Instructional Technology Plan 2022-2025

1. What is the name of the district administrator responsible for entering the Instructional Technology Plan data?

• Daniel P Farsaci

2. What is the title of the district administrator responsible for entering the Instructional Technology Plan data?

• Director of Technology

1. What is the overall district mission?

• “Preparing Our Students for Tomorrow... Today.”

2. What is the vision statement that guides instructional technology use in the district?

• The Vision of the Liverpool Central School District is to establish and support opportunities for all students to be effective communicators, innovative thinkers, problem solvers, and life-long learners who contribute to an ever-changing world.

3. Summarize the planning process used to develop answers to the Instructional Technology Plan questions and/or your district comprehensive Instructional Technology Plan. Please include the stakeholder groups participating and the outcomes of the instructional technology plan development meetings.

• Stakeholders involved in the plan include teachers, students, staff, and parents. All meetings were held in person and/or via Google Meet. The meetings were held over the course of the last year and often happened with smaller sub-groups that could provide specialized input into the direction that the district would like to move in. The outcomes of these meetings resulted in the development of the plan in general, professional development opportunities, hardware/software needs, and the ability to address various needs that have come to light as a result of the past two years of instability due to COVID.

4. How does the district's Instructional Technology Plan build upon, continue the work of, and improve upon the previous three-year plan?

• The district's previous plan focused on three main areas. These were the increased use of instructional technology and assessment tools to support rigorous academic standards attainment and performance improvement for students, to ensure the utilization of a variety of strategies to meet the needs of all students, in part, through the use of instructional and assistive technology, and to provide opportunities for students to critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and engage in meaningful learning experiences. The current plan will build on these goals by providing additional professional development opportunities using instructional technologies, emerging technologies, assessment tools, and analytics reports from various evaluation tools. The district will continue to build upon these plans by continuing to utilize iReady reading and math diagnostics, Achieve, and other instructional assessment tools. Building on the results of these tools, the district will work to develop and implement professional development opportunities that address the gaps in learning or needs that are recognized. In addition, the district will continue to assess, purchase, install, and monitor network infrastructure that will provide students with the required connectivity to create, manipulate, interact with, and share content that will enhance instruction and improve learning at all levels. As a means of assessing the effectiveness of the plans, the district will regularly meet with stakeholders to evaluate tools, effectiveness, learning, and to plan for future opportunities for growth.

5. How does the district Instructional Technology Plan reflect experiences during the COVID pandemic?

• The district already has a 1:1 program and we provide multiple resources for students with additional socio-economic or instructional needs. The district utilizes Google Meet to virtually meet with students and Google Classroom as the LMS for the district. In addition, we have planned for student needs that may need to be addressed if students are forced to be remote in the future. These include approximately 100 access points, with funding set aside for services and the purchase of up to 100 additional access points to address the needs of students without connectivity at home. The district has also planned for additional purchases of devices to allow for additional breakage and loss as a result of additional students needing devices at home versus the number that leave devices in school under normal circumstances. Deployment is more difficult with the advent of COVID and as a result, the district has developed plans that provide for the delivery of devices to the homes of students that are unable to come to the district to pick up new devices. Further, the district has provided instructions for hotspot set up and use for those students that require connectivity provided by the district. Included in professional development is the use of specific applications and software platforms that can be used to assist students with remote learning, content sharing, and various instructional enhancements for remote learners. These include the Google Suite, screen adjustment applications, dual monitors, and document cameras.

6. Is your district currently fully 1:1?

• Yes

7. Please describe the professional development plan for building the capacity of educators and administrators in the attainment of the instructional technology vision as stated in response to question 2.

• Students live in an environment that is changing on a regular basis. As a result, the district has a professional development committee that meets bi-monthly to discuss and plan for professional development opportunities that address emerging technologies, communication tools, collaborative environments, digital citizenship, and problem-solving, among other skills that provide the opportunities for students to become life-long learners and responsible citizens. The coaches also meet with individual teachers and small groups to explore instructional needs and methods for integrating technological skills. Teachers and coaches plan for lessons, explore unique uses, and learn how to not only use the technology but how to embed it into the curriculum. Teachers and coaches will review the lesson that had been conducted, review the areas that went well and areas for improvement and make adjustments to the lessons. All professional development is followed by an evaluation by the teachers to determine the effectiveness, areas to address in the future and to follow up on issues that may need to be adjusted. This process has already begun and will continue to be followed with constant evaluation, adjustment, implementation, and evaluation again.

Overview: In this new section, the District is asked to outline the extent to which they have achieved, at the local level, goals put forth in the 2010 Statewide Learning Technology Plan.

1. Digital Content – The District uses standards-based, accessible digital content that supports all curricula for all learners.

• The district has met this goal: Significantly

2. Digital Use – The District’s learners, teachers, and administrators are proficient in the use of technology for learning.

• The district has met this goal: Moderately

3. Digital Capacity and Access – The District’s technology infrastructure supports learning and teaching in all of the District’s environments.

• The district has met this goal: Significantly

4. Leadership – The District Instructional Technology Plan is in alignment with the Statewide Learning Technology Plan vision.

• The district has met this goal: Significantly

5. Accountability – District-level information is posted on the District website, is easy to access, and is easily understood. Information provided includes the results achieved by the District in their efforts to enable students to build knowledge, master skills, and grasp opportunities for a better life.

• The district has met this goal: Moderately

1. Enter Goal 1 below:

• The district will increase the equitable use of digital resources that will be used to enhance instruction, improve instructional outcomes, and increase student engagement by providing professional development for teachers, staff, and administration. The district will evaluate the effectiveness of the professional development by utilizing teacher discussion and observation, utilization reports from software/website vendors, analyzing student outcomes as compared to prior years, and post professional development surveys.

2. Select the NYSED goal that best aligns with this district goal.

• Increase equitable access to high-quality digital resources and standards-based, technology-rich learning experiences

3. Target Student Population(s). Check all that apply.

4. Additional Target Population(s). Check all that apply.

• ⇒ Teachers/Teacher Aides
• ⇒ Administrators
• ⇒ Parents/Guardians/Families/School Community
• Technology Integration Specialists
• Other

5. How will this instructional technology goal be measured and evaluated during and after implementation? Be sure to include any tools and/or metrics that are part of this evaluation process. Examples might be formative data, local, state, and/or national LEA benchmarks, metrics from instructional software, other technology evaluation programs, etc.

• Using various formative assessment tools such as iReady and Amplified, the district will review student outcomes, professional development, and implementation of the intervention to evaluate the effectiveness of the training as well as the execution of the lesson during classes. The district will also review software analytics to determine the usage of specific platforms. Upon completion of the evaluation, the district will develop plans for making adjustments as needed to improve outcomes.

6. List the action steps that correspond to Goal #1 from your answer to Question 1, above. All cells in the table must be populated. If you have less than four action steps for this goal, you must enter N/A into columns two, three, four, five, and seven, and choose June 30, 2021 in the date column for all unneeded rows in the table.

7. This question is optional. If more action steps are needed, continue to list the action steps that correspond to Goal #1 from your answer to Question 1, above.

1. Enter Goal 2 below:

• The district will upgrade the infrastructure of the district network to improve network speed and uptime as well as to provide additional network security for student data and filtering. These updates will begin in 2022 and will continue on through 2024 and will include updates to all switches, UPSs', firewalls, and access points. In order to evaluate the success of the goal, the district will conduct an evaluation of the network to determine what items need to be upgraded and a checklist will be developed. Upon replacement all parts will be checked off to ensure all have been upgraded.

2. Select the NYSED goal that best aligns with this district goal.

• Design, implement, and sustain a robust, secure network to ensure sufficient, reliable high-speed connectivity for learners, educators, and leaders

3. Target Student Population(s). Check all that apply.

4. Additional Target Population(s). Check all that apply.

• ⇒ Teachers/Teacher Aides
• ⇒ Administrators
• ⇒ Parents/Guardians/Families/School Community
• Technology Integration Specialists
• Other

5. How will this instructional technology goal be measured and evaluated during and after implementation? Be sure to include any tools and/or metrics that are part of this evaluation process. Examples might be formative data, local, state, and/or national LEA benchmarks, metrics from instructional software, other technology evaluation programs, etc.

• The district will evaluate the network age, licensing, speeds, etc. to determine the areas of the infrastructure to focus on. Upon completion of the evaluation, the district will order, configure, and install all replacement switches, servers, access points, and other network infrastructure and test to ensure connectivity is established. Evaluation of the success of this goal will be done by comparing the parts that need to be replaced with those that are replaced. Further, the district will conduct tests to determine if the upgrades are working as designed.

6. List the action steps that correspond to Goal #2 from your answer to Question 1, above. All cells in the table must be populated. If you have less than four action steps for this goal, you must enter N/A into columns two, three, four, five, and seven, and choose June 30, 2021 in the date column for all unneeded rows in the table.

7. This question is optional. If more action steps are needed, continue to list the action steps that correspond to Goal #2 from your answer to Question 1, above.

1. Enter Goal 3 below:

• The district will provide access to professional development opportunities that ensure all faculty and staff are proficient in the use of instructional technologies, assessment tools, and emerging technologies. Evaluation of this goal will be done utilizing schedules of professional development, attendance, and survey results conducted after each professional growth opportunity.

2. Select the NYSED goal that best aligns with this district goal.

• Provide access to relevant and rigorous professional development to ensure educators and leaders are proficient in the integration of learning technologies

3.Target Student Population(s). Check all that apply.

7. This question is optional. If more action steps are needed, continue to list the action steps that correspond to Goal #3 from your answer to Question 1, above.

8. Would you like to list a fourth goal?

• No

1. Explain how the district use of instructional technology will serve as a part of a comprehensive and sustained effort to support rigorous academic standards attainment and performance improvement for students.

• The district will work with teachers, staff, and administration to develop a strong professional development program that focuses on the use of instructional technologies that, when used in conjunction with proven teaching methods, enhance the curriculum, scaffold skills, and build lifelong learners. The focus on various methods of teaching using technology as an additional resource that can supplement the instruction with opportunities to connect with diverse cultures, utilize tools powered by artificial intelligence, and participate in experiences that will help students gain a deeper understanding of content and as a result, improve performance on assessments. Students are provided with 1:1 devices that allow for increased exploration of topics of interest both in school and at home, collaboration with other students and organizations from all over the world, utilize web-based tools such as soft calculators, video conferencing, and chat. In addition, students have access to advanced systems for robotics, drone curriculum, art, CAD, laser cutters, 3D printers, and a multitude of other devices and programs to enhance instruction. Increased use of web-based assessment tools automatically adjusts the difficulting levels of problems addressed by the students using them to get a more accurate assessment and will allow for modification of lessons and to address gaps in learning.

2. Explain the strategies the district plans to implement to address the need to provide equitable learning “everywhere, all the time” (National Technology Plan). Include both short and long-term solutions, such as device access, internet access, human capacity, infrastructure, partnerships, etc.

• In the short term, we have secured funding for hotspots to address the needs of students that do not have access to the internet at home. These access points provide access to resources such as food banks and health services, further, they provide internet access, Google Classroom, a calendar, and various other resources to assist these students. We have purchased, and plan to purchase, additional devices (Chromebooks/iPads) to provide to students as well as replacements for damaged devices. As a means of improving repair time, we have begun using various repair facilities that have a faster turnaround time, thus reducing delays and increasing the availability of devices. The district has approximately 7000 students and 1100 employees that are supported by the initial IT staff consisting of a Systems Admin, LAN Manager, Network Admin, Software Support Specialist, and Teacher Assistant with Technical Specialization. With the advent of additional state and federal requirements, issues resulting from the pandemic, and various other issues that have stretched the staff rather thin, the department is planning to and has secured funding to hire a minimum of one additional support person to work with the district to support the technology needs both for homebound students and regular class meetings. The longer-range plans include upgrades to the infrastructure in the district. This includes the upgrade of items including switches, servers, wireless access points, and cabling. The process will take approximately 2-3 years to complete but will upgrade the majority of the infrastructure and provide a path for future advancements in technology. Other infrastructure improvements include the upgrades to our security camera system throughout the entire district. This began approximately 4 years ago with a Smart Schools Investment Plan that was used to upgrade a large part of the security camera system to digital cameras. This plan is ongoing and should be completed within the next 1-2 years.

3. Students with disabilities may be served through the use of instructional technology as well as assistive technology devices and services to ensure access to and participation in the general education curriculum. Describe how instruction using technology is differentiated to support the individual learning needs of students with disabilities.

• We have a large population of students with disabilities and as a result, the IT department works with the Special Education Department to assess the needs of students and provide specific software and/or hardware to improve the ability of these students to participate in the general education classroom. Examples of supporting technologies include larger screen laptops, large monitors, screen readers, speech-to-text software, assistive hearing devices, subscriptions to platforms like Hear Builder, Boardmaker, N2Y, Snap & Read, and Universal Co-Writer. A process has been put in place for accessing new tools or equipment that is designed to streamline the process of acquiring and deploying these solutions. Teachers make requests to IT and, after it is determined that the product can be used, Special Education is notified and they will work with IT to purchase, inventory, and deploy the tool.

4. How does the district utilize technology to address the needs of students with disabilities to ensure equitable access to instruction, materials, and assessments? Please check all that apply from the provided options and/or check 'Other' for options not available on the list.

• ⇒ Class lesson plans, materials, and assignment instructions are available to students and families for "anytime, anywhere" access (such as through a class website or learning management system).
• Direct instruction is recorded and provided for students to access asynchronously (such as through a learning management system or private online video channel).
• ⇒ Technology is used to provide additional ways to access key content, such as providing videos or other visuals to supplement verbal or written instruction or content.
• ⇒ Text to speech and/or speech to text software is utilized to provide increased support for comprehension of written or verbal language.
• ⇒ Assistive technology is utilized.
• ⇒ Technology is used to increase options for students to demonstrate knowledge and skill.
• ⇒ Learning games and other interactive software are used to supplement instruction.
• Other (please identify in Question 4a, below)

5. Please select the professional development that will be offered to teachers of students with disabilities that will enable them to differentiate learning and to increase student language and content learning through the use of technology. Please check all that apply from the provided options and/or check 'Other' for options not available on the list.

9a. If 'Other' was selected in Question 9 above, please explain here.

• Upon a student registering as a new student in the district, specific questions are asked concerning the living status and if their living situation is adequate to address the needs of the students. The Director of Student Services contacts families for check-ins and provides lists of students for specific counselors to contact. When teachers or administration determine that a student may be in need of additional assistance, the administration will reach out to the Director of Students Services and/or the IT Director to get additional resources for that specific family.

10. How does the district use instructional technology to facilitate culturally responsive instruction and learning environments? Please check all that apply from the provided options and/or check 'Other' for options not available on the list.

• ⇒ a) The district uses instructional technology to strengthen relationships and connections with families to assist in building a culturally responsive learning environment to enhance student learning.
• ⇒ b) The district uses instructional technology to facilitate classroom projects that involve the community.
• ⇒ c) The district uses instructional technology to develop and organize coherent and relevant units, lessons, and learning tasks that build upon students' cultural backgrounds and experiences.
• ⇒ d) The district uses instructional technology to assist in varying teaching approaches to accommodate diverse learning styles and language proficiencies.
• e) The district uses instructional technology to enable students to communicate and collaborate with students in different schools or districts in New York State, the United States, or with different countries.
• ⇒ f) The district uses instructional technology to facilitate collaborative classroom projects among heterogeneous student groups.
• g) Other (please identify in Question 10a, below)

1.

Staff Plan Provide the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) count, as of plan submission date, of all staff whose primary responsibility is delivering technology integration training and support and/or technical support.

2. Investment Plan

Provide a three-year investment plan to support the vision and goals. All costs must be calculated for the entire three year-period, not annualized. For example, if a cost occurs annually, the estimated cost should include the annual cost times three.

Provide a three-year investment plan to support the vision in Section II and goals in Section IV.

A chart with drop-down choices is provided in order for NYSED to obtain consistent responses to this question. All cells in the table must be populated. If you have less than four items in your plan, you must choose N/A for columns one, two, four, five and six, and put zero in column three (estimated cost) for each unneeded row.

3. Has the school district provided for the loan of instructional computer hardware to students legally attending nonpublic schools pursuant to Education Law, section 754?

• Not Applicable

4. Districts are required to post either the responses to this survey or a more comprehensive technology plan that includes all of the elements in this survey. Please provide the URL here. The URL must link to a public website where the survey or plan can be easily accessed by the community.

• Data Security and Privacy Information 

1. Please choose one or more topics that reflect an innovative/educational technology program that has been implemented for at least two years at a building or district level. Use ‘Other’ to share a topic that is not on the list.

2. Provide the name, title, and e-mail of the person to be contacted in order to obtain more information about the innovative program(s) at your district.

3. If you want to list multiple contact points for the innovative programs above, please provide the names, titles, and e-mail addresses of the people to be contacted to obtain more information about the innovative program(s) at your district.