Prairie Hill Community Consolidated Unit School District #133
Technology Plan
2002 – 2005
14714 Willowbrook Road
South Beloit, Illinois 61080
815.389.2791
Passed: 04/25/02
Prairie Hill School District Technology Plan
Part 2 - Acknowledgments of Stakeholder Involvement page 1
Part 3 - District Introduction page 2
Part 4 - Executive Summary page 3
Part 5 - Vision/Goal page 4
Part 6 - Connecting the Learning Standards & School Improvement Initiatives page 5
Part 7 - Closing the Gap: Getting from Here to There page 7
Part 7a - Gap Analysis page 8
Part 7b - Indicators of Engaged Learning at Prairie Hill School page 10
Part 8 - Goals and Strategies Based on Gap Analysis page 12
Part 8a - Community Involvement page 12
Part 8b - Engaged Learning page 14
Part 8c - Professional Development page 16
Part 8d - Professional Development page 18
Part 9 - Assessment /Evaluation page 20
Part 10 - District Policies and Procedures page 21
Part 11 - Communications / Marketing Plan page 26
Part 12 - Time Line Summary page 28
Part 13 - Budget Summary page 30
Appendix A Minimum System Requirements
Appendix B Acceptable Use Policy
Appendix C Inventory
Appendix D Questionnaire For Technology Committee
Appendix E Sample Teacher Questionnaire
Appendix F Letter of Electrical Usage – Wisconsin Power and Light
Appendix G Free and Reduced Lunch Letter
Appendix H Gap Analysis Tool and “Learning Report Card”
Appendix I District Report Card
Appendix J Prairie Hill Technology Development and Implementation Schedule
Part 2 - Acknowledgments Stakeholder Involvement
Prairie Hill CCSD #133 involved stakeholders from the beginning of the process of adding technology (October, 1995 - April 1996) to the Prairie Hill School. Community members as well as administration, teachers and board members were part of the technology committee established to plan, purchase and implement the school’s addition of computers/ networks and AV equipment.
Members of the original committee included:
Mrs. Debbie McClellan - Parent.
Mrs. Pat Fleury - Teacher.
Mrs. Cathy Hobson - School Principal.
Mr. Mike Paulii - Board of Education, Parent.
Mrs. Kathy Lewis - Teacher.
Mr. John Finlen - Superintendent.
Mr. Richard Gurnett - Teacher.
Mrs. Jeanne Montalbano - Parent.
Mr. Jeff Aronson - Parent.
Mr. Dan Johnson - Business Man, Parent.
Mrs. Kris Dal Santo - Parent.
Mrs. James Saudargus - Board of Education, Parent.
The committee met to determine, hardware and software plans/purchases, staff training and curricular concerns. Tasks were performed primarily ‘in committee’ however individual talents and skills were applied as follows; Hardware: Saudargus, Johnson, Finlen, Aronson. Software: Hobson, Finlen, Fleury, Paulii, Lewis, Gurnett, Johnson and Dal Santo. Staff Training; Hobson, Finlen, Johnson, McClellan, Fleury and Montalbano. Curricular concerns: McClellan, Fleury, Hobson, Lewis, Gurnett, Montalbano, Aronson and Dal Santo.
A second phase of planning was begun in April 2001 to assess where the district has been, and the direction to go with technology. Implementation, staff training and further community involvement was also discussed. This committee was charged with developing requirements for upgrading the Prairie Hill technology.
Members of this new committee include:
Mr. James Saudargus – President, Board of Education.
Mrs. Terri Cofoid – Parent
Mr. John Finlen – Superintendent
Mrs. Linda Julian – Music Teacher
Mrs. Sandy Wyatt – Teacher
Mrs. Rachel Gugliuzza - Teacher
Mr. Chris Hugi – Parent
Mr. Anthony Zdeb – District Technologist
Mr. Michael Michowski – Principal
The results of this committee’s work are documented in Section 7 and Section 7a.
Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 is nestled in the upper northeastern part of Winnebago County. It is Kindergarten through 8th grade district whose students attend nearby Hononegah High School in Rockton, Illinois. The total student body of 450 students attend classes in the districts only building. The community has no focus area, that is, the Prairie Hill Community has no downtown or commercial areas. There is minimal business in the area covered by the Prairie Hill School District; two car dealerships, truck plaza, a small factory and a diner/motel. The population and traffic of the community are scattered through out the relatively small area. Economically speaking, the people of the district look to Beloit, Wisconsin, South Beloit, Rockton and the major municipal areas of Rockford, 20 minutes to the south.
In the first report of 2/1998: The racial composition of the district was predominantly white. This was reflected in the districts minority enrollment:17 students of the total student population of 381. The relative economic health of the resident of the district was reflected by the totals for free or reduced lunch viz. a viz. the Federal program: Reduced Lunch - 10 students (3.8%), Free Lunch - 5 students (1.9%).
As of this writing (January, 2002) the student population has risen to 458 students, with a minority population of 52 children. Free lunch is at 12 students and reduced lunch is at 7 students. The racial and economic composition of the district has remained roughly the same as the districts population has grown.
Until recently Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 was a basically rural area with some housing development. The population of the district was blue/white collar and farm families. Recent problems with the schools in the larger Rockford School District and the raising of property taxes in that community have generated an influx of housing development.
During the summer of 1996, Prairie Hill School District made major additions to its building and technology to meet the growing student population with a corresponding tax burden to the community. Taxes however have not matched the pace of Rockford’s raising rates, nor have they noticeably had an impact on real estate desirability in the Prairie Hill Area.
As of this writing, Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 will begin a new addition to the building to add four more classrooms. The Board of Education has also begun planning for a second building.
The biggest challenge facing Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District #133 in the near future will be to keep pace with the growth of the community. The recent boom in home building in the area should fill what excess capacity the building now has in the next few years. Because of its excellent staff, committed board and administration, and supportive parents the challenge seems more logistical than that of academics.
This is Prairie Hill School’s sixth year with a computer network, Technology Coordinator, staff training and student computer use. Assessment has been through formal staff feedback, linking goals in the School Improvement Plan (SIP), community involvement and observation, student usage patterns, informal evaluation by the staff of the Regional Office of Education and student product.
To ensure these deliverables, the district has budgeted for upgrades to both hardware and software, continuing staff development, and the employment of a certified staff member as District Technology Coordinator to maintain the network, instruct students, train staff, and coordinate the infusion of the technology into the curriculum. The district also connected the school to the Internet through ISP (Internet Service Provider); Inwave Internet. The district has established a presence on the Internet with its own web site hosted on a district server: www.prairiehill.org (216.145.189.178 and the next 15 IP addresses).
Continuing contact with the Regional Office of Education and several local providers for training opportunities, staff development, grant information and assessment tools have been very profitable.
Part 5 - Vision/Goal
Technology Vision Statement
Prairie Hill School is committed to providing equal opportunities for learners to experience multi faceted technological learning through basic computer literacy. By integrating technology to meet the curriculum requirements, all students will have an opportunity to advance individually and as community of learners. Students will strive to develop a sense of responsibility within the realm of the learning environment.
The vision statement was developed by the Technology Advisory Committee. Community input to the development came via questionnaires, parent-teacher conferences and discussion with parents and community members.
The committee consisted of teachers, parents, board members, administration and the technology coordinator. Meeting on a monthly basis, the committee is a venue for community input as well as an arena to showcase student and teacher achievements with technology. Curricular concerns, hardware and training are discussed and planned.
Part 6 - Connecting the Learning Standards & School Improvement Initiatives
Dovetailing to the SIP (School Improvement Plan)
It is the district’s goal to see technology continue to be integrated into all grade levels and all learning environments. The main impetus of this plan is to provide ubiquitous access to technology in the classroom by maintaining a 1:3 workstation / student ratio. At the same time the six computers in each classroom and the lab computers will be maintained and upgraded to provide access to students before, after and during school.
Advanced Learning System’s Accelerated Reader was installed, maintained and upgraded. Book lists/test have been added to at a regular interval by the school librarian. Training and conferencing in the use of this program was also provided for teachers. Open houses for the community to see the AR program at work have also been held.
The Star Test (also by Advanced Learning Systems), a reading skills inventory testing program was purchased and networked. Teachers and parent volunteers have been trained and all students in the district are tested twice yearly to monitor growth as well as to place them at appropriate reading levels in the Accelerated Reading Program.
Student Record Keeping, E-mail, Staff development
Student/Staff record keeping at the classroom level has been accomplished with the purchase and installation of Grade Machine. Training sessions for the staff were held and on-going staff support is being provided by the Technology Coordinator as well as experienced staff in a peer-to-peer environment. Intranet e-mail has been in place and used extensively since October of 1996. All staff members have an Intranet and Internet e-mail address.
It is the district’s goal to have daily attendance and lunch data collected via the school’s intranet. To this end the district has the purchased several administrative software packages (Kim’s Café, Tremont SMWIN) to centralize the collection and distribution of student grades, lunch data, attendance and student records via the school’s intranet. Training on all aspects of these goals for staff and teachers has been ongoing.
Technology to support: Fine Arts, Gifted Ed, Special Ed.
Fine Arts: Three major themes emerge with the use of technology in the Fine Arts Programs at Prairie Hill School:
1) Yearbook Production. The publisher of the schools yearbook produces a program to aid in the creation, layout and design of the yearbook.
2) Image Creation. A digital camera, photo editing software, scanner, and art tablets to replace mice on arts computers would provide computer based simulations of more traditional art medium.
3) Infusion of Fine Arts with Technology in support of the Classroom Curriculum. It is the districts goal that traditional as well as electronic tools assists students in their art work. Students use computers, graphic software, digital cameras, scanners and tablets to enhance their ability to communicate visually. It is further hoped that experiences in fine arts and related technologies will lead to activities that promote group work, consideration of others, the clear communication of ideas, and reaching consensus
Gifted Education: As students are identified as gifted, their technology needs will be addressed on and individual, “as needed” basis.
Special Education: sees the need for computer simulations for life skills, problem solving and language arts. Keyboarding skills need to be emphasized as well as basic language arts skills.
.
Part 7 - Closing the Gap: Getting from Here to There
There were four sources for gathering data: a) Site visits to other districts/schools b) staff questionnaires APPENDIX E c) Observation (as in case of the inventory and assessment of technology by school board visits) d) Technology committee assessment tools APPENDIX D. See also APPENDIX H “School Technology Report Card
The gap between the goal and the current reality in the district today.
Community Involvement
The Gap: in community involvement with the technology exist at Prairie Hill school primarily in the area of informing the public as to what is actually happening at the school with technology.
The Strategy: Future classes for the community are planned in word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and the Internet. Prairie Hill has established a web site hosted on its own server (www.prairiehill.org ). The site’s primary audience is the local community. Homework information pages, by teacher are posted. Board minutes, district policy and this technology plan are also available for the public. Posted to the web server the community will also find, articles, photos and pages that document student created projects, extra curricular activities and filed trips. There is a section entitled “Kid’s Stuff” that has approximately two hundred projects published to the web by students.
The Gap: that exists in the area of engaged learning is twofold: 1) documentation and the codification of efforts and existing lab practice with Engaged Learning and 2) the infusion of engaged learning practices in the classroom.
The Strategy: The development of a formal technology curriculum would help close both gaps: that of a lack of codification of engaged learning practices already in place in the lab and providing a starting point for staff training with infusion of technology as the goal.
Professional Development
The Gap: Although there has been planned staff instruction, for the most part training for staff has been more on a one-to-one basis than in group situations.
The Strategy: Funds need to be allocated to provide for staff release time to be used for training that does not necessarily include the mechanicals of using a software package but rather time to ‘brainstorm’ application of the already existing programs to what’s happening already in each classroom.
Sustainability.
The Gap: Few gaps exist in the ability of Prairie Hill School District to sustain the delivery of technology to its students and community. The district as of this writing has purchased one hundred and twenty new Celeron based computers, three new servers and laptops for each staff member. Operating systems have been upgraded from Novell 3.1 / 4.1 to Windows 2000 Server. Funds have been allocated for courseware purchase and teachers are meeting to determine programs for each grade level. One of the noticeable gaps that still exists however is the need to upgrade/replace the remaining 45 Eduquest 486 computers in the primary wing of the school.
The Strategy: The Prairie Hill Board of Education has established a five year purchase/upgrade cycle. Committee work on the upgrade should begin no less than six months before the planned date to seek bids. The district will also need to plan and budget for building connectivity as the district grows and bring new facilities on line
The following chart gives a picture of the state of technology currently in use at Prairie Hill School.
Computer Distribution
Current (as of January 2002)
| Area |
Number of Rooms |
486/586 |
Celeron - Networked |
Printers |
Laptops |
Servers |
Misc |
| Grade: K |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Grade: 1 |
2 |
10 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
||
| Grade: 2 |
2 |
10 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
||
| Grade: 3 |
3 |
15 |
6 |
2 |
3 |
||
| Grade: 4 |
3 |
18 |
3 |
3 |
|||
| Grade: 5 |
2 |
12 |
2 |
2 |
|||
| JH-General |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-Read |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-Lang |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-Sci |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-Math-Adv |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-Math |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| JH-SS |
1 |
6 |
1 |
1 |
|||
| Lab |
1 |
1 |
25 |
3* |
2 |
5 |
|
| Support* |
5 |
4 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
||
| Music/Band |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
||
| Art |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Admin. |
4 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
||
| P.E. |
1 |
1 |
1 |
||||
| Library |
1 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
|||
| Reserve |
|||||||
| Total |
35 |
48 |
120 |
40 |
30 |
6 |
3 |
* Speech, Resource, Social Work, Special Education, Reading Specialist **This includes a network based printer for general teacher use.
Very few gaps exist as of this writing between ‘where we are’ and ‘where we want to be’. However this is not to paint a rosy picture. Some gaps do exist.
Internet Prairie Hill’s Internet connection at this time is an ISDN line. This line was installed in conjunction with the Inwave Internet ISP as a community involvement initiative. It allows for approximately 10 concurrent connections to the Internet before performance noticeably deteriorates. The installation of a T1 line to the Prairie Hill building on Willowbrook Road would give the district the expandability to bring another building online when the district expands in the near future.
At present Prairie Hill’s web server is based on Netware 4.1 / Bordermanager / Mailmon / Proxy. It would be advisable to upgrade the web server to at least a Pentium III / Win 2000 Server / EXCHANGE Server to simplify TCP/IP addressing, staff e-mail use and wed serving. This will become a bigger issue as Prairie Hill brings more servers online and add more buildings.
Staff Development This continues at Prairie Hill School with training schedule during the 2002-03 school year in Windows2000, E-Mail, and Grade Machine Staff development has also been ongoing with one-on-one sessions with the Technology Coordinator on an as needed basis. There is a need to train the staff on authoring and student use of creativity software in the classroom setting so that teachers see the benefits of theses type of programs in their day-to-day teaching and to create a flow of ideas among the staff as to how to infuse these programs. Training was held in the use of classroom management software (Grade Machine) and the necessary steps to import/export class and grade data to the office (Tremont/SMWIN) to print all report cards in the office.
Office Staff At this time the needs of the office fall in to two general categories: I) lunch and reporting and II) Management of Student data.
I. The current version of Kim’s Café is an old DOS based version, while adequate for the job, is no longer supported by the company. Upgrading this program will be essential in the coming year. Along with this upgrade, phasing out the token-ring equipment used in the lunch program would also be advisable. Adding another CAT5 drop in the kitchen area is needed.
II. Training of office staff, teachers and the technologist in the process of import/export data to and from SMWIN and Grade Machine to facilitate report cards from the office is also needed.
It is suggested that a bar code printer and software to create bar codes for the lunch program be purchased.
Library The library currently runs Winnebago/Spectrum. In its present version it more than meets the needs of the district. However the NT4 server in the library is starting to show its age and will be at or near the end of its service life within the coming months.
Long range strategies for using computer technology across the curriculum include purchase and upgrading of software dovetailed to the classroom curriculum. ALS’s The Accelerated Reader, student created multi-media presentations using PowerPoint, Corel Draw and a HTML Editor (Aolpress), incorporating a technology element into the fine arts program, and establishing a scope and sequence of basic and advanced computer skills. Lab times for primary grades and a junior high elective are devoted to the skills needed for multi-media authoring, publishing and page layout, computer based fine arts skills, as well as basic skills in typing, math and language arts.
Recent software purchases at the primary/kindergarten level have concentrated on pre-reading and math skills. To support the publication and research efforts of the students, a visual communication element has been incorporated with the addition of digital photography and flatbed scanning. Students photograph, process and publish pictures along with their written text in support of classroom projects, both as ‘paper’ publications and multi-media programs.
With the addition of Internet access to the school, the Prairie Hill Community of staff and parents see a school of fine arts, research and publication.
7b Indicators of Engaged Learning at Prairie Hill School
Essential Skill #1 – the student as information seeker, navigator, evaluator.
Prairie Hill has its own pool of IP addresses and it’s own web server. This coupled with DHCP allows us ubiquitous access to the web. All workstations in the building are web ready. Using the web as a resource, along with more traditional media (books, encyclopedia, magazine etc.) students research topics for reports and presentations in the content areas. Research is “published” in three possible ways: to the screen with such programs as PowerPoint and Inspiration, to paper with Express Publisher, Microsoft Word and Children’s Publish Center, and to the web server using a stand alone HTML editor. Students are instructed in searching the web using search engines as early as the third grade.
Essential Skill #2 – the student as critical thinker and selector of information.
Rubrics to evaluate these projects have been developed. Among the goals is the parsing of information and its sources.
Essential Skill #3 – the student as creator of knowledge using information resources and technology. Projects are designed to be “built upon”. That is to say that student work is open ended allowing for consecutive classes to review classes to review and to add to multi-media and paper-based publications developing “living” student created resources for other students to use and add to. Collections of student created, similar topic, multi media work is installed on the districts web server and is available to all classrooms as well as the community at large. Paper based projects are published in quantity.
Essential Skill #4 – the student as effective communicator using a variety of appropriate technologies/media. Students use a variety of software and hardware tools: multi media authoring programs, Power Point, page layout programs, CD based and Internet research sources, word processors , vector and bitmap editing programs, scanners and digital cameras to produce their work. Students are expected to determine the appropriateness of the various tools for the desired project: i.e. using PowerPoint for a presentation or the inappropriateness of using an HTML editor to write a report for paper as opposed to a word processor.
Essential Skill #5 – the student as technologist. A scope and sequence of tech skills encompassing word processing, graphics and various publishing skills has been developed and refined. These skills are introduced, taught and maintained by the lab instructor in the school’s computer lab and infused into the daily assignments by the classroom teacher. Student are designated “expert” at various computer skills and functions: i.e. a PowerPoint expert, a scanner expert, photographers, etc. Student experts are available to assist and instruct other students as well as teachers in their particular are of expertise.
Essential Skill #6 - the student as responsible citizen in a technological age. The district’s commitment to this is reflected in the Technology Vision Statement (Section 5). Students are instructed on the appropriate “net” behavior, when using the software and hardware. Courteous behavior is expected at all times, on or off the Internet, logging in, or when working with group activities or acting as an expert. The district has developed policies that reflect this value. An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) has been developed by the tech coordinator, administration, board and the district’s attorneys.
The following four sections (8A - 8D) deal with the current reality, our hopes as a learning community, and our strategy to reach for those hopes in the four areas of:
Community Involvement, Engaged Learning, Professional Development and Sustainability.
8a Community Involvement
Prairie Hill School is a one building, kindergarten through 8th grade district. Because of the small size of the community and lack of a defined business area, the school is a focus for a great deal of community activity, sporting events and school based social events.
The technology coordinator as well as staff members and administration are highly available to parents and the community at large.
Classes in various computer based skills and programs have been held open to all members of the community as well as staff. Future computer classes for the community are planned.
Prairie Hill’s E-mail server is being used in a limited fashion, bulk e-mailings of PSA (Parent Staff Association) news to interested community members. Future e-mailings will include: minutes from board meetings, coming events, the monthly newsletter (including calendar and menus).
(Phase I = FY 02 – 03, Phase II = FY 03-04, Phase III = FY 04-05)
Goal: Keep the community informed of every aspect of the technology plan and involved in the implementation of the plan.
Current Reality: Some community members are involved and informed.
Gap: All community members need to be informed. All community members need to have access to district sponsored classes and on-line resources.
a) Provide monthly newsletters and distribute to all stakeholder groups. / person responsible: technology coordinator. / $500 yearly for printing and postage. / newsletter also to be published to prairiehill.org - Closing The Gap Funds
b) Provide adult computer literacy classes in school’s lab. / person responsible: technology coordinator / self funded from participant’s fees.
c) Technology Committee meetings. / person responsible: Technology cCoordinator / no cost.
d) Maintain Prairie Hill’s web presence. For events, menus, and homework hotline. / person responsible: Technology Coordinator / cost $500 per month for digital line to building. Local Funds
e) Purchase of bulk email software. To establish a Prairie Hill bulk emailing of school newsletters, announcements, etc. / person responsible: technology coordinator and PSA president. / cost $750. Closing The Gap Funds
a) Provide adult computer literacy classes in school’s lab. / person responsible: technology coordinator / self funded from participant’s fees
b) Technology Committee meetings. / person responsible: Technology Coordinator / no cost
c) Provide monthly newsletters and distribute to all stakeholder groups. / person responsible: technology coordinator. / $400 yearly for printing and postage. / newsletter also to be published to prairiehill.org
d) Maintain Prairie Hill’s web presence. For events, menus, and homework hotline. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost $300 per month for digital line to building.
e) Maintain and update lists for bulk email software. To utilize a Prairie Hill bulk emailing of school newsletters, announcements, etc. / person responsible: Technology Coordinator and PSA president.
a) Continue to provide adult computer literacy classes in school’s lab. / person responsible: technology coordinator / self funded from participant’s fees
b) Continue with Technology Committee meetings. / person responsible: technology coordinator / no cost
c) Continue to provide monthly newsletters and distribute to all stakeholder groups. / person responsible: technology coordinator. / $400 yearly for printing and postage. / newsletter also to be published to prairiehill.org
d) Continue to maintain Prairie Hill’s web presence. For events, menus, and homework hotline. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost $300 per month for digital line to building
e) Continue to maintain and update lists for bulk email software. To utilize a Prairie Hill bulk emailing of school newsletters, announcements, etc. / person responsible: technology coordinator and PSA president.
Expected Results Success Indicator: The Gap will be minimized when the community, within reason, understands the components of the technology plan, supports its goals as evidenced ultimately by strong support from the school board. The community will show increased participation in technology trainings and workshops.
Through the Engaged Learning model, students will design complex collaborative multi discipline projects that integrate state goals and the School Improvement Plan in language arts, mathematics, science and fine arts. Staff training in the programs used in an Engaged Learning model as well as training and collaboration and integration are planned. It is the district’s goal that the Engaged Learning model directly link to the “Application of Learning” in all fundamental learning areas described in the Illinois Learning Standards and the School Improvement Plan at all grade levels.
(Phase I = FY 02 – 03, Phase II = FY 03-04, Phase III = FY 04-05)
Goal: Student will exhibit the Six Essential Learnings of Engaged Learning and the meet the Illinois Learning Standards as a result of the incorporation of Engaged Learning across all areas of the curriculum and in every classroom. All teachers in grades 4 – 8th will use the Six Essential Learnings of Engaged Learning in part of their daily classroom activities.
Current Reality: Some teachers have attended workshops on the incorporation of technology in the classroom/curriculum, cross curricular integration and the principles of Engaged Learning. They are aware of the prospects of engaging students with the used of technology. Some teachers continue to and other have begun incorporating aspects of technology and the Engaged Learning model into their teaching but the practice is not comprehensive and universal.
Gap: Many teachers are at progressive levels of technology awareness. Not all teachers use Engaged Learning practices in their classroom activities. Teachers need to become more comfortable with technology tools and their changing role in the classroom.
a) Two staff trainings (fall and spring) in the Engaged Learning Model / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $2000 for outside trainers. Closing The Gap Funds
b) Provide for at least one example of lab work projects in Engaged Learning involving each of the junior high school subject areas. / person responsible: technology coordinator and classroom teacher. / cost: $500 Local Funds
c) Two in-services (fall and spring) to coordinate Engaged Learning with School Improvement Plan / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $500.
d) Upgrade software used in Engaged Learning: HTML Editor, graphics programs, authoring packages. – School site licenses and network licensing. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost: $3500. Closing The Gap Funds
e) Purchase/upgrade hardware used for Engaged Learning: digital cameras, printers, scanners, overhead projectors, televisions and VCRs. / person responsible: technology coordinator / costs: $3500 Closing The Gap Funds
a) Two staff trainings (fall and spring) in the Engaged Learning Model / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $1000 for outside trainers
b) Provide for at least one example of lab work projects in Engaged Learning involving each of the junior high school subject areas. / person responsible: technology coordinator and classroom teacher. / cost: $250
c) Two in-services (fall and spring) to coordinate Engaged Learning with School Improvement Plan / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $500.
d) Upgrade software used in Engaged Learning: HTML Editor, graphics programs, authoring packages. – School site licenses and network licensing. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost: $1500.
e) Purchase/upgrade hardware used for Engaged Learning: digital cameras, printers, scanners, overhead projectors, televisions and VCRs. / person responsible: technology coordinator / costs: $1500.
a) Provide for at least one example of lab work projects in Engaged Learning involving each of the junior high school subject areas. / person responsible: technology coordinator and classroom teacher. / cost: $250
b) Maintain Teacher Software Evaluation Committee to evaluate programs for use with the Engaged Learning and Prairie Hill’s SIP / person responsible: technology coordinator. / cost: $2000 for curricular based software purchases
Expected Results Success Indicator: Students will produce complex collaborative multi-media projects that will be available on the districts computer network for further 'incorporations'. Students will produce and be able to assess information, web pages and design based on classroom curriculum. Teachers will evidence Six Essential Learnings of Engaged Learning in part of their daily classroom activities.
Staff Training
Staff training on basic computer network operation, e-mail, use of laptops, updating the homework hotline, internet, and gradebook/record keeping have been held or are planned for the near future. Ongoing support for the classroom teachers is continued on an “as needed” basis throughout the school year provided by the technology coordinator. Teachers will be aware of and practice the “Six Essential Learnings in a Technological Society”, in their day-to-day teaching.
Training on the new servers and server operating systems (Windows 2000 Server and Netware 4.1) was held at Entre Computer Corp. and paid for with funds from the Regional Office of Education.
Future training are planned to include, Internet, e-mail, homework hotline, multi media, presentation software, on-line research programs and courseware (primarily Accelerated Reader).
Administration and Library Services
The federally funded lunch program, school lunch record keeping and billing has been computerized via a software package; Kim’s Cafe. Bar-coded student numbers have generated for use with the lunch program. The lunch/office staff and the tech coordinator were trained by representatives of the software manufacturer.
In September of 1998, after a committee/review process, Winnebago Spectrum was installed on a small server in the library. A four computer Windows NT network was installed independent of the districts main network to serve and administer all library functions. Accelerated Reader Book Guide was also added to the library network to help dovetail book selection with the Accelerated Reader Testing software.
Tremont’s SMWIN has been installed in the office to manage all student data. Trainings have been ongoing for the office staff. Sensitive information regarding staff, financial and student information will continue to be kept on the superintendent's secretary’s stand-alone computer.
(Phase I = FY 02 – 03, Phase II = FY 03-04, Phase III = FY 04-05)
Goal: It is the district’s goal to provide all staff training in the Six Essential Learnings of Engaged Learning and provide opportunities to display and publish Engaged Learning projects.
It is the district's goal to have daily attendance and lunch data collected via the school's intranet. This plan includes the purchase of administrative software to centralize the collection and distribution of student grades via the school's intranet. To that end administrative software that will use and/or convert data from the currently used classroom management / grading software is being reviewed. Training on all aspects of these goals for staff and teachers is also planned.
Current Reality: All teachers have intranet e-mail accounts and most teachers use it and check it daily. Lunch and attendance data is still hand collected. The free lunch
program is managed by a bar code program with reports generated by computer. The library is totally automated. There is now a central program for managing grade, attendance, lunch, student data and communication, however scheduling and grade importing is lacking.
Gap: Ongoing and successive training need to be established for all staff using both district resources and outside trainers. Methods to determine the effectiveness of trainings need to be established.
The computers and printers in the office and administrative area should be upgraded and networked. Training for the student management software should be ongoing. The library/media center’s centers server and operating system should be upgraded. Training and support should be purchased to facilitate the migrating of report card generation to the office computers/systems.
Closing the Gap: Phase I
a) Three staff trainings (fall and spring) in the Engaged Learning Model / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $2500 for outside trainers Closing The Gap Funds
b) Two in-services (fall and spring) to coordinate Engaged Learning with School Improvement Plan / facilitator(s): administration, technology coordinator. / $500. Local Funds
c) Budget for stipends and registration, substitutes and accommodations for selected staff training opportunities in technology and Engaged Learning. / cost $3000 Closing The Gap Funds
d) On going training for office staff in Tremont/SMWIN - $2400 Other Funds
Phase II
a) Budget for registration, substitutes and accommodations for selected staff training opportunities in technology and Engaged Learning. / cost $2000
b) On going training for office staff in Tremont/SMWIN - $1200
Phase III
a) Budget for registration, substitutes and accommodations for selected staff training opportunities in technology and Engaged Learning. / cost: $2000
b) On going training for office staff in Tremont/SMWIN - $1200
Expected Results Success Indicator:
I. Success will be indicated when teachers are able to design at least one lesson/unit per year in which students produce complex collaborative multi-media projects that will be available to the school and community through the districts web site.
II. Teachers will be aware of and practice the “Six Essential Learnings in a Technological Society”, in their day-to-day teaching. Teachers will design assessment tools to meaningfully evaluate student achievement in “Six Essential Learnings in a Technological Society”
III. Success will be indicated when secretarial functions are streamlined and center around the data network as opposed to physical and manual collection of lunch and attendance data.
IV. It is hoped that by the end of phase one all report card generation for grades 4 – 8 will be through the office. Success for the library will be when the present server is replaced and that tape back up and/or zip back up of all library data is automated on a daily basis.
After the installation of the current technology (see PART 6 - Gap Analysis) minimum system/hardware requirements were established for future purchases and upgrades. (Appendix A)
While Prairie Hill has an Internet connection at this time it is advisable that a connection that provides more bandwidth be installed. This would become even more advisable when another building is brought online.
Training for the staff at Prairie Hill School is twofold. (a) The Technology Coordinator plans and implements training sessions on classroom management programs, Windows, Word for Windows, E-mail etc. for the staff as a group, for small groups and for individuals. As courseware is installed the Technology Coordinator will meet with grade level personal, or individuals (as required) to train, discuss and implement the programs into the curriculum.
(b) Outside sources for training include the staff of the Other sources of outside training include the staff of the Regional Office of Education (K.I.D.S. - Kishwaukee Intermediate Delivery System), trainings facilitated by other districts, Entre Computer Corporation, and the local community college.
For information relating to Infrastructure, Software/Courseware/Operating Systems, Technical Support, Inventory of Equipment, Redeployment Issues, Provisions for Update/Upgrade, see Appendix C
Goal: Prairie Hill School District maintain its current level of funding for technology on a five year cycle. Prairie Hill School Community Consolidated School District will upgrade/replace the remaining 486 based computers in the primary classrooms.
Current Reality: The current reality at Prairie Hill School Community Consolidated School District is good. Purchases of one hundred twenty (120) new Celeron based workstations, two new Windows 2000 Servers, and laptops for each staff member, as well as the upgrading of fifty of the older machines to Pentium class machines with added memory has put us in a stable position. There are currently running two older Netware 3.1 / ICLAS servers. The building was also rewired to Cat 5 specifications providing the building with dual net infrastructures: Cat 5 copper and token-ring optical. Appendix C for Inventory. See Appendix D for Assessment of Current Electrical Capacity.
Gap: The gaps that do exist are a) the district’s internet connection. a) fifty older upgraded machines and two servers that will see the end of their service life within the next year or two, and c) and the need to plan for future expansion as the district expands beyond its present single building.
a) Upgrade Prairie Hill’s current web server / Windows 2000 Server with IIS (Internet Information Service ver 5 or newer), Microsoft Exchange Server Software. person responsible: outsource / cost: $2500.
b) Purchase of Bar code generating software and proprietary printer for office staff. / person responsible: office staff / cost $500.
c) Phased replacement of Eduquest 486 computers in primary grades. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost (14 X 800) $11900 Closing The Gap Funds
d) Phased replacement of Eduquest 486 computers in primary grades / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost (10 x 800) $8000 Local Funds
a) Phased replacement of Eduquest 486 computers in primary grades. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost $1500
b) Ongoing meetings of district Technology Committee.
a) Phased replacement of Eduquest 486 computers in primary grades. / person responsible: technology coordinator / cost $4000
b) Replace two IBM Server 320’s and Netware 3.1. Upgrade to Windows 2000 Server. / person responsible: technology coordinator. / cost: $3000.
Expected Results Success Indicator:
Success will be indicated when:
I) All classroom computers meet the minimum district requirement for newly purchased machines. (Appendix A)
II) All servers are at a meet the minimum district requirement for newly purchased machines and are running Windows 2000 server or equivalent. (Appendix A)
III) Prairie Hill has at the minimum of one T1 digital line for its Internet connection.
Part 9 - Assessment /Evaluation
Expected outcomes in the four areas of:
Community Involvement: The Gap will be minimized when the community, within reason, understands the components of the technology plan, supports its goals as evidenced ultimately by strong support of the school board. The community will show increased participation in tech trainings and workshops.
Engaged Learning: Students will produce complex collaborative multi-media projects that will be available on the districts computer network for further 'incorporation's'. Students will produce and be able to assess information, web pages and design based on classroom curriculum. Teachers will be aware of and practice the “Six Essential Learnings in a Technological Society”, in their day-to-day teaching.
Professional Development: Success will be indicated when secretarial functions are streamlined and centered on the data network as opposed to physical and manual collection of lunch and attendance data. It is hoped that by the end of phase two the total functions of the media center are computer based: that is; card catalogs, check out and check in, late fees etc. as well as having the media center an Internet access point.
Deployment and Sustainability: Success will be indicated when all of the classroom / lab workstations are capable of running Windows 2000 and be on the Internet. Success will also be indicated when, at the end of Phase III, 7th and 6th grader students are able to work at word processing, spreadsheet and data bases and are able to transfer that data to the school's network for inclusion in complex curricular based products. Success will also be indicated when Prairie Hill School’s web server has extensively student produced work as a presence on the World Wide Web.
Assessment tools to determine attainment will include: Parent/Staff/Student survey, IGAP and standardized test scores, parent/community feedback from town-meetings, student products/portfolios and assessments dovetailed with the School Improvement Plan. The results from the above assessment tools will be used by the Technology Committee made up of parents, teachers, business persons and administration, meeting four times per year, as a vehicle to evaluate the feasibility and success of the plan as well as to make adjustments and chart the course of future planning.
Part 10 - District Policies and Procedures
The following changes/additions were made to the district’s policy manual to accommodate the issues of technology. A student/parent contract was developed: Prairie Hill School Community Consolidated School District #133 Computer Network And Internet User Agreement Student Agreement and Parent Permission Form See Appendix B
Student
Computer Systems: Guidelines for Acceptable Use
A. Acceptable Use.
The use of computers and related services and media at Prairie Hill Community Consolidated District No. 133 must at all times be consistent with the educational objectives of the District. Users of the computer network services (the “computer network system” or “system”) at the District must comply with these guidelines. District Administration may revise these guidelines from time to time as needed for or useful to sound operations and management of the system.
B. Privileges
Access to the computer network system is a privilege, not a right, and may be denied or revoked at any time . Inappropriate use of the system may result in discipline, including loss of computer privileges.
C. Security of System and Responsibilities of System Users.
Security in the system must be a high priority for all users. Do not disclose your log-in ID or password to anyone, or attempt to log-in to the system as another person. If you become aware of any improper use of the system, or violation of security rules, you must notify a teacher or the computer network system administrator immediately.
Users should not expect that files stored on school-based computers will be private. Electronic messages and files stored on school-based computers may be treated like school lockers. Administrators and faculty may review files and messages to maintain the integrity of the system and ensure that users are acting responsibly.
D. Prohibited Uses.
The above rules apply to the Prairie Hill Internet Connection as well as the Prairie Hill Computer Network. The following rules pertain to the usage of the Prairie Hill Computer Network.
· trespassing in another person’s folders, work or files.
· violating copyright laws.
· logging in under the login name of another student, teacher or administrator without permission from a teacher or the system administrator.
· attempting to gain unauthorized access.
· use of the computer network for commercial purposes.
· using unauthorized non-district software.
· using the network in such a way as to disrupt the use by others.
· sending, deliberately accessing, or displaying offensive messages or pictures.
· posting or revealing any person’s personal information including but not limited to passwords.
· erasing, moving or otherwise altering Windows system files, dos files, program groups, network system files, installed programs and their support files, or any other file that is not in the student’s home directory.
· attempting or actually downloading/uploading unauthorized files or software.
· intentionally wasting limited system resources (file space).
· damaging computers, computer systems or computer networks.
E. Sanctions
If a student intentionally engages in any of the prohibited acts listed above, the student shall be disciplined in accordance with the Prairie Hill Community Consolidated School District No. 133 Student Code of Conduct and may be subject to the following disciplinary actions:
1. Suspension of information network access;
2. Revocation of information access;
3. Suspension of network privileges;
4. Revocation of network privileges;
5. Suspension of computer access;
6. Revocation of computer access;
7. School suspension;
8. School expulsion;
9. Referral to legal authorities for prosecution.
F. Disclaimer
The Prairie Hill School District makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied for the service of providing access to the Internet nor for the computer network system it is providing to students of the District. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at your own risk. Prairie Hill School will not be responsible for any damages you suffer. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, misdeliveries or service interruptions caused by its own negligence or your errors or omissions. The Prairie Hill School District specifically denies responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its Internet connection.
Legal Ref:Cross Ref: 6.50 (Computer Network and Internet Use Policy)
Cross Ref: Acceptable Use Contract
Adopted: October 28, 1997
Instruction
Computer Network and Internet Use Policy
The computer network at Prairie Hill School is provided for students to conduct curriculum related research and to enhance classroom learning. Independent access to network services is provided to students who agree to act in a considerate and responsible manner. Access is a privilege, not a right. Access entails responsibility.
Students are responsible for good behavior on school computer networks just as they are in classrooms or school hallways. Network storage areas will be treated like school lockers. Network administrators may review files and communications to maintain system integrity and insure that users are using the system responsibly. User should not expect that files stored on district servers or local drives will be private.
The Internet is available to the student at Prairie Hill School. The Internet, an electronic highway, connects computers from all over the world and millions of individual users. Our goal in providing the Internet to our students and teachers is to promote educational excellence in our school by facilitating resource sharing, innovation and communication.
Using the Internet, students and teachers have access to such diverse resources as:
1. Email with people all over the world,
2. Information and news at NASA as well as opportunities to correspond with the scientists at NASA and other research institutions,
3. Public domain software and shareware.
4. Discussion groups on a plethora of subjects ranging from culture to the environment to music to politics.
5. Access to the libraries of many Universities, museums, the Library of Congress and ERIC.
With access to computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of the school setting. The Prairie Hill School District has taken precautions to restrict access to controversial material. However on a world wide system it is impossible to control all information and the industrious user may discover controversial information. The educational philosophy of Prairie Hill School’s Mission Statement firmly supports that the value of the information and interaction available on the worldwide network far outweighs the possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educational goal of District 133.
Although access to the Internet is coordinated through a complex relationship of government and private agencies (NSFNET - the backbone of the Internet) as well as regional and state networks, the smooth operation of the Internet relies upon the proper conduct of the user. The board, administration and staff of Prairie Hill therefore have established guidelines to ensure that Prairie Hill students be respected members of the ‘net community’ and that behavior on the Internet reflects pride, respect, courtesy and consideration.
The use of the Internet and The Prairie Hill Computer System is a privilege not a right. If a Prairie Hill User violates any of the following provisions, his or her access to the Internet and / or the computer system of Prairie Hill School will be terminated. Signatures (Acceptable Use Contract) indicate that the parties signing have read the terms and conditions carefully and understand their significance. The parent/guardian signature does not indicate agreement or disagreement with District policy. Lack of a signature will not restrict student participation in curriculum specific activities. Internet usage, without proper signature, will be limited and under direct supervision.
Internet Terms and Conditions
1. Acceptable Use: Use of the Internet through the Prairie Hill Computer System (PHCS) should be in support of education and research consistent with the educational objectives of the Prairie Hill School District. Transmission of material in violation of any U.S. or state regulation is prohibited. This includes but is not limited to: copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret. Use for commercial purposes and product advertisement is not acceptable. Use for political lobbying is generally not acceptable.
2. Privileges: The use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in cancellation of those privileges. The system administrator and school administration will deem what is inappropriate in line with District guidelines of general student behavior. The system administrator may cancel privileges at any time as required. The administration, faculty and staff of Prairie Hill School may request the system administrator to deny, revoke or suspend Internet access privileges for specific users
3. Network Etiquette: Users are expected to abide by generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include (but are not limited to) the following:
· Be polite. Do not get abusive in your messages to others.
· Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language.
· Do not reveal your personal address or phone number, nor the personal address and phone numbers of other students, staff and faculty at Prairie Hill School.
· Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to all mail. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities may be reported to the proper authorities.
· Do not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by others.
4. Vandalism: Vandalism will result in cancellation of privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user or the hardware/software of the Prairie Hill Computer Network, Internet, or any agency or other networks that are connected to the NSFNET Internet backbone. This includes the creation and/or uploading of computer viruses.
5. Security: Security on any computer system is high priority. If you feel that you can identify a security problem you must notify the System Administrator for the Prairie Hill School District. Do not demonstrate the problem to others. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computer systems may be denied access to the Internet.
The Prairie Hill School District makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied for the service of providing access to the Internet nor for the computer network system it is providing to students of the District. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at your own risk. Prairie Hill School will not be responsible for any damages you suffer. This include loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, mis-deliveries or service interruptions caused by its own negligence or your errors or omissions. The Prairie Hill School District specifically denies responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its Internet connection.
Legal Ref:Cross Ref: 7.20 (Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Computer Systems)
Cross Ref: Acceptable Use Contract
Adopted: October 28, 1997
Part 11 Communications / Marketing Plan
A time-frame for District Communications to stakeholders is as follows:
(Phase I = FY 02 – 03, Phase II = FY 03-04, Phase III = FY 04-05)
Phase I.
a) Establish a quarterly Technology Newsletter featuring children's work, home-school suggestions, suggested Web sites - the districts goal is to make this publication student produced./ person responsible :Tech Coordinator, / cost: $500 printing and mailing.
b) Web Page
c) Hold parent education classes in various computer related skills. / person responsible: tech coordinator in cooperation with staff of local library system / cost: self funding..
d) Continue with the meeting of the Technology Committee at the minimum of every two months if not more often. The purpose of the meeting are multiple: to assess and evaluate district progress on the goals outlined here. To determine trends and plans for the future. To disseminate information about technology at the school to the community, to design surveys and to provide community input into the planning and maintaining of technology at Prairie Hill School. / person responsible: The Technology Committee
Phase II. a) Continue
with the quarterly Technology Newsletter featuring children's work, home-school
suggestions, suggested Web sites - the districts goal is to make this publication
student produced./ person responsible :Tech Coordinator, / cost: $500 printing
and mailing.
b) Web Page
c) Continue to hold parent education classes in various computer related skills. Making the content progressively more advanced to accommodate community members who are seeking more challenging topics in computers./ person responsible: tech coordinator in cooperation with staff of local library system / cost: self funding.
d) Continue with the meeting of the Technology Committee at the minimum of every two months if not more often. The purpose of the meeting are multiple: to assess and evaluate district progress on the goals outlined here. To determine trends and plans for the future. To disseminate information about technology at the school to the community, to design surveys and to provide community input into the planning and maintaining of technology at Prairie Hill School. / person responsible: The Technology Committee
Phase III. a) Continue
with the quarterly Technology Newsletter featuring children's work, home-school
suggestions, suggested Web sites - the districts goal is to make this publication
student produced./ person responsible :Tech Coordinator, / cost: $500 printing
and mailing.
b) Web Page
c) Continue to hold parent education classes in various computer related skills. Making the content progressively more advanced to accommodate community members who are seeking more challenging topics in computers./ person responsible: tech coordinator coordinator in cooperation with staff of local library system / cost: self funding.
d) Continue with the meeting of the Technology Committee at the minimum of every two months if not more often. The purpose of the meeting are multiple: to assess and evaluate district progress on the goals outlined here. To determine trends and plans for the future. To disseminate information about technology at the school to the community, to design surveys and to provide community input into the planning and maintaining of technology at Prairie Hill School. / person responsible: The Technology Committee
Part 12 - Time Line Summary
Key:
E=Engaged Learning,
C=Community Involvement,
S=Staff Development,
SIP=School Improvement Plan,
DS=Deployment and Sustainability
FY 2002 - 2003
E\ Aug. In-service - Engaged Learning
DS\ Aug – Add / Upgrade servers to Win 2K
E\ Sept - Nov. Lab project infusing Science
S\ Sept - Training of office staff on e-mail school data collection
S\ Sept – Training on Engaged Learning
C\ Sept.-Technology Committee Meets
C\ Sept.-Volume I of Technology Newsletter
E\ Sept - Upgrade Internet/intranet connection to Cisco/Routers
C\ Sept – Install software for Bulk e-mailing
C\ Sept – Oct. Train volunteers for bulk emailing
DS\ Aug -Oct. Upgrade of lab computers to Celeron 900 / Gateway.
ST\ Oct - Installation and training of School Administration software.
C\ Oct.- Prairie Hill Home Page updated
C\ Oct.- Technology Open House
C\ Nov.- Volume II of Technology Newsletter
C\ Dec.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ Jan.- Volume III of Technology Newsletter
E\ Jan-March Lab project infusing Social Studies
C\ Feb.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ March.- Volume IV of Technology Newsletter
C\ May.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ May.- Volume V of Technology Newsletter
FY 2003 - 2004
E\ Aug. In-service - Engaged Learning
S\ Sept - Training of office staff on e-mail school data collection
S\ Sept – Training on Engaged Learning
C\ Sept.-Nov Adult Literacy Classes
E\ Sept - Nov. Lab project infusing Science
S\ -Sept - Review of office staff training on e-mail school data collection
C\ Sept.-Technology Committee Meets
C\ Sept.-Volume VI of Technology Newsletter
ST\ Oct - Training of School Administration software.
C\ Oct.- Prairie Hill Home Page completed
C\ Nov.- Volume VII of Technology Newsletter
ST\ Nov- Review training of Library Administration software
C\ Dec.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ Jan.- Volume VIII of Technology Newsletter
E\ Jan-March Lab project infusing Social Studies
C\ Feb.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ March.- Volume IX of Technology Newsletter
C\ May.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ May.- Volume X of Technology Newsletter
FY 2004 - 2005
DS \ Aug. Installation of T1 begins
DS \ Aug Final Upgrade of all Eduquest computers complete
E\ Aug. In-service - Engaged Learning
C\ Sept.-Nov Adult Literacy Classes
SIP\ Sept – Establish Software Evaluation Committee
E\ Sept - Nov. Lab project infusing Science
S\ -Sept - Review of office staff training on e-mail school data collection
C\ Sept.-Technology Committee Meets
C\ Sept.-Volume XI of Technology Newsletter
DS\ Sept-Oct. Upgrade of classroom workstations to minimum Windows 2000
ST\ Oct - Installation and training of School Administration software upgrades.
C\ Nov.- Volume XII of Technology Newsletter
C\ Dec.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ Jan.- Volume XIII of Technology Newsletter
E\ Jan-March Lab project infusing Social Studies
C\ Feb.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ March.- Volume XIV of Technology Newsletter
C\ May.- Technology Committee Meet
C\ May.- Volume XV of Technology Newsletter
Appendix A
Technology Survey for Parents of Prairie Hill School District
A survey was sent to all parents of Prairie Hill students. The first part of the survey asked for some background information on the type and amount of computer usage the child sees in the home. Also asked were: Do you have access to the Internet, who uses the computer the most at home and the amount of time the child uses the computer.
Further, parents were asked to indicate if they strongly agreed, agreed, disagrees, strongly disagreed or had no opinion on the following lists of questions/statements:
Technology at Prairie Hill is currently adequate.
My child is encouraged to use technology at school..
My child has access to computers outside of school.
My child uses the home PC for school projects.
I assist my child on the home PC for school projects.
I use a computer in my profession.
I plan to purchase a home PC in the next 12 months.
I plan to upgrade our home PC in the next 12 months.
I would be interested in training for parents.
All students should have “hands on” access to school PC’s.
Computers are excellent for research projects.
Computers should be used in all areas of the curriculum.
I would like to attend a technology open house.
Computers need to be constantly upgraded to stay current.
Appendix B
Scope And Sequence of Basic Computer Skills
Prairie Hill School
What follows is a "scope and sequences" of the basic computer skills that was the frame work for instruction in the Prairie Hill Computer Lab. The skills for each grade were presented in four 'strands;' Word\Text Processing, Graphics, Publishing, and LinkWay. By the mid point of the fifth grade it is planned that all skills will have been introduced allowing the majority of the student's experience to be the creation of research projects, publications, and LinkWay folders.
This document does not deal with the knowledge base needed for / and acquired by the use of that class of programs known as drill and practice, or CAI (computer aided instruction). These are programs designed to compliment curricular concepts. Example of such programs include: math practice, touch typing, social studies and science simulations and educational games, and WRITING TO WRITE (grades 2-4).
The following set of skills could never be considered complete as long as the technology of communication continues to grow. There will be new programs and equipment that will need to be placed within the context of this document, as well older programs and equipment removed. The skills in this document are 'basic' to most if not all of the computer operations that children will need in the foreseeable future. What we teach now will prepare our students for computer uses that we cannot conceive of at this time. It is for this future that we as teachers in the Prairie Hill School learning community, must prepare our students.
Kindergarten and 1st grade
* Use of the MOUSE as a pointer (Stories and More).
* Basic keyboard familiarity.
* Erasures of characters on the screen with the BACKSPACE key.
* SHIFT key for upper case letters.
* Familiarity with the screen layouts Write Along (WA)-(word processing and graphic editing), and THE CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING AND WRITING CENTER(CPC).
(I) To learn how to LOGIN to ICLAS.
(I) To locate programs (WA and CPC)using the two-tiered menu structure of ICLAS.
(M) Use the BACKSPACE key to edit mistaken key-strokes.
(M) Use the shift key to type upper case letters.
(I) Use the SPELL CHECK to check a single word.
(I) Use the SPELL CHECK to check an entire document.
(I) Identify the MARGINS of the work area.
(M) Identify the CURSOR and use the CURSOR KEYS to move the CURSOR within a document.
(I) Use the HOME KEY to quickly move cursor to the beginning of a line.
(I) Use the CTRL/HOME KEY to quickly move cursor to the beginning of a document.
(I) Use the END KEY to quickly move cursor to the end of a line.
(I) Use the CTRL/END KEY to quickly move cursor to the end of a document.
(I) SAVE and RETRIEVE a FILE.
(M) Edit WA/CPC without saving the file.
Grade 2
(I) To use ICLAS to locate and load Write Along (WA).
(I) To create a new GRAPHICS file.
(M) To use the MOUSE/DRAW tool combination.
(I) Be able to plot CIRCLES, RECTANGLES, and LINES at desired locations on screen.
(I) To use the UNDO feature and ERASE tool to cancel and/or correct the action of a graphic tool.
(I) To use the FILL tool and to be able to identify and fix LEAKS.
(I) Identify the THREE REAL WORLD DIMENSIONS of HEIGHT, WIDTH and DEPTH.
(I) Identify the computer screen as a TWO DIMENSIONAL surface and to understand the difference between two and three dimensions.
(I) Identify the ILLUSION of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface.
(I) Able to create WIRE FRAME drawings.
(I) To use the FILL tool to change WIRE FRAMES to SOLIDS.
(I) To identify and create symmetry.
(I) To use the TEXT tool to apply language to a graphic image.
(M) To SAVE and RETRIEVE files.
(I) To use ICLAS to locate and load THE CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING AND WRITING CENTER (CPC).
(I) Create a new file.
(I) Identify the MENU BAR.
(I) To transfer the concepts/skills of TEXT entry from PEP to CPC.
(I) FONTS.
(I) Be able to use the MENU BAR and MENU STRUCTURE to view and place GRAPHICS in a document.
(I) Save and RETRIEVE files.
Grade 3
(I) Use of the DELETE KEY to edit mistakes.
(I) Proper spacing after punctuation. One space after a COMMA, and two spaces after end of sentence punctuation.
(I) To use ICLAS to locate and load MICROSOFT Windows (MSW).
(I/M) Maintenance of TEXT ENTRY Skills from 2nd grade (WA)
(I) Introduce the concept of VIRTUAL PAGE and SCROLLing.
(I) Use of the PAGE UP and PAGE DN keys.
(I\M) SPELL CHECK skills - use of spell check to explore phonetic concepts.
(M) Maintenance of Graphic skills from Grade Two.
(M) WIRE FRAMES vs. SOLIDS reviewed.
(M) Difference between TWO and THREE DIMENSIONS reviewed.
(I) Use WA to identify and use COLOR SPREADS.
(I) Use WA to create LIGHT SOURCE with COLOR SPREADS.
(I) Use ICLAS to locate and load LINKWAY.
(I) Use of LINKWAY MENUS.
(I) Use of LINKWAY DIALOG BOXES.
(I) OPEN vs. NEW files in LWPaint.
(I) COLOR PALETTE
(I) Basic tool set (PENCIL, LINE, BAR, BOX, CIRCLE, CUBE, AIRBRUSH, FAN, FILL).
(I) Introduce UNDO LAST, CLEARALL, ERASE.
(I) TEXT on graphic screen, select FONTS.
(M) Review WIRE FRAME/SOLIDS, 2D vs. 3D, COLOR SPREADS and LIGHT SOURCE in the LWPAint programs.
(I) Use MAGNIFY.
(I) MAKE FADE to create own COLOR SPREADS.
(I) Use FADE tool.
(I) Use SCALE tool.
(I) Use SCALE, FADE, MAKE FADE tools to model 3D.
(I) Quit WITHOUT SAVING.
(I) SAVE file and EXIT PAINT.
(M) Maintenance of 2nd grade publishing concepts with CPC.
(I) IMPORT .TXT files (get other saved work.)
(I) MARK text for changing FONTS.
(I) MOVE and DELETE a GRAPHIC.
(I) Introduce the concepts of COLUMNS, HEADER, GUTTERS.
Grade 4
(I) Use ICLAS to locate and load Windows/Ms Encarta and Bookshelf.
(I) Use BROWSE ARTICLE TITLE to locate specific articles in GROLIERS.
(I) Use the MULTI-MEDIA options in reference materials.
(M) Maintenance of Word Processing skills from Grades Two and Three.
(I) MARK TEXT for CUT and PASTE.
(M) HOME, CRTL-HOME, END, CTRL-END.
(M) INSERT and DELETE.
(M) Maintenance of Graphics skills (LWPaint)from Grade Three.
(M) MAKE FADE to create own COLOR SPREADS.
(M) Use FADE tool.
(M) Use SCALE tool.
(M) Use SCALE, FADE, MAKE FADE.
(I) Introduce COPY tool.
(I) Introduce SMOOTH tool.
(M) Maintenance of PUBLISHING skills (CPC)from Grade Three.
(I) Introduce concept of three publishing tools; MICROSOFT WORKS, EXPRESS PUBLISHER, and Windows PAINTBRUSH.
(I) Use ICLAS to locate and load EXPRESS PUBLISHER.
(I) Identify and use the TOOL BUTTONS.
(I) Identify and use the MENU BAR.
(I) Identify parts of the WORKSPACE (RULERS, MARGINS, SCROLL BARS, POINTERS, RE_WRAP BUTTON.)
(I) Use MOUSE in conduction with the TOOLS to place OBJECTS
by DRAGGING TOOL in the WORKSPACE.
(I) SELECT and DE-SELECT OBJECTS (active vs. inactive.)
(I) MOVE and RE-SIZE OBJECTS by DRAGGING the OBJECT and its HANDLES.
(I) DELETE OBJECTS.
(M) Review concepts of COLUMNS, GUTTERS, HEADERS (BANNERS), FONTS.
(I) Adding TEXT 'by hand' to objects.
(I) HIGHLIGHTING text by DRAGGING the I-BEAM (INSERTION POINT.)
(I) IMPORTING TEXT from MSW.
(I) Changing the ATTRIBUTES of HIGHLIGHTED text.
(I) IMPORTING GRAPHICS.
(I) RESIZING and MOVING GRAPHIC OBJECTS.
(I) Placing LINES and CIRCLE as OBJECTS in the WORKSPACE.
(I) SAVE and RETRIEVE Express Publisher files.
(M) Use ICLAS to locate and load LINKWAY.
(M) Use of LINKWAY MENUS.
(M) Use of LINKWAY DIALOG BOXES.
(I) OPEN vs. NEW files in LW MAIN FOLDERS.
(I) Introduce and Create new FOLDERS.
(I) Understand HIDDEN MENUS.
(I) Make NEW PAGES.
(I) Introduce LinkWay Objects: PICTURE and BUTTONS.
(I) Place OBJECTS on PAGE.
(I) Create TEXT POP-UPS.
(M) Use BROWSE ARTICLE TITLE to locate specific articles in Encarta.
(M) Use the MULTI-MEDIA options in Encarta.
(I) Use the WORD SEARCH option to cross reference and locate 'groups' of articles on a specific topic.
Grade 5
(M) Maintenance of Word Processing skills from previous grades.
(I) Introduce the THESAURUS in MSW.
(M) Maintenance of Graphics skills from previous grades.
(I) Use ICLAS to locate and load PCPAINTBRUSH (B&W or COLOR).
(I) Introduce WORKSPACE (TOOLS, PALETTE, SCROLL BARS, MENU BAR, THICKNESS TOOL).
(I) Introduce all tools in TOOL BOX.
(I) Introduce all DIALOG BOXES.
(I) Create and Edit and Know the difference between Black and White and Color graphics files.
(I) Use PaintBrush to prepare pictures for PUBLICATION in EXPRESS PUBLISHER.
(I) Be familiar with and able to operate VIDEO STILL CAMERAS.
(I) Be familiar with and able to operate the DIGITIZING SOFTWARE.
(I) Have experience with FLAT BED SCANNER.
(M) Maintenance of publishing skill from CPC (2nd and 3rd grade) and Express Publisher (4th grade.)
(I) Import text files into ACTIVE OBJECTS.
(I) LINK TEXT FRAMES for files that are bigger than ACTIVE FRAME
(M) WRAP TEXT around GRAPHIC OBJECT.
(M) Maintenance of LinkWay Concepts introduced in 4th grade.
(I) Edit current graphics from within an OPEN FOLDER
(M) Use the WORD SEARCH option to cross reference and locate groups' of articles on a specific topic.
(I) MARK text in an Encarta ARTICLE and send it to the printer and/or a file.
Appendix C
The following chart and description gives a picture of the state of technology currently in use at Prairie Hill School.
Computer Distribution
Current (as of January 2002)
| Area |
Number of Rooms |
486/586 |
Celeron - Networked |