Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE 1

Shared Vision and Rationale

Kimberly Jones

ITEC 7410

Spring 2018

Chet Fuller
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Shared Vision and Rationale

Vision Statement

Calhoun City Schools strives to inspire all students to become lifelong learners in

the pursuit of excellence. This is reflected in the vision of Calhoun Elementary School

which states it is “a place of excellence where children can achieve their full potential” in

all areas of development. We now have a device for every student and will use the

available technology to maximize learning for all students. We will utilize the technology

to incorporate real-world experiences, higher-order learning tasks, and learning

experiences to bridge the gaps for our diverse learners. In addition, we will utilize

programs and tools that allow differentiation to meet the needs of all students.

Professional learning will also be implemented to meet teachers where they are in regards

to technology integration and guide them forward in technology use to meet our student

goals.

Rationale

The rationale was developed mostly on survey data as well as observations and

informal interviews with administrators, teachers, and members of the technology

department. According to survey results, there are mixed view on how well technology is

being utilized and how effective it is at meeting our school improvement goals and needs

for future employment. The two main school improvement goals for Calhoun Elementary

School (CES) involve improving performance in both English Language Arts and

Mathematics on the Georgia Milestones Assessment. Boser (2013) describes the

relationship between gains in student achievement and the ways technology is utilized.
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CES is fortunate to have been able to roll out 1:1 devices this year. However, Boser

explains how simply putting technology in students’ hands does not results in positive

academic gains. If it is only used as a digital replacement for the same work that students

have always done, the results are going to be the same. Thus, this vision examines how to

utilize the available technology in new ways in order to potentially see positive results.

According to the survey results, most teachers are still using technology for students to

practice skills and for research. The use of collaborative tools, such as Google Docs and

Slides, is improving, but that is about the extent to which technology is being used in

most classrooms.

Many teachers have expressed concerns with their students’ lack of critical

thinking and problem-solving skills. Employers also see this lack of skills in their

potential employees. Starting in kindergarten, the focus will shift toward students being

producers rather than consumers. While most students are using Chromebooks to create

slideshows and writing assignments through Google Slides and Docs, this is not enough.

Students need to be aware of different tools that are available to them and start being able

to identify which tools are appropriate for certain tasks. Students will begin to create

videos, contribute to blogs, and use other productivity tools to show their learning.

Virtual learning experiences such as Mission U.S. and iCivics will be incorporated to

increase students critical thinking skills while supporting grade level content standards.

The instructional technology team has worked with teachers to develop goals at

each grade level for skills students should have by the end of that grade level. However,

there has been no follow up to help teachers meet these goals. The ISTE Technology

Brief (2008) lists effective professional development as a key factor in effective

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technology integration. Professional learning will be reconfigured to focus mostly on the

grade level technology goals. There will be mandatory monthly trainings in which the

technology team works with grade level teachers to incorporate technology into their

lesson rather than adding it in as something extra. Teacher leaders will also be identified

to support teachers in between professional development. One concern that is repeatedly

brought up by teachers at CES is lack of technology resources to meet the needs of our

diverse learners. The technology team will work with teachers who work with English

language learners and students with disabilities to work on specific strategies and tools

such as Flipgrid for ELLs to practice their speaking skills or the read aloud extensions

available through Google Chrome.

Diversity Considerations

We must consider our diverse learners with every decision we make at CES. The

survey data showed mixed opinions of how well our use of technology meets the needs of

diverse learners. We have many programs in place for interventions, but many teachers

are concerned that there are still limitations such as no vocabulary support for English

Language Learners. We are a Title I school and sixty-three percent of our students are

identified as low socio-economic status. While many of these students have smart phones

available at home, a lot of them do not have tablets or computers at home that can support

what they are doing in the classroom. According to the Hechinger Report in U.S. News

and World Report (2017), children from low-income families may spend up to twice as

much time in front of screens than students from higher income families. However, there

are significant differences in the quality of what they are viewing during their screen

time. In addition, many of these low-income families do not have Internet access at home
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making it nearly impossible for a large percentage of our students to utilize all of the

opportunities technology provides once they leave the school. This vision includes the

upgrade of our parent resource center in which parents can not only come in to view their

children’s grades online but also learn to use the tools their children are using at school.

We should also look at having a system in place for parents to check out devices to be

used at home. Many families would love to be able to help their children at home but

simply do not have the means to do so. The parent lab and device check out system could

help bridge the gap for a large portion of our students.

Our English Language Learners (ELLs) are another important subgroup to

consider in this vision. Almost one-fourth of our student population is considered to be

English Language Learners, whether they are currently served or being monitored.

Through collaborative tools, students can learn by example from their peers and teachers.

Many tools offer teachers the ability to leave feedback, either through text or audio, that

can be tailored to each individual student. There are many extensions available that will

translate or read aloud what is on the screen. This will support ELLs in their language

acquisition while still allowing them to meet grade level standards.

Despite equitable access to technology and classes throughout their kindergarten

through 12th grade education, girls are still largely underrepresented in technology fields.

According to Beede, et. al (2011), while women make up half of all adult employees,

they only represent approximately one-fourth of all STEM jobs. Teachers must be

cognizant of the images they present in order to close this gap. Girls need to see that they

are represented in technology careers, and they also need to develop be given

opportunities to develop an interest at a young age and to continue pursuing the

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technology pathways at the middle and high schools. All of our students from

kindergarten through fifth grade will begin coding through code.org. There are a variety

of different options for students, from Minecraft to Frozen and everything in between.

One of the goals for this implementation is to increase critical thinking and problem-

solving skills for all students; a secondary goal is to hopefully increase the interest in

coding and programming for our female students.

A final area in which diversity must be addressed is with how different teachers

are using technology. There is a clear gap between the teachers who fully embrace

technology and are willing to try new things and the teachers who only use technology

when they absolutely have to. One administrator expressed concern that it is unfair for

students to not have equitable learning experiences simply because of the teacher they

have. The survey data also showed mixed results on several questions. For example,

some teachers thought there were already tools and programs in place that allowed

teachers to offer feedback for their students which other teachers said the programs we

have do not allow feedback. For these reasons, professional learning must be overhauled.

The ISTE Technology Brief (2008) describes several key factors for effective technology

integration. The first factor includes effective professional learning for teachers. This

means that we should have technology goals set before the school year starts and

professional development will be focused around these goals. Some will be whole group,

and some will be small group or individual. There will also be accountability from the

administrators; teachers will know that administrators will be looking for certain things

during observations, so they will have to make sure they are included. For example, one

of the fourth-grade goals this year was that students would make contributions to a class
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blog. However, there was no follow-up on this goal, so teachers did not even begin a

class blog. Going forward, if this is a goal, administrators would have a link to each class

blog and would need to check it to make sure teachers were utilizing it. Many teachers

also feel that technology is something they have to do in addition to an already

overwhelming list of requirements. The ISTE Technology Brief also includes as a factor

the direct alignment of technology to standards. This means teachers will need

collaborative planning time with a technology leader in order to incorporate technology

into the lesson plans so that it does not feel like something extra. We currently have

technology lead teachers who are assigned to two grade levels. Moving forward we

would need to have a dedicated leader at each grade level, preferably one for each

planning team, to assist in collaborative planning.

Stakeholder Roles

Calhoun Elementary School already has several measures in place to keep all

stakeholders involved. We invite parents to review our school compact and provide

feedback for changes. We also have a school governance team which includes teachers,

parents, and community members. Calhoun City Schools also has a strong Partners in

Education program in which local businesses donate money, resources, and time to our

students. All stakeholders will be involved in this shared vision with a common goal of

creating successful students who will be productive members of our community.

All survey data showed agreement that teachers should be involved in creating a

shared vision for our school. Teachers should have input on what our goals are for

technology for both teachers and students. Technology leaders will be identified at each

grade level which will allow more reluctant teachers to still have support in between
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collaboration with the technology team. Teachers will also have dedicated time to spend

on planning for technology integration. This focused planning time will give teachers

more confidence on actually implementing the tools that are available. Paraprofessionals

will also be a part of the collaborative planning as well as training with the technology

team so that everyone involved with the students can provide the best support possible.

Parents should be allowed input on how they feel technology should be used at

school as well as what their goals are for their children regarding technology. However,

this information would not have the weight that teacher input would have. Many parents

are simply unaware of how their children are using technology at home and at school.

Providing parent workshops, both in person and electronically, can help parents see how

they can use technology to support their child’s education rather than just for

entertainment purposes.

Based on observations, unless administrators are on board and enforcing

initiatives, few teachers will actually make the change if it is outside their comfort zone.

Once technology goals are set for teachers and students, administrators will need to make

sure they are enforcing the expectations by collecting evidence as part of their

observations. Administrators will also identify model classrooms that can be used for

peer observations and identify teachers to participate in professional development and

trainings such as the Georgia Educational Technology Conference which will then be

redelivered to the entire staff. Technology will also be incorporated specifically into the

school improvement goals.

The ISTE Technology Brief (2008) and Boser (2013) both support the need for

professional development both for effective technology integration and student

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achievement. The instructional technology team will continue to work with teachers to

develop technology goals at each grade level. They will offer mandatory training and

collaboration for these goals once per month. They will continue to offer optional training

beyond these goals for teachers who are ready to incorporate more technology. Some

training will be conducted with the grade level units on hand to identify specific places

technology can be integrated without adding more to the units. The technology team will

also work with teachers who work with ELLs and students with disabilities to develop

specific strategies to support these subgroups. The planning will happen at least once

every month.

Since the ultimate goal is to prepare our students to become productive citizens, it

is important to get input from business in industry leaders as to what skills they need their

employees to have. These skills should be a focus across all grade levels, so a vertical

alignment plan will be developed from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The shared vision would be nothing without student involvement. While most

students would say they want to use technology to play games, they are all very aware of

what skills they are not fully proficient with that would help them be more successful.

According to the ISTE Technology Brief (2008), effective technology integration

requires support and modeling from all stakeholders. Students need to see that everyone

is on the same page and to know what their goals are. By involving everyone in the

development of the vision and goals and keeping open communication with all

stakeholders, students will work to meet their expectations and see positive results.
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References

Beede, D., Julian, T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., & Doms, M. (2011).

Women in STEM: a gender gap to innovation. U.S. Department of Commerce,

Economics, and Statistics Administration.

Boser, U. (2013). Are schools getting a big enough bang for their education technology

buck?. Center for American Progress. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/what-research-says-about-11.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). Technology and student

achievement – The indelible link. Retrieved from

https://computerexplorers.com/Student-Achievement-Brief.pdf.

The Hechinger Report. (2017). Technology overuse may be the new digital divide. U.S.

News & World Report. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/national-

news/articles/2017-10-23/technology-overuse-may-be-the-new-digital-divide.
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Appendix

Shared Vision Survey Questions

1. How has becoming 1:1 changed the way you teach?

2. What does the ideal classroom look like regarding technology?

3. How do you feel technology is or is not meeting the needs of diverse learners

(low SES, ESOL, ESS, gifted, etc.)?

4. What are some needs you (individually) or we (as a school) still have in order to

more effectively integrate technology?

5. What opportunities have been provided to your students by having access to

devices every day?

6. How well do you think our technology use aligns to our school improvement

goals?

7. How do you think parents should be involved in developing a shared vision for

technology integration?

8. How do you think students should be involved in developing a shared vision for

technology integration?

9. How do you think teachers should be involved in developing a shared vision for

technology integration?

10. How do you think the community should be involved in developing a shared

vision for technology integration?

11. How do you think our current use of technology is or is not preparing our students

for their rest of their educational career and future jobs?