Our mission is to develop in our students and in ourselves the ability to responsibly use appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, and access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information, to improve learning in all subject areas, and to acquire lifelong knowledge and skills for the 21st century.
(Adopted from the Common Definition of Technology Literacy, State Educational Technology Directors Association).
Our goal is to use technology to engage students in instructional activities that develop higher order thinking skills and prepare them to be productive in the 21st century.
This summer we started our first intensive technology training for teachers with our Teach21 class of 21 teachers. In the 2009-10 school year, these teachers will implement projects that address the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards for Students. We're excited to see their progress as their students create and collaborate within their classrooms and across the globe.
The Lowndes County Schools System has made a substantial investment in technology. Through local funds and a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, we have been able to provide our students and teachers with a wealth of resources to support instruction. Most elementary and middle school classrooms have 6 classroom computers. Over 150 classrooms have SMART boards, and last fall we opened Westside Elementary, our 21st Century model school, with SMART boards and projectors in each classroom. This fall we are opening Pine Grove Middle School with projectors in each classroom, and each teacher will have a MOBI wireless slate.
In 2000 we initiated a plan to roll-out integrated learning systems in our elementary and middle grades. We have implemented Successmaker, an individualized instructional software program, in grades K-8 and NovaNet, a curriculum-based software package, at Lowndes High School for credit recovery, and also in the Lowndes Alternative School and the Performance Learning Center. We also support the Waterford software in grades PK-2. In addition to these integrated learning systems, we support other software programs at each school, and we provide several online resources, including Nettrekker, NewsBank, Study Island, Georgia's Online Assessment System, and Galileo. Our media automation software is web-based Destiny, which can be accessed from school and home. Infinite Campus is our new student information system, and this fall we roll out the Infinte Campus Parent Portal so that parents can see online information about their child's classroom performance.
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