
Chittenden
S outh
S upervisory
Union
Representing:
Williston School District
Hinesburg Community School
Shelburne Community School
Charlotte Central School
Champlain Valley Union High School

Local Technology Plan
January 2005 – June 2007
Part I. Executive Summary:
The
following format of the executive summary is a direct reflection of the
Chittenden South Supervisory Union when the 2002 transitional technology plan
was submitted. Each of the schools
within CSSU had submitted it’s own plan which were similar but had different
priorities and implementation steps.
Since the executive summary asked that we reflect upon successes and
challenges based upon the 2002 plan, we felt it would be appropriate to include
independent replies from each of the schools. The rest of this plan exemplifies the direction and
collaboration undertaken throughout the Supervisory Union since then, with 100%
of the goals being presented in unanimity for all schools. The goal is to act in a more cohesive
fashion while still respecting the unique qualities and communities each school
brings to the collaborative process.
We
feel the beginning of this plan (Executive Summary) symbolizes the autonomous
nature of the technology program in 2002, while the subsequent goals and action
steps begin to demonstrate the collaborative direction of the Supervisory Union
in 2004.
An
unspoken goal then, is to recognize that the
S U
is
U S
Shelburne
Community School: Significant successes in respect to the 2002 plan
(1)
2002 Section 1. action step 1:
“All academic teams (grades K-8) will develop ongoing integration of I.T. with units of study, activities, and projects based on:
Results: Significant progress occurred in the area of IT integration within units of study. All teams were required by the administration to submit a plan detailing how the IT Benchmarks (based on the ISTE NETS, supervisory union, and local standards) would be integrated across curricular areas. The technology trainer met with teams throughout the year to assist in planning for integration and offer suggested ways to implement the Benchmarks. Movement continues forward with the inclusion of the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations with all K-8 teams curriculum maps for 2004-2005.
(2)
2002 Section 2. action step 2:
“Student assessment and performance data management:
a. to support the use of software and hardware in improving current student data management systems.”
Results: Through the guidance and support of the supervisory union, software and hardware were improved related to student data management systems. Local support and funding supported the creation of management databases. Movement continues forward with the release of a pilot model for all faculty during 2004-2005 in the assessment of the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations and Literacy Initiatives.
(3)
2002 Section 4.
“Describe how the school will
identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate
technology effectively into curricula and instruction, based on a review of
relevant research, and leading to improvements in student achievement.”
Results:
[Action step 4] Teachers are required by the administration to include a
technology integration component with their school evaluation plan. [Action step 5] Time at faculty
meetings was set aside for teachers to share a successful IT component of a
unit or lesson during the 2003-2004 academic year. [Action step 6] Units and activities that relate to
effective IT integration have been shared via the school home page – see http://www.scsvt.org/itassess/. [Action step 7] The IT trainer has met
regularly with teams to discuss integration, share in-school ideas, and best
practices from current IT periodicals.
Shelburne Community School: Significant challenges in
respect to the 2002 plan
2002 Section 6. action step 3:
(1)
“Hardware and software application:
Results: Maintaining a minimum of 3 new generation computers per classroom teacher was not achieved during the years addressed by the plan due to budget constraints. A recent purchase of wireless laptops has served to alleviate this challenge.
(2)
2002 Section 6. action step 3:
“Hardware and software
application:
Results: Coordinating funds to support the creation of databases specific to instructional and assessment information is just beginning. Attempts have been made through CSSU pilot math problem solving and literacy assessment databases. Using technology to capture assessment data (formative and summative) is not available school-wide. Sporadic attempts have been made in the creation of electronic progress reports. Use of portable collection devices (PDA or tablet PCs) and school-wide databases in the collection of observable and non-observable assessments should be pursued.
(3)
2002 Section 9.
“Articulate the action steps that
will show how the school will encourage the development and use of innovative
strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous courses and curricula
through the use of technology, including distance-learning technologies,
particularly in areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses or
curricula due to geographical distances or insufficient resources.”
Results: The development of innovative delivery
strategies with the intent to offer specialized courses and curricula through
distance learning technologies has been minimally addressed. Exceptions included interactive video
programs involving the music departments with other CSSU schools and the
“Bucket Buddies” program involving one 3-5 team (using an Internet-based
program to collect water samples shared with other schools around the
country). The use of virtual
fieldtrips or student e-mail have not been addressed and should be investigated
(student e-mail is an expectation of the Vermont Technology Grade Expectations
for grades 3-8).
Hinesburg Community School: History/Status
1. The 2002 Transitional Plan called for the development of IT Teams in each school that consisted of teachers, technicians and network supervisor. The implementation of this team created a coordinating influence on school technology activity. Having a clearly defined role of members on the team made for a group that could recommend implementation of hardware, software, and training based on current circumstance and knowledge. This group served as a problem solving body that could react quickly to needs. The IT Team coordinated Technology Committee agendas. Having this coordinating body was essential to the success of the plan. With machines and network operating reliably tech integration became much easier for teachers to implement.
Chittenden South Supervisory Union is well into its second year of implementing technology standards. Performance assessment standards based upon ISTE standards were developed during the summer of 2003 under the auspices of a regional tech consortium. These standards replaced local school developed standards that were not based on ISTE, and provided teachers with guidelines for implementation. Regular meetings with grade level teams and individual teachers to explain, help implement and assess students on the standards were held. Essential to this was the position of Technology Educator. This position allowed for planning guidance and support, personnel to model tech integration, run workshops, provide training and just-in-time assistance to staff,
The increase in the number of machines that are available for student use is an essential for success. Over the past two years the school has invested in mobile technology to make computers more accessible to teachers and students. Scheduling for the computer lab was at best competitive. By having two wireless labs that could be used throughout the school, scheduling became much more flexible and responsive to teacher and student needs.
2. One of the successes of the Transitional Plan promises to also be a liability. The HCS school community made a major commitment to improve infrastructure and access over the past two years. The school cannot maintain this level of spending on equipment. Next years budget will be significantly less than the current year. As use has greatly increased so has dependence. It will be a struggle to maintain or improve upon our technology infrastructure.
Training of teachers will remain a significant challenge. With competing demands for the attention and time of teachers by new SU, state, and national directives, technology needs will have to find creative ways compete with limited time for in service and new curriculum. School wide committee and meeting responsibilities of classroom teachers greatly limits the amount of time that can be spent in workshops or after school planning.
4. Leadership played a key role in the success at Hinesburg Community School. Before the position of Technology Educator there was no one responsibility for integration of technology into the curriculum and it was happening in an uneven way. By having this position there was someone who had technology integration as their primary focus and could coordinate the many factions involved in delivering information technology, network administrator, technician, administration, tech committees, school board, budget preparation, teachers, SU offices, students, curriculum, standards, instruction, and training.
Charlotte Central School
Executive Summary 2002
CCS - 3 Successes
10. Parental involvement:
Describe
how the school will use technology effectively to promote parental involvement
and increase communication with parents. Include the strategies that will be
used to inform parents about the technologies and their proper use.
In Charlotte, we have been very effective in increasing parental involvement and communication. This is in large part due to the new website that offers parents access to important school information. Not only can parents login to the website, but it also emails out the school newsletter and school board minutes and agendas. The feedback has been overwhelming positive. Credit must be given to our PTO, the CCS Technology Committee and more specifically to our Web Subcommittee for developing this new website. We still have a long way to go, but we are very optimistic that the web site will continue to bring parents and community closer to school.
1. Strategies for improving academic achievement and teacher effectiveness:
Action
steps that the school will take to improve academic achievement, including
technology literacy, and improve the capacity of all teachers to effectively
integrate technology into the curriculum and instruction.
While we still have a long way to go in this area, I believe we have made great gains in integrating technology into the core curriculum. The development of VT TGE’s has helped immensely. Teachers are more motivated than ever to bring learning experiences that integrate technology to their students. Staff members are actively asking for new software applications, requesting training, and inviting the tech educator to work with their students. It is a very exciting time at Charlotte Central School.
While it is an ongoing effort, our tech staff has made great gains in improving the reliability of our systems. This in turn has increased access to technology across the school. We are limited by high demand of the computer labs, but teachers are making excellent use of their classroom computers. The move to a Windows 2003 network has greatly improved reliability and performance.
The philosophy that we ask the technology to serve the learners and the teachers and not the other way around is critical to our success.
5. Professional development:
Describe
how the school will provide high-quality, ongoing, sustained professional
development for teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media
personnel to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or
library media center.
We have offered several graduate level courses for Charlotte Central School teachers and administrators. These courses have been instrumental in promoting growth and development of information technology integration. Having a technology educator who is able to provide on the job training on a continuing basis is also essential. We are very fortunate to have motivated teachers, who are actively asking for support. I believe they are seeing, on a daily basis, the positive impact of integrating technology into their students’ learning.
Charlotte Central School - 3 Challenges
There are many challenges to offering a quality information technology school program. The first challenge is related to funding. It is difficult to convince school board members that technology is essential and must be funded on a consistent level to support the program. Ideas such as regular computer replacement and upgrades are difficult to maintain in a political system. It is essential that we convince the school board and the community that we are using tax dollars wisely and in a way that benefits the children.
The second area of challenge is related to increasing consistent technology experiences for each child. It is still too true that some children have better access to integrated, information technology learning experiences than others. This is mostly a matter of teacher emphasis and skill. While having a tech educator to support teachers and students helps a great deal, it is still challenging for some teachers to provide the consistency needed for their students to internalize technology knowledge. I will add that this is becoming an issue for fewer and fewer teachers and that teacher focus and involvement has never been higher. I think that the new VT TGE’s will go a long way toward resolving this issue.
The third challenge arises not from technology, but from our public education system. Teachers are required to address so many new initiatives, provide so much accountability, and focus on so many areas, that it is difficult to approach them with expectations and requirements related to technology. I believe that every teacher wants to do the best possible job for their students and technology integration is important to teachers. Their plate is very, very full right now.
Leadership’s role
Leadership is always important in a political culture like a public school. Staff members need to know what the priorities are, school boards need to support programs, and the community needs to be kept informed. We are very fortunate at Charlotte Central School to have a wonderful administration that is highly supportive of technology. That is because our administrators use technology every day as an integral part of their jobs. This was not always the case and has come with a lot of hard work and focus. I am pleased to say that it is my pleasure to support the CCS administrators in their development. The model they provide goes a long way to communicate that technology integration is important and must be included in the planning of student learning experiences. Again, it cannot be overstated that when staff members feel that information technology serves their needs and the needs of their students, they are far more willing to include technology in their students’ learning experiences.
Williston School District
Executive Summary 2004
Successes:
Summary:
Student technology standards were a priority for our school district. We developed a booklet of the Williston technology standards to identify the technology skills we wanted students to be able to perform. We collaborated with the Chittenden South Supervisory Union, Information Technology Integration Committee to further define the student standards and with the help of Vita-Learn were able to develop a Supervisory wide document for student technology standards. The work done by our school, supervisory union and Vita-Learn contributed to the Vermont Department of Education Grade Expectations Framework for Information Technology.
Summary:
Professional development is now ongoing throughout the school day as well as after school workshops, professional resource day workshops and courses. There are now new user introductory workshops for faculty, staff and students. The on-going school day professional development is coordinated with the curriculum and is integration based. The new user workshops introduce the basics of using a school network, the technology resources and their location, and an overview of student and staff technology expectations. The WCS Technology Committee now develops and shares curriculum ideas and tasks. The committee guides the school in Information Technology areas.
Summary:
Internet access is available on all computers in the schools. The school district now has an acceptable use policy and is compliant with CIPA. The school maintains a Web page with school information and curriculum support. The school is working to establish a new replacement policy for all technology equipment. Currently we have a 7-year replacement policy for computers. We are suggesting we change that to 5-years. The administration promotes technology integration and is learning to model and assess technology integration.
Challenges:
1. The school will encourage the use of innovative strategies to:
We are just beginning to work on these items. Video conferencing, the use of public access television and video production are just now being developed. No action was taken to develop online courses or in house television and cable cast to the public.
2. Standards-based instruction and learning WCS will use technology in the following areas:
a. To support the use of data collection tools for performance assessment by assessing students in real-time and using electronic portfolios and electronic benchmarks.
b. A data base to manage standardized testing.
The assessment skills for technology have just been completed. A data base to manage standardized testing in is the development stages. We are working to complete these in the second half of the current school year. Time was the variable that thwarted the completion of this goal.
3. Installation of Wireless routers and the purchase of laptop portable labs.
a. To support the classroom integration of technology, portable labs will provide a classroom of students access to technology.
b. Wireless routes will provide wireless access throughout the building.
These items were not completed as a result of budget cuts.
Things done differently:
1. Our school will be in collaboration with all school in the SU.
2. Technical services will be shared throughout the district.
3. We will work with CSSU to develop budgets.
4. Administration will include technology integration when developing goals and team plans.
Role of Leadership:
District Administration provided:
1. Support during budget development meetings.
2. Professional development time allocated for Technology Integration training.
3. Technology modeling using spreadsheets, presentations and web page development.
4. Time for educator to attend local and SU technology meetings.
1.
Strategies for improving academic achievement and teacher effectiveness:
Summary:
Work
has progressed on the definition of high school standards for CVU as it relates
to technology. The original Expectations for Student Learning dealing with
technology were adapted from the ISTE standards and proved difficult to
articulate and measure as it related to classroom integration. The focus of the
technology committee has been the definition of standards in the six domains as
identified by MCREL and ISTE. Some of the standards for students related to
information technology will be incorporated in the CVU Expectations for Student
Learning in Problem Solving.
2. Steps
to increase accessibility:
To
continue supporting increased student, teacher, and community access to
technology through:
1. The use of portable/wireless technology (such as
laptops and PDA’s) for students and faculty.
2. Expanded library hours during the school year.
3. Maintaining a hardware replacement and reallocation
program to meet the needs of teachers and students.
4. Ongoing maintenance and improvement of Internet
connections, network and hardware in order to increase student access
(including ease of access, speed of connection, and reliability of
connectivity.
5. Standardization of CSSU network and the support of
web-based access, so that students and parents can have increased access to
files while at home or in another building.
Summary:
Access to technological resources has increased significantly since the last technology plan was created through a variety of strategies. These include mobile labs, increased numbers of computers, better management of available resources and extended hours of operation. The I.T. team has implemented desktop management tools and application serving methods, which provide higher level of reliability for all users. There have been substantial upgrades to the network infrastructure providing nearly 100% server uptime and remote accessibility. The use of online service tags has facilitated quicker response time from the I.T. team and a higher level of user satisfaction.
3.
Parental involvement:
Increased
communication with parents and community members through:
1. Maintain communications via school website. Information includes: team updates,
school general events calendar, lunch program information, and other pertinent
information.
2. Maintain parent and community listservs and email
distribution lists.
3. Maintain electronic copies of school newsletters
posted on the school web site.
4. Integration of teacher voicemail with email.
5. Develop public access television broadcasts from CVU.
6. Continue to support the Access CVU program for
community learning.
Exploration
of future communication tools such as:
1. Web based grade books and assessment tools that may be
accessible by parents from outside the school.
2. Student-led parent conferences using technology
(electronic portfolios).
Summary:
The
use of technology has significantly improved parent involvement at CVU high
school. The school homepage has been expanded to include many of the resources
that parents require, such as daily announcements, monthly newsletters,
homework pages, links to teachers email addresses and forms. Technological
systems have been incorporated to realize efficiencies in grade reporting and
distribution as well as increased frequency of reporting. The scheduling
process for parent teacher conferences is organized and developed online,
allowing parents grater flexibility in date and time choice, yielding a higher
turn out for conferences. This area continues to expand with snow day
communication and other pertinent information for the community.
Challenges
Integration of technology
with curricula and instruction:
Summary:
While many teachers integrate technology into their
curriculum and instruction it is not done consistently or systematically. This
is an area that has been addressed through professional development but it
needs more direct support and diligence from the school and supervisory union.
Specifically, there is a need for a more formalized program to support
thoughtful and appropriate technology integration throughout all areas of the
schools curricula. This is an area that we will continue to improve upon in the
next phases of technology improvement and implementation.
Innovative delivery
strategies:
Summary:
Support for new and innovative delivery strategies is
provided through professional development and district initiatives but it does
not reach all teachers or curricular areas. Some curricular areas are natural
conduits for the use of technology and other areas do not embrace the use of
technology as a vehicle for supporting or improving student understanding or
performance. We need to be more deliberate about “all” teacher and curricular
areas as we move forward with regard to this initiative.
Program Policies:
Summary:
CSSU and CVU have developed and adopted many policies
with regard to acceptable technology use and student safety. However, as the
field of technology grows and develops the need for additional guidelines also
develops. There is a need to continue the work of defining and regulating
processes and expectations for implementing, maintaining and adopting
technological systems for the advancement of student learning while protecting
the users of these systems.
Leadership
Leadership
is at the core of all educational initiatives. The leadership within the
supervisory union has been a focus for the last cycle of technology
planning. CVU has dedicated time
and resources to providing the leadership necessary for the support and
development of the technology program. The need still exists for more resources
in this area specifically in the education of faculty and staff.
C. Six
Elements Status: Describe, in
general, the overall status or progress of your technology initiatives relative
to the six major elements:
I. Professional Development – Over the past two years, professional development across the Supervisory Union has been sporadic but effective. There have been graduate courses, workshops, seminars and inservice opportunities offered and many of them have proven successful. We believe we have two issues concerning professional development that we will try to address with this plan. First, we need to find better ways to integrate technology within other professional development opportunities. That is, rather than offering “PowerPoint” or even “Excel in the Math Class” we believe we must get to the point of including technology experiences within all professional development – Math, Literacy, History, Science, etc. We need to model the way in which we intend teachers to use and instruct with technology tools. The other issue is the way in which we offer professional development school-by-school. This is more than a technology issue, but we should look at more closely aligning and more consistently offering opportunities across the Supervisory Union and not just for a specific school. Much can be gained by sharing the experiences and not isolating teachers in their own environment. The very nature of technology and telecommunications is one that should bring more people together and not separate them. We should examine the way we offer professional development and share the successes. We have power in numbers. We should learn to use them more efficiently.
II. Standards for Students, Teachers, and Leaders – We have made great strides in identifying student standards, adopting the TGEs, and creating a consistent program, K-8, that will allow us to collect assessment data by the end of this school year. More work needs to be done 9-12 in identifying student technology standards and integrating both instructional practice and assessment activity across the high school. We have not attended to Teacher or Leader standards, but a goal of this plan is to address that.
III. Support for Information Technology Initiatives – The CSSU has long been involved in technology initiatives and has a track record of supporting it’s schools in a number of ways. Budgets for hardware and software are adequate and decision packages are routinely presented and adopted for things such as mobile computing and infrastructure improvements. We are attempting to bring more equity to the Supervisory Union by presenting a common mechanism for each school to arrive at a fair and meaningful way of sustaining their technology program. We have also taken measures to consolidate technical support so that they may be the same high level of service across all schools. We are committed to providing support so that teachers will feel confident that the technology will be in working order as they move forward with a highly integrated model of use.
IV. Program Policies – Policies have been developed and as we find the need for more, due to the nature of technology in the educational workplace, we anticipate a further need. This goal is articulated in this plan.
V. Overall Program Assessment – Program assessment has been informally addressed but no specific data (other than numbers of computers, budget figures, etc.) has been available. We intend to look more specifically at learning outcomes and data over the next 30 months as a result of writing this plan, and to have a better programmatic assessment of how technology is being used.
VI. Access and Infrastructure – We have near state-of-the-art access and infrastructure across the schools within CSSU. Each school has broadband access to the Internet, gigabit internal wiring and connections, multiple servers and storage. We are looking to develop more centralized services (student database, DNS, etc.) in the future and this will require VPN.
Part II:
Goals related to State Plan "Six Elements" and NCLBA. The purpose of this part is to
articulate the SU/District or school's specific goals for using educational
technology tools to improve student performance and achievement. The State Plan's "Six
Elements" and the NCLBA requirements should be used as guidelines in
designing goals. Your plan may have more or less than six goals.
Goal
# 1 Implement CSSU Student Assessment based
on ISTE NETS and Vermont Technology Grade Expectations. (Assessment)
Rationale: In order to make sound
educational decisions, we need to understand whether CSSU students are meeting
the expectations we have identified.
By documenting and recording evidence of student progress, we are better
able to determine the effectiveness of our instructional program and technology
integration.
Goal
# 2
Work towards ensuring effective IT integration throughout all curricular areas.
(Instruction)
Rationale: NCLB - In order for
CSSU students to utilize information technology learning tools effficiently and
effectively, they must be given opportunities for instruction, reinforcement
and assessment. Providing
professional development on the integration of IT that goes beyond the
mechanics of software knowledge is vital to the ongoing reinforcement that
"learning to use the technology" is only a prerequisite for
"using the technology to learn".
Goal
# 3
Develop, maintain and promote an SU-wide student assessment database.
(Accountability)
Rationale: Organizing and using
student assessment data is necessary at a variety of levels. The classroomteacher level needs
adequate tools to record data and manipulate it to improve instruction. The school/building level will assist
principals in determining successes and challenges PK-8 and 9-12, while
Supervisory Union data will give us a broad perspective of programmatic needs
and alignment.
Goal
# 4
Continue to examine, implement, and improve the Technical Services Department
across the schools of CSSU. (Access/Infrastructure)
Rationale: By improving the
reliability of technological tools, staff and students will be better able to
take advantage of those tools in meaningful ways.
Goal
# 5
Examine, develop, and implement standards for teachers and school leaders/administrators
to focus professional development.
(Professional Development)
Rationale: A broad use of
technology for professional use will help make teachers more effective
collaborators and communicators and managers of information/decision making/ (using
technology in) delivering instruction
Goal
#6
Review, update and recommend pertinent technology policies and procedures.
(Policy)
Rationale: We need to look at
existing Acceptable Use Policies and determine if they are sufficient. Policies
and procedures need to reflect changes as technology advances are implemented
that effect practice and school environment. We are continually coming across questions such as “Should
we be using email to communicate confidential information” and feel the need to
examine the policies and procedures associated with these answers. How often do we back up data and for
how long do we keep it all lead us to further need for this goal.
III. Response
to “No Child Left Behind” Requirements:
2.
Strategies for improving academic achievement and teacher effectiveness:
Action steps
that the school will take to improve academic achievement, including technology
literacy, and improve the capacity of all teachers to effectively integrate
technology into the curriculum and instruction.
Action
Step: Implement CSSU Assessment of students
based on ISTE NETS and Vermont Technology Grade Expectations.
Entity: Individual
School(s): All schools
List
school(s) here:
NCLBA
Component: Accountability
Indicator(s): Baseline
data will be collected
Resources: Student
Assessment Database, Professional Development
Responsible
Parties: Technology
Director, Technology Educators, Principals
Timeline: June
2005 (June 2006 - CVU)
Action
Step: Develop a plan to provide systematic,
embedded professional development on effective technology integration models.
Entity: Individual
School(s): All schools
List
school(s) here:
NCLBA
Component: Accountability
Indicator(s): Professional
Development Plan will be approved
Resources: Time
for coordinated strategies to be developed, National Standards
Responsible
Parties: Technology
Educators, Technology Director, Curriculum Director, Curriculum Coordinators
Timeline: December
2005
Action
Step: Work with professional
development providers and curriculum director/coordinators to include
technology components within core curriculum.
Entity: Individual
School(s): All schools
List
school(s) here:
NCLBA
Component: Integration
Indicator(s): Technology
is fully integrated with core curriculum.
Technology Educators meet regularly with curriculum coordinators to plan
for and implement integrated professional development experiences.
Resources: CSSU
Curriculum Documents, VT Grade Expectations
Responsible
Parties: Curriculum
Director/Coordinators, Technology Director/Educators
Timeline: December
2006