The goal of this 5-year instructional technology plan is to provide a comprehensive and sustainable approach to incorporating technology into the classroom to improve student learning and engagement, support teacher instruction and professional development, involve parents and guardians in the education process, and align with the goals and objectives of the school district administration.
The NCSS Instructional Technology & Media Services Department’s goal is to help teachers create engaging and effective learning spaces and experiences for students to soar in an equitable and accessible 21st century classroom. With the help of the Instructional Technology Coordinator (ITC), Instructional Technology Specialists (ITS), Digital Learning Coaches (DLC), Media Specialists (MS), and Innovative Leaders of Tomorrow (ILT), the Director of Instructional Technology & Media Services will meet this goal. We will accomplish this goal by:
1) Providing leadership to building and district level administrators.
a) Facilitate flexible, frequent professional development on district-purchased digital resources for district administrators.
b) Collaborate with the Curriculum & Instruction Department to inform procurement of digital resources for student use.
c) Evaluate all technology tools considered for purchase to ensure student safety is a priority (COPPA, CIPA, FERPA).
d) Use analytics to help inform purchases/renewals and monitor the usage and effectiveness of software and media.
e) Collaborate with administrators and their media specialists to ensure the purchase of resources that support curricular needs.
f) Facilitate on-demand training and development to ensure effective communication with all stakeholders.
2) Providing access to innovative teaching practices and digital tools that increase student engagement to promote student learning for teachers and media specialists.
a) Arrange flexible learning opportunities for all staff members on district-purchased technology software.
b) Provide flexible, targeted new teacher professional development (model lessons, group, or one-on-one coaching and development) on district-purchased technology software.
c) Provide training and development for teachers on district-purchased digital resources.
d) Lead cohort of vanguard teachers for professional development in innovative teaching strategies in the use of forward-thinking technology trends.
e) Coach and mentor media specialists to ensure equity of materials within schools are purchased and used throughout the county.
f) Create/update learning commons in every school by providing guidance and opportunities for student engagement in reading and writing in the media centers.
g) Provide guidance on COPPA, cyber safety, and digital citizenship for educators.
3) Providing hands-on computer science opportunities and experiences, cyber safety instruction, copyright education, and digital citizenship lessons for students.
a) Implement and lead C.O.D.E. 360 inclusive computer science programming.
b) Lead educational efforts in cyberbullying, cyber safety, and social networking awareness.
c) Teach students about copyright and intellectual property laws and guidance for academic work.
4) Providing training to parents on how to use digital tools to aid in academics outside of school hours.
a) Create, update, manage Parent Connect digital resource center to engage and inform parents on current trends, software, and applications used by students.
b) Host virtual and in-person parent universities on technology tools to increase student achievement.
c) Host parent events in conjunction with Title I and Curriculum & Instruction departments.
d) Build teacher, district, parent pipeline via podcasting.
For more information, contact, Dr. Jennifer Williams, Director of Instructional Technology & Media Services at 770-784-4943 or via email at
[email protected] or Mrs. Ijeoma Johnson, Coordinator of Instructional Technology & Media Services at
[email protected].