Danville Area SD Educational Technology Plan Page 3 of 15
Needs Assessment
What developments in technology have emerged that you can take advantage of to improve education foryour school or community?
We have been moving towards the acquisition of more technology as we make the progression towards one-to-one computing, which we see as a definite need in our district for our students.We anticipate and look forward to changes in our instructional strategies and practices that will include methodssuch as providing a classroom that is focused on constructivism. Teachers will become facilitators of theclassroom, which will encourage students to be more actively engaged in their instruction and learning. Studentswho are more actively engaged in their learning will become more content focused and more responsible for whatis being taught. We also recognize that the 21
st
century student is much different today in the technology skillsthat they have acquired before coming to school. It is important that we allow students to use those skills andtools to be more efficient and more effective learners, rather than passive participants in the classroom. We alsobelieve that students need to work collaboratively across multiple areas of the curriculum in order to makeconnections in content. Danville supports that collaboration by encouraging students to work together to becomebetter problem solvers and more effective communicators.Having the technology in the classrooms of the core content areas enables teachers and students to worktogether as an electronic learning community with common goals. Student performance and learning will changedramatically as teachers move away from the front of the classroom and into the trenches of learning with thestudents. Students will be better motivated and will spend more time on task when the responsibility of instructionfalls back on them as an active participant in the classroom. Students will be more organized and better preparedwith the additional technology because they will have better tools to do so, and every student will be able tofunction at his or her own level of learning.
How do you identify potentially useful new technologies (e.g., attending conferences, readingpublications, and networking with peers)?
New technologies are identified by attending conferences, reading journals, and communicating with peers.Administrators and teachers at Danville Area School District have attended the Getting to One conference, theOne-to-One conference, the principal meeting regarding the Classrooms for the Future grant, and state andnational technology conferences. In addition, the director of technology participates in monthly meetings at theCSIU to keep abreast of state level technology changes.
What strengths and weaknesses, related to technology, have been identified by staff, students orparents?
Our staff believes that technology positively influences our school district. Some specific results are as follows:64% agree that student achievement increases through computer use75% agree that student achievement increases through the use of varied technologies82% see technology as an integral part of teaching79% of staff members want to learn more about technology73% agree that we have staff development that is specific to technology61% believe there are areas of the curriculum that could be further supported with technology46% believe that technology is seamlessly integrated into instruction56% believe we have adequate technology supportSeventy-six percent of students state that computers are readily available for students to use. However, 46.5%believe resources are available at all times of the day.
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