1999 Technology Plan & Evaluation

 

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Pekin Public School District 108 is committed to a technologically integrated working environment for all students and staff. The environment must include: 

1. Appropriate technological tools and skills. 
2. Easy access and continuous support, training and time. 
3. Efficient infrastructure for connectivity.
4. Continuous updating of district and buildings’ technology plans. 

 

Also view the...
1998 District Technology Plan & Evaluation
ISBE Tech Plan
Building Tech Plans

A school district must have a clear vision of how the tools of technology can be used to improve teaching and learning. It is through visioning that we translate possibilities into goals, goals into plans, and plans into actions. The capacity of the school/district, through leadership to operate from a shared vision of technology that is characterized by the belief that a comprehensive, integrated approach to technology-enriched teaching and learning will improve student performance must be an indicator for success.

1999-2000 Goals for Vision & Leadership
1) Restructure job descriptions to assure accountability for vision implementation.
2) Develop rubrics to allow for self-assessment, team-assessment, and supervisor-assessment. This assessment needs to show vision alignment of district, to school, to classroom, to student.
3) Develop scenarios to clearly communicate expectations of the vision.
4) Conduct surveys in each school and hold forums to allow for increased parent and student input into the vision and plan.
5) Collaborate with the High School and community to develop a K-Adult vision.

Technology can help teachers spend less time managing instruction and more time actively engaged with instruction. Easy access to student performance data improves instructional decisions and expands instructional opportunities. The capacity of the school/district to use technology for information management to support its educational planning processes is an indicator for success. This includes tools for gathering, sharing, analyzing, synthesizing, and presenting relevant data in a timely way in order to determine the needs of students and/or the organization, the changes that should be made, and measuring results.

 

1999-2000 Goals for Instructional Management
1) Explore new solutions for leading networked courseware.
2) Utilize technology to allow students, parents and staff to monitor student achievement through a student data management system.
3) Utilize technology to link curriculum, instruction and assessment through a teacher data management system.
4) Utilize technology to collect and analyze school improvement data to meet ISBE quality assurance requirements.
5) Investigate networkable CD-roms.
6) Explore on-line hardware inventory.

The power of connecting the home to the school and all to the community resources presents new ways to communicate, educate, service, market and entertain. The school becomes a virtual community without walls. It fosters collaboration and citizenship through partnerships with community agencies and business. The degree to which technologically-based communication systems (voice mail, web-sites and video networks) help teachers, administrators, student and other staff within the school district and with the broader community (parents, outside experts, universities) exchange appropriate information about topics that affect teaching and learning, student performance, successful practices, and available resources must be an indicator for success.

 

1999-2000 Goals for Learning Community
1) Assure sustainability of LC2000 Partnerships beyond the grant period.
2) Expand the use of telephone, video, and web technologies to improve both internal and external communications.
3) Maximize public access to technology both in our schools and the broader community.
4) Maximize participation in community classes.
5) Utilize high school students for developing community web sites.
6) Assist ISU with establishing video conferencing capabilities with PDS partnership.
7) Develop a community/district profile, including the district's state report card information and community
demographics to highlight attributes and challenges of the district and community.

Everyone needs to have word processing, keyboarding, multimedia, e-mail and Internet skills. It cannot be limited to those who have the resources to afford it. It must be offered equitable until everyone has sufficient access and tdraining. Our public schools are the best vehicle to teach every child these skills. The capacity of the school/ district to make students and staff technologically literate and to integrate their skills in the context of meaning teaching and learning is an indicator for success.

1999-2000 Goals for Technology Curriculum
1) Refine K-8 student and staff tech literacy curriculum according to national and state standards.
2) Develop performance standards, bench marks and assessments tools for tech skills and implement testing for baseline data.
3) Develop plans to fully integrate tech skills with the classroom core curriculum. Support and monitor implementation of tech curriculum by classroom teachers.
4) Identify the role of the Learning Center in developing, training, monitoring and assessing tech curriculum implementation for students and staff.
5) Implement online data system for student and staff self-assessment of tech skills/application to provide feedback for growth.

A well designed infrastructure enables the tools to be accessible, functional, and user-friendly. Our infrastructure design utilizes a fiber option, ATM backbone to allow for the transfer of voice, video and data across one network. It connects the homes to the schools, the schools to one another, each to the resources of the community and all to the Internet. The capacity of the school/district to build and maintain a reliable, flexible, and high quality technological

infrastructure in which there is appropriate information security and which is easily available to all students and staff whenever and wherever needed is an indicator for success.

 

1999-2000 Goals for Infrastructure
1) Add back-up generator for NOC
2) Expand dial-up access to accommodate the increased usage.
3) Complete deployment of telephone and back-up telephone system.
4) Complete the deployment of video access to the classrooms
5) Explore cable modems and/or alternatives for high bandwidth access beyond the schools.
6) Extend the network to support public access sites.
7) Develop procedures for review of drop allocations.
8) Document review of building electrical power resources and bring all buildings to standards.
9) Expand the network to include the maintenance/food service building.
10) Provide leadership for civicNET to consider future expansion.<

 

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The best use of technology is when it can be integrated into instructional tasks. It helpsto spark incredible discussions; it is a powerful chalkboard", it creates dazzling presentations; it provides individualized learning experiences; it provides opportunities to research, analyze, construct and present information.

• The capacity of the school/district to provide paths for learning that integrate
technology in the curriculum and give curricular opportunities for students, to gather,analyze, and present information in order to acquire and produce knowledge is an indicator for success.
• The capacity of school/district to use technology to help teachers facilitate learning
by developing and sharing a repertoire of instructional techniques that can be customized
based on learner needs and an opportunity for teachers and students to share instructional roles is an indicator for success.
• The capacity of the school/district to use technology to employ a variety of methods that
assist in evaluating student learning as defined by local, state, and national standards,in order to continuously improve instruction is an indicator for success

1999-2000 Goals for Classroom Integration
1) Develop a process for evaluating student engagement in classrooms.
2) Develop a process for evaluating teacher integration of technology in instruction.
3) Develop an online resource bank of exemplary lesson plans focusing on best practice.
4) Develop an electronic system for collecting and sharing exemplary student projects.
5) Explore electronic student portfolio performance assessment.  

It is important to offer staff and students opportunities to experiment and be pioneers in inventing new applications. Many activities are offered as an extension to the school day and school year. Beta projects, mentoring opportunities, tech clubs, and summer campsare part of the offerings. The capacity of the school/district to provide opportunities for staff and students to experiment with technologies to enhance teaching and learning to extend the vision is an indicator for success. Opportunities and resources must be available beyond the school day and year to provide for the research and development necessaryto make the investment sound.

1999-2000 Goals for Projects & Activities
1) Continue and expand current fellowship program.
2) Evaluate and refine existing projects and activities for staff, students, and community.
3) Investigate summer tech camp options for students and staff.
4) Provide open labs outside the school day and summer for parents, student, staff, and community members.
5) Promote exhibitions of technology accomplishments among staff, students, and community.
6) Investigate new ways to offer students tech clubs.
7) Investigate establishing a chapter of the American Technology Society in partnership with PCHS.
8) Provide a kiosk in each school for public access

Staff must be provided with a comprehensive training program that is pragmatic. It must focus on how the technology will be used, not just the mechanics of its operations. It must be accompanied with sufficient time and access. It also must extend beyond the staff to include the board, parents, partners and community members. The capacity of the school/district to provide a variety of timely opportunities for staff to develop their technical skills and conceptual understanding of how people might learn better with technology, and advancethe organization by promoting and encouraging systems thinking, teamwork and collaboration supported by technology must be an indicator for success.

1999-2000 Goals for Training
1) Maintain at least one full-time tech coordinator for training and staff development.
2) Communicate all roles for staff development to include LC staff, tech coordinator and classroom teacher to ensure responsibilities and accountabilities.
3) Evaluate and revise pilot teacher training program based on feedback and results to expand and emphasize integration.
4) Provide training and support necessary to phase appropriate phases of the pilot teacher training program into the learning center in each building.
5) Evaluate and refine Teacher Academy program offerings in light of national and state teacher certification requirements.
6) Expand and coordinate training to include specialists, sped, support staff, administration, board, and ISU, PDS staff and students.
7) Explore on-line staff development course offerings.

It is important that the network is well maintained and in good operating condition. Technical support must free instructors to use the tool for teaching and learning purposes. Fiscal support must assure money in the budget for training, hardware and technology personnel. The capacity of the school/district fto provide high quality technological support availablefor all students and staff whenever and wherever needed in an indicator for success.

1999-2000 Goals for Support & Resources
1) Maintain Tech Coordinator position for Tech Support to organize, monitor, evaluate and make recommendations for improving technical support.
2) Communicate all roles for all technical support including technicians, LC teachers, and classroom teachers.
3) Develop college and high school interns to provide building tech support and troubleshooting on all days at all times.
4) Expand on-line tech support system to interface with inventory and include capabilities to monitor and track response time and repair time.
5) Develop and implement and training program to provide teachers with the skills necessary to provide troubleshooting and maintenance for their classroom workstations.
6) Train at least one staff members to be the troubleshooter per building.