Running Head: Technology Plan SCSD #1

Technology Plan Project: Sublette County School District #1 Jennifer Anderson 2/24/2013

Technology Plan SCSD #1 Table of Contents Question 1..page 3 Question 2..page 3-4 Question 3..page 5 Question 4..page 6 Question 5..page 6 Question 6..page 6-7 Question 7..page 7 Question 8..page 7-8 Question 9..page 8-9 Question 10...page 9 Question 11...page 10 Question 12page 10-11 Referencespage 11

Note: The SCSD#1 technology plan is a PDF document, therefore I could not copy and paste associated sections of it here. This paper quotes the SCSD#1 technology plan and includes page numbers to the original document. You can access the SCSD#1 technology plan at: http://www.pinedaleschools.org/Download.asp?L=1&LMID=343363&PN=DocumentUploads&D ivisionID=8407&DepartmentID=&SubDepartmentID=&SubP=&Act=Download&T=1&I=234691

1. What is your districts vision or mission statement? Five years from now, would a visitor coming to your school see technology supporting learning and teaching? Would there be an improvement from today? The mission statement for Sublette County School District #1 (SCSD#1) is part of their District Strategic Plan. It is as follows: In partnership with parents and our community, Sublette County School District #1 is committed to providing a student-centered, 21st century learning experience that will inspire all students to become lifelong learners and prepare each of them to be responsible and successful adults in a global society. (District Strategic Plan, 2012).

I believe the SCSD #1 mission statement does support and promote the use of technology. The inclusion of 21st century learning experience suggests that students will have access to modern technologies in order to receive a 21st century learning experience and develop necessary 21st century skills. These skills may include critical thinking, collaboration, information literacy, and creativity and innovation. I believe in five years a visitor would be impressed by the dynamic use of technology in this district. The district is currently developing a one-to-one initiative; this will greatly impact their ability to provide a 21st century learning experience. The district mission and the technology plan mission reflect a district willing to integrate and collaborate with technology in order to better not only their students, but their teachers as well. This technology plan makes a priority of training teachers to be technologically literate, because they understand the importance of teachers to student learning outcomes; as well as, the benefits of technology literacy for both. There would be an improvement from today in the amount of technology per student and an increased use of both teacher-directed and student-directed technology, based upon McRELs nine strategies.

2. Has the district established levels of proficiency in technology by grade levels? If so, are these proficiencies woven into the academic curriculum? Are they taught in separate stand-along technology lessons/classes? Sublette County School District #1 has yet to define technology proficiency levels or standards by grade level. However, program goal #2 (page16-17) is for technology literacy and states, Ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes 8th grade regardless of the students race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location or disability. One objective associated with this goal is to develop and revise standards and benchmarks for technical literacy for students and staff (page 21). SCSD #1 is currently in the

process of revising and developing their technology standards. This process was identified in the 2006 technology plan, but was put on hold due to other priorities (page 17). At this time, SCSD#1 uses College and Career Readiness Skills as their technology standards/benchmarks (see technology plan mission statement below). SCSD#1 also utilizes assessment data for student performance on the NWEA MAP assessments (page 9). This data provides next steps for instruction across all content areas, including technology. SCSD technology plan goal #3 states, Effective integration of technology resources and systemsencourage effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that may be widely implemented as best practices by state educational agencies and local agencies (page 17). One objective falling under goal #3 is to develop and revise curriculum, courses, assignments and assessments to integrate and align technology standards (page 22). This objective suggests that technology standards, once completed, will be woven in or integrated into ALL academic curriculum and not taught in a separate, stand-alone classroom. In order to meet goal #2 mentioned above, it will be very important to utilize technology standards in all areas in order to develop technology proficient students by grade eight. The SCSD#1 Technology plan mentions the Career and College Readiness Skills within the technology plan mission statement. The District Statement for Technology (page 3) is as follows: In order to provide students with opportunities to apply Career and/or College Readiness Skills, technology integration is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. By engaging these skills students will be able to: 1. Apply basic computing skills in authentic, integrated ways to solve problems, complete projects, and extend their work. 2. Prepare for career and/or college, and global society. 3. Apply ethical standards to communications. 4. Contribute to the social and civic fabric of communities. College and Career Readiness Skills include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Use technology effectively and productively. Think critically, solve problems, and make decisions. Conduct research and use information. Communicate and collaborate. Demonstrate creativity and innovation.

3. What are some of the classroom management strategies that work with the amount of technology actually available in the classroom? Classroom management strategies were not addressed in the SCSD#1 Strategic Plan. The current level of technology available in SCSD#1 is a 2 to 1 ratio of students to computers. One of the goals stated in the SCSD#1 technology plan is upgrading infrastructure and computing hardware to accommodate one-to-one computing (page 19). The one-to-one pilot began in Fall 2011, therefore, the one-to-one computing goal is currently underway and should be completed in 2013. Having a one-to-one school or district does require added management strategies within the classroom, school, and district. SCSD#1 has developed a student and staff appropriate use policy, called a PiNET agreement (page 36-37) that is required for all students and staff. These agreements do include some classroom management rules, including the following: PiNET users may not: 1. Access, send, or store offensive or objectionable material or messages on or from district-owned computers. 2. Conduct illegal or nefarious activities. 3. Attempt to obtain access to restricted sites, district servers, files, databases or any part of the districts computing system. 4. Play games that are not approved by supervising teacher. 5. Plagiarize print or non-print media. It is important in any classroom to have effective, traditional classroom management. Adding one-to-one computer access does add another level of classroom management. If I were a district leader in SCSD#1, I would suggest resources for the teachers to use including articles or simple strategies. These may include the following: Be consistent and follow through with your rules; model appropriate technology use; develop high interest lessons so students stay on task; give them choices on how to present a product; be flexible with the technology; circulate around the classroom with a grade book and monitor activity consistently; use the same procedures daily so students know what to expect; provide clear guidelines for use; and consider time, proximity, and arrangements as tools. I would provide relevant, resources for teachers in my district as well. See these two articles for examples: http://etoolbox.wikispaces.com/file/view/ClassroomManagementDigitalAge.pdf http://schoolnet.org.za/CoL/ACE/course/classroom/documents/one-toone_classroom_management_strategies.pdf

4. Does the district have an inventory system or does one need to be developed to track the type and age of hardware? The SCSD#1 district technology plan does not show an inventory list, however, it does list the computers and their location within each school and grade level (page 29). With that information provided, I would assume that the district does have an up to date inventory list. This assumption is strengthened by the detailed information regarding equipment within the technology plan. The district population fluctuates around 1000 students (page 4) and there are approximately 1000 workstations that technology support staff are responsible for (page 31). In addition to computer workstations, there are also Smartboards, document cameras, VoIP phones, printers and fax machines within the district that should be logged on an inventory sheet. If this is an incorrect assumption, then an inventory plan and list definitely need to be implemented to track type and age of hardware. 5. Are assistive technologies available to students with special needs as well as to other students, such as English language learners, who might benefit from the use of those devices and software? The SCSD#1 technology plan addresses equity of technology multiple times throughout the plan. It also includes a program goal for technology literacy that ensures literacy by eighth grade across all races, ethnicities, genders, incomes, locations, and disabilities (page, 11). In addition, the technology plan addresses high-need students. As soon as a multidisciplinary team determines a technology need, the technology staff respond immediately. Other highneeds are identified through 504, or teacher recommendations are managed through building administrators and the technology director (page 19). The technology plan does not mention any specific assistive technologies in the district, such as voice control or screen readers. It is a requirement for school districts to provide assistive technologies to students with disabilities so I believe those technologies are available in SCSD#1. The technology plan recognizes the need to accommodate high-need students and will make a concerted effort to provide assistive technologies. 6. What replacement cycle has been built into the plan? Will adequate funding be set aside for replacements? The current SCSD#1 technology plan has a five year replacement cycle built in (page 31). This demonstrates a devoted effort to maintain cutting edge technology in the district. Funding for district technology comes from multiple sources including the district general fund, Federal and state funds available for support of technology (page 32). All Wyoming school districts are part of the Wyoming Equality Network (WEN). WEN provides telecommunications, internal connections, and Internet (page 30). The cost for using WEN is

based upon student population, number of schools, and connectivity type. There is a biennium budget for the WEN (dependent upon legislature) that provides basic WEN services. Due to this reliance on the legislature, the amount the district must pay for the WEN may fluctuate each biennium (page 30). With the implementation of the cloud computing, and the one-to-one goal, the Technology Committee will reevaluate the need for replacement every five years at a biannual meeting. Annual technology review occurs between June and August each year (page 17). 7. How does the tech plan address technology proficiencies and information literacy skills? I addressed the technology proficiencies and literacy goal in question two. Program goal #2 is on technology literacy. The goal states, Ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes eighth grade regardless of the students race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location or disability (page 16). The SCSD#1 technology plan also identifies six objectives to ensure this goal, these include: 1. Develop and revise standards and benchmarks for technical literacy for students and staff. 2. Align technical standards to curriculum; include research and use of information technology components. 3. Develop and revise required classes or courses for all students in the area of technical literacy. 4. Develop and revise assessments for evaluating students technical literacy. 5. Develop and revise assessments for evaluating students technical literacy. 6. Provide opportunities for remediation and enrichment of technical skills. 7. Review PowerSchool and Performance Matters use statistics to determine accessibility or professional development issues/needs. District data collection through classroom walkthroughs is evaluated to determine change in technology use. The district has evaluated the distribution of technology resources across its three schools, to ensure equitable access (equitability of resources) to technology for all students (page 17). 8. How will the school district know whether implementation of this plan has made a positive impact on teaching and learning? The SCSD#1 technology plan includes a comprehensive evaluation plan. SCSD#1 uses data from the following sources to evaluate the effectiveness of their implementation plan: student performance, survey, Power Walkthrough analysis, and anecdotal notations (page 9). Student performance is measured by meeting school improvement goals (local and state assessments) and adequate yearly progress (AYP) on the state test, PAWS (page 9).

The district also uses the NWEA MAP assessment to measure student growth (page 9). Student performance on these assessments is also compared with the use of computerbased curriculum such as Read Naturally, Accelerated Reader, Type to Learn, Study Island, and ePrep, along with management tools such as PowerSchool and Performance Matters (page 9). One benefit of utilizing this software is the ability to track student performance. Tracking student performance through this software provides next steps for instruction (page 9). District technology standards are currently being revised, but they will also be a tool for evaluation in the future. Survey results also provide a dimension for evaluation (page 9). Surveys are conducted with students, staff, and community members annually. Survey responses assist the district technology team in revising the current plan. Power Walkthrough Data and anecdotal notes are collected throughout the year on technology use within each school. Data is collected on teacher-directed and studentdirected technology use. The data is compared with student assessments scores and is used to plan professional development for teachers (page 10). The district policies and procedures are also evaluated, including disciplinary actions in relation to the computer use policy, PiNET. The effectiveness of the technology plan is reviewed annually by the District Technology Committee, which includes an outside evaluatorISC (page 10). I think this is a fairly comprehensive evaluation plan. I really like that it incorporates stakeholder feedback so consistently and includes an outside evaluation process, as well. 9. Does the plan address a timeframe by which the district proposes to implement the various components of the plan? The SCSD#1 technology plan has three focus areas, including curriculum integration, infrastructure & connectivity, professional development. Each of these focus areas has separate action plans, targets, and timelines. The curriculum integration focus area includes the following indicator, Increase utilization of teacher-directed and student-directed technology use as identified by Power Walkthroughs (page 22). This indicator is being addressed through targets for teachers and students. Both teacher-directed and student-directed technology development began August 2011, after McREL Professional Development. There were 16 technology activities that are part of observations used for evaluation of technology curriculum integration (pages 22-23). Technology development is an on-going process, but the McREL Professional Development focused on nine instructional strategies to train teachers and administrators on. The professional development focus area includes the following indicator, Logs and sign in sheets from teacher trainings; classroom walkthroughs; the number of course/content assessments that contain a technology component; anecdotal records of student

engagement based on technology experiences (page 27). The professional development on McRELs nine instructional strategies for technology occurred, as well as, the logs and sign in sheets for these trainings. Classroom walkthrough data was collected and recorded in the technology plan to demonstrate how often technology activities were occurring and evaluate them in the future. Baseline data collection for professional development and technology integration is ongoing and occurs yearly. The infrastructure and connectivity focus area identifies the following targets are target deadlines, 1) 1:1 computing environment with access to the cloud between August 2011June 2013; 2) Upgrades to the wireless network so any device can have wireless capabilities by July 2011; 3) To have reliable and faster connection with greater bandwidth throughout the entire district by August 2011 (page 32). The majority of these targets have been completed within their identified timelines. All targets will be completed by June 2013. At that time, it will be necessary for SCSD#1 to update and identify new goals and targets for the technology plan. 10. Do you think this plan has addressed issues such as equity for all students? Please explain your thinking. Yes, the SCSD#1 technology plan has addressed equity for all students throughout the plan. Program goal #2 addresses the importance of providing technology to all students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location or disability (page 11). All students in SCSD#1 are considered in the technology plan. Equitability of resources was a large focus for implementing the cloud in SCSD#1. With the implementation of cloud computing, SCSD#1 will create a true homogenous environment. It will eliminate issues of interoperability among different operating systems and devices. The only requirement needed is a browser. Computers, Laptops, Netbooks, Smart phones, ect. will be able to access the cloud. Students that do not have a device to access the cloud will be issued one from the district (pages 31-32). One of the primary goals in the SCSD#1 technology plan is: Students and staff use technology effectively and productively using McRELs nine research-based strategies, which increase student performance (page 14). This goal addresses a number of ways technology will be utilized in the district. One of the major ways is to ensure that all students and schools in SCSD#1 have equitable access to educational technology.SCSD#1 has addressed equitability through consistent and fair integration of technology in every school, elementary through high school. They also provide resources to ALL students, including devices to access the cloud, which will allow access from any location.

10

11. Does this plan provide tools to help lower the achievement gap? Please explain your thinking. Yes, the SCSD#1 technology plan does provide tools to help lower the achievement gap in their district. They provide access to technology tools that may otherwise not be available to their students and community. This includes one-to-one computing, use of the cloud and other assistive technologies. As mentioned is question 10, the district provides a device with cloud capabilities to students who do not have these devices at home (page 31). This solves the first piece of any achievement gap, lack of hardware or devices. Program goal #2 (page 11) of the SCSD#1 technology plan addresses the importance of preparing all students regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location or disability (page 11). The achievement gap is often more prevalent with lower income, minorities. SCSD#1 is a very transient community that definitely has an achievement gap. SCSD#1 understands this and identifies ways to provide tools and training to students. The achievement gap is crated not only by lacking access to computer hardware, but also lacking proper training to use the hardware. Program goal #3 ensures that students will be technologically literate by the end of eighth grade (page 11). Students will learn how to use computer hardware through technology integration in all content areas. Finally, the achievement gap is expanded by a lack of connectivity. SCSD#1 has updated their connectivity over the past two years and has increased the number of switches, servers, and wiring (page 29). During the 2011-2013 school year the elementary school was upgraded to a 1GB fiber connection to provide uniformity among all SCSD#1 schools (page 30). 12. If you could recommend some improvements to your districts technology team regarding this plan, what would they be and why? I think the largest problem with this technology plan is the absence of technology standards by grade level. The plan did mention that these were being revised, but the standards should have been made a priority. I would recommend the inclusion of national technology standards such as the National Education Technology Standards (NETS) from the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE). The NETS have standards for students, teachers, administrators, coaches, and computer science teachers (ISTE, 2012). The SCSD#1 technology plan did not really address technical assistance within each school. I would recommend adding the amount of technology facilitators/staff that can assist with everyday technical assistance. It is important to evaluate how often they are in each school and the amount of assistance they provide on a daily basis. I found the funding information to be lacking in this technology plan. It mentioned general funds, Federal and state funds, but did not elaborate on the amount spent on upgrades every five years or on software and other technology devices. More detailed information would have been helpful. I would also recommend including strategies for providing adult literacy services for the community. The

11

SCSD#1 does a good job of addressing the achievement gap for students, but did not mention ways to assist closing the achievement gap within the community. Perhaps the technology plan committee can identify ways to provide training and resources to adults in the community as well. Lastly, I would recommend including an inventory list in the technology plan, or at least addressing how the inventory list is developed and maintained. References Sublette County School District #1. (2011). Sublette county school district #1 district technology plan [PDF]. Retrieved February 5, 2013 from http://www.pinedaleschools.org/Download.asp?L=1&LMID=343363&PN=DocumentUpl oads&DivisionID=8407&DepartmentID=&SubDepartmentID=&SubP=&Act=Download&T =1&I=234691 International Society for Technology in Education. (2012). NETS. Retrieved February 22, 2013 from http://www.iste.org/standards