School District #54 in Schaumburg, Illinois, has developed the
following technology plan:
"SCHOOL DISTRICT #54
INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES PLAN
March 1996
Looking Toward the 21st Century...
The purpose of this
plan is to provide a clear vision for uses of information and
communication technologies for teaching and learning throughout
the District 54 School Community. Our top priority has been to
consider what critical elements are needed to create an optimal
learning environment for all of our children and to build a more
collaborative community for all of our stakeholders.
Our world is rapidly changing as we settle into this Information
Age. We have ready access to abundant sources of information,
and we are able to communicate with virtually any individual on
the planet--and even with those in outer space. That is, if we
possess both the technological tools and the intellectual skills
required for such endeavors.
The Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS)
Report of 1991 has identified essential abilities which will be
needed for Americans in the 21st Century.
- Foundation Skills:
- Basic Skills - Reads, writes, performs arithmetic and
mathematical operations, listens, and speaks well
- Thinking Skills - Thinks creatively, makes decisions,
solves problems, visualizes, reasons, and knows how to learn
- Personal Qualities - Displays responsibility, self-esteem,
sociability, self-management, honesty, and integrity
- Workplace Competencies:
- Resources - Identifies, organizes, plans, and allocates
resources
- Interpersonal - Works well with others, teaming
- Information - Acquires, analyzes, and uses information
- Systems - Understands complex interrelationships
- Technology - Works with a variety of technologies
The Illinois State Board of Education has recently revised
the State Goals and Standards for Learning (1996) to include application
of processes and tools for life-long learning within each content
area. These new Goals and Standards emphasize the importance of
learning across areas and throughout life.
- Illinois Standards:
- Active Learning
- Problem Solving
- Communication
- Collaboration
- Seeking Connections
- Technologies
The goals, outcomes, strategies, and action plans developed
for this plan represent a recognition of the importance of preparing
our children for an exciting and challenging future. The strategies
and action plans also address the very specific needs of those
students who may require the use of Assistive Technologies in
order to access information and communicate effectively with others.
This plan also reflects the necessity of reshaping some traditional
methods of education to meet the new needs and new roles of all
learners in our school community.
Our Vision
We have created this plan to enhance learning for our whole
community through information and communication technologies and
have agreed upon the following overarching criteria:
We believe that / in...
- Preparing all students to be life-long learners in an ever-changing
world.
- Recognizing and honoring the knowledge and wisdom of children.
- Learning which takes place within and beyond school walls.
- Focusing on learning that addresses the needs of all students.
- Sharing community resources to facilitate life-long learning.
- Risk taking, risk management, and accountability.
- Equitable access to information and communication technologies
for all members of our community.
- Completely networking our schools and community.
- Committing to and accepting changing roles as both learners
and facilitators of learning.
- Establishing coalitions with parents, business, and community
groups.
- Sharing the responsibility to create, communicate, and implement
this evolving plan.
We have created this plan to enhance learning for our whole
community through information and communication technologies and
have agreed upon the following goals, outcomes, and strategies:
Goal One: To maximize the potential of every student as
an effective life-long learner.
- Every student will:
- Be actively engaged in the learning process, both individually
and collaboratively.
- Demonstrate their own potential as a life-long learner, and
recognize that of others.
- Use critical thinking strategies in the learning process.
- Be a risk taker in learning.
- Gather, analyze, and synthesize information from various sources
and communicate his or her understanding of it effectively (literate
in the use of technology as a tool).
- 'Make a difference' by participating in and collaborating
with others in Real World problem-solving situations.
- Strategies for accomplishing these outcomes:
- Encourage students to be explorers, teachers, and producers
as they construct meaning.
- Utilize flexible grouping practices to assist students in
taking on new roles as learners.
- Use performance-based and portfolio assessment practices.
- Apply flexible and innovative scheduling and use of time,
space, and personnel.
- Develop goal-setting strategies in students, both individually
and collectively.
- Provide students opportunities to make choices; to become
partners in learning.
- Develop an understanding of diversity among cultures, persons
with disabilities, and other differences among individuals/groups
within and beyond our school community.
- Use metacognition (thinking about thinking) strategies, such
as reflective journals and processing activities.
- Outline specific critical thinking strategies for the District
54 curriculum.
- Establish classroom and school guidelines for demonstrating
respect for self and others.
- Encourage students to share their ideas and express their
viewpoints in class.
- Encourage students to explore and challenge themselves to
use new technologies as tools in learning (e.g., multimedia presentations,
assistive technologies).
- Use multiple sources for collecting data--human, print, CD-ROM,
on-line, etc.
- Use multiple means for presenting information--print, video,
multimedia, WWW, etc.
- Make presentations to 'authentic' audiences and discuss new
ideas with them.
- Select activities that are meaningful to students in their
own community and beyond.
- Develop teaming skills and conflict management strategies.
- Provide ongoing opportunities for students to develop and
practice skills.
- Implement multiple intelligences strategies in guiding students.
- Develop appropriate technological skills in relation to the
learning process.
- Establish opportunities for students with diverse needs to
develop social skills to support meaningful peer relationships.
- Encourage students to challenge themselves to use new technologies
as tools in learning (e.g., multimedia presentations, assistive
technologies).
- Enhance the independent functioning of students with special
needs through the use of a variety of assistive technology systems
(no tech, low tech, high tech).
- Provide ongoing opportunities for students to integrate assistive
technologies by creating and adapting curriculum/materials for
themselves and/or others.
- Utilize a variety of assistive technology systems (no tech,
low tech, high tech) with students who require assistance in accessing
information and communicating effectively with others.
Goal Two: To use information and communication technologies
as an integral part of the teaching and learning process.
- Our school community (school sites) will:
- Create a more adaptable and flexible environment for all learners.
- Utilize technology as a tool to enhance learning throughout
the curriculum; including critical thinking strategies and problem-based
learning practices.
- Utilize a variety of existing and emerging information and
communication technologies within and beyond our school walls
to enhance teaching and learning.
- Strategies for accomplishing these outcomes:
- Implement flexible scheduling in Library Media Centers and
Computer Labs.
- Implement flexible scheduling and block scheduling options
in classrooms.
- Provide open lab times before school, during lunch, and after
school for staff, students, and community.
- Utilize cooperative groups, collaborative work groups, flexible
groups, cross-age groups (e.g., 2nd & 6th graders or 4th graders
& senior citizens), multi-age groups (e.g., 1st & 2nd
grades in one class sharing the same curriculum), etc.
- Expand opportunities for dual language classrooms, area clustering
for bi-lingual students, mainstreaming, and inclusion.
- Offer ongoing professional development and support in creating
and sustaining new learning environments.
- Participate in collaborative on-line experiences such as key
pals, bulletin boards, simulations, problem-solving projects,
mentoring, creating web pages, etc.
- Develop multimedia presentations to share information and
communicate new ideas.
- Utilize a variety of technologies (camcorder, digital probes,
Personal Digital Assistants [ PDAs], e-mail, Internet, FAX, telephone,
etc.) to collect and analyze data.
- Provide ongoing professional development and support in strategies
for developing engaged learning units/projects with students and
in fully utilizing technology tools.
- Provide access within classrooms for Local Area Network
(LAN) linkage within a school building.
- Provide Wide Area Network (WAN) linkage between and among
our schools and homes.
- Offer services such as homework hotline, computer check-out,
open lab during nonschool hours, etc.
- Form neighborhood computer pods.
- Offer ongoing professional development and support in assistive
technology systems (no tech, low tech, high tech).
- Develop and maintain an Assistive Technology Site to provide
technical assistance, equipment (no tech, low tech, high tech),
and ongoing support for students who require assistance in accessing
information and communicating effectively with others.
- Provide open and/or guided opportunities for staff to create
and adapt materials for students who require assistance in accessing
information and communicating effectively with others.
- Develop guidelines and procedures related to assistive technologies
(common language, mandates, implementation requirements, referrals,
etc.)
- Provide professional development opportunities for teams to
build skills in determining assistive technology (no tech, low
tech, high tech) needs for students who require assistance accessing
information and communicating effectively with others.
Goal Three: To create a positive, supportive, and continually
evolving learning community.
- Our school community will:
- Develop seamless connectivity/network infrastructure services
for information and communication leading to a more productive,
efficient, and dynamic organization.
- Acknowledge, understand, and plan for the realities of change.
- Strategies for accomplishing these outcomes:
- Provide and maintain an inter- and intra-building network
with capacities and services throughout the District and available
to all staff--for document exchange, e-mail, attendance, reporting
to parents, etc.
- Develop and maintain an interactive calendar system, accessible
through the District network services and available to all staff.
- Maintain a central data base of pertinent information such
as minutes from committee meetings, School Board meetings, Board
policies, etc.--accessible through the District network services.
- Offer ongoing professional development to build skills for
fully utilizing such a network.
- Develop improved communications strategies.
- Establish District guidelines for promoting open and honest
communications.
- Implement voice-mail capacity for all staff.
- Recognize and address the human need for time and support
to adjust to change and to learn new ways of operating.
- Develop and maintain a District 54 Homepage.
- Continually review, reshape, and improve this plan based upon
changing needs and availability of resources.
- Provide opportunities for families and District 54 community
members to develop and practice using appropriate assistive technologies
(no tech, low tech, high tech) for students who require assistance
in accessing information and communicating effectively with others.
- Maintain a searchable data base of existing assistive technology
systems and strategies available within District 54.
- Develop and maintain user-friendly links among District 54,
the community, and world wide assistive technology data bases.
- Continually review, evaluate, and improve this plan based
upon changing needs and availability of assistive technology resources.
Goal Four: To build and maintain productive coalitions
for learning throughout our wider community.
- Our District along with the wider community will:
- Participate in working collaboratively for everyone's benefit.
- Continually learn to use existing and emerging information
and communication technologies.
- Establish equitable, not necessarily equal, access to information
and communication technologies for all stakeholders.
- Strategies for accomplishing these outcomes:
- Continue and build upon the strength of collaboration among
a representative group of stakeholders--such as has been begun
in our Planning Task Force.
- Continue and expand the community collaborative dialogue and
network--i.e., build upon the Community Symposium of 5.95.
- Establish leadership teams from the community to maintain
coalitions, partnerships, and an exchange of ideas.
- Establish a community steering committee to pursue resources
and support for fully linking our wider community.
- Coordinate resources to maximize the benefits for all stakeholders.
- Continue and expand connectivity with homes, local libraries,
businesses, and agencies.
- Establish community-wide connections - with local and Internet
access capabilities.
- Establish a standard level of access throughout our District
and wider community and a time frame for its implementation.
- Offer learning opportunities for community members and families.
- Offer services for community members and families such as
homework hotline, computer check-out, open lab during nonschool
hours, etc.
- Establish information and communication technologies-related
links with local, state, and federal agencies and (govt.) policy
makers.
- Establishing working relationships with local, state, and
federal agencies and policy makers in order to influence development
and implementation of programs and policies related to education
and information/communication technologies.
- Establish networks (human and electronic) of individuals and
organizations willing to lend their expertise in designing and
adapting systems for students who require assistance accessing
information and communicating effectively with others.
- Establish working relationships with local, state, and federal
departments, policy makers, and private entities (insurance companies,
corporations, etc.) in order to influence development, funding,
and implementation of programs and policies related to assistive
technologies.
- Establish networks (human and electronic) among districts,
agencies, and other interested parties for the purpose of staying
current with best practice and for the sharing of resources for
students who require assistance in accessing information and communicating
effectively with others.
- Provide public awareness and opportunities for involvement
in promoting the understanding and use of assistive technologies
(no tech, low tech, high tech).
Evaluation of effective implementation:
Our primary purpose is to positively impact the learning opportunities
and the school environment of the students of School District
54.
- We have developed specific Action Plans for achieving the
goals of our plan. We recognize the importance of ongoing evaluation
as these Action Plans are put into motion.
- A major tool we will use to assist us in gauging the success
of our information and communication technologies efforts is a
research-based assessment developed by the North Central Regional
Educational Laboratory (NCREL), which is located in Oakbrook.
NCREL is a federally funded research and development agency with
technology and learning as their primary focus of study.
- District 54 has been asked to become part of a pilot study
for implementing the Learning Through Technology Profile Tool
district-wide. Each school will use this tool periodically to
assess their current practice and ongoing growth in 'best practice'
teaching and learning (engaged learning), their use of high-technology
performance, and their progress toward an engaged learning/high-technology
interface. Artifacts and case studies will provide primary source
data to supplant the profile results." (pp. 6-13)
Reprinted with permission of Schaumburg C.C.S.D. 54, Schaumburg, Illinois.
References
info@ncrel.org
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