TECHNOLOGY ACTION PLAN

District's technology action plan comprises three components:  The organization's hierarchy chart of roles and responsibilities; the professional development activities; and the evaluation plans.

ORGANIZATION CHART

TITLE---ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

School Board--Responsible for approving and setting policy regarding technology based on recommendation and discussion with superintendent.

Superintendent--Discusses technology needs and recommendations with the school board, who approves and sets technology policy. Directs and delegates implementation of approved technology.

District Curriculum Director--Works cooperatively with district technology director to investigate new technology that will enhance student learning. Once new technology is approved, works cooperatively with other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation.

District Technology Director--Works cooperatively with district cuuriculum director to investigate new technology that will enhance student learning. Once new technology is approved, works cooperatively with other stakeholders to ensure effective implementation. Maintains accurate records regarding hardware and software within the district. Keeps track of copyrights and updates, ensuring the latest versions of technology used is available.

Campus Administrators and Principals--Acts as liasion between district curriculum and technology directors by maintaining open lines of communication regarding technology. Forwards new technology discovered by campus personnel to district technology director for investigation purposes. Directs implementation of new technology, verifying that all personnel are trained in the effective use of the technology. Provides necessary time and resources to ensure technology is being implemented effectively by personnel. Encourages risk-taking by personnel who desire to incorporate technology into their curriculum.

Campus Technology Mentors--Acts as “trainer of trainers” by undertaking indepth learning of all technology on campus. Collaborates with campus personnel to ensure understanding is gained by all. Maintains availability for questions from campus personnel regarding technology and its uses. Acts as liasion between campus personnel and administrators ensuring open lines of communications.

Campus Teachers--Willingly undergoes technology training as to enhance student learning. Facilitate student usage of technology. Takes risk by engaging students in innovative technology usage, especially when used in student-centered activities.

Students--Responsible for using technology to enhance learning. Offers input to other technology stakeholders regarding technology, its innovations, and possible learning opportunities.


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Goal 1: Teachers will integrate technology in instruction to improve student learning and meet the needs of individual learning styles.

Strategies:
1) All teachers will develop and use technology/curriculum integration activities correlated to the Technology Applications TEKS, core content, and enrichment courses in classrooms daily.

2) All students in grades 3-5 will collaborate and use the Internet to obtain information for research and reports at least once weekly, and grades 6-12 will do this twice weekly.

3) The district librarians will instruct all students in the effective use of electronic database resources related to curricular and/or independent learning needs.

4) All students in grades 6-12 will highlight individual and group technology proficiencies by completing projects using PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Podcasts, or other productivity programs at least once each 6 weeks.

Responsible Parties:  Classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and district librarians.

Resources:
1) Accelerated Reading and other software programs and games.

2) Professional development, on-site and at the region service center, in the specific technology needed to complete goal i.e. Internet research techniques, electronic databases, and creating multimedia presentations, such as PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Podcasts, etc.

Goal 2: The district will provide on-going professional development to assist educators in expanding effective instructional practices for incorporating technology in to instruction.

Strategies:
1) All teachers and instructional support staff will participate annually in least 6 hours of professional development on integrating technology into the curriculum based on individual needs as identified by a technology assessment instrument.

2) Professional development will be provided to assist all teachers and administrators in using DMAC Solutions software to analyze student achievement data.

3) Professional development will be provided to assist all teachers on basic knowledge of technology integration using the Teacher STaR Chart and/or the Region VII Technology Proficiency Inventory.

4) Software-specific teacher training for software used by students will be provided annually or as needed.

Responsible Parties:  District technology director, campus administrators, and campus technology mentors.

Resources:
1) On-site “trainers of trainers.”

2) Specialists hired by the district for onsite training.

3) District-provided days for faculty to attend specific training at local service centers, nearby colleges and universities, and out-of-town workshops.

Goal 3: Technology support will be provided to all students, teachers, and administrators to ensure maximum utilization of district technology.

Strategies:
1) At least one teacher on each campus will be trained in technology integration skills and student data management and as technology mentors to others on their campuses.

2) Subscriptions to at least one periodical database, online library catalog access, and video-on-demand system will be funded through the Technology Budget.

3) WRCCISD will maintain high speed Internet access with appropriate firewalls and Internet filters.

4) Licenses to student applications software programs such as Study Island, Accelerated Reader, Star Math, Accelerated Math, Rosetta Stone, E-Skills, and Heart Soft will be reviewed, canceled, or renewed annually as needed.

Responsible Parties:  Superintendent, District technology director, and campus administrators.

Resources:
1) On-site “trainers of trainers.”

2) Specialists hired by the district for onsite training.

3) District-provided days for faculty to attend specific training at local service centers, nearby colleges and universities, and out-of-town workshops.

EVALUATION PLANNING

Evaluation of the Technology Plan will be a systematic ongoing process. All aspects of the Plan will be evaluated formally each year.

1) Progress will be monitored and documented through training records, student technology skills checklists, equipment/software license inventories and purchase orders, observation records, the Texas StaR Chart descriptors, and the contents of the District website. Results will be submitted to the Superintendent and the Board of Trustees after each formal evaluation occurs.

2) School leaders must assess what training and development is needed on their respective campuses via educator surveys. Once the needs are determined, professional training and education must be provided either on-site or via the local service center. It is also essential that a multi-level strategy is used, as every staff will possess members whose technological skills and experience range from little-to-none to very advanced. School leaders must also ensure adequate funding of this development is in place and provide not only onsite help via a campus “trainer” for staff members, but also sufficient time for educators to implement and effectively use the new technologies and strategies.

3) The campus technology committee of which the principal will be the chairperson will be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of technology within their school setting. This will be done through teacher input as well as data collected. The committee will make reports to the district technology committee who in conjunction with the District Site Based Committee will make adaptations, upgrades, or revisions that are deemed necessary.