationships among learners, and learning through online and other distributed learning environments” (Texas Education Agency, 2010).

·          Online technology textbooks will be purchased to assist teacher in preparing and teaching lessons and assist students in learning activities.

o   Measured by TA TEKS taught in all subject areas are shown and recorded on lesson plans and observable through classroom visits.

·         NISD and John C. Webb Elementary will update the district and campus website on a regular basis to communicate news to parents and community members.

o   Measured by community support through feedback.

·         DMAC Solutions, a data disaggregating software, will continue to be provided to the teachers, for the analysis of data to support sound decision making for student success.

o   Measured by increase in student accountability scores.

·         NISD will continue to subscribe to online Gradebook software and keep it updated as currently as possible to keep administrators, teachers, students, and parents current on a child’s progress and grades.

o   Measured through parent feedback, usage of program, and administration recommendation.

·         NISD will continue to subscribe to and provide subscriptions to the most current, reliable search engines, online libraries, and card catalogs to support flexible access to library resources afterhours.

o   Measured by usage of sites log, feedback from students, parents, and teachers.

·         All NISD campuses will be able to use wireless internet that is kept up-to-date and protected from intruders, and viruses.

o   Measured by usage, amount of viruses that are contained and no intruders were able to hack the system.

Funding:

Navasota ISD receives funds from state and private funds to spend on technology.  The fundings come from the Technology Allotment Fund (411), Instructional Materials Allotment Funds, and the Navasota Education Foundation.  “Districts use a variety of funding sources including the technology allotment and NCLB, Title II, Part D to support the Technology Application Courses” (Texas Education Agency, 2006).

Based on my school profile report, some needed funding objectives for Navasota ISD may include:

·          Determine anticipated expense report for the 2012-2013 school year in the technological areas of hardware/software, upgrades of current technology devices, and digital curriculum. 

o   Determined and measured by the current budget of funding sources through the Title II, Part D, E-rate, Navasota Education Foundation, State Technology Allotment, and local funds.

o   Anticipated expenses measured through current use of technology within the district, previous year’s budget and expense report, purchase orders, teacher lesson plans, and survey of needed technology of teachers and staff.

·         Increase staff development in technology applications with staff to twice a month for each campus within the district.

o   Measureable by surveys, calendar, and completion sign in sheets/logs.

·         Decrease the device to student ratio of 4:1 to 1:1 with increasing technology devices to provide all students with regular hands-on technology applications instruction and learning activities in all grade level foundation subjects.

o   Measured by TEKS in curriculum and guidelines, lesson plans reflect usage, classroom walk-throughs, increase in student accountability scores, student work samples and projects on file, and all students demonstrate 80% mastery of the technology application TEKS.

·         The most current and up-to-date Microsoft Office will be installed on all campus computers.

o   Measured by checklist of teacher workstations containing up-to-date Microsoft Office.

·         All out-of-date labs and equipment will be updated to meet the minimum standards in the district’s Obsolescence Plan and Campus Technology Plans. 

o   Measured by an end of the year inventory demonstrates the need to replace out of date workstations/equipment.

Management:

Navasota ISD is a member of the Region 6 Service Center, located in Huntsville, Texas.  ESC VI aides in the management of technology by offering leadership, administration, and instructional support to our district, allowing Navasota ISD to “have access to certified IT Specialists regarding Wide Area and Local Area Networks that include Microsoft, Cisco, and Novel certifications” (Texas Education Agency, 2010).  Based on my school profile report for Navasota ISD, I would recommend the following objectives:

·          Update the district’s Acceptable Use Policies for the 2012-2013 school year for students and staff.

o   Measured by current school year’s problem areas with students and staff, survey of staff, and recommendations of teachers.

·         Update technology inventory needed for 2012-2013 school year.  The inventory should include technology equipment, networking capacity, software used for filtering and curriculum, telecommunications services, and facilities infrastructure.

o   Measured by previous year’s inventory, campus inventory checklist, and teacher/administration records of technology used and/or purchased.

·         Determine the distribution amount of federal, state, local, and other sources of funds.

o   Measured by amount of funds received, suggestions of school board, and previous year’s budget allotment of funds.

·         Keep or purchase current software for automated tracking of workstations, workstation specs, and software installed on all district computers.

o   Measured by tracking software, feedback of specialists and teachers.

·         Submit technology repair requests using a low-cost program, such as Google Forms.

o   Measured by usage.

·         NISD and JCW campus will have assigned specialist to continue to back up all servers on site and off site for disaster recovery purposes. 

o   Measured by whether or not backups are current.

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References:

Gonzalez, R. (Director) (2010, March 29). Long-Range Technology Plan 2010-2013. Navasota
ISD Technology Plan. Lecture conducted from Navasota ISD School Board, Navasota, Texas.

Texas Education Agency. (2006, November 1). Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-            2020. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 8, 2012, from   www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/etac

Texas Education Agency. (2010). Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for   Technology 2006-2020. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 8, 2012,            from www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/etac