Instructional Technology Plan for the West Shore School District Lewisberry, PA

1. Instructional Technology Planfor the West Shore School DistrictLewisberry, PA • By Tammi Gearhart

2. Rationale • Where are we now and where do we want to be? • How will we evaluate whether or not to adopt new programs? What will be our focus and standard? • How will we consistently and effectively communicate our mission to all stakeholders? • How will we ensure that we are in compliance with regulations? • How can we plan to optimize funding opportunities?

3. Planning Team • Director of Curricular Technology Integration • Coordinator of Technology & Media Services • Assistant Superintendent • Principal, teacher, educational technologist, and parent from elementary, middle, and high school • One student from each of the high schools • Two community representatives from the West Shore Foundation

4. Planning Team • The Planning Team will form the following committees and meet once a month: • Learners • Professional Development • Equipment and Facilities

5. Planning Team • The head of each committee will then meet once a month to review their findings and make sure that each committee is staying on task and that they are moving in the same direction.

6. The Process • Establish the team and discuss the process. • Inventory the following equipment: laptops, desktops, smartboards, projectors, digital cameras, video cameras, scanners, printers, and student response systems • Determine program needs for the next three years, and align them with Learning Focus goals and 21st Century goals.

7. The Process • Outline professional development needs • Determine budget needs • Outline a timeline for disposal and replacement of outdated equipment • Write a rough draft of the technology plan, submit for revision, and submit final copy

8. Technology and Media’s Vision Statement • The Technology and Media Department seeks to provide the necessary components for technology success to students, faculty, and staff. This will include hardware, software, professional development, and support. We will consistently seek and share ways to implement strategies for developing 21st century skills in all students through the use of integrating technology into the curriculum.

9. Technology Integration Vision • We believe that technology skills are no longer optional, and that they are not developed in isolation. Teaching students to use technology as a tool that is embedded into their everyday routine will create strong users of technology. Integrating technology will lead to students who are creative problem-solvers who are able to collaborate, global in their perspective, critical thinkers, and ready to adapt to new challenges and developments.

10. Objectives • Learners • Professional Development • Equipment and Facilities • The time line for all goals to begin would be by the beginning of the next academic year, or at the latest, the second academic year. • Each would be reviewed annually.

11. Learner Goal 1 • Adapt the instructional program to ensure all students have weekly access to a dynamic technology experience.

12. Learner Objective 1.1 and 1.2 • Students in grades 1 – 8 will progress through a course of technology instruction that is based on state and ISTE NETS standards that will support the integration efforts of the classroom teachers and help in developing 21st century technology skills. • Review student benchmarks, incorporating new technologies and methods for meeting state and ISTE NETS standards.

13. Learner Objective 1.3 and 1.4 • Establish a class schedule for grades 1 - 8 to meet once per cycle for a 45-minute class period to work through an established technology curriculum. • Continue to support the push-in model of integration through the use of laptop carts at all levels, making sure that each building has a laptop ratio of one laptop per seven students.

14. Learner Objective 1.5 • Develop and review a list of Web 2.0 project choices to be presented to teachers in grades 1 - 12 as “integration expectations”.

15. Leaner Goal 2 • Establish research-based evaluations to ensure all students have established technology literacy by eighth grade.

16. Learner Objective 2.1 • Beginning in first grade, students will develop electronic portfolios that will travel with them throughout their academic career, and that will consist of the technology projects that they have created both during the structured instructional time and during their classroom integration time.

17. Learner Objective 2.2 and 2.3 • Beginning in first grade and continuing through eighth grade, students will be assessed on benchmarks that are based on state and ISTE NETS standards. Click here for the link to benchmark standards for grades 1 -5. • Create and review a database of standards-based rubrics for teachers to use when grading technology projects.

18. Leaner Goal 3 • Develop and implement appropriate responses to special needs.

19. Learner Objective 3.1 • Continue to work with the Capital Area Intermediate Unit to find and provide adaptive and assistive technologies for students with special needs in an effort to make them more successful and productive students.

20. Learner Objective 3.2 • Establish online learning opportunities for special needs and independent study opportunities, beginning at the ninth grade level, and progressing down to include sixth grade. • Time frame: To include grades 9 through 12 by the beginning of the second academic year; adding grades 6 through 8 by the beginning of the third academic year of this plan.

21. Professional Development Goal 1 • Refine and communicate evaluation methods based on current ISTE NETS-T standards.

22. Professional Development Objective 1.1 and 1.2 • Re-evaluate the five-level teacher tier plan against current ISTE-NETS-T standards and revise as necessary. Distribute to all faculty. • Implement a weekly reporting system that will allow principals to know the frequency of and roadblocks to classroom integration.

23. Professional Development Goal 2 • Provide support that will allow success for new teachers, late-adopters, and avenues for teachers who have been successful adopters of technology to communicate their ideas and methods.

24. Professional Development Objectives 2.1 and 2.2 • Increase the number of Educational Technologists at the elementary level to assist in mentoring and assisting classroom teacher in integrating technology. • Based on principal observations and weekly reports, identify faculty who are having difficulty integrating technology into their lessons. Establish mentoring relationships for those faculty.

25. Professional Development Objective 2.3 • Implement changes in planning time that will allow the Educational Technologist to be a part of team planning at least once a month for each grade level.

26. Professional Development Goal 3 • Develop an increased awareness of Web 2.0 tools and the changing technological world that will develop higher achievement and 21st century skills in our students.

27. Professional Development Objective 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 • Identify a new set of faculty to attend the Apple Cadre training each year. • Schedule an integration professional development in-service day required for all faculty and administrators. • Continue to offer a variety of training opportunities for summer exchange days. • Develop a conference-style professional development exchange day where the theme is technology integration.

28. Facilities and Equipment Goal 1 • We will strive to maintain a balance between performance, cost, and environmental impact in our equipment purchasing decisions.

29. Facilities and EquipmentObjective 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 • Digital books adoption at the high school level in math, science, and history. • Determine student equipment that needs to be replaced based on committee recommendations. Develop plan for disposal of outdated equipment and plan for ordering new equipment. • Assess buildings for network connectivity issues and replace equipment as needed.

30. Facilities and Equipment Objective 1.4, 1.5, and 1.6 • Evaluate the schedule for teacher laptops to be replaced and follow through. Develop schedule for purchase, rollout, reallocation, and necessary training. • Establish a plan for completing installation of smartboards in remaining classrooms and outline a plan for replacing smartboards as they age. • Develop cost-effective methods to provide color printing at each building.

31. Needs/Assessment • Online Needs Assessment Form • How teachers are assessing student work and their familiarity with the benchmarks • What applications are being used; are they using the more creative applications the standard applications such as PowerPoint and word processing • Equipment issues • Attitudes towards integration and the teacher’s role in taking responsibility for his/her training needs

32. Professional Development • The need for professional development will be determined by • Surveys • Weekly reports and principal observation • Student input from the middle and high school level • Educational Technologists observations

33. Professional Development • Select a new set of faculty to receive Apple Cadre training. • Select 20 faculty members to attend each year • They will become technology leaders in their buildings • They learn programs, web applications, AND how to integrate technology

34. Professional Development • One day in-service devoted to integration and 21st century skills • This will not be a “how to” day, but a “why to” day • Try to secure a keynote speaker, but also have hands-on activities • Make it an annual event

35. Professional Development • Continue to offer a variety of training topics during summer exchange days • Strengthen computer skills so teachers will feel more comfortable with technology • Introduce new technologies • Opportunities to review older technologies for late adopters

36. Professional Development • Develop a conference-style professional development exchange day with a theme of integration • The mission will be to showcase the best of what teachers and students are doing in classrooms • Have a variety of offerings for a variety of skill levels • The goal will be to develop enthusiasm for integration based on how it changes the learning environment

37. Evaluation/Research • This plan looks at three main areas: • The Leaner • Professional Development • Facilities and Equipment

38. Evaluation/Research • This year we will begin getting baselines for student performance in grades 1 - 8 that will be based on state and ISTE NETS standards • We will start developing portfolios • Each year, we will follow-up to see if scores have improved • We will compare portfolios year to year

39. Evaluation/Research • The first year we will establish a baseline of the number of times teachers have used technology to provide an integrated lesson • We will compare that number each consecutive year expecting to see the number increase; if it hasn’t, we will be looking for answers to why

40. Evaluation/Research • The teachers will continue to do self-evaluations of their tier levels at the beginning and end of the school year. This year we will establish the number of teachers at each level. • We anticipate that teachers will be moving up in their tier levels each year and will monitor the percentage of teachers at each level.

41. Evaluation/Research • We will bring in the Metiri Group to do a survey of teachers’ attitudes towards technology for this first year, and again in year three. • Using the results, we will address necessary issues • We anticipate finding progress in the third-year survey

42. Evaluation/Research • Based on Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels • Reaction - did you enjoy the training? If the method wasn’t enjoyed, it wasn’t effective. • Learning - do the teachers believe it impacted their skills? • Transfer - can the teachers be observed using the skills? • Results - has there been a change in their effectiveness in integrating technology because of the professional development that’s been designed?

43. Timeline • Establishing the planning team: 3 months • Process Description: 6 months due to ensuring that the integration standards are aligned with district curricular goals • Needs Assessment: 1 month

44. Timeline • Professional Development: getting things in place for it to happen will need to begin immediately; however, it will take place and be evaluated each year over all three years • Evaluation/Research: Will take place over the course of the three years of the technology plan, with major research conducted at both the beginning and the end of the technology plan.

45. Comments or Questions • If you have comments or questions, please email me at Tammi Gearhart, tammigearhart@u.boisestate.edu.