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The Maryland Student Technology Literacy Consortium is a new partnership of school district representatives that is focused on ensuring all students are technologically literate by the end of eighth grade. The purpose of this grant is to establish state standards for student technology literacy skills and gain the support of all key stakeholders in ensuring these standards are adopted. Over the proposed three-year grant period, the Consortium will develop and implement a definition of technology literacy, state standards for student technology literacy skills, professional development plans for teachers, and a process for assessing student technology use and literacy. Grant activities also include the creation of a state advisory council to represent key stakeholders, including business, higher education, K-12 educators, students, Boards of Education, and the Maryland State Department of Education. This council will review and adopt the Consortium’s recommendations and will assist in promoting the adoption of state standards for student technology literacy.
Milestones:
- Definition of technology literacy
- Draft standards developed
- Draft indicators and objectives in development being completed by May 2004. Currently they are being developed for grade 2, 5, and 8.
- Process for gathering stakeholder input developed
- Advisory Council identified
- Professional development plans in LEAs established
- Established a website to disseminate information about the grant
- Established an area on Desire2Learn for collaborative work among consortium members
The TL8 consortium has been meeting since December 2003 to establish the student technology literacy standards along with the indicators and objectives. The purpose of these standards is to help teachers understand what their students need to know and be able to do to be technologically literate. Technological literacy is defined as the ability of an individual, working independently and with others, to effectively, appropriately and responsibly use technology and communication tools to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in the 21st century.
The consortium members have been very active in developing the standards. Working in small groups, representatives from all 24 LEAs have had the opportunity to provide input and give feedback on the standards. Because all 24 LEAs are participating in this consortium there have been concerns about travel when we all try and meet in a central location. For this reason we are trying regional meetings and may include an occasional regional meeting to provide that flexibility.
Over the 3 years of the grant, the consortium will also be working on:
- An assessment tool for students to determine whether they meet the standards
- Data bank of information on student technology literacy best practices and lessons learned by the LEAs
- Professional development plans used by LEAs with teachers to support students being technologically literate by 8th grade
- An alignment of the Maryland Technology Standards for Students with national standards
- Correlation with the Maryland Technology Standards for Teachers
- Integration and alignment with the state voluntary curriculum
Contact Information
Kalani Smith, Project Manager
850 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
301.279.3229 - voice
301.279.3096 - fax
kalani_smith@mcpsmd.org
Melissa Woods, Project Manager
850 Hungerford Drive
Rockville, MD 20850
301.279.3582 - voice
301.279.3096 - fax
melissa_woods@mcpsmd.org
Click the link for more information about the Maryland Student Technology Literacy Consortium.
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