Page 48 - Technology Plan for School Years 2017 to 2021

library design from the professional literature and the instructional needs of the
District.
• Create a model media center in one elementary, one middle school, and one high
school as a proof of concept. (project underway as of 2017)
• The model media center designed should be replicated in an additional 5 media
centers each year.
• Design and implement professional development specifically to build the
technology integration skills of media specialists.

Addressing the Needs of All Learners
The first strategic theme for the District is “Effective and Relevant Instruction to Meet the
Needs of All Students”. This sections acknowledges that learners in the District have distinct
needs and some groups require extra supports and technology resources for them to reach
their maximum potential. According to the National Educational Technology Plan: “Digital
learning tools can offer more flexibility and learning supports than can traditional formats.
Using mobile devices, laptops, and networked systems, educators are better able to
personalize and customize learning experiences to align with the needs of each student
Digital tools can also make it possible to modify content, such as raising or lowering the
complexity level of a text or changing the presentation rate.”

Shrinking the Digital Divide
Today’s connected students cannot comprehend what their elders did before the Internet or
what they would do without anytime access to the array of resources that digitally stitch
together every area of their lives. To them, it is like an adult imagining the world in a
different time, without phones, cars, and electric power. However, for an estimated 60
million Americans, a high percentage of whom are Black and Hispanic, without home
Internet access, they live that reality every day. The assertion has been made that this issue
is so important that it is a moral imperative to address. Source: Smith, T., “Digital Equity”,
Tech & Learning: June/July 2016

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