Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE 1

Shared Vision & Rationale

Marcus J.W. Borders

ITEC 7410: Instructional Technology Leadership

Summer 2018

Prof. C. Fuller
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Shared Vision & Rationale

Vision Statement

In accordance with Fulton County School’s (FCS) Instructional and Information

Technology Strategic Plan vision to “transform learning to equip and empower responsible and

productive citizens” (2015), Liberty Point Elementary (LPES) seeks to cultivate students who

perform at their individual best. To achieve this, LPES will leverage digital citizenship to build a

community of learners who are aware of how to appropriately leverage and navigate digital

spaces. LPES will also infuse blended-learning within its instructional practices to support

personalized learning and high-order thinking skills. Finally, digital formative assessments will

be incorporated to aid LPES in improving student literacy.

Rationale

Liberty Point’s schoolwide improvement plan (SIP) was the basis for their vision. LPES’

SIP was collaboratively developed by the principal, assistant principal, literacy coach,

bookkeeper, curriculum support teacher (CST), mathematics coach, instructional support teacher

(IST), classroom teachers (fourth grade and fifth grade), parents, and the family engagement

manager. The instructional team consists of the assistant principal, CST, literacy coach,

mathematics coach, IST, and myself (instructional technology coach). As LPES works towards

transitioning to consistently and continuously align instructional practices with personalized

learning, the instructional team and teachers were consulted (see Appendix A) for the purpose of

defining this vision.

Common Sense Media defines digital citizenship as thinking critically, being safe, and

acting responsibly within digital and online spaces. Terry Heick (2017) takes the definition a step
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further by adding that digital citizenship is “the ​self-monitored​ habits that ​sustain ​and ​improve

the digital communities you ​enjoy o​ r ​depend on.” ​A strong foundation of students understanding

how to leverage their experiences within digital spaces is necessary to ensure that technology is

appropriately used across all grade levels. Shaneene Fannin, LPES’ Media Education

Technology Instructor (METI) communicates with the teachers, students, and parent community

to share the process of completing required digital citizenship curriculum. During the 2017-2018

school year, Liberty Point began to explore blended learning spaces such as Edmodo and Google

Classroom. Although teachers received professional development supporting implementing these

tools, discrepancies between how students functioned within those spaces versus being outside of

them (general internet usage) were discovered. Jennifer Casa-Todd presented a set of questions

within her reflections of digital citizenship. Some of those questions were:

● Do kids really understand what appropriate commenting looks like without

extending and practicing this skill with explicit instructional and practice with an

authentic audience?

● Can kids really understand intellectual property if we don’t have them explore

Creative Commons licensing for their own creations that they post for a

widespread audience?

● If we only focus on the fear narrative, will students recognize the positive

potential of connecting online? (Casa-Todd, 2018).

Fannin’s efforts to ensure that various stakeholders (parents included) work to ensure that these

questions are addressed within the Common Sense Media resources. Research on the impact of

parental involvement and digital citizenship conducted by Wang and Xing (2018) found that
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overall parental involvement with digital citizenship positively impacted digital citizenship

amongst students. This indicates that it is imperative that students receive the sense of awareness

of governing themselves online outside of school just as it occurs in class. While LPES students

have had full access to technology tools for several years, incorporating digital citizenship

dissects its use “into manageable topics [to] allow one idea to build on another” (Ribble, p. 150).

Mike Ribble, of Kappa Delta Pi, continues by offering “Educators need to provide resources to

students (and sometimes to parents) that build understanding of what would be appropriate to a

digital citizen” (p.150-151). Establishing a strong basis of digital citizens will aid the Liberty

Point community to better hone in on the tools/resources at their disposal.

Access to digital devices has grown tremendously with Liberty Point’s shift towards

personalizing learning for students. Though there are a myriad of interpretations of personalized

learning, The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) defines

personalized learning as

Tailoring learning for each student’s strengths, needs and interests-including enabling

student voice and choice in what, how, when and where they learn-to provide flexibility

and supports to ensure mastery of the highest standards possible (2016).

LPES’ personalized learning plans indicate their objective is to “focus on each child’s individual

best by using adaptive strategies, instructional software, and digital tools” (Liberty Point

Elementary, 2017). Propelling student achievement in literacy and mathematics requires

transforming traditional pedagogical practices to reflect innovative strategies. Blended Learning

is a concept that supports personalized learning and aligns with LPES’ recent implementation of

Lucy Calkins’ Reading and Writing Units of Study. Essentially, blended learning is the
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juxtaposition of student-centered learning, teacher-student engagement, and opportunities for

students to assess and showcase mastery of content (iNACOL, 2016). FCS currently provides

teachers and students with access to a variety of tools that support blended learning such as

SeeSaw, Edmodo, Microsoft Class Notebook, and Google Classroom. With appropriate

professional development for implementation in LPES’ cycles of coaching, teachers will be able

provide digital resources, assessments, and just-in-time direct instruction for students. Currently,

LPES’ administrative team allows teachers to have autonomy in selecting their preferred blended

learning tools with a stronger focus on Google Classroom. As the instructional technology

specialist, I conferred with LPES’ principal, James Payne, for continuity amongst resources. For

the 2018-2019 school, he agrees with my suggestion to focus on SeeSaw for grades K-2 and

Google Classroom with grades 3-5. Blended learning creates a space for students to receive

additional support from the teacher in various groups and adaptive software. Students may also

extend their learning since the aforementioned tools act as repositories for content.

The final component of LPES’ vision involves the use of digital formative assessment

tools. Similar to blended learning opportunities, Fulton County Schools provides a variety of

tools, such as iRead and I-Ready for students to work on their literacy and mathematics skills at

their own pace. As students work within these adaptive resources, teachers and administrators

are able to assess their progress which enables them to make data-driven decisions. Monica

Burns (2015) shares that “tech-friendly tools can make data collection seamless during classroom

instruction [and can be] integrated into lessons so that a quiz or poll can provide teachers with

immediate feedback.” With a central focus on using SeeSaw and Google Classroom for the

upcoming school year, teachers will be able to develop a variety of student groups and students
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will be able to continue monitoring their own progress for accountability. Other tools such as

Google Forms and FlipGrid provide alternative spaces for students to reflect on their learning

and collaborate with others while giving teachers an inside-look into how they are progressing

academically.

Diversity Considerations

Set in South Fulton County, Liberty Point is a Title I PK-5 public/charter school where

in over the last two years, according to the Georgia Department of Education (2017), has

continued to improve its CCRPI score, which is currently 70.4. This has moved LPES from

Georgia’s list of chronically failing schools. LPES students typically meet or exceed

expectations on state/district mandated assessments and parental involvement is low to moderate.

This school is made up of over 30 educators, including special education and special area

teachers.

According to information available through the​ Governor’s Office of Student

Achievement p​ ublished by The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2017) - as well as

records located at Liberty Point Elementary School, the following demographic information

indicates that there are 711 students enrolled with approximately 88% African-American, 8%

Hispanic, 1% White, and 2% Multiracial children making up its population. With diverse groups

in mind, data shows 421 students being on free and reduced lunch, 45 gifted students, 284

students receiving early intervention program (EIP) services, and 107 students receiving special

education services. With consideration to the socioeconomic aspects of LPES’ students, 2% are

identified as English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), 14% have disabilities, and 46% are
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economically disadvantaged. Contrary to these statistics, students have moderate access to

technology outside of Liberty Point’s 1:1 device deployment.

In a study on digital equity conducted by Paul Resta and Therese Laferriere (2015), they

defined digital equity as “the social-justice goal of ensuring that everyone has equal access to

technology tools, computers and the Internet, as well as the knowledge and skills to use these

resources to enhance their personal lives.” Through FCS’ Personalized Learning Initiatives and

special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST) funds, students of LPES have access to digital

devices. Currently, K-2 teachers have 6 desktop computers and 6-8 iPads in their environments.

3-5 teachers are 1:1 with the aforementioned Dell Latitude Laptops within their classes. District

required adaptive/instructional software includes MyON, Redbird, and iRead, and I-Ready.

Although a parent survey (see Appendix B) indicates that students have moderate access to

devices outside of school (smart phones, computers, and tablets), there has been consideration in

developing a program to build digital prowess within the parent community of Liberty Point.

Parent Tech. Connect is a support system that will be established with families, teachers, and

students on how to appropriately leverage devices at home. I (the instructional technology

specialist) will support these efforts by building capacity amongst the aforementioned groups to

provide a solid foundation for them to use the technology they have available at home. In turn,

this support will coalesce with the innovative efforts of teachers.

As mentioned within the rationale, digital formative assessments and blended learning

will aid teachers and students with continued access to digital resources. This access also

translates to the homes of students where flipped classroom videos can shift the need for

traditional homework. Liberty Point can also offer computer lab hours after school and teachers
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can add instructional/flipped classroom videos to USB drives for students who may have devices

but limited/no internet access.

Just as digital inequities showcase disparities amongst resources, gender inequities are

also prevalent in many cases. In the article “Digital Youth Divas: Exploring Narrative-Driven

Curriculum to Spark Middle School Girls’ Interest in Computational Activities,” researchers

Nichole Pinkard, Sheena Erete, Caitlin K. Martin, & Maxine McKinney de Royston (2017)

mention “women of color are grossly underrepresented in computer science and engineering

courses.” The article continues by offering that “few [women] are involved in designing and

creating computational devices and programs” (Pinkard, et. al, p. 478). Fortunately, this lack of

inclusion is not the case at LPES. According to the METI, (coordinator for LPES’ Tech Club)

the majority of its 2nd-5th grade members are female students. This club provides equal

opportunities for its members and female students have the same access to technology to support

their learning just as their male counterparts. This will continue in the future with hopes of

growing in membership.

Stakeholder Roles

Liberty Point Elementary is fortunate to be comprised of a collaborative group of teacher

leaders and administrators who aim to bring this vision to fruition. This vision also involves a

variety of other stakeholders within the LPES community. The International Society for

Technology in Education (ISTE) Essential Conditions note that

a shared vision serves as the driving force behind a technology implementation plan - but

it’s not formulated and disseminated from the top down. Rather, a shared vision arises
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from the collaborative voices, goals and values of the educators, support staff, students,

parents and community members within the system.

The following chart considers ISTE’s Standards and Shared Vision Essential Condition as an

outline for including all LPES stakeholders:

Stakeholder ISTE Standards Vision Implications

Administrators ● Equity and LPES administrators must continue to

Citizenship cultivate a culture of innovation,
Advocate safe-practice, reflection, and risk-taking to
● Visionary Planner meet the technology vision and ISTE
● Empowering Leader standards.
● Systems Designer
● Connected Learner

Educators ● Learner LPES educators should continue to uphold

● Leader collaborative dialogues that consistently and
● Citizen continuously leave room for instructional
● Collaborator calibration. Teachers must act as guides for
● Designer students and develop environments that
● Facilitator facilitate academic discourse, accountability,
● Analyst and data-driven decisions. Teachers will
model digital citizenship skills, develop
blended learning materials, and use
appropriate digital formative assessments to
support student achievement.

Support Staff ● Visionary Though instructional coaches’ standards align

(Instructional Leadership closely with those of administrators, their
Coaches) ● Teaching, learning, actions keep the momentum of support
and assessments moving within the school. Coaches must
● Professional build the capacity within the staff, admin.,
Development and and ​students of LPES through co-planning,
program evaluation modeling, co-teaching, and professional
● Digital Citizenship development. Coaches leverage their support
● Content knowledge through their content knowledge and digital
and professional literacy skills, as well. PD and support on
growth digital citizenship, digital formative
assessment tools and blended learning
strategies at LPES will be facilitated by
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support staff. As best practices and innovative

tools/strategies develop, coaches continue to
add to their repertoire of knowledge in an
effort to ensure that teachers and students are
knowledgeable, as well.

Students ● Empowered Learner The foundation of LPES’ vision includes

● Digital Citizen supporting students in achieving their
● Knowledge individual best. The technology vision
Constructor provides a space for students to facilitate their
● Innovative Designer own learning within blended learning spaces,
● Computational understand the depths of learning outside of
Thinker their classroom through digital citizenship,
● Creative and becoming empowered through the
Communicator accountability of their own knowledge via
● Global Collaborator digital formative assessments.

Parents / Currently, there are no standards outlined for

Community parents and community members. ISTE’s
Essential Conditions provide an Engaged
Communities component that highlights
engagement as being “an ongoing feedback
loop in which the school or district keeps the
community informed and seeks input from all
stakeholders” (Essential Conditions, 2017).
Families and community members can
support the technology vision financially
(business partnerships) and build capacity
within themselves via Parent Tech. Connect
which will aid them in transferring the
support of learning between the school and
home.

Together, each stakeholder within the Liberty Point Elementary community will act as a change

agent to ensure the technology vision is achieved.

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References

Burns, M. (14 December 2015). Empowering Teachers With Tech-Friendly Formative

Assessment Tools. Retrieved June 30, 2018, from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tech-friendly-formative-assessment-tools-monica-burns
Casa-Todd, J. (2018). Reflections on Digital Citizenship. ​Teacher Librarian, 45 ​(3), 15-18.
Common Sense Media. (2018). ​What is Digital Citizenship? ​[Video File]. Retrieved from

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/what-is-digital-citizenship

Essential Conditions. (2017). Essential Conditions.​ ​Retrieved from

http://www.iste.org/standards/tools-resources/essential-conditions

Flipgrid [Instructional Software]. (2018). ​Retrieved from: ​https://info.flipgrid.com​.

Fulton County Schools Technology Plan (2015). Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/178KjMcbZ5CSW_049Ct92pTj-hxZAqwfM/view?usp=s
haring
Google Forms [Instructional Software]. (2018). ​Retrieved from: ​www.google.com/forms/about/​.

ISTE Standards. (2017). Retrieved June 30, 2017, from

http://www.iste.org/standards/standardsdr

iNACOL. (2018). What is Blended Learning? Retrieved July 1, 2018, from

https://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-blended-learning/
iNACOL. (2018). What is Personalized Learning? Retrieved July 1, 2018, from
https://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-personalized-learning/
Heick, T. (28 August 2017). Definition of Digital Citizenship. Retrieved June 30 2018, from

https://www.teachthought.com/the-future-of-learning/the-definition-of-digital-citzenship/

Liberty Point Elementary School. (2018). Retrieved from

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http://school.fultonschools.org/es/libertypoint/Pages/default.aspx
Liberty Point Elementary School. (2017 August 27). Fulton County Schools Personalized

Learning Instructional Model: Liberty Point ES. Unpublished document.

Liberty Point Elementary School. (2017). Schoolwide improvement plan (SIP) Title I school

program (SWP) plan 2017-2018. Unpublished document.

Pinkard, N., Erete, S., Martin, C., & McKinney de Royston, M. (2017). Digital Youth Divas:
Exploring Narrative-Driven Curriculum to Spark Middle School Girls’ Interest in
Computational Activities. ​Journal of the Learning Sciences, 26 ​(3), 477-516.
Resta, P. & Laferriere, T. (2015). Digital equity and intercultural education. ​Education and
Information Technologies, 20 ​(4), 743-756.
Ribble, M. (2012) Digital Citizenship for Educational Change.​ Kappa Delta Pi Record, 48​ (4),
148-151.
The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement. (2017). 2016-2017 Annual report card.

Retrieved on January 22, 2018 from​ ​https://schoolslikemine.gosa.ga.gov/

Wang, X., & Xing, W. (2018). Exploring the Influence of Parental Involvement and
Socioeconomic Status on Teen Digital Citizenship: A Path Modeling Approach.
Educational Technology & Society, 21 (1), 186–199.
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Appendix A

Essential Conditions Survey

1. WIthin your current role at LPES, how do you currently support the use of technology

with students?

2. What is your current definition of technology integration?

3. Based on your definition of technology integration, how would you rate Liberty Point's

alignment?

1 - Strongly Disagree, 2- Disagree, 3- Neutral, 4- Agree, 5- Strongly Agree

4. Within your role at LPES, do you feel empowered to implement or support the use of

different strategies that involve technology with students? Please elaborate on your

response, below.

5. Considering groups of diverse learners at LPES, how has technology aided you in

supporting these groups of students?

6. If you could create an ideal scenario, how could LPES' instructional technology coach

provide support for and your students/department, throughout the year?

7. What types of professional learning work best for you?

8. What is one of your pressing concerns surrounding how technology is leveraged at

Liberty Point?
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Appendix B

Parent Survey Questions

1. Are you a parent/caregiver?

2. Where do your child/children range in age?

3. As it relates to technology, have there been moments where the guidelines/requirements

for your child's tasks felt beyond your level of understanding?

4. Have you been put in a position to rely on your child's understanding of the requests of

their teachers and how they use technology to support their learning?

5. Aside from providing clear/explicit directives, what other support would be beneficial to

help you support your children as they work on tasks that involve technology/digital

tools?

6. If a service existed where an expert (outside of your child's teacher) was able to come to

your home, speak on the phone, or meet virtually/in public to help you (as the parent)

understand how technology supports learning in schools - how would that help you

support your children?