private-allison robertson april 14

         First Baptist School has never had a formal technology plan; they have been hoping for change to occur, but have not as yet defined what that change should look like, nor a clear pathway for what could be done to ensure continued improvements so that a climate of infusing technology into the lessons occurs.  To date, the vast majority of time that students  spend using computers is to complete worksheet-like tutorials or to view webpages.    The principal had hoped that the students would naturally bring their technology abilities to school and the classes would adapt as the skill level increases.  It was concluded that most students, without teacher support, use the Internet for entertainment, and that the value of the Internet for education and collaboration needs to be taught by example.  Students have the capacity for authentic research and creation of materials to aid in teaching others.  This work-like environment will not develop spontaneously, nor will teachers suddenly recognize this approach to education without some support.

      To participate in this week's task, I will review my current employer's technology plan.


         The plan for Bryan ISD does an excellent job of meeting the existing need in technology and in management.  While the plan concedes a shortage of technology staff due in a large part to the aging machines needing frequent repair, the school does a very good job of balancing the urgency of requests to prioritize needs and reduce teacher frustration by using loaner machines and encouraging cloud-based resources.  Funding remains a challenge.  The district has written and received several grants and also had a bond issue.   BISD has very effectively used the funds to provide equitable access for all students by purchasing mobile labs and upgrading the public assess stations in the libraries.  They are piloting a project for using personal mobile computing devices that may help alleviate some of the pressures.  In my opinion, the 3-5 year rotation schedule for replacing all machines seems overly ambitious and should consider a method of evaluating which machines are actually used for what purpose.  Some stations could just as well be served by a hand held device or a netbook instead of a high end computer.  It seems a waste of funds to put projectors in rooms where teachers are not using the computers for teaching the lessons in any way that differs from a chalkboard or overhead projector. "Having computers in classrooms is pointless if teachers do not have the time to experiment with the programs and implement new practices in the classroom (Cunningham, 2003)."


While heavily based on the Target Technology Goals from the State, the District does pose some customized goals that provide for measurable results but are overly reliant on the honor system.  
For example one goal is to:
Provide instructional support for teachers and students as they utilize the technology resources provided by the district.  This goal is evaluated by participants registering for training in Eduphoria.  There is no follow up to see if teachers are using materials presented effectively.  Many goals are supported by "student portfolios" but no formal systematic training on what that is has been given, so students may or may not be keeping any kind of portfolio--it seems that is up to individual teacher discretion.   Dickard (2003) contends that "it is imperative for schools to leverage the large edtech investments they have made to date, to maintain the infrastructure they have in place and be strategic about upgrading and supporting networks in the future. If local schools do not develop the talents of staff, if they do not rethink how edtech can be more effective in fulfilling their core missions and, if they do not provide technical support and incentives for trained professionals to stay, then this first wave of edtech investments will have been badly made."
             Many sites that would have been very effective digital portfolio hosting sites are also blocked by the filter.  Students are unable to access the school home drive remotely so work saved there must be accessed from within the school's network.


         While evidence of technology is supposed to be evaluated by technology infused lessons, there is little or no support for learning to do this.  Even though my school has recently installed TAP and teachers attend weekly meetings, little to no time is dedicated to developing technology infused lessons.  In evaluations, teachers who do not use technology or who use it as a public speaking visual aid are frequently scored higher because the evaluators are not proficient in what to look for when students are using technology.  "The district administration's attitude toward the importance of technology in the classroom has a direct bearing on teacher effectiveness (Cunningham, 2003)."


         The District has defined several strategies to meet the goals of the plan.  In my opinion, the most innovative strategy was the one for encouraging model lessons.  The District hosts a technology blog.  Beginning this year, teachers are encouraged to submit model technology infused lessons to the blog," even the blog states "This blog will become one more way for these resources to be passed on and hopefully utilized in classrooms."    Winners receive technology for classroom use and are formally acknowledged on the Google domain log-in page.  Also, in recognition of the goal of personalized learning, teachers can now request that a trainer meet with them one-on-one for hands on training with equipment.




After reading Technology Plans from several districts, I find that Bryan ISD is a leader in technology.  I also found I prefer reading the executive summaries to reading the goals themselves.



 Cunningham, J. (2003) Between technology and teacher effectiveness: professional development.  Tech&Learning retrieved April 14, 2012 from http://www.techlearning.com/article/41214

Dickard, N. (2003). The sustainability challenge: Taking ed-tech to the next level. Washington, DC: Benton Foundation. retrieved April 14, 2012 from http://benton.org/archive/publibrary/sustainability/sus_challenge.html