Page 218 - Technology Plan ICT Review

Alberta Learning Commission Action Items
Lakeland needs to review the following Alberta Learning Commission Report recom- mendations:
1. Expect principals to provide proactive leadership in integrating technology in both the
instructional and administrative aspects of the school.
Strong and positive leadership from principals is key to successful schools, and the integration of technol- ogy is no exception. For technology to be integrated and used effectively in schools, principals must pro- vide the necessary leadership and support collaborative efforts among teachers. Professional development should be available for teachers, principals and vice-principals to promote the use of technology for crea- tive, higher-order thinking. “The successful integration of technology should be a key part of professional learning communities in every school”.
Not unlike any other program within a school, the degree of success of technology inte- gration is do to the following:
•Vision.
•Leadership.
•Instructional and administrative expectations. •School based monitoring and program modification.
Over the last eight years the technology plan has focused on infrastructure implementa- tion and teacher training. Limited professional development has been organized for school administration. The majority of technology inservicing has focused on adminis- trative application operations and technology implementation updates provided at monthly district administrative meetings.
In order to prepare our current and up and coming administrative team members in the area of technology leadership the district needs to address the following:
•Identify the specific technology leadership roles expected of school administrators. oWhat are the expectations for modeling technology integration?
oWhat is involved in monitoring instructional staff technology integration? oWhat administrative technology skill sets are required?
•Provide on going technology inservicing that correlates to administrative technol- ogy training requirements. Refer to the following examples:
• Groupwise collaborative and calendaring tools
• Sasixp School Administrative Functions
• Student’s Achieve School Administrative Functions
• Provide on going leadership professional development in the area of technology planning and integration focusing on the following areas:
o Innovative technology integration.
o Technology planning and monitoring.
o Current technology application and trade shows.
o Professional Learning Communities through technology integration.
2. Develop and implement comprehensive professional development plans for every
school jurisdiction and every school.
“High quality teaching in all classrooms and skillful leadership in all schools will not occur by accident.”
Ongoing professional development is essential to ensure that teachers, schools, and school systems con- tinue to adapt and achieve the best outcomes for students.
No other school district in the province provides the same level of ICT instructional sup- port for their teaching staff. Lakeland Catholic is committed to optimizing the use of the current technology structure by providing an ICT Support Teacher for the elementary and high school programs. These two staff members have been responsible for assisting administration and teachers with planning and integrating technology within the class- rooms.
In 2005-2006 the current ICT support model will come to a close. At this point in time there appears to three possible directions the district may choose to follow:
1. Continue to provide district coordinated ICT support for the elementary and high school programs.
2. Create cross curriculum coordinator positions with the expectation of also sup- porting ICT curriculum integration at the school level.
3. Develop school-based committees to coordinate ICT professional development, technology support, monitoring and planning. This model will require some guidelines to ensure each school in the district has equal opportunity to effec- tive ICT professional development and ongoing support. The following repre- sents some important guidelines:
o The committee must have representative from each division or major sub- ject area.
o The vice principal or principal must chair the meetings.
o The committee will monitor and adjust the ICT scope and sequence.
o The committee member will organize and or provide ICT professional devel-
opment opportunities for staff.
o The committee will provide yearly ICT implementation reports.
o The committee members must process school ICT WebHelp Desk requests. o The district will establish a minimum timetable preparation period for those
staff members willing to assume leadership responsibilities. This is neces- sary because not all principals have the same expectations for technology support for their staff. This can lead to support inequities from school to school within the district.
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