Technology Action Plan

Please note: In transferring this information to my Blog, the format changed somewhat. The original information was in chart format.

PART 1: KEY PERSONNEL FROM THE DISTRICT ADMINISTRATION THROUGH CAMPUS IMPLEMENTATION RESPONSIBLE FOR INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP:

Superintendent of Schools -
Dr. Don Stockton
Responsible for providing the necessary resources and to make sure district and state goals are met.

Associate Superintendent of Schools-
Chris Hines
Assists the superintendent in the expected duties. Helps to ensure that all goals are met.

Assistant Superintendent for Technology
Dr. Scott Barrett
Responsible for making sure that all technology components are met. Responsible for hiring technology staff for the district.

District Technology Staff-
Responsible for implementing, troubleshooting, and guiding educators through technology processes. Creates professional development for district employees. Includes a staff of 50 employees.

Campus Principal
Dr. Christine Butler
Ensures that technology is implemented correctly and to the fullest extent. Models appropriate use of technology and must make sure that all stakeholders are using technology in the correct manner.

Campus Technology Liaison and Teacher
Wendy Jackson
Provides staff development training, helps teachers to troubleshoot and offers guidance. Also creates slide shows for daily morning announcements and uses broadcasting equipment fluently
.
Campus teachers
Implement technology in the curriculum, guides students in the use of technology and attends professional developments to learn the necessary skills. Models appropriate use of technology. Uses WOW carts to integrate technology. Keeps website updated and communicates with parents using technology as well as traditional methods.


ROLE OF PRINCIPAL:
In the flow of technology the principal has the most responsibilities. They are responsibile for making sure that technology is implemented correctly; that technical gliches are resolved quickly; are in charge of making sure the teachers are using 21st Century technology in their classroom and aligning campus goals with the state and district goals. They serve as the supervisor of all technology aspects on their campus. They must also actively monitor teacher and student ethics to make sure that teachers and students are not using incorrect websites or technology tools and not excluding monitoring cyberbullying. They must work alongside the Site Based Decision Making Committee to ensure that all of the necessary technology is available at their campus and if not, collaborate to find ways to acquire the technology.


PART 2: Based on last week's interviews, it was well noted that our district is proactive in making sure that educators are exposed to many varieties of professional development and general technology information. Our students are proficient in the use of technology and feel more at ease with computer usage versus veteran educators that did not grow up in a technology age time period. I myself have a lot to learn and am a digital immigrant, as defined in our readings last week. I struggle to learn new technology but am willing to learn in order to keep up with my students. One of my biggest triumphs has been working on my school website using WIX. I found myself enjoying the technology involved in creating a visually appealing website. The Lamar program has also forced me to learn many aspects of technology in areas I did not even realize existed. When working on my assignments I have learned about the many concepts of Microsoft Word, more than I ever expected I would. When I exit the Lamar program, I feel that I will have gained technology information that will allow me to move forward with my technology skills and continue to develop professionally and personally. And as a future administrator, I will feel more comfortable leading technology by example.

In order to develop a beneficial professional development, it is important to list the campus goals in regards to the CIP. The CIP is the guiding force of what the technological needs are for our campus.
• Increase student opportunities for utilizing technology across the curriculum areas.
• Within each grade level cluster, all Technology Applications TEKS are met.
• Provide hands-on training in use of new technology across the curriculum by offering Tech Thursday Staff Development to staff members.
• Provide opportunities for classroom integration of technology across the curriculum through the use of the WOW carts, mimios, etc.
• Increase student knowledge of 2.0 web tools.
• Incorporate technology in the specials rotation.
• Use the STaR chart to assess teacher needs.



PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING-BASED ON CAMPUS GOALS AND TEACHER NEEDS:

WHAT WHO AND WHERE TIME FRAME
REQUIRED
STaR Chart Evaluation-use to share the needs of the teachers and implement additional technology goals. All teachers, Administration/Library First faculty meeting of the school year, before students arrive.

REQUIRED
Websites-to teach or review the concepts of the district website as well as to learn about WIX. Teachers will be required to update their websites at this meeting. Technology staff will be on hand to guide teachers through the process. All teachers, Administration/School Computer Lab Staff Development on Wednesday. Month of August.
Email and E-bulletin Communication-use to teach proper ways to communicate to parents using technology. Also, incorporate proper email etiquette when writing to parents. Teachers/Computer Lab Tech Thursday in September.

REQUIRED
Basic Knowledge of 2.0 web tools-use to help teachers feel competent in teaching students to increase their knowledge of 2.0 web tools. In addition, use to assure teacher proficiency in incorporating this in everyday teaching and lesson plans. All teachers,
Administration/Computer Lab Two staff developments in September.

WOW carts-use to demonstrate how to use the Web on Wheels cart and implement into the curriculum for each grade level. Incorporate various subject matters and use hands on training. Teachers/Various classrooms Tech Thursday in October.

Mimios-use to demonstrate the advantages of using Mimios and how to use them. Compare to Smartboard and have proficient teachers demonstrate lesson plans they have created using mimios. Teachers/Various classrooms Tech Thursday in November.

Use of technology in the Specials content area-use to help teachers in special content areas to develop basic technology lesson plans that they can incorporate in the curriculum. Specials teacher will share concepts they have used and how each other to create new applications of technology. Specials teachers-Art, PE, Music/Music or Art classroom Staff Development Meeting in January. Instead of attending the normal staff development meeting, the Specials teachers will collaborate in another area.

PART 3: Evaluation Plan for Action Plan
In order to determine whether or not the action plan will be effective, it will be important to evaluate each professional development activity. Using feedback, reflection, assessment and student evaluation will allow administrators and educators to see if there has been professional growth in the technology areas identified. Below is the summary of how each area of the action plan will be assessed.
ACTION PLAN ASSESSMENT
STaR chart evaluation-goal was to increase teacher proficiency in technology and increase rating on the STaR chart.
• Increase in teacher proficiency on the STaR chart
• Increase in overall campus rating on the STaR chart
Websites-to understand how to update websites on a regular basis using basic technology skills.
• Administration monitoring to make sure websites are up to date
• Positive parent feedback
• Teacher reflection of ease in which they can use their website to communicate information
• Sharing sessions among teachers
Email and E-Bulletin-to use ethical and proper etiquette in sharing information with school stakeholders and answering emails. Teachers are to be able to create a monthly bulletin to send to parents about their classroom.
• Increased communication with parents and school stakeholders
• Teacher development of weekly bulletins and proper usage of email etiquette
• Administrator evaluation of how proficient the teacher has become using this type of technology
Basic knowledge of 2.0 web tools-used to allow teachers to be competent in teaching and implementing technology in the curriculum and daily teaching.
• Use of basic computer technology
• Teacher self-evaluation
• Observation of student use of 2.0 web tools
WOW carts-used to incorporate technology in the curriculum.
• Ease of use by teachers and students
• Ability to correctly use the carts without abusing the hardware and knowledge of how to implement correct practice of using the laptops
Mimios-used to create interactive lessons using the white board in the classroom.
• Ease of use by teachers
• Self-evaluation of teachers and administrators
• Use of basic computer skills
• Creation of innovative lessons using the mimio.
Use of technology in Specials area-used to help guide teachers in content areas of Music, Art and PE to incorporate technology in daily or weekly lessons.
• Creation of lessons by Specials teachers using technology
• Evaluation by teachers and administrators
• Use of basic computer skills
• Positive student feedback