Washoe Country School District
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Educational Technology
Mission
Twenty-first Century Skills are essential to preparing every student for college or highly-skilled careers. The Educational Technology Department will support the effective integration of 21st Century Skills and technology tools in the classroom by providing resources, support and professional development to district staff.
Major Functions
The department manages and implements educational technology integration programs and projects and provides training, coaching and resource support on educational and instructional technologies for certified teachers and administrators throughout the district.
The department plans, organizes, manages and evaluates all technology-related (21st Century Skills) instructional staff development and provides coaching and resource support for eLearning initiatives and online professional development.
This department coordinates with the Staff Development and Curriculum and Instruction departments and acts as a liaison between the district’s educational technology programs and Nevada Department of Education Commission on Educational Technology.
The department creates and manages web presence for WCSD educational technology initiatives, 21st Century Learning Skills and online professional development.
Trends and Accomplishments
The Educational Technology Department has been instrumental in demonstrating the positive effects technology has on student outcomes. Through grant-funded pilot programs, student achievement increases have been attributed to the integration of technology in classroom instruction when supported by on-going, high-quality professional development that promoted effective use and pedagogical change.
The EdTech Department coordinates popular technology events to illustrate technology applications across content areas and grade levels. The annual Technology Café and eConference provide educators with the opportunity to learn more about current and emerging technologies. These events are produced in collaboration with local community groups, including iNNOVATE22, and other Nevada counties.
Major Mandates
In order to participate in the statewide technology effort and support projects and initiatives with long‐range, sustainable, state funding, the WCSD Educational Technology plan is aligned to the goals of the State of Nevada Educational Technology Plan. The three goals that support the Nevada Educational Technology plan are:
- Goal 1: Support robust infrastructure and connectivity fostering digital-age learning and teaching.
- Goal 2: Support professional growth for educators to improve student learning with technology.
- Goal 3: Support instructional technology integration across the curriculum to engage digital learners.
The Nevada Department of Education is a member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national organization that advocates for 21st Century readiness for every student. In response to the need to provide equitable world-class education for all students, the Nevada legislature has, in each biennial session since 1997, passed legislation that focuses on improving education. Nevada districts have begun to focus on 21st century teaching and learning that supports cross-district communication and systemic processes for planning a 21st century education system.
Nevada is a member of the E-Learning for Educators Consortium which seeks to establish successful, sustainable, statewide online professional development programs that address teacher quality and student achievement goals. E-Learning for Educators is a consortium of 13 states that involves a partnership between each state’s department of education and a public television station within each state. The states involved in this project include Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah and West Virginia, with Alabama Public Television serving as the lead agency coordinating the project.
Targeted Key Processes: Strategies
- Correlate 21st Century skills and technology standards with existing district initiatives (Differentiated Instruction, Distance Learning, DRA, Inclusive Practices, GLAD, Interactive Whiteboards, MAP, PBS, Parent Communication/ Outreach, RtII, SIOP, Skillful Teacher, STEM, etc.).
- Build educational technology professional development capacity.
- Collaborate with Curriculum & Instruction Department to facilitate the integration of 21st Century skills, tools, and standards into classroom instruction in all content areas.
- Investigate, pilot and recommend resources for distance learning/e-learning, online professional development/digital professional development innovations, and computer based instruction in order to be proactive to changes in instructional technology.
- Increase student and parent access to technology (computers and mobile devices).
Key Performance Indicators
Performance Measure 1: Number of teacher, administrators and staff participating in face-to-face, hybrid and online professional development sessions.
Explanation: Research clearly indicates support that student engagement is higher when technology is used -- 93% of high school students and 92% of high school teachers agreed with this statement in a May 2009 WCSD survey. Continuous and varied on-going professional development is a key component of the classroom technology implementation and pedagogical change process necessary to impact classroom practice, engage all students in the learning process and increase student achievement.
Performance Measure 2: Number of students impacted by targeted processes.
Explanation: Though the department’s primary contact is with teachers, administrators and staff, the ultimate success of the department is determined by its impact on student achievement. By providing high-quality professional development, performance can be determined by the number of student influenced by effective technology implementation at the classroom level.
