Page 76 - Lakeland Catholic Technology Plan

“A CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS OPENING HEARTS MINDS AND DOORS....”
GOAL FIVE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Introduction
Similar to the experience of businesses in the private sector, technology used as an ad- ministrative and management tool can enable teachers, administrative officers, princi- pals and District Departments to be more efficient and effective managers of informa- tion. The driving force behind using information technology as an administrative and management tool is — by streamlining administrative processes with information tech- nologies — the amount of time spent doing administrative tasks is reduced in
favor of more time with students.
In some cases, lower costs are achieved. In other cases, very large amounts of informa- tion can be managed — never before possible using manual methods. For example, an information network can streamline administrative processes through the deployment of centralized, automated administrative services and applications such as student re- cords and financial systems, e-mail, document management services and centralized access to public documents.
Benchmarks, Practices, Targets and Standards
For teachers and students, administrative support can range from electronic report card preparation to more comprehensive student assessments that require students’ active participation and application of knowledge. The immense storage capacity enabled by technology such as CD-ROMs and Zip drives allow schools to develop electronic portfo- lios of students’ work. These information technologies allow exact copies of students’ drawings and written work, recordings of the child reading aloud and video images of plays, recitals or class presentations. In addition, administrative support can be as sim- ple as word processing templates for test generation via access to test banks, to com- puter adaptive testing where tests are administered more efficiently by automatically adjusting the level of difficulty of the questions until it correctly ascertains a student’s level of proficiency.
Best Practices studies relevant to this section include:
Making Technology Happen: Best Practices and Policies From Exemplary K - 12 Schools (Southern Technology Council, U.S., 1997)
Computer Network Security (Alberta Learning, 1999) FOIPP and Technology (Alberta Learning, 1999)
Implementing and Managing Web Site Development in Education (Alberta Learning, 1999)
Managing Technology Funding (Alberta Learning, 1999)
On-line Learning (Alberta Learning, 1999)
Technology Implementation Review: Grande Yellowhead Regional Division No. 35 (GRYD) and Wolf Creek Regional Division No. 32 (WCRD) (Alberta Learning, 1998)
Sub Goals and Actions
Building on the District experience and recent Alberta Learning curriculum initiatives, two sub-goals and actions were identified to achieve Goal Five: Administrative Support. The two sub-goal areas are:
1. Administrative Support That Will Support Efficiency and/or Effectiveness For Teach- ers and Students
2. Administrative Support That Will Support Efficiency and/or Effectiveness For All Staff
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