A quick look at NCISD's Technology Plan

As a teacher in New Caney ISD, I would like to know how and where we stand when it comes to technology within the school district. Before entering into my master’s degree program, I had a very minimalistic degree of information about how our school district looked at technology. I considered myself pretty advanced with the use of technology in the classroom, but boy was I wrong.

New Caney ISD has their technology plan uploaded to their website so that anyone can view it (http://www2.newcaneyisd.org/tech/pdf/Technology%20Plan.pdf). It has been in force since 2004 and incorporates a budget that has been set aside for each strategy and goal.

Some of NCISD’s goals include:

·         developing an aggressive professional development plan  to include four targets: community, certification, professional educator development, and resources

·          improving academic achievement by maximizing students and teachers’ exposure to technology and effective teaching practices including video web conferencing

·         To ensure that all students and teachers have increased access to technology

·         To provide supporting resources, such as services, software, other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources, that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.

I was amazed to see that NCISD has set aside nearly 1.5 million dollars to implement the technology plan. The bulk of the funds, an estimated $440,000 have been utilized to ensure all students and teachers have access to technology. We are not a large district. I can only imagine the monetary amounts that much larger districts have to set aside to fund their plans.

Our Assistant Superintendant of Curriculum and the Director of Technology are the primary executors of plan. Some of the goals (i.e. incorporating technology into the scope and sequence of curriculum and instruction) are enforced at the school level through the curriculum specialists and principals. It is eventually up to school teachers to use the technology that is provided in their classrooms.

The aggressive professional development plan had a timeline that spanned from 2004-2007 with some strategies that are ongoing. I believe that the ultimate responsibility lies in the principals’ hands. They must make time during staff developments to allow teacher’s access to instruction on tools and technology. That can make it difficult to implement due to the many other professional developments that must also be met (i.e. TAKs training, TELPAs training, GT, etc…).

From what I have read of the technology plan, the Director of Technology has been continuously going over surveys, data, and other results to see whether or not the strategies put in place are working. I am only entering into my second year with NCISD, and I am not fully aware of all of the staff development opportunities that are out there. I can tell from my first year’s experience that NCISD is a district that is willing to go above and beyond to provide ample opportunity for the accomplishment of both its students and teachers. They do not do this just to maintain a discount for technology; they do this for the future of our society.