A more refined Vision

1. Every teacher will have their own school provided laptop. With this laptop the teacher will:
   
   
   
   1. Create and publish (some of) their lessons to be seen online and discussed in class when appropriate.
      
      
      
      1. 6-12 will begin using Moodle (Course Management System)
      
      
      2. K-5 will start taking their own attendance(?)
      
      
      3. Any level can use the Podcast Producer to create media content
      
      
      4. Any level can use Wordpress Blogging platform to create a blog.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   2. Keep a journal/blog/newsletter up to date for parents and potential families to view online.
   
   
   3. Seek new ways to make use of technology in their classroom for authentic purposes.
   
   
   4. Learn alongside the students (All subjects)
   
   
   5. Seek ways to allow for more open access to information and shift from the gatekeeper of knowledge to a moral and ethical guide teaching discernment and ethics.
   
   
   6. Attend or teach monthly learning sessions.
   
   
   
   

1. Every K-5 grade level will have its own mobile cart with enough devices to cover one classroom, plus additional devices as backups/extra for other classrooms. With these devices students will:
   
   
   
   1. Have more readily available access to the Internet and other information without having to walk down to the lab.
   
   
   2. Begin adding artifacts to an electronic portfolio that will follow them through graduation.
   
   
   3. Learn alongside their teacher (All subjects)
   
   
   
   

1. Every 6-12 grade level student will have his/her own laptop. With their own laptops students will:
   
   
   
   1. Learn responsibility
   
   
   2. Have access to information at their fingertips
   
   
   3. Seek out their own learning
   
   
   4. Create content and publish their work for an audience outside the classroom.
   
   
   5. Continue working on their electronic portfolio
   
   
   6. Connect with peers and professionals outside the classroom.
   
   
   7. Learn alongside their teachers
   
   
   8. Be expected (With increased use of Moodle by staff) to keep up with school work at all times, even snow days.
   
   
   
   

1. The Administrators will:
   
   
   
   1. Begin publishing online along side the teaching staff. Weekly newsletters and snippets of what you see each day are always welcome.
   
   
   2. Find the technology leaders in the school and empower them to go on ahead and pull the rest of the staff along with them.
   
   
   3. Incorporate the use of technology into annual reviews and/or make it part of the Professional Development goals for each teacher.
   
   
   
   

1. The schools will:
   
   
   
   1. Work to create a welcoming, comfortable and visually appealing environment for students and community to enjoy.
   
   
   2. Wort to create student-centric gathering places for collaborative work, group presentations and other such gatherings - especially at KCHS and KCMS.
   
   
   3. Work to find the balance between teaching facts, and teaching students how to think and ask questions. The information is readily available, but the school must work to help teachers know when to teach, and know when to guide and prod.
   
   
   
   

1. The Director of Technology will:
   
   
   
   1. Work with the Administrators to determine a technology skills baseline for all staff, and work on methods of brining everybody up to speed.
   
   
   2. Seek new ways for teachers to use technology at a level appropriate to them.
   
   
   3. Conduct or organize training sessions at each school on a monthly basis.
   
   
   4. Work with local vendors to increase infrastructure to accommodate an influx of mobile devices.
   
   
   5. Work with Administrators to determine proper expectations (behavioral) for the mobile devices.
   
   
   6. Record and publish training videos for staff to watch on their own time.
   
   
   7. Push for the reduction of textbook use and instead focus on online resources.
   
   
   
   

Vison - a rough draft

I was asked to share a vision for technology at my school. This probably comes off as a little one sided and somewhat simplistic, but it is only a draft ;)

My Goals:

1. Work with Administration to better incorporate technology into the classroom, making it as important as desks, chairs, and text books.
   
   
   
   1. Technology is a commitment. It isn’t something that can be done a few minutes at a time twice a week. I really believe that we either need to choose to make use of the tools technology affords us, or walk away entirely. To be in the middle is to do nothing.
   
   
   2. This means that we must be willing to encourage and allow students to bring the technology that they are comfortable with. If this means cell phones, so be it. Stop being so tied to the test and students using technology to cheat! Rethink the lesson and the objectives to prevent the cheaters. Tell me what you think is a pretty simple way to get around that. Do work that matters!
   
   
   3. Burn the books. Find quality sources online and use them. Books are static and expensive. Finding, creating, and nurturing online resources is cheap and builds ownership.
   
   
   4. Tear down the factory. Kindergarten students aren’t simply cogs that come out as high school graduates. They are people, with desires, passions, and interests that aren’t the same as their peers. Teach them to pursue their passion and creativity, don’t institutionalize it out of them through standardized tests and strict graduation requirements.
   
   
   
   

1. Work with teachers to begin putting their lessons online so they are accessible any time, anywhere. This includes readings, lectures, labs, etc.
   
   
   
   1. Start publishing. Create a blog, publish once a week.
   
   
   2. Start producing. Record lectures or videos during class, before class, after class. Publish them, let students access them at home. Demand students access them at home so you can help them understand further the next day.
   
   
   3. Find and connect with experts in the field. Be the conduit between your students and the experts.
   
   
   
   

1. Wireless Access in every inch of the school system.
   
   
   
   1. Immerse every inch in high density wireless and the hurdles to accessing information is gone.
   
   
   
   

1. 6-12 students with mobile tools and fewer textbooks. K-5 students with more access to mobile labs.
   
   
   
   1. Ban textbooks and make the students pay for a laptop or other device. Then provide the same information from text books, to their device.
   
   
   2. This learning tool is accessible at home, school, the bus, the library, anywhere!
   
   
   3. By finding alternative resources to replace textbooks it keeps incremental cost increases to a minimum.