Monitoring Technology at Your School Site December 4, 2008
Posted by ijduran in : Monitoring Technology, ETIL Standards, Vision, Leadership, Integration , trackbackThis month’s Tech Bucks has focused on some ways you can monitor the use of technology in your schools. As we continue to acquire more technology it is essential that we have a clear purpose for how it will be used in classrooms and beyond. Administrators must be willing to have clear expectations and support for teachers and staff to learn how to utilize the tools available to them in the most effective manner.
In addition, we all must have a clear understanding of what we expect our students to be able to do as a 21st Century Learning. Understanding the standards for our students in grades K-8th are essential to have a clearer picture on what one can expect to see in a learning environment. I have also been a large proponent that if we expect our students to meet a certain level of understanding at each grade level then it is critical our teachers can do that also as a minimum expecation.
After going through the ISTE Online Class on NETS, please post your comments and thoughts below and feel free to comment on what other administrators or PT staff say. Thanks to Tonya Thompson from East MS for getting us started!
Comments»
Realizing the potential for Instructional Technology is part of our own professional growth and development. Without a life-long commitment to learning, transformation of the learning experiences of our students through the use and application of technology will be inhibited. This presentation was focused on:”What students should know and be able to do to learn effectively and live productively in an increasingly digital world …”
The videos provided evidence that students are now able to publish their works on an unprecedented level.
As an administrator, I realize that I have an obligation to provide proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among teachers, students, parents, and the broader community.
Through the use of technology, students gain a broader platform for demonstrating:
Creativity and Innovation
Communication and Collaboration
Research and Information Fluency
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Digital Citizenship
Technology Operations and Concepts
The website you shared with us during tonight’s tech bucks session opens up some many doors into the world of technology. I enjoyed viewing the opportunities that staff had to collaborate and work together to create projects while also mentoring each other. I also reflected on the idea that the use of technology with purpose really allows teachers to be more creative than they ever thought they may be.
In terms of at my school level, making sure that we are using the technology we have at high levels and then adding on to it is a next step. The use of technology needs to be purposeful and meaningful to both the student and teacher.
I thought the content you presented was just what I need to figure out how to support the buildings I work with regarding the use of technology. I can use the Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 levels with individual teachers to help them set technology goals for the year, and we can look at the standards to ensure that we’re working toward having students achieve the standards.
As always, I appreciate the videos and websites because I walked away with resources I can use immediately. Thanks!
integration of technology in the classroom with the ISTE standards using the NETS platform wll enable a better system for conducting and actualizing the information concerning course curriculum at a much higher standard than it has in the recent past. The technologies used in the classroom are still in the infancy stage and need clear identifiable stadards that are utilized throughout the nations educational system.
After this Tech Bucks, my thinking is how to provide the staff, that currently have P-boards in their room, on going professional development to help support their instruction. I have teachers at all different levels of implementation and am considering grouping them in differentiated PD during the day. I am excited to discuss further ideas with my tech support.
The NETS exercise was presented with audio making the reading of the text optional. The fact that literacy is evolving from tradional text formats is evident. Being able to absorb the text faster visually than by listening is a skill that must not be overlooked.
The greatest challenges lie in administrative expectations and teacher buy-in. As with all aspects of a school environment, the bar is set and modeled by the principal.
Finally, the streaming video soon exhausted our bandwidth.
Thanks to DIT for Tech Bucks, but more importantly, for driving what will be the most important advancement in instruction for our students.
Carl
I wish I had this type of technology when I was in school! The part that struck me the most was that by using advanced technology you can cater to the individual learning needs of each student.
I am a visual learner, and when I saw how the physics teacher at Brookfield High School was using computers for students to visualize and map out there thinking behind problems I thought that was great!
Also, coming from a musical background, it interested me that the choir teacher was able to create a CD of her class and post it online. I think that would be a great idea especially for families who are not able to attend concerts.
The use of technology at the elementary school level starts with leadership. The principal must set the expectations for technology use within the classroom AND provide the necessary professional development to support teachers in meeting those expectations.
This year I simply put out the expectation that all student computers would be utilized during the reading block. My tech teacher supported this effort by sending appropriate links to websites for student use during the reading block. We are now working on ensuring what students are doing are meeting their individual needs.
This has spurred me to make sure that an Instructional Technology vision is part of the restructure design of Aurora West College Preparatory School. This has to be incorporated into the thinking around the standards based system wheel.
To make this happen we need a vision, a specific leader in the area and aligned resources.
Just beginning thinking.
By going through the ISTE on-line class I realized that we could be doing a lot more with technology to enhance our student achievement and progress. The students need the ability to work collaboratively to identify and problem solve issues both in the classroom and in life. With the amount of information that is available on the web, they need the ability to sift through and evaluate resources.
A powerful message in the profile section was that our students must have “regular opportunities to use technology to build their skills…” The high school profile really asks students to employ upper end critcal thinking skills to create pieces of work with the technology at hand and to share these creations beyond their own classroom. Our job is to push them to do this. Professional development is key so we as educators are not fearful of this push forward.
As an administrator I am very aware that it is my expectation for technology to be used and planned for in each classroom. My staff needt to have:
good access to computers, technical support when needed, opportunities for professional development and support from administration.
I have seen what technology can do for our students and know that learning is advanced when kids get involved in their own learning.
Students in the video were involved in their learning by using laptops to capture the world they live in.
I feel fortunate to work in a district where technology is valued and that I have a team to support the work we do at Gateway.
We need to aggressively move forward with our vision.
As we continue to look for ways to increase the excitement level of students with respect to learning, it’s increasingly important that we look for relevant means to integrate technology application into classrooms. As an administrator it is my responsibility to stay informed with changes in technology and its use within the classroom. Furthermore, it’s my responsibility to provide staff, students and our community of learners with access to learning opportunities as well as the training that develop the necessary skills to successfully move into employment and/or post-secondary opportunities.
Today’s Tech Buck session demonstrates the need for administrators to have and communicate a vision for the use of technology in their schools. This can only happen effectively if the administrator is aware of the standards for technology. If there is not a clear vision then the appropriate use can be diminished or abused.
The tech use chart is a good guide to support administrators to evaluate the phase of development of tech usage.
The ISTE online class provided an excellent opportunity to review the ESTE Educational Technology Standards and consider new examples of their use in the classroom and for professional development. Additionally, the key message of the need to plan for instructional technology and to support the movement of teachers from administrative to instructional use was a focus, and the Essential Conditions provide guidance in that process. Today’s students do and will continue to live lives filled with technological advancements, and today’s administrators have the responsibility to provide environments and communicate expectations that will ensure the incorporation of the ISTE Standards.
I guess I just keep thinking about how Technologically challenged I am and then I realize the the amount of time and effort I can save by learning about “Tech Stuff” After pushing a pencil for so many years it has been difficult to embrace technology. And then again I reflect and realize how competent I really am. I have much to learn, many things to let go of but just the few sessions at Tech Buck has made a sigificant difference in my Tech Savy.
I wonder how many veteran teachers feel the challenge of technology.
I definetly need to find ways to provide PD opportunities for staff to enhance their technology skills to truly create opportunities for students to achiec in the 21st century classroom.
I have been grappling with many of the issues that came out from this session. My greatest challenge is that of providing on-going professional development for my staff on all the resources that are available. I have already spoken with my tech teacher and we are in the process of working on a schedule that will provide monthly support for grade level teams. With my staff becoming more familiar about the resources and incorporating them into their daily lessons, this will support our goal of better differentiating instruction to meet our students’ needs.
There have been many changes in APS with regards to technology, and this is what we need. From my experience as a previous tech facilitator, I have found that there will be teachers that do not like change, but change needs to happen to grasp the attention and keep our 21st century learners engaged. I have found that by offering multiple training sessions for your teachers will help get this new technology going in your schools. My first training sessions were not always full but after getting those teachers trained and after they started using the new pieces of technology our district offers, they spread the word and more teachers wanted to start using it. I used to offer morning and afternoon sessions and this always helped get all the staff trained on the new software or hardware we received. Ivan’s team has been a huge help in getting everyone trained in the schools. Donn Martin used to train me and I spread the knowledge around in my building. Whenever we had questions or doubts, we had the support from the DoIT Department to help us through anything. I believe that to effectively implement the use of technology in our schools as Michelle said in her post “This can only happen effectively if the administrator is aware of the standards for technology. If there is not a clear vision then the appropriate use can be diminished or abused.” If the administrator works with their tech facilitators in their schools and guide them and give a clear direction of what they want to accomplish with this new technology, it will give the facilitator a clearer understanding of what needs to happen to implement this technology in the building.
I really think Dana McDonald and Linda Witulski are correct in their own adminstrative assessment that they must make the use of technology, and online resources part of their staff expectations. Professional development to enhance and support instructional tech. is important, but if there is no follow up or expectations for teachers to use 21st century tools to enhance instruction, keep students engaged and teach the curriculum in a more meaningful way using a medium students can relate to, then the prof. development is less meaningful.
APS is so fortunate…we are so resource rich….and we don’t even realize it and most teachers don’t even use it. Log into One Place and see all the databases and resources available to all staff and students. OK, that was my commerical break.
Being a fervent advocate for the use of technology in our schools and with our students I sometimes lose track of the reason to use it. It is not so much that students can use a variety of devices and applications although that is important. It is that students can use these tools to become productive citizens of the 21st century. We know that in the 21st century a problem solver will be more valuable that a technician, a creator more valuable than someone who can memorize, and a person who knows how to access information can be more valuable than the actual information itself. These standards are a valuable guide in what we need to be doing with our students.
I’m very excited that we’ll have 12 Promethean boards by the end of the year! We are developing these teachers’ proficient use of technology and really lighting a fire for other teachers who are seeing the impact it’s having in classrooms! We need to push ourselves to make sure we don’t stop at simply making this a fancy presentation format for teachers, but really work toward utilizing its power for student learning and problem solving. The techbucks class gave me more “look fors,” thoughts to ponder, and ideas for going deeper. Thanks!
Katherine Casey says “We need to prepare students for their future, not our past.” Access to information is and will become even more abundant. Students have/will have access to a tremendous amount of information in the palm of their hand through the use of their cell phone,etc. We need to teach students to be able to access, organize, critically review and apply this information. The best teachers students will have may not be the ones in their classess. The best teachers may come from China, India, or a 12 year old in Pakistan. It is our duty to help students access and critically apply this information through technology. As educational leaders we need to stay current wiith this technology so our students can be competitive in a global environment.
As administrators and teachers model how we effectively use technology through communication and staff development we show our students how to effectively use technology as a learning tool. It is exciting to have students stretch their “search” capabilities by increasing the abundance of open source web applications that are available. We also need to be aware for ourselves and students that they should know how to screen for safety, credibility, bias, facts and opions. Eventually we can use technology to eliminate wasted time but give people what they need. (having teacher inservices and session (webinars from home). I realize the little steps we take (providing teachers with laptops and introducing Promethian boards at each grade level) are just the tip of the iceberg.
During the session I forwarded some of the documents (articles and standards descriptions) to my tech ea and our technology cadres,
as they are the lead learners for technology in our building.
We are looking at these to guide our work towards integrating these tools into our daily instruction and professional learning in order to engage students as well as prepare them for the future.
We always try to model the use at staff meetings/professional learning sessions so that teachers can see how to use this support,
and then ask for help or resources to implement it with their own students.
Even though I got to tech bucks late, I had the opportunity to view part of the video and saw the same excitement that I am seeing with the students at Jewell. We now have 5 interactive boards and working on a 6th. These boards are only going out to teachers that are motivated and energetic and share the same enthusiasm with their students. There is so much that we can learn using technology and it is no longer a luxury, but a must for teachers and students.
It is extremely exciting to see where we are headed within the realm of education technology. Reflecting on the many ways that technology has enhanced and impacted student learning is amazing. Our students live and breathe technology and their minds are moving faster and processing things faster than ever before. It is good to see that as a district we are attentive to what are students need to be successful and that we are providing PD resources to successfully implement technology in the classroom.
Thank you DoIT for the training!
It is always exciting to see new ideas at work with the use of technolgoy.
As a district interpreter and translator for Exceptional Student Services I see the use of technology as a powerful tool to assist non-English speaking parents and students. For instance, if a parent is not present in an IEP meeting because a child got sick or any other reason, the IEP could still be conducted using a Flip video recorder with the interpreter interpreting the meeting. The video could then be sent to the parent along with the written copy of the IEP. This could even be done if a family member is present during the IEP because the videotape could be later shared with other members of the family. Also, as parents review the IEP video, they could ask clarification on areas that were not clear during the meeting.
Technology could also be used during evaluations. For instance, Speech Pathologists could video record the evaluation of students in their own language and then discuss with the interpreter language issues, body language, and possible misunderstandings of the language. These sessions could be used later as training tools to guide the evaluation of non-English speaking students with interpreter’s assistance. Both therapists and interpreters could work together to clarify and set specific testing expectations.