Technology & Learning - April 2008 - (Page HP3)

Case Study, Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST): Student achievement is impressive. In a 2006 statewide assessment, DSST students performed nearly 30 percentage points better in math and almost 20 points better in science when compared to students overall. Ninety-six percent of students in the school’s ﬁrst senior class have been accepted at a four-year college, and the goal of 100 percent is within reach. Twelve Tactics for Successful Implementation 1. Enforce an Acceptable Use Policy for students and teachers that includes acceptable software, web sites, and applications. 2. Host a parent and student orientation with a required contract of expectations and liability signed by the parent. 3. Develop, communicate, and enforce disciplinary policies that apply to technology breaches. 4. Ensure your teachers have adequate time for lesson plan preparation and team collaboration, beyond standard professional development. 5. Deﬁne and implement a plan for device inventory and re-imaging plans. 6. Provide swap-out devices to be used as loans during repair downtime. 7. Design and implement a technical support and trouble-shooting plan for district, teacher and student devices. 8. Deﬁne and specify use of printers for both students and teachers. 9. Secure your student information and other data. 10. Plan your assessment strategy and tools to evaluate success against your technology plan goals. 11. Connect students and parents to the district’s server from home to view class information and student progress. 12. Share your successes and results with the school board, parents, and the community. In addition to the new skills people will need for the future, the old skills of effective leadership are essential to change. Professional Development: Professional development is crucial to an effective technology program. It includes preparing teachers to use technology to support standards-based teaching, student-centered learning, and using more effective strategies in digital learning environments. The goal is to use technology seamlessly so that the technology itself becomes a transparent and integral tool to teach core curriculum. One effective method is to build an online community for educators to share and communicate. Recent innovations include establishing personal learning networks so educators rely on one another for advice and support. The publication, New students, new tools, new possibilities: Creating digital learning environments (See page 4), includes detailed information about establishing effective professional development plans. Assessment: Knowing what works is essential to building a sustainable program. A model that looks at the return on investment and the program’s value compared to the cost of projects offers an effective approach. This takes into account both return on investment (ROI) factors, which includes productivity and qualitative factors in comparing the relative value of technology projects. Some of these factors include educational ﬁt, alignment of technology with the districts’ objectives, user satisfaction, equity, scalability, teacher proﬁciency and student engagement and academic improvement. MAINTENANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY With all the planning, implementation strategies, professional development programs, and stakeholder outreach, program sustainability remains an important part of planning for success. Hardware manufacturers are offering innovative lease, purchase, ﬁnance, and refresh solutions to make sure that 1:1 programs have embedded sustainability and the opportunity to expand programs as success grows. In addition, resources for long-range planning are available from several well-respected organizations, including CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking), ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) the One-to-One Institute, and other foundations and associations. Sweat the Small Stuff 1. Consider ﬁltering software. 2. Implement sufﬁcient wireless access points to accommodate usage. 3. Don’t forget extra notebook batteries and power cords. 4. Include notebook carrying bags in your budget. 5. Evaluate classroom software applications and free online tools by curriculum area. 6. Consider students as additional technical support and in-class troubleshooters. 7. Purchase projectors for your classrooms. 8. Set up collaborative classrooms and work spaces. 9. Make sure have adequate electrical power supplies in classrooms, libraries, and throughout your learning environment. 10. Provide an adequate number of surge-protected power strips. “You’ll notice at the Academy that not all the students are in their seats looking at the teacher and whiteboard, because it’s project-based instruction,” Nguyen says. “You’ll ﬁnd clusters of kids either in the hall or in a corner of the classroom. They’re all working together, but they’re not pinned to their desks.” -Thuan Nguyen, Director of Information Technology, (Kent Technology Academy) Special Section of Technology & Learning 3

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - April 2008

Technology & Learning - April 2008 Contents New @ techlearning.com Editor's Desk News and Trends Digital Age Assessment: Part 2 Anytime, Anywhere Learning Caught on Video Cover Story: Plan and Deliver Cutting Edge in Carolina Product Guide Reviews Best of the Blogs What's New LOY Profile Series

Technology & Learning - April 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.