| Best Practices: Lemon Grove School District |  |
| A case study that illustrates data driven decision making. Lemon Grove School District turned underperforming schools around by holding all students to high standards and using disaggregated data to target resources. |  |
| Guide To Using Data In School Improvement Efforts (PDF) | |
| This guide is designed for educators who are beginning to learn how to use data in their school improvement planning process. Because most educators are not trained in data-driven decision making and planning, it is necessary to begin with a foundation on which to build processes for data use. The guide offers some foundational information on types of data, strategies for analyzing and understanding data, and methods for determining how these efforts can influence goals and planning. There are additional resources in the Appendix. | |
| Dear Public: Can We Talk? | |
| This article identifies some key worries that many people are experiencing about public education. The authors then discuss "authentic engagement" - substantive give and take between those who have a vested interest in the decisions being made. Authentic engagement is an alternative to traditional approaches used for engagment in public education, which the authors believe is an expert-driven process. This article provides an approach to authentic engagement, as well as examples. | |
| Superintendents Use Blogs As Outreach Tool | |
| As school district leaders look to improve stakeholder relations across their districts, some superintendents are experimenting with a tool more commonly associated with tech-savvy students and teachers than administrators: the blog. | |
| Exhibition Night 2006 | |
| This video shows students demonstrating their projects to the school community in the form of exhibitions. Exhibitions are a great way of moving learning out of the classroom and into the community as parents and community members benifit from the learning efforts of the students. | |
| Critical Issue: Technology Leadership | |
| This Critical Issue focuses on leadership qualities responses to change, and effective uses of technology. The article examines important findings associated with leadership in general and considerations specific to education. Next, it provides summaries of major factors associated with change in general and their implications for education. Finally, it examines research findings and best practices as they impact technology leadership and educational productivity. | |
| Finding Funding | |
| This article provides some helpful advice on how to find find funding for school technology and ends the articles with links to many different resources for finding and applying for grants. | |
| Of Hubs, Bridges, And Networks | |
| This article suggest that leaders seeking change should abandon the idea that human organizations function as hierarchies -- and work at understanding the way social networks shape learning in schools. It provides a number of suggestions of ideas that can be used to provide for continuous professional development around the introduction of new technology. | |
| Building Collaborative Cultures | |
| Educators and policymakers are paying close attention to the quality of schools for children in urban settings. Indeed, their concern with reshaping urban schools is increasing as areas such as Dade County (Florida), Chicago, and San Diego attempt major transformations in urban school systems. Transforming urban schools entails many issues and possible approaches. One approach that stands out is the attempt by teachers and administrators to develop a more collaborative culture in the urban school. The intended result is a supportive, professional culture that promotes the continuous renewal of instructional methods and curricular offerings in an atmosphere of collegiality, trust, and shared mission, serving all of the students in the school. This type of school culture may not be a panacea for urban schools, but it can be a foundation for change, improvement, and renewal. | |
| Around The World With Technology | |
| Since the onset of the internet, teachers and students have found strong learning outcomes from having students engage cross-classroom, cross-community collaboration. This article profiles two of the organization that lead the way in using technology to provide this opportunities for teachers and students to learn. The international Education and Resource Network (www. iEARN.org), provides a high quality set of cross-classroom projects that have been designed by students and teachers working on human needs, and environmental issues. The Global Schoolnet Foundation (www.gsn.org) also includes a project registry and sponsors the International Cyberfair contest each year that inspires thousands of students to engage in service learning partnerships in their local community. The students bring their technology skills to help community efforts provide a range of social services. | |
| K12 TCO Calculator | |
| The Total Cost of Owernership Calculator can be use to help estimate the mulityear cost of implementing and maintaining technology systems in a K-12 school. It helps leaders understand how technology planning can be integrated into the annual budget, training, data gathering and assesssing school performance. | |
| Technology Integration Matrix | |
| The TIM is designed to assist schools and districts in evaluating the level of technology integration in classrooms and to provide teachers with models of how technology can be integrated into instruction in meaningful ways. It is the Department's intent that the TIM be used in the context of comprehensive technology planning and EETT program accountability. | |
| Teaching With Student Response Systems In Elementary And Secondary Education Settings: A Survey Study (PDF) | |
| This study examined how 498 elementary and secondary educators use student response systems in their instruction. The teachers all completed an online questionnaire designed to learn about their goals for using response systems, the instructional strategies they employ when using the system, and the perceived effects of response systems. | |
| Achieving With Data (PDF) | |
| This report is the second in a three-part research effort to investigate the prevalence of performance-driven practices in urban school districts across the country. The first study, "Anatomy of School System Improvement: Performance-Driven Practices in Urban School Districts," analyzed the state of performance-driven practices within 28 leading school districts. This second year of research has been conducted with the support of the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and in partnership with the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California. The study captures the details of data-driven instructional decision making at the classroom, school, and system levels in two urban school districts and two nonprofit charter management organizations. In doing so, the researchers document effective performance-driven practices, identify salient themes regarding the structure and culture of the systems, examine needs for improvement, and make recommendations for policy and practice. | |
| ISTE Technology Support Index | |
| The Technology Support Index (TSI) assessment is a tool for schools and districts to profile their technology support programs and to provide solutions based on those unique profiles. Two assumptions are built into the use of the TSI: First, that all districts have in place or are planning network infrastructure to every classroom. The TSI does not address the need for infrastructure. Second, we assume that all four domains of support are required. There is a relationship between the four domains -- spectacular work in one domain will impact the need for work in another (e.g., staffing vs. standards). It is assumed, however, that a minimum threshold is required in each domain. | |
| Showing Evidence Tool: Analyzing And Evaluating Information | |
| The Showing Evidence Tool provides a technology scaffold to support students as they create a claim and then support or refute their claims with appropriate evidence. When an argument is complicated, the components of the tool can help think through justifying a claim. The Showing Evidence Tool prompts one to consider the quality of the evidence (Do they trust the source?), and the strength of the evidence to support their claim (Is the evidence central to their argument?). Encouraging teachers to not only use data to make their assessments but to help students see how to engage in evidence based reasoning can help provide leadership in the area of technology. | |
| Collaborative Schools (PDF) | |
| A growing number of educators are focusing their efforts on improving the work environment of teaching. In place of the typical school's norms and practices that isolate teachers from one another, some schools are initiating new norms and practices that encourage teachers to cooperate with one another and with administrators on school improvement. The primary goal of these "collaborative schools" is effective teaching and learning; other objectives are that teachers will be accorded respect as professionals and that staff harmony will increase. | |
| eLead Professional Development Resource | |
| This is a free online resource offering states and districts information about how to provide better professional development for principals | |
| Online Professional Development: Get The Facts | |
| This article gives information about online professional development options, benefits, and technical requirements. The article also provides information on how online PD fits into federal and state standards. | |
| The ACSD Idea Exchange | |
| This is a forum for principal to share ideas with one another around issues of professional development programs and initiatives. By joining and participating in these discussions, a principal models the routine, intentional, and effective use of technology. | |
| Peer Coaching Program | |
| The Peer Coaching Program is designed to train teacher leaders to serve as peer coaches for colleagues. As coaches, these teachers will assist their peers in identifying ways to enhance standards-based instruction and to offer their students engaging, technology-rich, learning activities. In doing so, peer coaches will help their colleagues to develop the necessary technology skills and instructional strategies needed to integrate technology into teaching and learning. | |
| Planning Professional Development | |
| This checklist is a resource within an NSBA education leadership and technology toolkit. It is a checklist of what to consider when planning professional development for staff, such as equipment, money, sources of information, needs of the staff, issues with adult learners, and ongoing support. | |
| Professional Learning Communities (PDF) | |
| The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (a i s r) at Brown University engages in intensive work with urban school systems across the country that are pursuing system-wide efforts to improve educational experiences and opportunities, particularly for English Language Learners and students from low-income backgrounds. In our work, we support and encourage the use of professional learning communities (p l c s) as a central element for effective professional development as part of a comprehensive reform initiative. | |
| Using Study Groups To Disseminate Technology Best Practices | |
| In the study group model, a small group of teachers works collaboratively over the course of several weeks, months, or even years to focus on a pedagogical issue of common concern or interest. Because teachers are working with each other, study groups provide opportunities for teachers to learn from each other and to receive collegial support. | |
| Teacher Supervision and Development: An Instructional Module for Edutopia | |
| This module will help school leaders organize their thoughts, experiences, and resources to answer these questions for their own schools. Included are materials to assist school leaders in their own efforts to establish and sustain an environment that supports teacher development and the professional growth of teachers. In today's context, many school leaders find that their faculty includes a large number of beginning teachers and those who have come to teaching from alternative routes. These groups of teachers make the role of the principal as instructional leader especially important. Experienced teachers must also keep abreast of new policies, curriculum, brain-based research, technology, etc. | |
| Home: Part Five (PDF) | |
| Just as students can use technology to access information outside of school, teachers can benefit from the opportunity as well. By providing remote access to school and district networks, teachers can have access to school-based resources and web-based tools to streamline administrative tasks, enhance planning opportunities, and support student learning. | |
| Policy Brief: Is A Laptop Initiative In Your Future? (PDF) | |
| A report that discusses the results of several evaluations of one to one initiatives. The report details the benefits of one to one initiatives and outlines key components to success. | |
| Technology Enhanced Learning In Science | |
| TELS develops instructional programs that use educational technology to help middle school and high school students master complex scientific concepts. | |
| Teacher's Guide To International Collaboration On The Internet | |
| The Teacher's Guide to International Collaboration was developed to help teachers use the Internet to "reach out" globally. These materials were prepared as part of the Department of Education's International Education Initiative. It provides helpful information for how to create quailty projects in cross-cultural settings. | |
| Welcome To Tapped In | |
| Tapped in provides a space for educators to provide and receive professional development around the subjects of technology and effective online learning. | |
| Teacher Tube | |
| This is YouTube for education--a user provided collection of videos that have been created by educators for educators. And like YouTube, the more famous site, the teachertube community votes on the best videos. The current collection contains a wide collection of videos, some are directed at teachers for professional development, others are designed for instructional use in the classroom, some are public service announcement and other appear to be the result of student projects. Teachers make their own lessons available for other teachers and students | |
| Building A Committed Team | |
| An article that can give a CTO information on how to build a successful team. It provides goals, action options, and implementation pitfalls. The article provides audio links to interviews with experts, and there are links to short case study examples. | |
| The Communication Plan | |
| This checklist give information on how to develop a communciation plan. It provides tips and guideance for creating a plan and for how to communicate change both internally and to the wider community | |
| Community Engagement | |
| Chapter 5 of this report provides general information on what good community engagement looks like, and then details many case studies where districts have engaged the community using many different technologies and methods. Also provides a list of resources and sites at the end. | |
| Creating A Vision | |
| A module on how to create a technology vision. | |
| Helping Students Thrive In The Digital Age | |
| A resource that helps stakeholders understand the changes in the learning needs of students, and what 21st century skills look like. | |
| The ePM Book | |
| This resource is an e-book on project management not in education but in the corporate world. The E-PM Book provides a comprehensive look at building teams to organize for programmatic change with the use of technology. One of the central points is the interactions among people are shared by many interlocking forces only one of which is technoogy. The display of informations in many different formats might suggest some new approaches to sharing district share information. | |
| Best Practices Case Studies: Macomb Intermediate School District | |
| This case study talks about a school district which started an inclusion movement, after the need for shared expertise and collaboration across its diverse schools became clear. The article discusses how the district communicated and collaborated to solve instructional challenges. Begin With ME! is a project that includees professional development opportunities, amplifying technological and instructional support and managing pilot projects that renew and improve curriculum and instruction. The project illustrates the value of shared vision, embedded professional development and constant communication. | |
| The Next Step: Managing Your District's Technology Operations | |
| This article discusses technology management - how to ensure successful implementation, adoption, and results from educational technology. The author specifies that technology should be implemented in cross-funcational teams, in order to ensure that all stakeholders have a say in the planning and implementation process. | |
| The Business/Education Partnership Forum | |
| The Business/Education Partnership Forum is a resource for anyone involved with or interested in building successful partnerships between business and education. The Forum offers a directory of resources, list of organizations active in the field, and regular updates of news and announcements through its free monthly e-newsletter. | |
| Community/School Partnerships: A National Survey (PDF) | |
| This survey offers insights into how school/community partnerships are structured, and what kind of relationships schools and districts have established with external stakeholders. | |
| Guiding Principles For Business And School Partnerships | |
| This is a resource that is designed to "help educators and business leaders develop relationships that support mutual goals and that offers long-term, sustainable benefits." The document includes the guiding principals and case studies. | |
| Critical Issue: Promoting Technology Use In Schools | |
| This Critical Issue provides practical information for promoting technology use in schools. | |
| What Works? Seven Strategies For Success In School Business Partnerships | |
| This tool takes the user through "7 strategies" of creating successfull school/business partnerships,and puts focus on what has worked in examples. CTO's can get tips and ideas for many of the 7 strategies. The website also identfies best practices through case studies, "Success tips" in the areas of program development, partners, communication, evaluation, and samples, and it provides examples of potential barriers and how to overcome them. | |
| At Your Service: An Interview With Miami-Dade's Public School CTO | |
| This is an interview with Debbie Karcher, the CTO of the Miami-Dade County Public School district. She discusses how their district moved from having each school employ an independent tech support employee/staff to a shared model. Now, the district communicates rules, policies, and procedures to all tech staff, who then go out into the schools. There is also a central group of field techs available to help everyone. This model stresses the need for communication and shard information. | |
| Forward-Thinking, Shared Vision | |
| This resource provides background information and definitions of vision in educational technology, it provides a continuum which includes indicators and details on stages of progress, and it provides success stories, roles and responsibilities, and references. | |