Saturday, May 25, 2013

Digital Literacy and Tech Integration Plan

Regular readers of this blog will know that our school is on a 21st Century Learning journey  that, among other things, calls for a re-visioning of our  school library, and the adoption of a BYOD approach to technology integration.

Related to this larger plan and thanks to the good work of our "tech-brarian" and many others, we now have a specific Digital Literacy Curriculum and Technology Integration plan for St. Patrick Regional. This year's achievements and future goals are listed below.

Special thanks thanks to our tech-brarian"Jill Belanger , for overseeing this plan and making much of it come to life!

Digital Literacy and Technology Integration
Achievements in 2012-13 & Goals for 2013-14

In the areas of digital literacy and technology integration, we have:

Developed a curriculum for Digital Literacy:
·         Created 3 broad standards or objectives for the 2013-14 school year (Note: The Ministry of Education for BC has created draft digital literacy standards .  Our school has chosen to focus on 3 of these standards - Research Fluency, Digital Citizenship , and Technology Operations)
o   Each of the 3 standards are broken down into more specific skills.  (One exciting example is the creation of a 21st Century Research Guide by our Social Studies Department - which will form the foundation of our Research Fluency Standard!)
o   Each of the skills identifies an expected entry and exit point: expected competency level in grade 8 and grade 12
·         Developed a plan for integrating digital literacy throughout the subject areas and the school in the 2013-14 school year:
o   Intro to Technology Operations Basics at St. Pat’s: All grade 8s in September
o   Integration of digital literacy skills development that are grade-level appropriate into English classes - co-taught and/or supported by the techbrarian
o   Digital Citizenship integrated into grade level workshops / retreats
o   Staff supported by the techbrarian to integrate digital literacy skills development into all subject areas
·         Formed a team of teachers and administrators to collaborate in the planning of a digital literacy curriculum
·         Provided Digital Literacy professional development for staff
o   Shared information about digital literacy and plans for integrating the curriculum as part of our Building Experts Sharing Day

Supported teachers and students:
·         Created a database of resources about digital literacy to share with teachers
·         Implemented a framework for Techbrarian support in class that can vary depending on the needs of the class:
o   Task-based: Students develop digital literacy skills specifically as it relates to the task at hand
o   Subject-based: Students develop digital literacy skills in general and related to the subject
·         Provided support to teachers with regard to technology integration, with regular meetings for those whose professional development focus was on technology integration
·         Created a virtual learning space for students: St. Pat's Media Resource Centre
·         Created a virtual learning/sharing space for teachers: Building Experts Professional Learning

Next year, we intend to:

Continue to develop the Digital Literacy Curriculum:
·         Collaborate with the Problem Based Learning Team as they develop a cross-curricular approach for the 2014-15 school year – assist in integrating Digital Literacy
·         Review the existing 3 digital literacy standards and associated specific skills that we have focused on this year and consider additions/revisions
·         Assess the existing opportunities available to students to learn about and practice digital literacy skills:
o   Identify gaps
o   Search for ways to further integrate digital literacy
o   Consider how to track the learning opportunities to ensure that all standards are being addressed

Continue to support teachers and students:
·         Develop an online/interactive version of the Research Guide to the MRC website and introduce school-wide as a resource for digital literacy
·         Review LMS options and consider how an LMS might support technology integration and digital literacy skills development among the students and staff
·         Develop and deliver workshops for students about digital citizenship
·         Continue to assist teachers in integrating technology and search for new ways to expand technology integration through teacher support



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