WI DPI: WI Educational Tech Plan PK-12 Introduction & Fulfillment of NCLB Requirements

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Wisconsin Educational Information & Technology Plan PK-12

Introduction & Fulfillment of NCLB Requirements

From the DPI publication Wisconsin Educational Information & Technology Plan PK-12. See publications catalog for ordering information.

Introduction

The Wisconsin Information and Technology Plan PK-12 is the result of research and planning by a broadbased task force consisting of Wisconsin education stakeholders. These stakeholders provided a depth and breadth of experiences from education and business to the task force. Their experiences, along with three major policy initiatives, shaped this plan. The first initiative is former State Superintendent Elizabeth Burmaster's New Wisconsin Promise. This promise points toward our shared commitment to ensure the opportunity of a quality education for every child by

• closing the achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students or children of color and their peers;
• establishing quality teachers and strong leadership in every school and classroom;
• improving student achievement with a focus on reading and a balanced literacy standard that has all students reading at grade level;
• investing in early learning opportunities through the four-year-old kindergarten, Preschool to Grade 5, and Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) class size reduction programs;
• providing shared responsibility by increasing parental and community involvement in our schools and libraries to address teenage literacy, dropouts, and truancy; and
• using Career and Technical Education as a comprehensive strategy to involve students in becoming active citizens by better understanding their role in the family, society, and the world of work.

The second major initiative is the implementation of the Wisconsin Quality Educator Initiative (PI 34) that will take effect on July 1, 2004. These new education program approval and licensing rules are restructuring teacher education, educator licenses, and professional development for Wisconsin educators. The new system is based on the Wisconsin Standards for Teacher Development and Licensure that specify the demonstrated knowledge, skills, and dispositions for teaching, pupil services, and administration. Two of the 10 teacher standards deal directly with the use of educational technology. Finally, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 represents President George W. Bush"s education reform plan and contains the most sweeping changes to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) since it was enacted in 1965. NCLB changes the federal government"s role in PK-12 education by asking America"s schools to describe their success in terms of what each student accomplishes. The act contains the President"s four basic education reform principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.

While a state plan is mandated by NCLB, the primary goal of this plan is to provide a roadmap for the state in planning for expanding the implementation of technology in Wisconsin schools. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the Educational Communications Board (ECB), the 12 regional cooperative educational service agencies (CESAs), institutions of higher education (IHEs) and the 426 school districts or local education agencies (LEAs) are all involved and linked in planning for technology in Wisconsin.

This plan is not about wire, cable, and computers; it is about students, teachers, and learning institutions. It is about how we can best meet the needs of students to create competent, adaptable users of technology tools and consumers of information and research. In order to provide our students with 21st Century skills, Wisconsin educators must continually increase their proficiency in using existing and emerging technology tools in the classroom. Our educational institutions must implement locally but view globally if they are to meet the needs of students today and in the future. Educational administrators must provide leadership in transforming schools into high-performance learning institutions. We will accomplish this only when classroom teachers, library media specialists, technology specialists, building and district leaders and higher education representatives continually collaborate to incorporate research and best practices into the educational process.

Wisconsin has been a leader in the use of educational technology since it first published the Wisconsin Guidelines for Instructional Computer Use in Education in 1983 (rev. 1985). This was followed by A Guide to Curriculum Planning in Computer Education (1987), a document used as a model by several other states. The Wisconsin Educational TechnologyPlan PK-12, published in 1996, became the benchmark for local districts developing districtwide plans and for district plan approval by the DPI. The Wisconsin Educational Technology Plan PK-12: 2000 Addendum (2001) provided an update and measured progress of the initial plan. While planning and guidance documents have assisted districts in dealing with issues surrounding information and technology, the impetus for a combined state-level information and technology plan was the publication of Wisconsin"s Model Academic Standards for Information & Technology Literacy in 1998 and Information & Technology Literacy: A Collaborative Planning Guide for Library Media and Technology in 2002. Both publications provided the foundation for this document.

It is appropriate that a district information and technology plan combines the planning necessary for a district"s technology and its library media program. Chapter six of this document includes a planning model for such a combined effort. Wisconsin schools have received financial support implementing technology through both state and national funding. Wisconsin"s Technology for Educational Achievement (TEACH) program has offered block grant dollars and subsidized telecommunications access to all districts in the state. In addition, many districts have taken advantage of infrastructure wiring loans (with 50 percent of the loan paid by the state) and technical training and assistance grants. National support has come from e-Rate and Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB), ESEA Title IID, Enhancing Education through Technology (Ed Tech) programs. The Instructional Media and Technology Team at the DPI Division for Libraries, Technology and Community Learning has provided ongoing leadership and support for school districts in planning for technology use and curricular integration and in applying for funding and grants. While a state technology plan is required by the federal government for local funding available (through NCLB, specifically Enhancing Education Through Technology-Title II, Part D, Subpart 1), Wisconsin school districts are required to have a long-range information (library media) and technology plan to qualify for telecommunications access subsidies, and E-Rate funding. A long-range information (library media) plan is also a state requirement under Section 121.01 (h) - Standard (h), one of the 20 Wisconsin Educational Standards.

The main goals for this plan are to strengthen teaching and learning using information and technology resources and for technology use to become seamless and institutionalized. In order for this to happen, PK-20 teamwork and collaboration must be ongoing. It is vital to involve of the community in general and increased efforts to include the parents in all aspects of the educational process.

The framework for this plan is the enGauge model, co-developed by the North Central Regional Laboratory (NCREL), North Central Technology in Education Consortium (NCR*tec), and the Metiri Group. EnGauge identifies six essential conditions for effectively using technology in learning: forward-thinking; shared vision; systems and leadership; digital-age equity; robust access anywhere, anytime; effective teaching and learning practices; and educator proficiency with effective teaching and learning practices. This technology plan focuses upon five of the six enGauge essential conditions as chapters of this document, while digital age equity is integrated throughout the plan. At this writing, more than 200 Wisconsin 426 school districts have conducted the enGauge online and onsite assessments, which provide a systemwide view of the district"s effectiveness in using technology for teaching and learning. The State of Wisconsin is grateful to NCREL/NCR*tec for their willingness to allow access to and use of their resources and materials as well as for their ongoing partnership with our state and local school districts.

 

Fulfillment of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Requirements for Wisconsin"s Technology Plan

The NCLB requires that each State submit a new or updated statewide long-range strategic educational technology plan that considers the educational technology needs of LEAs in the State. The following chart lists the fifteen requirements and where or how they are addressed by the Wisconsin plan.

State Technology Plan Requirements	Wisconsin Plan References to Requirements
Strategies for improving academic achievement - an outline of the State Education Agency (SEA"s) long-term strategies for improving student academic achievement, including technology literacy, through the effective use of technology in classrooms throughout the State, including through improving the capacity of teachers to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.	Appendix A: New Wisconsin Promise Recommendations 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.4 page 7 Recommendations 2.2.2, 2.3.2 page 8 and 9
Goals - a description of the SEA"s goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic achievement, aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.	Page 2 and each chapter 2 - 6 is based on the goals
Steps to increase accessibility - a description of the steps the SEA will take to ensure increased access to technology for all students and teachers, particularly those in high-need LEAs	All Chapter 4 - Indicators page 25 Recommendation 4.2.1 page 28
Accountability measures - a description of the process and accountability measures that the SEA will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under the program are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction.	Chapter 5 - Indicators 2 and 7 page 33 Recommendation 5.2.2 page 36 Recommendations 5.7.1, 5.7.2 page 42
Innovative delivery strategies - a description of how the SEA will encourage the development and use of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous courses and curricula through the use of technology, including distance learning technologies, particularly in locations that would not otherwise have access to such courses or curricula due to geographical distances or insufficient resources.	Recommendation 4.1.6 page 26 Recommendation 4.2.5 page 28
Non-supplant assurance - an assurance that financial resources provided under the Ed Tech program will supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds.	The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction assures the Enhancing Education through Technology Grant will be used to supplement, not supplant, state and local revenues.
Professional and curricular development - a description of how the plan incorporates teacher education, professional development, and curriculum development, and how the SEA will work to ensure that teachers and principals are technologically literate.	Chapter 3 Recommendation 2.4.1 page 10 Page 39 PI 34 page 66 WTS4 and WTS6
Technical assistance - a description of how the SEA will provide technical assistance to applicants seeking Ed Tech funds, especially to those applicants serving the highest numbers or percentages of children in poverty or with the greatest need for technical assistance; and a description of the SEA"s capacity to provide technical assistance.	The WI Department of Public Instruction Instructional Media Technology Team Provides technical assistance by providing: - Information resources through the department Web Page, Email distribution lists, and links to examples of best-practices and educational resources. - Personalized assistance through statewide and regional conferences, training sessions for developing district technology plans and grant writing, district visits and telephone and email help lines. - Consultant services to local school districts, regional agencies (CESAs) and collaboration with the RTECs
Technology resources and systems - a description of technology resources and systems that the State will provide for the purpose of establishing best practices that can be widely implemented by SEAs and LEAs.	Appendix B: Wisconsin"s Model Academic Standards for Information and Technology Literacy
Strategies for financing technology - a description of the State"s long-term strategies for financing technology to ensure that all students, teachers, and classrooms will have access to technology.	Recommendation 4.1.5- page 26 Connectivity pages 27-28
Strategies for parental involvement - a description of the State"s strategies for using technology to increase parental involvement.	Recommendation 2.1.2 - page 7 Community Connections - page 40 Recommendation 5.6.1 - page 41
Competitive grant description - a description of how the SEA will ensure that Ed Tech competitive grants are of sufficient size and duration, and that the projects funded by the grants are of sufficient scope and quality, to carry out the purposes of the program effectively.	Appendix L: Enhancing Education Through Technology (Title II, Part D) Ed Tech Competitive Grants
Integration of technology with curricula and instruction - a description of how the SEA will ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools, so that technology will be fully integrated into curricula and instruction by December 31, 2006.	Appendix B: Wisconsin"s Model Academic Standards for Information and Technology Literacy Chapter 3 Recommendations 3.2.3, 3.2.4, 3.2.5 - page 19
Incentives - a description of how LEAs in the State will provide incentives to teachers who are technologically literate and teaching in rural or urban areas to remain in those areas.	Wisconsin"s Quality Educator Initiative PI 34 requires a mentoring and peer review process during the initial licensing stage. This process supports and encourages the teacher in their current work environment.The Milwaukee Teacher Education Center (MTEC) offers a new form of teacher preparation, integrally related to the MPS curriculum reforms. The goals are to: 1) increase and retain the number and diversity of professional, committed teachers who can be successful in Milwaukee Public School settings, 2) implement the proposed reform agendas related to high standards and school to work approaches, and 3) provide an effective system for teachers" professional growth and development.
Support - a description of how public and private entities will participate in the implementation and support of the plan.	Introduction pages ix -xiii Recommendations 3.2.3, 3.2.4 page 19 Recommendations 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5 page 21

Posted April 22, 2004

For questions about this information, contact Stephen N. Sanders (608) 266-3856

Last updated on 7/14/2009 1:46:18 PM