Week 4 Assignment

Superintendent

• Will help develop and assist in the supervision of an implemented technology plan
• Provide leadership and direction for technology program and assist the district technology director

District Technology Director

 Will provide network management for the district by handling hardware & software problems, installations, upgrades, & maintenance
 Will provide and support network security by maintaining network, Internet & email accounts and designing & implementing network backups
 Will provide technical support by acting as a liaison to vendors, providing network design & configuration, and assistance to end user for equipment & software problems
 Other additional duties, to include; purchasing; documentation; compliance with state and federal law


Principal

• Will implement a technology plan on the campus and follow the guidelines set by the District Technology Director
• Will act as a liaison between the staff and District Technology Director
• Will monitor and ensure that the district’s technology plan is adhered to
• Will assist and support teachers in their application and purchase of technology


District Instructional Technologist

 Will provide instruction on technology by planning, developing, and providing professional development for the district
 Will aid in the purchasing of new technology by researching new technologies, products & services, and making recommendations for purchase and implementation
 Will provide website development and maintenance of the district and campus websites
 Will provide technical support by providing basic software and hardware support throughout the district
 Will act as the liaison for txConnect / txGradebook; ePlan & STaR chart coordinator; budget planning



Campus Technology Technician

 Will provide campus support by installing and repairing computers and peripherals throughout the district; relocating computer hardware and equipment; diagnosing, repairing, and reformatting computers; and assisting with network installations and maintenance
 Will assist with PEIMS by coordinating the collection, integration, and formatting of all data required for PEIMS submission; and working with campus/business office personnel to collect, organize, and submit district PEIMS data in a timely manner

Educators

• Will implement of the use of technology for their students
• Will provide instruction and assistance in the use of technology to their students
• Will document the use of technology in their lesson plans
• Will attend a minimum of 6 additional hours of professional development in the field of technology



Professional Development Plan

• Teachers and administrators to attend a workshop on the STaR Chart and AEIS/AYP data. This will assist each individual in the comprehension of the data, and implementation of further professional development necessary.
• All current and future teachers are to complete a professional development session over the Technology TEKS set for their grade level.
• Each teacher will be required to take a pre-, during, and post-technology assessment to gauge their improvement on the use of technology in their classes.
• Each teacher will be required to attend a minimum of 6 hours of professional development in the field of technology in addition to a professional development session in video technology.
• Teachers will be required to participate in an on-going technology discussion board to stress collaboration in the use and understanding of technology in the classroom.
• Teachers will learn about the use of blogs to aid in the increase of their communication with their students and other stakeholders.
• All teachers will be provided an opportunity to evaluate and assess various pieces of technology that may aid them in their core subject.

At my campus we are currently using and moving towards using more technology in our classrooms. What I have noticed from talking to other teachers and looking over data is that we are not as prepared for this change. We, the educators, are in need of further professional development. The majority of us know the basics of technology and are developing a better understanding of the technology we have in our classrooms. We can apply a K-W-L chart to assist in the selection of professional development sessions. It is necessary to address the budget so that we could possibility bring in those individuals that have developed the technology to provide us some hands-on professional development. I feel that the on-going technology discussion board will enable us to communicate with one another on a daily basis. We can also open up these discussion boards to additional campuses and districts. Professional development is important to the improvement of our lessons. However, we must be very critical in the types of professional development that we attend. We must be able to prove its relevance and make sure we provide some sort of assessment of technology to those who provided the professional development, and our staff. Not only should we provide staff development to our teachers and paraprofessionals, we should also find ways to assess our increasing knowledge on technology.







Technology Goals and Assessment

GOAL 1: Improve academic achievement through the effective integration of technology into curricula and instruction

• The district/campus will implement a technology applications proficiency checklist for benchmark years - 2nd, 5th, and 8th grades. Evidence of this implementation will be seen through benchmark results.
• Software and training will be provided to promote integration of Technology TEKS into the curriculum. Evaluation of this will be provided through the teacher’s lesson planning and evidence of the software being used in the coursework and/or instruction.


GOAL 2: Staff Development will enable educators and administration to effectively and efficiently use technology to improve student learning and administrative processes

• Implement a professional development plan aligned to the Tech App Educator Standards I-V. We will look at the staff development calendar and our professional development plan to ensure that we follow up on our staff development plan.
• Teachers and administrators will complete a technology self-assessment survey and the STaR Chart survey in the fall. Based on the results of these surveys, the district will create technology development opportunities for the future.

GOAL 3: Maintain and increase access to technology for students, teachers, and administrators

• The district will supply provide teachers with access to the following: smart boards, interwrite pads, clicker systems, document cameras, digital cameras (both still and motion).., etc. We will assess the inventory lists and observe the teachers utilizing these materials in the classroom.
• The district coordinator and administration will work on the increasing of the speed and accessibility of the internet on each campus.

Goal 4: Leadership and Support

• Administrators will provide mentorship to the staff over the use of technology. They will also support the use of technology amongst the staff. The administrator will keep a running log of their meetings with the staff to ensure that they have been monitoring each teacher and addressing their needs.
• Administrators will provide the staff with a guideline for technology assistance.

As we look over the use and need for technology within our districts and on our campuses, one must wonder what are our goals and how do we plan on meeting our goals? It is my opinion that we can meet our goals either simplistically or with a sense of complexity. Regardless of our approach, we are in desperate times when it comes to technology use in our districts. Our students are consistently growing as digital-citizens while many of us remain as digital-immigrants. We, the educators, must remain consistent in the use of technology in our classrooms. We must provide feedback and learn from our documentation devices. Administrators must ensure us that they are taking care of our technological needs. I feel that we will improve on our use of technology. After all, those who are leaders will look to the future and address the needs of tomorrow.