Clarifying Activities

Invitation to Identify Technology Applications “Best Practice”

A happy man in a convertible drives along the road, smiling to everyone and patting the box on the seat next to him. He is proud of his computer purchase and feeling pretty smug. As he waits at a stoplight, he glances up toward a billboard on which a new advertisement is being posted. It shows the same brand of computer as is in the box on the seat of the car but advertises the latest version—newer than the one our hero just purchased. Needless to say, he is crestfallen and looks at his new computer with disdain and disbelief.

This recent television commercial provides a metaphor for the challenges educators face as they try to embrace technology (in all its forms) as a powerful way to impact student learning. One moment we are sure our classroom or our school is at the cutting edge and the next we are confronted with a new technology or a new use we hadn’t known about or thought about before. Still others of us are paralyzed in our decision making for fear of being caught spending large amounts of money on the wrong things including training for teachers. One thing is certain, however, this is not a passing trend. Technology is here to stay and our challenge is to begin the process wherever we are and to keep moving in ever increasing levels of sophistication. It is with this caveat that the following invitation is extended.

As we move around the state and interact with teachers, principals, technology directors, and superintendents, we often hear stories about exceptional examples of how technology is being used to impact student learning at both the campus and classroom level. Therefore, we would like to have an opportunity to tell these stories to a broader audience in hopes that these “best practices” might inform the decision-making of other educators who are at different points on the technology adoption continuum. We acknowledge that the moment we identify and publicize a “best practice”, a newer exemplar will emerge just as a new version of the computer in the television commercial did. However, we propose that this process of identifying and publicizing best practices be dynamic: one that anticipates a new version and tells a new story each time one is found.

You are invited to look in your classrooms and at your campuses to identify truly outstanding examples of best practices in one or more of the following areas: Core Technology Skills; Curriculum, Learning and Assessment; Classroom and Instructional Management; Teaching and Learning; and Professional Development. Some concise assessment tools are attached that should help you understand our current definition of best practices in these areas. We acknowledge that there are more categories in which exemplary practice could be identified and that over time the “Innovative Practice” level will need to become increasingly more sophisticated. Consider this a starting place. Once you have used the assessment instrument and feel you have an example of best practice, submit the form nominating the classroom or campus for consideration. The following screening process will determine how classrooms and campuses will be identified as best practice exemplars.

Screening Process for Technology Applications “Best Practices”

  1. Nomination forms will be accepted for consideration any time during the school year.
  2. Nominated entities will be contacted by TCET staff via phone to confirm nominating form information and willingness to participate in the screening process.
  3. A review team will conduct an anonymous review of the nomination forms to select a sample of the most promising best practices to receive a site visit. No more than 10 visits will be made in any semester.
  4. Using a rubric based on the criteria outlined in the self-assessment tools, a visiting team will observe, interview stakeholders, and validate nomination form information.
  5. Visiting teams will make recommendations regarding best practice exemplars in both the classroom and campus categories.

Recognition of “Best Practices” Classrooms and Campuses

Once identified as exemplars of best practices, selected classrooms and campuses will be profiled on the TCET and Technology Applications CED websites as a means of sharing such practices with other educators and to provide recognition. A special ceremony recognizing the best practice contributions of the selected classrooms and campuses will be made at the TCEA Conference each year. TCET will underwrite the cost of registration and travel for classroom teachers and principals of schools identified as best practice exemplars to attend and present at a statewide conference. Representatives from the selected sites will be invited to attend a “best practices” conference to dialogue with experts about emerging issues in educational technology. 

2002 Technology Applications Leaders Announced