Page 83 - Lakeland Catholic Technology Plan

“A CATHOLIC COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS OPENING HEARTS MINDS AND DOORS....”
In addition, studies examining the success of technology-rich schools have revealed four key features that appear to represent best practices of the high technology school of the future (Glennan and Melmed, 1996). These four best practices of the high technology school of the future are:
•emphasize the role of concentrated, conscious and explicit planning among school lead- ers, families and students to create “Learner centred” environments. These learner-centred environments focus on how technology can support students’ individual needs and capa- bilities, not on the capabilities of the technology itself.
•the goals and challenging standards for student achievement are clearly articulated. These measures of student success are not simply limited to achievement test scores, but also include indicators of other important processes, such as student motivation and en- gagement, job placement, attendance rates and level of family involvement.
•emphasize the restructuring of the school to support the learner-centred environment and achievement of standards. Successful technology-rich schools physically reorganize
and redesign their classrooms and school buildings, rethink their use of time, re-evaluate the manner in which they deliver their curriculum and build better partnerships among teachers, administrators, parents and students.
•near universal access to computer technology — at least one computer for every five students.
As mentioned earlier in this document, our challenge is to link education change and infor- mation technology implementation for high impacts on student learning and achievement. The District Technology Plan then becomes our road map to our vision of the future. Over the years, the information and communication technology area has grown rapidly in size and complexity and is increasingly viewed as a single functional area. The entire informa- tion technology area, in the broad sense of this term, needs to be managed as a single functional area and responsibility.
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)
Managing Technology Funding (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, four sub-goals
and actions were identified to achieve Goal Six: Management, Planning and Partnerships. The four
sub-goal areas are:
1. Develop New District Technology Plan
2. District Level Management and Planning
3. School Level Management and Planning
4. Technology Collaboration and Partnerships
82