School
Board of Alachua
County
District
Technology Plan
2001 - 2006
UPDATE
FOR 2006 - 2009
Table of Contents
Pre Pages........................................................................................................................................ 2
1. Mission Statement......................................................................................................................
4
2. General
Introduction/Background...............................................................................................
4
3. Needs
Assessment/Goals.........................................................................................................
11
4. Funding Plan............................................................................................................................
13
5. Technology
Acquisition Plan.....................................................................................................
14
6. Access.....................................................................................................................................
18
7. User Support Plan....................................................................................................................
20
8. Staff Training
Plan....................................................................................................................
22
9. Program Evaluation..................................................................................................................
23
Appendices...............................................................................................................................
24
SBAC Network configuration
People who assisted in the preparation of this Plan
District Acceptable Use Policy and Code
of Student Conduct (computer section)
Sample Technology Learning Center flyer
1. MISSION AND VISION
1.1
Promote the effective use of telecommunications and information technology to
implement the Sunshine State Standards to improve performance of all
students.
MISSION
“We are
committed to the success of every student”
2. GENERAL INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND
2.1
District Profile-Provide relevant social, economic, geographic and demographic
factors influencing the district implementation of technology.
2.2
Planning Process-Provide a
description of technology plan development process to include but not be
limited to:
·
Development of partnerships
with community, business and industry, and
·
Integration of technology in
all areas of the curriculum, ESOL and Special Needs including students with
disabilities.
2.3
Collaboration with existing
adult literacy service providers to maximize the use of such technologies and
project resources.
District Profile
Outstanding academic achievement and innovative, high
quality educational programs are the hallmarks of the Alachua
County school system, one of the
premier public school districts in Florida.
Students in Alachua
County consistently outperform
their peers throughout the state and the nation. On the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test (FCAT) Norm Referenced Test, which compares the achievement of
students across the U.S.,
local scores meet or exceed state and national norms in both reading and math. Alachua
County high school students earn
higher SAT and ACT scores. They also earn higher scores on the rigorous Advanced
Placement exams, which means many of our students are
earning college credits while still in high school.
Alachua County
students earn many state and national honors in academics, arts and athletics,
as do local schools. In 2005 Newsweek
Magazine ranked three local high schools among the top 1½ % of high schools
in the nation.
Alachua County students benefit from a wide variety of educational
programs. Enrichment and magnet programs are available at the elementary and
middle school levels for gifted and talented students. High-achieving high
school students can choose from among several accelerated academic programs,
including dual enrollment, Advanced Placement and honors courses and the
prestigious International Baccalaureate program. High-school magnet programs
offer students real-world experience in fields such as health, business,
culinary arts, technology and criminal justice.
Outstanding teachers and a supportive community are keys to
the success of Alachua County’s
schools and students. Fifty-five percent of the district’s instructional staff
members hold advanced degrees, and the average Alachua
County teacher has 15 years of
classroom experience. Both figures well are well above state averages.
Ninety-six local teachers have also earned prestigious national certification,
the profession’s highest credential. Across the district, 16,800 volunteers
contributed 674,000 hours of service to students, teachers and staff last year,
and more than 300 local businesses provided support and resources valued at
more than $1.7 million to Alachua County
schools.
For six straight years, the Alachua
County school system has earned the
‘What Parents Want’ award from SchoolMatch, the nation’s largest school selection
consulting firm. The award places the district among just 15% of districts
nationwide that meet parent-established criteria in such categories as
student-teacher ratio and academic achievement.
For more information, please contact the Public Information
Office at (352) 955-7253 ext 228 or visit the district’s Web site at www2.sbac.edu
28,000 Students
·
43 Schools & Centers with over 8000 computers and 100 local area
networks,
·
All Schools & Centers are connected to the Internet
·
23 Elementary Schools
·
7 Middle Schools
·
7 High Schools
·
2 Special Ed Centers
·
1 Alternative School
All High schools are accredited by the Southern Association of
Colleges & Schools.
Educational Opportunities
·
Enrichment Programs
·
Magnet Programs
·
International Baccalaureate
·
Pre-International Baccalaureate
·
Advanced Placement and Honors
·
Early College Admissions
·
Academic Dual Enrollment
·
Vocational/Technical & Fine Arts Dual Enrollment
·
Tech Prep programs
Community Involvement
·
16,800 volunteers, 674,000 Hours
·
525 Adopt-A-School Business Partnerships
·
3500 College Student Volunteers
DISTRICT COMPUTER NETWORKING
The Administrative and Instructional Technology Department has implemented a
district wide networking plan. (See Appendix A for current
configuration). Each school and administrative site has been
equipped with a local area network that connects all areas within the site to
the Internet. Currently, school sites have over 8000 computers in
computer laboratories, general areas, classrooms and administrative areas
connected to the network. This backbone network allows shared devices
such as printers, file servers and CD-ROM servers to be more efficiently
used. It also allows any computer running communications software to
connect to services and resources outside of that site by routing to the
Kirby-smith center and through other routers to FIRN (Florida Information
Resource Network) and through FIRN to the Internet. These educational and
information resources are a valuable tool for students and staff.
The School Board
operates a county-wide metropolitan area network of T1 point-to-point and 10MBPS digital
circuits connecting local-area networks (LANs) in all school sites and
administrative locations to the district central office. This district, on November 1, 1991, became one of the first in the nation to have
district-wide Internet connectivity for all schools, through an agreement with
the Southern University Research Association Networking Project (SURAnet).
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
SYSTEMS
For
automation in district administration, the Information Resources department was
created in 1982 to replace the contracted information services at the Alachua County Regional Information Center. Transition to district-operated equipment,
software, and communications was made July 1st, 1983. Since then the mainframe hardware systems have
been upgraded and expanded regularly to handle an increased need for
information processing capabilities. The current system is an IBM X-235 running
FLEX’s with more than 340 GB (billion bytes) of
RAID-5 disk storage, 8 cartridge tape units, four 3490 tape units and two Xerox
DP-75 high-speed laser printers. The IBM system currently supports a
comprehensive district wide student information system, research and planning
and a facilities/transportation system. In 2005, two DELL/SUSE servers were added to
upgrade our e-mail system.
One key
aspect of Information Resources department staffing is the assignment of
application programming teams to directly support each major functional
administrative area, i.e. student support/curriculum, business services, human resources, and facilities. This
model has proven quite successful in insuring that district information processing needs are being
addressed in a manner that satisfactorily meets the requirements of the various
divisions.
The
Information Resources Department maintains the District's World Wide Web site
at http://www2.sbac.edu. This site provides a vast amount of
information
about the school district and its many programs. It is available over the
Internet to the general public as well as each school. Each school and
department has a page linked to the District page where specific information
can be posted. The posting and updating of the information is a
responsibility of the individual school or department.
SCHOOL COMPUTER USE
Schools
currently use computers for instruction in three general areas: technology
literacy, curriculum support, and communication. All schools have
technology/computer committees that provide direction for the application of
technology in the instructional process and the purchase of
hardware/software. Each school committee selects and purchases its own
computer software according to District Standards and curriculum objectives and
needs. The District sets general direction and provides oversight to
assure the quality and compatibility of the instructional materials. New
schools are equipped with one or more computer labs containing the most
up-to-date computers, printers and networking equipment available at the time
of purchase.
All schools use computers to access Accelerated
Reader, Star Reading, Star Math.
All Secondary Schools use Read 180 to remediate
students who fall into lexiles 1 & 2 in their
reading ability. All Secondary Schools
are required to test their lexile 1 & 2 students
3 times a year using SRI testing software located on a District Server. The data from the testing can be accessed on
the Districts “Student Performance Monitor” Portal.
CONFIGURATIONS COMMON TO ALL LOCATIONS
Because
different teaching strategies require specific technology application,
individual schools have chosen to purchase various combinations of the
following devices:
Teacher Presentation Stations - teachers use stand-alone and network-attached
computers with LCD projectors to display lessons and demonstrations for the
whole class to view.
Teacher
Material Production Stations - using computers, laser printers and desktop publishing
software, teachers produce commercial quality materials for their
classes. In many ways these materials are more effective because they are
tailored to the specific lesson plans used by the teacher. In many media
centers a teacher production center has be established that contains the
computers, printers and software that can be shared by all the teachers in the
school.
Internal
Accounts Workstations - all schools have a
Dell P 4 work station with the primary purpose of running the Internal Accounts
Management software. These workstations also have access to the district
network as well as word processing and spreadsheet programs.
General
Administrative Workstations - a variety of
computers with Web Browsers and Terminal Services software are installed in all
locations for access to mainframe applications and Application Service
Providers.
HEADSTART
The Headstart program uses computers and color printers with
preschool skill development software to provide young students with early
learning skill orientation and practice. Students gain valuable computer
operational skills as they learn math and language arts.
TITLE 1
The
Title 1 program uses the Josten Learning System and
Compass Learning software on networked computers at elementary school sites
throughout the district. This sophisticated integrated learning system
assesses the student and provides computer administered lessons in math,
reading and writing based upon the students current working level. As
students demonstrate mastery of the skills they are progressed to more
challenging lessons. If they have difficulty, the computer administers
remedial lessons until the skills are mastered. The system provides
reports that can be used by the regular classroom teacher to be able to monitor
student progress.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PLUS (IMS+)
Teachers
at all elementary schools inform the Curriculum Resource Teacher
(CRT) when students are ready to take an end of the book mastery test for the
basal reading series. The CRT administers the mastery test and feeds the
scoring information into the IMS+ computer management program. The
teacher also has the option to administer unit tests in the classroom and
submit to the CRT for scanning. Reports are generated and given to the
teacher who uses the data to make decisions about the student's reading
progress. School administrators, teachers and district staff use the data
provided by the IMS+ system to make informed decisions about teaching
strategies, validity of curriculum, feedback to parents
and to meet more closely a child's individual needs. Data is aggregated
at the District level to provide summary reporting information.
INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA
The
Horizon Library Management System is a district wide program that uses
computers in each school's media center to input and access information on a
centrally located server. This IBM AIX server contains a union catalog
database of over 750,000 library books. Each media center has a
computer running a circulation application to check books in and out using
barcodes located on each book, AV material, and
equipment. Each year a physical inventory is conducted by scanning
the bar coded items. Other computers throughout
the school access the Library Catalog by using a Web Browser over the Internet. Materials may be searched by title, author or
subject. Access is also available
on-line to additional resources and catalogue materials.
In the
media center and other areas in the school, online ASP’s (Application Service
Providers) are being used to teach the research process by allowing thousands
of pages of indexes, encyclopedias, and dictionaries to be searched for
information in a very short period of time. Students gain invaluable
experience with today's research skills. The State Department of
Education is coordinating the development of SunLink,
a union catalog of the total holding of all school media centers in the
state. They host a website with the cataloging information on all the
school media centers that have been completed. This will allow every
school to know what is available in every other school and will facilitate
interlibrary loan where allowed by the district.
Many
high school and middle school media centers house small computer labs that
provide for: Independent Student Use, Teacher Production of Materials,
and Internet Research. The use of computers connected to the Internet
provides access to resources that several years ago were available only at
University Graduate Research Libraries.
Online services
being used:
E-books – full text
reference materials
Gale – online index of periodicals
Cover Page and Reviews – searching
for a book provides cover page, title page and reviews.
VOCATIONAL/TECHNOLOGY & CAREER EDUCATION
The
Vocational Education program is one of the heaviest users of technology in this
school district. Uses range from teaching office practices to computer
assisted drafting. In order for students to learn skills that can be
translated into jobs they must be trained on the same type of equipment that is
being used in business and industry within the community. We are in a
period of rapid technological growth which makes it difficult to keep up with
the new devices and software being used in local business and industry.
Industrial Arts Education has changed to Technology Education and encompasses
such topics as Robotics and Computer Integrated Manufacturing. Middle and
High Schools have a Technology Laboratory for use by their vocational
classes. These laboratories provide specialized equipment and materials
need for learning current and future job skills.
The
district developed and maintains a Mobile Technology Laboratory housed in a 12'
x 65' highway trailer. This unit is moved from school to school to
demonstrate the latest in computer and display technology. It is used as
a portable classroom with 12 networked multimedia computer stations where
students can sharpen their high tech communication skills. These computer
stations are connected to the Internet so that students and teachers can learn to
use the information superhighway.
OTHER AREAS OF TECHNOLOGY
CLOSED CIRCUIT TELEVISION
All of
our schools have full Closed Circuit Television systems. Under the
District criteria all new and/or remodeled schools are automatically wired for
Closed Circuit Television systems.
There
are currently 4 community cable television companies serving Alachua County and the School System. The largest of these is
Cox Cable which serves the Gainesville
metropolitan area. The Cox franchise provides a free cable hookup for
each school in its service area. Cox's franchise also requires them to
provide a local access channel (cable channel 12) and an educational access
channel (cable channel 6). The educational access channel is jointly
available to the University of Florida, Santa
Fe Community College, the School Board of Alachua County, and the Regional
Library System. The major share of programming on the educational access
channel is provided by the UF's channel 10BR, which
carries many educational programs for which the university has rights to
rebroadcast. The other cable companies provide free hookup and
programming for the schools in their service areas but don't currently provide
an educational access channel.
VIDEO PRODUCTION
Video Production Classes -- Schools where students have shown a high interest have
equipped TV production studios that are used by students to learn professional
television production skills. Included in many of these studio control
rooms and also in middle school technology labs are computer controlled video
editing stations. These stations allow video scenes from different tapes
and live video from a camcorder to be assembled with titles and transitional
effects such as fades/dissolves to produce finished professional looking tapes.
The
Administrative & Instructional Technology Production Department provides
support for schools teaching television production courses. It also
provides purchase advice on video and audio editing and production
equipment. The Production Department and the Instructional Equipment
Repair Department are responsible for maintaining all production equipment.
DISTANCE LEARNING
This
concept makes it possible for instructors in one location to teach classes in
another or several other locations. Many people think of instructional
television as the only delivery system for distance learning but, with Internet
access, computers can also be used. Another technology is
Video-Teleconferencing over either leased lines (such as ISDN) or the
Internet.
The District currently
uses the C.R.O.P. (Credit Retrieval Outreach Program) approach through the
Internet. This program provides high
school students with an alternative way to make up course work,
demonstrate mastery and receive credit for courses needed for graduation. This program is also used at the Regional Detention Center to provide temporarily incarcerated students with a
meaningful educational experience. NOVEL™ is a comprehensive middle and high school curriculum consisting of
31 subjects that meet the learning standards for all 50 States. This curriculum
was developed by Home Study International a recognized leader in providing high
quality competency based curriculum. STARS™ Student Testing, Assessment, and Remediation System,
is an online Internet-based system that provides unique curriculum delivery
capabilities including automated assessment, individualized prescriptive
remediation, and comprehensive reporting.
Many of
our students take courses through the “Florida Virtual High
School".
The School Board of Alachua County cooperated with Orange County Public Schools
to develop this exciting resource that allows students to access High School
courses from home and other locations throughout the state using a computer
Internet Access. In the near future, students can complete the full
requirements of a High School diploma without physically entering a school
building. This type of school will serve home bound, home schoolers, incarcerated, and traditional students.
TELEPHONE AND CELLULAR PHONE SYSTEMS
All
schools currently have a basic level of telephone service provided by the
district. High schools and Middle schools have voice communications
service technology using Nortel switches. Most elementary schools also
have newer Nortel systems. The district will request E-rate funds in schools
that qualify, to upgrade the wire infrastructure and retrofit other sites as
monies become available. The district will upgrade to VOIP (Voice over IP) at
those sites that have the oldest phone systems. To better utilize our human resources and
better serve our students, we are planning and implementing a district standard
wire design for Voice/Data/Video/Security. We will move to a fiber and cat5E
district standard.
As part
of the district commitment to parent notification, the Voice communication
department will continue and expand the use of the district Phone Home system.
The system will allow the district to contact parents by phone to report
absentees and other timely information as well as allow parents and students to phone in for information on
class assignments. Cell phones are
provided at schools for field trips, children safety, disasters, and
emergencies.
PARTNERSHIPS
The
following community, business, and industry partners collaborate with our
district to maximize the use of technology.
They are, Alltel Wireless, Cox Communications, Gainesville Regional
Utilities, Florida Credit Union, University of Florida, Santa
Fe Community College, Exactech, Regeneration
Technologies, Florida Farm Bureau, and Progress Energy. The reported cash and in kind gifts reported
from the contributions of our community business partners for the 2004-2005
school year were $1.6 million.
Additionally,
the district has created partnerships with vendors of software and hardware to
support technology. They include Cisco,
Dell, 3Com, Riverdeep,
Microsoft, Software House International, Apple and GRUCOM.
The
adult literacy program is based out of Loften High
School. This program provides teachers and services
for the Alachua County Detention Center, Division of Blind Services, Exceptional Industries
(ARC), and the Fearnside Family Service Center. This program
works in conjunction with the Santa Fe Baptist Literacy Fellowship, The
Volunteer Center, which connects tutors with literacy candidates, and the Gainsville Sun, which sponsors literacy events and outreach
programs. Additionally, this program
provides five different sites for ESOL on the University of Florida campus.
3. NEEDS
ASSESSMENT/GOALS
3.1 A
description of the information-based processes used for determining district
instructional and administrative telecommunications and technology needs.
3.2 Identification
of telecommunications services and technology infrastructure, equipment,
assistive technology, programming (educational materials, software, media,
etc.), replacement, training and support needs.
3.3 District
Technology Goals:
·
Short-term
goals listed in priority order.
·
Long-term
goals listed in priority order.
THE
PLANNING PROCESS
This edition of the
"District Technology Plan" represents the latest revision of an
ongoing process that started in May of 1990.
Since that time groups and individuals have periodically given input
into updates for the plan. This plan is
a dynamic road map that plots the course the District must follow in order to
provide teachers and students with the tools necessary to function in the 21st
century. It also represents community
input and partnerships that are so vital to a successful educational
enterprise. (see Appendix B for a list of contributors)
Each year as part of the Florida Department of
Education Categorical funding process and other technology initiatives, the
School Board of Alachua County requires all of its schools to develop
technology plans. The technology
committee at each school site surveys the faculty to determine: objectives, technology needs, infrastructure
needs, and inservice needs. Once the needs are established then the
committee helps to prioritize the objectives, allocate funds and other
resources, set timelines for completion, and set standards for evaluation of
objectives.
Another element of the planning
process is the Florida School Technology and Readiness Survey (STaR Chart) which all Alachua County
schools are required to complete. The
results can be viewed at http://www.starsurvey.net/ login: 01, pw: sanderling. The goal of the survey is to provide
information to the school site for their technology planning. It also gives pertinent information to
compare technology development within the district to the state. Historically, the survey focused on the
amount of hardware and the type of infrastructure that a district was
developing. Now the focus of the survey
is on integration of technology into the classroom. The state sees the use of technology in the
classroom as a major strategy in the learning process.
There are five major areas of technology reporting: Technology Administration and Support;
Technology Capacity; Educator Competency and Professional Development; Learners
and Learning; and Accountability. The
survey has been assessed using rubric scoring based on a scale from 1 to 4,
four being the highest. In general, the
district has been slightly below the state average except in the area of
community involvement.
The district’s Staff Development
office conducts a needs assessment each year that addresses teacher’s needs for
training in specific areas that contribute to the effectiveness in the
classroom. This survey is used to
structure technology training opportunities through out the year.
The District doesn’t have a current strategic plan
but the former plan provides the structure for our technology goals. Only the strategies that were to be addressed
through the use of technology are included in the following:
School Board of Alachua County Strategic Plan
Strategy
1 – We will ensure conditions which provide optimal learning for every student.
6. Provide teachers, staff, and
students with the technology, supplies, and equipment needed
for quality instruction to all students.
