The document outlines Henry County's process for developing a technology use plan to help reach their goal of being in the top 10% of school systems nationally by 2014. It discusses forming a planning team, conducting needs assessments of teachers and students, developing goals aligned with ISTE standards, providing staff development, and evaluating the plan formally and informally on a regular basis. The overall purpose is to ensure technology accelerates, rather than drives, education and that students are competitive in today's digital world.

1. Technology Use PowerPoint Josh Worsham Boise State University ED TECH 501

2. What is the rationale for implementing a technology use plan? In Henry county we believe that technology does not drive education, but is a tool that enables and accelerates it. A technology use plan will provide direction for our county to reach our goal of being in the top ten percent of school systems nationally by 2014. It will allow us to see where we currently are and where we need to be. We have to prepare our students to be successful in the technology rich environment we currently live in, and a technology use plan is critical for accomplishing this.

4. Teachers

5. Parents

6. Community leaders

7. Administrators

8. County Officials

10. What is the process in developing a technology use plan? (con’t) A survey needs to be completed to determine the students, parents and teachers perception of technology. We will review each schools’ annual improvement plan for goals directly related to technology. Finally, we must include in our plan continuous evaluation and revisions as needed to reach our goal of being in the top 10% of our nations schools in all academic areas.

11. Henry County’s Technology Use Plan Vision Statement In Henry County our vision is to be in the top 10% of the nations schools by 2014. Technology will not guide instruction but it will allow our teachers to accelerate the learning curve. Our classrooms will be technology rich and allow teachers to differentiate instruction to meet each individuals academic needs. Through technology not only will our teachers be able to continue their education but it will allow our students to generalize the skills they are learning in the classroom to the real world. The opportunity to generalize will ensure that are students are highly competitive when entering post-secondary schools and the work force upon graduating from a Henry County School.

12. Goals and Objectives Our county wide goals will align with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). ISTE’s standards for teachers and students provide goals and objectives that provide the framework for students to be successful and competitive in the digital environment we currently live in.

13. Goals and Objectives for Teachers Teachers use their knowledge of subject content and technology to assist experiences that promote student learning and creativity in both the real world and virtual world. Teachers will customize their lessons to accommodate the individual learning styles of their students using technological devices that supplement and support the individual needs of each student.

14. Goals and Objectives for Teachers Teachers will use technology to communicate information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers. Teachers will participate in local and national professional development activities that enable them to continually learn about new technologies and strategies to help accelerate the learning curve of all students. Teachers will promote and model netiquette insuring a safe learning environment for each student.

15. Goals and Objective for Students Students will complete tasks using technology that support student inquiry and discovery. Students will evaluate and select information from technological resources available to them that are appropriate to specific curriculum objectives. Students will use technology to develop a solution or complete a project related to the state curriculum.

16. Needs Assessment Every teacher will be required to complete the survey I created so we can gain information that will help guide our plan. Students will also be asked to complete a survey to determine what technologies and resources they have available to them at home and at school.

17. Teacher Needs Assessment The Needs Assessment for teachers is designed to gain knowledge about their technology background. The purpose in the assessment is so that we can see what technologies our teachers have used and are familiar with and which ones they are using in their classroom.

18. Student Needs Assessment The student centered technology survey that each student will fill out is designed to determine what technologies and resources these students have available to them at home and in the classroom. The student needs assessment is broken down into two statements one about technology at home and the other about technology at school.

19. Needs Assessment Survey Link The following link is to the Needs Assessment Survey that I have created for the Henry County School system: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=BW1JNTpmGHEecPoF907sCw_3d_3d

20. Staff Development One of the most important parts of our technology use plan will be the planning and implementing of professional development for teachers. In Henry County we want our teachers trained on and comfortable using the many technologies available in our schools. We also want to provide training on many of the cutting edge technologies that are on the market today.

21. Staff Development (con’t) The Educational Technologist at each school or cluster of schools will be responsible for designing, implementing and organizing the professional development opportunities. In Henry County our Educational Technologist will concentrate on two areas when designing and structuring professional development opportunities: Make sure courses are designed and aligned with the standards based instruction technology. Focus will be on designing these courses to directly relate to our vision and rationale of the plan. We want to develop courses focusing on how technology can enable and accelerate standards based learning.

22. Evaluation Once we start to implement our technology use plan we must continue to evaluate and revise the plan as needed. Planning is an on-going process as is evaluation. In Henry County we will have formal and informal assessments.

23. Formal Evaluation In Henry County we will formally evaluate our staff and students every six weeks for the first year of our plan, then every six months in years following. Because of time constraints, teachers typically don’t like completing formal assessments. Therefore, we will reduce the frequency of formal testing each year of the plan.

24. Informal Evaluations Informal Evaluations will be our most valuable evaluation tool for our Technology Use Planning Team. The purpose of the evaluation process is for our team to figure out what is working and what is not. Once we have determined this we can align our goals and professional development to these needs.

26. Internet Activity Observations

27. Student Account Observations

28. Informal Student Perception Surveys

30. Timeline

31. Timeline At the end of each year of the plan a new timeline for the up coming school year will be set. When considering our timeline for each school year we need to consider where we currently are and how far we need to go to reach our goal.

32. Thanks for you attention! Contact Information: Josh Worsham Josh30000@aol.com