2000 - 2001 Workshops for Technology Leaders

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The professional development team at Sun Associates is pleased to invite you to attend one or more of our upcoming sessions for administrators, principals, and district-level technology leaders. If you are located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Rhode Island and are able to travel to our Lowell, MA offices, these sessions are available to you free of charge.

The technology evaluation sessions that we offered last spring were a great success. Participants discussed key issues and learned from their colleagues in neighboring districts. When asked to comment about their sessions, participants said:

"It was great to see what was happening at other schools. (Sun Associates) gave the human side of the (technology evaluation) process and final outcome."

"We are getting ready to do a new technology plan, so this (session) was good to reflect on all issues and add the assessment piece."

"Excellent use of my time."

We’re sure that the sessions we have lined up for this school year will be equally valuable for participants.

All sessions will be held at our office in Lowell, MA from 9:00am - 12:00pm. An extensive resource packet with handouts will be provided to all participants. Refreshments and coffee will be served. Space is limited to 12 participants per session.

September 18, 2000

Data Collection for Technology and Professional Development Planning

September 25, 2000 and October 3, 2000

Technology Evaluation - Making Our Systems Accountable

November 7, 2000

Developing a Strategic Professional Development Plan

December 4, 2000

Understanding and Managing the TCO for Educational Technology

January 22, 2001

Best Practices Showcase

February 12, 2001

Key Issues in Program Evaluation

Detailed descriptions and dates of each workshop follow. If you are interested in registering for a session, please email us (workshops@sun-associates.com) or call 978-453-3070 ext. 260 to reserve your place. Remember, space is limited, so call to reserve soon. We look forward to seeing you!

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Monday, September 18, 2000

Data Collection for Technology and Professional Development Planning

Useful for district-level staff involved in planning for technology and professional development implementation, this session will cover procedures, tools, and techniques for success in gathering data for decision-making. Data should underlie and drive technology planning, assessment, and professional development planning. This session will highlight:

What is data? There are many types of qualitative and quantitative data available to district technology planners. What tools can be used to collect these different types?
Various methods for collecting and analyzing data, including surveys (online and hardcopy), interviews, observations, and community meetings.
Tips for insuring data collection success, such as how to develop higher than average response rates; accuracy and validity of self-reporting data collection instruments; and timing and coordination of data collection efforts.
The need to use multiple collection methods. Surveys, when used alone, provide extremely flawed data. Additional tools and methods need to be used to verify and expand survey data.

After discussing data collection tools and procedures, the focus of the session will move to using data to inform planning and decision making.

Monday, September 25, 2000

Technology Evaluation — Making Our Systems Accountable

Imagine that your school committee asked you to prove that educational technology is making a difference in your district. How would you do it? Your teachers can probably tell success stories about technology integration in their classrooms, but is this anecdotal evidence enough? Do you have benchmarks and indicators that show progress toward meeting your district's goals for technology? Across the nation, Superintendents are asking themselves similar questions. Just as importantly, boards, parents, funders, and communities are asking these questions of school districts. Key topics to be covered are:

The link between technology and improved student achievement — what the research says
Measuring and assessing the impact of technology on teachers and students
Strategies and tools for technology evaluation in your district

Participants will receive a variety of materials to take back and begin the process of evaluating and assessing technology’s impact.

Tuesday, October 3, 2000

Technology Evaluation — Making Our Systems Accountable

Repeat of September offering.

Tuesday, November 7, 2000

Developing a Strategic Professional Development Plan

Does it seem that your district’s technology "training" is always about learning some new tool, but that there is precious little connection made to the curriculum and instruction issues that are at the core of critical student assessments? Is your professional development "plan" simply to survey staff needs/desires on a yearly basis…or worse yet, does one person decide what needs to be offered and then plan accordingly? This session will cover key elements in creating a truly strategic technology professional development plan. Topics include:

A conceptual framework for professional development planning and review
Stakeholder input
Needs assessment and data collection
A review of various models of professional development and how they best map to teachers at varying stages of proficiency

This session is ideal for district-level professional development specialists, technology facilitators, and curriculum/instruction heads.

Monday, December 4, 2000

Understanding and Managing the "Total Cost of Ownership" for Educational Technology

A variety of recent studies — most notably a 1999 study by the Consortium on School Networking (COSN) — indicate that the annual cost of operating and fully supporting a school computer is at least equal to the purchase price of the physical computer. Maintenance, professional development, technical support, and networking expenses quickly overshadow the basic cost of technology hardware. All of these costs together are called the "total cost of ownership" (TCO). Unfortunately, most school districts nationwide have significantly underestimated their technology TCO or have simply chosen to avoid these critical costs until they have no other choice. This has resulted in the all-too-common situations of poorly supported and maintained technology, with neither teachers nor students realizing any real benefit from this expensive investment. This workshop will cover a variety of issues related to TCO, such as:

Components of TCO (hardware, network, software, maintenance, support, professional development, and others)
Determining the TCO for your district
National and state recommendations for expenditures on TCO components
Relationship between the TCO and effective technology planning/assessment

A key element of this workshop will be the opportunity for participants to share their own districts’ experiences, strategies, and solutions.

Monday, January 22, 2001

Best Practices Showcase

What’s hot among teachers working to integrate technology at the classroom level? What have teachers found effective in a variety of different grades, subjects, and environments (lab, classroom, etc.)? This session will highlight the experiences of several teachers currently working in Massachusetts and/or New Hampshire schools. The workshop will not be "hands on" for participants, but will involve considerable time for questions, answers, and discussion. The emphasis will be on student use of technology and the connection between technology and core curriculum. Please note that this session will showcase strategies from the elementary and middle school perspective. High school teachers should check with us first as to the exact subjects and grades to be covered.

Monday, February 12, 2001

Key Issues in Program Evaluation

As schools and districts prepare a variety of funding proposals for late spring submission, there is always the question of how to handle the "evaluation" component of the proposal. What is appropriate to evaluate? What does the funder actually expect of a program evaluation? Can’t we just do a survey and be done with it? What do you mean we have to allocate 10% of our funding to evaluation??!! This workshop will cover key issues in designing and implementing a successful program evaluation. Participants will:

Learn key evaluation terms and procedures
Review evaluation components from successful proposals
Go beyond the summary report and learn the on-going nature of evaluation

2000 - 2001 Workshops for Technology Leaders{tagline}


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Last updated, August 18, 2000