Agenda - 09-20-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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professional development to provide them with the skills they need to develop the competencies in their students. The professional development will be provided by Sheila Cory and,if their positions are funded, the site-based technology specialists. The Committee also discussed how to eventually hold programs at all levels accountable for developing the technology competencies. Because the competencies are to be tested by the state only at the eighth grade, it is possible that elementary schools would regard development of the competencies as a middle school responsibility. The state has identified skills to be taught at each grade level. The Committee recommends a district-developed accountability measure be established at the third and fifth grade levels to assure that students develop the competencies at a level of depth that can only be achieved through use of the skills over time. It is important to underscore the fact that although the state is testing technology competencies, the goal is not simply to assure that all students know how to use word processing, databases, spreadsheets, etc. The goal is to have students be better communicators, information retrievers and analyzers, mathematical thinkers, etc. This can only be achieved by having students learn how to use the tools and then actually use them over time in different content areas and focused on different problem-solving situations. The Committee discussed the software needs related to the competencies and felt that one area, keyboarding, needed some attention. Currently,no common direction has been set for the district, other than the use of Junior Typer,a program selected approximately eight years ago and not consistent with the newer computers we are purchasing. As a result of this discussion, a site- license for the program Paws has been purchased for each elementary school in the district. • 5