Technology Application Plan
Areas of Need:
Student journaling through blogging and podcasting
Integrating technology in the study of science/social studies through web connected classrooms
The use of data driven technology for student assessment and progress report
The use of technology for student acceleration
Personnel Responsible:
General Ed Teachers (Implementation)
District Technology Specialist (Identification and Professional Development)
Campus Computer Tech (Resource for Technology)
Campus Administrators (Professional Development and acquisition of appropriate technology)
Campus Testing Coordinator (Identification of student needs)
Specific Technology Identified:
Wikis
Blogspot.com
Classroom Teacher Websites
Promethean Planet
Teacher Tube
Waterford
Success Makers
INOVA
Eduphoria
Brain Pop
Study Island
Administrations involvement in the implementation of technology use is critical. It is the responsibility of the principal to see that the vision of technology use on campus is understood and that all staff is committed to the process of implementation and use of technology in the classroom. In my plan each grade level will have a point person that will make up a Technology Team. The Technology Team will work closely with the principal in coordinating the classroom implementation of the technology components. It will fall to the Technology Team members to train their grade level colleagues in the new technology, not only in the use of the technology but to make them aware of the roles that each piece will play in student achievement and success. The Technology Team members will meet regularly with the principal to inform him/her on how the technology is being implemented in the classroom and report data that is being gathered by students’ use of the technology. As the team meets it will evaluate what technology pieces are working and research ways to “tweek” areas that are not working smoothly. Evaluation of technology use in classrooms will take place every 3 months. Reports of the evaluation will be given to teachers so that all staff is aware of how the campus is progressing toward the integration of technology in the classroom.
The equipment and technology pieces are in our classrooms but we do not fully understand how to use them to promote real student achievement and success. This learning must take technology from more than just a way to capture student’s interest and entertain them, to a vehicle that they can use to transport themselves into the drivers seat of their own individual learning. Professional development and appropriate training must be offered to guide teachers in this way of thinking and in the implementation of the equipment and technology pieces used in classroom instruction. These training opportunities need to be ongoing, just as learning is a never ending process. Since technology and the digital world are changing everyday, so must our understanding of the technology and how it can best be used in the instruction of our students.
Several professional development trainings that I am aware of that need to be put in place for all of my districts educators concern the data collecting tools of INOVA, Eduphoria, and Success Makers/Waterford. INOVA is a tool that tracks student’s TAKS testing progress from year to year. It breaks down the student’s comprehension by objectives in all tested subject areas and tracks the progress that needs to be made to keep the student on the current performance level for success. Professional development for this tool would include training in what the INOVA report generates.
Eduphoria is a tool that is new to teachers in our district. It is a place where all information collected by the school/district is housed for every student in the district. One piece of this tool is the inclusion of all TAKS, Benchmark and Milestone scores collected throughout the student’s education process. These scores are housed and available to the teacher for use at any time. This tool makes it quicker to identify at risk students and allows each teacher to view their student’s progress from grade to grade. Another evaluation tool is that of Success Makers for 2nd thru 6th grades and Waterford for K thru 2nd grades. These tools offer students acceleration in Reading, Math, and Science. It can take a student on their current comprehension level and move them through a process to try to advance them to grade level comprehension and understanding of the content material.
As far as professional development opportunities for technology training for instructional and organizational leadership are concerned, my district has a new course set up that is self paced and covers 23 things - as they say- that are part of the Web 2.0 technology advancement. The course is self paced and walks you through a step by step process of how to accomplish tasks and post your completed assignments to a blog that is used for collaboration among those taking the course and the instructors, much like this course through Lamar University has done. It has been interesting to discover new ways to include my learning as a piece of technology that is visible to more than just me and an instructor. I am including the link to the site for the course used by my district to touch on each of these technology pieces. http://misd23things.blogspot.com/2008/05/23-things_29.html These tools can be used in every aspect of campus life, from staff communication, to administration correspondence and training, to student learning and education.
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Texas STaR Chart
Range Elementary’s STaR Chart shows that Key Area IV, Infrastructure and Technology, is a growing area on our campus. Within the past several years our campus has made it a priority to give students access to various technology tools. We have purchased a set of 30 Mac laptops that are available to all students during their library time. They are housed in a cart that can be transported to classrooms as needed. Our computer lab has recently been equipped with 30 new desktop Mac computers where teachers can take students for group online lessons through various educational sites. These two new additions give students hands on opportunities to advance their understanding and experience with technology.
Other technological advances have been taking place inside our classrooms. Each classroom has been equipped with wireless access along with a Promethean interactive white board. Every classroom also has 3 laptops that are available for student use as it pertains to acceleration and course curriculum.
But these advances alone do not adequately address the situation that is occurring on my campus. I serve on a Title I campus, meaning that at least 85% of the student population on my campus falls under the classification of economically disadvantaged. This provides a dilemma that must be addressed not only on the campus level but at a higher level as well. How do we service these students that do not have access to technology on a regular basis at home? This fact may need further research. My students do know how to function in the quick technology world of cell phones and mp3 players, but they are not knowledgeable in how to conduct research and display that knowledge in a format that can be accessed by others to learn from.
Learning cannot be structured so that it is a one size fits all instruction. Each student will perform at a different level. They will develop the ability to self-assess their progress and monitor themselves to achieve goals that are laid out for them through unified instruction. My solution for my students, as far as giving them access to technology, is to begin by giving them a weekly assignment that they can complete either at school or at home if they have access to technology outside the classroom. I will give a class demonstration of the technology use with instructions on how to complete the assignment along with guidelines for what the students are to perform. They can then email me the results or post them to the student server in the drop box that I have provided. This is just one way that I can begin to move my students into the 21st century of global awareness and functionality.
Other technological advances have been taking place inside our classrooms. Each classroom has been equipped with wireless access along with a Promethean interactive white board. Every classroom also has 3 laptops that are available for student use as it pertains to acceleration and course curriculum.
But these advances alone do not adequately address the situation that is occurring on my campus. I serve on a Title I campus, meaning that at least 85% of the student population on my campus falls under the classification of economically disadvantaged. This provides a dilemma that must be addressed not only on the campus level but at a higher level as well. How do we service these students that do not have access to technology on a regular basis at home? This fact may need further research. My students do know how to function in the quick technology world of cell phones and mp3 players, but they are not knowledgeable in how to conduct research and display that knowledge in a format that can be accessed by others to learn from.
Learning cannot be structured so that it is a one size fits all instruction. Each student will perform at a different level. They will develop the ability to self-assess their progress and monitor themselves to achieve goals that are laid out for them through unified instruction. My solution for my students, as far as giving them access to technology, is to begin by giving them a weekly assignment that they can complete either at school or at home if they have access to technology outside the classroom. I will give a class demonstration of the technology use with instructions on how to complete the assignment along with guidelines for what the students are to perform. They can then email me the results or post them to the student server in the drop box that I have provided. This is just one way that I can begin to move my students into the 21st century of global awareness and functionality.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020
The Long-Range Plan for Technology is a comprehensive plan that guides educators through four domains that students are expected to achieve by the year 2020. The four key domains are Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. In looking closely at the plan it is imperative that we as educators prepare our students for participation in the global world of technology. As leaders we need to research and provide quality staff developments that give our teachers adequate skills in facilitating the use of this advanced technology.
The move in preparing our students for this understanding of technology must include the many aspects of their lives. Students must realize that technology links to home, school, libraries, business and many other avenues that they will encounter in their lives. The understanding must encompass the world as a whole. We no longer live in a small space made up of the neighborhood around us. We are part of a global community. As educators it is our responsibility to educate our students to function within the global community. We must lead them into the 21st century technological realm.
As an administrator it will be my responsibility to ensure that the staff on my campus is prepared to guide their students into functionality within the 21st century technology expectations. This guidance will come through well prepared staff developments that educate teachers to assist students in moving to the next level as it concerns technology.
The move in preparing our students for this understanding of technology must include the many aspects of their lives. Students must realize that technology links to home, school, libraries, business and many other avenues that they will encounter in their lives. The understanding must encompass the world as a whole. We no longer live in a small space made up of the neighborhood around us. We are part of a global community. As educators it is our responsibility to educate our students to function within the global community. We must lead them into the 21st century technological realm.
As an administrator it will be my responsibility to ensure that the staff on my campus is prepared to guide their students into functionality within the 21st century technology expectations. This guidance will come through well prepared staff developments that educate teachers to assist students in moving to the next level as it concerns technology.
Technology use as it relates to the Technology Appication Inventory and The SETDA Teacher Survey
I took a look at two evaluation tools that examined the level of technology use in my classroom. The results were extremely eye opening for me. The two tools that I reviewed were the Technology Applications Inventory, http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/techapp/assess/teksurv.pdf and The SETDA Teacher Survey found at http://www.setda-peti.org/tools.html . I found that I had a functioning knowledge of the basic use of technology but that I was not utilizing the technology to its full potential.
My discovery with the Technology Application Inventory was that I faired competent only in the area of Foundations. My results demonstrated that I understood more of the components of technology than not. In the areas of Information Acquisition, Solving Problems, and Communications I am lacking in use and understanding. My weakest link is Information Acquisition. I will look for ways to increase my understanding of this component of technology as it concerns LANs and WANs along with directories and various search engines.
In reference to The SETDA Teacher Survey, I discovered that I am not utilizing technology to the fullest when it comes to using data to determine if technology is impacting my student’s achievement. My grade level is not using technology equally across the subjects that we are teaching. We will need to reevaluate how we are implementing and using technology to assist our students in learning the core subject material. My students are not functioning in the 21st century when it comes to technology. I need to create opportunities to assist my students in becoming visually literate as well as literate in the areas of information, technology and global awareness.
As an educator I realize that it is one of my responsibilities to not only impart knowledge to my students but to enable them to teach themselves. This task will be a daunting one but can be achieved. I must look for ways to increase my student’s availability to technology. Most of my students fall under the classification of economically disadvantaged. Technology is not always available to my students outside of class. I am looking into ways that I could work with my colleagues in sharing the technology that we have on campus to utilize it to our student’s advantage.
I feel that the two technology pieces are great tools to catch a quick glimpse at how successful teachers are at implementing technology into the mainstream classroom. I agree with the outcome that resulted from my honest answers to the questions asked as they concern my use of technology. I am glad that I had the opportunity to see where I fall short in implementation and understanding of technology as it relates to student achievement and success.
My discovery with the Technology Application Inventory was that I faired competent only in the area of Foundations. My results demonstrated that I understood more of the components of technology than not. In the areas of Information Acquisition, Solving Problems, and Communications I am lacking in use and understanding. My weakest link is Information Acquisition. I will look for ways to increase my understanding of this component of technology as it concerns LANs and WANs along with directories and various search engines.
In reference to The SETDA Teacher Survey, I discovered that I am not utilizing technology to the fullest when it comes to using data to determine if technology is impacting my student’s achievement. My grade level is not using technology equally across the subjects that we are teaching. We will need to reevaluate how we are implementing and using technology to assist our students in learning the core subject material. My students are not functioning in the 21st century when it comes to technology. I need to create opportunities to assist my students in becoming visually literate as well as literate in the areas of information, technology and global awareness.
As an educator I realize that it is one of my responsibilities to not only impart knowledge to my students but to enable them to teach themselves. This task will be a daunting one but can be achieved. I must look for ways to increase my student’s availability to technology. Most of my students fall under the classification of economically disadvantaged. Technology is not always available to my students outside of class. I am looking into ways that I could work with my colleagues in sharing the technology that we have on campus to utilize it to our student’s advantage.
I feel that the two technology pieces are great tools to catch a quick glimpse at how successful teachers are at implementing technology into the mainstream classroom. I agree with the outcome that resulted from my honest answers to the questions asked as they concern my use of technology. I am glad that I had the opportunity to see where I fall short in implementation and understanding of technology as it relates to student achievement and success.
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