Obion County Schools

System Technology Plan

2004-2007

Obion County Schools Mission Statement

The mission of the Obion County School System is to provide a safe learning environment that fosters academic success, promotes good character, and contributes to the community by preparing its students to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

Obion County Schools Technology Mission Statement

The technology mission of the Obion County School System is to incorporate technology as a learning and teaching tool for the enhancement of education and the preparation of our students for a technology based society.

Technology Stakeholders

The following stakeholders have been identified to provide awareness of technology needs and advancements involving our school system as prescribed by school improvement planning as well as overall technology integration. This team is comprised of various system level staff, school board members, and parents.

Lonnie Grady, Director of Schools, Obion County Schools

Roger Williams, Chairman, Obion County Board of Education

Sheila Stone, Assistant Principal, Black Oak Elementary

Sherry Griffin, Teacher, Hillcrest Elementary

Peggy Kendall, Computer Lab Instructor, Ridgemont Elementary

Sandra Bagwell, Library Assistant, Obion County Public Library

Candy Moore, parent of Obion Central High School student

Nancy Hall, Keyboarding Instructor, South Fulton High School

Elise Braswell, member of the community, South Fulton Elementary

Barry Kendall, Computer Lab Instructor, Obion Central High School

Adam Stephens, Technology Trainer, Obion County Schools

Ray Stevenson, Goodyear and Workforce Development Area 12 co-chair

Michael Poore, K-6 Supervisor of Instruction, Obion County Schools

Tom Morris, Supervisor of Federal Projects, Obion County Schools

Mary Lynn Dodson, Supervisor of Special Education, Obion County Schools

Tina Harrison, Librarian, Obion Count Central High School

Sharon Connell, Supervisor of Adult Basic Education, Obion County Schools

Jason Kendall, Assistant Technology Coordinator, Obion County Schools

Darbin Ousley, Technology Coordinator, Obion County Schools

Technology Goals and Strategies

The Obion County School System outlines the following goals and strategies to provide its teachers and all students (special consideration will be made for students who have poorer access because of race, gender, disability, economics status, or special needs) within our care equitable opportunities to use a wide variety of technology associated resources for the enhancement of learning in alignment with the state academic standards.

These goals and strategies include the purchase of additional computer workstations and software for increased student accessibility as well as the innovative approach of using on-line resources which provide technology tutorials, educational links, and teaching tools. Also incorporated into the goals and strategies, Ed Tech funds will be utilized to help provide for a system wide Technology Trainer who will provide training and tutorials as mentioned below. (For a description of funding distribution please see the Technology Budget section on pages 4and 5)

1) Develop a technology infrastructure that allows us to install, maintain, and support the school system’s technology in place to enhance learning.

• Make use of technical staff already in place at the district level to provide a highly trained technical staff capable of quickly and efficiently solving technical problems. These positions support network/file server issues, hardware repair, internet node maintenance, software installation and support. The technology staff currently performs all installs, repairs, networking, etc., pertaining to computer equipment, allowing fast response and correction to all problems.
• Careful selection and standardization of hardware, including file servers, computers, video equipment, and printers.
• Maintain common system software versions, and upgrade all computers in the district when moving to a new version of the district standard software package.
• Train and support at least one building level technology assistant to help in the general operation of technology at each school site.
• Offer training in basic troubleshooting of common hardware and software problems.
• Implement a web based work order process by which teachers and staff can easily report technology related troubleshooting and repair requests.

2) Incorporate the technology tools needed to effectively support classroom instruction.

• Continue to install additional quality multimedia workstations, as set forth by the system hardware standards, to allow students and teachers equitable access to technology in his/her school building.
• Maintain and upgrade stand alone and networked software programs being utilized at each school.
• Provide productivity software (for example: Microsoft Office) to help teachers and students include technology into everyday classroom operation.
• Purchase web based software that provides internet links to subject material including teacher lesson plans correlating to that material.
• Have projection equipment, media players, and other devices required to create and view classroom presentations available at each school.
• Maintain and upgrade all aspects of the school network to ensure proper utilization of the technology resources at each school site.
• The system wide Technology Trainer will target federal projects and special education teachers for technology training. This will ensure that these teachers have the best technology background possible which in turn will benefit the students in their programs.

3) Integrate technology into the curriculum providing students an increased opportunity   for academic achievement.

• Continue using the following software products to support classroom instruction: Accelerated Reading, Accelerated Math, and other Renaissance Learning Products, SuccessMaker, Lightspan, and Reading Counts.
• Continue to incorporate computer skills based courses.
• Purchase the netTrekker educational search engine which allows students easy access to educational subject matter on the internet as well as teacher lesson plans.
• Take advantage of online reference databases such as TEL and the school system web page link to the Obion County Library resources.
• Upgrade software versions and continue network access to the Follett software program being used in the media centers.
• Continue the use of the Curriculum Mapping software.
• Use online resources available for currently used textbooks.

4) Provide the continued advancement in technology training needed to insure teacher literacy and effectiveness in teaching through the curriculum.

• A system wide technology trainer will be available to conduct technology training sessions. This will be accomplished in group and individual settings with varying degrees of instruction in order to cover all levels of experience. In specific, federal projects and special education teachers will be given priority to attend these sessions to ensure success in their programs.
• Encourage/allow teachers and staff to attend local, regional, state, and if possible, national conferences to further their understanding of the use of technology.
• Provide on-line tutorials on the school system web site that will offer training and support for the common software applications and hardware in use in our system
• Selected teachers will be involved in the Intel Corporation training program when available. As a result, the participating teachers can share their information and skills acquired with their colleagues.
• Purchase and train the teaching staff to use the innovative Atomic Learning on-line tutorials and the netTrekker educational search engine which will help prepare them to teach the curriculum using technology.

Telecommunications Assessment

All school facility classrooms and support offices are wired/equipped with Category 5, 100 Mbps switched backbone, Ethernet networks. Multiple servers exist at the building level to handle application/file sharing, and DHCP service. Adequate ports and workstations are available in each facility for network and internet connection. As workstations are added, additional Ethernet connections will be configured into the existing network architecture at each location.

The Obion County School System operates with a minimum T-1 bandwidth for each school facility. Based on the student/computer ratio some locations have additional T-1 circuits and/or snap servers in place to handle increased bandwidth needs. As bandwidth requirements increase, additional bandwidth will be established to meet the minimum demand at each school facility.

Professional Development

We believe that the key element to successfully accomplish this technology plan is to mold a well trained teaching staff that understands how to use the technology tools they have available to them and how that technology relates to the learning environment they have created in their classrooms. We have ongoing multi-session technology in-services as well as a system wide technology trainer who provides technology training on a daily basis. This training is conducted in small group as well as individual settings. This makes it easy for staff members, regardless of their current proficiency, to quickly and easily identify workshops that are most appropriate for them or even obtain a quick skill to help them with everyday tasks. Also, we have a set of on-line training tutorials located on our web server for basic productivity software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. In addition to the above literacy methods, staff members are encouraged to attend various state and local technology meetings, conferences, and training sessions. As these multi-session workshops are completed our teachers will not only learn how to use various programs but how they can effectively incorporate them into the curriculum.

Technology Budget

Technology is greatly supported and encouraged by the Obion County School System.

This budget reflects the funds needed to support current technology investments, enhance school improvement plans, obtain new technology, and correlate with the federal related projects in progress in our system. All school system departments will work in unison to effectively utilize funding and obtain the technology goals set forth by the system.

The system participates in the SLD E-Rate program which provides some of the funding for the technology budget. Other programs and grants that the system qualifies for are sought out as well. Also, the Ed Tech funds received are used to help provide for the county Technology Trainer and are not reflected in the budget below. These sources combined with the local funding largely make up the total technology budget. Therefore, each year’s technology budget is dependent upon the funding available for that particular year.

School Year 2004-2005

(Future year’s funding is pending and final amounts/costs are approximate)

Projected Total budget: $142,537.20

Each of the subsequent two years of our plan are projected to incur the same expenses.  If budgets change, we will submit a revised budget to the state for replacement in their files.

Hardware

AMD Athlon XP+ Computers / 78 @ $831 = $64,818 / Local Funds, E-Rate

LCD Projectors / 7 @ $999 = $6,993 / Local Funds, E-Rate

File Server Purchases = $6,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Computer parts for repairs = $15,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Hubs/Switches/Networking Supplies/Misc. Equipment = $7,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Software
Microsoft Office XP Standard / 78 @ $46 = $3,588 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Symantec Norton Anti-Virus v.9.0 / 78 @ $13.69 = $1,067.82 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Symantec Ghost / 78 @ $7.96 = $620.88 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Renaissance Learning Renaissance Place software = $13,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Misc. Software = $4,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Services

netTrekker internet software / 4000 @ $0.70 = $2,800.00 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Training for netTrekker internet software / 2 @ $250 = $500.00 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Atomic Learning internet software / 1210 @ $0.95= $1,149.50 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Internet bandwidth increases = $16,000 / Local Funds, E-Rate

Equipment Standards

The following hardware specifications pertain to all classroom and media center workstations. This minimum configuration will allow optimal performance based on our current network structure and software requirements. The specifications are subject to change as the industry standards and architecture change.

Desktop Workstation:

AMD Athlon XP 2600+, Computer System w/ (or equivalent)

Enlight EN-72500AZ Mid Tower Case, w/ front usb ports, 300w PS (or equivalent)

Asus A7v8x-x Motherboard w/ onboard LAN & audio (or equivalent)

512Mb, DDR333/PC2700 RAM

Western Digital WD800JB, 80Gb,ATA-100,7200rpm,8Mb Buffer, Hard Drive (or equivalent)

ATI Radeon 9200, 128Mb DDR, AGP Video Card w/ TV out (or equivalent)

Lite-On CDRW/DVD 48x24x48+16x Combo Model # 48161H (or equivalent)

Mitsumi, 3.5”, 1.44Mb Floppy Drive (or equivalent)

AOC-7F, 17”, .25mm dpi Flat Monitor (or equivalent)

Microsoft Internet Keyboard and Mouse (or equivalent)

Microsoft Office XP Standard and/or Professional

Norton Anti-Virus 8.1 Corp.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

3 Year Warranty

Notebook:

Dell Latitude D600 Notebook (or equivalent) w/

Pentium M 1.40GHz Processor (or equivalent)

14.1” XGA TFT Display

AGP Graphics Controller

40Gb Ultra ATA Hard Drive

512Mb DDR RAM

3.5”, Internal/External Floppy Drive

Intel Pro Wireless NIC

External Ports: VGA, Video Out, Parallel, Serial, USB

Two Type II or One Type III Card Slots

High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery

Microsoft Office XP Standard and/or Professional

Norton Anti-Virus 8.1 Corp.

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

3 Years Parts & Labor Limited Warranty

File Servers:

AMD Athlon XP 2600+, Computer System w/ (or equivalent)

Enlight Mid Tower Case w/ 300w Power Supply (or equivalent)

Asus A7N8X-Deluxe Motherboard w/ non-integrated sound (or equivalent)

1Gb DDR PC-2700 RAM

Western Digital WD800JB, 80Gb, ATA-133, 7200 rpm  Hard Drive in Raid Configuration (or equivalent)

ATI Radeon 128Mb AGP Video Card (or equivalent)

Netgear FA312 10/100 NIC (or equivalent)

Lite-On CDRW/DVD 48x24x48+16x Combo (or equivalent)

AOC-7F, 17”, .25mm dpi Flat Monitor (or equivalent)

Microsoft Internet Keyboard and Mouse (or equivalent)

Norton Anti-Virus 8.1 Corp.

Windows 2000 or 2003 Server

3 Year Warranty

Printers:

HP LaserJet 1300

HP LaserJet 1150

HP DeskJet  5150

Network Printers:

Monochrome LaserJet

HP-2300n

Color LaserJet

Tektronix Phaser 860n

Multimedia Carts:

Computer workstation and printer w/

35” Color TV w/ AV

4-Head VCR

TV/PC Scan Converter

Laser Disc Player

Promotion of Curricula and Teaching Strategies that Integrate Technology

As the use of technology into daily school instruction increases, the Obion County School System recognizes that the promotion, proficiency, and useful strategies of technology integration must exist through the teaching ranks. We will accomplish this with the tools we already have available in the system and with new tools as they become available to the school system

The school improvement and curriculum mapping teams at each school will work with the technology department to identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology into curricula and instruction based on school reviews and relevant research. Internet sites such as the Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology located at http://caret.iste.org will provide research based information that can be accessed by our teaching staff concerning the impact of technology in the classroom for improving student performance.

The school system currently uses the curriculum mapping program to follow state standards. In the future the school system is  implementing the netTrekker internet resource browser which also relates to state level teaching criteria. In addition, the system regularly upgrades current hardware and software components and installs new technologies as they relate to daily utilization in the curriculum. (e.g., Accelerated Reader, Star Reading, Accelerated Math, Star Math, Math Facts in a Flash, Reading Counts, SuccessMaker, Follett Library Software,various hardware configurations, and internet resources).

Another key factor is teacher proficiency of technology. This is being pursued through the daily availability of professional development for the system staff. The system wide technology trainer will assist teachers in recognizing their technology skills and how they can best utilize them in their classroom. Also, online tutorials are located on the school system web page to further compliment this process. As additional technology tools and teacher proficiency in technology increases, we believe that by the end of the 2004-2005 school year, 60% of the teachers in the Obion County School System will be using technology on a daily basis to support and enhance the curriculum. Furthermore, we feel that this number will increase at a rate of 10% per year as we proceed with the implementation of this plan. By providing the tools and strategies of technology and preparing our instructional staff, improved student performance across the curriculum should be apparent.

Implementation Timeline

Responsible parties are listed in blue.

Strategy 1:      (School Year 2004-2007) Continue to add and/or upgrade student stations to each school LAN for instruction and Internet access. This will allow the use of the Internet in every subject. Also, this will increase the student/computer ratio. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 2:      (School Year 2004-2007) Upgrade the Accelerated Reader program at each elementary school in the system and continue to use this program to enhance learning and monitor progress. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator, School Technology Assistants).

Strategy 3:      (School Year 2004-2007) Install additional wireless-roaming labs at all schools. Add more stations to current wireless labs. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator, School Technology Assistants).

Strategy 4:      (School Year 2004-2007) Continue to implement software that enhances subject-learning requirements. (Accelerated Reader, Accelerated Math etc.) (Michael Poore-Supervisor of Instruction K-6, Nancy Hamilton-Supervisor of Instruction 7-12).

Strategy 5:      (School Year 2004-2007) Upgrade Internet connection speed to handle increase in bandwidth requirements. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 6:      (School Year 2004-2007) Select and train at least one school site technology assistant to perform basic software and hardware support. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator, Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 7:      (Each School Year) The Technology Coordinator and Assistant Technology Coordinator will continue to perform all troubleshooting duties, such as PC repairs, upgrades, new installations, wiring, network administration, etc., not supported by the site level personnel. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 8:      (School Year 2004-2007) Troubleshooting requests will be received by e-mail or by an on-line work request system from each school site. These requests will be addressed according to time received and/or by level of necessity. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 9:      (Each School Year) Conduct training sessions at the school and district level that will give the teachers the skills needed to instruct with technology. (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 10:    (School Year 2004-2007) Provide training in technology skills requested by the teachers.  (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 11:    (School Year 2004-2007) Continue to train teachers in using e-mail, the World Wide Web, and other internet related resources to enhance teaching and learning in their classrooms. (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 12:    (School Year 2004-2007) Encourage all teachers to participate in grants that promote professional development. (Debbie Rushing-Grant Writer).

Strategy 13:    (School Year 2004-2007) Continue to send teachers and staff to training and conferences that deal with the use of technology. (Michael Poore-Supervisor of Instruction K-6, Nancy Hamilton-Supervisor of Instruction 7-12).

Strategy 14:    (School Year 2004-2007) Continue system wide and individualized training by system wide technology trainer. (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 15:    (School Year 2004-2005) Install web-based, raid server for the STAR student management software program. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 16:    (School Year 2005-2007) Train support staff and teachers in the STAR student management software program. (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 17:    (School Year 2005-2007) Convert old Horizon data and go online with new server. (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator).

Strategy 18:    (School Year 2004-2007) Release on-line tutorials for basic software training such as Microsoft Office modules. Add advanced tutorials and other titles as requested. (Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Strategy 19:    (School Year 2004-2005) Implement netTrekker internet resource browser.  (Darbin Ousley-Technology Coordinator, Jason Kendall-Assistant Technology Coordinator, Adam Stephens-Technology Trainer).

Evaluation and Accountability

Working in conjunction with school site administration and staff, the Obion County Schools Technology Department is provided information on the technology needs at each school by various methods. In most instances, the needs are evaluated by the school improvement planning teams.  Also, suggestions are made for improvements by individual class, subject, grade level, and special needs and then are implemented by the technology staff by a process and configuration that best supports that school facility. In addition, the technology staff is continually searching for hardware and software solutions and innovations that correlate into the system scheme for technology integration into the curriculum.

The instructional staff at each school facility frequently reviews the electronic data that can be generated by the software packages already in place in their schools. This includes, but is not limited to, such programs as Accelerated Reader, Star Reading, Accelerated Math, Star Math, Reading Counts, and SuccessMaker. From this reporting, student progress can be monitored and teachers can determine certain key areas of subject material that need to be reinforced in the classroom. The total process can also be assessed by TCAP scoring.

We will know we have successfully reached our goal when our teachers and students are confident technology users and understand when and how to apply appropriate technology tools to the various teaching and learning tasks that evolve in their classrooms. This can best be evaluated per individual progress based on teacher and student created material and overall student achievement.

Parental Involvement

The Obion County School System currently involves parental and community participation in the education of our students through technology. Several different activities and technology based processes are in place to accomplish this task. Also, other technologies are constantly being reviewed to further enhance this type of relationship.

Schools host family reading and family math nights in association with the Accelerated Reading and Accelerated Math software programs that the schools operate school wide via the school LAN.  

Parents can check classroom assignments through the school homework hotline. Other school related information can be accessed via the school system web page. Our web page also contains links to other resources such as the Obion County Library which can all be accessed by students and parents from their homes. In addition, the future web based student information system that will be implemented over the next few years will also provide a portal for parents to check their children’s educational progress.

We plan to purchase the web based netTrekker educational search engine which provides thousands of educational links for students to access either at school or at home. This will allow parents to become involved with the technology available to their children in conjunction with, and reinforcement of, classroom instruction.

Collaboration with Adult Literacy Service Providers

The adult education program greatly relies on technology to teach and prepare their students. This program currently operates with its own networked lab of multimedia computers and software. All machines have access to the internet and connect to a powerful file server for application sharing.

Consultation, installation, troubleshooting, and repair of the above mentioned equipment and services is provided by the technology department. The two departments work in close association to acquire the appropriate technology resources needed to achieve success within the program.

Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Compliance

Pertaining to the required elements of the district technology plan, TPC item 9, the Obion County School System currently receives internet service and content filtering obtained through the state contract in which Education Networks of America is the provider. The district’s current or pending policies and procedures (e.g., Acceptable use of the Internet, student Internet safety, and digital copyright) relating to the use of educational technology as adopted from the Tennessee School Board Association criteria and standards is provided as an attachment. (See Obion County School System Handbook Attachment.)