Bryan
Zocher: Module 7, Week 2 Activity
a. Do the district‘s vision, mission, goals,
and strategic plans integrate technology to enhance teaching and learning, and
are they aligned to this end?
“Vision: Portage Public Schools will empower every student to contribute
intelligently and ethically in an information rich, global society.” The vision statement does not directly mention
technology. However, it is inferred, in the idea of empowering and contributing
“intelligently and ethically in an information rich (through technology) global
(through technology) society”.
“Mission: Through a partnership of school staff, students, parents and
community, all Portage Public Schools students will become
effective communicators, responsible citizens, self-directed learners and
complex thinkers. In order to accomplish this mission:
The school staff will: (1
of 4 points) Be technologically
literate, complex thinkers in an ever-changing profession. (Direct technology
mention)
The students will: (2 of 4
points) Demonstrate responsible citizenship through positive social interactions in various environments . Use innovative complex thinking strategies
to solve problems and make decisions in everyday life. (Indirect technology
inferences).
The parents will: (2 of 4
points) Foster and support their children's creative thinking and actions, and
help them understand the
responsibility that goes along with self-direction. Model complex
thinking and provide opportunities for their children to be complex thinkers. (Indirect technology inferences)
GOALS:
ACADEMIC
Students
will have a strong academic base, which is our first priority.
They will have skills and knowledge in numeracy, literacy, science
and technology to their
utmost potential.
They will have a well rounded introduction to multiple disciplines
including but not limited to the arts, humanities, and world languages.
They will be skilled learners, able to identify what they need to know and how to learn it.
They will be
complex, analytical, creative
thinkers able to make reasonable decisions.
SELF AWARE
Students
will be self aware and have a positive self image.
They will feel confident in their ability to succeed.
They will understand their strengths, their learning styles and
their creative potential.
They will recognize areas of study that match
their unique set of abilities, talents and interests.
LIFE SKILLS
Students
will practice positive life and social skills.
They will be good
communicators.
They will be able to
participate in and add to a group.
They will be physically active appropriate to their ability.
They will be
able to make positive choices for a healthy life style.
CITIZENRY
Students
will be good citizens of the
community and the world.
They will be good citizens in the community in which they live.
They will make positive contributions to their community.
They will be good stewards of the environment.
They will practice honesty, integrity and ethical behavior.
They will understand, appreciate
and demonstrate respect for diverse cultures.
They will be able to communicate
with people in other parts of the world.
All in all,
PPS vision, mission, and goals infer quality use of technology, but there are
few direct mentions of use of technology towards achieving success. At this
point PPS does not have a Strategic Plan.
b.
Are
they coordinated and do they support each other in terms of their goals,
activities, resources, and implementation?
All in all,
PPS vision, mission, and goals are in alignment with each other but there is no
mention of how of how, where, why or when the school district, staff, parents
and students will implement and achieve.
c.
Does
the district/school have a current technology plan? If so, how were technology
needs assessed, and are they sufficiently addressed in the technology plan?
Yes.
PPS does have a technology plan. The plan was completed in April 2011, revised
in April 2012 for 2011-2014 implementation. “With the November 2007 voter-approved bond providing approximately
$18,000,000 for technology, the district will have the funding for upgrades to
the appropriate voice, video and data systems. All 15 buildings are connected
by District-owned fiber that transmits all data, voice, and video traffic.” “Portage Public Schools has invested
and continues to invest in hardware and infrastructure which is compliant with
industry standards. In addition, the District engages consultants and experts
to assist in the design and implementation of system wide electronic
infrastructure.”
There is no
direct definition of how technology needs will be assessed in the Plan.
d.
What
is the level and range of technology used in your district/school to enhance
instruction and student learning?
”Currently all teachers have access to a least
one internet enabled desktop or internet enabled laptop computer. The voter
approved 2007 bond issue will allow us to upgrade all teacher machines and
provide additional laptops for teacher use.
General fund dollars will increase the number of
student use computers. The district is planning to establish a ratio of 2
students to a computer for secondary levels and 3:1 ratio for
elementary buildings. In order to meet these targets, the district will be
doubling the number of our current student machines from 1470 devices to
approximately 3000.”
e. What
district policies, procedures, and resources support use of technology to
enhance teaching and promote student learning, and to support efficient
district/school school management and operations, fiscal management, and staff
productivity?
STUDENTS:
“Assessment rubrics for content and technology benchmarks are a part of our
technology integration projects in grades 3, 4, 5, 8. Teachers assess the
benchmarks according to the rubrics and post the scores in our Instructional
Management System (IMS). The IMS system allows us to track our progress for the
benchmark by student, class, building, or district. We are able to see how we
are doing as a district year by year with our benchmarks.
Measures, Frequency, Personnel and Strategies
Students are evaluated quarterly on variety of
state and local benchmarks. Technology benchmarks are evaluated during the
marking period during which the students participate in the Technology
Integration projects. Classroom teachers are responsible for administering the
assessment. Teachers enter student scores into our Instructional Management
System (IMS.) Teachers and administrators can use the IMS data to see which
benchmarks need to be re-visited, and where we may need to differentiate to
meet individual needs. Monthly grade group and department meetings involve
staff in discussions of benchmarks. IMS is a powerful technology tool that
allows us to monitor student achievement and adjust or deliver strategies.”
TEACHERS AND STAFF: “Portage Public
Schools has made and continues to make significant investments in professional
development. Professional development is necessary to assist teachers and staff
to use the appropriate technologies to enhance teaching and learning. The
district provides a variety of staff development opportunities that focus on
effective application of technology in creative and innovative ways. Training
sessions and workshops are offered at a variety of times and locations to
assure they encourage participation by our teaching staff.
Offerings and Timeline: Staff can earn professional
development credits in a wide-range of software applications online via the
district’s subscription to www.atomiclearning.com. This model promotes
flexibility and convenience. The service allows users to search by state
standard, by ISTE NETS-S, publisher or platform.
Competencies: Meeting Technology Professional
Development Standards for teachers, media specialists and administrators is
part of all staff development related to integrating technology. In Portage we
focus on meeting the content standards for students, integrate the best
available technologies to meet those benchmarks, and train teachers and staff
to implement the technology tools.
At the conclusion of each technology training
session, we receive written feedback so we may continue to target meaningful
professional development. The “National Educational Technology Standards for
Teachers” are posted in labs used for training. In all of our professional
development activities, we keep the national teacher standards in mind as we
build teacher competencies through meaningful content.”
FISCAL MANAGEMENT/SCHOOL OPERATIONS: No mention
in the PPS plan.
f.
How
effective is the use of technology in your district and school?
At
this point, PPS has the resources to purchase technology, has a professional
development plan for teachers and staff on the use of technology, but has not
fully integrated technology into the daily routine into the work of the
district or provided teachers with a construct to use technology in the
classroom. If I was going to grade PPS,
I’d give them a C.
g.
How
do the strategic and technology plans measure up against the six (6) conditions
in the enGauge Framework?
The
enGauge Framework of 21st Century Skills: Digital-Age Literacy, Inventive
Thinking, Effective Communication, High Productivity are research-based and presented,
both philosophically and pragmatically. Furthermore, the means of bringing
teachers onboard is laid out in a systematic process. The PPS technology plan
talks about plans to purchase equipment, but no plan on the specific
educational software or apps, or even the potential use of software or on-line applications
or interactions with other learning environments. The PPS plan includes the
student educational goals in regards to technology, but no plan on how, when,
where and why to use the technology to achieve the educational goals.
h.
How
would you improve the vision, mission, goals, and plans to reflect the role of
technology in 21st century schools?
First
off, we need to stop simply buying equipment with no real plan as how to
systemically use it. School districts who have given students ipads without a
real plan, soon find out that the technology is more of an attractive
distraction than a working, educational tool. Secondly, we the adults need to
get used to the idea that we are no longer the information conveyors – the information
is everywhere. We are the ethical
sherpas that assist students in navigating the world of information and
assisting them to critically assess the good from the bad. Thirdly, we may need
to let go of the idea of school building as a place where everyone comes
together, every day. School buildings need to be smaller, more flexible
scheduling, and have flexible work environments and experiential lab spaces.
Fourthly, schools need to work with students to discover their talents and
educational need, and then research and develop individualized learning plans
that use a multiplicity of on-line, blended and real world applications,
processes and platforms.
i.
How
would you improve the use of technology in your school to enhance teaching,
student learning, and staff productivity?
Education for the
Arts instructors are in the infancy of integrating technology for student
learning; though as a whole they are all willing to take the “baby steps”
needed (professional development and research) to successfully implement; and
all instructors have Ipads. Currently all EFA classes communicate with students
through Facebook and Twitter. The classes that are technology embedded
(On-line, Digital Video and Media Arts) have state of the art equipment and the
latest software. The traditional performing and visual arts classes are
beginning to find ways to document, research, create, produce, share with the
public, and assess using smartphones and ipads. I’m currently working with
instructors to develop the means for EFA students to work on collaborative
projects through technology. And hope that in the future EFA classrooms develop
distance learning relationships with instructors and learners from around the
globe.
