Technology Plan Update FRIT 8132 : Administration of Technology Resources Tina Benner, Laura Houston, and Ryan Rickard

Spring 2011 April 26, 2011

Part 1 Introduction Our group chose to use DeKalb County School Systems Technology Plan. The DeKalb County School System (DCSS) is a metropolitan Atlanta public school system located in the second largest county in Georgia. DCSS is one of the most culturally diverse counties in the nation. Currently, DCSS has a student enrollment of more than 102,000 students in 143 schools and centers, and 13,285 full-time employees. DeKalb Countys three-year Technology Plan (July 1, 2009 June 30, 2012) covers the required mandates for the State of Georgia and was submitted in June of 2009. The plan is currently a year behind in updating their data. No new entries have been made since their initial submission in June of 2009. Since we are finishing the 2011 school year, data from June 2010 should now have been included to assess their progress in meeting their goals. The lack of monitoring the plan is possibly the same reason our group rated them with mixed reviews using our created rubric from Fully Meeting on Goal, Objectives, and Strategies to Moderately Meeting on Professional Development and Not Meeting on their Evaluation and Timeline. The DeKalb County has several strengths and weaknesses. The Technology Plan provides strong goals, objectives, and strategies for their school system. The vision and mission statement provide a very clear explanation of how technology will improve learning for students, teachers, administrators and parents. The instructional outcomes are presented for all stakeholders. The plan however, failed to provide viable means of meeting their goals and objectives. The support team is clearly explained in the DeKalb County technology plan. The members of the support team are listed by name and title, along with the head of departments. Only a few of their strategies presented a specific way of implementing and adequately evaluating them. The plan also failed to provide specific means of funding their desired plan. Therefore, our recommendation to improve their plan would be to include specific timelines for implementation, an evaluation process that provides data as well as accountability, and a detailed budget outlining each expenditure and means of funding. Absent in the plan were policies on gifts and disposal of equipment as well as copyright and acceptance use policy. Throughout the document, facility and classroom configuration information was listed but in a very unorganized and scattered manner. The plan did list 8th grade technological literacy standards, but failed to incorporate the National Educational Technology Standards for grades K-8. Budget Resources The budget resources were inadequately presented in DeKalbs Technology Plan. Through out the plan the only mention of any form of budget resource to meet their goals and objectives was a Capital Improvements Plan (SPLOST 3) and Title I during the 2008 2009 school year. Neither of these sources is a guaranteed source of funding. The Splost 3 is based on projected revenue from the county and Title l is based on funding from the Federal Government, both of which are not financially sound planning. The only

other mention of any form of budget is using E-rate, which still requires funding from the school system. For example, DeKalb School System is using a Data Management System that the Tech Plan provided detailed information on what it was, how it was being used, who was using it, but only listed it as funded. It did not mention the cost or even how it was being funded. There needs to be more emphasis on actual concrete momentary sources. The plan needs to include specific costs and sources of funding for each aspect of their plan instead of listing the numerous N/A and TBD that were listed as most of the funding. The Evaluation Process: DeKalbs Technology Plan is very vague. First in Section 1: Mission and Vision for Technology Use states that teachers from different subject areas will plan together to develop interdisciplinary activities for student learning. Technology will be an essential component of these assignments. The plan doesnt even address how this will be evaluated. The only mention of this component is in their Goal of Instructional Uses, which lists as one of their strategies to provide training/support for teachers to integrate technology K-12 in the core curriculum. Their Benchmark was 40% of the schools would commit to 8 hours of technology professional development training based on the schools technology plan needs. The only evaluation for their training was training logs. Requiring someone only to attend training doesnt constitute actually integrating the technology in the classroom. Integration of technology in the classroom needs to be separated from professional development training and have its own specific benchmark and evaluation. For example: in some Technology Plans, technology integration in the classroom is part of a teachers classroom observation instrument and is evaluated by administration. Other plans use Levels of Technology Implementation Framework (LoTi) to evaluate teachers on their implementation of technology in their classrooms. Other concerns with the Plans evaluation component is the number of technology programs the system uses such as, BrainPop, Compass Learning, Explorelearning, and Discovery Education. The plan provides graphs showing the number of log-ins and views for past three years. However, the log-ins is considerably fewer than the views of the program, which leads to the assumption that only a few people are using the programs often. A better evaluation would be to compare the log-ins with the total number of teachers that have access to the program. This would give a better view of how often the program was being utilized and even address possible funding concerns. Implementation Timeline DeKalb Countys Technology Plan is limited in providing specific guidelines. Each goal in the technology plan has a timeline listed, but most only include years 1 to 3. The goals do not have specific years and times for the goal to be completed. For example: the goal of developing middle school online courses gives the timeline of years 1-3. Implementation timelines need to be more specific as to what is going to be achieved within each year listed. Each year that is mentioned needs to have the implementation that will take place and how it will be achieved. The goals described in the plan are specific, achievable goals, but each goal should have a more specific timeline for implementation. In researching other technology plans, timelines are very clear and exact giving a month and date for the timeline. The outcome of the goals will be more

effective if the timeline implementation provides specific due dates. The more specific the date, the more the county is held accountable for achieving the goal. Technology Plan DeKalb Countys Technology Plan basically provides strong goals, objectives, and strategies for their school system. However, we found that their plan presented more of a clear overview of what they wanted to achieve compared to what their current status and needs were in their school district. The plan however, failed to provide viable means of meeting their goals and objectives. Only a few of their strategies presented a specific way of implementing and adequately evaluating them. The plan also failed to provide specific means of funding their desired goals and objectives. Our recommendation to improve their plan would be to include specific timelines for implementation, an evaluation process that provides data as well as accountability, and a detailed budget outlining each expenditure and means of funding. Standards DeKalb County addressed many of the 8th grade technological literacy standards but failed to incorporate anything else. While the 8th grade standards are covered, other grade levels were not mentioned. The National Educational Technology Standards were also never mentioned in the plan. In the revised plan, the schools technology standards would be aligned to the National Educational Technology Standards. There is a clear plan for grades K-8 and beyond. With the new plan, data would be collected on the integration of technology standards within the curriculum through a continuous review by the Instructional Technology Department coinciding with the GPS roll-out. The revised plan is important so that the county knows exactly what to expect when it comes to technological literacy. The K-8 grades are the main focus and students should have satisfied the standards before entering into a high school setting. Data collected will support teachers and provide the proper examples to support the learning process. It also important to align the systems standards to the national standards so student across the nation are receiving similar results. Funding Alternatives Dekalbs Technology Plan does not include necessary budget resources. Through out the plan the only mention of any form of budget resource to meet their goals and objectives is a Capital Improvements Plan (SPLOST 3). This source is not a guaranteed source of funding. The Splost 3 is based on projected revenue from the county. The only other mention of any form of budget is using E-rate, which still requires funding from the school system. There needs to be more emphasis on actual concrete momentary sources, especially for carrying out the goals mentioned in the action plan. The plan needs to include specific costs and sources of funding for each aspect of their plan not just the numerous N/A and TBD that were listed as most of the funding.

Without more specific sources of funding, the plan is basically a wish list instead of a viable Technology Plan that can be actually implemented, evaluated, and used as a viable guide for technology planning Facilities: Dekalb County included a lot of information about the facilities, but it was very spread out and unorganized throughout the document. Even though they did not have a specific facilities section, the information was still present throughout multiple sections. The added information was the same that was used in the original technology plan, but reorganized so readers can easily understand facility upgrades for the future. The reorganization of the material is important so that readers can easily navigate through the section and understand what the school system is planning to improve with their facilities. Without these changes, important information could be overlooked and lost inside of other data. Software Agreements The DeKalb System did mentioned the types of software they used, but failed to provide any sort of software agreement. The system did not clarify how they selected the software and who would be responsible for making the purchase. Although they provided great information about majority of software that is used, I feel they could have expanded more on the actual purchasing process. The software packages that are being used were already listed previously in the technology plan under data usage. The process of how software is researched and purchased was added to the updated technology plan. It includes a newly created Division of Teaching and Learning that works in conjunction with the textbook adoption cycle. This group would be responsible for researching and selecting new software packages for the school to use. On a school to school basis, the Certified Technology Support Specialist, the Media Specialist, and the Local School Technology Coordinator would be in charge of evaluating the performance of current software. Having effective software is very important to students as well as teachers. Software can be very expensive, so school systems need to make sure that they purchases are smart ones. With the implementation of the Division of Teaching and Learning, extensive research and surveying can be done to select software that will best meet the needs of teachers and students across the school system. Copyright/Acceptable Use Policy The DeKalb County School Systems plan did not list a copyright/acceptable use policy. In the revised plan, a copyright and acceptable use policy was generated. It recognizes electronic media as well as the use of the Internet. It also sets guidelines for students and employees while using the computer and the Internet. Rules are put in place and it makes students and employees accountable for their own actions. It is extremely important for a school system to have an acceptable use policy in place, especially when students are researching on the Internet. As stated earlier, it takes

some of the responsibility off of the school system and holds the students and employees responsible for their own actions. Having a set of rules and guidelines also helps to identify whats appropriate and inappropriate while using electronic medias. Gifts and Disposal The DCSS technology plan did not include an explanation for their policy for gifts and disposal of equipment. It is important for schools systems to have these policies in place in order to know the process for accepting donated material and how equipment is disposed of within the county. A written policy allows all stakeholders to follow protocol. It is important for school systems to have a policy in place for accepting equipment so that county personal is constantly having to fix equipment that needs to be retired. It is also important that the donated equipment meets the requirements and infrastructure of schools within the county. Personnel have to be knowledgeable with the technology that is donated. If the county accepted all equipment without a policy, schools could potentially have equipment that is not supported. Staff/Professional Development DeKalb County has several goals and plans in place for professional development, but they were not very detailed and did not contain enough information to be successful in training teachers in the area of technology. All schools should be trained on how to implement technology provided by the county, not just 40% as indicated in the current plan. Training opportunities need to be listed that are available for teachers and staff. Staff members need to complete a specific number of professional learning hours in technology each year. The changes listed above are suggested in order to strengthen DeKalb Countys Professional Learning in the area of technology. DeKalb County may actually have a strong Professional Learning program, but the technology plan does not effectively represent all that they have in place. DeKalb County would need to put together a schedule for Professional Learning. One of our group members that teaches in DeKalb County said that they actually have a professional learning catalog for staff to choose trainings. This information needs to be mentioned in the technology plan with examples of technology training opportunities.

Part 2: Updated Plan Broad-Based Support: Introduction In December of 2008, the Management Information Systems (MIS) technology planning core team met to review where we are today and what the DeKalb County School Systems (DCSS) technology plan should encompass for the next three years. From this meeting, we were able to look at existing services that support the current use of educational technology as well as focus on future needs for technology services to support the overall vision and mission of the school system and future initiatives.

Core Team Ms. Ramona Tyson, Deputy Chief Superintendent for Business Operations and Finance Mr. Tony Hunter, Director, Management Information Systems Ms. Valerie Riley, MIS Project Coordinator, Office of Technology Planning and Policy (OTPP) Technology Planning Team (see below) Technology Planning Team: Dr. Mindy DiSalvo, MIS Assistant Director, Grants and Community Programs Dr. Regina Merriwether, MIS Assistant Director, Instructional Technology Ms. Natalie Terrell, MIS Assistant Director, Project Management Office (PMO) Ms. Joyce Miller, MIS Assistant Director, Telecommunications On January 6, 2009, the technology planning team met to discuss and plan for the think tank meetings with the various departments. The meetings were held on January 29 and March 18, 2009 to evaluate the district's current status related to educational technology and to identify existing gaps between our vision and our current reality. The district representation was as follows: Mr. Robert Moseley, Deputy Chief Superintendent for School Operations Mr. David Guillory, Executive Director, Transportation Ms. Julie Rhame, Sr. Director, Media and Public Relations Mr. Quentin Fretwell, Director, Student Relations Dr. Gale Thomas, Director, Student Support Services Dr. Kishia Towns-Dixon, Magnet/Theme School Coordinator, Instruction Dr. Frankie Callaway, Deputy Superintendent, Administration Dr. Sonja Alexander, Director, Professional Learning Ms. Gloria Talley, Deputy Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction Mr. Tony Eitel, Executive Director, Assessment and Accountability Dr. Delmas Watkins, Director, Career Technology Mr. John OConnor, Executive Director, Special Services Ms. Rhonda Wells, Coordinator, High School Instruction Ms. Kimberly Jones, Instructional Coach, Exceptional Education and Support Services Ms. Alita Anderson, Coordinator, Elementary Instruction Mr. Marcus Turk, Chief Financial Officer, Finance Dr. Joyce Wimberly, Director, School Nutrition Mr. Larry Hammel, Director, Finance Mr. Michael Florio, Director, Risk Management Dr. Jamie Wilson, Chief Human Resource Officer, Human Resource

Ms. Patti Reed, Director, Employment Services Ms. Brenda Hudgins, Manager, Technology Ms. LaTarae Johnson, Resource Specialist, PATS Mr. John Brown, Specialist, Compliance Ms. Patricia Pope, Chief Operations Officer, Operations Ms. LaRon Cousin, Assistant Director, Budget Ms. Tiffany Nowlin, Administrative Services, Plant Services Ms. Ramona Tyson, Deputy Chief Superintendent for Business Operations and Finance Core Team (mentioned above) Mr. Chris Guidi, Security Officers, Infrastructure and Support Mr. Stan Mitchem, Manager, Network Services Ms. Faye French, Coordinator, Student Information Systems Mr. Ron Hilburn, Coordinator, Information Systems Mr. Joseph Swing, Assistant Director, Technical and Support Services Mr. Thomas Cox, System Engineer, Telecommunications On January 16, 2009, the technology planning team met with Dr. Jo Williamson, our State Technology Plan liaison to discuss the Georgia State Department of Educations expectations and changes for the 2009 2012 technology plan. Following this meeting, the technology planning team met on February 6, 2009, to organize the draft in order to meet the February 12, 2009 E-rate submission deadline. On April 21, 2009, the technology planning team met to discuss in detail the template that would be created for the final document and to determine roles and responsibilities for finalizing the 2009 2012 technology plan. Needs Assessment: Introduction The overall mission and goal of the DCSS MIS department is to implement effective, innovative, and reliable technology solutions for students, teachers, staff, parents, and community. The technology plan is based on sound research and practical application. It is a part of the broader educational reform evident throughout DCSS classrooms. Technology for teaching, learning, and administration in DCSS is supported by seven strategies that are consistent with the DCSS Superintendent and Board goals and outlined by the U. S. Department of Educations national education technology plan action steps (http://nationaledtechplan.org). The seven strategies are to: Provide high-quality courteous service to DCSS staff, students, and community members. Create digital content aligned with rigorous state academic standards as part of a systemic approach to creating resources for students to customize learning to their individual needs. Support e-learning and virtual schools to expand opportunities and choices for students, parents, teachers, and staff for professional development.

 Improve teacher training to ensure that every teacher knows how to interpret student academic data and thus effectively design and/or implement instructional interventions that result in customize instruction for every students unique needs. Strengthen leadership to develop district and school leaders who can make technology decisions that lead to organizational change. Integrate interoperable data systems that provide administrators and educators the information they need to increase efficiency and improve Encourage broadband access for more effective and efficient instructional delivery, assessment, and management. System Support for Technology The DCSS three-year Technology Plan articulates varied levels of support. System Support includes technical support, personnel support, instructional support, telecommunication support, and data support. A. Access to Technology Workstations and Peripherals The district consists of over 153 schools, centers and administrative sites. There are 28,000+ Internet connected workstations and laptops and 4,500+ networked peripherals (i.e., printers, scanners, etc.) on the local area networks. These numbers includes both teacher and student accessibility to the technology. In the average school, there is at least one general curriculum computer lab with at least 33 35 computers. All classrooms have one teacher workstation and many of the core classrooms have at least two student workstations. All new schools built from 2003 present have two student workstations in the core classrooms, the Thin Client solution will allow for four student workstations in the core classrooms. Interactive Boards There are over 1,600 interactive board (IAB) solutions throughout the school district. This number includes the distribution of 1,334 IABs via Capital Improvements Plan (SPLOST 3) and 176 IABs via Title I during the 2008 2009 school year. The boards were allocated and distributed to the schools based on a formula determined by the schools enrollment. All new schools starting 2009 2010 will receive an interactive board in every classroom. The interactive board system includes an interactive whiteboard, interactive whiteboard software, and student peripherals. Since the inception of the IAB Project, teachers have changed the way they instruct. Today, the lessons are created to be studentcentered; allowing students to interact with technology. The interactive whiteboard and student peripherals allow the teacher to incorporate a world of instructional information within their lesson; whether it is on the Internet or through other instructional software. Many of the student peripherals promote real-time interaction with teachers; communicating their overall comprehension. The interactive board helps students focus on the instructional lesson. It also motivates and engages students to learn in a collaborative learning environment. The teachers have an opportunity to produce and deliver interactive teaching materials designed to meet the needs of the students. These lessons will support the various learning styles and will assist students in visualizing

concepts that will make learning alive and fun. The interactive board helps to create a learning environment that motivates students to explore, excel and become life long learners. Teachers may easily tailor lessons to suit the learning needs of individual students and bring the subject matter alive with interaction. This teaching tool supports a broad range of learning styles and helps students better visualize key concepts. Student Response System Assessing student learning is a vital part of instruction. The district is addressing this by providing one set of student response systems in every school and center. In addition, all TitleI schools have received up to two response systems per school. The response systems are hand held voting devices that allow each student to answer the questions that are presented on the interactive boards. The device is an exciting way to empower teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate students. It gives teacher the ability to create real-time data on student understanding. The response systems ensure that students are actively engaged and actively learning. They also provide teachers with immediate feedback regarding student learning and understanding. This allows teachers to assess students' understanding instantly rather than waiting to evaluate test results. The instant feedback allows teachers to re-teach a lesson, if needed; taking a proactive approach to instructional delivery. With the response systems, teachers are able to generate questions in various formats. The data from the response system is used to analyze for trends in teaching and learning. Collaborative Classroom The FirstClass Collaborative Classroom provides email accounts for the districts students in 5th through 12th grade. FirstClass helps close the digital gap for under-served and diverse learners. Student email offers ways to extend student learning through communication and collaboration with instructors, peers and experts. Teachers are required to maintain professional webpages on FirstClass to enhance learning opportunities for their students beyond the school walls. The FirstClass Collaborative classroom allows teachers to include many resources: websites, presentations, word document assignments, homework assignments, and calendar. It also gives students the ability to submit assignments in a secured drop-box allowing teachers to review and respond quickly. Additionally, teachers have the ability to create discussion topics and maintain discussion threads; creating a virtual discussion forum. Students may interact virtually, providing facts and educated opinions related to varying topics facilitated and monitored by the teacher. Ideally, FirstClass Collaborative allows teachers to create a paperless classroom during the day and beyond. Online School The districts online school uses technology that provides the online teachers with an e-classroom. The e-classroom is equipped with interactive technologies that allow teachers to exercise instructional best practices. Teachers and students communicate either verbally using a headset and microphone or using the text chat feature. Dialogue is enhanced by multi-way voice and video. There is also a back-up call-in feature available for users who do not have a microphone, are traveling or are having network and bandwidth issues. By providing multiple means of communication, the online teachers

supply students with the opportunity to meet, learn, and collaborate online. Other features of the e-classroom include the e-board, application sharing and web sharing. The e-board is a virtual whiteboard where PowerPoint, images and text can be displayed and annotated. The application sharing feature allows users to share their desktops. Teachers share information or documents on their computer. This feature allows teachers to play interactive games and share document files that do not upload easily into the content frame. The e-classroom also allows the teachers to share web sites directly into the content frame or in a separate window. All Media Centers in the district are slated to be upgraded during the 2009 -2010 school year. The technology upgrade consists of student workstations and furniture; a circulation desk workstation; a laptop cart with 10 wireless laptops and a printer; two printers (one black and white and one color); a media cart with a laptop, three cameras (digital, video and document); an interactive board with a slate and a set of 32 response devices; and the necessary infrastructure to make the media center wireless. The workstations will be distributed based on an allocated formula whereby the high and middle schools will receive four sets of Thin Client lookup stations, elementary schools will receive three sets of Thin Client look-up stations, and centers will receive one set of Thin Client look-up station. Internet In an effort to ensure all schools have Internet access beyond the classroom, the district is installing a wireless infrastructure in every school. This infrastructure includes one access point on laptop carts, up to two access points in all media centers that do not currently have this access, and for all new school constructions the buildings are designed to be completely wireless both inside and outside the buildings. Wireless Technology A new state-of-the-art wireless infrastructure solution is being implemented throughout the district. It will allow for three controllers to be installed in the districts three core sites. The solution will also be the control source for the wireless access points included in the media center project; the wireless components for the wireless mobile classrooms; and for future wireless growth. This new solution is beneficial to the district because it allows remote troubleshooting. If the wireless should go down at any site, it is not necessary for a technician or vendor to visit the site to diagnose the problem. This will inevitably eliminate the down time for students, teachers and administrative staff. Wireless Laptops The district realizes that the opportunity to use laptops as an integral part of educational activities is endless. Therefore the district has placed from one to four wireless laptop carts in all schools and centers. Teachers and students are using the wireless laptops individually, in cooperative groups, and in large group activities. The wireless laptops allow students to easily move beyond the walls of their classroom to include other students and experts in the field in online educational discourse. The students utilize the laptops for data processing, multimedia presentations, research on the Internet, etc. Having the laptops in the classroom is like having a portable lab. When

using the technology in the classroom, students are motivated to learn and are excited about the technology at their fingertips. WebWasher technology has been implemented throughout the district in an effort to keep the district CIPA compliant. WebWasher blocks access to any potential harmful Internet information. Green Technology During the 2008 2009, the district began the deployment of Thin Client/green technology in all schools. This technology will increase the computer-to-student ratio. This technology will substantially reduce the electrical consumption over standard workstations. This is the standard for new school core classrooms. In August 2009, the district will open the first LEED Silver Certified Public High School in Georgia which received local, national, and international Recognition, etc. (NBC, FOX, Weather Channel, newspaper and Internet articles all over the world); targeting 40% water savings; 94% recycling on job waste to date; and 20-25% power consumption savings. The school will host the districts Medical Magnet Program (grades 10-12) and the Environmental Energy and Engineering Magnet Programs (grades 9-12) which are designed to support students aspiring to become physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, dentists, engineers, soil conservationist, microbiologists and other environmental and medical relation professions. Telecommunications The districts telecommunications infrastructure was expanded in 2007 to include a new CS1000 VoIP switch. The addition of this technology paved the way for the installation of telephones in all of our mobile classrooms, and also provided a foundation for the future growth of the district. DCSSs telecommunications platform encompasses 13,000+ telephones and 15,000+ voicemail users. The total voice network processes on average, 1.5 million calls per month. The districts in-house automated calling system provides the ability to send absence notifications or send broadcast messages that can reach over 2,800 households per minute. Through the distribution of Blackberry and/or cellular devices to designated staff, administrative personnel can stay informed regarding district business, thereby enhancing student/staff safety and security. With the use of wireless technology, first responder support personnel are also kept informed regarding the performance of critical systems. Support Center The help desk call management system receives 18,000+ service requests per year for all technical issues that cannot be resolved at first level of support. This support is provided by the on-site Certified Technology Support Specialist. There are approximate 220,000 service requests that have been logged in system since the inception in 1997. We are looking at expanding our services to others divisions within the school system. Mission: The DCSS Management Information Systems Department (MIS) has created the Technology Plan to keep up with progress and excitement. The plan resonates the passion for extended and expanded learning fueled by efficient and effective integration of technology and the mission and goal of the district. The mission of the MIS Department

is to establish and maintain a technology-rich teaching and learning environment where students and staff develop 21st century skills to be successful citizens in a global community. More so, the mission is to enable students with the skills they will need to work, learn, and live in their future. Vision: The vision starts with the districts instructional plan that calls for effective and efficient uses of all resources that ultimately influence student achievement. As it relates to technology, the DCSS Technology Plan is characterized by purposeful and seamless integration of technology that: Efficiently utilizes and embeds the resources that support student achievement. Efficiently provides seamless operations that facilitate the day-to-day workflow, productivity, and communication of all functions of the school system. The ultimate challenge for the MIS Department is to be responsive to the present educational needs of the district and at the same time anticipate the future. It is the responsibility of the department to collaborate with the Department of Instruction, Department of Special Services, and the Superintendents Executive Cabinet on the effective and efficient use of technology for the school system. More than a vision, it is the dream of the DCSS MIS Department that such efficiency and effectiveness will allow access to information, opportunities for exploration, and uninterrupted instruction that promises learning anytime, anywhere, for anyone. This is a plan for children who have changed the landscape of learning. These are the children who come to the classroom wired, connected, and full of expectations. They are twitting, blogging, editing wikis, creating podcast, storing digital images, checking internet sites, e-mailing, teleconferencing with friends across the country, and downloading current events while writing an essay. Some call them multi-taskers. Claudia Wallis (2006) refers to these children as digital jugglers. They are ready and willing to accept information from multiple sources in multiple formats concurrently when they need it. In order for this vision to become reality, technology must always be available, mobile, and flexible. It must be intuitive, reliable, and user-friendly. It must be seamless and nearly invisible. The users must be able to move freely within the school building, maintaining connectivity to local network resources, the Internet, printing capabilities, file-sharing, and email access. Students group work will be fostered from real-time, controlled connectivity among devices in the classroom. Teacher charts, diagrams, and notes may be integrated into the digital assignments passed to students. Student work may be in graphical or multimedia format where appropriate, and submitted electronically from home or school. Further, it will be essential for students to have the ability to continue working with access to all digital educational resources from anywhere in their community. An extensive body of educational research shows that modern technologies can play an important role as tools for restructuring the teaching and learning process. Therefore, integrating educational technologies into the curriculum may be the closest thing to

finding a single solution that will address all of the problems and challenges of pre-K 12 education. Thus the potential impact of educational technologies will not be realized unless they are fully and effectively used by teachers, students, administrators and parents. This plan addresses the expected outcomes for instructional uses of technology, administrative uses of technology, parent community uses of technology, and system readiness in general. Students Students learning environments will be characterized by a constructivist approach to learning. Students will be involved in authentic learning activities characterized by individual effort and group collaboration, real-world problems, and interdisciplinary curricula with the use of technology as an essential component. Teacher assignments will require students to demonstrate skills relative to information retrieval, management, and synthesis from a variety of sources. Students will have daily access to computers. Students will be active participants in the learning environment. Teachers will utilize interactive boards to actively engage students in the learning process. Teachers will use voting technology to collect real-time student assessment data. Teachers will routinely utilize technology to accomplish administrative tasks such as recording grades and attendance, developing lesson plans, reporting student progress, and communicating with parents thereby reducing the time for required administrative tasks so that the time saved can be devoted to instructional tasks designed to improve student achievement. Teachers will access student achievement data on-line in order to develop student profiles, diagnose learning problems, and prescribe appropriate interventions to correct identified achievement deficiencies. Teachers will use technology to retrieve real-time data on students test results, grades, etc. Teachers will have expanded professional development face to face, online, and blended. Teachers from different subject areas will plan together to develop interdisciplinary activities for student learning. Technology will be an essential component of these assignments. Teacher use of instructional technology will be bi-directional as opposed to the present model of instructional technology that is most often characterized by the unidirectional delivery of facts and instruction. Administrators Educational leadership personnel will routinely use technology to complete required administrative tasks such as budget management, staff evaluation, student management, and community relations. School administrators will use the data management system to help them become better instructional leaders.

 School administrators will use the student information system to help assist in the daily operations of the schoolhouse. School administrators will encourage the use of technology to enhance the instruction of students and monitor the use of instructional technology in their schools. School administrators will use on-line resources to monitor student progress and teacher effectiveness.

Parents Parents will have real-time access to school and district-wide events. Parents will have access to school system technology hardware and software before, during, and after normal school hours. Parents will have access to student and school information on-line and have open channels of communication with schools and teachers via electronic devices. Parents will utilize on-line resources to access information about their childs performance including daily academic progress, standardized test results, academic history, class assignments, and school activities. Parents will use on-line resources to better communicate with teachers. Community Involving the school community is also a cornerstone of this plan. The Superintendent and Board have voiced a strong commitment to involving the community in the educational process. By providing them access to technology in their local schools, DCSS has maximized the benefit of the financial and intellectual investment in education. A childs academic achievement is predicated on the involvement of the childs community (relatives, neighbors, teachers, mentors, clergy, etc). By extending hours of school operation to include after school, evening, weekends, and summers, more of the adult community can enroll in and participate in educational and learning activities. This serves to enrich, stabilize, and strengthen any community. Parental Involvement All technology initiatives that strengthen the home-to-school connection will be driven through the Parental Involvement Framework (PIF) Initiative. The goal is to establish an information portal in which parents and community members can receive information, participate as an education partner, and engage in decision making opportunities for the support of teaching and learning for student achievement. The technology component of the PIF will include a community website to serve as an information repository for school system and services related content. Goals and Objectives: GOAL #1: INSTRUCTIONAL USES - Increase student engagement through analytical and critical thinking and experiences using digital tools and resources to achieve content standards, explore real world issues and solve authentic problems.

GOAL #2: INSTRUCTIONAL USES - Increase teacher use of technology for administrative and instructional uses to promote data-driven instructional decisions. GOAL #3: INSTRUCTIONAL USES - Increase virtual learning opportunities for students and staff. GOAL #4: INTERNET SAFETY - All stakeholders will participate in cyber-safety and cyber-ethics training to ensure the safety of our students. GOAL #5: ADMINISTRATIVE USES - Increase effective uses of technology for datadriven environments to increase student achievement and maximize business operations. GOAL #6: PARENT AND COMMUNITY USES - Increase consistent collaboration between stakeholders that supports teaching and learning. GOAL #7: SYSTEM READINESS (STAFF COMPETENCIES/ATTITUDES) USES Increase staff competency to implement administrative digital software programs to inform instruction. GOAL #8: STUDENT TECHNOLOGY LITERACY - Increase information and technology literacy competency skills.

Action Plan/ Multiyear Planning:

GOAL #1: INSTRUCTIONAL USES

Increase student engagement through analytical and critical thinking and experiences using digital tools and resources to achieve content standards, explore real world issues and solve authentic problems.

Strategies Create a Student Technology Advisory Committee to increase collaboration between MIS and students. Provide training/support for teachers to integrate technology K-12 in

Benchmark

Evaluation Method Timeline Number of participants in Year 1 will increase by 10% in year 2 and another 10% by year 3.

Funding Source/Amount N/A

Person Responsible MIS IT Department

Participation from 70% of the schools.

Integrate K-12 technology skills competencies from Georgia Performance

Lesson Plans, Teacher Evaluation, Demonstrated Proficiency, Test

Title II-D $2000, Professional Development $10,000; salaries for instructional

Teachers, Media Specialist, Principals, Technology Staff

the core curriculum

Standards and National Technology Standards into our existing curriculum. Technology labs100% correlation by end of 2010; Regular classrooms 100% correlation by end of 2012.-Incorporate technology for problem solving and collaborative projects.-60 % trained in year 1-2.

Scores (student assessment at end of each 9 weeks); GA On-Line Assessment at end of each 9 weeks in 8th grade. Add a 5th grade assessment in 2011 school year.

coaches paid out of Title I and Title II.

Train teachers on the creation of webquests that incorporate the use of real world issues and authentic problems. Use of websites that integrate technology skills required for the 21st century workplace (e.g. handheld devices) Acquire new audio/video conferencing system that will integrate with the current telecom system

# participants trained Year 1

$900.00

MIS IT Department

60%

Usage reports Year 1

N/A

MIS IT Department

25% of Administrators using the system

Trial phase complete by Year 1

TBD/E-rate

MIS Telecomm

GOAL # 2: INSTRUCTIONAL USES

Increase teacher use of technology for administrative and instructional uses to promote data-driven instructional decisions.

Strategies Provide a variety of Instructional Data Management System (IDMS) training opportunities for administrators and

Benchmark 100% participation

Evaluation Method Timeline Number trained Years 1 -3

Funding Source/Amount Funded --Professional Development $10,000, Title IID $5000, 6B $5000

Person Responsible IDMS Certified Trainers

teachers Create a blog in FirstClass with teachers districtwide for teachers to share ways to use technology in their classroom
Provide training on the use of classroom performance system as a form of assessment

ITS Blog

Number of contributions to the blog Year 1

N/A

MIS IT Department

100 % of schools Provide instruction through web page; e- mail; workshops 25% of classrooms migrated to soft phones 50% schools active

Year 1 ---50% Year 2--50%

Funded --Professional Development $10,000, Title IID $5000, 6B $5000 TBD/E-rate

MIS IT Department

Begin a districtwide telephone refresh Upgrade current system to the next generation of absentee and broadcast message system Implement an electronic time clock system Implement IDMS teacher module that will allow the view of student demographic and standardized test data Implement the IDMS benchmarking administration and analysis tool

Number of phones replaced Years 1-3 Acquisition of the system Year 1

MIS Telecomm

TBD/E-rate

MIS Telecom

75% of employees using Deploy 100% district-wide

Ability to monitor employees attendance Year 1 Usage reports Year 1

E-Rate

MIS

Funded --Professional Development $10,000, Title IID $5000, 6B $5000

MIS

100% participation

Number trained; Usage reports Years 1 - 3

Funded--1,300 yearly maintenance

MIS

GOAL # 3: INSTRUCTIONAL USES

Increase virtual learning opportunities for students and staff.

Strategies

Benchmark

Evaluation Method Timeline Number registered for online classes Years 1 - 3

Funding Source/Amount Professional Learning for staff classes

Person Responsible MIS IT Department/DOLA

Provide a variety of online virtual learning opportunities for students and staff.

Develop new online courses each year

Train and encourage the use of FirstClass collaborative classroom for students and teachers Increase advanced placement course offerings for online schools. Develop middle school online courses Acquire new audio/video conferencing system that will integrate with the current telecom system Implement a mass video conferencing

60% of high school teachers will begin using FC instructionally

Number of teachers/students trained on FC and through virtual classrooms Years 1&2 Number of courses offered Years 1 - 3 Number of courses offered Years 1 - 3 Number of students and staff benefiting from the use of the technology Year 1

Professional Development $5000, 2-D $30,000, Title I $50,000.

MIS IT Department

Develop two or more classes each year Develop two or more classes each year 25% of students and staff using the system

TBD

Principal of Online School

TBD

Principal of Online School MIS Telecomm

TBD/E-rate

Deploy in at least 10 schools

Successful completion of the 1st 10 schools Year 1

TBD/E-rate

MIS T&S

GOAL # 4: ADMINISTRATIVE USES

Increase effective uses of technology for data-driven environments to increase student achievement and maximize business operations.

Strategies Make cyber-safety and cyber-ethics training part of annual professional learning Implement a virtual Cyber-safety class, press to DVD and put on PDS-24 (TV) Provide community education opportunities for all key stakeholders on Cyber safety.

Benchmark 100% of all staff

Evaluation Method Timeline Number of signatures on Acceptable Use Years 1 3

Funding Source/Amount N/A

Person Responsible Principal, Tech Specialist, Instructional Coach

100% of districtwide staff

# of people registered Year 1

N/A

ITS/MIS

PTA Participants/open house participants

Parent logs Year 1

N/A

Local Schools/ Principal, Instructional/Tech Specialist

GOAL # 5: ADMINISTRATIVE USES

Increase effective uses of technology for data-driven environments to increase student achievement and maximize business operations.

Strategies Provide a variety of Instructional Data Management System (IDMS) training opportunities for administrators and teachers Increase communication and collaboration with staff to support use of IDMS reporting tools Train and support teachers on the use of the electronic grading system Train and support teachers on the use 21st Century classroom (all components) Purchase GPS tracking system for buses
Model a data warehouse/data management system with comprehensive student data and ease of access by school personnel through the integration of SIF compliant applications

Benchmark 100% participation

Evaluation Method Timeline Number trained Years 1-3

Funding Source/Amount TBD

Person Responsible IDMS Certified Trainers

100 % participation

History documentation of reporting tools usage Years 1 - 3

N/A

IDMS Certified Trainers

100 % participation

Number of teachers trained Year 1

Professional Development $6,000

Student Accounting

60 % participation

Number of teachers trained Years 1 - 3

Professional Development $10,000

MIS IT Department

Installation completed on 20% of the buses 100% participation Provide workshops at beginning of year; on- line tutorials

Successful use of the GPS features Year 1 Number trained Years 1-3

TBD/E-rate

MIS/Transportation

List of attendees

Technology Staff

Implement enhanced 9-1-1 technology

All DCSS locations

Location of every 9-1-1 call can be identified down to office/cubicle/classroo m number Year 1

Local budget

MIS Telecom

Purchase a digital storage and retrieval system and physically locate a records retention center in an appropriate location conducive to the primary users of the system
Implement a classroom technology management system that will support the districts green initiative

50% of documents stored in the new system

Utilize the internet and other electronic means to obtain feedback on the revised procedures and system Years 1 - 3

TBD

MIS/Operations

20% reduction in the energy cost and consumables30% by year 2

Reports Years 1 - 2

MIS T&S

Decrease downtime for critical systems

Deploy packetshaping technology

Quarterly testing of disaster recovery plan.

20 % improvement of network security

Reduction in outages Years 1 - 3

Lower network security breaches Year 1

TBD

MIS

TBD TBD

MIS I&S MIS

Deploy flat panel monitors Deploy generators at all head-end sites

20% Lower carbon footprint 70% reduction in downtime

Decrease energy consumption Year 3 More time on task for students Years 1 - 3

$7,000/E-rate

MIS

GOAL # 6: PARENT AND COMMUNITY USES

Increase consistent collaboration between stakeholders that supports teaching and learning.

Strategies Create a parent technology task force to promote collaboration between MIS and the parent Provide training/support to parents in use of electronic grade book Provide training/support to teachers in

Benchmark 100% participants from all six regions

Evaluation Method Timeline Number of participants (one N/A per region) Year 1

Funding Source/Amount N/A

Person Responsible MIS

80% participation

Number trained; usage reports Year 1

N/A

MIS IT Department

80% participation

Observation of number of participants

Professional Development $6,000

MIS IT Department

webpage development and/or development of group email lists for increased community communication Online survey tools to solicit responses on training seminars, etc. Provide real-time information on local and systemwide events using an e-parent communication system Provide software needed to hold virtual meetings Increase collaboration for online learning Implement eSIS enhancements 40% participants responding to surveys

Years1-3

Observation of number of participants Years1-3 Usage reports Years1-3

N/A

MIS IT Department

80% participation

Title II-D $3000, Title 1 $4000, Title 6-B $4000

MIS/PL/OSI

100% of department participation 70% Increase of participation in e-classrooms 50% of staff have mastered the use of SIS.

Number of departments holding virtual meetings Year 3 Usage reports Year 3 Assess the list of enhancements requests and priorities Year 1

Local $7000

MIS

N/A

Principal of Online School MIS SIS

N/A

GOAL # 7: SYSTEM READINESS (STAFF COMPENTENCIES/ ATTITUDES) USES

Increase staff competency to implement administrative digital software programs to inform instruction.

Strategies Send staff to school for technical training and certifications

Benchmark 50% of staff by

Evaluation Method Timeline Improve efficiencies by increased certifications Years 1 - 3-Continuous; eval by completion

Funding Source/Amount Professional Development $10,000

Person Responsible Principal

GOAL #8: STUDENT TECHNOLOGY LITERACY

Increase information and technology literacy competency skills.

Strategies Provide training to teachers on NETS technology literacy competency skills

Benchmark Send notice to teachers 3 times a year; Send report to principals and instructional coaches once a year, Goal is 50% teachers taking the assessment in 2010, 75% -2011, 100% by 2012

Evaluation Method Timeline Eval. By LoTI report

Funding Source/Amount Professional Development: Report costs $250

Person Responsible Teachers, Technology staff, Administrators

Program Integration: B: Technology Use Instructional Uses: Teachers use BrainPop as a resource to explain concepts in an audio/video style that students can relate to and that is aligned to state standards. BrainPop addresses all modes of instruction whole group, small group, and individual. Learning activities are not only web- based, but paper and pencil activities are provided as well. This also provides more instructional delivery options. Teachers use Compass Learning for engaging activities that provide explicit, systematic direct instruction. It also provides activities which promote exploration, individual and cooperative learning, problem solving, reflection, and real-world connections. Teachers use Explorelearning simulations which are designed as supplemental curriculum materials to help support Georgia Performance Standards implementation. The simulations also assist teachers in bringing research-proven instructional strategies to their classrooms for Mathematics and Science. Teachers use netTrekker as a research tool to reinforce concepts in varying instructional styles. ELL teachers use the software for instructional purposes in many of the 13 different languages. Regular Ed teachers also use it to differentiate instruction. Teachers use Discovery Education streaming as a resource to explain concepts in an audio/video style that students can relate to and that is aligned to Georgia Performance Standards. Discovery Education videos are used by teachers not only to introduce concepts, but also to expand upon them. Usage Data: BrainPop :

BrainPop is a web-based educational program that provides curriculum-based content spanning six main subjects including: Science, Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Health and Technology. It features more than 500 animated movies. Each movie is supported by activities such as a quiz, comic strip, experiment and other printable worksheets.

Compass Learning Compass Learning is an integrated learning system (ILS). This comprehensive learning program has all the components for teaching learners the skills necessary to become successful in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Compass activities reinforce and are aligned to the Georgia Performance Standards. Assessment is embedded in the program and provides opportunities for branching to remediation. Reports are provided to teachers that measure the individual progress of each student. Offline lesson plans and hands-on activities are provided for teachers to reinforce the skills learned in the Compass.

Explorelearning: Explorelearning offers a catalog of modular, interactive simulations in Mathematics and Science for teachers and students in grades 6-12. It is an inquiry-based learning tool that engages students and expands their learning experiences.

netTrekker:

netTrekker is an academic search engine that is specifically designed for instructional school use by teachers and students. It provides students and teachers with over 180,000 educationally relevant K-12 online resources organized by topic and grade level, and aligned with Georgia Performance Standards.

Discovery Education streaming: Discovery Education streaming is an educational, digital video-based learning resource that engages students with images, audio, and videos. It has over 23,000 images, and over 5,000 full-length videos segmented into 41,000 content-specific clips tied directly to Georgia Performance Standards. Discovery Education streaming integrates seamlessly into any curriculum and allows teachers to use features such as Assignment Builder, Quiz Center, and Writing Prompt Generator.

Curriculum Integration: Dekalb Countys technology integration has always been a high priority in instructional planning. DCSS uses technology as a tool to enhance student achievement, the objective is for students to select technology tools to help gather information efficiently, and use the information to prepare them professionally for a global society in the 21st Century. Therefore, technology is an integral part of how our classrooms function. Since the inception of technology at DCSS, the focus has been on the point of instruction access. DCSS supports classroom teacher involvement in technology as it relates to current instructional practices with classroom and lab access for all teachers and students and direction from our technology staff and local ISD. Our District Instructional Staff is accountable for providing all staff, students, and community with data-driven, flexible, efficient, and goal-oriented services, while collectively collaborating, creating, cultivating, and communicating curriculum. DCSS has implemented Professional Learning Communities model for curriculum collaboration at each local school. Teachers are provided the opportunity to discuss individual students instructional needs on a weekly basis and plan interventions as they relate to specific student needs. In addition to the Instructional Staff, all our buildings have technology trainers who receive training in any updated curriculum expectations and technology implementations. They are provided time monthly to update staff on these initiates. Each school in the DeKalb County School District also has a full-time media specialist position. This position is focused on the use of technology and information literacy to support appropriate integration of technology into grade level classroom instruction in a team relationship with the building administration and each teacher. Current guidelines

exist for elementary and secondary schools in accordance with the published State of Georgia Educational Technology Standards (GETS), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. In aligning curriculum to meet the needs of GETS, ISTE and NCLB, the technology standards are being integrated into each content area pacing guide. This initiative began in 2006 and continues with current committee work involving instructional staff and administration in the 2009-2012 school year and beyond. Standards: High priority standards have been identified from the current DCSS Technology Standards and adapted/aligned with the National Educational Technology Standards for students (ISTE NETS).High priority technology standards are integrated into curriculum units, lessons, and resources. Select high priority technology standards for students have been included on DCSSs current K-2 report card. Accompanying scoring rubrics and samples of student activities and products have been provided to all K-2 teachers. Technology Integration Specialists provide professional development sessions in the use of these resources to assess student progress toward meeting these standards K-2. Planning and creation of supporting materials is ongoing in preparation for the inclusion of high priority technology standards for students in grades 3-5 and 6-8. As students progress from kindergarten through eighth grade and beyond, they master technology standards within the curriculum standards. Data are collected on the status of the integration of technology standards within the curriculum through a continuous review by the Instructional Technology Department coinciding with the GPS roll-out. Several intervention programs to increase student technology literacy were piloted during the 2008-2009 school year including TechYES Science, TechYes, a new CTAE Computer Applications Course, and a blended course through Blackboard. Pilot results will be used to inform the district and create a proposal for the use of these and/or other programs. Funding Alternatives: Capital Improvements Plan (SPLOST 3) Through the Capital Improvements Plan, (SPLOST 3), 2007 2012, the Division of Management Information System is in the process of replacing our current student information system with a more robust, web-based application system. This will allow the district to make data informed decisions about student achievement in a more realtime manner. We have impacted student achievement by embarking on a technology refresh for student use only. We installed 7,500 workstations, 2,500 wireless laptop computers, 250 laptop carts, 250 printers, 250 wireless access points, and 1,200 interactive boards throughout the school system. This technology was allocated based on

a student enrollment formula. The workstation refresh will decrease the student-tocomputer ratio allowing more frequent and longer access to the technology and instructional resources. Career Technology will replace workstations, printers, furniture, network and electrical infrastructure in 16 Business Education and Engineering Technology labs in 10 high schools. The project will also provide for additional technology equipment to upgrade 11 middle school technology labs. Capital Improvements Plan (SPLOST 3) is allowing the district to retire 350 Novell file servers and migrate to a Microsoft Active Directory environment with less than 100 servers. The same amount of user accounts is still managed on this new server structure. The Microsoft platform allows for increased compatibility of software applications over an enterprise network. Microsofts Active Directory allows tighter control over the workstations to increase time on task. The servers will be centrally located at points throughout the district to allow for improved management and integration with mission critical applications. This consolidation will also allow the district to bring backup and archiving responsibilities back to a central level. It will provide a uniform hardware platform throughout the district and greater redundancy. With the migration to Active Directory, we will be able to maintain a more data-rich technology inventory that includes make/model information and hardware specifications. Title I provides funding to qualifying schools to purchase hardware and software technology designed to increase the academic performance of students. The technology is required to meet scientifically research based guidelines and must supplement instruction in reading, mathematics and language arts. School Pilot Projects/Educational Research: Data Management System The district has implemented an instructional data management system that integrates assessment, curriculum management, and reporting to increase efficiencies in instruction and increase student achievement. This system is a suite of applications expected to be deployed district-wide to central office and school level administrators and teachers. The reporting tool was completed February 2009. It is used to analyze school level and classroom performance). Electronic Student Information System (eSIS) The district is implementing a new eSIS. The application is a centralized, scalable, web-based application which includes components to support demographics, scheduling, attendance, discipline, grade book, parent portal access, and reporting needs (including Georgia State Reporting requirements). Full district-wide deployment for the SIS core and grade book is scheduled for the 2009 2010 school year. The parent portal is scheduled to launch the 2009 2010 school year. Online Video Conferencing The districts Elementary Education Department is pursuing the implementation of training via online conferencing software that will allow the departments director and the

content coordinators to prepare and deliver training to teachers and school-based leaders directly to their desktops. This medium will allow the training provider to prepare presentations and embed all information to support training as needed (i.e., video clips, web links, etc.). Then send an email to the identified training audience, who will log on to training through the web link contained in the email. The target audience will participate interactively in the online training through headsets or speakers, microphone or telephone, or through the software using chat and other interactive features. In 2009-2010, the Elementary Education Department plans to use this delivery method to replace face-to-face, train-the-trainer and grade-specific teacher training in all 90 elementary schools. The exceptions will be: (1) schools that do not make AYP, (2) monthly meetings of principals, and (3) monthly meetings of assistant principals. Career Technology During the 2009 2010 school year, the Career Technology Department will begin the implementation of a classroom management and training software solution that will provide teachers with the ability to instruct, monitor and interact with their students either individually, as a pre-defined group or to the overall class. This software will improve the efficiency of classroom instruction by centrally instructing students on their computer, keeping students on task by monitoring application and web usage, improving support through online help and chat requests, and saving time by quickly polling the class and showing instant results. Teachers will also be able to record all screen, keyboard and mouse activity on a students workstation to review later or to replay to the class. Parent Uses of Technology Lottery Automation MIS in partnership with the Office of Student Assignment has automated the lottery selection process for Theme and Magnet Schools. The implementation of this initiative allows parents to submit an application for their child to be eligible to participate in the lottery. Theme School lottery was conducted in March 2009; Magnet School lottery will be conducted in May 2009. E-Parent Communication System In 2009 2010, MIS along with the Office of Student Improvement and Professional Learning will pilot a new initiative that will allow for strengthening collaboration and communication between parents and the school district. Parents will receive real-time voice and data information through mobile communication devices. Pertinent local school announcements, parent surveys, teacher polls, instructional updates, systemwide events, public safety announcements, and when necessary emergency information will reach parents anytime and anywhere. Parent Portal Parents in elementary, middle and high schools will have the ability to access their students grades and attendance history anytime and any place. This application will help improve communication between school and home.

Parent Resource Centers Through the Office of School Improvement, 11 Parent Resource Centers have been established throughout the district. The centers are designed to empower parents to assist their children in maximizing their full potential. The centers resources are focused on instruction, economics, health, and cultural awareness. There are computers available for use by parents, as well as a lending library giving parents the opportunity to take resources home with them, on loan. Parents will benefit from workshops on topics from test preparation information for their children to finance for themselves. Resources are developed with the input of all disciplines from the departments within the school district and with the support of the community. Model Classroom Configurations: Student Response System Assessing student learning is a vital part of instruction. The district is addressing this by providing one set of student response systems in every school and center. In addition, all Title I schools have received up to two response systems per school. The response systems are hand held voting devices that allow each student to answer the questions that are presented on the interactive boards. The device is an exciting way to empower teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate students. It gives teacher the ability to create real-time data on student understanding. The response systems ensure that students are actively engaged and actively learning. They also provide teachers with immediate feedback regarding student learning and understanding. This allows teachers to assess students' understanding instantly rather than waiting to evaluate test results. The instant feedback allows teachers to re-teach a lesson, if needed; taking a proactive approach to instructional delivery. With the response systems, teachers are able to generate questions in various formats. The data from the response system is used to analyze for trends in teaching and learning. Collaborative Classroom The FirstClass Collaborative Classroom provides email accounts for the districts students in 5th through 12th grade. FirstClass helps close the digital gap for underserved and diverse learners. Student email offers ways to extend student learning through communication and collaboration with instructors, peers and experts. Teachers are required to maintain professional webpages on FirstClass to enhance learning opportunities for their students beyond the school walls. The FirstClass Collaborative classroom allows teachers to include many resources: websites, presentations, word document assignments, homework assignments, and calendar. It also gives students the ability to submit assignments in a secured drop-box allowing teachers to review and respond quickly. Additionally, teachers have the ability to create discussion topics and maintain discussion threads; creating a virtual discussion forum. Students may interact virtually, providing facts and educated opinions related to varying topics facilitated and monitored by the teacher. Ideally, FirstClass Collaborative allows teachers to create a paperless classroom during the day and beyond.

Online School The districts online school uses technology that provides the online teachers with an eclassroom. The e-classroom is equipped with interactive technologies that allow teachers to exercise instructional best practices. Teachers and students communicate either verbally using a headset and microphone or using the text chat feature. Dialogue is enhanced by multi-way voice and video. There is also a back-up call-in feature available for users who do not have a microphone, are traveling or are having network and bandwidth issues. By providing multiple means of communication, the online teachers supply students with the opportunity to meet, learn, and collaborate online. Other features of the e-classroom include the e-board, application sharing and web sharing. The e-board is a virtual whiteboard where PowerPoint, images and text can be displayed and annotated. The application sharing feature allows users to share their desktops. Teachers share information or documents on their computer. This feature allows teachers to play interactive games and share document files that do not upload easily into the content frame. The e-classroom also allows the teachers to share web sites directly into the content frame or in a separate window. Internet In an effort to ensure all schools have internet access beyond the classroom, the district is installing a wireless infrastructure in every school. This infrastructure includes one access point on laptop carts, up to two access points in all media centers that do not currently have this access, and for all new school constructions the buildings are designed to be completely wireless both inside and outside the buildings. Wireless Technology A new state-of-the-art wireless infrastructure solution is being implemented throughout the district. It will allow for three controllers to be installed in the districts three core sites. The solution will also be the control source for the wireless access points included in the media center project; the wireless components for the wireless mobile classrooms; and for future wireless growth. This new solution is beneficial to the district because it allows remote troubleshooting. If the wireless should go down at any site, it is not necessary for a technician or vendor to visit the site to diagnose the problem. This will inevitably eliminate the down time for students, teachers and administrative staff. Wireless Laptops The district realizes that the opportunity to use laptops as an integral part of educational activities is endless. Therefore the district has placed from one to four wireless laptop carts in all schools and centers. Teachers and students are using the wireless laptops individually, in cooperative groups, and in large group activities. The wireless laptops allow students to easily move beyond the walls of their classroom to include other students and experts in the field in online educational discourse. The students utilize the laptops for data processing, multimedia presentations, research on the Internet, etc. Having the laptops in the classroom is like having a portable lab. When using the technology in the classroom, students are motivated to learn and are excited about the technology at their fingertips. WebWasher technology has been implemented throughout the district in an effort to keep the district CIPA compliant. WebWasher blocks access to any potential harmful Internet information.

Facilities: Workstations and Peripherals The district consists of over 153 schools, centers and administrative sites. There are 28,000+ Internet connected workstations and laptops and 4,500+ networked peripherals (i.e., printers, scanners, etc.) on the local area networks. These numbers includes both teacher and student accessibility to the technology. In the average school, there is at least one general curriculum computer lab with at least 33 35 computers. All classrooms have one teacher workstation and many of the core classrooms have at least two student workstations. All new schools built from 2003 present have two student workstations in the core classrooms, the Thin Client solution will allow for four student workstations in the core classrooms. All Media Centers in the district are slated to be upgraded during the 2009 -2010 school year. The technology upgrade consists of student workstations and furniture; a circulation desk workstation; a laptop cart with 10 wireless laptops and a printer; two printers (one black and white and one color); a media cart with a laptop, three cameras (digital, video and document); an interactive board with a slate and a set of 32 response devices; and the necessary infrastructure to make the media center wireless. The workstations will be distributed based on an allocated formula whereby the high and middle schools will receive four sets of Thin Client lookup stations, elementary schools will receive three sets of Thin Client lookup stations, and centers will receive one set of Thin Client lookup station. Maintenance/Support: Support Center The help desk call management system receives 18,000+ service requests per year for all technical issues that cannot be resolved at first level of support. This support is provided by the on-site Certified Technology Support Specialist. There are approximate 220,000 service requests that have been logged in system since the inception in 1997. We are looking at expanding our services to others divisions within the school system. Resident Expert Training (Train-the-Trainer) Local school and district level personnel are trained by Instructional Technology Specialist and personnel from vendors on software programs that deliver individualized, challenging and remedial instruction to students. These applications are server- or webbased products that are aligned with Georgia Performance Standards that support research-based instructional strategies in each curricular area. In an effort for our school to become self sustaining and self sufficient, selected teachers in each school are trained to become resident experts on each major software package. The training occurs at the local school during the teachers planning period. Software Agreements: Instructional use of technology is determined through the DCSS Division of Teaching and

Learning, in conjunction with the textbook adoption cycle. Technology, both hardware and software, is recommended for use in the schools, and is submitted to an extensive testing process for applicability in the DCSS technology environment. Once this passes the testing process, hardware and software are piloted in several test environments before being evaluated for applicability to the teaching and learning process. As a result, the instructional uses of technology are being driven by the Division of Teaching and Learning, not the Information Management Division. However, the Information Management Divisions role in supporting instructional technology is thorough and detailed. Each school includes at least three staff members with a focus on instructional technology use: the Media Specialists, the Local School Instructional Technology Coordinator (LSTC), and the Certified Technology Support Specialist (CTSS). LSTCs and Media Specialists are certified educators, and the CTSS supports and maintains school technology. In addition to these professionals, DCSS provides the infrastructure to access essential information through technological systems and processes that support effective performance. In this way DCSS proactively addresses all issues associated with the expanding demand for digital resources focused on educating students in the 21st century. Copyright/Acceptable Use Policy: The Board recognizes that electronic media, including the Internet, provides access to a wide variety of instructional resources in an effort to enhance educational opportunities. Use of electronic resources must be in support of, and consistent with the vision, mission and goals established by the Board and for the purpose of GPS instructional support. All users of the district wide area network and/or other electronic informational services must maintain strict compliance with all applicable ethical and legal rules and regulations regarding access. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that all DCSS technology users share the DCSS technology resources in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner. DCSS technology should be used for legitimate educational reasons only, and not for personal use. Strict compliance with all applicable ethical and legal rules and regulations must be maintained by all users of the wide area network and/or other electronic informational services including electronic mail (e-mail). Users must respect intellectual property rights and understand that school system data accessible over the network, regardless of the computer or device being used, constitutes property. All electronic, telephonic, and communications transmitted by, received from, or stored in these systems are property of the DeKalb County Public Schools. Users of such systems should have no expectation of privacy. Student e-mail use for legitimate educational purposes will be subject to monitoring and review, including review of text and attachments that are related to that student or students. At NO TIME should a student consider DCSS e-mail private or confidential in any way. It is important to note that with a global network it is impossible

to control or predict all materials a user may accidentally or purposefully discover on an electronic resource. DeKalb County Public Schools personnel will make every effort to educate and guide all users in the proper use of electronic media, including the Internet. Because access to the Internet provides connections to other computer systems located all over the world, users (and parents of users) must understand that neither the DeKalb County Public Schools nor any district staff member controls the content of the information available on these other systems. Some of the information available is controversial and sometimes may be offensive. DeKalb County Public Schools DOES NOT CONDONE the use of such materials. Therefore, it is imperative that the user be held accountable for the appropriate utilization of this technology. Login information, usernames, and passwords are confidential. YOU are responsible for keeping logins secure. At no time should someone log in with your user name or password, and you should not use someone elses information. Students should never log into a teacher or staff members computer; this must be done by the teacher or staff member. ACCESS IS A PRIVILEGE - NOT A RIGHT! Inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of these privileges as well as possible assignment of disciplinary action consistent with the policies and procedures of DeKalb County Public Schools. Local schools may establish additional regulatory guidelines for use of electronic resources that include, but are not limited to, guidelines established by this systemwide procedure. Building administrators shall establish a process for informing students and staff about the district and local school Acceptable Use Procedures. The definition of DCSS information and data resources will include any computer, server or network, or access provided or supported by DCSS, including portal-delivered applications and the Internet. Use of computer information and resources includes the use of data/programs stored on DCSS computing systems, data/programs stored and/or delivered through magnetic tape, floppy disk, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs computer peripherals, or other storage media, that is owned and maintained by the DCSS. The user of the system is the student using DCSS technology. Access is a privilege, not a right, and all students are expected to treat this learning tool with respect. DCSS technology and electronic resources must not be used to: Harm other people. Interfere with other peoples work. Use a computer to steal property. Gain unauthorized access to other peoples files or programs. Gain unauthorized access to on-line resources by using someone elses password. Make changes to the hardware or software configuration of any machine, including installing or deleting any software. Improperly using the network, including introducing software viruses and/or bypassing local school or office security policies. Steal or damage data and/or computers and network equipment. Access, upload, download, and distribute pornographic, hate-oriented, profane, obscene, or sexually explicit material. Failure to follow these guidelines can violate the Official

Code of Georgia, O.C.G.A., Codes 16-9-90, 16-9-91, 16-9-93, and 16-9-93.1 as well as Title XVII of United States Public Law 106-554, known as the Childrens Internet Protection Act. Such use can also lead to disciplinary actions, up to and including loss of access to DCPS technology resources and further disciplinary actions as defined by existing DCSS policies. Gifts and Disposal: Current processes of technology redeployment include the movement of computers from high schools being retrofitted with new technology to elementary and middle schools in need of newer technology. The Division of Information Management redeploys technology whenever possible to continue to upgrade school technology. DeKalb County Schools use a surplussing strategy to remove equipment at the end of its life-cycle. When property owned by DCSS is no longer of economically sound use for meeting a system need, then it shall be disposed of by the most cost effective of the following six methods: 1. Property shall be sold to the highest bidder via a competitive bid process, spot bid sale, or auction. This may include electronic or virtual auction methods. Such events shall be advertised in appropriate media, sufficiently in advance of the sale date to provide a competitive environment for maximizing system revenues. School district employees empowered with the responsibility of declaring items surplus shall be excluded from bidding only on the items they have declared as surplus. 2. Property shall be sold in an "over the counter" manner to the public at any time based on prices established by the Assistant Director of Environmental & Supply Services and approved by the Director of Environmental & Supply Services. The prices charged will be based on prices received in the most recent spot bid or auction sale of a like item. 3. Property shall be transferred at no charge to an agency of the DeKalb County Government in response to a written request. DeKalb County Government will affirm in writing its agreement to accept the transferred property and will be responsible for retrieving the property from DeKalb County Schools. 4. Property shall be transferred at no charge to a non-profit organization in response to a written request. The non-profit organization will affirm in writing its agreement to accept the transferred property and will be responsible for retrieving the property from DeKalb County Schools. 5. After six months or a spot bid sale or auction, surplus items not claimed or purchased will be disposed of in a manner determined by the Assistant Director of Environmental & Supply Services.

6. Unserviceable/Unusable Surplus Property -- These items may be disposed of in the best interest f the School System as approved by the Assistant Director of Environmental & Supply Services. Items that can be recycled in a cost effective manner shall be. DCSS receives requests from individuals to accept donations of used technology, including computers, monitors, printers, etc. While we sincerely appreciate the intent, we recognize that acceptance of this equipment brings an obligation for the district to be able to repair and/or maintain it. If accepted by schools, teachers and students quickly become dependent on these systems, and the district then inherits an obligation to keep such equipment running, even if the time and costs of doing so far exceed the value of the donation. This is necessary to enable us to provide support, as the numbers of computers we acquire outpaces our staffing resources. Acceptance of non-standard, donated equipment substantially dilutes our ability to provide timely, effective service. For this reason, policy guidelines are needed to establish a procedure that will benefit both the schools and our community. The guidelines are as follows: ACCEPTABLE EQUIPMENT Our experience has been that donors do not accurately assess the cost of supporting older, used equipment in a heavy-use, networked environment. Very few donations of used equipment are cost-effective to accept, often requiring expensive and hard-to-find cables, network cards, RAM upgrades, and intensive support time to get them up and running for limited functionality in return. Items for donation must meet the minimum requirements listed below: A computer should be able to run the latest Microsoft Operating System. Working or new PC CPUs with PIV or better processors, a minimum of 2 GB of RAM capable of running the most recent Windows operating system. (Dell is preferred) The donor must provide software licenses for any donated software, including the existing operating system software Working, or new, flat screen monitors, minimum 17 (Dell is preferred) Staff Development: Over the next three years it is our goal to create collaborative experiences amongst school-based staff that are job-embedded through the implementation of Professional Learning Communities. A professional learning community (PLC) is comprised of educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs operate under the assumption that the key to improve learning for students is continuous job-embedded learning for educators (Dufour, 2008). This process can be conducted face to face and virtually. The most powerful form of staff development occur in ongoing teams that meet several times a week, for the purposes of learning, joint lesson planning, and problem solving. These teams operate with a commitment to the norms of continuous improvement and experimentation and engage their members in improving their daily work to advance the achievement of school district and school goals for student learning (National Staff Development Council, 2007).

In an effort to support this new approach to professional learning the Department of Professional Learning in the DeKalb County School System attended various nationally and locally developed training workshops on the topic of professional learning communities. Through intense training and research we developed an eight-week training curriculum model that works with the local school to begin the introspective journey that takes a deeper look at the current school culture, student data, systemic interventions, and teacher practices that currently exist. Real-time data is retrieved from the districts data management system and the department of professional learning works hand-in-hand with the school through the use of teacher-led protocols to guide the conversation that truly helps schools assess data trends and investigate meaningful and sustainable solutions. In addition to local support of the schools we offer extended learning for the entire district using the virtual classroom for discussion of Professional Learning Communities. This year we completed two book studies. Each school could participate in the book study to introduce or support the level of Professional Learning Communities implementation occurring in their building. We worked very closely with the Instructional Technology Department at MIS to make this an ongoing professional learning event throughout the school year. One method to provide direct support of professional learning activities is through school-based coaching and mentoring. Classroom-based coaching helps staff understand how to implement new knowledge and skills while adapting those new strategies to the unique conditions found in individual classrooms. Using online multimedia resources, the DCSS Professional Learning Department Coaches design professional learning experiences to help instructional leaders boost achievement. Together, we empower instructional leaders to become even more proficient at understanding, promoting, leading, supporting, and sustaining effective teaching practices among their teachers. In collaboration with various departments across the district we use the model of online multi-media resources, expert developed course content, and engaging online course activities to offer Professional Learning courses to ALL employees. Through the Professional Learning eCampus, facilitators are trained in adult learning theory, online course development and delivery. In a partnership with the department of Elementary Instruction we are piloting the use of an online virtual classroom that allows the presenters to interact virtually with their participants and conduct effective online discussions and present critical information. Professional Learning Units (PLUs) can be obtained through a myriad of opportunities. The DCSS Professional Learning Institute works with trained instructional facilitators to deliver quality relevant professional learning courses in a face-to-face setting, convenient online course delivery and a job embedded model.

Teachers are required to have at least 20 hours of Professional learning hours each year. In order for teachers to become more proficent in the area of technology, teachers must have at least 8 hours of technology training within their 20 required hours. Teachers are provided with a Professional Learning Course Catalog that can be accessed through the First Class Collaboration center. There are hundreds of courses listed for all levels of learners. Teachers can sign up electronically for any course within the online course catalog. ProCorps members deliver job-embedded training that assist teachers when they need it the most, during the day, through modeling, and direct instruction teachers can receive the learning that is necessary to be successful. Face-to-Face traditional courses are also available for certified and classified personnel as well as engaging and dynamic courses through our Professional Learning eCampus.

References

Cobb County Public Schools. (2009). Three-year technology plan july 1,2009 - june 30, 2012. Marietta, GA. Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2009). Three-year technology plan july 1,2009 - june 30, 2012. Suwanee, GA. Warren Consolidated School District. (2009). Educational technology plan july 1, 2009 june 30, 2012. Warren, MI. Wayne County School System.(2010). Three-year technology plan july 1, 2010 - june 30, 2012. Jesup, GA.