1. Technology Action Plan Garland ISD Equity Beliefs All children regardless of their racial and SES differences, have the capability to learn and succeed at equally high academic levels as required by the TEKS. It is the responsibility of all of the adults in the district to ensure that all of the children succeed academically District Goal: The overall district goal of Garland ISD is to level the playing field of all students. Regardless of the students economic background a good education will put all students on equal ground to becoming successful citizens. Objectives: • All teachers and administrators will utilize technology and information systems to support the development, management, delivery, and integration of the assessment, to improve and maintain alignment to TEKS-based instructional Targets and increase rigor and relevance of instruction.• Integrate Technology into the core curriculum to support and increase student centered learning, online learning, rigor and relevant instruction. Support the 21st Century Learner by integrating new learning strategies to include wireless labs, electronic textbooks, technology classrooms as well as support the upgrade of new hardware/software. •Technology management systems will be used to disaggregate assessment data by special subgroups to determine a level of mastery throughout the school year. •Automate District Curriculum •Provide continuous professional development for GISD educators in the use of instruction and classroom management. •Provide new Technology Tools for educators, students and staff to enhance effective classroom learning. Technology Needs Action Plan Lyles Middle School Campus STaR Chart results: Key areas that needed to be addressed were Teaching/Learning and Educator Preparation & Development. After reviewing both the district technology plan and Campus STaR Chart the following needs were identified at the campus level. • Online Resources: Continue to provide electronic data access to district resources remotely. (online training, access to grades, student data) •Network Enhancements: Increase bandwidth to support more functionality for student use. (provide remote access to the network outside the district and access to broadcast video. • Projection Devices: Provide video projectors and document cameras for every classroom • Increase access to computers: Provide additional computers in the classroom. The lifecycle of computers will be no longer than 5 years old. •Improved communications: Telephones in the classroom to increase and aid in better parent-teacher communications. • Every desktop will have complete video streaming along with a separate video channel. Student Mastery of Technology Applications. •Implement Technology TEKS • Develop a strategy to standardize software.• Provide teachers with training on how to implement technology into curriculum and Instruction. Professional Development Plan The Budget School districts need to be able to make adjustments to their budgets in order to provide state of the art equipment/software in the classroom. Technology is always changing. Without the financial support to upgrade hardware/software the districts will not be able to keep up with the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology. Quality Professional development is a MUST. In order for technology to be truly integrated in schools, a successful integration process will have to start from the district; all the way down to the students and parents. Everyone will play an important role. From the teachers (direct implementation) to the parents as supporters of the implementation. One way to help with technology professional development is is to provide direct professional development for not only teaching but, integrating specific technology applications into the classroom through various delivery methods and resources. “To promote 21st Century Learning, educators must be competent in 21st Century skills.” Professional Development will be conducted in several stages over a period of time. Three master trainers will be available on each campus by subject matter. Each school will have an English, Math and Science “Master Trainer”. Breaking down the development in stages within departments over a period of time will allow for teachers to become comfortable and more successful with the integration. A master trainer with an English certification is going to have the background knowledge to assist the ELA department with methods to implement technology into their English lesson plans. Stage 1- Training by Departments (exp, All ELA teachers) Stage 2- Training by Subject (All ELA English Teachers) Stage 3- Training by Grade-level/Subject. (All ELA 6th grade teachers) I predict a greater success rate because of the following activities that will be included in the training. 60% of the training will include Hands-On activities. Faculty members will be able to work online with tutorials. Include integrating current lesson plans with technology Group Work by Subject/Grade Level to incorporate more effective specialized lesson plans. Active Feedback/ On-going follow-up throughout the year Master Trainer provided at each campus to lead follow-up training in core subjects Volunteer Students to test out lesson plans for feedback before presenting instruction in the classroom General Staff Development For All Faculty At Lyles Middle School Math: In order to implement Technology into the Math curriculum all math teachers will be trained how to use document cameras, interactive whiteboards and show proficiency in E-Path and Tabula Digita programs. English/Language Arts: All ELA faculty members will be trained on proficiency on how to use Study Island, Plato and interactive whiteboards. Social Studies: All Social Studies faculty members will be trained for proficiency on flip cameras, interactive whiteboards Science: All science faculty members will be trained for proficiency on E-path, interactive whiteboards, flip cameras. All Content Area Instructors - Additional Training Cyber Ethics – Training on Cyber Ethics, Social Networking, Blogs, and creating class homepages. Copyright Guidelines- Administrators and Faculty members will have training on copyright laws relevant to the education field Integration Mentors- departments will be assigned mentors from other schools who have gone through the integration training to provide additional support. Evaluation: All Stakeholders will be required to show proficiency in a set of standard basic technology integration skills that will be determined by administrators and faculty together. •Campuses will be monitored and evaluated to ensure they are following the Long Range Plan for Technology, the District Improvement Plan, and the Campus Improvement Plan:• AEIS, STaR charts, DIP, and CIP will be reviewed to ensure objectives are being met.• Administration will assess teachers' use of technology by conducting formal and informal evaluations.• Staff will take a more ACTIVE role with the administration to plan, monitor and evaluate required staff development throughout the school year.• District leaders will visit campuses regularly to ensure campuses are following district and campus technology plans and meeting the needs of students. Works CitedCampus Statewide Summary STaR Chart by Key Area http://starchart.esc12.net/statistics.html GISD District Technology Plan http://www.garlandisd.net/departments/technology Educator Preparation and Development (Nov 2006) Strategies to Put Instruction Ahead of Technology, Eric Jones, PL Feb 2007, Teaching and Learning (Nov 2006)