e-Rate and the Round Rock ISD Technology Plan

District Technology Plan

The Round Rock ISD Technology Plan 2011-2014 is a comprehensive plan that structures the technology needs of the district around the four key areas aligned with the STaR Chart: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Administrative Support and Services and Infrastructure for Technology. RRISD has identified nine goals that focus on the integration of technology and the methods to sustain the technology infrastructure. These goals can be grouped into three main areas: Teaching and Learning, Infrastructure and Communication.

The Teaching and Learning goals are the majority of the plan and focus on increasing student achievement, technology integration, professional development, and student-centered learning. A focus has been placed on more online content to meet the needs of students and staff in these goals. Using resources like Project Share can bring in experts to the district to meet the needs of the learners. Also utilizing in house resources to continue to offer on-going, as-needed training to staff is important. Also important in this area is the need to develop or increase the accountability level of technology integration. Students are tested in 8th grade on their literacy skills, but this plan also includes creating portfolios and more opportunities for students to use more and varied types of technology as needed. Teachers’ accountability would increase with lessons being shared and campuses working to address areas of need as identified in the STaR chart.

The RRISD Infrastructure is addressed by outlining the need to continue to purchase and maintain technology on each campus and keeping the infrastructure equitable on all campuses and in all parts of the district. To oversee the process a plan to develop a district technology advisory committee is mentioned several times. Also needed is expansion of the current wireless system and upgrades for the hardware that runs the network. The details of where the funding is to come from are rather vague, reflecting the uncertainty in the entire budget process at this time. What is mentioned is the prudent use of current funds and the application for outside grants and to the e-Rate program.

Effective communication is also identified in the RRISD goals. District, campus and teacher websites need to be improved for content and delivery of information as they provide one of the first places the community turns to to get information. Parental access to their student’s information is also addressed as parents have come to count on learning about attendance, grades, and lunch accounts on-demand and in real-time. Other means of improving communication includes use of the district’s cable channel and partnerships with local cable companies.

After reading through the district plan I can see a clear path for Round Rock technology through the next three years. This plan will take hard work to implement and maintain, but the ideas outlined will benefit all stakeholders of RRISD. Now it is time to roll up our sleeves and get to work making this plan a reality.

Round Rock ISD Technology Plan 2011-2014. (2011, March 30). Round Rock ITS. Retrieved April 21, 2011, from rrisd-its.wikispaces.com/file/view/long-range%20technology%20report%202011-14%20final.pdf

Web Conference - Week 2

I am finding that the web conferences are a very valuable part of the online learning experience.   This week's conference outlined what was expected his week as well as an overview of the master's program.   The concept of field experience was introduced this week.  I understand that we need to get hours in educational technology as well as in administration, but am not quite sure exactly what that means.  I am hoping as we get closer to that part of the program it will become clearer.   I am not worried about getting the hours in as I think most of what my job entails would count towards the program.  In addition to understanding more about the class, it is nice to see faces to go with names.   This is my first online class to take and I am finding that I miss the ability to get to know people and interact on a personal level.   Seeing faces and hearing voices is nice to know that other people are going through this the same time I am.   As long as my children cooperate and my husband can run interference, I plan to attend the other web conferences this course.

Technology Assessments

When conducting a staff development session I always try to determine where to begin by assessing the knowledge level in the room about the topic of the session.  Taking the few extra minutes to get a good feel of where we are helps to make the session more productive and less frustrating for all involved. At the end of the session we survey the participants to see how much they learned.  The same holds true when making a good technology plan on a campus or district level, you must also know where you are starting from with your teachers and students and have a way to measure any progress being made.

Using several tools to assess teacher and student knowledge helps provide a clearer picture of technology proficiency. Giving a survey at the beginning of the year helps provide insight in what skills teachers have and which ones they want to develop.  Every spring teachers participate in the  School Technology and Readiness Chart which provides a standardized look at where teachers fall in four key areas.  The results of this assessment can be compared from year to year to measure growth.  Students are assessed during the year as they complete technology assignments in their classroom and during their 8^th grade year to determine their mastery of the Technology Application TEKS.  The tricky part is finding the right assessment or the right combination of assessments.   The STaR Chart contains questions that teachers often guess at the answers which can skew the data.  Also relying on the 8^th grade assessment alone means relying on 8^th graders having a good day and taking the assessment seriously at the end of a school year filled with state assessments in all their core classes. Still having some way to measure where we are and how far we have come is important to keeping technology integration and skills moving forward.