School Technology Plan

I never realized the lack of a technology plan at my campus.  In comparison to other technology plans that I have realized that there is quite a bit of room for improvement.  There is one main goal stated in my campus technology plan.  This goal states “Staff development will be provided to support integration of technology to meet the needs of teachers, librarian, principals, and students.”  Strategies for achieving our technology goal include online training, campus staff development days, and small groups during planning periods.  The people who are in charge of coordinating professional development opportunities are the campus principal and CBLT (Campus Based Leadership Team).  Professional development opportunities include LOTI, integrating technology into the middle school curriculum, Class XP and IG Pro, and Tech Connect.  One of the things that our technology plan is lacking is budget information.  It does talk about the use of online resources and things already paid for by the district.  The evaluation process that enables the school to monitor the progress of teachers toward the technology goal mandates that teachers have to complete assignments before credit is given.  In addition teachers are required to complete surveys that provide insight into the way technology is being implemented in our classrooms.  Unfortunately our technology plan will probably not see further development for some time.  Budget cuts forced our campus to eliminate the position of instructional technology specialists whom oversaw these applications.  Perhaps this is one of the projects that CBLT, of which I am a member, would like to address in the future.

Technology Assessments

In today’s world it is imperative to assess the technology skills of today’s educators.  Technology is rapidly expanding.  Every generation is expected to utilize newer and newer products that provide an easier time in life or just a better form of entertainment.  Often times the technology expands every few years as companies push better products to store shelves.  Today’s students will soon join tomorrow’s workforce.  They will be competing for positions that not only create new technology, but that have to use it to expand their company’s ventures.  As educators we in the front lines of giving the first and most exposure to technology.   If we are not educated in the uses of technology then our ability to teach others has to come into question.  On my campus are technology leaders are chosen to attend learning seminars to keep pace with the ever expanding technological world.  They then bring that information back to our campus to share with other educators.  We have an atmosphere of shared learning and we encourage our teachers to stay on the cutting edge of technology and utilize it in every lesson plan.

                We try to use technology to engage our students in learning.  As I stated above the world is filled with technology.  By harnessing that and using the students interests in video games, music, social media, computer applications and relating those topics to our lessons we often have a greater degree of success in lesson retentions and general interest in the classroom.