Crosby ISD Technology Plan

Crosby ISD has an extensive extremely detailed technology plan.  The plan is reviewed every year and updated as needed.  The plan has four broad goals.  The first goal is “Infrastructure for Technology: Enhance the quality of instruction through district wide implementation of industry standard technology hardware and software as an integral part of the learning environment.” (Crosby, 2).  The second goal is “Crosby ISD will utilize technology as an integral part of instruction to improve student learning and achievement across the curriculum.” (Crosby, 5).  The third goal is “Educator Preparation: Crosby ISD will provide high quality, on-going staff development and support.” (Crosby, 8)  The fourth goal is “Administrative and Support Services.” (Crosby, 11) 

This last goal is about the role that the administration and support staff will have in making all the previous goals possible.  They have the responsibility of working on the budget, assessing STaR charts, evaluating the district’s progress, and building community support.  The bulk of these responsibilities are assigned to the director of information systems, instructional technology coordinator, and campus principals.

The strategies that are used to reach the goals seem to include every possible step that must be taken in order successfully reach the goals.  There are so many strategies that I feel I cannot adequately describe them in this forum.  I think that this is an extremely detailed plan that is well thought out and will leave no doubt about the progress the school is making.

The professional development opportunities include on-site training, on demand on-line training, distance learning, and training seminars at federal, state and local levels.  The director of information systems and the instructional technology coordinator share responsibilities of overseeing professional development.  The financial resources are available, but time resources are currently stretched to the limit.  The time issue can be worked out by either hiring more instructional technologists that are not also classroom teachers or by completing other areas of the technology plan, so the instructional technology coordinator is not as busy.

The telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services are continually monitored.  There is also an annual computer replacement schedule in place that replaces twenty percent of the computer inventory every year.  There is also a working plan that increases the number of computers by a small percentage each year, in order to reach the ideal student to computer ratio with expectations of growth. 

Currently a technology planning committee meets annually to review and update the technology plan. They evaluate using the STaR chart and informal surveys.  Regular meetings are planned to keep administrators informed of progress, but there is no plan in place to make mid-course corrections.

Crosby ISD has taken the time to develop a thorough technology plan.  The plan answers almost any question that could be asked.  The only improvements that I think the plan needs are a more clearly explained budget statement and a plan for quick changes as new developments arise.

Reference

Crosby ISD. (2011, September 19). Website:  http://www.crosbyisd.org/technology/e
plan/eplan2012-2014.pdf