Technology in North Andover Public Schools
2010-2012
Mission Statement:
The mission of the North Andover School System is to ensure that technology is an integral component of our educational community, enhancing learning, instruction, communication, and information management. Technology will support our educational community including student learning, staff instruction, school communication and data management.
Vision Statement:
Technology, including assistive technology, will be available to students and staff to enhance instruction and encourage lifelong learning throughout the North Andover school community. Staff will be supported by administration in professional development, accessing hardware/software, and leadership, as they move forward in their ongoing quest for integrating technology into their curriculum.
Technology Plan Goals
1. Provide technical and curricular support staff to maximize the use of technology available to all students and staff in district.
- Maintain position of recently hired district wide database manager.
- Maintain position of recently hired district wide network manager.
- Maintain position of recently hired district wide technology director
- Create new “technology committee” consisting of members of school committee, administration, school staff, etc. to address ongoing needs and goals of the school district.
- Review current technology plan and continue to assess plan and review on an ongoing basis, especially as technology changes frequently.
- Review and implement new computer needs as determined by extensive inventory assessment.
- Continue to work toward having “media specialists” available in the libraries to assist staff in using multi-media tools for their students in order for them to access the curriculum using technology.
- Investigate various funding sources for obtaining ongoing software and hardware to allow all staff/students with most updated resources (including grants, foundations, etc.).
- Maintain and upgrade the network communication system as new technologies become available including upgrading servers and system software on a cyclical basis.
2. Promote student proficiency in the use of computers and applications, as well as an understanding of the concepts underlying hardware, software and connectivity.
- Students will demonstrate beginning, working up to advanced steps, in the use of computers and applications as well as an understanding of hardware, software and connectivity.
- Students will use menu/tool bar functions and word processing applications to write, edit, print and save assignments.
- Students will identify technology tools (i.e. authoring, multimedia tools) and create and edit multimedia products (i.e. slide presentations, videos, animations, podcasts, etc.).
3. Demonstrate the responsible use of technology and an understanding of ethics and safety issues in using electronic media at home, in school and in society.
- Students will explain and demonstrate compliance with school rules (Acceptable User Policy) regarding responsible use of computers and networks.
- Students will explain responsible uses of technology and digital information and describe possible consequences of inappropriate use.
- Students will explain fair use guidelines for using copyrighted materials (i.e. images, music, video, text) in school projects.
- Students will describe appropriate and responsible use of communication tools including chats, instant messaging, blogs and wikis.
- Staff and students will discuss misuse of technology for personal and commercial reasons (i.e. software piracy, unauthorized file sharing/downloading, virus spreading, and hacking); explain consequences.
4. Students will demonstrate the ability to use technology for research, critical thinking, problem solving, decision making, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.
- Students will use a wide variety of age appropriate technologies (i.e. drawing program, presentation software) to communicate and exchange ideas.
- Students will locate, download, and organize content from digital media collections for specific purposes, citing sources.
- Students will perform basic searches on databases, including library card catalogues, to locate information, using two or more key words and techniques to refine and limit such searches.
- Students will create projects that use text and various forms of graphics, audio and video (with proper citations) to communicate ideas.
- Students will explain and demonstrate how specialized technology tools can be used for problem solving, decision making, and creativity in all subject areas (simulation software, computer aided design, graphing calculators, art and music composition software, etc.).
- Students will use a variety of telecommunication tools (i.e. e-mail, discussion groups, web pages, blogs, web conferences/webinars) to communicate with peers and experts and other audiences (at district’s discretion).
5. Staff will measure their continued growth in their ability to access technology effectively for professional tasks as well as use it for instructional teaching.
- All staff will demonstrate beginning, working up to advanced steps, in the use of computers and applications as well as an understanding of hardware, software and connectivity.
- Staff will use technology to improve student learning, communicate with parents, instructional purposes to reinforce the curriculum and assess student learning.
- Staff will familiarize themselves with the technology standards from the Dept. of Education, and demonstrate their understanding of them by beginning to implement them into their curriculum.
- Staff will use tools such as Technology Self Assessment Tool (TSAT) on Mass. Online Network for Education (MassOne) and Professional Standards for Teachers to guide their needs for professional development in the area of technology.
6. Provide professional development opportunities to staff on an ongoing basis.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunities for professional development in curriculum integrated with technology.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunity to utilize technology tools for instructional management and personal productivity.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunities to employ technology tools for delivery of instruction.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunities to work on their individual professional development plan in the area of technology in order to assist them in their positions in the school district.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunities to participate in professional development in universal design so that all children will have access to the curriculum using various modalities.
- Teachers, administrators and staff will have ongoing opportunities for professional development in assistive technology and how it can be utilized for all students as a method of universal design.
- A staff technology literacy skills document will be developed based on Massachusetts standards.
- The professional development committee will identify online service providers to provide courses that will meet the need of teachers, administrators and staff.
- Assist the Math, Social Studies, English/Language Arts, and Science to integrate technology components into their professional development offerings.
7. Include yearly funding for technology in the district’s operational budget for staffing, hardware, software, professional development and technical support.
- The district will leverage the use of federal, state and private resources.
- The Office of technology will explore and coordinate purchases and services with Town and/or state contract as a means to leverage the best prices and services for the Town and schools.
- Within the Town government there will be an ongoing request for capital funds as aging and broken technology needs to be replaced.
- Software has become a significant cost. The total cost of the ownership of software must be taken into account in the adoption process.
- Criteria will be established when looking to adopt a software package.
8. The school administration will conduct ongoing technology audits as part of the technology planning process.
- The district will evaluate the effectiveness of technology resources and monitors it progress in achieving the goals set forth in the technology plan.
- The technology plan will be revised and updated on a yearly basis.
- Computer technology will be inventoried on an annual basis.
- The North Andover Public Schools shall consider computer equipment older than five years since purchase, due for immediate replacement.
- The North Andover Publics Schools shall work toward providing a maximum over-all ratio of five students per fully-functional, web enabled, computer.
- Evaluating of the use of technology for instructional goals shall be an item reviewed during the curriculum review process for each discipline.
- Continue to develop the North Andover public Schools website to support school, student, parent and community needs.
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