TECHNOLOGY ACTION PLAN

Personnel Title /Role or Responsibility in Integration of Technology
Superintendent, Tech Committee Member: Oversees the implementation of the district technology policy. Finds innovative ways to budget for needed technology resources.
Technology Director, Tech Committee Member: Oversees technology department and ensures district is complying with all the state and national technology requirements. Also, is in charge of technology professional development for the district.
Instructional Tech Coordinator, Tech Committee Member: Assists teachers with ways to integrate technology into their classrooms. Offers sample lessons and assistance to any and all teachers. Webpage has extensive resources for teachers and parents regarding instructional technology.
Elementary Principal, Tech Committee Member: Monitors and evaluates the use of technology by the staff by conducting observations and walkthroughs. Supports the technology needs of staff and students. Ensures campus budget is adequately meeting the technology needs of the campus.
Elementary Tech Specialist, Tech Committee Member: Offers assistance and support to teachers when utilizing technology resources in the classroom. Is also in charge of minor maintenance on campus technology resources.
Classroom Teacher: Finding innovative ways to integrate the required technology into everyday lessons to create a learner-centered environment.

Professional Development Activities:
Goal: To assess the technology needs of our campus and increase the integration of technology to enhance the learning of our students.

1.)Analysis of the Technological Needs of the Campus utilizing the STaR Chart, AEIS reports, and District Technology Plan.
Presented by: District Technology Coordinator & Elementary Principal in Library
Actions Steps: 1.) Have teachers review STaR Chart Report and identify areas of weakness. 2. Review District Technology Plan in small groups and locate identified strategies for improvement. 3. Each group will decided and report on what areas they feel need the most improvement and make suggestions of ways to improve.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Analysis is ongoing by Tech Coordinator. Teachers will complete the STaR Chart at the end of the year. District Tech Coordinator will ensure the District Tech Plan addresses areas of need and that improvements are being made.

2.)Utilizing District Resources for Integrating Technology
Presented by: Instructional Technology Coordinator & 1 Teacher from each grade in Library/Computer Lab
Action Steps: 1. Inst. Tech Coordinator will discuss district webpage dedicated to supporting the integration of technology. 2. Teachers will explore webpage independently asking questions when they arise. 3. The predetermined teachers from each grade will present a sample lesson from the webpage to demonstrate the effectiveness of utilizing technology resources to enhance lessons.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Grade Level Team leaders will ensure lesson planning includes technology standards. Principal will evaluate use of technology by conducting walkthroughs, observations, and yearly observations.

3.) Creating a Learning Environment Through Blogging
Presented by: Elementary Principal & Campus Tech Specialist in Library/Computer Lab
Action Steps: 1. The Principal will introduce teachers to the first book of their study and her blog in the initial meeting. 2. Teachers will watch a YouTube video on creating and maintaining a blog. 3. The Campus Tech Specialist will then walk teachers through creating their blog in the Library Lab. 4. Teachers will blog throughout the year about different books and best practices.
Teachers will be required to post weekly on campus blog.
Monitoring and Evaluation: Principal will monitor posts and encourage teachers to share and comment.
Timeline: August 2011-May 2012

Monitoring and Evaluation:
After reviewing our Campus Improvement Plan and our District Technology Plan, I feel that to be most accurate our monitoring and evaluation of technology improvements will need to be ongoing throughout the year. Everyone from the Superintendent to the Classroom Teacher will have responsibilities to ensure we are making the progress needed to ensure our students are successful. In evaluating and monitoring professional development #1, teachers will be given a survey at the end of the session to gain feedback on how effective the session was. Teachers will also complete another STaR chart at the end of the year, and hopefully have a better understanding of what they are answering and why. The District Tech Director will also complete an ongoing analysis of the technology needs of the school. Professional development # 2 will also be evaluated by teachers at the end of the session for its relevance and effectiveness. Each grade teacher will be responsible for noting technology implementation on weekly lesson plans and keeping a collection of student generated projects. The campus principal will be continuously monitoring the use of technology with walkthroughs, and formal and informal observations. Hopefully, the success of professional development #3 will be seen when the beginning of year surveys about blogging are compared to the end of year surveys. The desired outcome is that teachers will begin to value the use of blogs and realize how they can enhance their learning along with the learning of their students. The principal will also monitor the blog for required posts, and encourage others to comment and share. All in all, we expect the success of our students to truly reveal the success of the improvements we are implementing. However, monitoring of improvement will be critical throughout the year so that adjustments can be made accordingly to the technology plan.

Review and Summary of the National Education Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan is a plan developed because education is key to the economic growth, prosperity, and our student’s competing in the global economy of the 21st century. The Technology Plan is powered by two main goals that have be pushed by the Obama administration. The first goal states that 60% of the population will hold a 2-year or 4-year degree, up from 39%. The second goal refers to closing the achievement gap so all students can graduate from highschool with the ability to succeed in college and careers. While it is acknowledged that these goals are aggressive and meetin them will post enormous challenges, education on the national level is dedicated to creating cost-effective strategies to meet the technology expectations of the 21st century. With regards to teaching and learning, the plan presents a model of education where what and how we teach is based on what our students need to learn, how each of them learn, and where and when they will learn regardless of anything else. In other words, we must use what children know and what they are interested in, enhance the world of education as we know it. Technology is the key to unlock endless opportunities where students can collaborate and learn from others in a learner centered environment. Also in the plan, it expalins the importance of retaining and holding accountable effective teachers and how they are the critical component of transforming education, allowing for the model of connected teaching. This model of teaching replaces isolatoin with connection and is a team activity where teachers gain knowledge from online collaboration with other educators. It is also imperative that teachers receive the necessary training to incorporate the new technology into their everyday curriculum. If teachers are going to be held accountable for ensuring their students are ready to compete in the 21st century, they need to be equipped with the tools and knowledge to do it effectively.

Review of the '08 Progress Report for the LRP for Technology

The 2008 Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 is a very informative document that provides some insight to exactly what has been accomplished over the past few years in the ever-changing area of technology. The report begins with a survey, NetDay Speak UP 2007, completed by a nonprofit group which reported the use of technology in schools and at home for students grade K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. The report goes on to report in detail the progress made in each of the key areas; Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. Also in the review of each area are additional resources for support and improvement, along with examples of different pilot programs used to increase learning. The progress report also included information on each of the Education Service Centers in Texas. I personally learned a lot about the Region Center that services my area. While Region 4 is one of the geographically smallest regions, it serves the largest student and professional populations in the state. For each of the four key areas, the Service Center provides a variety of services. For example, to supplement and enhance Teaching and Learning, the Service Center provides; administrative, financial and quality control for the Texas Virtual School, Blackboard Online Management System, online teacher certification programs, and the Comprehensive Curriculum, Assessment and Professional Development System. In the key area of Educator Preparation and Development, Region 4; provides alternative certification in 43 different areas and trains candidates in domestic alternative certification programs and EC-4 Bilingual Generalist through distance education. Region 4 has an extensive list of services provided in the Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Leadership. Some of these services include; facilitating the Technology Leadership Group, provides assistance through the Texas Cooperative Purchasing Network to purchase technology equipment, performs reviews of PEIMS data, develops web-based applications, and performs technology audits to support district efforts in continuous improvement. To enhance the Infrastructure for Technology in Region 4, the Service Center offers; internet access and filtering through esc4.net, operates video-conferencing, offers virtual data center services and maintains expertise to support schools.

Teaching and Learning in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technolgoy

I feel the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020, has done a tremendous amount in ensuring our students are receiving the technological education that is necessary to be successful in the 21st century and beyond. Because we are in the ‘digital age’, teachers must cultivate not only Math and Reading skills, but also technology skills. These skills are required for students to work efficiently in today’s global economy. In order for teachers to be effective in today’s classroom, they need to be able to use media resources in order to create the real life situations students are interested in. I feel the Long Range Plan has helped us accomplish this because we are now being held accountable for making certain learning is not “one-size fits all”, but rather individualized using variety of digital resources in a variety of learning environments. There are four key areas to the Long Range Plan that assist us in assessing our progress towards the end goal; Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. The key area that draws my attention is Teaching and Learning because it focuses on both teachers and students becoming proficient in utilizing technology. Teachers have to be able to use technology to create a student-centered environment where 86-100% of students are able to master the objectives in the TA TEKS. While this was not our schools lowest scoring area, we are still considered Developing Tech, according to the STaR Chart. This tells me that we must continuously work, not only use technology to support our lessons, but integrate the technology into our lessons to create learner-centered environments. Through technology, we can bring people from the other side of the world into our classrooms for students to collaborate with and talk to. In order to guarantee our students meeting expectations laid out in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, we must step up to the challenge, and embrace technology and everything that goes along with it.

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