Subject:
Comprehensive Technology Plan
2004-2007 Action Plan Status
Report 2005-2006 & Action Plans
2006-2007
Date: June 8, 2006
Enclosures:
4
REASON FOR CONSIDERATION:
Policy Reference: CL
Action
Information
X __
Strategic Plan Goal Reference: 1, 3, 4, 5
Background (Purpose)
The Office of Instruction and Office of School Technology report on the status of previous year’s
technology objectives and present the Albemarle County Public Schools Comprehensive
Technology Plan to the School Board on a regular basis. The Comprehensive Technology Plan
is designed to provide a framework for the allocation of human and capital resources for
technology. The plan also serves to inform stakeholders of the Division’s use of technology
resources to connect to the global community and support its strategic goals. This report
highlights the ways in which the Division’s resources have been employed to prepare students
to live and work in a technically sophisticated, information-rich age, as well as the ways in which
those resources have been used to design, develop, and support an efficient, high-quality
infrastructure that meets the most demanding needs of teachers, students, and staff.
Administrative Consideration (Rationale)
The Albemarle County Schools Comprehensive Technology Plan 2004-2007 is fully aligned with
the Educational Technology Plan for Virginia 2003-2009, as submitted to the Virginia
Department of Education June 2004. However, as this is the third year of the plan, please note
that it will undergo full review in 2006-2007. The Comprehensive Technology Plan 2007-2010
will be aligned with the state plan, as required, but will also clearly reflect the Division’s Vision,
Mission, and Goals as contained in the 2005-2009 Strategic Plan.
As the Comprehensive Technology Plan is used to inform decision-makers as to the allocation of
resources for technology, the status of the 2005-2006 Action Plans is presented to the Board at this
time. These Action Plans include the responsible staff member(s), budget implications, and
timelines for initiation and completion of tasks and support the attainment of six broad goals.
The Albemarle County Public Schools Comprehensive Technology Plan is based on six goals
encompassing the areas of infrastructure and connectivity, support services, professional
development, digital content, instructional integration, and information processing and
communication.
•
•
•
Infrastructure and Connectivity: Maintain an infrastructure which provides all students and
staff access to contemporary technologies, software, and telecommunications networks.
Support Services: Provide a level of technical support and service necessary to maintain
hardware and software resources promoting efficiency in administrative and instructional
functions.
Professional Development: Provide technical training and staff development for all division
•
•
•
employees, focusing on mastery of the Virginia Technology Standards for Instructional
Personnel (TSIP), the integration of technology into instruction for instructional personnel,
and increased efficiency and productivity for all personnel.
Digital Content: Identify and integrate computer applications and digital content throughout
the Division to maximize educational benefits.
Instructional Integration: Utilize available technologies to improve teaching and learning and
student outcomes, including mastery of Virginia’s Standards of Learning.
Information Processing and Communication: Provide tools and strategies to collect, analyze,
and communicate accurate data and information about student performance and the school
division’s activities and plans in support of the continuous school improvement process, the
division communications plan and all division goals.
Budget Implications (Short and Long Term)
Needs identified in the status report and plans may result in budget initiatives.
Recommendation/Future Direction/Time Line
Receive the Status of 2005-2006 Technology Plan Objectives and the Action Plans for 20062007 for information and discussion.
PREPARED:
REVIEWED:
RECOMMENDED:
ITEM NUMBER:
Comprehensive Technology Plan 2004-2007
Action Plan Status Report 2005-2006 & Action Plans 2006-2007
Executive Summary
The attached documentation provides both highlights and an in-depth look at the status of the Division’s implementation of
its Comprehensive Technology Plan 2004-2007. The Division’s plan is fully aligned with the Educational Technology Plan
for Virginia 2003-2009.
Significant accomplishments for this school year are detailed in the Action Plan Status Report for 2005-2006. They
include the following items from the plan’s six goals:
Infrastructure and Connectivity:
• The execution of a 0% lease allowed for the distribution of 848 new computers, covering every elementary school
in the county.
• Board allocations continued to support the 4-year computer replacement cycle.
• Minimum supported standards for computers were raised beyond the state’s minimum standards.
Support Services:
• Fourteen field-based staff serve in seven Technical Service Teams to meet service needs at all schools and
departments; two engineers and a Help Desk Associate are centrally based.
• The Office of Technology averaged 1999 work orders per month.
Professional Development:
• More than 700 staff attended technology-infused conference sessions at the Making Connections Conference,
and 178 attended technology-oriented Opportunities workshops.
• More than 800 of the Division’s instructional staff have completed the ACPS certification process of the
Technology Standards for Instructional Personnel requirements for Virginia. This represents approximately 70%
of those required to demonstrate proficiency by 2009.
Digital Content:
• The Division maintains subscriptions to web-delivered resources for research (encyclopedias, periodicals, etc.),
curriculum support (web-delivered educational video), and professional development (software tutorials).
• Teachers and staff have created more than 500 classes on the Division’s courseware server to support instruction
and professional development.
Instructional Integration:
• The World Languages Program has instituted a comprehensive online instructional resource package that
features an online assessment, called the STandards-based Measurement of Proficiency Program (STAMP), as
well as a rich collection of audio/video and text-based resources that teachers can tailor to meet their individual
needs.
• Multi-media continues to excite students and teachers alike:
o Second graders at Murray ES spent a year documenting their units of study. For each unit students
wrote, studied, and filmed segments of video related to the unit. The culmination is a year end
“newscast” presented to parents and the school.
o Explorations in the use of iPods and Podcasting technology saw students using them in world
languages classes, science classrooms, Language Arts classes, and as personal study devices.
o Everywhere in the division, students researched, wrote, scripted, storyboarded, videographed, and
scored authentic productions utilizing technologies that just a few years ago would have only existed
in a major studio.
Information Processing and Communication:
• Twenty-Six schools and all but three departments have transitioned to SchoolCenter, the new web content
management system.
• A thorough analysis of the Division’s information management and reporting system needs is underway.