Editor's Notes
- #3: 1998. Board of Ed meeting with Judy Powers as Interim Asst Supt for Instruction. wanted to do a complete overhaul of our technology infrastructure and presented to the board. Even then, Instruction was our focus. We do not focus of the acquisition of technology but on the application of those tools in the classroom. At that point, when the budget passed, the Director of Technology at that time, Neal Townsend, decided it was time to formalize the professional development and keep it in house. We had been using the RIC but the teachers were more interested in having in district support. I had actually been offering some after school in service classes that they were quite pleased with. A job posting was drafted and I applied and am happy to say that I got the job, which I am still in today. It’s evolved dramatically since that point. but the most important thing to stress is that professional development was always a critical and integral part of our plan.
- #4: Learn with technology, not FROM technology. We have not traditionally used the comprehensive courseware packages and I always think about a teacher from Greenwich who used to tell me that her kids HATED technology because they spent most of the time on the computer using a program that they were mandated to use a certain number of minutes a day. It was not engaging. It was no more than an electronic textbook.
- #5: Look at curriculum first, technology second. District goals & initiatives addressed through technology. Administrators were always part of the conversation. They were trained in how to recognize effective use of technology in the classroom and every teacher had to demonstrate effective use in at least one observed lesson per year.
- #6: formats: inservice classes, during school classes, one-on-one meetings with teachers, teams of teachers, outside opportunities, summer curriculum work that focused on curriculum and helped to find technology applications and connections. Pay teachers to deliver the classes, provide funds for outside conferences, give inservice credit for outside conferences, use Title II D monies for staff development Mini grants, LEF, Best Buy Grants
- #7: For example: starting videoconfencing this year. certainly, we could not talk to the expert at the Royal Botanical Garden in canada about plants
- #8: Example: Seasonal Changes project
- #9: many awards: Four from the LHRIC - Pioneer Awards in four areas over the years, our website, Intel Innovation Odyssey, ThinkQuest, many winners, AASA
- #10: part of a comprehensive curriculum initiative
- #11: Sue started with our first online course, and has continued to integrate technology on a regular basis to this day. She is an innovator, a true believer that these are the tools we need to leverage to get our kids to think critically, be motivated and challenged and be prepared for the future that they face when they leave our halls. Has embraced Web 2.0 tools and uses blogs, wikis and other tools on a regular basis.
- #12: District wide implications: Elementary classrooms District podcasts: elementary report card, edtech podcast, calendar updates Teacher podcasts: Pete Kruppenbacher Rubrics, Checklists, best practices. kids have voice outside of the classroom
- #13: Application Process for Board - we don’t just put them in rooms. teacher must take training to use. Send 12 teachers this summer for SMART board Certification. one or two per building. They have responsibility to hold at least one after school session per month in their building and help out as needed with the INSTRUCTIONAL aspects of the SMART Boards. Not technicians. Help with curriculum integration. Developing a web portal that will be the “destination” for teachers: Idea Center, Training Center, and Lesson Center. Worked with administrators this summer to help them identify effective use of SMART Board technology to insure that we did not spend all of this money on glorified overhead projectors.
- #14: Demonstrate that giving a student a laptop will make a difference in their learning. Piloting at two high schools.