Technology Baseline Standard Initiative

Klein Independent School District

Spring, TX
 

Introduction/Overview
Organizational Change
Budget & Finance
Professional Development
Technology Infrastructure
Outcomes
Evaluation
Contact Information
 

Introduction/Overview

After years of placing technology equipment in the classrooms of teachers who requested it, the district discovered that it was facing an equity issue in providing teachers with access to technology for the instruction of all students. Based on what was learned over the past 7 years about the most impactful technology tools, the district established a technology baseline standard for all core content classrooms, starting with grades 5 and 6. The distribution of the technology tools is tied to an ongoing professional development plan for the teachers. Ultimately all grades (K–8) on all campuses in the district will be impacted.

Fall 2004 – Grades 5 and 6.

Spring 2005 – Grades 4 and 7.

Spring 2006 – Grades 3 and 8.

Fall 2007 – Grades K–21.

1. Technology literacy for all students by the time they complete 8th grade, as required by The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and the state and district long-range plan for technology.

2. Use of technology as a fully integrated component of teaching and learning, as required by NCLB and the state and district long-range plan for technology.

3. Use of technology for assessment and differentiated instruction to assure academic success for all students.

4. Ready access to computer-assisted instruction for students who need it, when they need it.

Organizational Change

Concern regarding integration of technology as a tool for transforming teaching and learning in all classrooms drove the decision to establish a “baseline standard” for technology tools to be incorporated into teaching and learning in all K–8 classrooms across the district. Communication with teachers, administrators, students, and parents lead to the final selection of the tools that would be standard in all classrooms. These technology tools include:

· Four student computer workstations and one teacher workstation that can also be used as a student workstation. All workstations are multimedia computers that are attached to the district’s network and allow for access to the Internet. The workstations come equipped with the district’s standard software load that includes a variety of productivity tools.

· One interactive white board.

· One LCD projector with a document camera.

· One set of eInstruction’s Classroom Performance System Assessment tools.

All of the tools specified had already been used in many classrooms across the district. The dramatic results in student engagement and teacher efficiency drove the decision to place the tools in every classroom and provide all teachers with the training to effectively integrate the tools into daily instruction.

The training infrastructure was already in place. The district has five instructional technology specialists and one more will be added to support the implementation of this project.

No organizational change was needed at the district or campus levels. The main change occurs in the classroom as the technology tools provide for an increase in targeted small group instruction and a decrease in large, whole-group, instruction.

The ultimate success of this initiative rests with the principals’ support and expectations for changing teaching and learning strategies. The district staff provides a variety of training and just-in-time support to the classroom teachers.

Teachers help each other by working in collaborative teams to develop lessons and strategies that maximize the impact of the technology tools.

Budget & Finance

The technology equipment is paid for from technology bond funds that were recently approved by way of a bond referendum. Prior to the referendum, community members and district leaders met several times over the course of a year to set the priorities for the bond funds. Training and support is paid for from the district’s annual technology allotment and general revenue funds.

The cost for the equipment for each classroom is just under $10,000. Total cost for the 5th- and 6th-grade classrooms was $2.5 million.

The computer workstations are set on a 5-year replacement cost and come with a 3-year warranty for maintenance. Additional bond monies will be used to replace computer workstations and other technology tools.

Professional Development

In the spring of 2005, all 5th- and 6th-grade teachers attended an initial ½ day training to be introduced to the project, the tools, and the instructional goals and objectives. During the summer of 2005, the 5th- and 6th-grade teachers were paid a stipend to attend three different 3-hour “hands-on” training sessions, covering the technical and instructional uses of the technology tools they received. Additionally after the equipment was installed in their classrooms, the district instructional technology teachers met with each teacher individually to assist them in determining the best way to organize their classrooms to accommodate the new tools. Training, both face-to-face and online is available to all teachers. Based on their individual needs, the teachers take advantage of the training appropriate to each. A similar strategy will be incorporated for the 4th- and 7th-grade teachers beginning in the spring of 2005.

Technology Infrastructure

Please see information specified in “organizational change” above. The district has a wide-area network that runs on a fiber backbone and provides high-speed internet access and wireless access in some places. Maintenance is covered first through warranties and then through the districts information technology department. The district currently operates on a 5- to 7-year refresh cycle.

Outcomes

Please see “rationale” for project in first section of this paper. Since this project is just beginning, the impacts are not yet fully available. What we know from previous experience in other classrooms is that the level of student engagement in learning increases dramatically. Students become more independent learners and move to higher order thinking with greater ease. The level of learning adds depth and complexity.

The assessment tools allow teachers to monitor with much greater precision and accuracy the level of student learning and understanding. The assessment tools monitor student progress at the classroom, campus, and district levels. Assessment results drive instruction and curriculum adjustments.

Evaluation

This process helps teachers better understand how students learn (brain-based instructional strategies) and how technology can tap into the way students learn. Once teachers understood that the technology was not about the tools, but about learning, the reasons for changing the way they teach became clear.

Principals’ leadership and support is the most critical component to the success of this project.

Although it is important to put all the equipment in place at one time, the teachers and principals must also understand that this is a process that will take place over time. The expectation is that teachers begin to teach differently, but they are not expected to be experts in using all the equipment at one time. Having the equipment in every classroom has created a true spirit of collaboration and support among the teachers that has had many positive consequences, going well beyond the use of the technology. The project is definitely scalable. Each district simply needs to determine what the “baseline standard” will be for technology equipment for every classroom and build the program around it.

Contact Information

Ann McMullan
amcmullan@kleinisd.net
832-249-4436