Two
years ago, the Fayette County Public Schools
undertook a process to answer
several basic evaluation questions related to instructional technology
implementation. They are:
How have students been impacted by
technology
integration?
Are our teachers using technology in ways that match both our district
goals for technology use and the potential that exists for technology as an
instructional tool?
Have we adequately allocated district technology resources so that students and teachers can realize the resources’ potential?
That
process resulted in a district technology assessment that was presented to the
Board of Education on February 14, 2000. The
Board requested that the assessment be repeated yearly to gauge progress.
The present report is the second of those follow-ups and the first
opportunity to see longitudinal changes.
The
chart below provides an overview of results from the 01/02 District Technology
Assessment (DTA). The three
research questions above are represented on the chart by clusters of bars for
(a) student impact, (b) teacher impact, and (c) infrastructure allocation.
Within each cluster, the first bar represents district-wide performance
in 99/00, the second bar represents 00/01, and the third bar represents 01/02.
Figure 1. Overall DTA Results
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Based on the above data, the district is
making significant progress in all areas, with a significantly positive 3-year
trend in student impact. The DTA
also includes supplementary data on specific uses of technology that impact
student achievement. Those
additional data are explained in more detail in the report, and they indicate
that technology is having a positive impact on student achievement.
The report concludes with a set of recommendations that are summarized
below.
1.
Explore ways to make classroom
computers more accessible to students (e.g., more computers and AlphaSmarts,
position current computers in more accessible locations, projection devices,
capture systems such as Mimio)
2.
High schools – Integrate technology into ALL classes, and not just
selected classes.
3.
Middle schools – Increase technical support.
4. Elementary schools – Increase keyboarding – both initial instruction and follow-up.
5.
Increase student use of email,
especially in grades 4-12. (State
BOE goal by 2003)
6.
Increase teacher classroom websites for parent communication, homework,
class assignments, etc.
7.
Use online resources such as Lexile.com, Follett, and
KYVL to match
reading materials to students, based on their Lexile scores.
8. Avoid use of drill and practice software and increase use of productivity tools such as FrontPage, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Inspiration, and HyperStudio for authentic classroom activities or projects.
9.
When selecting software and other
technology-based instructional materials, use materials that have been
researched and proven to be effective. (or,
may do own research)
10.
Provide teachers with a variety of methods of PD.
11.
Monitor student progress on FCPS standards
12.
Provide Middle School LAN technicians and meet CP goal for TRTs.
13.
Use software and online resources that accompany textbooks.
14.
Increase home communication via WWW & email.
15.
Do not drop students off in the lab.
16.
Increase network bandwidth and speed to improve streaming video, distance
learning, and other applications that contribute to increased network traffic.
17. Increase the use of distance learning, such as Kentucky Virtual High School and video-linked classrooms, to better provide equitable access to instructional content across the district.