District Technology Plan

In the Clear Creek Independent School District documents that helped structure the district technology plan are, but not limited to; District Improvement Plan, No Child Left Behind Act, Texas Loge-Range Plan for Technology, and The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, E-Rate.

Clear Creek ISD has recognized the increasing need for technology in instruction and for operational use through out the district. Through instruction we can create an environment where students can reach high performance and engagement occurs. Clear Creek has insured all access to digital tools and resources twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week that are focused on individual strengths, needs, talents, and learning styles. As students enter classrooms as “digital natives” it is essential that our educators acknowledge that we are preparing them for a world far different then we can expect when these students graduate. We must prepare them for jobs that have not been created yet. Professional learning must include new ways to teach and lead to improvements in students academic achievement. Instructional technology should reflect current research, modern contexts to engage students in learning and learning assessments that effectively measure what student are learning. As all districts around us, rapid changes are occurring in technology and it will be strong leadership at all levels that sustains the vision for all four areas of this technology plan. In addition, maintaining the adequate human infrastructure to support these goals will be critical to supporting all areas of this plan.   

Goals:

• Increase student access to 24/7 learning
• Increase collaboration between the department of instruction and the Department of Technology
• Improve academic achievement across the curriculum through technology and library services
• Expand professional development by use of distance and distributed learning technologies
• Provide professional development this is collaborative, interactive and differentiated
• Shared vision and planning that is collaborative and technology-rich
• Promote efficient and effective management of district resources
• Develop the infrastructure to prepare for and address emerging technologies for future needs.

Strategies:

• Maintain and adapt existing online learning solution to provide all students and parents 24/ access to resource, curriculum, and coursework
• Increase availability and use of electronic testing, assessment tools and resources
• Develop a comprehensive plan to provide on demand access to network connected computers to students that are At-Risk
• Provide district developed training resources through the district’s website, intranet, video conferencing and streaming video server
• Provide just-in-time training for new and upgrade technology resources, both during and outside the instructional day, with follow-up training as needed
• Model technology use during professional development in all areas
• Allocate a minimum of 30% of technology funding to provide technology professional development
• Survey and meet with student focus groups to gather data and feedback for use in campus and district technology planning and initiatives

The budget and funding for the years 2009-2012 for technology include a 58% use of funds for teaching and learning. This shows the highest percent focusing on students learning and instructional material for technology. Infrastructure for technology will receive 20% of the funds to update, purchase new and support the products already in use throughout the district and to close the gap between student and computer ratio. Twelve Percent will focus on the educator preparation and development of technological knowledge, software updates, and hands on development for teachers. Lastly, 10% will be distributed for support, leadership, and administration. This seems to be a small percentage of a vital component for technology, supporting teachers that are in the classrooms. Getting the right leaders in the schools for support that can work efficiently and effectively could intern keep this percentage low so funds can be distributed to other areas of need.

Evaluation of the Technology Plan will be an ongoing process. The plan in its entirety will be evaluated formally in August and reviewed in January. Individual goals and objective and strategies will be evaluated monthly from August to May during District Technology Steering Committee (DTSC) meetings. Intention of the evaluation will be to make decisions on the impact that technology has on the learning process for all students. Adjustments can be made to the plan mid-year as recommended and approved by the DTSC. A report and plan updates will be presented to the Superintendent, District Education improvement Council (DEIC), and Board of Trustees annually. Mid-year adjustments approved by the DTSC will be reported to the superintendent and DEIC at the following DEIC meeting. Each teacher will complete the Texas Teacher STaR Chart annually. Each campus will then complete the Texas Campus STaR Chart annually using data collated from teachers, librarians, administrators, students, and technology staff. These results will be analyzed to determine progress of district plans and TEA's Long Range Plan for Technology.

Other methods of evaluation will include but not limited to:

• Student focus group meetings
• Net Day's Speak Up Event data
• Monitoring of Internet usage
• Culture Pulse Survey
• Curriculum Management Audit
• Number of staff completed with each of the three levels in the Technology Staff Development Plan a the end of June and December.
• Monitoring ad documentation of Technology Help Desk service requests to ensure equipment and services are available for maximum use.