EPSDtechintplan2004

Recommendations

Info

Background Office of Curriculum and Instruction The integration of technology into the East Penn School District began in 1993 when the goal of increasing the availability and usage of technology throughout the district was established. At that time the goal was to increase the availability of technology in the district, as well as to provide teachers with professional development opportunities that would introduce them to the technology and help develop their skills in utilizing the technology. Present Today, though, the goal of integrating technology into the curriculum is more complex and more reflective of “best teaching practices” that have been identified through educational research. The work of such educational researchers as Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligences), Robert Marzano (What Works in Schools), Eric Jensen (Teaching With the Brain in Mind), Carol Ann Tomlinson (The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners), Charlotte Danielson (Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching), and Jay McTigue and Grant Wiggins (Understanding By Design) has provided a better understanding of the latest research on learning. Their work focuses on the reality that no two children are alike; no two children learn in the identical way; an enriched environment for one student is not necessarily enriched for another; and, in the classroom we should teach children to think for themselves. This focus coincidently reflects the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 which emphasizes as one of its basic points that districts must utilize educational programs and practices that have been proven through reliable research to be highly effective in improving student learning. Through the East Penn Professional Development Institute (PDI) this past year, the District teachers have had the opportunity to begin learning more about the education research, theories, and strategies surrounding three focus areas – Understanding by Design, Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching, and Teaching with the Brain in Mind: Differentiated Instruction. The focus area workshops are designed to enable teachers to expand and refine varied teaching options that support their curriculum and that can be implemented in their classrooms to help ensure that the East Penn educational program meets each student where he or she is and to maximize student progress in attaining both district goals and State standards. This involves offering students several different learning experiences within each class that reflect their varied needs and creates what has been described as “a tapestry of curricular options and ideas”. In addition throughout the year, teachers have continued to take advantage of the PDI technology workshops that have been offered to help teachers gain a better understanding of technology applications, such as WebQuests, Research on the Internet, PowerPoint, and Using the Interactive White Board, but these workshops have not necessarily been aligned to the focus workshops or to the overall goals established for professional development for the next three years. EPSD Technology Integration Plan Page 15
Future Vision and Direction Research has shown that the implementation of varied teaching/learning activities and strategies that reflect the diverse styles and intelligences of students “naturally encourages students to commit to topics in a deeper, more meaningful way and enables them to handle complex topics with greater ease”(Jensen). These varied strategies can include flexible grouping, small group instruction, large group instruction, independent study, student projects, cooperative learning/collaboration, etc. Technology is a tool that can be incorporated into the classroom to support these strategies, but it must be thoughtfully integrated into an educational setting. The authors of The Future of Children conclude, “Using technology to improve education is not a simple matter. There are many kinds of technology, and many ways that an attempted use can fail.” They go on to suggest that technology should be chosen that enhances the four characteristics cognitive research has shown to be fundamental for effective learning: active engagement; participation in groups; frequent interaction and feedback; connections to real-world context (J. Roschelle, et al., Los Altos, CA: Packard Foundation, 2001, p. 25). These reflect the best practice strategies identified in the East Penn PDI focus areas. Many technology-based initiatives focus heavily on the technology hardware and software and too little on the identified best practices for curriculum and instruction design. This year East Penn will partner with other schools in the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit and the Bucks County Intermediate Unit in a program funded by a grant to align curriculum to standards (ACTS). The program’s goal is to help teachers develop a different approach for integrating technology into the classroom by emphasizing the proven instructional design models of Understanding By Design and Differentiated Instruction. Differentiated Instruction incorporates choices for students by offering options in content, process, product, and learning style. This instructional strategy engages students in multiple modalities, uses varied rates of instruction, complexity levels, and teaching strategies, and challenges students to compete against themselves in order to learn and grow. Differentiated instruction and technology are natural complements for one another. Understanding by Design provides a conceptual framework to design lessons for understanding that starts with what we want students to learn and proceeds to what evidence is acceptable to show they have learned it. Using a backward design process, teachers design lessons that incorporate six facets of understanding and authentic assessment. UBD provides a curricular approach that promotes student inquiry and selfdiscovery of concepts and materials that lead to more enduring understanding. The ACTS program offered through this grant will enable East Penn to facilitate a series of workshops that will provide a curricular, instructional, and technology integration model to interested teachers in the district. These teachers will be supported through resources provided through the IU and with the support of such collaborating partners as the Lancaster Lebanon Intermediate Unit #13 ACTS Grant Consortium, Temple University Center for Research in Human Development and Research, and Jay McTigue. The goal is to utilize the East Penn cohort in a “train the trainer” model for other staff EPSD Technology Integration Plan Page 16
Page 1 and 2: East Penn School District Technolog
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the
Page 5 and 6: EPSD Technology Integration Plan Pa
Page 7 and 8: Major Findings Table 1. Survey resp
Page 9 and 10: High School level • All students
Page 11 and 12: 3. Devise a technology framework to
Page 13 and 14: Mrs. Kathy Moore Librarian, Eyer Mi
Page 15 and 16: Summary of Teacher Survey Responses
Page 17: EPSD Technology Integration Plan Pa
Page 23 and 24: Tang and Ginsberg in Developing Mat
Page 27 and 28: enhanced by team use of eBoards, pr
Page 31 and 32: III. Future Vision and Direction Ne
Page 33 and 34: Each school library received additi
Page 35 and 36: Computer Distribution Matrix and St
Page 37 and 38: Technology Budget Analysis The 2003
Page 41 and 42: High School Level Need Action Timel
Page 43 and 44: Appendix A EPSD Technology Integrat
Page 45 and 46: ISTE NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOG
Page 49 and 50: Appendix C EPSD Technology Integrat
Page 51: Technology Use Survey February 2004

EPSDtechintplan2004

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?