Vision

When asked to brainstorm about technology in the Yarmouth Schools, this was the resulting "word cloud" from a group of Yarmouth parents, faculty and students working on the Technology Plan. The three overall themes from all the comments collected in this "visioning" conversation were:

1. Technology doesn't simply "support" communication, it's used to promote communication and collaboration.

2. Technology is embedded in teaching and learning (the lines are merged).

3. Technology supports personalization for ALL learners

One of the sources used for "visioning" where we should be with technology, teaching and learning is the K-12 Interim Horizon Report from the New Media Consortium.

The Key trends accelerating K-12 Educational Technology Adoption described in the Interim 2015 report are:

1. Long-term trends: Driving K-12 Educational Technology adoption for five or more years

• Advancing Cultures of Change and Innovation

• Rethinking How Schools Work

• Shift to Deeper Learning Approaches

2. Mid-term Trends: Driving K-12 Educational Technology adoption over the next three to five years

• Increasing Use of Collaborative Learning Approaches

• Redesigning Learning Spaces

• Shift from Students as Consumers to Students as Creators

3. Short-term Trends: Driving K-12 Educational Technology adoption over the next one to two years

• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning

• Increasing Use of Hybrid/Blended Learning Design

• Rise of STEAM Learning

As we look at these trends we need to consider their meaning for our schools.

Long-term trends:

• Advancing Cultures of Change and Innovation is a challenge to look at what changes and innovations are the focus of the 2015 District Strategic Plan and how they impact thinking about technology. The Horizon Report says that: "In order to breed innovation and adapt to economic needs, schools must be structured in ways that allow for flexibility, and spur creativity and entrepreneurial thinking." (p. 2)

• Rethinking How Schools Work includes thinking about the purpose of schools and how we need to be preparing students for future study and work. This includes thinking about schedules, innovative learning approaches and multi-disciplinary subject learning.

• Shift to Deeper Learning Approaches is represented by the way technology can be used as part of curriculum redesign in all subject areas described in the Common Core, the new Science Framework, the NEASC report, and Proficiency based graduation requirements. The focus should be on active learning experiences, inside and outside the classroom.

Mid-term trends: We are fully involved in addressing all three of these trends.

• Increasing Use of Collaborative Learning Approaches is seen in grades 3-12 with the use of Google Docs for Education as students write and collaborate inside and outside of school. Faculty members are supported to use Google Docs in all their work. We need to continue to look for ways to collaborate and connect outside of the schools to broaden the learning opportunities for students and faculty.

• Redesigning Learning Spaces is a trend that needs to be addressed with improved technology in classrooms and shared spaces. Teachers are provided with current laptops and we need to upgrade the presentation equipment in classrooms. Short-throw projectors with interactive whiteboards would allow teachers and students to be at the board or accessing the screen to display from laptops or tablets. This redesign includes thinking about flexible uses of the spaces we currently have. Robust wireless bandwidth is an assumption to support the learning environment.

• Shift from Students as Consumers to Students as Creators is an instructional goal that is addressed in the annual Yarmouth Technology Course and continuous implementation at each school, with assistance from the building Instructional Technology. By creating media for authentic audiences students learn the skills of being critical consumers of media. Continued professional development is needed to re-imagine learning products as assignments using media.

Short-term trends: We are exploring ways to implement each of these trends

• Growing Focus on Measuring Learning is happening in all schools as educators look at targets for growth in student learning. More and more data management requires the use of computers to access online data banks, including PowerSchool. Teachers need support on using formative and summative data to plan for individual learning and classroom instruction. The Horizon Report says: "The goal is to build better pedagogies, empower students to take an active part in their learning, target at-risk student populations, and assess factors affecting completion and student success." (p. 4)

• Increasing Use of Hybrid/Blended Learning Design is happening in some classrooms as teachers explore online video resources and create flipped lessons for assignments. As we explore this option we need to look closely at the use of time inside and outside of the classroom for face-to-face group discussion, student feedback and teacher direct instruction, keeping in mind best practices.

• Rise of STEAM Learning is a trend that is being honored by the expansion of the part-time high school "Industrial Arts" teacher to a full-time STEM teacher position offering more classes and including more students. There is a STEAM curriculum offered in the Unified Arts rotation for students in grades 5-8. In all other schools the Science and Math curricula have been updated. This quote from the Horizon Report describes this well: "This trend has especially gained traction as there is more multi- and cross-disciplinary learning taking place at schools, revealing how these seemingly disparate subjects are interconnected. Experiencing the full spectrum of STEAM education can help students generate more well-rounded skill sets and views of the world." (p. 4)