| The Department
of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) has
established four goals within its Community
Strategic Plan. Goal 1, Highest Student Achievement,
encompasses several extraordinary educational
initiatives. One such initiative is that
of infusing technology across the curriculum
and providing extended opportunities for
learning about and working with technology.
This includes understanding how technology
uses are aligned with the DoDEA curriculum
as well as national standards. It also includes
recognizing that as many of our young people
transition to the world of work, they will
be using technology as a basic part of their
employment. I want our young people to have
the skills and knowledge to be competitive
in the workforce whether in the field of
professional-technical studies or in technologically-related
fields such as mathematics and science. Integral
to Goal 1 is our effort to insure we lay
a sound foundation for students to develop
into technologically literate adults.
Our early technology training efforts were involved in providing professional
development in the basic areas of operating computer hardware, software and peripheral
devices. For more than five years, we have been focusing on the instructional
uses of technology in the classroom. This includes taking a close look at our
curriculum and how technology appropriately fits into each content area. Now
and in the future, curriculum and technology will play a crucial role for our
children and our world.
To support technology infusion into standards-based curricula, DoDDS Pacific
has purchased three new pieces of software to further compliment the generic
software tools available to teachers and students. Besides being able to use
a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database, graphics organizer, and
mapping software, teachers and students now also have available screen capture,
movie screen capture, and web page publishing software tools. These new software
tools will be introduced in three levels (basic, intermediate, and advanced)
during the next three years. This will match teacher skill level needs in integrating
these new software tools into their curriculum.
For the past several years, I have supported Far
East Technology Conferences (FETCs) so that DoDDS Pacific maintains pace with
current trends in the field
of technology. During School Year 2003-2004, we are hosting five FETCs for identified
district and school staff members. These conferences allow educational technologists,
information specialists, and secondary and elementary teachers to participate
in professional development activities that provide them with the knowledge,
skills and tools needed to lead our efforts to infuse technology across the curriculum
in our schools. These efforts allow us to keep pace each school year with the
infusion of hardware. For example, this school year, we replaced 2,400 desktop
computers throughout DoDDS Pacific bringing our Internet-connected computer to
student ratio to 2.4:1.
This greatly exceeds the national ratio of 4:1.
The
use of technology in the home is now an
integral part of family life. Access to
home computers provides an immediate connection
between home and school. Many of our schools
now provide Web connections that allow parents
to check their children’s homework
assignments, progress, and grades, and to
communicate with teachers, counselors and
administrators. Using the DoDDS Pacific site-licensed
Gaggle.net web-based e-mail system, students
can now send their work from school to home
and home to school. Furthermore, students
can utilize the e-mail system for educational
projects such as accomplishing peer reviews
of each other’s work and e-mailing
subject area experts. Through technology,
parents, as school partners, can participate
in and assist with their children’s
education. We can now provide our children
with extended learning opportunities through
technology resources such as Intranet, Internet,
e-mail connections, public libraries, and
other community sources. Such efforts are
instrumental in ensuring we reach our goal
of highest student achievement and in building
upon the future success of all of our DoDDS
Pacific children.
Nancy
C. Bresell
Director, DoDDS Pacific
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