September+Meeting+Notes

TECH SAIS Mtg Date: Wednesday, Oct 3rd

We read through the accreditation purpose together

We went through the overview, covering these 4 Self Study Questions:

1. Where are we? 2. Where do we want to go (visions/goals) 3. How will we get there? 4. How will we know when we’ve gotten there?

In discussing the first 2 questions, we agreed that a table, incorporating both of them would help us see the big picture:

We have lots of hardware available for access: including projectors, Promethean boards in Tech rooms Computers: for students in grades 3-12, a 1:1 ratio, grades K-2 have access All Administrators and Faculty members have a computer available to them || Having Promethean boards and projectors in every room Equity across divisions in terms of hardware, support, and training Faculty and Administration have new computers with updated software || Curriculum guides have been established for all grades, but not necessarily updated or familiar to faculty members Tech faculty members from LS, MS/UE, and US have already met to discuss goals There is room for communication and coordination between divisions || Training and knowledge across divisions: sufficient training with sufficient support Integration across subjects Focal points: integrate software into science and social studies classes KEY: Support, integration, training and professional development This year, a pilot program with a focus on speech recognition for MS and US students Text to speech (computer voice reader) has been used for the past 5 years, with non-standardized training. Not all students and teachers know it is available or how to utilize the tool. Other software/hardware used for Assistive Tech include:
 * Where are we? || Where do we want to go? ||  ||
 * Hardware/Computers
 * Hardware/Computers
 * Curriculum
 * Curriculum
 * Curriculum
 * Professional development would be offered at designated times for faculty to meet curriculum and integration needs ||
 * Assistive Technology
 * Assistive Technology

o ICal o Different keyboards o Different mice o GarageBand o Various covers for the keyboard o Headphones || A standardized program with training and support More specialized mice Small keyboards for the elementary ||
 * Assistive Technology

At the end of the meeting, we decided to focus on 3 main points per grade. We will not be program/application specific in our curriculum guides, but skill based.

o Keyboarding will be the initial focus for the beginning of the year across divisions. Students need this skill before moving to more complex skills that utilize keyboarding as a prerequisite.

o Brenda suggested starting from the top down, in terms of curriculum. Looking at students in grade 12, and required skills they need, and moving downward in skill set and expectations. We talked about writing these goals as though for a normal population.

HW questions from Betty Ann:

o Where would you like to see us go with our area of focus (TECH) ? o What is your vision?