The following will be an evaluation of technology initiatives that were outlined in either the District Improvement Plan (DIP) or the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP).
One goal of our DIP was to implement a science, technology, and math (STEM) after-school program (p. 15). The District Instructional Technology Specialist along with the Campus Principals are required to evaluate this program. While I am not at the campus implementing this initiative, I would imagine that the principals would delegate the gist of this program to either their assistant principal in charge of math/science or the curriculum instructional coordinator (CIC). The success of this program will be determined through data gathered on each benchmark (p. 15) as well as walk-through data gathered by principals and the CIC. I believe that the success of this program should not hinge just on walk-through data and benchmark assessments. I think the the teachers responsible for implementation should be probed to see if there are better ways to assess the success.
To help with our infrastructure, both the DIP and CIP plans proposed installing In-Focus Projectors within core subject classrooms (“District Improvement Plan” p. 15 & “Campus Improvement Plan” p. 7). . The District Instructional Technology Specialist is ultimately responsible for this implementation, but they must work closely with the maintenance department since they will be the department that will install the projectors. At our campus, our 12th grade assistant principal is responsible for ensuring this initiative is followed. Our 12th grade assistant principal is responsible for all classroom work orders and maintenance. Since it would be extremely hard for this principal cannot to ensure each core subject area classroom has one, the teachers should shoulder some of this burden by reporting their classroom if it is missing a projector. By having these projectors, the teachers will have the capabilities to utilize other technology initiatives that the district has purchased (Clickers, TaskStream, Video Streaming, etc.). Walk-through data will help determine whether teachers are utilizing these projectors. Also, a periodic check to ensure each projector is working will be done by the 12th grade assistant principal.
Another district and campus technology improvement was to increase the use of Clickers (“District Improvement Plan” p. 15 & “Campus Improvement Plan” p. 7). As a district, the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum as well as the District Technology Integration Specialist are responsible for this initiative. At our campus, the CICs and Technology Integration Specialist are responsible for reporting to the Assistant Superintendent and District Technology Integration Specialist. Our campus will evaluate this by viewing lesson plans and analyzing walk-through data. Since Clickers are new to the campus, a professional development (mentioned in previous section) will be provided that will familiarize teachers with Clickers as well as writing assessments that involve the use of Clickers. Teachers will be asked to provide positive or negative experiences with Clickers through learning community meetings that occur every other day.
The biggest technology initiative that was included in our CIP was the Project-Based Learning (PBL) initiative (p. 3, 7). Since Project-Based Learning will be a campus-wide curriculum change, the principal is responsible for evaluating this initiative. To help with this change there were four professional developments that were provided before the school year (2) and during the school year (2). These professional developments were done by a group that specializes in PBL. This group has also provided continued support for the next three years. The campus has also designated an hour a week to meet with pre-arranged learning communities that will develop PBL assessments. Once a six weeks, all groups come together to share their results and findings. As teachers, we have been encouraged to use a PBL-type assessment once a semester and to share our findings with our learning communities. Since PBL relies heavily on 21st Century skills, teachers will be encouraged to design projects that utilize open-source software. Professional development outlined in the previous section will be provided and the IT specialists as well as the Technology Integration Specialist will provided continued support. Once again walk-through data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative.
References
Copperas Cove High School Campus Improvement Plan. (2009-2010). Retrieved from http://www.ccisd.com/98920621163230253/site/default.asp
Copperas Cove District Improvement Plan. (2009-2010). Retrieved from http://www.ccisd.com/98710121514422517/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=58246
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