District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support
Educational Technology

Massachusetts Technology Plan 2003-2006

The primary goal of Massachusetts Education Reform and of the Massachusetts Board of Education is to raise student academic achievement by creating conditions that promote effective schools and accountability for results. In keeping with this goal and those of the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act of 2001 under the No Child Left Behind legislation, Massachusetts provides leadership to schools in using appropriate technology to improve student learning.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) will use the following strategies to improve student academic achievement and help students acquire technology literacy, as well as to support teachers and administrators in integrating technology into the curriculum.

1. Local Technology Planning
   In order for technology to support the improvement of student academic achievement, certain conditions must be in place. Comprehensive planning is required to create and maintain these conditions. In 2000, the Department established Local Technology Plan Benchmark Standards   to gauge the progress of schools in establishing technology conditions that support effective teaching and learning practices. These standards are recommended conditions for school districts to aim to have in place by 2003.

   In 2002 the Massachusetts Educational Technology Advisory Council (ETAC) drafted the Massachusetts STaR (School Technology and Readiness) Chart patterned after the Texas and the CEO Forum's charts of the same name. The purpose of the Massachusetts STaR Chart is to help school districts answer some critical questions to improve their level of technology integration and ensure the best possible teaching and learning. The Department will revise the Local Technology Plan Benchmark Standards using the STaR Chart as guidance. The revised benchmark guidelines will help districts and the Department in the approval of local technology plans from 2003 to 2006.

2. Enhancing Education Through Technology Grants
   To support school districts that have a high number of students in poverty and a high need for technology, the Department has designed the educational technology grants to implement and evaluate the following focus areas in the next five years.

   1. Enhancing Education Through Technology Entitlement Grants (Fund Code 160) - The Department will work with school districts to apply for these grants through the Massachusetts consolidated grant application process. The goal of this process is to help schools to develop a multi-year strategic plan that includes a comprehensive technology component for meeting the five performance goals and indicators specified in the No Child Left Behind Act. For districts not ready to begin this comprehensive planning process, the Department will support them in their stand-alone technology entitlement grant applications.

   2. Model Technology Integration Grants (Fund Code: 165) - Awarded to districts with teachers who have implemented exemplary technology projects, these grants are designed to support the adoption of exemplary models by the teachers' colleagues in their local districts and/or other districts. This program also encourages teachers to demonstrate how students can develop technology skills as they integrate technology in the learning of content.

   3. Technology Enhancement Competitive Grants (Fund Code 170) - In this two-year grant program there is an emphasis on effective technology integration, high quality technology professional development to improve student academic achievement, e-learning, and using technology for assessment.

   4. Content Institutes (Fund Code: 171) - One of the focus areas of the annual Department's Content Institutes is the use of technology to teach the different content areas. The Department will continue to include instructional technology as a focus area in the annual Content Institutes.

3. Statewide Technology Initiatives To support Massachusetts educators in integrating technology effectively into curriculum and instruction and in improving student academic achievement, the Department will continue to provide the following ongoing activities:

   1. Technology Literacy

      1. Recommended PreK-12 Instructional Technology Standards - These standards provide guidelines on what students should know and be able to do using technology in the K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 grade-span levels. The Department will continue to use both state and federal grants to showcase models in which students are acquiring these skills through the integration of technology into the learning of the curriculum areas. (See above Fund Codes 165 and 170.)

      2. Educators' Technology Literacy - The Department is working with the Boston Public Schools to adopt its teachers' technology competency self-assessment tool for statewide implementation. The "Massachusetts educators technology self-assessment tool" will be posted on the state's Virtual Education Space (VES) so that it can be accessed by all educators.

   2. Educator Licensure and Technology Professional Development

      1. ELAR - The Massachusetts online Educator Licensure and Recruitment system has been developed to provide easy access for educators to obtain their licenses and for administrators to recruit new teachers. The Department will continue to support educators in using this online system.

      2. Instructional Technology Teacher License - The Massachusetts Board of Education approved the Amendments to Regulations on Educator Licensure (603 CMR 7.00) at the January 28, 2003 Board meeting. One of the amendments changes the Instructional Technology license from a specialist teacher license (second license) to a teacher license (first license) in order to provide a better opportunity for potential teachers to be licensed. The Department will work with teacher preparation programs to approve those programs that prepare students for the Instructional Technology Teacher Licensure. The Department will also develop a teacher test for the license.

      3. Project MEET - In the past four years, through the support of the federal Technology Innovation Challenge Grant Program (TICG) and the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF), Massachusetts has supported over 66 school districts in quality technology professional development under Project MEET (Massachusetts Enhancing Educators with Technology). The Department will continue this successful model through the NCLB competitive grant programs (see Fund Code 170 above). In addition, the Department will ensure that technology professional development activities align with the Massachusetts professional standards for teachers and administrators.

   3. Technology Information Services

      1. Data Collection - Information for schools including the Student Information Management System (SIMS), the online data collection forms, Directory Administration, and other data collection efforts are collected electronically by the Department annually. To meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind, the Department will work with school districts to update their Student Information Management Systems so that they will collect required data for annual reporting, as well as create the Report Cards that districts must share with parents under the new legislation.

      2. Statistical Reports - The Department has up-to-date summary statistics on schools and districts, as well as statewide trends on its web site. This includes information on enrollment, school dropouts, plans of high school graduates, and student exclusions, as well as profiles of Massachusetts schools and districts.

      3. School/District Profiles - The Department provides fundamental information about Massachusetts' elementary and secondary schools through this web site. Up-to-date basic facts about enrollment, school spending, demographics and test scores in the Commonwealth's districts and public schools, including charter schools, collaboratives, and approved special education schools are available through this site.

   4. Virtual Education Space (VES)
      The state has established VES (Virtual Education Space), a set of online tools and resources for educators and students. VES offers Massachusetts educators discussion forums, collections of standards-based educational resources, tools for student assessment, and access to online courses. One of VES's tools is CLASP (Curriculum Library Alignment and Sharing Project). CLASP is a software application that teachers and administrators can use to facilitate curriculum alignment/development. The Department plans to continue to provide and maintain these tools for all educators in the state.

   5. Assistive Technology
      For the past five years the Department has provided assistive technology professional development to over 130 school districts under the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund. With additional special education federal funds and in coordination with the Special Education Planning and Policy Development Office, three expert service providers have been contracted to provide quality professional development in the use of assistive technology to participating educators and special educators across the Commonwealth. This service has been continued through the No Child Left Behind technology competitive grant program under Fund Code 170 (see above). The Department also provides guidance to schools through a recently published document, Assistive Technology in Massachusetts Schools . The purpose of the document is to provide information on evaluating students' needs for assistive technology, supporting the use of assistive technology in schools, and selecting technologies and services that will enable all students to access the curriculum. The Office of Instructional Technology has been participating in discussions on development of a universal file format, a national initiative whose lead agency is Massachusetts based (the Center for Applied Special Technologies - CAST). The Special Education Planning and Policy Development Office and the Office of Instructional Technology will continue to coordinate efforts to support schools in the use of assistive technology and universal design principles.

   6. Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS)

      1. The Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) is the Commonwealth's statewide assessment program. Every public school student, including students with disabilities, must participate in MCAS. Students with disabilities may receive accommodations to take the MCAS tests based on the recommendations of the student's IEP Team or 504 team. Accommodations include the use of assistive technology (e.g., word processor, electronic speech-to-text conversion, or other communication device or system). A small number of students with the most significant disabilities, about 1% statewide, may take the MCAS Alternate Assessment. The MCAS Alternate Assessment consists of a portfolio of materials collected annually by the teacher and student. Evidence for the student portfolio may include work samples, instructional data, videotapes, and other supporting information and materials based on the student's performance in the subject being assessed. To assist educators in creating and organizing "electronic portfolios," the Department has funded the development of a software package called AIMS (Assessment and Instructional Management System). Since the year 2000, the Department has offered grants to school districts for purchasing the AIMS software and related equipment, as well as training teachers to use it. Districts' use of the AIMS software is increasing; 25 electronic portfolios were submitted in 2001, while 145 were submitted in 2002.

      2. Online MCAS Tutorial
         The Department is working with Princeton Review to help juniors to improve Mathematics and English skills. The Department provides high school juniors and sophomores throughout the state with 24-hour access to Princeton Review's online tutorial, Homeroom.com. Homeroom.com diagnoses students' weaknesses in mathematics and English and provides online tests and assignments to assist them. Teachers and parents also have access to Homeroom.com to follow students' progress and access skill-based instructional resources to support students in school and at home. Student access to the tutorial is via the VES portal.

      3. Analyze students' MCAS test scores
         The Department has purchased TestWiz, a software application customized to quantify and analyze student MCAS scores. Hands-on training sessions were provided across the state to familiarize school personnel with this software. This application is available free of cost to all districts. Depending on the budget, the Department is planning to continue this service to schools.

   7. Partnership
      The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is working with local districts, professional organizations, research agencies, and business partners to raise student academic achievement through creating conditions for effective schools and promoting accountability for results. The Department will continue to establish partnerships with these entities. Currently, the Department is working with different partners in the following areas:

      • Joint conferences and technology professional development activities - MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators), WGBH, TERC, Mass Networks, Converge Magazine
      • Online courses - MASS (Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents), EDC (Education Development Center, Inc.), MASCD (The Massachusetts Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)
      • Assistive Technology - MESPA (Massachusetts Elementary School Principals Association), HEC (Hampshire Education Collaborative), ICI (Institute for Community Inclusion)
      • Evaluation - NEIRTEC (New England and Islands Regional Technology Educational Consortium)
      • Curriculum Alignment - Marco Polo Education Foundation
      
      
      
   8. Outreach and Communication

      1. ESE website - The Department maintains an up-to-date web site to share information with schools. The public can access the latest policy decisions, regulations, resources, and activities of the Department through this site. New headlines are added to the home page and news page nearly every business day, and most Department programs and initiatives update their information at least monthly. Use of the Web site has nearly doubled from 2000 to 2003, with nearly 10,000 unique visits received in January of 2003. Some of the features recently added to the site include profiles of all schools in the state, a gallery of student artwork, and MCAS test results, along with item analyses and questions from previous tests.

      2. Each spring the Department hosts regional educational technology conferences where educators can network with peers and learn more about integrating technology into the curriculum. Through these conferences, the Department will share with educators across the Commonwealth projects developed by recipients of Enhancing Educators Through Technology grants funded through No Child Left Behind.

4. Evaluations and Research

   1. Ed Tech Reports
      Each year, the Department develops a report on the state of educational technology in Massachusetts based on data gathered through the Tech Plan Update, a collection of online forms. This annual report tracks the progress of districts in their use of and access to technology.

   2. Evaluation Plan on Impact of Technology
      In the spring of 2003, the Department will issue a request for response (RFR) to contract for evaluation services to measure the impact of the NCLB Enhancing Education Through Technology grants on students and educators. This will be a longitudinal study involving a multi-year contract.