District/School Administration PK-16 Program Support
Educational Technology

Local Technology Plan Guidelines
(School Year 2004-2005 through 2006-2007)

In order to be eligible for E-Rate discounts, as well as federal and state technology funding, every school district is required to have a long-range strategic technology plan approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. School districts must have their plans on file locally, including a full description of their implementation strategies. Each year, to approve school districts' technology plans, the Department asks districts to report on the progress they have made in implementing their plans through the Department's secure web portal.

In 2000, to help districts develop purposeful plans, the Department worked with technology stakeholders across the state to develop a set of recommended guidelines called "Local Technology Benchmark Standards for 2003". These guidelines represent recommended conditions for the effective integration of technology into instruction.

In 2001, the Board of Education established the Educational Technology Advisory Council (ETAC) to advise the Department on issues relating to the use of technology in schools. ETAC developed the School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart to illustrate the "complex set of interactions of people, materials and dimensions" that are involved in using technology effectively in schools. ETAC believes that the STaR Chart represents "the beginning of a new strategic plan for Massachusetts to improve student learning with the use of technology." Based on the recommendations of the STaR Chart and advice from stakeholders across the Commonwealth, the Department has developed this new set of guidelines for schools to use in technology planning. These guidelines are not mandated but rather recommended benchmarks ¹ for districts to meet by the end of the school year 2006 to 2007. The Department will use these guidelines to gauge the progress of districts' implementation in order to approve their technology plans annually.

Benchmark 1
Commitment to a Clear Vision and Mission Statement

1. The district's technology plan contains a realistic and clearly stated set of goals and strategies that align with the district-wide school improvement plan. It is committed to achieving its vision by the end of the school year 2006-2007.
2. The district has a technology team with representatives from a variety of stakeholder groups. The technology team has the support of the district leadership team.
3. Budget
   1. The district has a budget for its local technology plan with line items for technology in its operational budget.
   2. The budget includes staffing, hardware, software, professional development, support, and contracted services.
   3. The district leverages the use of federal, state, and private resources.
4. Evaluation
   1. The district evaluates the effectiveness of technology resources toward attainment of educational goals on a regular basis. Prior to purchasing the district assesses the products and services that are needed to improve teaching and learning.
   2. The district's technology plan includes an evaluation process that enables the district to monitor its progress in achieving its technology goals and to make mid-course corrections in response to new developments and opportunities as they arise.

Benchmark 2
Technology Integration

1. Teacher and Student Use of Technology
   1. (a) Outside the Classroom
      At least 85% of teachers use technology everyday, including some of the following areas: lesson planning, administrative tasks, communications, and collaboration. Teachers share information about technology uses with their colleagues.
      (b) Within the Classroom
      At least 85% of teachers use technology appropriately with students each week, including some of the following areas: research, multimedia, simulations, data interpretation, communications, and collaboration.
   2. At least 85% of students from grades 5 to 8 show proficiency in all the Massachusetts Recommended PreK-12 Instructional Technology Standards for Grades 5 to 8.
   3. At least 90% of teachers are working to meet the proficiency level in technology, and by the school year 2006-2007, 60% of teachers will have reached the proficiency level as defined by the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool (TSAT)2.
   4. The district has a CIPA -compliant Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) regarding Internet use.
2. Staffing
   1. The district has a full-time equivalent (FTE) district-level technology director/coordinator.
   2. The district provides one FTE instructional technology teacher per 40-80 instructional staff.
   3. The district has one FTE person dedicated to data management and assessment.

Benchmark 3
Technology Professional Development

1. By the end of the school year 2006-2007, at least 85% of district staff will have participated in 45 hours of high-quality technology professional development covering technology skills and the integration of technology into instruction.
2. Technology professional development is sustained and ongoing and includes coaching, modeling best practices, district-based mentoring, and study groups. The professional development includes concepts of universal design and scientifically based, researched models.
3. Professional development planning includes an assessment of district and teachers' needs. The assessment is based on the competencies listed in the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool3. The Department, the Educational Technology Advisory Council and stakeholders will review the levels of competencies in the Massachusetts Technology Self-Assessment Tool on an annual basis.

Benchmark 4
Accessibility of Technology

1. Students per Instructional Computer
   1. The district has an average ratio of fewer than five students per high-capacity, Internet-connected computer. The Department will work with stakeholders to review the capacity of the computer on an annual basis. (The ultimate goal is to have a one-to-one, high-capacity, Internet-connected computer ratio.)
   2. The district considers students' access to portable and/or handheld electronic devices appropriate to their grade level.
   3. The district has established a computer replacement cycle of six years or less.
2. Technical Support
   1. The district makes a commitment to provide timely in-classroom technical support with clear information on how to access the support, so that technical problems will not cause major disruptions to curriculum delivery.
   2. The district provides a FTE network administrator.
   3. The district provides at least one FTE person to support 100-200 computers. Technical support can be provided by dedicated staff or contracted services.

Benchmark 5
Infrastructure for Connectivity

1. Internet Access
   1. The district provides connectivity to the Internet in all classrooms in all schools including wireless connectivity, if appropriate.
   2. The district provides bandwidth of at least 10/100 MB to each classroom.
2. Networking (LAN/WAN)
   1. The district provides a minimum 10/100 MB Cat 5 switched network and/or 802.11b/g wireless network.
   2. The district provides services for secure file sharing, backups, scheduling, email, and web publishing, either internally or through contracted services.
3. E-Learning Environments
   1. The district encourages the development and use of innovative strategies for delivering specialized courses through the use of technology.
   2. The district deploys IP-based and or ISDN-based connections for access to web-based and/or interactive video learning on the local, state, regional, national, and international level.
   3. Classroom applications of e-learning include courses, cultural projects, virtual field trips, etc.

Benchmark 6
Access to the Internet outside the School Day

1. The district maintains an up-to-date web site that includes information for parents.
2. The district works with community groups to ensure that students and staff have access to the Internet outside of the school day.
3. The district web site includes an up-to-date list of places where students and staff can access the Internet after school hours.

In developing these benchmarks, we used the Massachusetts STaR Chart (School Technology and Readiness Chart) developed by the state's Educational Technology Advisory Council (ETAC). Derived from the chart created by the CEO Forum and adapted by Texas, the STaR Chart was adapted locally in collaboration with district technology directors. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has incorporated indicators from the STaR Chart into these benchmarks, as shown in the table below.

1 The word benchmark in this document is defined as a reference point in the implementation of the local technology plan.

2 TSAT is based on "Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers" developed by National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) as well as the STaR (School Technology and Readiness) Chart developed by the Educational Technology Advisory Council (ETAC).

3 Districts and teachers may use the TSAT online interactive application available on VES (Virtual Education Space) or a locally developed application.