Assignment+3,+Part+2

====** Group: Can we try to choose a question and write an initial answer by Wednesday, October 6? Then, we will have Thursday and Friday to write suggestions for one another and post a final edited answered by Friday night, October 8th? Marsha said she would be glad to put into a document for submission to Dr. Kaminski on October 9. Any problems, please post here! **==== ====Part 2. Based on your readings, you will use reflective writing practices to relate this report to your own school system. Work in your groups to answers the following questions: ==== overarching goal statement.
 * Name: || Question: || Answer: || Suggestions: || Sign with approval: ||
 * Matt || 1. What strategies do you recommend for preparing the overarching goal statement for your Technology Program in your school? || When preparing the overarching goal statement for the Technology Program, I recommend that you gather all of your stake holders together. Then I would make a list of all the //__secondary__// goals that you want to achieve. You should then compare these to the overall goals of the district technology program. Once you have this list you should see if there is any overlap and condense if possible. If possible you should also try to incorporate the state and national plans into your statement. || When preparing the overarching goal statement for the Technology Program, all stakeholders gather together to brainstorm and begin the process of creating a goal statement. A list should be constructed of smaller (not sure smaller is the best word?) goals, and then those should be compared to the overall goals of the district technology program to ensure alignment. Once the list is complete, it should be reviewed for any overlap and condense, if possible. State and national plans should also be incorporated into the

I would not answer in first person.

How do you determine stake holders? || Angie: with proposed edits || Long Range Goals- Long range goals in the EETT plan are referred to as primary goals. Like primary goals, the long range goal is the big picture- what are we hoping to achieve in the end. Reaching the plans long range goal depends on the accomplishment of short term goals. In this plan the long range goal is to improve student achievement. Short Term Goals- The EETT plan refers to short term goals as intermediate goals- these are goals that have to be reached first before the final long range goal is reached. In this plan there are two short term goals- first teachers must learn how to integrate technology into their lessons and units. In the EETT plan various technology professional developments are key roles in this short term goal. On the other hand, students must also be more knowledgeable in the use of technology in their learning. Students can demonstrate their technology literacy by using technology to present, communicate and create learning. Objectives- In the EETT plan objectives from the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) are used. One GPRA objective revolves around the need for technology access in high poverty, high-need schools. Another objective states the need for professional development (for school personnel) in the area of technology integration into learning. Also included in the GPRA objectives are the above stated intermediate goals: increasing student’s achievement by integrating technology and by teaching students to be technology literate. || Maybe under objectives there sould be a clear definition for objectives as is done with long and short range goals. || Angie: with proposed edits ||
 * Melissa || 2. What are the differences between a Vision Statement, long range goals, short term goals, objectives, and proposed outcomes? How do you define each category? || Vision Statement- The EETT (Enhancing Education Through Technology)program is in place to ensure that funding for technology programs in US public schools are being used effectively to increase student achievement.
 * Marsha || 3. Is the digital divide a real problem or a passing topic with no true meaning? Are students in your school experiencing limited access to the Internet and educational resources that the Internet provides? Describe these situations. || Rockingham County Schools, in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina, is a school district in a rural county hit by textile company closures and tobacco farmers still in the midst of uncertainty since the tobacco buy-out several years ago. There is still double digit unemployment, topping 15 percent earlier in 2010. Therefore, the digital divide problem is real at the present for many of the families and, in particular, the students.

All of the schools, whether or not it is a high poverty school, are outfitted with 21st century technology in every classroom. Activboards, projectors, document cameras, and new laptops are everywhere. High speed internet access and a wireless network can be found in each classroom. So just as in the report, there is no difference in Internet access in the schools in Rockingham County. The difference is found in the at-home access for students. For example, one elementary school (referred to as Hope Elementary) has a free and reduced-lunch rate of 96% while another school’s rate (referred to it as Vision Elementary) is less than 10%. When Hope Elementary surveyed parents at the beginning of the school year about computer access and an e-mail address for each household, less than 1 out of every 25 parents listed either. Vision Elementary has almost every household with a computer and an e-mail address. Therefore, the digital divide exists in high-poverty homes and greatly handicaps the children that live there.

Also, the Evaluation of the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program Final Report stated that teachers in high poverty schools reported a larger need for technology-related professional development than teachers in schools of lower poverty. This is not the case in Rockingham County Schools. The request for staff development related to technology is great in all schools. This may be due to the new teacher evaluation instrument and its emphasis on the need for teachers to be technology proficient and incorporate technology into daily teaching and learning with the goal of higher student achievement.

North Carolina adopted an eighth grade technology test years ago, and the students in Rockingham County Schools have done well on that measure of competency. Last year, the district conducted its own computer skills tests using Quia when the state dropped the state-wide test. While students showed a high degree of competency, it is doubtful that the state’s decision to leave computer skills testing up to individual districts will be a reliable measure of technology literacy across the state. The district superintendent is committed to 21st century technology skills in Rockingham County Schools, so the students in the district will probably receive better instruction and held to a higher standard than some others.

The digital divide can be seen more clearly in the way technology is integrated into instruction in the schools. In high poverty schools, there is less student-use of technology at the elementary level and teachers are not adapting instructional activities to the individual needs of the students using technology. High poverty schools tend to teach more basic skills and are less likely to challenge students with higher level thinking skills whether with technology or not. The schools with a lower poverty percentage do a much better job of using technology to meet the learning needs of individual students. || Good description of the digital divide. This was a good setting for the context of this question. || Angie ||
 * Suzanne || 4. Are technology standards an important framework in your school? What strategies are used to meet standards? || Instructional Technology team of Johnston County Schools provides staff development and instructional support for all certified, classified and administrative personnel. Our focus is on the integration of technology to support and extend state and county curriculum goals and objectives.

In an effort to provide teachers and students with strategies to use technology, our goals are to: Our ultimate goal is to provide direction, support and leadership in instructional technology; thus, empowering teachers and students to be actively engaged in today's information-rich, technology-based community. || The Instructional... certified, classified , and ...
 * Promote the use of technology on a daily basis to increase student productivity and achievement.
 * Offer teachers methods to effectively use technology to increase their productivity.
 * Share ideas to integrate a variety of tools and techniques to effectively enhance the learning environment.
 * Provide training in the use of county approved software and hardware, including devices such as laptops, student response systems, computer companions, handhelds and projection devices.

The focus instead of Our focus... (I wouldn't use 1st person.)

directions, support, and

The ultimate goal (instead of our)

These are goals, not strategies. Do you have strategies for how to meet this goals? If so, they should probably be included. || Angie: with proposed edits ||
 * Angie || 5. Describe Professional development in your school. Compare this to PD available through EETT Report. || There are a variety of options for technology professional development in Henderson County. First, there are county-level opportunities including Intel Teach Essentials and Intel Thinking with Technology. These classes are offered through Intel Education and focus on project-based learning, 21st century skills, teachers as facilitators, and higher order thinking skills. The county technology staff also offers after school sessions at the county professional development lab on topics such as email, webpages, benchmark testing, podcasting, blogs, wikis, Moodle, Flip videos, CPS systems, SmartBoard use and integration. These classes are offered based on the results of a year-end survey administered by the county-level Instructional Technology Department.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Individual schools can set up technology trainings that take place during the day during teacher planning periods. This gives teachers who coach or sponsor after school clubs a chance to participate in the training and receive technology credits. Many of the topics offered in the sessions mentioned above can be offered within the school setting. The county is also beginning to offer online options for teachers including an online version of Intel Teach Essentials, and there are also other courses under development. This option will be nice for teachers wishing to complete some professional development outside school hours and on their on schedule. In order to set up these options, the Media Specialist at the school can request a school-based training, or teachers can enroll themselves in classes through an online system.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">When looking at Professional Development in the EETT report, a big focus is on the quality of the PD. The report discusses the importance of 7 characteristics which include: "(a) relates to the content the teacher teaches; (b) includes other members of the school community; (c) is consistent with technology goals in the district; (d) provides an opportunity for meaningful engagement with colleagues and materials; (e) addresses different levels of teachers’ knowledge, skills, and interests; (f) delivered over multiple sessions; and (g) includes follow up activities." (p. 18)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Several of these characteristics including relating content to subject area including members of the school community, matching goals in the district, meaningful engagement and different skills, knowledge and interest are met by the professional development opportunities in my county. The topics of many of the sessions are generic, in that the topic is not specifically about a subject area, and can be related to any area. Since teachers surveyed for the EETT report discussed how important it is for professional development to be applicable to their subject area, this seems to be a strength in my county. All staff members are encouraged to attend regardless of their level, and sometimes beginning and advanced level options are available. However, with the limited instructional technology staff in the county, the professional development opportunities are often not offered over multiple sessions and sometimes the chance for follow-up depends on the Media Specialist of the school to manage. For our county, the need is in staffing so that more professional development over multiple sessions can be offered. This staff would also be required in order to provide more follow-up to ensure that staff has the support they need in order to fully integrate technology into the curriculum. || What county? Instead of "my county," say name. I fixed this.

Is this at all schools in the county? Or just yours? Is the Instructional Technology Department part of Central Office? I work at the county level, so i answered it from a county perspective, but also as a teacher might answer it. We only have 2 Instructional Technology people and they are both at the technology center.

Should we explain what Intel Teach Essentials and Intel Thinking with Technoloy is? I fixed this.

The county instead of our county (everything else is being kept in third person)

Who do they set up the training with? I fixed this. || Angie: I fixed proposed edits in the text. ||
 * Sarah || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 15pt;">6. Compare NC Technology Literacy Skills with those described in the report. || North Carolina’s Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study “identifies essential knowledge and skills that all students need to be active, lifelong learners in a technology intensive environment.” The document acknowledges that technology is going through a rapid change, and that new and improved technology is available almost daily. These computer/technology skills are meant to be integrated with core curriculum areas and enable students to improve and enhance the learning of other basic skills.

These skills lay the foundation for life-long learning and becoming building blocks in an individual’s professional and personal life. To become technologically proficient, students must develop skills over time through integrated activities in all content areas. These skills are necessary for all students and should be refined collaboratively. Through them, students will be able to collect information in multiple formats and then organize, link, and discover relationships between facts and events. The acquisition of the skills will help students be successful and live productive lives in a global, digital, and information-based future.

//Computer/Technology Competency Goals:// COMPETENCY GOAL 1: The learner will understand important issues of a technology- based society and will exhibit ethical behavior in the use of computer and other technologies. COMPETENCY GOAL 2: The learner will demonstrate knowledge and skills in the use of computer and other technologies. COMPETENCY GOAL 3: The learner will use a variety of technologies to access, analyze, interpret, synthesize, apply, and communicate information. The Computer/Technology objectives depend on grade level. The primary grades’ objectives focus on essential skills. In the upper elementary and middle grades, objectives build upon and reinforce the essential skills through application and use in assignments and projects in the content area. While in eighth grade, students should be able to pass the computer proficiency assessment required for graduation. Once in high school, the objectives focus on application, refinement, and transfer of knowledge and skills. The application, refinement, and transfer of knowledge and skills are to be used in content area assignments, in preparation for work, continued learning, and personal use. The objectives at the high school level are divided by subject area and allow students to employ, expand, and internalize the proficiencies they have already developed. The latest revisions (2004) to this document include: Societal/Ethical Issues Strand •Respect for the work of others – security, privacy, passwords, personal information • Responsible, safe and ethical behaviors online   • Trouble-shooting common hardware/software problems/issues Telecommunications/Internet Strand •Safe, responsible, and ethical behavior online •Evaluating quality of resources and information online •Collaborative tools •Advantages and limitations of collecting/disseminating information/ideas online Multimedia/Presentation Strand • Personal Safety Issues – when developing, selecting, and using personal information, images, and content in presentations/online According to the U.S. Department of Education's report, EETT legislation calls for all students to be technologically literate by the eighth grade. Although it does not define “technology literacy,” it suggests adopting the definition developed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Committee on Assessing Technology Literacy. According to NAS, technology literacy is “an understanding of technology at a level that enables effective functioning in a modern technological society. The report goes on to say that knowledge and critical thinking and decision-making skills are components of technology literacy. The U.S. Department of Education’s report includes a list of literacy standards suggested by the International Society for Technology in Education. They include: • Demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems. • Are proficient in the use of technology • Understand the ethical, cultural and societal issues related to technology • Practice responsible use of technology systems, information and software • Use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity and promote creativity • Use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students • Use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications and produce other creative works • Use telecommunications to collaborate, publish and interact with peers, experts and other audiences • Use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences • Use technology to locate, evaluate and collect information from a variety of sources • Evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks • Use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions • Use technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world EETT legislation calls for all students to be technologically literate by the eighth grade. North Carolina follows this by testing computer competency in this grade and by creating objectives for high school that focus on application, refinement, and transfer of knowledge and skills. North Carolina’s standards are aligned with those of the national report. Some of them were not originally included; however the revisions in 2004 added them. These revisions included collaboration, safety issues, and ethical behavior, all of which are addressed in the national report. Both of these documents want students to be equipped with 21st century skills and informed decision-makers and critical thinkers. The U.S. Department of Education’s report mentions the computer competency test given to all eighth grade students in the state of North Carolina. It applauds the state for having standards and linking student experiences to graduation standards. || Good. || Angie ||