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Acceptable Use Policies

                Being a digital citizen, is the ability to appropriately use technology even with the issues that arise. It is important for teachers to educate students on being a digital citizen to minimize the risks using innovative technologies. Schools minimize this risk for students by creating an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). This binds students and teachers to be responsible when using devices. Another part of the AUP for BCPS is to report when issues arise such as cyber-bullying , harassment, copyright, and violations of the AUP. Parents have the option to opt out of certain privacy options and the use of the device at home in secondary schools. We are fortunate to have many filters on our devices to block content however students find their way around the firewalls to get the content they want. It is important to have clear consequences to violations of the AUP so students are not willing to risk violations.        ...
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Technology Plan

          BCPS has a county-wide plan versus a school-based technology plan. The BCPS blueprint 2.0 was a 5 year plan from 2013-2018. The goal was to " To equip every student with the critical 21st century skills needed to be globally competitive, BCPS must ensure that every school has an equitable, effective digital learning environment, and every student has equitable access to learning and developing proficiency in a second language.” The teaching and learning opportunities would be beneficial for all BCPS stakeholders.  Data was collected and analyzed before 2012 but I wonder if it was re-evaluated as the plan was implemented.           One phrase I constantly hear is "eliminating the gaps and raising the bar". By providing all students with devices, BCPS was trying to achieve this goal. 21st century skills are needed in order to be globally competitive meaning students need these skills. The goal was to implement a blended cu...
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Ely's Eight Conditions

1. Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo This is my 5th year teaching and I have remained at the same school throughout these years. Within these five years, there has been a lot of change within my school and BCPS. We as teachers have adapted to being flexible with the 1:1 devices even though there is still much frustration. There has been a large focus on integrating technology in the classroom on a daily basis.  There was a limited amount of Professional Development given on our new LMS, Schoology, which lead to further dissatisfaction from the teachers. This meant teachers continue to learn as we teach which leads to various successes and failures.  The level of dissatisfaction is different for every teacher depending on their comfort level with the devices. As a whole, teachers in my building often solely substitute paper with a device. This is leading to a county-wide shift in device use. People are dissatisfied with devices not being used in a ...
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Blog Post #1

            I believe that actual innovation is the most important part of Rogers' elements of diffusion. Without an innovation, there would be no new idea to practice and communicate with others. This is the catalyst for all of the other diffusion elements. What idea would need to be spread over time within a social system without an innovation?             As a faculty, we have implemented many new innovations that align to our School Progress Plan (SPP) over the past few years. Reading, math, and climate have been the main focus of innovations in our building. When the innovation is introduced, it takes time and Professional Development before it is routinized into our daily instruction. Throughout the year, we collect data and refine the innovations as needed so they are successful. When teachers are uncomfortable with the innovation, our S.T.A.T. teacher will help teachers using a variety of methods to influence t...
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