2010 Technology Vision

The technology vision for the district has been evolving over the past decade, based upon the needs of our teachers and students to become 21st Century Global Learners. We will provide students with the tools for: critical thinking; information collection and synthesis; problem solving; writing; communication; and team-work. These are the vital skills necessary to succeed in today's technologically competitive job market and to function effectively in a global society.

We need to prepare our students for a future that incorporates technology.  We are past the stage of learning to use technology; a mouse, a white board, an icon.  Instead, we must focus on using technology to learn.  Technology already exists at every level of our society.  A proficient person will not just have a blackberry on their belt; they will use that blackberry to solve problems, control information flow, delegate responsibility, and stay abreast of all new developments - without sacrificing other important areas of life.  Technology should help balance their lives, not introduce more strain and pressure.  These are learned skills.  If we do not teach these skills, we are not educating as we must.  

In our district technology falls into three distinct, yet related areas:  Administrative, Instructional and Infrastructure.

Administrative Technology: To seamlessly gather the required information without disruption of the educational process or environment, and timely submit all legally required data to the state.

Instructional Technology: Infuse technology into the teaching and learning model in a constructivist approach so students and teachers not only learn to use technology better, but use technology to learn better.

Technology Infrastructure: Knowing the districts needs to coordinate the selection of hardware, software and peripherals to support instructional and administrative needs.

All three areas must be informed at every level by our central purpose - teaching our students to be productive and proficient users of knowledge.

The following are "Goals" that the district should look at achieving over the next three years:

• Provide online learning opportunities for students
• Promote information literacy as a new skill necessary for all students - investigate assessment tools to measure proficiency
• Provide remote access of all school related software applications
• Research purchasing online software applications and digital textbooks  
• Provide bandwidth to incorporate streaming video and video conferencing into the classroom
• Incorporate video conference units in lesson plans in the K-12 curriculum
• Investigate "one to one" initiatives where appropriate 

Presented to the East Williston Board of Education Jan. 2007
Rochelle Sroka - Instructional Technology Specialist