Papers in PDF format

School Participation in the Co-Development of Commercial, Web-based
Curriculum Resources
Penni Leigh Jones
Allen Independent School District
Allen ,Texas USA
0007102301@mcimail.com
As one of the fastest growing school district in the state of Texas, Allen ISD is committed to providing the
students in our district the strong academic foundation they need for success. The challenge in maintaining
these quality standards is the ability to adapt to change and the need to guide this change in directions that will
support the diversity of learning styles and maximize learning and productivity. Allen ISD is determined to
reengineer the educational experience by creating a community of learning with a strong focus on technology.
In response to changing needs, technology is distributed in a variety of ways from laptops for each of our
academic staff, pods for open access, lab settings for curriculum integration, and literacy labs to teach skills.
Our students and staff can access a variety of productivity, research, and telecommunication tools through our
local and wide area networks. Our T1 connection to the Internet allows student and staff to be publishers and
use the rich resources found throughout the world. Through EMG, our students go on electronic field trips and
utilize customized curriculum. Our Josten’s labs assist in TAAS preparation. In addition, our high school
students will be working with a software company this year to produce high-end multi-media products. Our
SHIFT ( Students Helping Integrate Future Technology) program at our schools produce web pages for staff
and train staff and students on how to use powerful technology applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe
Photoshop, Adobe Premiere, and Director.
We have developed a K-12 technology curriculum to provide students opportunities to master higher level
skills, to practice effective communication, to work individually and collaboratively on real-world tasks. Our
instructional designers on each campus provide staff development to change existing teacher roles to mentors
that would facilitate direction and motivation of students and fully implement our technology learning goals.
We also hosted a symposium “ Technology Leaders and Users” to develop administrators into more effective
and efficient managers of instructional resources, communications, and school-community relations, while
expanding methods of assessment to assist diagnosis, provide feedback for instruction and support
accountability.
As leaders in instructional technology, we have started many collaborative projects that enrich our students'
experience. We have helped telecommunications companies understand its impact in education. We have
assisted product development companies produce solutions for educational markets. In addition, our students
are creating software with companies and are training local business on software applications. These
collaborative efforts are making a difference for our kids, who will in turn impact their twenty-first century
world.