Bow+Lake+Tech+Plan

=Goal 1: Staff members understand the instructional technology that is available for classroom and professional use and how to use it appropriately. They teach these skills to their students.=


 * Rationale:** Our school has been given a gargantuan upgrade.  It has the most recent technology to make learning and communicating match that of how others in the world are learning and communicating.  It is our responsibility to not only expose our students to these technologies, but to educate them in this technology-rich environment, so that they are able to continue learning and communicating with the needed skills to be successful in our ever-changing and modernizing world.  As teachers, whose job it is to prepare our students for this unknown future, we must be living in the present, not the past.

Teachers will be offered training in the following: • How to use the lap tops effectively in the classroom o Students will be trained on basic lap top care • How to use the additional features in Microsoft Outlook (not just email) • Airliners • Quizdom
 * How will we get there?**

=Goal 2: Bow Lake will be a place that fosters a culture of experimentation in new technologies. Teachers will be supported as they try on new technologies in a professional environment that nurtures new learning.=


 * Rationale:** So often teachers feel they can’t teach something unless they are the expert.  This is an archaic idea, especially in today’s world where new technologies arise every day.  No one can be the expert- it’s an unachievable expectation.  Instead, we must be flexible, adventurous, and creative.  We must be flexible when things go wrong, problem solving where needed.  We must also be willing to experiment with technologies for which we don’t have all the answers.  Because this is a quickly changing world in which we live, students need to see us adapt and be invited in to creatively tackle problems when they arise and explore new ways of doing things.  These attitudes are necessary for our students to adopt if they are to be in successful in their unknown future. They need to have these experiences so that they have the skills to continue their learning and communication after graduation.  And if this is something students need to understand, we need to understand it ourselves.

• Teachers are exposed to possibilities – o 15 minute tech tidbits at staff meetings, including useful websites, tech integration, projects, Web 2.0 applications. o Teachers share out new discoveries o Resources are made available, such as professional texts, websites from which to be inspired, blogs, articles, etc o Networking, sharing the experiences of others • Time is provided for teachers to explore and experiment • Coaching is provided in the classroom (Janell) • Training is provided to teachers on podcasting, wikis, class websites, software use, multi-media, • Equipment is available – recording equipment, video cameras, digital cameras, scanners, software, • Highline builds in a network of teachers trying these on – Bow Lake can’t do this on its own • Campus Moodle? • Recognition – newsletters, assemblies, school website
 * How will we get there?**

=Goal 3: Technology use at Bow Lake is thoughtfully integrated and used purposefully to enhance student learning of GLE’s and achieve the goals set forth in our mission statement:=

===//Our Bow Lake school community is a collaborative, diverse school where students and staff create a passion for learning through the integration of literature, the arts, social studies, science, health, and mathematics. We nurture wonder, respect, creativity, good manners, and life-long learning. High academic expectations and compassion are encouraged as our students prepare for their responsibilities as world citizens//.===

It sets a bad precedent to be using technology just for the sake of using technology. Technology should be used for learning content, communicating to others about our learning, and for collaborating with others to enhance our learning. We want to avoid and discourage “PowerPointlessness”, which is the misuse of technologies, whereby students and teachers prioritize bells and whistles over content learning and communication. We need to keep the use of technology in perspective; weighing it’s role in achieving the overall learning goals.
 * Rationale:**

• Professional development o Book studies o Conferences o Coaching o Networking (connecting with other educators who have tackled this) o Demonstrations – modeling o Time (LID days, DID days, waiver /early release days, etc.)
 * How will we get there?**

=Goal 4: Teach our students informational literacy.=


 * Rationale:** We teach our students how to read books, both fiction and nonfiction.  We want them to be able to read the newspaper, magazines, graphs and charts, so that they can access information about the world.  Today is a different time.  No longer are we only accessing information through these genres.  Now we get information from websites, online journals, blogs, wikis, video, podcasts, etc.  Students need the same skills for accessing information and interpreting it.  But, now the genres have expanded.  They need to be able to discern the information from disreputable sources and that from sounder sources.  An informational literate person recognizes the motivations and biases of the source and can think through it carefully.

Lots of support: • Professional development o Book studies o Conferences o Coaching o Networking (connecting with other educators who have tackled this) o Demonstrations – modeling o Time (LID days, DID days, waiver /early release days, etc.)
 * How will we know we are there?**