tical header
tical header 
New at TICAL

Volume 14 Issue 5 
 

Hello all, 

 

As we move into spring we hope you are all beginning to reflect the many great classrooms, programs, and initiatives that were enhanced by technology this year. As many of your schools and districts begin to plan for technology integration in 14-15, we hope you take time to think about the never-ending focus on process and policy with technology. Many of the resources below will help! From face-to-face professional development at Leadership 3.0 to the virtual and global School Leadership Summit, TICAL is here and committed to providing diverse leaders, like yourself, with PD in technology!
 
Don't miss the upcoming webinar on March 12th to learn about a special program relating to technology policy resources. ON[the]LINE: A California 21st Century District Initiative will start at 3:30 PM PDT that day!
 
Have a very special start to spring.
 
Regards,
 
Rowland and Jason 
   
WebinarExciting Webinar Coming March 12 - A California 21st Century District Initiative
There is a burden being carried by CA school districts, each struggling individually with how to manage technology policies and guidelines appropriately for the future. This initiative, which has been providing resources to California districts for over a year, does the following; explores and establishes principles to guide the process, and establishes a suite of resources to support 21st century school districts/COEs, including: policies (adoptable or locally modifiable using established principles), samples of best practice codes of conduct, guidelines, and much more! 
 
 
The Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership (TICAL) and Steve Hargadon are pleased to announce the second annual School Leadership Summit on Thursday, March 27th, 2014. This free, world-wide conference will be held online and offers a unique chance to participate in a collaborative global conversation on school leadership with presentations by your peers. 
  
Don't miss out! Take a look at the flyer.
 

Conference strands (aligned to the internationally-recognized ISTE Standards for Administrators) will include the leadership topics:

  • Vision in a Changing World
  • Teaching and Learning in a Changing World
  • Professional Learning in a Changing World
  • Data-driven Reform in a Changing World
  • Ethical and Responsible Use in a Changing World
You have until March 15th to submit a proposal to present your expertise and/or successful program! Submit to be a presenter!
  
There is no cost to attend. View the instructions and the schedule of sessions.
leadership3
Leadership 3.0 Symposium is back!
 
Produced by ACSA, CUE, and TICAL
April 10-12, 2014
Marriott SFO - San Mateo, CA
With over 200 educational leaders in attendance, last year's Leadership 3.0 was "mind blowing and inspirational," said one principal. Submit your proposal to present at the 2014 Symposium to share your school or district's approaches to technology, leadership and innovation.  Learn more about Leadership 3.0. 

  

Open Educational Resources Summit! 
 

In addition to our regular Thursday workshops, we have a new offering this year: the OER Summit!

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials freely available for use, reuse, adaptation and sharing--without charge.  Interest in OER is burgeoning! Join colleagues and state and national experts for a thorough briefing and introduction to the world of Online Educational Resources. The a.m. session provides an overview; p.m. is a "deep dive." Attend a.m., p.m., or the whole day--all for just $49!  

 
deepthoughtsineducationDeep Thoughts In Education
 

Beyond Keyboarding: Authentic Writing and the Common Core

by Will Kimbley

As a county office educational technology consultant, one of the hottest topics I am asked about is how to build student technology skills so they will be ready for Common Core standards and assessments. While the concept of the digital native continues to exist, the practical experience of educators giving them the SBAC practice exam is that students struggle with keyboarding and other computer skills. Students as young as kindergarten are expected to use "a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing," and by 4th grade they are expected to have the "keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting." So, how are they going to do that? [read more] We would like to hear your comments. 


by Michael Graham
Classroom walkthroughs (CWT) give administrators data. This data is important for providing relevant professional development to the teaching staff as well as a good way to be involved more in the classroom. Since we have implemented CWTs we have seen gains, but the data was slow and cumbersome to disaggregate. Paper forms had been the norm, but at the beginning of this year we implemented a Google Form for CWTs. The transition has been spectacular. The data is coming in faster and in real time. I am able to share it with the assistant superintendent and superintendent easily and that gives me justification on how to spend the precious professional development dollars. [read more] And add a comment if you'd like.
 
A Learning Management System as a Game Changer!

by Gabe Soumakian

 

 

Transitioning to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and preparing for the Smarter Balanced Assessment will require acquisition and application of 21st century skills by both teachers and students. As instructional technology and education leaders, it is our responsibility to promote a culture of innovation and collaboration among our staff, as well as to create the right systems drivers for teachers to share and build on their depth of knowledge during the transition towards the CCSS. [read more]

 Let us know your thoughts.

  
When Personalization Goes Bad 

by Michael Simkins 
We educators talk a lot about personalization. friend Barbara Bray is a tireless advocate for personalizing learning environments. Goodness knows we're all very busy building and maintaining our personal learning networks.  In 1996, when I left my job as a principal to direct a federal technology project, a reporter interviewing me for the local newspaper asked me what I thought the value of technology was for education; I answered, "It's going to enable us to personalize learning."
  
As with many good things, though, there are malignant forms of personalization--insidious strains that surreptitiously undermine our ability to freely learn what we want to learn. [read more] 
 
New Year's Challenge: Jump In
 
by Geoff Belleau
Most of us entered a career in education because of the students. The rapidly changing, technology-driven, mobile world is changing those students. They are still children--or young adults--but they have access to an unprecedented amount of information, and their social interactions have changed. In addition to Facebook, they use social tools like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr, Kik, and Vine among others. Gone are the days when schools could easily restrict access to such tools; now they're as close as the mobile device in each student's pocket. Our challenge is to model appropriate social interaction using tools most educators are just plain unfamiliar with. 
 
radiotical
Two Fascinating Radio TICAL Interviews: On the Cusp of a New Convergence & Baby Boomer Superintendents Meet Millennial Principals   
 

In the first episode, David Reilly describes the convergence of technology and learning that is taking place in his district. "The key ingredients? New technology, common core standards, implicit curriculum, and a new, "trans-modern" pedagogy that puts the student center stage and casts the rest of us in supporting roles."
 
Next Jay Greenlinger shares some of the key things he learned while completing his doctoral thesis that studied how baby boomer superintendents can best lead and also support millennial principals.
 

ChecklistCAASPP/SBAC/PARCC Preparation Checklist 
 
The purpose of this checklist is to assist as school site administrators start to prepare for the administration of the next generation, Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT). While emphasis is placed on California's CAASPP (Formerly CalMAPP)/SBAC assessments, this document is relevant to all CAT programs.  
 
lcapIncluding Technology in your LCAP  

Technology plays a significant role in many of our schools--from instructional use to business processes, but have you thought about what technology goals can be included in each priority area of California's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for school districts? TICAL recently developed a document that  lists separate Goals, Actions, Technology Recommendations, and TICAL Resources in each of the eight priority areas
 
Download the document to use as a discussion topic as your district develops the LCAP.
In This Issue

Quick Links
Events
Update Your Email

TICAL members,  you can update your email address here.  You will be asked to login.
Rowland Baker
Executive Director
rbaker@portical.org
 
Jason Borgen
Program Director
jborgen@portical.org

Santa Cruz County Office of Education
400 Encinal Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-466-5888
TICAL is provided by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, a statewide service funded by the California Department of Education, and under contract to the Arkansas Department of Education. Members of ACSA and the CUE AdminSIG receive complimentary membership. 

Learn more at www.portical.org