1.2 Strategic Planning
Candidates facilitate the design, development, implementation, communication, and evaluation of technology-infused strategic plans. (PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b)
Artifacts:
1. Tech Tune-Ups Plan 2013 - 2014
2. How-to Support for itsLearning
3. itsLearning Scoop in Weekly Newsletter
4. Technology Integration Observation Form
Reflection:
As a member of the core leadership in our school, I took an active part in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the professional development plan for 2013-2014 school year. My role was to focus specifically on technology integration in the areas that were identified as learning targets in this plan: assessment, student-centered classroom, student-led conferences, and personalized learning. The goal of the technology-infused strategic plan for this year was to learn about itsLearning, a new online management system adapted by Forsyth County Schools, and explore new strategies for building online learning opportunities for elementary students.
The process of designing and developing this plan began with scheduling specific times for professional learning throughout the school year. Artifact #1 is the master schedule of all professional learning sessions for our staff. Technology Tune-Ups were designed in alignment with the school improvement goals and focused on new tools and strategies to use within itsLearning. The choice of topics and development of all learning materials were the outcomes of my collaboration with the instructional coach in our school and the itsLearning specialist from Forsyth County Schools. All handouts, how-to videos, and instructional ideas were developed and posted in an itsLearning course. Artifact #2 is a snapshot of the developed materials used in implementation of the technology-infused strategic plan throughout the year.
Teach Tune-up sessions served as an instrument for the plan implementation. Every homeroom teacher and support personnel were required to meet with me monthly for 45 minutes. During these times, new tools and strategies were demonstrated, and teachers had opportunities to discuss specific activities and strategies that could be used in their classroom immediately. I wanted the implementation to be job-embedded and relevant to the learning that was taking place in their classrooms. The itsLearning specialist was often invited to assist with actualization of this professional learning plan and help facilitate the actual implementation of strategies in classrooms. In addition to making newly presented content about itsLearning accessible to teachers in the online course (artifact #2), I communicated instructional ideas, technical updates, and examples of student work through Monday Notes, our weekly staff newsletter. In this eLetter, I created a column itsLearning Scoop to communicate with the staff and support implementation of the technology-infused strategic plan. Artifact #3 is an example of the newsletter that shows how instructional ideas were conveyed to the staff. I encouraged teachers to share their best itsLearning practices with other teachers by communicating their ideas via this newsletter as well.
The administrative team decided to collect data about use of technology in our school by conducting classroom observations. Throughout the year, I observed teaching and learning in classrooms and collected necessary information via a Google Doc (artifact #4) to evaluate the technology-infused professional learning plan. Collected data was used to examine consistency of technology integration and the strategies with which it is integrated. Observation notes about rigor and the 4Cs helped me analyze the strategies with which technology tools and resources have been used in our school and make decisions about professional learning for next year. Every artifact presented in the standard was a valuable mechanism in designing, developing, implementing, communicating, and evaluating technology-infused strategic plans in the school and making an impact on the outcomes of professional learning of the staff.
Revisiting and reflecting on the professional development structure within the school is a necessary step to improve the quality of professional learning and student academic performance. Integrating technology-infused learning opportunities within the general professional development sessions is crucial in order to improve and strengthen the outcomes of the professional learning plan at the school. A more powerful strategy would be showing teachers how technology tools and resources fit into every area of teaching: differentiation, assessments, rigor, personalized learning, student-centered classrooms, integration of subjects, and etc. The word technology should be removed from the titles of professional learning sessions, and seamless integration of technology and pedagogy needs to be modeled instead. Furthermore, developing a matrix to evaluate technology integration in the school on a deeper level is necessary to measure its impact on student learning.
As a member of the core leadership in our school, I took an active part in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating the professional development plan for 2013-2014 school year. My role was to focus specifically on technology integration in the areas that were identified as learning targets in this plan: assessment, student-centered classroom, student-led conferences, and personalized learning. The goal of the technology-infused strategic plan for this year was to learn about itsLearning, a new online management system adapted by Forsyth County Schools, and explore new strategies for building online learning opportunities for elementary students.
The process of designing and developing this plan began with scheduling specific times for professional learning throughout the school year. Artifact #1 is the master schedule of all professional learning sessions for our staff. Technology Tune-Ups were designed in alignment with the school improvement goals and focused on new tools and strategies to use within itsLearning. The choice of topics and development of all learning materials were the outcomes of my collaboration with the instructional coach in our school and the itsLearning specialist from Forsyth County Schools. All handouts, how-to videos, and instructional ideas were developed and posted in an itsLearning course. Artifact #2 is a snapshot of the developed materials used in implementation of the technology-infused strategic plan throughout the year.
Teach Tune-up sessions served as an instrument for the plan implementation. Every homeroom teacher and support personnel were required to meet with me monthly for 45 minutes. During these times, new tools and strategies were demonstrated, and teachers had opportunities to discuss specific activities and strategies that could be used in their classroom immediately. I wanted the implementation to be job-embedded and relevant to the learning that was taking place in their classrooms. The itsLearning specialist was often invited to assist with actualization of this professional learning plan and help facilitate the actual implementation of strategies in classrooms. In addition to making newly presented content about itsLearning accessible to teachers in the online course (artifact #2), I communicated instructional ideas, technical updates, and examples of student work through Monday Notes, our weekly staff newsletter. In this eLetter, I created a column itsLearning Scoop to communicate with the staff and support implementation of the technology-infused strategic plan. Artifact #3 is an example of the newsletter that shows how instructional ideas were conveyed to the staff. I encouraged teachers to share their best itsLearning practices with other teachers by communicating their ideas via this newsletter as well.
The administrative team decided to collect data about use of technology in our school by conducting classroom observations. Throughout the year, I observed teaching and learning in classrooms and collected necessary information via a Google Doc (artifact #4) to evaluate the technology-infused professional learning plan. Collected data was used to examine consistency of technology integration and the strategies with which it is integrated. Observation notes about rigor and the 4Cs helped me analyze the strategies with which technology tools and resources have been used in our school and make decisions about professional learning for next year. Every artifact presented in the standard was a valuable mechanism in designing, developing, implementing, communicating, and evaluating technology-infused strategic plans in the school and making an impact on the outcomes of professional learning of the staff.
Revisiting and reflecting on the professional development structure within the school is a necessary step to improve the quality of professional learning and student academic performance. Integrating technology-infused learning opportunities within the general professional development sessions is crucial in order to improve and strengthen the outcomes of the professional learning plan at the school. A more powerful strategy would be showing teachers how technology tools and resources fit into every area of teaching: differentiation, assessments, rigor, personalized learning, student-centered classrooms, integration of subjects, and etc. The word technology should be removed from the titles of professional learning sessions, and seamless integration of technology and pedagogy needs to be modeled instead. Furthermore, developing a matrix to evaluate technology integration in the school on a deeper level is necessary to measure its impact on student learning.