Day 1 - 9-11:30 am - Live video link with the Governor and First Lady from the Governor’s Mansion for formal welcoming and remarks. Introduction of Council members to the Governor and First Lady.
- Introduction of members to one another and brief statements regarding individual backgrounds and goals for the Council
- Stan Maynard (SM)
- Joseph Robertson (JR)
- Jorea Marple (JM)
- Wallace Boston (WB)
- Lydotta M. Taylor (LT)
- Bruce Friend (BF) – Council guest from Florida Virtual School
- Nancy Sturm (NS)
- Kyle Schafer (KS)
- Lowell Johnson (LJ)
- Susan Day-Perroots (SDP)
- Dennis Taylor (DT)
- Robby Queen (RQ)
- Chris Wood (CW)
- Bill Burrall (BB)
- Lori Dillard (LD)
- Power Point Presentation from Council Chairman Nancy Sturm on the possibilities for direction and the origins of the Council
- Discussion led by Bruce Friend regarding the creation of a vision/mission statement for the Council
- the focus for the vision statement begins as technology’s role in the lives of every citizen of West Virginia
- the statement should focus on facilitating education through technology (WB)
- it is necessary to improve communication, especially at the local level → taking ideas like parent-teacher conferences used for online courses and implementing that format for all courses (JR)
- should we emphasize tying education to economic improvement? this relates to the Governor’s ideas regarding skilled workers as well as a correlation between education and economics (LJ)
- communication should improve between school districts → allow counties to see what programs exist across the state → improve networking and information sharing (SM)
- also improve communication with the outside world → intra-state as well as inter-state communication (LJ)
- could also focus on enhancing the cultural development of citizens through technology → example of interns benefiting from cultural exchange programs with other interns (KS)
- shared programs also lead to shared costs → additional benefit of program sharing is deferred costs (SM)
- educational technology should be seen as a tool to reach the broader goal of enhancing the education and economics of the state → perhaps the best method for addressing these issues is to see the dream that we have for the state in 5 years, and then work backward to see the steps necessary to get there (SDP)
- focus should be on education, not the technology (JM)
- a key to technology improvements is teacher comfort → leads to a willingness to use technology → this must be instilled at the teacher level (BB)
- that could be a goal → teacher professional development as a specific program (BF)
- need to understand why professional development is lacking → there must be accountability → why specifically don’t teachers adopt technology? (LT)
- community should be tied in → this is a key to technology adoption (SDP)
- technology integration is no longer an option → we must provide the tools for its integration (NS)
- why do teachers avoid technology? in the long run, these teachers will be weeded out → ignorance to technology programs may be a cause, but it can’t be a failure of availability (BF)
- there are hardware issues as well that must be taken into consideration → broadband, 10 year turnaround on hardware, etc. (JM)
- the quality of professional development must be high and it must be consistently provided → teachers have to be made accountable for the utilization of it (LD)
- don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal → technology is a tool, not an outcome → recognizing the end goal and then working backward is a good approach (LJ)
- reiteration of the previous point → recognize/identify the goal, but determine what are the practical steps to achieve that over a 5 year plan? (KS)
- we need to see the vision statement and then identify the steps (NS)
11:30am-12:30pm 12:30-3:00pm - live video conference with Senator Bob Plymale from Marshall University
- review of vision statement ideas from the morning session
- it is important that we include senior citizens → they should be a consideration (WB)
- Prolonged discussion of the language of the Council’s vision statement, ultimately creating the following:
“In order to actively participate in a growing global environment, West Virginians will embrace, value and utilize technology to stimulate a robust educational, economic, and community climate that enhances the lives of all its citizens.” - renewed discussion of the Council’s direction and ideas regarding possible initiatives or program areas
- there are several resources available to the citizens of WV that are dispersed throughout the websites of the different state agencies → an initiative of the Council might be to improve the communication with the citizens by coordinating these programs or centralizing their advertising (KS)
- we need to show the legislature what already exists as far as educational programs → much of the curriculum is already in place (BB)
- it is important that we identify West Virginia best practices under each category of program (SDP)
- the availability of classes for students should not be based on geography (KS)
- there are essentially 2 separate areas for educational technology: 1.) hardware, software, etc. and 2.) content and methodologies (NS)
- quality standards should be in place for hardware and professional development, etc. (JM)
- public/private partnerships could be utilized to update hardware and software → most companies will provide initial funding for these areas but want to see the mechanisms in place to ensure future funding can also be generated(WB)
- maybe the best method is to utilize pilot programs or demonstration sites (SM)
- all of the initiatives focused on should be driven by the outcome (NS)
3:00pm - video conference with Dr. Steve Paine, State Superintendent of Schools
3:15-5:00pm - renewed discussion of the possible initiatives for the Council
- should we discuss the scope of the Council’s overall initiative? many of the programs we adopt will be based on those assumptions (KS)
- reiteration of the task of creating a strategic plan for the state as well as the origins of the Council in Senate Bill 248 (NS)
- all West Virginians should be considered learners → ties into the question of scope (SDP)
- be cautious of limiting the scope of who is considered a learner → we should not exclude senior citizens or pre-K (JM)
- we should look at what we do well and then focus on what we are missing (LJ)
- it may be necessary to examine the current state of things more closely → what are the current programs across the state? (JM)
- we need to ensure that the initiatives get into the actual classrooms (NS)
- we also need to ensure that the teachers are being adequately prepared → especially for the future and for the future technologies that will eventually be in the classroom → the digital divide still exists, but it’s now an issue of who uses technology and who doesn’t (BF)
- we should examine what the Department of Education (DOE) is currently doing through their programs (NS)
- another method of examining the current programs is to go out into the schools and observe some things in person (LJ)
- Brenda Williams of the DOE provides a description of the programs currently in place throughout the state → Basic Skills, SUCCESS, Marco Polo, etc.
- in addition to the hardware and the productivity skills, many teachers have expressed interest in content
- bandwidth has become an issue for many schools as many of these programs have grown across the state
- it is important to note that much of the hardware provided through these programs is amplified and utilized to run other educational programs
- Question and Answer session with Brenda Williams regarding DOE programs
5:00pm - Reception and remarks from First Lady Gayle Manchin
Day 2 – 8:30-10:30am - Review of goals and objectives covered during Day 1 and suggestion of the creation of subcommittees based on the key focus areas addressed on Day 1; also renewed discussion of key points from Day 1 as well as new questions (NS)
- awareness of technology is important to reach veteran teachers who may be unwilling to change their methods (RQ)
- is there an effective way for us to assess current teacher skills? (LT and SDP)
- there must be consistency throughout the 55 counties of WV with regard to any basic skills that are required for teacher employment → also, higher education would have to comply (BB)
- Professional Development
- Subcommittee Chair: Bill Burrall
- Committee members: Lori Dillard and Joseph Robertson
- the effectiveness of the professional development depends on the presenter → also is contingent upon the administrator of your school and consistently each promotes technology (LD)
- where does the actual technology integration come from? (NS)
- generates from the RESAs (SDP)
- what are the keys then to successful professional development? (NS)
- it should incorporate the following:
1. hands on → teachers should get experience rather tha simply be told what to do 2. follow-up sessions → don’t allow it to be a one shot deal; make it ongoing 3. time → some teachers are unwilling to give up their free time; others are close to retirement and don’t care (LD) - substitute costs are becoming outrageous in trying to cover professional development (BB)
- short, targeted blocks of professional development could provide a solution → also mentoring programs could be utilized (SM)
- there has also been some success with virtual professional development (BB)
- Florida Virtual Schools employs online professional development for its own teachers → its important that any professional development program be relevant to what the teachers are doing in the classroom → the question should be asked: is the teacher going to use this next week, in 3 months, in 10 months? (BF)
- we should examine the new certification and recertification policies (LD)
- relevance of the material is very significant, but technology use and technology integration are 2 different things
→ it is also important to remember that professional development courses can only proceed as fast as the slowest participant → there is also a lack of consistency across professional development programs and there is a lack of a comprehensive plan for professional development (JR) - the hours used for professional development need to be re-prioritized and increased → there is a give and take with other groups – some people/groups feel that multiculturalism is the most important subject for professional development (JM)
- technology should be seen as more of a platform that other topics sit upon rather than a separate topic itself (NS)
- there are some programs that work that are already in place (LT)
- all professional development programs should include technology regardless of topic or subject matter (SM)
- before we advance with program ideas, we should examine what is currently being utilized (LJ)
- teachers definitely need hands-on experiences that incorporate technology (LJ)
- how is higher education handling professional development and how will this affect public schools? (JM)
- it is usually a 3rd party emphasis → the focus is always on the degree (SDP)
- the position of TIS (technology integration specialist) is the key → they can provide the necessary immediate support that teachers need, otherwise the teachers will lose interest and they’ll ignore their training
- the TIS is a very significant position; everything else is essentially rendered null without it (NS)
- the relationship the TIS has with teachers is significant → it is itself a form of professional development
- Infrastructure/ Hardware/ Software
- Subcommittee Chair: Kyle Shaffer
- Committee member: Jorea Marple
- we need to be able to leverage buying power between contract and independent purchasing (BB)
- businesses cycle through new machines every 3 years and that represents and admirable goal (WB)
- these contracts are complex issues – they are not black and white → it is important to remember that some technology coordinators have skills to make independent purchasing decisions and others do not (JM)
- our strategic plan should not focus on the lowest common denominator → there are more mavericks in place now than ever before (NS)
- there are successful models out there (SDP)
- we need to figure out how we can maximize the funding that is already being provided (NS)
- we should also look to higher education and their resources → how are they supporting public schools? (JM)
- businesses would be willing to provide funding for hardware cycling if a plan exists for following up the funding (WB)
- reiteration of the previous point → although companies have expressed their willingness to participate in programs like this, most would like to see some type of a plan in place before they provide funding (KS)
- RESA I model makes the RESA the hub (SM)
- it is important that the Council go out in the field and talk with the people who do the actual purchasing (JM)
- teachers, and not just students, need machines as well (BB)
- certainly no other industry would employ a secretary and not provide them with a computer to do their work, and yet this is what we ask of our teachers (NS)
- this issue could be tied to incentive programs to get laptops to teachers (SDP)
- the people who participate in state run training programs are much more likely to embrace technology (JR)
- Citizen Awareness/ Participation
- Committee Chairman: Wallace Boston and Representative of the Development Office
- the community awareness of the existing programs is essential → Marshall Co. schools has a ‘one stop shop’ website with links to important resources for the entire county – the state could utilize something in this model (BB)
- a representative from the development office could be instrumental in providing this (KS)
- in Florida there is a website (MyFlorida.com) that addresses citizen awareness → ensuring citizen participation is another subject, however
- public libraries should be included → they are an integral part of the community (SDP)
- public school media labs could be left open beyond school hours to provide resources for the community → we could also leverage EdVenture Labs and Mission WV labs (NS)
- 21st Century Learning Environment/ Curriculum/ Student Requirements
- Committee Chairman: Lydotta Taylor
- Committee member: Robby Queen
- Higher Education/ Research
- Committee Chairmen: Stan Maynard and Sue-Day Perroots
- State Agency Support
- Subcommittee Chairman: Dennis Taylor
- Committee member: Jay Cole
- Additional comments
- what about using the other points from Senate Bill 248 (public broadcasting, etc.)? (JM)
- the Governor should request from each agency a summary of what programs they have in place for community education → this could begin the process of centralizing the resources of the state (LJ)
- the charge of the initiative asks how higher education and K-12 can work together more effectively (JM)
- perhaps it is best that we utilize the first year to more specifically examine the problems associated with these issues (NS)
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