These instructions would be added to the Wiki after students have completed the first draft of their wiki.

You have researched the facts surrounding the Titanic.  The next thing to investigate is what type of music would have been played for passengers on the Titanic.

Navigate to the Glog located at: http://johncook5.edu.glogster.com/edtech541-thearts/

Watch the two videos near the bottom of the screen.  There are images shown, but the focus of the video should be the music that you hear.

As you listen to the music, add to your Wiki to describe how the music you hear is similar and different to the music you listen to today.  What type of instruments do you hear, are there lyrics, where might people aboard the Titanic have heard this music?

After you listen and add your reaction to the music to the wiki, you can investigate the other links on the site.  Add anything of interest to your Wiki.

I found a website www.ncwiseowl.org/it/TechPlan0509/Templates/EvalofLEATechPlan2005.doc that asks questions for each section of the technology plan. The evaluation is very simple: put a checkmark next to each question of the item is evident in the plan.  For each section, if there is an objective that is left unchecked then the evaluators and memebers of the technology teacm have to come up with a plan or suggestion to complete that task in the future.

To start, it would be helpful if a TUP were published and accessible to the staff.  I am a bit embarrassed that, as a cyber school, a technology dependent school, I was unable to find a document that outlined the school’s technology plan.  My search explains the tardiness of this post and my search is not yet over.  There is a published “Acceptable Use” type policy and general description of how technology is and should be used posted in the employee and student handbooks.  The tech guy in my office and the executive assistant looked at me as if I were asking for something foreign.  I did look at a few official documents filed with our state department of education but they did not contain necessary information.  So I am on a quest with our corporate office.  If there is no such document, I intend to review the rubric with someone in our technology division.

So, in my researching, beyond having a document that was available and accessible, maybe as an addition to the employee handbook, an organization’s plan should be able to answer the following questions:

• Does the plan/policy/document outline and describe the type, level and availability of training and support?
• Is there a process of analyzing need and providing timely updates of software and hardware?
• Is the plan anticipating new technology through budgeting, support and a desire to maintain reasonable currency?
• Is there some sort of description or directions for outlining or suggesting integrating technology into the curriculum and its use in the classroom?
• Are the classrooms configured that using the tools are practical and not awkward, uncomfortable or cumbersome?
• Is the infrastructure sufficient and secure enough to handle existing connections and tools and expandable enough for future materials?
• How is outdated equipment handled? Is there a responsible way to dispose of old equipment through donation, recycling, or reselling?

If a plan can manage to answer these questions, then, in my opinion, it is on its way to being a useful tool for guiding the purchase, use and upkeep of some expensive equipment.  As many of the planning articles suggested, the administrative and general staff must be open to frequently referring and updating the plan.  Once it’s done, it’s just the beginning.

Technology plans are vital for a district to have in place if they want to be successful in the technology field. Students and teachers need to stay up to date with the latest education technology to stay at par with future competition. Technology plans are in place for big districts to be on the same page with technology, and implement a plan to move their school in the technological age. To look at an education technology plan and evaluate it, a person must study the current plan in detail. They need to identify the key components of the plan, decide if the plan properly states how they plan to achieve their technological goals, and form an opinion to see if the technological goals are appropriate and in the best interest of the students. Sun Associates evaluate their plan with these criteria:

I. Level of student engagement A. Students use technology to support higher levels of learning B. Achievement of school expectations for student technology literacy II. Level of teacher engagement A. Teachers use technology to design improved opportunities for learning/assessment III. Availability and accessibility of appropriate resources

• A. A curriculum that fosters meaningful learning
• B. Alignment of the curriculum with learning and assessment strategies that make use of appropriate technology tools
• C. Allocation of technology tools and resources that supports their constructive use in the teaching and learning environment
• D. Equitable access to technology by the school/learning community

IV. Organizational support A. Organizational supports crosscut all aspects of technology integration. Specifically, a strong organizational capacity for integrating and implementing technology to improve teaching and learning would be indicated by:

• • Transformations in school leadership to support technology and change
  • Staff-development programs that support capacity-building for improving teaching and learning
  • Use of technology as an information management tool by teachers and administrators

V. Community involvement A. The school community supports, through participation in and contributions to, the school’s integration of technology in its teaching and learning environment

http://www.sun-associates.com/eval/indicators.html

• Is your plan a real tool for powerful teaching and learning?
• Does it have the support of the entire school community?
• Are the goals you established broad and comprehensive?
• Do they truly address the learning needs of your school?
• Have you looked at the “whole picture” in your district? Are the technology plan goals closely related to the broader goals of the district?
• Does your technology plan identify how technology enhances curriculum?
• Have you developed a plan for student assessment of technology use?
• Have you specifically addressed the issue of staff development? Is your staff development plan for technology comprehensive?
• Have you accomplished the goals you set for this year? If not, why not? If so, what is the next step?

…and I realized how impossible it is to ever stay on top of technology.  I understand that usage plans are important, but it is apparent in my situation why this plan is never going to be truly attainable.  I understand requirements of usage plans, but it is easy to see why under-served populations get taken advantage of due to lack of personnel or qualified personnel.  I’ve condensed the evaluation to the following headings due to insanity:

1. Does your plan address the greatest needs in the school and are the needs measurable?
2. Does your plan include staff development and is there an adequate measurement for that?
3. How far does the plan think ahead?
4. What flexibility is there for revision in your plan?

It seems that in this day and age a rationale or a drawn out list has to exist for everything we do.  Teachers have to attach a state standard, objective, activity, procedural method, and alternative assessment for every lesson.  I’m a firm believer in progress, but how much is too much?  At what point do we step back and say, “I think we overthought this one.”  Too much devotion to lesser significant concepts like the support of the “entire” school community (which will never happen) versus what’s most important, “Is this the best option we have to help children succeed,” is taking away from real quality education.

Districts across the country have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on technology for schools, but have they reached their technology goals? Many have not and there are several different reasons why. According to SEIR*TEC, these are the reasons why:

1. Not enough district professionals with evaluation expertise, particularly true in rural districts.
2. Traditional measures of student learning seldom measure the benefits students gain through technology use.
3. Policymakers and funding agencies often have unrealistic expectations about the improvements in learning that will result from technology initiatives – they want to see immediate changes when it takes years to fully incorporate technology effectively.

http://www.seirtec.org/P2P.html

The following are sample questions associated with effectively evaluating a technology use plan:

1. What technology personnel are in place to support both instructional and administrative technology utilization by students, teachers and staff?
2. What federal, state, and local budgets are currently available for funding technology needs?
3. Is the network environment secure for student use?
4. Are suitable policies in place to guide appropriate actions?
5. Does the current bandwidth of your school LANS and district WAN adequately support the usage of the networks?
6. Is sufficient hardware available in your schools for ongoing use of computers for instruction?

http://209.85.173.132/searchq=cache:6_R05cI_5SIJ:www.ncwiseowl.org/It/TechPlan0509/Templates/EvalofLEATechPlan2005.doc+Technology+plan+evaluation+strategies&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=firefox-a

Overall, an effective TUP evaluation will not only evaluate the technology use within a school, but how the technology positively benefits student learning as well as teacher learning. If the teachers aren’t learning new strategies, uses, and programs, then students aren’t learning either. Evaluations need to measure all that is incorporated in the TUP on a regular basis, giving suggestions on improvement.

I feel that the best ways to know the effectiveness of technology being used is to hear from the people who are using it. Teachers and students will be the ones to notice if the way technology is being used is helping or not. A survey of students and what they think about specific technologies in use in their classes can give close up perspective of its affects on the students’ learning and interest in the class.

1. How frequently the tech plan will be evaluated
2. The person(s) responsible for updating the plan
3. How progress toward the goals and objectives will be measured or monitored
4. If and how goals were met
5. Any unexpected outcomes
6. Any new needs that emerged
7. Any goals that are no longer relevant.

I think that, regardless of a which particular strategy is used, if these questions are answered, the evaluation is on the right track.

The organizations of the Sun Associates and SIER*TEC include specific strategies including surveys, observations, and focus group interviews. Using these strategies are a more authentic way of evaluating technology use, specifically in a classroom, because they include user feedback and do not just rely on numbers and statistics.

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Arial”,”sans-serif”;}

Evaluating the Technology Plan

Phil Fite

Technology performance is a continuous process that adapts to the school’s changing situations and includes ongoing evaluation. Continuous evaluation also facilitates making changes if aspects of the plan are not working.

Evaluating the technology plan can be conducted by various means.

· Simple observations, both negative and positive, made by students, parents and teachers.

· Interviews and informal meetings with both instructors and students can be used to discuss what both groups have learned from using the technology.

· A simple written survey can assist in measuring how much of the plan has met its original objectives and outcomes.

Here are some questions that should be dealt with when evaluating your technology plan:

· How and when will you assess the impact your technology plan has on learner performance?

· When and how often will the technology plan be reviewed?

· How will teachers demonstrate they are carrying out of the TUP?

· How will the level of proficiency, gained by students, teachers, and staff, be assessed?

· What is a key indicator of success for each part of the plan?

· How will you evaluate these decisions to accommodate for changes that are the result of new information and technologies?

· How will you create and allows changes in the technology plan?