Squad Goals

As we navigate technology integration at our preK-12 school we are looking at establishing a better understand of definitions and expectations.  This includes:

• Philosophy of Instruction Technology Integration
• Integration Expectations
• Instruction Standards Related to Technology
• Device Infrastructure

Most currently we have been rewriting and reassessing our philosophy statement. While this is a work in process, I'm wondering what philosophy statements have others seen that they really liked? 

I have several questions for anyone willing to discuss:

1. What could be stated better in your own district's philosophy statement? 
2. Does your district/school have a philosophy statement for technology integration?
3. Would you include the ISTE standards in your philosophy statement? Why or why not? 
4. Should a philosophy statement offer examples?
5. How should the philosophy of technology integration support the mission statement of the school. Should that be stated in the philosophy?

The following is our work in process...thoughts? 

"At Chattanooga Christian School we see technology as both a medium and a tool that can be used individually and as a society for human flourishing. It is our desire to lay the foundation for appropriate usage to mold our students into digital citizens with a biblical worldview. Technology is not a replacement for education or an end in itself, but it can be used to to enhance education and to expand that education outside the walls and timeframe of the classroom, empowering students to become lifelong learners. We are preparing our students to learn how to be motivated to leverage technology for best learning practices both now and in the future.

These opportunities are significant, but must be understood within the context of a biblical worldview. As educators, we need to model and instruct wise and discerning use of technology. Technology is rightly used in education inasmuch as it helps improve student learning, teacher effectiveness, and institutional coherence and communication.  The technology team will constantly be evaluating current tools of instruction as new innovations come available. This will happen in direct collaboration with curriculum leaders at our school to find the needed balance to best meet the needs of both students and teachers.`

Technology integration expectations (based on ISTE student standards 2016) for the student include :

• Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goal informed by the learning sciences.
• Articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.
• Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.
• Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practice and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.
• Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies.
• Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
• Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
• Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
• Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
• Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.
• Knowledge constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
• Students plan and employ effective research strategies to locate information and other resources for their intellectual or creative pursuits.
• Students evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media, data or other resources.
• Students curate information from digital resources using a variety of tools and methods to create collections of artifacts that demonstrate meaningful connections or conclusions.
• Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions.
• Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
• Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts or solving authentic problems.
• Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and calculated risks.
• Students develop, test and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
• Students exhibit a tolerance for ambiguity, perseverance and the capacity to work with open-ended problems.
• Computational Thinker: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions
• Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
• Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
• Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
• Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
• Creative Communicator: Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
• Students choose the appropriate platforms and tools for meeting the desired objectives of their creation or communication.
• Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
• Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital objects such as visualizations, models or simulations.
• Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
• Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.
• Students use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning.
• Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts or community members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.
• Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.
• Students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions."