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What changes might need to occur within the roles of people involved in education to assure that 21st Century Learning can occur?

Capital IU's Answers

Category: directly related to how assessment and evaluation of learning and teaching can occur, and impacts on the ways it can occur

• Afterthought – How do PSSA’s and NCLB help accomplish any of these goals?
• Impact of current testing is possible barrier

Category: directly related the information that students need to learn

• Statewide Curriculum
• Start with standards and work towards Curriculum - use the tools to meet the standards.
• Pacing Guides and strict Curriculum fly in the face of this change.

Category: directly related to the responsibilities of higher education to support needs in education

• Pre-service training
• Teachers should be coming in with entry level technology skills

Category: Change in methodology

• Think about teachers, admin, etc. - Differentiated instruction, constructivist learning, project-based learning
• Inter-disciplinary units are the norm

Category: changes to the roles/responsibilities of professionals involved in education

• Create the expectation that these tools need to be used.
• A school needs a technology specialist teacher, one with a focus on curriculum and it’s applications
• Who can function as a solutions provider and assist the administration on understanding the benefits of technology for students and staff.
• People’s perceptions need to change and a paradigm shift needs happen about schools
• administrator sets the tone
• knowledge sharing throughout the school community
• have to change and restructure the school set-up
• not only offer support from a “tech specialist”, but design systemic expectations that are ensuring all areas are keeping a focus on the relevant use of technology.
• School based (local) personnel – well versed in the intricacies of the entire learning community who are able to then determine the technologies, practices and strategies that will meet the needs of learners…
• Everyone learns from everybody…
• Being a visionary is recognizing when you can say “I told you so…” and keeping your mouth shut.
• Think about teachers, admin, etc.- Change in instructional practices
• Think about teachers, admin, etc. -Be more flexible in incorporating new resources and models (distance learning, etc.)
• Cross grade level opportunities
• Changes to the structure and scheduling of the school day
• Greater use of out-of-school resources and learning opportunities
• New roles - Master teachers develop authentic project-based assignments that require use of technology tools and higher order thinking skills to complete.
• New Roles - Peer coaches are more widely implemented and empowered and supported
• Tech integrators need to be available to help classroom teachers effectively use technology.
• Creation of professional learning communities, teacher training institutions need to foster the collaboration,
• Certification – what you learn is obsolete before you finish. Has to be an on going certification. Continual professional development.
• Superintendent – change agent
• Make technology coordinators report to the change agent
• Techies stay or increase techni-ness
• Competencies in technology need to be built into teacher contracts
• Teacher is more the learning consultant/facilitator
• Developing a shared vision by agreeing what does 21st Century Learning look like
• All people need to know they must change always
• Principal as tech leader.
• Supervisory Model change: Teachers currently report to Principal. Tech directors often report to Principals or Superintendents that are not technology savvy.
• the Industrial Labor model doesn’t work for empowered teachers. Teachers should have the freedom to take risks.
• Freedom to Fail
• Learning community - put teachers in charge of producing success. Allow teachers have time to talk with each other.
• Restructure school day to allow for collaboration among teachers.
• Teachers need to be treated as professionals
• Teachers need to think of themselves as pros
• Teachers need to be paid as professionals
• Change in administrator’s role as evaluator - allow for cooperative peer evaluation
• Revise teacher evaluation criteria process
• Give teachers freedom to choose how they will meet the standards
• Big Idea: Developing a shared vision by agreeing what does 21st Century Learning look like

Category: directly related to the impact of interaction between students and the people with whom they interact as students and members of the community, including parents

• parent/community to encourage technology use
• Curricula must be locally designed in order to be most appropriate for the kids learning…
• Departments (business, enterprise, etc) need to agree on priorities so that they reduce competing agendas.

Category: Educational Governance, including PDE and school boards. Directly related to the support of education by society and the impact of education on society.

• Revisit the certification process
• Technology should be a bigger part of supt. letters of eligibility.

Category: directly related to the technology available and/or support for the technology

• All technology problems happen through the decades and we always need support, back from when we used film strips and the film broke or the light burned out.
• We need to learn to fix our own problems.
• Teachers reflect many different levels of technology adoption—having a tech integrator to support the inclusion of technology and motivate the late adopters.

Category: Training needed

• Professional development needs to be more technology directed
• Allow more time for teachers to learn the technology

Edinboro's Answers

Category: not sure what was meant

• Should a technician be able to come in and teach students?
• Certification is not a guarantee of results. There is no way to insure that they will ever be used.
• Security – school districts are doing there own thing
• IU- are pooling together to offer rebates, reduced lunches, etc.
• Need: Unfortunately don’t have the control to block different cites for different schools.
• Cost of ownership
• Changes – technical support vs. professional development: Only need certification if you are building the curriculum. More about the role than the title.
• Need a distinct role of technology support: Now it seems to be that several people are pulled in several different directions.

Category: directly related to the responsibilities of higher education to support needs in education

• More than one ed tech class should be required, and methods courses need to address technology as a part of that teaching.
• Maybe it [extra ed tech class] should be offered as a post baccalaureate option to a certified teacher
• Certification (highly qualified)

Category: changes to the roles/responsibilities of professionals involved in education

• Teachers need to be more facilitators as opposed to instructors of information
• We need technology educators for students
• Need: Educator to teach student skills
• Technology meshes with curriculum
• The teacher/tech relationship must be strong. If it is not, and you are not working well together, things will not go well. Both sides must realize that they are there to support the students and learning.
• Mentality needs to change for all staff members. Technology learning needs to be continuous.
• Changes – technical support vs. professional development: Needs to be a top down – from superintendent to bottom. Without leadership it will not reach the classrooms.
• Need a distinct role of technology support: Depends on the district and what equipment is there – can someone where more than one hat?
• Need a distinct role of technology support: Separate technical support to classroom usage – it is too much for one person.
• Need a distinct role of technology support: More hats – is this do to not enough money to hire two positions?
• Need a distinct role of technology support: One person can’t be pulled in more directions – when in the class – they can’t help everyone while teaching if they are the tech support as well.
• Need a distinct role of technology support: Taking care of equipment – everyone should be trained as a first responder. The cord is unplugged, screen is dim etc. Some one should fix it when they see it.

Category: Educational Governance, including PDE and school boards. Directly related to the support of education by society and the impact of education on society.

• Freeing PSSA responsibilities to allow risk tasking
• Consolidating a lot of services to save money – this helps with support. Need more group – statewide network – can buy a large firewall and several districts can utilize it. Can do it unless all have the same compatibility.
• Changes – technical support vs. professional development: New people and new roles – need certifications.
• Get input from businesses about types of skills
• Security: Erate – federal funding. School districts can apply for funding for phones and service, hardware and internal connections.

Category: directly related to the technology available and/or support for the technology

• We need technology support for teachers to get them up to speed on the programming
• An additional teacher in the lab to support technology lessons would be helpful
• Need: Integrator to work with teacher to teach skills
• Need: Technician
• On-site technology integrator
• Changes – technical support vs. professional development: Tech support of classroom – make it work – support should not care or need to know about how the instruction is used – they need to just implement the technology.
• Need a distinct role of technology support: Break down software in classroom to hardware installation on equipment in schools.

Category: Training needed

• Pre-service training of technology
• Maybe require so many “TECH” hours for teachers. It would possibly be up to the school district to support this, since all districts have various tech needs.
• Need: Professional development

Kings College's Answers

Category: not sure what was meant

• Where do we start????
• Need new roles and new definitions of old roles
• When is technology a tool and when is it a subject area? When does it need to be integrated and when does it need to be presented as a separate course area?
• Should there be a ratio of tech staff to students/teachers?

Category: directly related to how assessment and evaluation of learning and teaching can occur, and impacts on the ways it can occur

• Present Board members with some way to show what neat things are going on in the school

Category: directly related the information that students need to learn

• Separate technology from business curriculum

Category: changes to the roles/responsibilities of professionals involved in education

• Building administrators must drive the change
• Building administrators must understand what the technology is
• Change budgeting process- sharing role of technology
• Adopt NET Standards for pre-service teachers
• Standardization of roles; defined by state and certification requirements established- instructional technology, network administrators, tech support
• Tech support people need to have some education background; esp at network administrators level, not necessarily the “tech” troubleshooter person
• Teacher technology competencies are established and enforced
• Tech coordinators “should” be the mediator between Tech folks and Teachers and should work with Teachers on new tools. Need computer department run like a business but need person between them and teachers.
• Technical support staff need to be open minded and not “blockers”
• Financial reimbursment for Tech staff (under paid)
• Administrators and Board Members need to get together in a meeting like this to talk together about technology needs.

Category: Training needed

• 30 hours of Technology Instructional for building administrators
• Retraining in all roles to understand the available tools and how to integrate it with curriculum and instruction
• Act 48 revamped to require some portion of technology based work
• Tech competency benchmarks and training for board members

Mansfield's Answers

Category: not sure what was meant

• Certification? REQUIRED? -- International Driver’s License

Category: directly related the information that students need to learn

• Students: more active learners
• Students: ethical use of technology
• Students: attitude about education in general needs to be change
• Ethics, ethics, ethics
• Students--becoming self-learners

Category: directly related to the responsibilities of higher education to support needs in education

• Higher Ed must prepare the new teachers to integrate the technology from the start

Category: changes to the roles/responsibilities of professionals involved in education

• Teachers have to become technology minded and technology people must teacher minded (Cross Training)
• New Position - Field IT support for students not learning at the physical school.
• Traveling Teachers that are responsible for a batch of students
• Teachers: there needs to be a shift in though how they use technology in the classroom.
• Teachers: role of teacher planning; more time to research.
• Teachers: be able to describe the problems that occur rather than “it doesn’t work”.
• Teachers: change in thinking about how and when they can learn; self-directed learning.
• Teachers: realization that tool can break down the barrier between school and home.
• Teachers: virtual office hours for staff to do the things to learn and experiment with technology; not all learning can take place 8:00-3:00
• Teachers: ethical use integration
• Administrators: need to have a grasp of technology.
• Administrators: principals need to model technology.
• Administrators: technology needs to be understood that it is a tool--a tool that was important as a pencil.
• Skill combinations that fit a board range of needs for small rural districts.
• Superintendent/ school board members be tech savvy
• Technology must be as naturally used as the calculator or ruler.
• Teachers--facilitators, not lecturers
• Teachers--taught simple computer maintenance (fix simple problems that don’t need major IT support)
• Clarification of Roles--education required for specific purposes (teach towards education): media specialist, methodology, IT to make sure “toys” are working

Category: directly related to the impact of interaction between students and the people with whom they interact as students and members of the community, including parents

• Help desk for parents: should the help desk for schools be made available to parents?
• Help desk for parents: how many are Internet savvy?
• Parents: model proper tech behavior
• Parents--need education about new technology--communication needs

Category: Educational Governance, including PDE and school boards. Directly related to the support of education by society and the impact of education on society.

• Certification? REQUIRED? -- easily attainable
• Certification? REQUIRED? -- performance based (not school building grade levels)
• Certification? REQUIRED? -- equivalency
• Legal system would have to change
• Parents need real time access to student’s progress
• Parents need increased burden to instill ethics into children
• Business Involvement--purchase equipment--COMMUNITY NETWORK

Category: directly related to the technology available and/or support for the technology

• If the computer is not running there is no integration

Seton Hill's Answers

Category: changes to the roles/responsibilities of professionals involved in education

• We need to separate the types of support between “technical” support to repair, verses educational specialists who help the teachers learn how to use the technology effectively.
• Administrators need to fall in behind the teachers and support.
• It all starts with leadership. There has to be complete buy-in from the school board, through the superintendent, administrators, and teachers. These leaders need to have a wide field of view and not become focused on a single issue as a board member.
• Staff to add - Department Tech people resource people
• Content coaches should integrate technology into meetings
• Add a technology coach or technology content into other subjects
• Get technology and curriculum coordinators on the same page working as one
• Instructional technology specialist should be the bridge between the two (SOMEONE WHO IS CERTIFIED)

Category: directly related to the impact of interaction between students and the people with whom they interact as students and members of the community, including parents

• Why aren’t we teaching parents to use the technology?

Category: Educational Governance, including PDE and school boards. Directly related to the support of education by society and the impact of education on society.

• We need school boards and administrators who are perhaps younger in thinking or are willing to constantly change. Chronological age is unimportant, but the willingness to change and continue to learn about new technologies to keep abreast of what could be used in their classrooms.
• The community needs to really affect this change. Board members need to be held accountable for how they spend money and how the school system functions. There needs to be open communication from the public to the elected school board members.
• We need support from the state for the instructional technology specialist certificate

Category: Training needed

• Put teachers in cooperative learning groups.... send teachers out to learn something and let them come back and teach their colleagues.
• Teachers do not like to be taught by salespeople

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