Stephan Allison - Parent
Roberta Avery - Grade 4, Co-Chair
Mary Cotter - Parent
Augie DeFrance - Community
Kathuryn Liburdi - Grade 4
Claudia Norman - Principal
Amy Radikas - Language Arts
Michelle Williams - Grade 1, Co-Chair
Elizabeth Bredefeld - Kindergarten

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The Commodore Macdonough Elementary School envisions an educational environment in which students, teachers, parents, and the school related community have access to appropriate forms of technology to enhance communication, learning, and teaching. This environment will instill in its participant’s lifetime skills of integrating advances in technology with personal and educational growth.

The technology mission for Commodore Macdonough Elementary School is to assist in the future success of its students by providing them with equitable, appropriate and useful learning experiences involving technology. This technology will be used as a tool, not only to enrich their learning, but, also, their desire to learn.

Macdonough School’s enrollment is 257 students in grades K-5. Considering AFDC and Title I statistics, our population is the neediest in the Middletown School District. Over sixty-four percent (64.3%) of the students are eligible for free/reduced meals.

Middletown redistricted in 1994 because Macdonough School’s minority population far exceeded other district elementary schools, and is in the process of redistricting again.

Of our student population, over thirteen percent (13.4%) receive Title I services either through Reading Recovery instruction, remedial instruction by a certified teacher or support services by a paraprofessional.

Special education services are provided to eligible students. Currently, over fifteen percent (15.5%) of Macdonough’s students receive special education services.

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• Computer hardware presently consists of a mixture of outdated and new equipment.
• Five 8.0/2 g/5500/225 PowerMacs
• One 7.6.5/1g/5300/100 PowerMacs
• Two IBM’s 3.1/125mb/33, and one 3.1/125/66
• Five Imacs 8.0/3.2g/266 with 8 port hub and external floppy drive
• Eight PentII/3.2g/350 with All in Wonder video card (7 in lab and one on cart for flexible use.
• 12 port hub
• Six Epson Stylus 600 color printers
• One Epson Stylus 500 color printer
• One Hewett Packard 672c color printer
• One Epson Stylus 740 color printer
• Four Epson Stylus 800 printers
• One scanner
• Older hardware: Apple IIe with 23 disk drives, 16 keyboards, 4 printers, 18 monitors and 5 mice.
• We recently acquired site licenses for Appleworks, Hyperstudio, and Kidpix.

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Students will obtain computer understanding and learn basic skills of software and application usage.

Objectives:

Upon exiting Macdonough School students will be able to:

• Observe and demonstrate appropriate behaviors while using the computer.
• Demonstrate how to turn the computer on and off properly.
  Demonstrate how to access the file/application he/she needs and later store it.
• Demonstrate knowledge of basic keyboard skills.
• Publish works using a word processing or multimedia program.
• Access appropriate sites on the Internet.
• Demonstrate how to use Electronic Mail.
• Operate peripheral devices such as a printer and scanner
• Use basic technology vocabulary when referring to a computer and its peripherals.

Staff Development Goals

Teachers will be provided training to integrate computers into the curriculum through software and telecommunications.

Objectives:

• Teachers will be provided with opportunities to share computer knowledge.
• Teachers will be provided opportunities to integrate computer knowledge with the curriculum.
• Volunteer trainers will be utilized from the technology-orientated staff and community.
• Teachers will be offered regular training schedules.
• Teachers will be provided with a mentor to assist those with beginning computer skills.
• Train teachers how to access the Internet, web sites, search, and organize.
• Train teachers how to use email and organize.
• Introduce software for instructional purposes.
• Introduce new software to teachers.

Objectives:

• Develop a building level permission form for students to use the Internet requiring signatures by the student and the parent/guardian.
• Develop a permission form for the student’s name or picture to be used in documents requiring the parent/guardian’s signature.
• Optimize technology for the purpose of communication (writing and speaking), problem solving, and research.
• Provide equitable learning opportunities for all students through the availability of computers, online services, email and additional technology.
• Acquire technological hardware for the implementation in all classrooms.
• Establish an on-going "working" technology committee to assist with the implementation of the plan.
• Complete online wiring for each classroom and office area.
• Train staff, students and parents on how to use email, search the web, make software selections and use software for instructional purposes.
• Follow the Acceptable Use Policy for students and staff developed by the Middletown Board of Education and to develop an Acceptable Use policy for our students and staff.

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Four Year Action Plan

Each classroom to have a minimum of one computer with printer
Total wiring of school
Each room to have two drops
On-line with district network
Continued training of staff by offering on-site and off-site support $1000
Acquisition of appropriate, curriculum software
Eighty to one hundred percent of staff to implement curriculum appropriate software and/or internet sites
Expansion of computer lab and use by classes a minimum of once per month
All staff with a web page describing job and thoughts
Recruit volunteers for computer lab assistance

Each classroom to have two computers with a networked printer. $10,000
Continued training of staff in curriculum integration $1000
All staff integrating technology in one subject area
All staff using technology for classroom management
Digital camera. Cost: $700

2001-2002

Two laptops for staff to share. $4000
Projector for presentations $4000

Continued training of staff in curriculum integration $1000
All staff integrating technology in one subject area

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None of these goals and objectives are attainable without financial support. As of May 1998, Macdonough School has been able to have three sites accessible to the Internet and eleven classrooms networked. The established sites and networking have been accomplished through Connect ‘96, monetary donations and community volunteers. However, to take full advantage of this technology, Macdonough School is in need of computers. Possibilities for future support include: business partnerships, funding through the Middletown Board of Education budget, grants, and P.T.A. support.

The most urgent needs include acquiring training for Macdonough School’s staff. Training is needed to provide Macdonough School’s staff with the knowledge necessary to properly incorporate the technology in their professional and personal lives.

This document will be regularly updated. The Technology committee should plan to meet at least twice each marking term. Any new proposals can be brought up then or as the need arises. Other areas to be considered include: seeking out continued financial support, maintenance of the equipment we do have, continued staff development, and future surveys to assess student and teacher growth in use of the computer as a curriculum tool.

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Appendices

• The Acceptable Use Policy of Macdonough School and publication permission for were developed for using the Internet.
• Training for members of the Middletown School District Certified Staff was offered in January 1999.
• The Technology/Writing Process position held by Roberta Avery, offered five hours for staff training. Eleven staff members participated. This staff training was possible because seven of the new Gateway computers were place in Room 212 for student and teacher use. This position will also be used to assist classroom teachers using the technology to integrate it in the writing process.
• Through District money, eight new computers were purchased, along with four printers, a scanner and site licenses for popular general and creative software programs. A computer lab was set up in Room 212 for student and teacher use.
• One of the printers was added to the client in the Library for printing out information from the Internet.
• Five iMacs were purchased through a district grant to encourage technology integration in the classroom. Along with this, a printer, an external floppy drive and telephone line for Internet connection were obtained. Nicole Choinere, Grade 5 teacher, used all this technology to the fullest, and she is available for teacher support.
• The position of School Media and Technology Specialist was created to ensure continued tech support and staff development. The Student Tech Corp was developed to train students in the use and maintenance of our equipment. Roberta Avery holds this position.

Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan, Mississippi State University, Spring 1996.

V.B. Moody Elementary School Technology Plan, January,1996

National Center for Technology Planning, http://www2.msstate.edu/~lsa1

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