MICDS Strategic Technology Plan

Vision: MICDS aspires to create an innovative, contemporary learning environment comprised of an engaging, rigorous, and developmentally appropriate curriculum that acknowledges evolving, emerging skillsets and literacies, supports differentiation, provides opportunities for global collaborations, and facilitates meaningful assessment. Teachers consistently, intentionally and thoughtfully employ technology in an increasingly student-centered, interdisciplinary learning environment to develop critical and creative thinkers with the ability to ethically manage, manipulate and create information as they tackle real and relevant problems. To this end, our students and faculty will have access to and support for a range of tools and strategies that foster the acquisition of the knowledge and skills required for lives of service and purpose in the 21st century.

Priorities

I. Ensuring that technology is an integral component of all curricular and programmatic development

Deepen the commitment of students, teachers, parents, and administrators to the best uses of technology in teaching and learning

Establish mechanisms and allocate time to share and discuss the role of technology in the academic program and particularly in student learning: consider what we're doing and what we need to be doing

Ensure that hiring, professional development, curriculum, and evaluation reflect the important role of technology in education

Accommodate and foster the use of technology to enrich extracurricular and athletic experiences

Develop forward-thinking curriculum that includes contemporary (21st century) literacies

Articulate a scope and sequence of literacies to facilitate changes in instruction Be responsive and intentional in the inclusion of emerging technologies; change, grow,

and innovate as opportunities become available and relevant to K-12 education

Ensure that resources, technical support, and internal expertise are sufficient and properly leveraged to sustain and grow the technology program

Increase understanding of the academic environment and its interface with technology by all members of the technology department

Create redundancy in roles to ensure timely, effective support is always available Perform an annual audit of the efficiency and efficacy of applications and processes that

support the academic program

II. Using technology as a catalyst/accelerator for student centered learning

Promote student independence and ownership of learning through technology

Identify pre-existing student skills and help build a well-rounded student technology toolkit which can be used where relevant in learning

Leverage students’ eagerness, comfort and fluency with non-Academic uses of technology in the service of their own learning

Lead students to understand and exercise executive function, digital citizenship, and ethical use of technology

Partner teachers and students in learning to facilitate a pedagogical shift in the role of teachers

Structure classrooms in a way that promotes and encourages more student independence and direct student access to resources and tools

Design curriculum to allow for more student choice and greater differentiation by content and ability level

Leverage technology to strengthen our commitment to Best Practice and diverse learning strategies

Create an environment that embraces collaborative, interdisciplinary, and project-based learning opportunities

Utilize technology to increase student reflection and self-assessment

Match assessment strategies to the learning process

Utilize portfolio, formative and diagnostic assessments to measure learning processes and provide more frequent and timely feedback

Teachers' assessment of students evolves to remain consistent with shifts in learning strategies

III. Expanding the locations and opportunities for learning through the use of technology

Create a ubiquitous learning environment.

Increase access to human and technological resources beyond the typical school day Provide formal and informal online/distance education opportunities Employ virtual worlds as venues for collaboration and exploration

Integrate the work of the library and technology

Clarify roles and responsibilities among members of both departments Coordinate and promote a common skill-set for information literacy Increase connections to foster student research, collaboration, and creativity

Converge social networking, online collaboration, and global connections

Explore programmatic implications of electronically facilitated social interaction Utilize social networking mechanisms for sharing ideas internally and with a broader

community Reach outside our school community for partners and resources Extend our reach to include distant countries and make intercultural connections Cultivate situations that augment learning with service and activism to develop

leadership Understand and utilize power in communication to a wider audience

IV. Fostering and advancing faculty professional development to better utilize technology to enhance learning

Build teacher investment in ongoing learning about technology, emerging strategies, research on learning, and contemporary curriculum

Commit to ongoing professional development opportunities to continue to provide a forward-thinking curriculum and innovative educational experiences for students.

Extend faculty and staff education to include non-academic and social aspect of technology use

Encourage faculty to utilize and model technology in their own lives and learning Implement outcomes from professional development in the classroom

Create a rich faculty learning environment that ensures teachers have access to experiences that develop their expertise with technology tools and strategies

Provide differentiated resources and learning opportunities for faculty Organize online and face-to-face large and small group learning opportunities Create and develop personal learning networks

Update hiring and evaluation procedures to include assessment of technology knowledge, skills, and implementation

Develop teacher learning and growth plans Establish process for demonstrating and documenting growth Ensure academic leadership (department chair, division heads, etc) understands and

values role of academic technology