1 Alabama Department of Education Elluminate Session February 25, 2009 The 2008 Technology Education Course of Study Requirement for Graduation

D UAL S TRATEGY FOR I MPLEMENTING T HE T ECHNOLOGY E DUCATION C OURSE OF S TUDY Strategy 1- Technology Education Embedded in Traditional Courses Applies to Grades K-8 and Encouraged in Grades 9-12 Strategy 2- The Computer Applications Course Requirement Designed for the 9-12 Grade Level ½ Credit Required for High School Graduation Student Demonstration of Proficiency 2

3 The State Board of Education … shall prescribe the minimum contents of courses of study for all public, elementary, and high schools in the state… ( Code of Alabama, 1975, § and § 16-6b-2f) … the county (city) superintendent of education shall prescribe courses of study for schools of the county (city) and submit for approval and adoption by the county (city) board of education…Printed copies shall be supplied to every teacher and interested citizen. ( Code of Alabama, 1975, § and § )

Three Goals for Educational Technology Addressed by NCLB: Use technology to improve the academic achievement of students in elementary and secondary schools. Ensure that every studentregardless of race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disabilityis technologically literate by the end of the eighth grade. Encourage the effective integration of technology with teacher training and curriculum development to establish widely implemented, research-based best practices. 4

2008 A LABAMA C OURSE OF S TUDY : T ECHNOLOGY E DUCATION B ECOMES L AW The State Board of Education adopted the Alabama Course of Study: Technology Education March 13, The adopted law supports the following Implementation Cycle. 5

ALABAMA COURSE OF STUDY: TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION REVISIONS AND ADOPTION Step 1: STATE TEXTBOOK COMMITTEE MEETS & ADOPTS Step 3: LOCAL SYSTEMS DESIGN CURRICULA Step 2: Spring 2010 LOCAL TEXTBOOK ADOPTION Step 4: OPTIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PROPOSED FULL IMPLEMENTATION Step 5:

Content standards and related content included in bullets in this document are minimum and required. Examples are fundamental and specific but not exhaustive. 7

In developing local curriculum, school systems may include: Additional Content Standards to Reflect Local Philosophies Implementation Guidelines Scope-&-Sequence Charts Pacing Guides Resources Activities 8

Course of Study2008 Course of Study Goal for TechnologyLiteracyFluency Number of Standards K-2 cluster= cluster=38 K-2 cluster= cluster=17 Measurability Content Standards Broad and Difficult to Assess Content Standards Clear and Assessable RigorAppropriate for the time Increased to be appropriate for 21 st Century Society Demands

Content/Organizational Strands: 2008 Content/Organizational Strands: Basic Operations and ConceptsTechnology Operations & Concepts Social, Ethical, and Human IssuesDigital Citizenship Technology Productivity ToolsCreativity and Innovation Technology Communications ToolsCommunication and Collaboration Technology Research ToolsResearch and Information Fluency Technology Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Tools Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

12 Cyber Safety Global Awareness Integration of Technology Professional Development Equitable Access Local Waivers for the Computer Applications Course Assessment Keyboard Utilization

Cyber safety standards are a part of every grade cluster. Standards cover protection of personal information and avoidance of online predators and cyber bullying. LEAs are encouraged to establish and strictly enforce guidelines for Internet use by students. Cyber safety taught as an integral part of using technology leads to optimal learning. 13

14 Schools and libraries must also certify that, as part of their Internet safety policy, they are educating minors about appropriate online behavior, including cyber bullying awareness and response and interacting with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms. Childrens Internet Protection Act (CIPA) S. 1492: Broadband Data Improvement Act became law on October 10, 2008 (Public Law )

C YBER -S AFETY - T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS : In the Social, Ethical and Human Issues Strand, cyber safety is not directly mentioned. The emphasis was on the responsibilities of the student to properly use technology COS: The Digital Citizenship strand not only covers the responsibilities of each student to use technology properly, but the necessity of the student to protect themselves in social networking and other actions with technology. Cyberbullying now must be addressed. Teaching Change: We must teach students how to protect themselves in social networking and business relations conducted via technology. Example: Students will roleplay some social networking scenarios from some of the popular sites (Facebook, Twitter, SecondLife) and be able to discuss how they should safely react if they were to face the situation. 15

16 Students will need technology skills to compete in the global marketplace for jobs. Technology Fluency, the goal of this Course of Study, allows the student to adjust to the rapidly changing global society. 16 Current world economic conditions make it important for Global Awareness to be stressed.

G LOBAL A WARENESS - T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS : In the Social, Ethical and Human Issues Strand, awareness focused more on local issues COS: The Digital Citizenship strand goes beyond government borders to international concerns with communications extending to other cultures in other geographic locations. Teaching Change: We must make students fully aware that global conditions directly affect their lives, and that we are no longer isolated from world conditions. Example: Students may take part in a project with other students from another part of the world via internet connection. Webinars used to jointly work on projects. 17

Twenty-first century skills are not adequately measured using twentieth-century assessments such as paper and pencil. Technology skills are inherently performance skills and must be evaluated through project- or problem-based assessments (digital portfolio format). Students need not just demonstrate technology fluency through performance to meet high school graduation requirements, but also learn how to apply knowledge and skills to problem solving. (Prepared for tomorrows workforce) 18

A SSESSMENT -T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS: In the Assessment position statement, it was noted that assessment for the Technology Education COS needed to go beyond paper-and-pencil to include skills-based assessments COS: This idea is extended in the new COS to include project- or problem-based assessments. Teaching Change: Problem solving skills are stressed more in the new COS. This necessitates more emphasis on using portfolios for assessing student progress. Example: Instead of a multiple choice test, students turn in their digital project. Digital movies, photographs, word processing documents, charts, and many other digital forms may be submitted via a network to a database where these records can be maintained. 19

T ECHNOLOGY O PERATIONS -T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS: In Basic Operations and Concepts strand, most statements are concerned with computers COS: The new strand, Technology Operations & Concepts, is a broader concept. Todays student needs to have knowledge that goes beyond computers. The rigor of the content has been increased. Teaching Change: Knowledge about computers is still important, but peripherals for computers, communications devices, and mobile computing devices should be included in instruction. Example: Students might be expected to import spreadsheets into word processing documents, and add tables, charts and graphs into the same presentation. 20

C REATIVITY AND I NNOVATION -T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS : Emphasis was on the use of the tools. The literacy goal only takes the student to the point of knowing how the tools work COS: The new strand, Creativity and Innovation, pushes the student to the point of fluency. Students knowledge is to be raised to the point of being able to apply tools in creative ways. Teaching Change: We will need to design projects that challenge students to apply what they know and create new products, or creative solutions to problems. Example: Students might work together to produce a digital game. In doing so, careful attention should be given to using programming logic to plan the design. 21

R ESEARCH -T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS: Emphasis was on how to use research tools. The literacy goal only takes the student to the point of knowing how the tools work COS: The new strand, Research and Information Fluency takes the learning to a new level. Again, beyond the tool to being able to analyze the value of the data returned by the search engine. Teaching Change: We need to go beyond finding information with the tools to develop the skills of analyzing its validity. Example: Students might use the Alabama Virtual Library to search for information concerning technology companies located in Alabama. In the past, this probably would have fulfilled the COS strand. Now, we need to go beyond that to such techniques as using multiple sources and looking at links to determine if there is a possible bias or inaccurate data in the information found by the search engine. 22

T OOL /S TUDENT C ENTERED -T EACHING D IFFERENCE 2002 COS: Emphasis in Problem-Solving and Communications strands was focused on learning how to use the tools to perform these activities COS: Emphasis is on the students fluent use of the tools to perform these activities. Teaching Change: Teaching needs to go beyond the teaching of tools used for communication. Students need to understand when application of these tools is appropriate. Collaboration is emphasized over individual work. Example: As part of an online course, students collaboratively communicate with a scientist about a local environmental issue. The students prepare a podcast that relays the results of their study to the public. 23

T HE 2009 T ECHNOLOGY COS S TANDARDS : Are currently located on ALEX. Are fully searchable. Will soon contain over 3,800 links to resources for easy reference…by May 1, 2009…just in time for summer!] s

T ECHNOLOGY E DUCATION R ESOURCES Resources to help you implement the new Technology COS are also located on ALEX: Professional Learning 3. Professional Development For additional information, please contact Dr. Shannon Parks at:

26 Question: Can the Career Technology Business Technology Applications* course be substituted for the one-half unit credit required for high school graduation? * This is not Business Technology Essentials. Answer: Yes. A committee of representatives from both Career Tech and Technology Courses of Study met and performed a crosswalk of the two documents. All standards of the Computer Applications course were present.

27 Question: Are there supporting documents for the Business Technology Applications course that will help in its implementation? Answer: Yes. Career Tech has prepared a document titled Business Technology Applications Plans of Instruction that offer guidance to teachers in preparing lesson plans.

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29 Question: Will students who take the Computer Applications course in Grade 8 be required to take the class in Grades 9-12? Answer: The state superintendent has given local superintendents permission, in a September 1997 memo, not to require students to repeat the course if they can demonstrate the competencies outlined in the computer applications course to qualified 9-12 school staff members.

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