We've spent the majority of the day focusing on technology integration in a couple of different ways. Through completing center activities, hopefully you saw how the ISTE NETS and the North Carolina ITES can be easily integrated into instruction. In looking at the Technology Integration Planning Model, hopefully you began thinking about what should go into the planning process as you begin creating technology integrated lessons and activities. A huge part of ensuring success of technology integrated lessons is making sure that ISTE's Essential Conditions are met. These are the 14 conditions that ISTE says must be present in order to effectively leverage technology for learning.
Take some time to read each of the essential conditions. If your school or classroom were to be assessed on these conditions, how do you think they would rate? As you think of your response and reasons for your rating, you can use the resources linked below for inspiration:
http://electronicportfolios.com/reflect/EssenCondRubric.pdf
http://www.slideshare.net/doug0077/essential-conditions
http://uniqueedtechie.blogspot.com/2008/07/essential-conditions-for-iste-nets.html
http://papertrailsoftware.com/wordpress/?p=53
You can leave your responses in a comment below, or write it as a post on your professional blog. If you write a post on your blog, please link it here in a comment.
If our school were evaluated on ISTE's Essential Conditions, I think our school would be rated fair. I do not believe that we are just at the bottom of the barrel and have no support, technology, community, or teachers utilizing it in the classroom. I do not believe that we have teachers meeting all of the standards either. I believe that we meet some of the standards such as empowered leaders, skilled personnel, Professional Learning, and Tech support. I believe we need more help in areas such as adequate funding and community support. I definitely believe that my school is growing in the right direction and has shown growth over the past few years, but it may take awhile to get everyone on the "same page" and growing in the same direction to meet all the standards.
ReplyDeleteI actually think my school would be rated pretty highly. We are blessed to have a ton of technology, support staff, and resources to give us an advantage. Our principal has high expectations of all of us to utilize the technology we are given daily and to enrich our lessons with it whenever possible. Now some teachers use technology more than others to make effective lessons but every teacher does use their smartboard and document cameras and not using our resources would be unacceptable. Since we are a new staff composed of teachers from different schools, everyone had to apply to the job last year and were hired based on their leadership skills and abilities. I do however, think there is still room for growth and new things to learn. Even with the technology rich environments we have, our students still have a lot of knowledge to gain through them.
ReplyDeleteBased on my former school and the standards found in ISTE's Essential Conditions Rubric, I would say it would meet the standards of Technical Assistance, Professional Development and Access to Technology. As for Shared Vision and Skilled Educators I feel that it would rate as an "approaches" rating on the rubric due to the fact several of my colleagues were afraid of change and didn't get how to integrate what they were learning about technology into their teaching.
ReplyDeleteI know that my school would earn high ratings on ISTE’s 14 essential conditions for effective integration of technology into learning. We have a shared vision, empowered leadership, and we use our students’ data to drive instruction (student-centered learning). However, there is always room for growth. Resources grow and change. This means that a skilled educator will not remain “skilled” unless he/she engages in ongoing professional learning--e.g., creating and maintaining PLNs. Our school consistently offers meaningful, differentiated professional development opportunities for teachers.
ReplyDeleteAs a part of a more "established" school in our county, I see ourselves as "approaching" these essential conditions. The hardware is in place, training has taken place, a plan has been discussed, but that seems to be where things stall out. Some of our more "established" teachers are hesitant to change their ways or get frustrated when they try something new and it fails for various reasons either within or outside of their control. Additionally, I don't see our administration as having a clear vision for what they want our classrooms to "look" like. They are still in the learning phase, so it is difficult to have a vision when the future is still blurry. I don't see them as unwilling to change this situation, but in a time where Common Core is taking up much of their time I realize that time is limited to learn new technology. What is nice is that they are very encouraging of anyone who takes the initiative to change. My administration has been willing to allow me to do things that sometimes bend policy in order to create a certain learning environment. I feel they are willing to do this because I am proactive and ask permission instead of asking for forgiveness later.
ReplyDeleteIf Cramerton were to be assessed, currently, on those standards I believe we would perform slightly higher than average. I do believe we have some very high and strong points when meeting those conditions, but do have some fairly low points at the same time.
ReplyDeleteOur high points are definitely the funding for technology within our school. We were one of the first schools to have SmartBoards in every classroom, before Race For the Top. We are also backed by very strong principals who enjoy technology and see the benefits of it. We have received multiple funds and support to provide multiple computer labs and multiple classroom computers. Another high point is our Professional Development with technology. My first two years at CMS were filled with opportunities for us to further as teachers within the technology field and use technology within our classrooms. I believe that CMS is strongly supported and backed through various forms of help.
Our low points however, would be empowered leaders and assessment and evaluation of technology use. There are teachers at CMS who are willing to adopt technology within their classroom, but we do not have a lot of teachers who choose to be leaders in the technology field. There are a few per grade level, but we could definitely use more. Throughout my time at CMS there are not been much assessment or evaluation of how teachers are using technology and how it is benefiting their classrooms. The technology is there, but are teachers using it properly and to it's full potential.
I absolutely love CMS and am thrilled with the improvements that we are making within the technology field and by leading the county in individuals wanting to explore change and 21st century ideas :)
My school would be prepared in about half of the essential standards. What I feel is really lacking is the actual use of the technology resources and the accountability to use the resources. As a non-Title I school we don't have the extra funding to support consistent and adequate funding. We do have strong PTO support, but that group does not represent a high percentage of all of the parents. We do have an agreed on vision for the school. We also have a number of empowered leaders throughout the school. As a county I don't feel we have enough technical support available because the techs are spread over so many schools. As a whole many classrooms still have rows of desks and teacher led classes most of the time. All members of the school have access to the tools with a number of skilled personnel to help guide the use.
ReplyDeleteRating my school to the ISTE and NC ITES standards, I feel that it would be average. Although we are making gains in the area of technology integration, there is a lot of room for improvement. The county providing Smartboard training really helped us gain some ground in our pursuit for 21st Century teaching. Common Core will help us delve a little deeper into the integration by providing interactive math lessons. I feel that I can help my peers by providing support and training this upcoming year.
ReplyDeleteUsing the Essential Conditions Rubric, I believe that we are more at an Approaches level. Many opportunities for technology professional development have been mandated and made available in the district. However, effective classroom use of technology is still not seen across the board. Having our annual staff development conference at the local college made me wonder if our district initiatives and goals for students are only for K-12, or is there a connection to higher education? Is technology embraced in higher ed as strongly as we are emphasizing it in the district?
ReplyDeletehttp://ktemiller.blogspot.com/ Responded on my blog
ReplyDeletePlease check out my comments:
ReplyDeleteHttp://blogofcraigsmith.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-response-to-GCS-pinnacle-technology.html
I would sheepishly have to say that my school is approaching the ISTE Essential Conditions. Case in point, there are no first year Pinnacle Leaders at our school. There is sluggish interest in technology beyond what people already know. Administration does not appear to be interested in keeping us on the cutting edge of technology. Every classroom has a Smartboard, but every teacher is not utilizing them. We have had classes, which few attend, and fewer continue, but still, the students know more than the staff. Many classrooms have multiple desktop computers, but most are so old that they either load at a turtle's pace, or not at all. If we want to help students move forward with 21st century skills, we must provide them with 21st century tools. Trust me. They are ready for a modern education. What's that they say? If you do the same thing over and over, and expect a different outcome...hmmm.
ReplyDeletehttp://mrsdyesclass.blogspot.com/2012/06/technology-in-my-school.html
ReplyDeleteMy post response
If North Belmont were to be assessed using the ISTE standards I believe that we would do fairly well. The two areas that stuck out to me which may need some were Shared Vision and Student-Centered Learning.
ReplyDeleteWhile we do have a vision for our school, it is not evident in everyday practice for the most part. Pockets of collaboration-resistance are still lurking among us.
Also, student-centered learning is taking place in most classrooms but there are still some hold outs in this area as well. Hopefully next year common core will bring a shift in this area.