School Technology Plan

School Technology Plan

By group members Oladunni Aromire, Jennifer Simmons, Constance Chiplock, Adam Kampia, Linda Tavares

EDTC 630 August 15, 2011 Professor Loretta Donovan

Glen Forest Elementary School Technology Plan

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Glen Forest Elementary School, a Title 1 school in Fairfax County Virginia, has formed a technology committee as part of an ongoing effort to encourage educational excellence and the academic achievements for all students. The school continually implements programs and activities that are designed to be rich in technology. It is the schools belief that through the positive use and integration of technology, students will be provided the appropriate instructional materials to meet their needs. The four phase plan will help eliminate achievement disparities among all student groups in accordance with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. This technology plan promotes the effective incorporation of technology within each classroom with the purpose of making a positive and valuable impact on student learning. By providing the opportunity to use technology, Glen Forest affords parents and students alike the opportunity to enhance their critical thinking skills, as well as interpersonal relationships. The school consists of a population of approximately 900 students ranging from Kindergarten through the Fifth grade, with an average class size of thirty students. The student body is extremely diverse, representing seventy-three countries and speaking forty-two languages; seventy of these students have special needs. The staff consists of 118 teachers, specialists, instructional assistants and attendants. The school operates by means of a coteaching program, with an additional ten resource teachers assisting with math, reading and performing the duties of instructional coaches. It is the mission of these staff members to promote life-long learners through a safe and nurturing environment. The Glen Forest technology committee began drafting its technology plan in the summer of 2011 with a targeted date of completion of August 15, 2011. A completed four phase plan will be submitted to the Fairfax County Board of Education for approval.

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Phase I (2011-2012 school year), focuses on purchasing the necessary technology equipment including hardware and software to immediately meet the needs of the school through grants, donations, and other funding sources.

Phase II (2012-2013 school year), will focus on purchasing and installing essential hardware and software needed for the infrastructure improvements; as well as implementation of staff training, to include identifying staff skill levels and technology awareness.

Phase III, will focus on intensive staff training and the infusion of technology, as a teaching platform, into the classroom. Phase III will conclude with the initial stages of plan evaluation.

Phase IV, will focus on the final evaluation, expansion, and adjustments to the plan.

Needs Assessment
The focus of our school-wide technology integration plan is Glen Forest Elementary School located in Fairfax County, Virginia with an emphasis placed on reading as our primary instructional initiative. At this Title 1 School, 87% of the student population receives free or reduced breakfast and lunch. The school has a faculty and staff of 118 members, as well as a School-Based Technology Specialist as a member of this staff full-time. An overwhelming majority of the school population is economically challenged; most heads of households work two or more jobs. The direct impact is that few homes have computers; this places a heavy emphasis on the need to expand the integration of technology into the classroom.

The current technologies available in the classroom are as follows: Each classroom has a Smart Board, projector and speakers.

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Each classroom has a computer station consisting of 6 laptops. The school has a 30 station computer lab. Grades 3-5 have 2 mobile laptop carts with 30 laptops, totaling 60.

Smart Board implementation in the classroom has taken place over the past two-years. Initially, they were used for announcements and multi-media presentations. However, this past year, direct interactive instruction has become the primary use for this equipment. The explicit intent of directly correlating targeted and guided instruction based on data collection through the use of this technology is a need at the school. The instructional needs of the students are very important to the educators, as well as the school system. Each month, the grade-level teams meet to discuss the growth of the students based upon their Reading Growth Charts (DRA) scores and their Standards of Learning (SOL) reading tests. The data collected by the teams, is analyzed to determine whether or not the students have progressed in accordance to the previously set goals. The attached data charts and further supports the need for this technology integration plan. The data is as follows:

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Reading Growth Summary 2010-2011 Data Collected from the Reading Growth Charts

2010-2011 Reading Progress and Benchmarks

Fifth Fourth Third Second First K 0% K 1 Year Growth Benchmark 76% 20% First 77.7% 59% 40% Second 49.3% 52% 60% Third 47.4% 64% Benchmark 80% Fourth 69.0% 55% 100% Fifth 87.0% 53%

1 Year Growth

Upon analysis of this data, we must now show a correlation to the school instructional plan. The school instructional plan is as follows:

Vision Statements
VISION STATEMENT The Glen Forest Community of families, children and teachers learn together. We honor diversity, enhance creativity, and develop higher-level thinking through literacy, numeracy, technology and the arts. We develop the whole child, creating a future of responsible, contributing citizens for a better world.

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MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to foster life-long learners. Within a safe and caring community, we collaborate, differentiate, motivate, and communicate so all achieve their greatest potential. Our futures begin here. CORE VALUES/BELIEFS We believe all students will learn through active and authentic teaching that respects and develops their rich and diverse strengths. Glen Forest strives to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment and will provide the structure and support to motivate our students to become life-long learners. Glen Forest believes teachers are learners and leaders who build the future by inspiring others, both children and adults, to learn.

Knowledge of Programmatic/Instructional Strengths and Weaknesses Defined by the School Instructional Plan:
Need for support during the reading and writing instructional blocks (Reading and Writing Workshop) as well as a need for the development of a common language for instruction across grade levels. Master schedule facilitated a co-teaching schedule which provided two teachers in each reading block grade 1-5. An analysis of teacher anecdotal records supported the need for increased support during guided reading to ensure that all students received daily instruction. Need for vertical collaboration and acquisition of management skills to be able to support a classroom of diverse learners in reading workshop. Student growth in reading was supported by administration of the DRA2 biannually.

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Staff concluded that the focus through reading and writing will be the use of technology integration to bridge the gap between achievement and goals set.

The explicit and defining focus of this needs assessment determines that the average of the reading scores, based on data from the Developmental Reading Assessments (DRA) and the State Standards of Learning Tests for grades kindergarten through second grade is 62% and for grades third through fifth is 57%. Approximately 12% of students receive special education services and 48 % of students receive ESL services. The needs of these students were considered during the creation of our goals and objectives and in accordance with their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), as well as with consideration of their English as Second Language (ESL) ratings. Glen Forest Elementary School has determined an over-arching goal to integrate technology into classrooms in order to raise the percentage of all students reaching benchmark reading levels by 4% in the upcoming school year. On a quarterly basis each grade level will examine the details of the DRA to determine the students specific skill needs. Specific educational needs of ESL students and those with special education needs will be considered and technology based lessons will be formulated and implemented. Simultaneous development of a three-year plan, as the technology integration is assessed in the upcoming school year, to bridge the achievement gap of the previous years scores and analyze the past five years of data. The results of this comparative study will determine the success level of technology integration. Through these need determinations, and in an effort to preserve our philosophy of creating life-long learners in an inclusive environment, Glen Forest is intent on prioritizing the acquisition of the proposed specific technologies in this needs assessment to increase the

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students reading skills, so that the expected Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals can be met in accordance with the school plan. They are as follows: Implementation of the Smart Response System and Smart Table in each classroom with correlated core-curriculum, standard-based lessons accessed through the Smart Board Exchange. This system will increase the data and accountability of our ESL and Special Needs learners as well through visual and verbal presentation. Implementation of 1 additional PC dedicated to the Hear Builder Phonological Software in classrooms inclusive of special education students (K-2). Purchase Braille Notetaker for the classroom for our 2 special education students with a vision impairments. Formalize a shared IT vision including faculty, staff and students inclusive of a working knowledge of the County AUP. Clarify and elevate strategic reading goals to support this vision through guiding focused instruction based on assessed needs provided by the Developmental Reading Assessment and through the Smart Response data collection and analysis system. Define and prioritize quarterly reading objectives that could be realistically accomplished to meet school plan goals. Identify specific need measurements and metrics that sharpen management focus and further clarify the strategic objectives in reading such as decoding in the early childhood grades, comprehension in early primary and inference in upper primary. Initiate the process of action/task implementation with short-term activities to ensure objective achievement and provide critical evidence of success through weekly gradelevel meetings and collaboration.

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Initiate evening computer classes and/or for families in the computer lab. Identify the time-critical infrastructure components that must be organized in a timely fashion during the initial stages of implementation.

Consistent with the vision, mission, core-beliefs and values of Glen Forest, our planned technology integration will be comprehensive in addressing the needs and enabling the community to achieve and instill academic excellence by increasing reading through all core curriculum areas and facilitating life-long learners. Our use of technology will empower our academic program and create success for our students in making adequate yearly progress.

Goals and Objectives Rationale

At Glen Forest our main goal is to provide students with the opportunity to utilize technology in order to obtain, understand, analyze, communicate and apply knowledge skills to achieve success in school and beyond. Students are encouraged to effectively use technology to access, communicate and apply knowledge and also to foster creativity. These school improvement plan objectives are action oriented and outline what we will do to improve programmatic and/or instructional effectiveness, with an over-arching goal of supporting the Language Arts (reading and writing) curriculum, along with Math and Social Studies. These goals and objectives propose to increase student achievement through the use of research based, best practice literacy strategies coupled with the use of assessment data to drive instruction through the integration of technology. The following chart highlights students strengths and weaknesses by indicating the end of year benchmark scores in reading for grades kindergarten through five and for years 2008 through 2010:

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Students in grades

K EOY Benchmark - 3 52% 1st EOY Benchmark 16 2nd EOY Benchmark 28 3rd EOY Benchmark 38 4th EOY Benchmark 40 5th EOY Benchmark 50

% met benchmark Spring 2008 63%

% met benchmark Spring 2009 66% 62%

% met benchmark Spring 2010 85% 60%

40%

29%

67%

29%

27%

53%

28%

26%

45%

48%

The goals and objectives outlined in this plan aim to improve these benchmark scores. In keeping with the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL), which explains that using computer technology enhances student learning, our goals and objectives incorporate data accessing, retrieval and processing activities. These activities support instruction in reading, writing, and research (http://doe.virginia.gov). Our goals and objectives adhere to Virginias SOL policies by emphasizing that information technology be used as an integral part of student research and assist students with making connections between lesson activities and real-life situations. Student use of technology should be used on a regular basis in order to help them produce effective written and oral presentations (http://doe.virginia.gov).

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Goals and Objectives

These broad, long-term goals for a comprehensive school technology plan addresses priorities in the following categories: Educator based goals related to the curriculum and learning School district and administration management Student outcomes based goals and objectives.

Educators Goal 1: The school/district will enhance and upgrade equipment including computers and computer software. All educators will provide assistive technology services integrated into a conscientious classroom program which will incorporate the use of computers with augmentative communication devices and adaptive technology peripherals to assist students with disabilities.

Objectives Objective 1.1: Teachers will be able to provide communication devices to students who are nonverbal to support better communication. Objective 1.2: Teachers will be able to provide computer assisted instruction to special education and inclusion classroom students to help raise level of understanding. Objective 1.3: Teachers will be able to use assistive technology to help students who have reading and writing learning disabilities to help improve language arts skills. Objective 1.4: Teachers will be able to analyze data and utilize technology to address the needs of special education populations including those who are bilingual and ESL students to scaffold their learning.

Goal 2: All educators will identify, prioritize, and incorporate the use of technology to achieve learning objectives in all disciplines within each schools curriculum as appropriate.

Objective 2.1: Teachers will be able to demonstrate the use of technology to promote cooperative learning among students. This will build strength in group dynamics. Objective 2.2: Educators will work cooperatively to examine reading data and share successful technology integration practices. In sharing knowledge, they will identify educational strengths and weaknesses

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related to adequate yearly progress requirements, and create technology based lessons to address learning needs. Objective 2.3: All educators will review benchmark assessment data and incorporate instructional strategies which may potentially improve learning for a wide range of student diversity in the school. Objective 2.4: : Teachers will be able to use technology to address the needs of multiple learning styles of students by implementing new learning strategies for reading comprehension, writing, and math.

School/District Goal 3: The school will promote technology use throughout the community by providing computer access to parents.

Objectives Objective 3.1: The teachers/administrators will dedicate a media center containing approximately 30 computers for the expressed after school use of parents in the community. The media center will be open and available to parents on a daily basis for two-hours directly following the school day or during before school time-frame. Objective 3.2: The library/media center within our school will become a center for access to information for parents to promote technology fluency.

Goal 4: School administration will work to ensure ongoing professional development for all staff in the use of current and future technologies.

Objective 4.1: School administration will offer classes which allow educators to investigate and update their knowledge of technology and skills. They will use available equipment on a regular basis in order to identify and implement activities to achieve learning objectives as related to their respective disciplines. Objective 4.2: By the end of the first year, all computer equipment will have been upgraded by the districts computer analyst. All

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computers and software on the servers will be updated, so that teachers and students alike have research and multimedia capabilities. Objective 4.3: Continuing education will be offered to ensure all teachers have received instruction and training in the integration of current and updated technology into the curriculum.

Students Goal 5: Students will be able to use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a wide variety of sources including the internet.

Objectives Objective 5.1: The Students will be able to be able to research a topic using age appropriate and teacher approved internet and video resources. Objective 5.2: The Students will be able to use technology tools for problem solving and evaluating information to make informed decisions. Objective 5.3: The Students will be able to produce documents and presentations to communicate information, demonstrate learning, and technology fluency. Objective 6.1: Students will be able to develop a strong understanding of the structure of print and oral language. Objective 6.2: Students will be able to acquire a strong foundation in phonological and phonemic awareness, vocabulary, reading fluency and comprehension strategies Objective 6.3: Students will be able to improve written communication by having frequent opportunities to apply narrative, persuasive, expository and technical skills through the writing process. Objective 6.4: Students will be able to

Goal 6: Students will be able to use word processing applications, and internet resources, to study the structure of words and language, and improve their understanding of the structure of language and writing.

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compose their writing and use programs to check spelling, grammar, vocabulary, and revise drafts in order to improve writing and produce effective written and oral presentations.

Budget, Rationale and Timeline Detailed Budget

The table shows the budgeted cost of both hardware and software that we would need in order to implement this technology plan.

Items 12 Smart Response System 12 Smart Tables 6 ) All in One Vostro_Good Desktop Computers Hear Builder Phonological Software

Unit Price 1,599

Total Price 19,188

References
http://www.learningservicesus.com/home/ls2/page_7014/smart_res ponse_le___academic.html

7,999

95,988

http://www.smartboards.com/categories/SMART-Table/ http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/vostro330/pd?refid=vostro330& baynote_bnrank=1&baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch

940

5,640
http://www.hearbuilder.com/phonologicalAwareness/ http://www.hearbuilder.com/phonologicalAwareness/showMeHow.

149.95

149.95

aspx

JAWS license

Under the district license 1,000 10,000 12,232.95

0
http://www.humanware.com/enusa/products/blindness/braillenotes/

2 Braille Notetakers Training Total

2000 10,000 133,510.95

_details/id_158/braillenote_apex_bt.html

Budget Rationale

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Although each classroom has been equipped with Smart Boards for the past two years, they have not been utilized to their full potential. Therefore, the purchase of the Smart Response system will help ensure that the equipment is used to correlate with the targeted skills and instruction, based on data collection at Glen Forest Elementary (www.learningserviceus.com). The purchase of the Smart Response LE we are proposing in this technology plan offers great insight for early learners and special needs students as it combines Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This UDL provides friendly wireless handheld remotes, a receiver and powerful assessment software. Each handheld remote is designed with easy-to-understand symbols which allow students at all reading levels to answer questions, receive instant feedback and stay focused and involved in lessons. The big buttons on the easy-to-hold remotes ensure students who struggle with fine motor skills can stay involved, too. This system gives teachers instant feedback and is able to gauge student understanding on the spot, giving teachers the ability to adjust their teaching accordingly to ensuring every student in the classroom is following the lesson. The Smart Tables will complement the Smart Response System as well. It promotes collaboration amongst students as they work together in groups. It is very intuitive which draws even a timid or shy student out of his or her comfort zone. This creates an atmosphere where the strong learners can impart or affect the low learners positively. Reading and storytelling time can become a collaborative, creative and an interactive experience for the students, which will make reading vivid and alive in their minds. Comprehension will become easier; this will translate to the students gaining stronger critical thinking skills and contribute to a stronger ability to compose answers to Brief Constructive Response (BCR) exercises.

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The Vostro desktop computers are very compact and will save much workspace for the students. These computers will be installed in the six K-2 classrooms. Their use will be dedicated to the Hear Builder Phonological Awareness System, which will be specifically used with special education students. The use of this software helps struggling readers achieve greater comprehension and improve their reading level. The Job Access with Speech (JAWS) license will not be purchased since the school already has access to this under the school district license. This software is designed for educational institutions that have determined the need to better the lives of the visually impaired. This application is a critical component in our technology plan due to its ability to aid visually impaired users by reading the information displayed on the monitor aloud. JAWS will also read aloud what's on the PC screen. Additionally, two Braille Notetakers will be purchased and installed in the classrooms of our two visually impaired students. The notetakers are small, portable devices with Braille keyboards for information entry. They use a speech synthesizer or Braille display for output. This hardware will support learning for our visually impaired students, as it provides a better opportunity for their success. The technology coordinator will receive initial training, and then provide staff training as necessary.

Timeline
This plan will span four years. 2011: Funds for the purchase of the necessary technology infrastructure will be sourced through grants, donations from parents through the Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) and other philanthropic bodies.

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2012: All hardware and software will be purchased. Installation of these technology infrastructures will be completed. Implementation will commence in phases starting with training of the technology coordinator. The technology coordinator will schedule staff development classes and train teachers to use the hardware and software appropriately.

2013: Intensive training will continue and evaluation of this plan will begin to measure the success and to assess areas of improvement.

2014: Final evaluation will be performed to assess if any further courses of action are necessary. Decisions will be made regarding the program and how the program may be adjusted to yield a more positive result.

Professional Development Plan

In order to ensure that faculty can use these technologies to effectively meet our goals, a three phase professional development plan will be implemented. Professional development must be ongoing in order for teachers to feel comfortable using the technology on a regular basis, as well as to ensure student learning is maximized through the use of technology.

Phase 1: Introduction to new technology An on-site SMART training session will be held during a scheduled in-service day. The SMART instructor will train the faculty on the use of the SMART Student Response Systems and Smart Table. Administrators will review and complete online SMART orientation sessions about use and analysis of Student Response System Data.

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The Technology Coordinator will lead training in K-2 department meetings to familiarize primary teachers on the use of the Hear Builder Phonological System.

The Technology Coordinator will meet with the teachers of visually impaired students to familiarize them with the appropriate new assistive technology.

Phase 2: Long-term planning The technology coordinator and one other teacher will be sent to a 3-day SMART Response and SMART Classroom Suite Certification training seminar in Arlington, VA. As certified experts, they will then be available to hold mini-workshops throughout the coming years to improve faculty awareness and implementation of SMART Technology uses in the classroom. Their expertise and unique knowledge of our school will help ensure that teachers are maximizing their use of SMART technology to reach our goals. The Technology Coordinator will also be responsible for training new faculty. Our Acceptable Use Policy will be reviewed and revised in order to be in sync with our goals of student internet research. The Technology Coordinator, Library Media Specialist, and other administration will collaborate on this task. As new technologies are added, the AUP will be revised to incorporate them as needed.

Phase 3: Ongoing professional development The Acceptable Use Policy will be reviewed with the faculty at the start of each school year in order to highlight changes resulting from new technology or new concerns.

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At least two professional development sessions will be held each year in order to introduce new technologies and/or increase the effective use of existing ones.

Beginning with the second year of this plan, teachers may participate in off-campus technology training in an area of their choosing once per year. The school will cover the cost. This will increase the effective use of classroom computers, media center, and laptop carts in addition to SMART and Assistive technology.

Evaluation
Our commitment to diversity and our mission of fostering lifelong learners is dependent on improving the reading abilities of our students. We believe that if we see measureable improvement in reading assessment, then achievement in other subject disciplines will follow. For that reason, a primary focus in evaluating our technology plan will be to assess student reading assessment data and its correlation with school-wide technology use.

First year: Periodically throughout the year, administration will observe classrooms and collect data on technology use. Specifically, the following questions will be answered along with other notes the administrator may take: o Are the SMART Student Response Systems being used in 50% of observed classes? o Are the SMART Tables being used by students in the primary grades in each classroom for at least part of the day? o Are special needs students observed using assistive technology to complete the same or similar activities as other students in their classes?

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o Are the classroom computers being used by students during at least 25% of classroom observations? o Are the mobile laptop carts reserved and in use throughout at least 85% of the school day? o How are the various classroom technologies being used? Are students interacting with them? Working in groups? o Are media center computers being used after school a minimum of 3 days a week? If the aforementioned observations reveal an under-use of available technology, administration will consult with and/or survey faculty to ascertain the reasons. Based on the results of these inquiries, additional professional development opportunities may need to be made available.

Second year: Administrator observations to assess technology use will continue. Administration will analyze reading progress and benchmark data and compare them to

those of the previous year as well as the year prior to this plan (contained in this document). In addition, SMART Student Response System (SRS) data will be analyzed. The two sets of data will be reviewed in order to find any correlation between the use of SMART technology and improvement in reading scores. If the above analyses suggest progress in reading skills as determined by Annual Yearly

Progress (AYP) data, we will continue with this plan as written. If the data show no progress (or even a decline) in reading assessment, administration will reassess this technology plan

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and take an in-depth look at the results of technology use observations. The educational purpose of existing technology will also need to be reevaluated.

Third year (and beyond): Administrator observations to assess technology use will continue. The aforementioned data analyses will continue. Presuming that measurable improvements in reading can be realized through formal assessment and SRS data, a comprehensive analysis of other core subjects will be undertaken. Data from other subjects will be compared to those of previous years in the same manner as the reading progress and benchmark data. Administration will look for correlating improvements across disciplines as a result of school-wide technology initiatives. At the end of the third year, this plan will be reviewed. Based on evaluation results, it will be revised or rewritten to plan for new technologies and for continuing improvement of student learning.

References

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Ai squared. (2009). Zoomtext. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from http://www.aisquared.com/ Zoomtext Demystifying Braille. (2010). Braille notetaker. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from http://www.dotlessbraille.org/index.html Glen forest elementary school. (2011). School plan. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.fcps.edu/GlenForestES/ Fairfax county public schools. (2010). Acceptance usage policy. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from http://www.fcps.edu/index.shtml Fairfax county public schools (2010). Glen Forest elementary school demographics. Retrieved July 28, 2011, from http://schoolprofiles.fcps.edu/schlprfl/f?p=108:13:1624634269152 363::::P0_CURRENT_SCHOOL_ID:104 Nanopak, inc. (2009). Jaws. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from http://www.nanopac.com/jaws.htm Pearson. (2011). Developmental reading assessment. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZ4Z4&PMDbSiteID=2781&PMDb SolutionID=&PMDbProgramId=23661&level=4&prognav=po Smart. (2011). All smart products. Retrieved July 30, 2011, from http://smarttech.com/us/ Solutions/All+Products Virginia Department of Education. The Standards & sol-based Instructional Resources (2005). Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs /computer_technology/index.shtml