William Daryl Allison FRIT 7739 Technology Program Administrator

Executive Summary
E-Learning Center Overview: The Hall County Schools E-Learning Center is located in the County Technology Center in Oakwood, Georgia. The center is under the guidance of an Executive Director for Technology, who oversees three division of technology for the county: Technology Support, Information Technology and Instructional Technology. The E-Learning Center falls under the responsibility of the Instructional Technology Coordinator. Methods: Data gathered to evaluate the E-Learning Center was obtained through interviews with staff E-Learning staff along with information from the countys technology plan. Personal observations were also valuable, as I witnessed professional training performed by the ELearning staff. Mission And Goals: The mission of the E-Learning Center is to provide a safe and secure experience for staff and students, provide a solid infrastructure that is reliable, provide adequate training opportunities for staff members, and provide information and resources to those staff members, students, and community member. Personnel: The E-Learning Center is staffed by three E-Learning Specialist who are supervised by the Instructional Technology Coordinator. The Instructional Technology Coordinator is currently open so the Executive Director for Technology for the county is directly responsible for the E-Learning division of the County Technology Department.

Organizational Chart

Center Context and Goals National Education Technology Standards for Teachers state that school district technology centers provide effective teachers model as they design, implement, and assess learning experiences to engage students and improve learning. The goal of the E-Learning Center is to assist with achieving these goals. The E-Learning center supports teachers and administrators on integrating technology into instruction. The E-Learning Center is a cog in the wheel where the goal is to meet cyclically with the leaders form professional learning, curriculum and instruction, special education, ESOL, Title I, and with media specialists to assess the progress toward teaching and learning goals set forth by the leadership of the Hall County School System. The E-Learning specialist desire is to enrich professional practice; and provide positive models for students, colleagues, and the community. These standards will serve as the frame work for the development of the integrated technology curriculum in the Hall County School System. The over-arching goal of the Center is to provide infrastructure that is reliable, provide adequate training opportunities for school staff members, and provide information and resources to those staff members, students, and administrators. Through the use of technology the E-Learning specialists want to facilitate authentic learning environments while providing quality professional learning opportunities for staff members.

Center Activities The E-Learning Specialist work with teachers and administrators on integrating technology into instruction throughout the six high school, six middle schools and numerous elementary schools in Hall County. Their role varies from providing software training on new products to working on the development team for the countys learning management system. The specialist also evaluate and search for web tools and products, both hardware and software, that will enhance instruction and student learning. With Hall County School System providing video conferencing capabilities at each school location, professional development from in-county trainers, as well as those vendor-based trainers, it will allow for flexibility in training multiple numbers of personnel at multiple locations at the same time. It is the intent of the E-Learning to continue to strive for innovative ways to provide technology instruction for students, staff members, and the community.

Evaluation Through my involvement with the E-Learning Center, the specialists are doing a great job of delivering on the goals and objectives set forth by the Board of Education in Hall County. They are accessible and willing to provide training on any project that an educator may be working. The various technology resources that teachers have available must be implemented properly and accessible. The E-Learning staff does a great job of staying on-top programs and resources provided by Hall County.

Recommendations These recommendations are the collaborative ideas of myself and the E-Learning specialists who served as a technology specialist for this course. As the Hall County Schools move forward with the plan to integrate technology into K-12 instruction, active participation from a knowledgeable sampling of all key stakeholders will be crucial to the development of comprehensive curriculum assessment and the support of teachers who confidently use technology rich resources in the daily delivery of instruction. Due to the fact that technology changes rapidly, plans and assessments must include regular adjustments to incorporate emerging technologies. It is the belief that if all teachers progress towards the NETT performance goals, it the students who also benefit from this progression. If needed, prescribed remediation will be a positive experience for students not an embarrassment. To be effective role models, teachers should be evaluated using, at a minimum, the same NETS Technology Integration Standards students are expected to master. All teachers should meet the following standards and performance indicators.

Appendices Email interview with an E-Learning Specialist Interview Questions: 1. What is your title/position? I currently hold a teaching position with our Technology Department. My title is eLearning Specialist. 2. What are your responsibilities? I work with teachers and administrator on integrating technology into instruction. My role varies from providing software training on products like ActivInspire and SoftChalk, to working on the development team for our learning management system. I also evaluate and search for web tools and products (software and hardware) that will enhance instruction and student learning. 3. What are the job titles and brief descriptions of key personnel who staff the center? Refer to flow chart 4. What is the mission of the center? Systems Technology Mission Given that the role that technology provides within the scope of HCSS, it is technologys mission and vision to support the Districts Character, Competency, Rigor...For All Technology does not drive instruction, it supports it. Supporting factors include, providing a safe and secure experience for staff and students, providing a solid infrastructure that is reliable, provide adequate training opportunities for staff members, and provide information and resources to those staff members, students, and community member.

5. Who is the audience? Staff members, students, and community members 6. What are the goals of the center? District Goals and Performance Objectives for Student Achievement and Technology Literacy

The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETST) and Performance Indicators for Teacher provide effective teachers model and apply the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETSS) as they design, implement, and assess learning experiences to engage students and improve learning; enrich professional practice; and provide positive models for students, colleagues, and the community. These standards will serve as the frame work for the development of the integrated technology curriculum in the HCCS. Any assessments must be carefully crafted not only to measure the skill level gains within all student subgroups including those of special needs students; but also to measure the ability to apply various technologies to collaborative project assignments not specific to the use of hardware or software. As the HCCS moves forward with the plan to integrate technology into K-12 instruction, active participation from a knowledgeable sampling of all key stakeholders will be crucial to the development of comprehensive curriculum assessment and the support of teachers who confidently use technology rich re sources in the daily delivery of instruction. Due to the fact that technology changes rapidly, plans and assessments must include regular adjustments to incorporate emerging technologies. It is the belief that if all teachers progress towards the NETT performance goals, it the students who also benefit from this progression. If needed, prescribed remediation will be a positive experience for students not an embarrassment. To be effective role models, teachers should be evaluated using, at a minimum, the same NETS Technology Integration Standards students are expected to master. All teachers should meet the following standards and performance indicators. 7. Who are the stakeholders? Staff members, students, and community members 8. What role do you have in technology at the schools? See question 2. 9. What support do you provide with technology resources? The technology department meets cyclically with the leaders from professional learning, curriculum and instruction, special education, ESOL, Title I, and with media specialists to assess the progress toward the Teaching and Learning goals mentioned above. Each departments plan is fully aligned and integrated with the above learning goals. Integrating and coordinating these system goals into instructional technology provides a seamless transition to what HCSS desires, educating our students with the most current and valued instructional technology available (based upon yearly budgetary information). One such important factor with this integration is professional development. Professional development for our staff members continues to play a critical role in the integration of instructional technology and the daily classroom. The use of both HCSS Technology Department, eLearning Specialists and technology vendor-based staff instruction will continue bring up to date

educational information as it relates pedagogy strategies within the classroom. With HCSS providing video conferencing capabilities at each school location, professional development from in- county trainers, as well as those vendor-based trainers, it will allow for flexibility in training multiple numbers of personnel at multiple locations at the same time. It is the intent of the HCSS is to continue to strive for innovative ways to provide technology instruction for students, staff members, and the community.

10. What activities are carried out by the center? We house servers, email, web filtering, we house break fix technicians, system engineers, all 10 GB WAN connections run from the TC to all schools. Web development, A/V, eLearning and training lab. 11. What type of training do you provide students/teachers? See question 2. 12. Could you provide a "brief history" of the center? Im not sure about this. Ive only been working in the Tech Center for 5 years.