Table of Contents
Executive Summary................................................................................................ 4
Introduction The Role of Technology in Education Reform............................ 5
Background Information
A School/District and Community Demographics............................................... 6
B Overview of the Technology Planning Process................................................ 7
C
District Technology Vision and
Current Status
A
Students and Staff Assessment of Technology Skills,
Knowledge, and Attitudes.............................................................................. 9
B Inventories ..................................................................................................... 9
C
Assessment of Existing Professional Development
Activities and Structures................................................................................ 11
D Assessment of Current Technology Support Staff............................................ 11
Program Goals and Technology Initiatives in
Support of Education Reform
A Administrative and Management Goals............................................................ 12
B. Professional Development Goals..................................................................... 12
C Communication and Information Access Goals............................................... 12
D Curricular and Instructional Goals................................................................... 13
Technology Design
A Software Priorities............................................................................................ 14
¨ Administrative and Management
¨ Communications and Information Access
¨ Instructional and Curricular
B Hardware, Facilities, and Network Priorities.................................................... 14
¨ Hardware: Workstations and Peripherals
¨ Facilities: Network Design
¨ Building and Classroom Wiring: Standards
¨ Implementation Issues
C Operations, Maintenance, and Upgrades Priorities........................................... 15
Technology Implementation Action Plan
A General Timeline/Implementation Issues........................................................ 16
B Activities, Timeline.......................................................................................... 17
Monitoring, Evaluation, and Revision of
Technology Plan
A Monitoring and Evaluation Process.................................................................. 19
B Process for Reporting to Stakeholders.............................................................. 19
Executive Summary
The
Challenges that we face as educators continue to grow. Not only do operational costs of the school district continue to rise, but funding has decreased over the years. Budget cuts have been necessary throughout the district. New school building projects have afforded us the opportunity to purchase computers, however updating those computers continues to be a challenge. Grants have been difficult to obtain due to the fact that our district is not underperforming nor does it meet the low income criteria of many grants. We continue to seek outside funding but these measures are temporary. Public support is necessary and the district is working hard forming Ad Hoc committees and working on public relations to educate the community on the increasing demands of education and the need for budgetary support.
The use of technology in our district needs to be an integral part of teaching and learning. Through professional development of teachers, support for students, and updating hardware, software, and the infrastructure of our network we will provide students with the opportunities necessary for them to compete in the 21st century.
With this plan, the School Committee and the
The Role of Technology in Education Reform
Educational Reform has meant sweeping changes to the way teachers teach and students learn. The Central Berkshire Regional School District has embraced the initiatives of Educational Reform, and works hard from semester to semester to ensure that its initiatives are made available to all staff and students.
Our efforts at drawing our district students into a more closely connected learning community will mean that our problem solving efforts become district wide initiatives, with a larger pool of skills and resources. Utilizing the technological advances of connectivity, intranetworking, and resource sharing will make our designing, building, and testing solutions more efficient and worthwhile. On a more global scale, the skills learned in local collaboration and problem solving will translate into students that will be able to compete more effectively in a global society - a society drawn together by the same technology that we will implement locally.
Background Information
School
and District Demographics
The
Currently, the district educates approximately 2,500
students in four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high
school. A 15
Our technology base is very diverse. Each school’s resources not only include an abundance of older computers, but include state of the art multi media systems as well. All of the schools have computer networking available, as does the Central Office administration. Training of teachers has included online courses as well as videoconferencing. Skills in using web-based lessons, Universal Design, and the use of technology in assessment have been a focus of the courses. In-service training in the use of mapping software has enabled teachers to document their curriculum in digital format as well.
A major challenge in the years ahead will be to balance the expenditures of our operational budget with the important initiatives of advancing our technological offerings. Innovative and alternative means of funding will have to be examined, and strong partnerships of local constituents will have to be formed if our goals are to be realized.
Overview
of the Technology Planning Process
In September of 2005, a new, full time position of
District Technology Coordinator was created in the
District
Technology Vision and Mission Statements
The
To integrate technology into education, we must ensure that:
: Access to technology is available to all students;
: The
: Students can expand their knowledge base, improve their critical thinking, problem solving and decision making skills; access, analyze, evaluate and communicate information in expedient and efficient formats; and work ethically, independently, and collaboratively with a diverse and changing population;
: Educators have professional development and instructional materials that support technology based teaching;
: Educators and administrators have time to work with technology and develop its educational potential;
: Administrators can provide immediate access to, and manipulation of, equipment and data sources for instructional and administrative decision making;
: Funding and resources are available to address these changes.
CBRSD invites you to consider this vision with us, to look toward a time when all students, teachers, parents, and entire communities are linked together in a global learning environment that offers compelling new opportunities for education and learning for a lifetime. The challenges to implementing our vision are great, but the potential rewards to everyone are so significant and far reaching that we must work together to realize the opportunity this exciting vision holds.
Current Status
Students and Staff Assessment of
Technology Skills, Knowledge, and Attitudes
One attribute of the
Our staff, too, is marked with such diversity. Many have chosen to incorporate computers into their teaching repertoires however some have strong convictions that computers have a minor role at best to play in what can be perceived to be a person to person profession. Again, such divergent attitudes present challenges to our technology goals.
.
Inventories
Computers
have been an important learning tool for many years in the
In the
late 1980’s and early 1990’s, The Apple GS arrived in large numbers. The
In 1992,
the Crane Paper Company made a major contribution of IBM (compatible) hardware
and software to
During this same time period, our district began moving away from the older Apple platform in a more rapid fashion. Upgrades that arrived in the next two years were typically IBM (compatible) models, 386 or 486 processors, with 4 megabytes of RAM and 210 megabyte hard drives. Modems, if installed, were 2400 or 9600 baud. The age of telecomputing and multi-media had not yet arrived. During this time period, one elementary school invested in Mac’s, preferring that platform for its students.
Central Office administration was a major purchaser of more powerful IBM business machines. Many of the business functions were transferred to computers. In 1994, a Novell network was installed to allow more efficient resource sharing among Central Office personnel. A new state of the art network is due to go on line this fall in one of the elementary schools.
Telecomputing
began to arrive in 1993 with numerous district teachers signing on to the free
Internet services offered by the
The
In 1994, multi-media systems began to surface in larger numbers district wide. The arrival of faster and less expensive CD-Rom technology took students to another level of excitement and usability. Student projects and assignments started to take on a more global view, with more reports reflecting world wide research.
Effective networking remained elusive at this stage, and was a major early goal of our technology plan in the late 1990’s. No formal wide area network existed at that time as e-mail was the collaborative tool of choice.
Currently there is an effective network in place at all schools. Videoconferencing equipment has replaced the previous methods of distance learning and is used for both professional development and student learning.
A district wide system inventory follows in summary form
|
CBRSD Computer Inventory Summary
As Of: June, 2005 |
||||
|
Total |
Location |
Type A |
Type B |
Type C |
|
50 |
Becket |
39 |
7 |
4 |
|
40 |
Berkshire Trail |
14 |
19 |
7 |
|
11 |
Central Office |
9 |
2 |
0 |
|
92 |
Craneville |
4 |
42 |
46 |
|
48 |
Kittredge |
4 |
39 |
5 |
|
227 |
Nessacus |
49 |
122 |
56 |
|
15 |
SPED |
11 |
4 |
0 |
|
206 |
Wahconah |
111 |
77 |
18 |
|
689 |
District Totals &
Percentages |
35% |
45% |
20% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
We are in the process of negotiating a lease to update many of our existing older systems. We intend to replace about 75% of our computer system over the next 3 years if budget levels remain constant.
Assessment
of Existing Professional Development Activities and Structures
A professional development facilitator in the district has
enabled us to move forward in the accessibility of professional development in
our district. Four online courses were
offered in the 2004-2005 school year and four are scheduled for the 2005-2006
school year. Videoconferencing has
enabled us to provided trainings through the
Assessment
of Current Technology Support Staff
As of September, 2005 we now have a full time technology coordinator in place in the district to oversee all aspects of the network. The current technology coordinator is A+ certified and is a Microsoft Certified Network Engineer. Each building also has a building technology integrator that assists the technology coordinator in repairs and assisting teachers in the use of technology.
LAST YEARS Program Goals and Technology Initiatives in Support of Education Reform (2005-2006)
Administration
and Management Goals
: Increase the speed and reliability of the wide area network links in order to allow for a centralized access point for data and applications across the district. This goal has been accomplished by increasing our 384k frame relay links to full 1.544MB T1s in every elementary school and by replacing the outdated 11MB link between the high school and middle school with a 108MB wireless link.
:To train administration and teachers in the use of time management software such as Microsoft Exchange to increase their efficiency. This goal has been started with the education of the Central Office staff and will be continued with school administration and teaching staff this year.
: Continue curriculum mapping using Rubicon Atlas software to create a more cohesive curriculum across the district. This goal is almost complete. The elementary schools are the last and they are 90% complete. We will continue this initiative this year as well.
: Create a maintenance budget, including funds for repairs and support staff, for these networks. We have increased our maintenance budget a great deal this year and we have asked the towns to approve an additional capitol budget for maintenance on top of that in order to try and recover much of the maintenance momentum lost in the recent past.
Professional
Development Goals
: A brief pamphlet will be published and distributed to all staff describing professional development opportunities offered in the district.
:Train teaching staff in the use of technology including
¨ How to create a lesson plan which includes use of the Internet for research, use real time data, and electronic field trips. This course is in progress at this time.
¨ How
to use blackboard software to design online courses. This was given last year as a 45 hour course.
¨ The
effective use of online courses and the “virtual classroom”. This was given last year as an
online course.
¨ How
to analyze data using software such as Standards Master and TestWiz. This was given last year as a 45
hour course.
¨
: Continue offering online courses for teachers and staff through Blackboard courses and the use of the Para-Educator Network. This is currently in progress.
:Earmark
some specific curriculum development money for projects which integrate technology
into ongoing instructional programs which are part of the current curriculum
frameworks effort. We
intend to move forward with this in the coming year.
: Identify classrooms demonstrating the effective use of technology both in the district and outside of the district. Provide release time for teachers to visit these classrooms to see how technology can be integrated into instruction. We intend to move forward with this in the coming year.
Communication
and Information Access Goals
:
Increase the speed of the wide area network links to allow for a centralized
management of student records and other pertinent data to increase
communication between buildings. Complete – see above.
: Explore the use of MassONE for district use. We are in the process of doing this.
: Study the feasibility of connecting to Internet 2. We are in the process of doing this.
Curricular
and Instructional Goals
|
Goal |
K-5 |
6-8 |
9-12 |
|
1. Students will be able to utilize technology to improve their reading, writing, and communication skills. |
P |
P |
P |
|
2. Students will be able to use technology to access and analyze information. |
4-5 |
P |
P |
|
3. Students will be able to use technology to think critically and solve complex problems. |
P |
P |
P |
|
4. Students will be able to use technology to enhance their presentation and production skills. |
when applicable |
P |
P |
|
5. Students will be able to use technology to enhance interpersonal skills for working both independently and collaboratively. |
P |
P |
P |
|
6. Students will learn and practice technology skills and ethical use of technologies that will prepare them for the 21st century workplace. |
when applicable |
P |
P |
|
7. Students will use technology in the fine arts curriculum to explore and access ideas, feelings, and beliefs. |
P |
P |
P |
|
8. Students will use technology as a data and statistical analysis tool in the service of mathematics and other disciplines. |
when applicable |
P |
P |
|
9. Students will use technology in the design, building, and testing of real world problems. |
P |
P |
P |
|
10. Students will use wide-area networks to access text and video information for individual and group research projects. |
when applicable |
P |
P |
|
11. The district will provide instruction on the uses of computers for all students. |
P |
P |
P |
|
12. Student awareness of a multi-cultural world view will be enhanced through telecommunications access and communication with students in other schools throughout the world. |
P |
P |
P |
|
13. Students will be instructed on the internet safety as an integral part of the computer instruction in the district. |
P |
P |
P |
Technology Design
Software
Priorities
Administrative and Management
We will purchase a centralized management of our student administration software so that when students transfer between buildings or get promoted to a new building their records will follow them. This eliminates the need to input their data multiple times and reduces the chances for error.
Centralize the student data analysis software such as TestWiz and Standards Master to allow for equal access across the district.
Replace the current accounting software with a more current program in order to make the accounts centralized so that all the schools will have real time access to their accounting information.
Purchase a site license for all operating system and basic productivity suite for all computers in the district. This will allow us to standardize and update all of our computer systems district wide.
:
Communications and Information Access
Update and centralize Follett library software in order to simplify the administration and updates of the software and to allow greater access to all the schools.
Continue use of Rubicon Atlas software to increase communication regarding curriculum between the schools and continue progress towards a cohesive curriculum that is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
:
Instructional and Curricular
Centralize Renaissance Learning software such as Accelerated Math, Accelerated Reader, and Standards Master to allow for greater access to teachers at all grade levels. Continue to expand the libraries currently used in the district.
Use of Blackboard, Moodle software or MassONE to supplement classroom learning as well as exploring the use of these services for online courses.
Hardware,
Facilities, and Network Priorities
Hardware:
Workstations and Peripherals
At present, our school district has 689 personal computers. Unfortunately, more than half of them are of the “Type B and C” variety as defined in the DOE technology data collection site. Our goal under this plan will be to provide every student with access to a computer during the academic day. Even with declining prices as the norm throughout the computer industry, we feel this goal will be difficult to reach with the constraints that will be placed on our operating budgets. A collaboration between several colleges and private business is attempting to produce a laptop that will allow this goal to be obtained, however this is still in development.
Specifically, each unit will have the following:
|
Item |
Minimum |
Recommended |
|
CPU |
P4 2GHz |
P4 3.2GHz |
|
Monitor |
17” LCD |
19” LCD |
|
Hard Drive |
40 GB |
80 GB |
|
System Memory |
512 MB |
1024 MB |
|
Network Interface |
100 mb |
100/1000 mb |
|
CD-Rom |
CD-RW/DVD |
DVD burner |
|
|
|
|
In addition, each school will have access to a digital camera, a color flatbed scanner, and the availability of a LCD projector. Each school will have access to a printer/copier that will allow document scanning into staff’s personal directory.
Each school will have a mobile laptop lab with 25 laptops that can be utilized throughout the building as needed for classroom instruction.
Facilities:
Network Design
Each building will establish - or where already present, upgrade its network backbone to a minimum gigabit ethernet network.
Network access from each building to the district wide Intranet and the World Wide Web will be provided by dedicated T1 lines to the high school and, from there, out to the internet via a cable modem connection.
Phone, bell, and security systems at the high school and middle school will run through the data network utilizing VOIP.
Building and
Classroom Wiring: Standards
Category 6 Plenum Grade UTP cable will be used throughout each existing building to provide the basic network backbone.
Implementation
Issues
Successful implementation of this plan will depend initially on movement and momentum built in years one and two. Many staffing and capital financial issues will surface this first year that will present great challenges to the budget making process. Fiscal ’06 and Fiscal ’07 will potentially be problematic. It will be essential for the community of stakeholders and resources to remain active and vocal throughout the next 18 to 24 months.
Operations,
Maintenance, and Upgrades Priorities
In the early months and years of our plan, support and training will be provided using local staff in each school. As equipment becomes more sophisticated and technological needs grow, the role of the District Technology Director will experience a commensurate growth. An additional Service Technician/Network Manager will be hired to alleviate expensive contracted services.
Technology Implementation Action Plan
General
Timeline Issues/Implementation
A chart of each year of our implementation plan appears on the following page. Given the rapidly changing technology landscape that we find our schools in, we estimate a nice level of adherence to the time line and its mapped objectives.
The early years of our plan will be devoted to upgrading network in order to increase the usability and efficiency of applications used across the network.
The middle year(s) will be devoted to professional development of teachers in the use of the technology. Purchasing new hardware for classroom use as well as decreasing the computer to student ratio in the district will be a goal of the middle years.
The final two years will be devoted to analyzing results of these changes and planning for the next years of technology development.
In summary, our plan will take us nicely into the next century in a timely and affordable way.