Partnerships, Collaboration, and
Coordination:
Summaries of Plans and Strategies
Contact: Christine Franklin, Director,
IUPUI (etc.iupui.edu)
Webmaster's
Note: The Educator's Technology Center was officially closed September
27, 2001.
MISSION
The Educators' Technology Center of Indiana is committed to improving learning for students by providing information services and assistance with technology to educators who are creating better learning environments.
DESCRIPTION
The Educators' Technology Center provides a preview center and information services for Indiana educators who are interested in using technology to improve learning. The staff conducts preview sessions; collects, analyzes, and disseminates information on the educational uses of various technologies; and uses all appropriate methods for making information and services more readily available.
The Indiana Department of Education, as funding agency, and the IUPUI School of Education, as administrative agency, share a fundamental commitment to improving learning for Indiana students. The Educators' Technology Center is in a unique position to support that commitment by serving as a bridge between public schools and teacher preparation. Collaboration with the School of Education allows the Center and the School to share knowledge and resources for the benefit of Indiana schools. In partnership with the IDOE in technology planning for the state, this Center is available to expand services to meet the current and future needs of Indiana educators.
CURRENT/RECOMMENDED DIRECTIONS
Planning
This Center is a repository of planning materials and links to planning resources for schools as they develop technology plans. After the planning, this is a prime part of the professional development that is required for effective implementation of those plans.
Connectivity
Two-way interactive video teleconferencing and an interactive Web site have
Hardware
changed the nature of information delivery to our educator clientele. With the installation of newer technologies such as ATM connectivity and streaming video, the Center will be able to demonstrate new models of providing content for professional development.
Helping educators prepare for the future requires that the Center keep current with developments in hardware and other new technologies and make those available for preview in a vendor-neutral environment.
Content
Content for both k-12 curriculum and teacher professional development is central to this Center's mission. We support teachers with resources ranging from the software collection to Web site and Web-based databases that link curriculum standards to authentic and
engaging learning sites. As we migrate toward more electronic services, the Web site, streaming video, and electronic distribution will more frequently be the vehicles for information dissemination. A critical element will be using the appropriate technology for each task.
Professional Development
The staff of this Center meets educators at every stage of adoption and provides services at each level of concern. Our clientele ranges from pre-service teachers who have little experience in either curriculum or technology to master teachers who wish to expand their repertoire to technology directors who are developing technology plans or designing staff development programs. The technology is ubiquitous; professional development is the key that will determine whether technology is used well or poorly in Indiana classrooms.
Evaluation
From a formal evaluation by a national research firm, consultation with local experts, and conversations with visitors to the Center, the staff identifies new and expanded activities. DELIVERABLES
Maintain links to planning resources for schools.
Use new technologies to demonstrate new models of interactivity and to provide content for professional development to a much wider audience.
Support school decision making with appropriate hardware and software demonstrations and information.
Publish a Web-based relational database of Indiana content proficiencies linked to instructionally sound and engaging Web sites, examples of appropriate software, and online projects that support specific proficiencies.
Develop a process by which teachers can contribute software evaluations, project ideas, and student products to a curriculum integration portfolio that is aligned with Indiana proficiencies.
Explore and evaluate the effectiveness of streaming video for information dissemination.
Focus on technology as teaching-learning tools by hosting events for guided teacher production.
Provide more in-depth resources, such as multimedia design and Web production tools for teachers.
Explore two-way interactive video and streaming video as vehicles for dissemination of best practice information and curriculum content.