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Search for Larry Buchanan
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Tech Savvy Superintendent of the
Year Shares his Secrets to Success
Dr. Larry Buchanan
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District
Urban School District in Sacramento, California
13,000 students
650 Certificated Staff
35 Languages Spoken
10 Comprehensive Schools
2 Adult Education Centers
2 Career & Technology Schools
Special Education Center
7 Charter School
Maritime Technology Program
Independent Study Program
Elementary District Partnership
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

What is the fundamental
purpose of Education?
(Can you answer this
with one sentence?)
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

What is the fundamental
purpose of Education?
To free people from their
personal limitations
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

What Are Those Limitations?
For Students:
► Educational
– Ignorance - Knowledge is key in the information age
– Academic skills
► Social
– Soft Skills
► Vocational
– Employable skills
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Technology to Address Limitations
Technology:
►Focus our current resources around technology
integration and delivery
► Develop new resources with technology
► ERP software
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

What are my
“Tech Savvy”
Superintendent’s
Secrets for
Success?
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #1
Create a Lasting Vision
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Vision for Technology
can be the great equalizer of educational
►
opportunity and success
can give our teachers precision tools and
►
support
► can deliver personalized instruction 24/7/365
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Vision for Technology
► Technology cannot replace human
relationships.
–For motivation
–For inspiration
–For socialization
–For culture
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Sequencing
Funding sequence
► Activating funding sources
► Build sustainable model
Facility sequence
► Facility capacity issues
– Electrical
– Network
– Air conditioning
Instructional sequence
► Begin curriculum development
► Begin staff development
Technology sequence
► Begin with data
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Don’t Forget Long Term Support Capacity!
Implementation support
Tech coaches
Tech staffing
► Salaries
► Retention and recruitment
Reorganization of the district budget priorities
for technology
Budget reserve for emergencies and critical
expansion issues
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Facilities issues
Power requirements
Heat generation, heat stroke, air conditioning
MDF in classroom, noise, get picture
How many drops per room, conduits,
Wireless versus wire
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Instructional issues
Curriculum enhancement and/or curriculum
reform must be an integral part
Formative and summative assessments
Top down - bottom-up
Who develops curriculum
Emigrants versus native staff
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Technology issues
Build sound infrastructure capability first
Get control of copyright issues, who has which programs, who approves
programs
Get control of technology procurement, hardware and software
For some implementations district licenses or support makes the most sense
Think community licenses (Brain Pop – United Streaming)
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

more technology issues…
Hardware capability and software sophistication have reached a critical point
► Where we can conceive true effectiveness
► Must have multiple tools
► Must integrate all the data
Plan for delivery to the homes
Think thin client, and wireless thin client
► Home access, no lost books, parents could use, educational network
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Policies & Decision Making
I take input but I don’t
take votes…
Superintendent’s office
should coordinate all
technology policies
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Education is about
Relationships:
Between
Administrators & teachers
Students & parents
Parents & teachers
Teachers & students
School teams & the entire community
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Championing Initiatives
Every Initiative has to have a “Champion”
► Acts with authority from
Superintendent’s Office
► Boots on the ground
► Puts the personal energy
into making it happen!
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Spontaneous Intelligence
Creativity that occurs in a school system when:
► The organizational vision has been communicated, understood
and widely accepted
► People within the school system are part of that vision
► Motivated people are given the tools to stay motivated
► The Board supports change
► People feel that they can actually accomplish something that is
good for kids
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Spontaneous Intelligence
If it hasn’t worked before
and it isn’t serving students,
then you must
do something different.
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Spontaneous Intelligence
“Insanity
is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting a different result.”
Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin,
They were both right!
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #2
Network Infrastructure
In for a penny…in for a pound
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Technology Infrastructure
Centralized but mobile support
IT = Instructional Technology
IT focused on classrooms
Video prioritization switching
Redundant Central servers
Triple redundant links
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Technology Infrastructure
“Super value” your equipment
► Standardize hardware platforms
– Network / Servers / Classrooms
• “Best” devices to meet needs
“Super value” your management
software
► Manage and monitor network
► Automate changes to Active Directory
► Control student HW/SW access
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Data Management
Bad data is a show stopper
Unless data is used everyday it will be bad
Single point of entry
All data sources must be used together
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Data Management
Data sources to be integrated
► Personnel
► Financial
► Student demographic
► Student academic
► Support systems
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #3
Know Your Audience
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

They don't remember
when \"cut and paste\"
involved scissors.
MTV has always existed
They have always used
Digital Cameras,
microwaves and DVD
players
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

They have always had
water out of a plastic
bottle… not a garden hose!
Kansas, Chicago, Boston,
Alabama, and America are
places…not bands
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

They never had the fun of being thrown into
the back of a station wagon with six other
kids (and no seatbelts)…
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

How can we effectively
integrate technology
into our curriculum while
still motivating
Generation M students?
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #4
Technology is integrated
into the district’s curriculum
system…not in isolation
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Adopt District-wide standards
► Curriculum
► Network
► Classroom
► School Design
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Data driven
With technology and
data we can develop
laser focused delivery
of personalized
instruction
Data to determine
effective instruction
Determine real time
mastery learning
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Curriculum Calibration
The process of ensuring that
instruction and student work
are at the appropriate grade level.
Deconstruct the Standard
Unpack the Standard
Design the Lesson
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Deconstructing the Standard
The process of breaking
apart the standard into
skill, content, and context.
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Deconstructing the Standard
ELA 7: Reading 1.1 (Word Analysis)
Identify idioms, analogies, metaphors, and
similes in prose and poetry.
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Integrating Instructional Resources
Instructional Resources include:
Primary text
Ancillary publisher materials
Multimedia software
Technology
Educational Videos
Teacher-created materials
Books, stories, novels, poems etc.
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Integrating Instructional Resources
Instructional Resources should:
Act as tools to meet learning objectives
Increase the number of learning modalities
addressed
Be used to differentiate instruction
Increase interest and engagement
Activate prior knowledge
Provide variety
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #5
Professional development for
teachers is the key…
24 x 7 x 365
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Provide Outstanding Professional Development
Professional Development
►Delivered and managed with
software
► Just in time training videos
► Video Conferencing
► Online Forums
► Computer based instruction
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

The Rubber Band Affect
When early adopters are affective:
► New performance norms emerge
► Teachers collaborate
► Other faculty will adjust or extricate
► The whole district moves forward
– Teachers and administrators
– Students and parents
– School teams
– The surrounding community
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Curriculum Development & Assessment
Just in time technology accessible curriculum
► Brain Pop
► United Streaming
► World Book
► Class Works Gold
► Accelerated Reader & Math
► New Century
► Nettrekker
► Sequiter (content management system)
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Students love
Streaming
Videos
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #6
Personalized Instruction is the
“Holy Grail” of education
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Personalized Computing- Full Scale Implementation
32 Thin clients in every classroom
One-to-One for every student
Projector & Document Camera
& microphone system in
every classroom
Focus is the Curriculum….not the Technology
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Students log on to
Thin Client to
access their files
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Traditional classroom
or computer lab in
just seconds!
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

i -SIMS: A New Phase in District Systems
Sequitur - Integrating Data/ Enabling 1:1
Curriculum, assessment & lesson alignment system
Delivers formative & summative assessments
Provides systems feedback
Student-centric lesson management
Just in time curriculum
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

i -SIMS: A New Phase in District Systems
Understanding the student as a complex and unique individual
►Student Profiles
– E xperiences
– L earning Modalities
– E xpectations
– V ocational
– A ttitudes
– A ptitudes
– I nterests
E. L. E. V. A. A. I. T.
– T est Taking
Assigning supplementary and remedial exercises accordingly
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Secret #7
Non-traditional leadership
…you have to be a little Crazy
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Guidelines for Non-traditional leadership
You’ve got to be crazy in
just the right way
Crazy can be supported
by success
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

What are the crazy ideas?
The system needs to be built on the needs of the
student...not the needs of the system
In public education, we are the mechanism to impart:
►The values of the culture ►Academic skills
► Character ► Employability
Schools should be 24/7/365
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Critical Concepts
Technology can be the great equalizer of educational success
Technology can be the catalyst for systemic improvements
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software capabilities can
be applied to education to achieve like efficiencies
Future schools should be 24/7/365
School should be more simulation, role modeling, and
experiential
Personalized Instruction
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

For this presentation & future
presentations, visit www.slideshare.net
Search for Larry Buchanan
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008

Tech Savvy Superintendent of the
Year Shares his Secrets to Success
Dr. Larry Buchanan
Grant Joint Union High School District | February 2008