1. Recognize the related legislatures and regulations to support the needs from your institution.
After comparing the contents of the readings required for the upcoming report, I concluded that the accomplishments made by my school and district regarding Technology are just a drop in a bucket compared to the long-range plan indicated in TEA’s progress report (TEA, 2010). Our district's Technology Plan has a provision for Instructional Technology Specialists in the district, however this has not been fulfulled. There is a great need for an Instructional Technology Specialists to assist teachers in the district with creating technology rich lessons and help to implement them in their classrooms. The legislatures and regulations that support the needs of my school are:
After comparing the contents of the readings required for the upcoming report, I concluded that the accomplishments made by my school and district regarding Technology are just a drop in a bucket compared to the long-range plan indicated in TEA’s progress report (TEA, 2010). Our district's Technology Plan has a provision for Instructional Technology Specialists in the district, however this has not been fulfulled. There is a great need for an Instructional Technology Specialists to assist teachers in the district with creating technology rich lessons and help to implement them in their classrooms. The legislatures and regulations that support the needs of my school are:
SBEC
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 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 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.
(8) To support local efforts using technology to promote parent and family involvement in
education and communication among students, parents, teachers, principals, andadministrators. (TEA, 2006)
My school does not have a technology plan therefore it is crucial that one be developed in order to set Technology standards for my school. Without a definite plan how can we measure teacher instructional technology practices, student success regarding technology usage and adherence to the district’s technology plan?
Since we are subject to State and Federal regulations we must do our best to adhere to the guidelines set forth by those institutions. In order to develop a viable school technology plan, I think the best place to begin is with the results of our STAR Chart Survey (TEA, 2011), our District Technology Plan (Thomas, Harris, et.al., 2010), NETS (ISTE, 2011), and the Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 devised by TEA (TEA, 2006). I will use the results of a teacher/student technology survey that assessed attitudes, competencies, and expectations regarding technology availability, support and use at my school.
2. Develop the objectives for the school technology plan based on the needs from your institution.
The intention of this plan in correlation to the Long Range Plant for Technology (LRPT) is to enhance learning for all students, teachers and members of the school community and to support the use of resources available to the school community. The plan is organized into the following categories: Teaching and Learning, Staff Development, Administration and Support Services and Infrastructure for Technology.
The goals and objectives for the school’s technology plan are:
Teaching and Learning
Goal 1: To incorporate and integrate technology into all aspects of instruction in the curriculum.
o Objective 1.1: In three years students graduating from Ozen High School will demonstrate knowledge needed to direct their continued pursuit of knowledge and effective compete in the 21st Century Workforce.
o Objective 1.2: In three years instructional leaders will articulate and advocate a vision of what technology can do for teaching and learning.
o 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
Goal 2: Provide staff development for all in the use of appropriate emerging technologies and their integration as a natural part of education.
o Objective 2.1: Plan and provide adequate technology training for teachers, administrators and staff in order to improve the flexibility and quality of delivery of instruction.
o Objective 2.2: Provide educators with access to professional development in the use of educational technology to prepare them to help students meet high academic standards as outlined in the STaR Chart and SBEC teacher standards.
o Objective 2.3: Develop strategies that enable all teachers to integrate state and national technology standards to improve instruction and implementation of STAAR curriculum.
Administration and Support
Goal 3: Include technology-based information systems when making instructional and management decisions.
o Objective 3.1: Establish a school technology committee.
o Objective 3.2: Provide and support appropriate software and the ethical use of resources.
o Objective 3.3: Integrate technology planning into all classrooms and campus plans.
o Objective 3.4: Coordinate school-community and adult literacy resources for technology.
o Improve decision-making, productivity, and efficiency at all levels of the organization through the use of technology.
Infrastructure for Technology
Goal 4: Establish the human and technical infrastructure to encourage communication and to improve access to data and educational resources.
o Objective 4.1: Secure adequate funding for maintaining state-of-the-art technology resources for all classrooms.
o Objective 4.2: Designate necessary personnel to install and maintain the school’s network infrastructure.
o Objective 4.3: 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 school will provide student access to electronic information in classrooms, labs, libraries and other appropriate areas, including extended hours.
Students will use technology in inquiry standards-based lessons that require collaboration and higher-level thinking skills.
The technology committee will secure adequate virus protection software for campus computers and present to the principal for approval and purchase. The Technology Liaison will install the software on all campus computers.
Funding: The instructional leader will provide funding for campus use and integration of technology into the curriculum.
The school will utilize grant writing teams formed at the school and/or district level to secure additional funding to offset the cost of implementing and maintaining technology infused educational programs and training sessions for students, teachers, administrators and parents.
Management: By the end of May 2012, the administrative team and campus department will oversee the selection of a campus Technology Committee. The Technology Committee will meet to discuss and agree upon a set of short and long term technology goals that specify clear expectations and guidelines for the use of instructional technology in educating the students, our community and staff of Ozen High School. These guidelines should be consistent with the District’s Technology Plan, ISTE NETS for students, teachers and administrators, and SBEC’s Technology Application Standard for teachers.
By the end of May 2012 the Principal and campus Administrators will select personnel responsible for assisting teachers to incorporate technology rich lessons in their classroom instruction. 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).
The instructional leader will facilitate campus use and integration of technology into the curriculum.
Campus administrators will monitor and assess classroom application of technology-rich curriculum.
References:
ISTE. (2011). The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T). Retrieved February 25, 2012, from: http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS-T_Standards.sflb.ashx
Texas Education Agency, (2006). Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020: A Report to the 80th Legislature from the Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 25, 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 25, 2012 from: http://www.tea.state.tx.us/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=2147494561&libID=2147494558
ISTE. (2011). The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T). Retrieved February 25, 2012, from: http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS-T_Standards.sflb.ashx
Texas Education Agency, (2006). Long-Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020: A Report to the 80th Legislature from the Texas Education Agency. Retrieved February 25, 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 25, 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 25, 2012, from: http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/sbeconline/standtest/standards/techapp.pdf
Thomas, C., Harris, D., et. al., (2010). Beaumont ISD Technology Plan.
Technology Committees seem to always be heavy on the administrative side within most educational institutions. How would you garner support to make sure this does not happen? I’ve seen numerous instructional technology projects that were pushed by administration but had almost zero support from instruction. It’s important to make sure educators have the professional development they need to use technology; however, it’s very important that educators also have a voice (Koc, Bakie, 2010).
ReplyDeleteKoc, M., & Bakir, N. (2010). A Needs Assessment Survey to Investigate Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge, Experiences and Perceptions about Preparation to Using Educational Technologies. Turkish Online Journal Of Educational Technology - TOJET, 9(1), 13-22.
YOur school districts plan seems very similar to Katy ISD. I know funding is always a problem for school districts. Katy ISD just experienced a huge budget cut this past school year. What types of grants does your school district recieve? Does your distrcit spend a lot money implementing technology? After visiting several schools in my district I have seen a lot of things that are not being used or the money could be better spent elsewhere. Do you see that with your district?
ReplyDeleteSchool Funding. (2011). Retrieved February 26, 2012, from eSchoo lNews: http://www.eschoolnews.com/funding/
Rita, excellent details for the applied standards!!! For Question 2 & 3, please include the measuring methods for each objective.
ReplyDeleteFor example, "Objective 1.1: In three years students graduating from Ozen High School will demonstrate knowledge needed to direct their continued pursuit of knowledge and effective compete in the 21st Century Workforce."
How do we measure the student does "demonstrate knowledge needed"?
"Objective 2.1: Plan and provide adequate technology training for teachers, administrators and staff in order to improve the flexibility and quality of delivery of instruction."
What are the adequate technology training included? How do we measure whether the flexibility and quality of delivery of instruction has been improved?
Rita,
ReplyDeleteI like this part of one of your objectives “Students will use technology in inquiry standards-based lessons that require collaboration and higher-level thinking skills.” It really meets one of the standards of the NETS for Students. The NETS states “4. Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources” (ISTE, 2007). As a classroom teacher, I know how challenging it can be to have students truly collaborate and think on a higher-level.
Cara
Reference:
ISTE (2007). NETS for Students. Retrieved from
http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007.aspx