Sundown I.S.D. Developing an Effective Technology Plan 2011

1. Sundown I.S.D. Developing an Effective Technology Plan 2011 Allison Robertson EDLD 5362 Lamar University

2. Mission “Education is an enterprise that asks, what’s worth knowing and being able to do?”( U.S. Department of Education, 2010). A focused technology plan “calls for applying the advanced technologies used in our daily personal and professional lives to our entire education system to improve student learning, accelerate the adoption of effective practices, and use data and information for continuous improvement”( U.S. Department of Education, 2010). This will be the focus of developing an effective Technology Plan for Sundown I.S.D. .

3. Vision • Developing an effective Technology Plan for Sundown I.S.D. will focus on integrating technology into the teaching and learning process in an effort to greater engage students and to improve student achievement. • The Technology Plan will supplement the current district School Improvement Plan. • A visionary committee will work together to develop the Technology Plan, keeping in mind that… It is dynamic teachers that still make the biggest difference in the classroom and in student learning.

4. The Process • Form a committee • Assess Needs/Evaluate Current Plan • Conduct research • Model National Education Technology Plan • Plan for infrastructure • Plan for professional development • Develop budget • Implementation of plan • Evaluations and Solutions

5. Form a Committee Recognizing that a visionary committee is critical to the success of developing a new Technology Plan, the following steps will be taken to form a planning committee: • A cross section of members will be recruited from professional and non-professional members of the district staff and from each campus, as well as from diverse members of the community . • Members will be visionary, and bring areas of expertise in: curriculum, planning, budgeting, technology hardware, and professional development.

6. Assess Needs and Evaluate Current Plan Because the district has a new Technology Director with a vision for making improvements, there is much work to be done to update the plan using the following steps: • Assess current needs An inventory of the infrastructure, hardware, software, and other technology tools will be conducted. A preliminary list of needs, including updates and repairs will be made.

7. Staff and student surveys will be conducted to determine the levels of technology integration that exists in the learning environments. Test scores will be examined to determine specific areas of concern The infrastructure’s stability and reliability , along with the level of connectivity will determined.

8. Evaluate current plan After assessing the needs of the district, an evaluation of the current plan should occur. The Sundown I.S.D. Technology Plan at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year focused on updating the infrastructure of the entire district. Plans to increase the bandwidth of the network and to implement reliable wireless connectivity throughout the building were outlined. Steps to increase technology integration were researched and solutions were explored.

9. Conduct Research The district Technology Director , along with one other committee member, will research other schools similar in size and make-up to our district to determine possible future technology steps and purchases. These committee members will make site visits to schools who can share the successes and failures of their implemented technology plan. Preliminary findings will be determined and suggested technology improvements will be discussed.

10. Model National Education Technology Plan The National Education Technology Plan presents five goals, each one “addressing one of the five essential components of learning powered by technology: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity” (U.S. Department of Education). “The model stipulates that we focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know and how they learn” (Nagel, 2010).

11. Using the National Educational Technology Plan as a model, along with the International Society for Technology (ITSE) NETS*S (students),*T, (teachers) *A (administrators) will be one of the guiding factors of the committee as they begin to develop a plan. “Educational technology standards are the roadmap to teaching effectively and growing professionally in an increasingly digital world” (ITSE, 2011).

12. Plan for Infrastructure Under the current Technology Plan, steps have been outlined to overhaul and update the existing infrastructure of the district including: • Increasing bandwidth • Rewiring and installing new switches throughout the district buildings to implement reliable wireless connectivity • Providing dependable and timely technical support responses

13. Plan for Professional Development One of the most important factors in the Technology Plan is the teacher. Professional development plans should be created and set up as an on-going commitment in order for teachers to successfully apply technology to meet the instructional needs of the students. The plan should ensure that “all professional educators are well connected to the content and resources, data and information, and peers and experts” (Nagel, 2010).

14. Professional development will be scheduled over the summer and on dates throughout the school year as determined by the committee. Training for teachers will be hands-on and additional support will be available from the Technology Director throughout the school year. Access to online training and to experts in the field will be made available to teachers to utilize throughout the year.

15. Develop a Budget “ When considering which technology your school district is going to implement, you must consider the potential return on investment, particularly as it relates to student learning and your district’s strategic goals” (Moore, 2006). The scope and depth of the district improvements in technology are directly connected to the availability and amount of the budget.

16. Breakdown of District Budget

17. Budget Considerations • E-Rate contributions and discounts • E-Rate approvals • Grants • Donations • School Board approval • State agency approval

18. Implementation of Plan When the time comes to implement the plan, “the power of technology to support continuous and lifelong learning” should be evident(Duncan, 2010). Implementing the plan involves: • Obtaining support and involvement from administration • Updating and building technology infrastructure • Updating classroom and campus technology

19. Implementing training and professional development • Setting up opportunities for teachers to collaborate with peers and experts to share best practices • Making technical support readily available • Engaging students • Facilitating improved student learning

20. Evaluations and Solutions Evaluation of the new plan: • Recognize that “effective technology plans are short term, not long term” (See, 1997). • Ask, will the plan last one, three or five years? • Continue to assess how well the plan is impacting all student learning, including technology skills. • Conduct teacher surveys at the end of each school year to assess the effectiveness of professional development, and the delivery of instruction.

21. Evaluate reliability of network infrastructure • Conduct committee meetings at the end of the school year to determine successes and failures and to look to the future. • Communicate with administrators, school board members, and community members the successes and failures, as well as the future technology advancements and commitments for the coming year.

22. Solutions At the end of any evaluation process, there should be a time to brainstorm solutions. Solutions should always be reflective of the areas where student achievement could be improved, and should be reasonable for budget constraints. Staff and student surveys should be conducted to determine areas to seek solutions.

23. Sundown I.S.D. Solutions As the end of the 2010-2011 school year comes to a close, Sundown I.S.D. is implementing a new plan to help move the district forward in technology implementation that impacts student learning. This plan involves removing teacher desktop computers and placing them in the campus computer labs to update and increase the reliability of the lab computers. The teachers will be given MacBook Pro laptop computers to replace their desktops.

24. Looking further down the road, Sundown I.S.D. would like to provide each student with their own laptop computer in a one-to-one initiative. Each area of the plan needs to be interwoven in order to bring about greater success. There is much to be done to bring 21st century technology and its advantages into the classrooms of Sundown I.S.D. As things are rapidly changing, so must the technology plans change to keep up with the demands of educating and preparing students for this technology-rich society.

25. “Today’s educators must provide a learning environment that takes students beyond the walls of their classrooms and into a world of endless opportunities” (ITSE, 2011).

26. References Duncan, A. (2010). Arne Duncan talks about the 2010 national ed tech plan. Retrieved on May 10, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0PctTd_plE ITSE International Society for Technology website Retrieved on May 11, 2011 from http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx

27. References Moore, R. J., (2006, August). The five best accelerators in school. School Administrator, 63.7, p.8. Nagel. D. (2010, November 9). National ed tech plan puts technology at the heart of education reform. Retrieved on May 10, 2011 from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/11/09/national-ed-tech-plan-puts-technology-at-the-heart-of-education-reform.aspx

28. References See, J. (1992). Developing effective technology plans. Retrieved on May 10, 2011 from http://www.nctp.com/html/john_see.cfm Sundown I.S.D. Technology Plan U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, Washington, D.C., 2010.