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RHP Technology Plan

Rio Hondo Prep spans sixth through twelfth grade with a present enrollment of 187. The technology and curriculum committees of Rio Hondo Prep have developed this technology plan. This plan conveys our vision and beliefs about technology. It presents the rationale and means for integrating technology into the curriculum and the projected goals and equipment needed to make this all possible.

THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE

The computer chip has ushered us into what most educators now refer to as the information age. It has made possible almost instantaneous access to information worldwide. Centralized power in the past was obtained by managing information. Now that information is available worldwide, this has become increasingly difficult to accomplish. If future citizens do not wish to be manipulated, they need to know how to find and process information. Technology has enabled industry to tap into a worldwide pool of unskilled labor that is eroding the availability of high paying industrial jobs. It is very uncertain what the job market of the future will be. Students need to develop flexibility in their skills to adapt to whatever the future brings. The more options they have the better chance of securing a rewarding job in the future. Technology has caused knowledge to grow at an exponential rate. Nobody can be assured that the knowledge they are assimilating today will be profitable in the future. What will certainly be profitable is "learning how to learn". A major component in "learning how to learn" is learning how to access information, how to process information and how to transform information into something that can influence actions.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE PRESENT SOCIETY

There has been a computer chip invasion into our present daily lives. Computer chips are in a large number of things we interact with regularly. They are parts of automobiles, stoves, video players, heaters, air conditioners, television sets, calculators, traffic lights, and the list goes on and on. As the computer chip becomes a bigger and bigger part of our daily lives our need to understand and use it grows.

WHAT TECHNOLOGY NEEDS TO DO FOR STUDENTS

Technology needs to give students exposure to more information than was possible in the past. It needs to speed up tasks to allow more to be accomplished in the learning environment. It needs to provide a means for connecting ideas together so students can make sense of the large body of information they have available. It needs to provide a way of presenting and assimilating ideas in an efficient and intelligible manner.

WHAT TECHNOLOGY NEEDS TO DO FOR TEACHERS

Technology needs to expose teachers to ideas that reflect best practices across the world. It needs to do this without causing a greater workload for the teacher. It needs to speed up rote tasks. It needs to improve the quality of presentations. It needs to give the teachers more options for learning activities and to allow them to better individualize their instruction.

WHAT WE BELIVE TECHNOLOGY CAN DELIVER

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

The Internet is a vast source of information that is available now. There is information there from both experts and novices. It is a medium the student can use to find information, interact with it and make judgments on its value. This has always been an important part of the education process but technology has made doing it more efficient. More and more information is now available on DVD's CD-ROM’s and other mass storage devices. These devices have the advantage of storing great amounts of information in a small space. They can make it available to many people at the same time. This is not meant to imply that they will replace the print medium. It is still more efficient to use books when information has to be presented sequentially in large amounts. However with the ability to search for information and copy and paste it into documents they make some reading tasks more efficient. Most of the time a student is only exposed to examples of student work within his own classroom. E-mail, bulletin boards and Web pages make it possible for students to be exposed to a larger body of work. This exposure to more models has the potential to improve the quality of student’s work.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

Ordering

To make sense of information students have to manage information. The computer gives unique abilities in this regard. Lists can be put in alphabetical or numerical order. Key words can be connected with information for retrieval or sorting at a later date. Similar material can be color-coded quickly throughout a document. Clip art can be imported to visually order material. Spreadsheets or tables in word processing documents allow material to be ordered in columns or rows. Databases allow material to be categorized and organized in almost limitless fashion. When dealing with large amounts of information, organization is essential. Databases, spreadsheets, word processing documents, presentation documents, computer hard drives, the Internet, operating system desktops etc. are all ways of organizing information to make it assessable. The computer allows students to be exposed to ways of organizing. As they are called upon to deal with large amounts of information the need will be evident to organize it. As students prepare databases, spreadsheets, word processing documents, save and retrieve work on the hard drive, navigate the Internet, find and save information on their computer desktops there is a natural opportunity to teach organizational skills.

Making connections through multimedia

The learning process requires making connections. In order for information to be useful and comprehensible it needs to be connected with past knowledge and skills. In order to generate original ideas, connections have to be established between known concepts. Presentation software has unique potential in this regard. The process of creating a slideshow on a topic and choosing pictures, sound headlines, text, animations and music presents the user with an exciting non-threatening medium in which to make those connections. Searching for material in the Internet to use in presentations adds to the connection making.

Increasing summarizing skills

With vast amount of information available students need to develop summarizing skills. The use of key words to find pictures, sounds, phrases, diagrams etc. for importation into their documents helps develop this skill. Creating Headlines for documents created in publishing software adds to summary skills. Choosing clip art to illustrate ideas contributes also. Presentation software with its restriction to slide size presentations makes another contribution to this important skill.

Increasing presentation skills

When knowledge has been assimilated it needs to be presented. The computer offers many tools for this task. Charts, graphs, tables, slides, art, sound, animation, brochures, posters, banners, cards, newsletters, drawings, color, texture, etc are all available to even the non artist.

Increasing sharing opportunities

With almost instant communication available, ideas can be shared with others. End products can have a purpose when they can be posted for thousands of others to see on Web pages. Examples of the works of others are a great learning tool and seeing what others have done worldwide can be a motivation to raise the level of ones work.

Increasing value judgment skills

The fact that nobody screens what is posted on a Web site makes it necessary to evaluate the reliability of what is read. The searching and linking possibilities enable one to find differing views on most topics. Web advertisements and unsolicited e-mail are a good source for material to use in judgment skill activities.

DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS SKILLS

Searching skills

From finding files on a hard drives or network, to finding information on the Internet, searching skill activities using the computer are limitless. In this technological age with its vast amounts of information this skill is going to become more and more important, and the computer makes the development of this skill easier and more motivating that it has ever been in the past.

Creative skills

Technology allows a larger proportion of the population to develop their creativity. With the availability of clip art collections, drawing software, templates for documents, databases, spreadsheets, brochures, newsletters, banners, presentations, Web pages etc. everyone can find some level at which they can produce products they can be proud of. For some, traditional hand made projects will still be appealing but others may find that technology make such projects accessible to them in a way never before possible.

Pattern finding skills

When information has been gathered and organized new ideas should be deduced from the information. One way to do this is through looking for patterns. When the data is quantified and imported into a spreadsheet, it can be charted and graphed in a variety of ways. Many times this charting and graphing can reveal patterns that otherwise might be missed. In the past charting was a time consuming task while spreadsheet technology makes the charting of data relatively easy so more time can be spent in analysis. Also spreadsheets make obtaining statistical summaries of data fast, which further aides in the search for patterns.

Layout skills

In a competitive job market the ability to present yourself and your ideas to others is going to be important. Publishing software offers a medium in which to develop this skill. Taking already existing material and organizing it into a brochure or newsletter with choices about headlines, page placement, continuation columns, graphic elements etc. gives the user a natural setting to use layout skills.

DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Learning from others

The sharing of information is one of the strengths of the Internet. It is possible to find out information from people around the word. In the past such information sharing might take weeks but now it is possible in minutes. Communicating through Web bulletin boards, chat rooms, and e-mail opens up never before possible ways of learning from others. The Web has areas that emphasize various learning styles. Whether it is text, or audio, or animation, linear or branching there is a multiplicity of ways to learn from others in this media.

Teaching to others

The Web gives a medium where students can share what they know with others. Posting their knowledge on Web pages or through attached documents gives them motivation that was never before possible. The value of having a reason to learn and to share will increase time on task. The mediums that can be used to share such information are many and growing. E-mail newsletters, posters, tables, drawings, pictures, graphs, mathematical computations, compositions, brochures, slide-shows and much more can be shared with a minimum of time and effort.

DEVELOPEMENT OF PRODUCTIVITY SKILLS

Technology makes it possible to do many tasks at a higher productivity level. Examples are: easy rewriting of materials, immediate help with grammar and spelling, quick production of audio-visual materials, access to graphical representations of data, quick extensions of patterns and sequences, exploration of what if questions, sending letters and receiving answers, access to and sharing of information and ideas. These tasks are things that most teachers are already engaged in and technology can help them accomplish these tasks in less time.

STAFF TRAINING

GOALS

Skills

Every faculty member needs to be comfortable with the basic skills, menus, and tasks that are common to all graphically interfaced programs. Examples are: finding, opening and running programs, finding and saving files, copying, cutting and pasting information, formatting information, printing files, navigation between the various places to save and retrieve data, simple troubleshooting skills, using the help menus, mouse skills, and sharing information between programs. They need to be able to use word processing, spreadsheet, database, publishing, and presentation software at the basic level. They need to be able to use the Internet to find information, print information, retrieve information, and share information.

Curriculum integration

Every teacher has to be introduced to a variety of ways that technology can be interfaced with their classroom to improve learning. They need to start with ways that technology can help them do what they are doing now at a more productive level. Examples are: writing and rewriting papers, finding information, creating multimedia reports, sharing work with others, analyzing data, organizing information, finding connections between information, summarizing information, analyzing differences and similarities between information and analyzing the impact that sources have on information. As they become comfortable with the technology they will develop new ways of using it to accomplish their learning objectives.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

Technology is being integrated into the classroom. Grade recording and communication with parents are a part of every teacher's arsenal through the use of Ed Line. In English classes readinging is improved by keeping track of reading skills through the use of Accelerated and Star Reading. In Math classes teachers keep track and develope math skils through the use of Acclerated and Star Math; Online courses in Calculus are made available to students through California Community Colleges. Math and Science classes make extensive use of the TI 83 calculators and CBL sensors. The computer application course makes use of the internet email and instant messaging to present material by means of an on-line environment. The Fine Arts department offeres courses in the use of Photoshop, Image Ready and MIA software to enable students to use technology for manipluating, processing and using digital images.

EQUAL ACCESS FOR THE LEARNING COMMUNITY

TECHNOLOGY PLACEMENT

There needs to be a mixture of technology placement. There has to be places where there is enough technology for the whole class to use individually. There needs to be places where groups of students can rotate. Their needs to be places with large enough display capabilities for the whole class to watch at once.

TECHNOLOGY SCHEDULING

Until it becomes feasible for every classroom to provide individual technology to every student, there will come the necessity to schedule the access to the technology. Also it would require that a means be developed to allow all classes to have access to the technology at an equitable rate.

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE

There are now three labs available for class use. These are the 20 student lab in HH21; the 16 student lab in T2; the 12 student wireless laptop lab in the Great Room. It is also possible to increase the numbers in the first 2 labs by supplementing them with the wireless laptops. The 3 labs have now been updated with computers able to run Microsoft XP.

WHAT WILL BE DONE

The next step is to purchase enough new computers to have an XP compatable computer on each teachers desk. This is on the agenda for the 2008-9 school year.

INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLGY IN THE CLASSROOM

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL

The Internet, CD-ROM’s, computerized library catalogs, video libraries, other databases, and e-mail capabilities are all sources of information. The skills necessary to retrieve this information are a natural result of the use of this technology in a classroom setting. Since information gathering is only a part of learning activities it lends itself naturally to a shared and scheduled resource.

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Since technology has made it possible for almost anybody to publish information on Internet, there is much unsubstantiated information posted. This gives teacher a great resource to use in developing this important skill. The ability to illustrate information with clip art, sound files, animation files, charts and graphs in an efficient and timely manner adds to the information processing skills that can be integrated into a classroom. Every teacher has had students develop illustrated projects in the past but now using presentation and graphing software they can do it in much less time and good results are not limited to artistic students. Publishing software with its capabilities of summarizing stories in headlines, deciding on column and page placement, and illustrating with clipart develops decision-making skills in a natural way. Publishing software also allows easy creation of signs, banners, brochures and cards. Each of these requires synthesizing information.

TECHNOLOGY GOALS

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

E-mail

The students will learn how to send and receive e-mail messages. They will learn how to attach files to them, format them and send to multiple people. They will learn how to find the e-mail addresses of people they wish to communicate with.

Slideshow presentations.

The students will learn how to communicate their ideas using presentation software. They will learn how to apply backgrounds, import clip art, import video files, import sound, develop decorative titles, animate their objects and organize their information into a presentation order.

Word-processing

The students will learn how to type, format, save, retrieve and modify their work in a word processor. They will learn how to add columns, tables, clipart, and mail merging to their documents. They will learn how to use the spell checker, grammar checker, and thesaurus to improve their communication skills.

Databases

The students will learn how to use the search and report options of a database to communicate information contained in the database.

Spreadsheets

The student will learn how to use the formulas, sorting, graphing and chart creating functions of a spreadsheet to communicate information about the data sets it contains.

Publishing

The students will learn how to use publishing software to create newsletters, brochures, signs, flyers, banners, cards and calendars to present ideas. They will learn how to import word-processing documents into the publishing software along with clipart and charts. They will learn how to continue information from one column to another and organize information in a pleasing and informative way.

Clipart Collections

The students will learn how to search clipart collections and format them to communicate ideas in their documents.

Sound Collections

The students will learn how to search and edit sound collections and import them into presentation software documents to help communicate ideas. They will learn how to capture sound off of CD’s and add them to their presentations. They will learn how to record their voice onto a presentation also.

Internet

The students will learn how to use the Internet to find information and share it with others.

INFORMATION PROCESSING

E-Mail

The students will learn how to use e-mail to gather from and give information to others.

Slideshow presentations

The student will learn how to use slideshow presentation software to summarize and present ideas.

Word-processing

The students will learn how to use searching and sorting capabilities of a word-processor in order to analyze information in a word-processing document.

Databases

The students will learn how to find information in databases, put information into databases, and use the statistical functions in databases to analyze the data.

Spreadsheets

The student will learn how to use the statistical functions and graphing and charting capabilities of a spreadsheet in order to analyze data. They will learn how to use the what-if functions of a spreadsheet to answer questions about data.

Publishing

The students will learn how to analyze information to allow them to present it successfully in publishing documents.

Clipart Collections

The student will learn how to analyze information to enable them to find the parts that can be presented effectively through clip-art.

Sound Collections

The student will learn how to analyze information to enable them to find the parts that can be presented effectively through audio clips.

Animation

The students will learn how to analyze information to enable them to find the parts that can be presented effectively through the animation capabilities of presentation software.

Internet

The students will learn how to use the search engines, and direct address capabilities of the Internetto find pertinent information. They will learn how to effectively use advanced search techniques to find a manageable amount of information. They will learn how to make judgments on the quality of information by analyzing the sources and comparing the information with those from multiple sources.

PRODUCTIVITY

E-mail

The students will learn how to use e-mail to increase the speed at which they communicate with others. They will learn to analyze the answers they get to test the effectiveness of their letter writing skills.

Slideshow presentations

The students will use slideshow presentation software to increase the quality of and decrease the time needed to prepare multimedia representation of ideas. They will learn how to use the slideshow presentation software to help them and others remember information they have read or heard in a fun and quick manner.

Word-processing

The students will learn how to use word-processing software to decrease the time it takes to rewrite and improve the quality of written work. They will learn to use the search capabilities of word-processing to find information in word-processing documents. They will learn how to use spell checking and grammar checking capabilities of word-processors to improve their spelling and grammar skills on an on-going basis. They will learn how to use the thesaurus in word-processing documents to improve their choice of words.

Databases

The students will learn how to use databases to enable them to find information quickly. They will learn how to use databases to organize information in a manner so that others can access it quickly.

Spreadsheets

The students will learn how to use the formulas in spreadsheets to do mathematical and statistical computations quickly. They will learn how to use the charting and graphing capabilities of a spreadsheet to prepare graphs and charts quickly.

Publishing

The students will learn how to use publishing software to produce printed documents in a quick and efficient manner.

Clipart Collections

The students will learn how to use clip-art collections to enable them to illustrate their document.

Sound Collections

The students will learn how to use sound effect collections to enable them to put sound bites into their presentations in a quick and effective manner.

Animation

The students will learn how to add animation effects to their presentations in a quick and effective manner.

Internet

The students will learn how to use the World-Wide-Web to find information in an efficient manner. They will learn how to enter into discussion groups and make their opinions know. They will learn how to learn from others and how to supply information and ideas to others using this medium.

TECHNOLOGY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE

Computers

Type

We now have as many computers in each classroom as the teachers have requested. The computers in the class room need updating. Plans are underway to make this happen.

What we have now

Computer networking

In order to allow students to safely store information, efficiently share and access information, to allow efficient printing, to enable efficient management of software, and to allow multiple access to CD-ROM’s and databases we have the computer’s all networked.

What we have now.

All the computers are networked and have access to the internet via DSL.

What we will have

Printers

Types

We now have printers in every classroom.

World-Wide-Web Access

What we have now

We now have all the present computers connected to the Web via  DSL using Pacbell as our internet provider.

Software

What we have

In keeping with our plan of emphasizing productivity skills, we have Windows 98, XP or 2000, Office 2000 Professional, Microsoft Publisher 2000, Meavis Beacon Typing 9 Accelerated Reader and Math, and Star Reader and Math installed on all our computers.

What we will have

We plan to update our office liscenes as soon as all our computers are XP capable.

Video Players and Projectors

What we have

We have Video Players and Projectors available on mobile carts.

What we will have

We plan to have video players and projectors in every classroom.

Graphing Calculators

To supplement the computer graphing and spreadsheet capabilities every student taking Algebra I and above is required to purchase a TI-83 graphing calculator.

CBL Units

What we have

The science lab has 9 CBL units. Sensors available are 6 motion detector probes, 6 low g accelerator probes, 6 Vernier temperature probes, 9 TI temperature probes, 9 multimeter probes, 9 light sensor probes, 5 biology gas pressure sensors, 1 spectrometer probe, 1 exercise heart rate monitor, 6 EKG sensors, 5-pH system probes, and 1 relative humidity sensor. Software and links to a computer have been purchased.

What we will have

The science department will increase its collections of probes every year.

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