Part+10+-+Integrating+Technology

=PART 10 - Integrating Technology =

** A. Identifying Integration Standards ** ||
 *  **Connection to Student Learning** ||  The purpose of education has always been centered on the development of knowledge, character and skill of students. Technology and innovation within the classroom serves to enhance the learning process and inspire new ways of thinking and creating solutions. Schools worldwide have adopted the technology to fit their own needs and interests. Therefore, this technology plan articulates our vision for technology integration. It also identifies the strategies that will help us utilize the Smart Boards to improve the academic achievement of our students, as well as, assisting them in developing critical thinking and 21st century skills that are essential for academic success.
 *  **Hands-on Technology Use** ||  “SMART Boards are a collaboration tool intended to engage the students and create a two-way, shared education process”(SMART, 2009). When used in addition with an effective teaching strategy, it tends to cause dramatic results in student achievement. ||
 *  **Variety in Learning Experiences** ||  The process becomes more interactive and it appeals to a variety of learning styles. The Smart Board was designed to include students who have learning disabilities; it is extremely effective for review and recall. The Smart Board assists with developing visual learners while supporting logical and aural thinkers (Beeland, 2002).  There are many different ways it can be optimized in the classroom. ||
 *  **Curriculum- Specific Applications** ||  The Smart Notebook comes with pre planned lessons and activities. The SMART Exchange provides educators with unlimited access to relevant, easy to use, preplanned lesson plans, standards-correlated lessons, and resources. In addition, educators can stay connected to a constantly growing, online community on the SMART Exchange. ||
 *  **Collegial Approaches to Learning** ||  Using SMART Boards gives the teachers the option to display documents or pictures directly from a computer or digital projector onto the SMART Board. Teachers and students can write on the board with either a digital pencil, a pop up keyboard or even with their finger. Teachers have the ability to capture screen shots of the SMART Board, save their work or import it into another software program such as Microsoft Word, Power Point, or Excel. SMART Notebook learning software is also included. ||
 *  **Active Participation of Teachers** ||  Instead of working from behind the computer keyboard, the teacher and students can be at the front of the classroom physically interacting with the display. The interactive nature of the SMART Board provides many practical uses for the classroom. Students as young as preschool can easily use a SMART Board and whole-class instruction can be enhanced. According to SMART Technologies these boards are "a collaboration tool intended to engage the students and create a two-way, shared education process." The SMART Board interactive whiteboards are very user-friendly. ||
 *  **Technical Assistance & Support** || <span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> The Technology team will provide the teachers with on site and email support. <span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> SMART offers free, twenty four hours a day, technical support by phone or online. SMART has an online knowledge database and tutorial using on screen Help Menu. ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> **Adequate Resources** || <span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The SMART Exchange provides educators with free, unlimited access to relevant, easy to use, preplanned lesson plans, standards-correlated lessons, and resources. In addition, teachers can stay connected to a constantly growing, online community of educators @ <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">http://www.exchange.smarttech.com/index.html#tab=0 ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> **Continuous Funding** || <span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It will take three years to implement the school wide implementation of SMART Boards in the k-8 grade classrooms. Therefore, the long term funding will be provided by Title 1 and the Race for the Top. ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> **Built-in Evaluation** || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> The on site technology specialist and the technology coordinator will be responsible for assessing and observing the teachers to determine what degree the SMART Board technology is being integrated into daily classroom lessons. ||

**<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> B. Technology Proficiency in the Teaching/Learning Environment for Students, Teachers, and Administrators ** <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> Databases ** || publication quality documents. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Capture and utilize digitized video || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Differentiate between records and fields in a database. || tools to find information. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Navigate file system (local and network). || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use outline tools for prewriting purposes (expand, collapse). || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Save, export and import graphics in a variety of formats. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use absolute and relative addressing in spreadsheets. Use Boolean techniques to search. (AND, OR ) || individuals and groups. Save email and organize into folders. Organize bookmarks. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Manage directories.Use search or find to locate a file or program. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Add headers, footers,and page numbers to documents. Flow text around an image or table. Use grammar, check, find, and replace. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Create a self-running presentation. Capture and utilize digitized sound. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Format and print a spreadsheet. (page setup) Replicate formulas across a row or down a column. ||
 * i. Student Benchmarking** **standards** obtained from "Computer Skills Growth Chart, the chart is is intended as a planning aid and a vehicle to support discussion of technology integration across the curriculum to help students develop 21st century skills"(http://www.dcet.k12.de.us/instructional/skills/).
 * = **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Grade ** ||= **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">E-mail & Internet ** ||= **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Network & Computing Skills ** ||= **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Word Processing ** ||= **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Graphics & Presentation ** ||||= **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Spreadsheets &
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">8 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use appropriate search strategies for specific assignments or projects. Evaluate quality of Internet resources. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Basic troubleshooting. || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use a combination of tools to create
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">7 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Select and use appropriate search
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">6 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Manage an address book including

<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">
 * ii. Students Technology Standards

Teachers Standards** The use of SMART Board technology should support both students and teachers. The use of technology in a classroom can help support the vast differences of learning styles for both students and teachers. It can help to motivate students and gain a student's attention. A teacher can use technology as an instruction tool, to help assist in presentations and lesson planning. A student's technology capabilities are becoming more important, so incorporating technology at a young age will help those students in the future. Technology can play an important role in increasing students’ motivation to learn, in helping learners to visualize problems, solutions, and critical thinking. It should be something students learn with, not from. It is not the computer alone that will impact learning, but the shift towards student-centered classrooms with more project-based activities, opportunities for collaboration, and co-operation on life skills. Good teaching combined with appropriate and effective uses of technology makes for a dynamic learning environment. However teachers must receive proper training and continual support to effectively integrate SMART Board technology in their classrooms.

<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Few school-based technology programs can succeed without the support and encouragement of school administrators" (Technology, 2010). Our school is one of the few remaining schools that does not have SMART Boards in the classrooms. Therefore, the school administrator has given The SMART Board initiative and school wide implementation his total support. He will be participating in training along with the teachers. He realizes the importance of making our school a 21st century teaching and learning environment.
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Administrators Standards **

<span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Technology integration involves the practice of using technology in ways that are both curriculum based and future oriented. It requires meeeting the content objectives while using the "three C's: communication, collaboration, and creative problem solving." By installing SMART Boards into all the classroom we are taking the first step toward technological literacy. Therefore, by incorporating SMART Board lessons and activities into the teachers' daily lesson plans, students will become more engaged and excited about the subjects. Many paper and pencil activities can easily be adapted to word processing or drawing. <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;"> <span style="color: #993300; font-family: Georgia,serif;">SMART Board Notebook software is included and students can practice curriculum skills and become engaged when technology is a seamless part of the curriculum. The SMART Exchange provides educators with over 2,500 free, unlimited access to relevant, easy to use, preplanned lesson plans, standards-correlated lessons, and resources. In addition, teachers can stay connected to a constantly growing, online community of educators .<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Premade lessons on various subjects are available @ http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/.
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">C. Technology Integration in the Teaching/Learning Environment **
 * i. Integrate into Core Curriculum**

<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">http://education.smarttech.com/ste/en-US/Ed+Resource/Lesson+activities/Notebook+Activities/Browse+Notebook/United+States/Elementary/4-6/Language+Arts/?sort= <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 9.9pt;"> http://eduscapes.com/sessions/smartboard/ http://wacona.com/smartboard/smartboard.html <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"> its.leesummit.k12.mo.us/smartboard.htm http://www.amphi.com/departments/technology/whiteboard/lessonplans.html A Site with examples of student assessments of technology ** <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">is available @ http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">ii. Learning Standards and Assessment **
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Language Arts Content Standards ****<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">for the State of Delaware **<span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;"> retrieved from http://www.doe.k12.de.us/infosuites/staff/ci/content_areas/ela.shtml
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Standard 1 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use written and oral English appropriate for various purposes and audiences ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Standard 2 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Construct, examine, and extend the meaning of literacy, informative, and technical texts through listening, reading, and viewing ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Standard 3 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Access, organize, and evaluate information gained through listening, reading, and viewing. ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Standard 4 || <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Use literary knowledge accessed through print and visual media to connect self to society and culture ||
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">Sites with premade SMART Board lesson plans **
 * <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">

There are currently no formal administrative processes. <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">"Leadership is the ability to influence others towards the achievement of goals and a vision that contribute to a worthwhile purpose” (Riddle, 1990). In developing a positive culture, school leaders must ensure that educational practices are inclusive because today's schools are racially and ethnically diverse. Therefore, school leaders must establish a shared vision that is clearly communicated to all. Effective school leaders develop moral order that binds the people around them together (Sergiovanni, 2001). School leaders possess a critical role in the success of a school. It is their responsibility to establish a positive school environment that enhances teaching and learning. Communication and listening are necessary keys to effective school leadership. There is an increase in students’ achievements as a result of ef­fective organizational procedures and because of the development and support of teachers who are effective. <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 11pt;">The administrator has given his full support to the SMART Board plan and will allow the staff to designate Technology Tuesday's during the school year <span style="color: #96491d; font-family: Georgia,serif;">to utilize an informal morning meeting. There will also be ongoing professional staff development, so that the teachers and students can successfully utilize the SMART Board technology integration. The administrators vision is to make the school an environment were 21st century teaching and learning can take place.
 * iii. Administrative Processes**