Vision 2011

Vision 2011

Technology's Role in Improving Teaching and Learning

Bedford Public Schools

Summary

In June 2003 the Bedford Public Schools concluded a major initiative to investigate the role of technology and how it will affect the restructuring of curriculum and instruction in the both the near and long range future. The process began during the 2001-02 school year when the Bedford Schools conducted a formal needs assessment to gather information regarding current technology practices used by students, teachers and administrators. The following year a broadly representative, sixteen member "Vision 2011" Committee was formed to study the assessment data and to develop a vision statement to guide future technology planning efforts for the district as we approach the year 2011.

The committee developed two documents to present to the School Committee for their approval in June 2003. The first is a Vision 2011 Statement outlining technology implementation goals for students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the community at large. The second document, called "Conditions for Success," addresses conditions that need to be addressed for the vision to be fully implemented. Click here to view a PowerPoint Technology Student Survey that depicts the ways Bedford students use technology both in school and at home.

Why do we promote widespread use of technology in the Bedford Schools?

The Vision 2011 Committee spent considerable time reviewing research concerning effective use of technology IN teaching and learning. Our review of the research demonstrated that, under certain conditions, use of technology by teachers achieves the following:

• Enables greater access to sources of current information.
• Enhances the students' ability to process and understand information.
• Engages students, as a result they spend more time on basic learning tasks.
• Adds to the students' perception that their work is authentic and important.
• Customizes curriculum to the individual needs of students.
• Increases the complexity of content with which students can deal successfully.
• Dramatically enhances student motivation and self-esteem.
• Fosters greater student collaboration among peers.

According to current research, what are the characteristics of successful school technology programs?

The Vision 2011 study group identified specific conditions that were evident in reviews of successful school technology initiatives:

• Time is provided to teachers and to administrators for building consensus around instructional goals and a shared philosophy around these goals.
• Strong curricular content drives the design of technology-supported activities.
• Adequate technology access is provided for all students when engaged in project-based learning.
• Teachers are provided with sufficient time to learn to use technology and to incorporate it into their own goals.
• Teachers can rely on easily accessible technical support when they encounter technical problems.
• Whenever possible, teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate with peers when creating technology supported projects.
• Students acquire specific technology skills in order to function effectively in their adult lives.

What plans do the Bedford Public Schools have in place to engage the faculty in meaningful technology staff development?

Each of the four schools has established two technology innovation teams based on a intensive and successful professional development model called MEET. Click here to read more about our district wide technology professional development model.

What trends can we reasonably anticipate in the near future concerning technology use by teachers and students?

It was clear to the members of the Vision 2011 Study Group that advances in technology are far from static. The group identified new technologies that are currently available and that are likely to influence the instruction and management of teaching and learning:

• Advanced authoring with multimedia tools including video and digital photography (creating web sites, movies, DVDs) to communicate learning and to document student progress.
• Customized "virtual learning" through subscription services.
• Increased applications of wireless networking.
• Increased use of handheld computing devices by students.
• Teacher managed "assessment on the fly" using handhelds (PDAs) and web-based assessment systems.
• Easy student and teacher access to videoconferencing.
• Easy access to sophisticated simulations.
• Increased use of reliable voice to text software.

Educators and students alike must become masters of these and other new technologies, and not be mastered by them. It is to this end that we intend to fully implement the goals of the Vision 2011 process.