Infrastructure

INFRASTRUCTURE

Technology Planning Committee We will create an organizational structure that facilitates two-way communication about the implementation of technology throughout the district. A technology planning committee will be formed that has representation at the district level and at the building level. In our school district, each building currently has two technology representatives. The tech reps in each building, district administrators, and other stakeholders such as community members, school board members, and local business owners would form the district level committee. The building level committee will be comprised of the technology representatives, building principal, and interested teachers and staff members. The technology representatives, as members of both the district-level and building-level committees, would act as liaisons between the directors of technology and curriculum and the teaching staff. In monthly technology planning meetings at the building level, teacher feedback would be collected and then passed along to the administration. Membership in the building-level committee can be flexible, with teachers choosing to attend and voice their opinions in many ways. Feedback can be collected via electronic survey, e-mail, in person, or through IPD channels. This system would be a great forum for two-way communication. Building technology representatives can inform the staff of what is being discussed and what actions are being taken at the district level committee meetings while informing the district technology planning committee of the teachers thoughts and needs.

Technology Management Team To resolve technical maintenance issues and to help with the roll out and installation of new technology, the district will interview and hire a technology management team. The team will work in line with the planning committee to foresee the potential of technical setbacks that may interfere with technology initiatives and to provide feedback about the feasibility of their implementation. Once the technology is in place, the technology management team will support teachers by troubleshooting and resolving any technical issues that may arise. When an issue occurs, the teacher or staff member will email their building technology representative with the details of their problem. The technology representative will then enter a work order into the Track-It management system to inform the technology management team of the issue. The team will then resolve the issue remotely or on-site at their earliest convenience. An important component of this team will be someone hired specifically to administer the network, oversee data communications, and to deal with any issues that impede the functionality of the network.

Educational Technology Coaches To support teachers with integrating technology into the curriculum, educational technology coaches will be placed at the high school, middle school, and elementary levels. Each coach will model best practices of integrating technology into lessons, help teachers to plan projects and lessons, provide one-on-support to teaching staff, and administer workshops to develop critical technology and information literacy skills. Coacheswill serve as part of their school’s leadership team, providing “just in time,” embedded, and ongoing professional development for teachers, staff, and administration. The Technology Integration Coach’sprimary focus will be to assist classroom teachers to successfully integrate the use of effective strategies and multiple technologies in order to differentiate and enhance student learning.