Technology Action Plan

Principals Role The principal’s role in making sure the organizational chart is implemented and monitored is to first become familiar with the data that is gathered and used to make decisions in creating the district, campus, and technology plans. Being a member of the planning teams would help the principal understand what technology is currently available, and what technology needs exist at each level in the district. After the plans are developed it is the principal’s responsibility to ensure that the plans are followed, and that the needs are met at the campus level. It is also imperative that the principal stays up-to-date on current trends in technology in order to make sure that the plans for the school reflect those trends. The principal must be willing and able to support the plans and justify the needs to the superintendent of schools, as well as the board of education.

The principal must make sure that the teachers on their campus are familiar with, and comfortable with, current technology, and that they know the importance of creating 21st century learners. Professional developments sessions must be designed and implemented according to teachers’ abilities and skill levels. Just like students need individual learning opportunities, so do teachers. It would be a good idea if, at the summative PDAS conference every year, the principal would discuss personalized professional development with each teacher to determine what type of technology training would be beneficial to him/her.

Classroom walkthroughs are an essential part of what a principal does in order to assess whether technology is being integrated into each teacher’s classroom. The Principal has the responsibility of being familiar with the technology component of the TEKS, but also the responsibility to make sure that students are using the technology to become creative and global learners. The principal’s role in making sure the organizational chart is implemented and monitored stems from gaining support at the district at the district level, and follows through to ensuring that appropriate technology is being integrated into classroom instruction in order to create 21st century learners. Technology Action Plan Campus Purpose: To provide relevant learning opportunities empowering students to become informed, confident, and productive 21st century learners. Needs Assessment According to research and lessons learned from the Week 3 report it is apparent that the focus on our campus is to increase the availability of technology for our students and the integration of technology into lessons by teachers. The information and data that was used to prepare this plan was obtained from the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, the Lexington Technology Plan, the Campus Improvement Plan for Lexington High School, the Campus STaR Chart results, and the AEIS report for Lexington High School. While some teachers incorporate technology by the nature of their courses, other teachers are not integrating technology into their lessons with any depth or frequency. It is evident that professional development in the area of technology is needed. According to our AEIS report student scores in Mathematics, we need to develop a plan and train teachers in order to raise scores. According to our Campus STaR Chart results, our greatest weakness is in the area of Teacher Preparation and Development, so it is obvious that professional development in the area of technology is essential to ensure our ability to create 21st century learners. Goals and Objectives · Increase scores on the Mathematics sections of the TAKS test according to the AEIS report for 2009-2010 · Increase scores for all sections of the TAKS test according to the AEIS report for 2009-2010 · Increase the integration of technology in all classrooms by all teachers · Increase the availability of technology use by all students Strategies Schedule regular benchmarks in all core TAKS tested areas Analyze current year’s benchmarks and 2009 Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills results to determine areas of needed attention All core area teachers will teach according to the guidelines of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Provide quality instruction based on C-Scope curriculum adopted by the school district Continue computer-based tutorial programs in math and reading Continue computer-based credit recovery program Integrate cross-curricular lessons between technology teachers and core teachers According to the Campus Improvement Plan: § Expand Technology Resources to include: Expand Data Projection Capabilities to all secondary classrooms Upgrade Teacher Computers in priority areas Expand Software available for teaching Web needs for BIMM: Dream Weaver, Photo Shop and Adobe Creative Suites Computer Science: Eclipse load Upgrade District Website Improve Telecommunications System including fiber connections Technology Currently Available · Internet connections for all teachers · Computers equiped with multimedia capabilities · InFocus Projectors connected to each teacher’s computer · Video Recorder · Digital Cameras · DVD Burners Current Integration of Technology · Odyssey Ware computer lab for credit recovery · Math Lab with My Satori · Reading Lab with Read 180 · Technology Applications (TEKS) courses for high school · Computer Lab available for checkout w/25 computers · Library Computer Lab available for checkout w/22 computers · At least one student computer in each teacher’s classroom · Content Mastery computer lab · Multimedia software for each computer available for student use · Journalism/Yearbook software installed in Yearbook classroom w/ 4 computers Training and Professional Development In order to ensure that teachers are knowledgeable and up-to-date on accessing and assessing current technology, and also how to use available data, to best support students in the classroom, professional development in those areas is critical. Because we know that making personal connections with students is related to their success, training in that area will be provided as well. Teachers will be trained to analyze and disaggregate data such as TAKS results, AEIS reports, STaR Chart results, and INOVA data in order to make informed decisions for teaching and learning regarding student success Teachers will be trained in the use of their InFocus data projection devices and the opportuninties that exist for integrating that technology into their classrooms to create more interactive lessons Teachers will be trained in the use and integration of multimedia software and its use in the classroom to integrate technology into the classroom for teaching and learning Teachers will be trained according to their subject matter on innovative and current trends in integrating technology into their classrooms both for teaching and for student use Teachers will be trained in the importance of making connections with students using training such as Capturing Kids’ Hearts and 40 Developmental assets which provide applicable techniques

Evaluation · Teachers will be provided opportunities to evaluate and provide feedback for each of the training sessions they attend to determine the relevance and applicability of each training · Teachers will be provided opportunities to evaluate and provide feedback for each of the training sessions they attend to determine whether follow-up training needs to occur Monitoring and Assessments As teachers complete the professional development training and begin to analyze and assess campus data, they should begin to implement new strategies and integrate technology in their classrooms to a greater degree. This type of intervention should cause increases in benchmark scores as well as TAKS scores. · Administrators and teachers will review and disaggregate data such as AEIS, Campus STaR chart results, and TAKS results to determine if the scores have improved · Administrators and teachers will review and disaggregate data such as AEIS, Campus STaR chart results, and TAKS results to see if newly implemented strategies gained from training resulted in the increased performance and ratings · Campus and district educational improvement committees will develop CIPs and DIPs after examining data that reflect further training needs of the district · Administrators will make formal and informal walkthroughs in classrooms to determine whether technology strategies earned in professional training is being integrated into lessons · Administrators and teachers will view student achievement data and discipline records to determine whether training in personal connections along with technology integration has been a contributing factor in student success and improvement