Huron County K

Mission Statement

Huron County Rural Schools will serve all children in the community by providing opportunities for learning and skills necessary for a productive life.

Each student’s highest potential will be enhanced by a unique learning situation involving individualized attention/, and multi-level support in a close-knit setting.

Overview of Huron County Rural Schools

The seven rural schools represented in this Technology Plan have each been in operation for over 100 years. Each district includes one school building accompanied by either one or two teachers for students in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade ranging from five to twenty-nine students. We are a rural area with low socioeconomic status.

Vision Statement

The Huron County Rural Schools are committed to providing technology to all students. Technology will be used to engage and challenge students. Instruction appropriate to individual student needs will help them master the outcomes set forth in the core curriculum. Students have access to the Internet in order to engage in information and resources throughout the world.

Goals of the Technology Plan

Goals:

In order to enhance student achievement and learning, we will integrate technology into our core curriculum.

We will use technology to access information regarding the Michigan Curriculum Frameworks and align the curriculum in all teaching areas. Teachers will use MIClimb to integrate technology into learning activities aimed at accomplishing the standards and benchmarks of the Michigan Curriculum Framework. The timeline is ongoing and at no cost.

Engage students in learning activities that result in accomplishing the Technology Standards an Benchmarks of the Michigan Curriculum Framework.

Each school will purchase keyboarding software and will implement Microsoft Office, Excel, and PowerPoint projects. The timeline is ongoing and cost varies within each district.

Maintain a Huron County Rural Schools website with links to individual school districts.

Personnel will maintain current information on web links on a monthly basis. The timeline is ongoing and the cost for the renewal of the website address was $100.00 per school for a three year renewal.

Engage students in learning activities that involve distance learning technology (available at HISD).

Students may participate in virtual field trips in order to gain knowledge about places not easily accessible in a rural community.

Curriculum

Part I

A. Curriculum Integration

The Huron County Rural Schools will use MIClimb technology to address the standards and benchmarks of the Michigan Curriculum Framework and use these to assess mathematics, science, language arts, and social studies curriculum. Included in this assessment are technology standards as well as teaching/learning standards for all students.

B. Student Achievement

MI Climb and Michigan Curriculum Frameworks are research based documents which include combine standards and benchmarks with integrated technology. Student achievement will be more accessible due to the integration of technology as students use Internet access to research global issues. Appropriate CD-ROM materials also enhance student learning. The timeline is ongoing and costs vary within each school.

C. Technology Delivery

The Huron Intermediate School District is equipped with distance leaning technologies which the rural schools may participate in. The rural schools have the option to participate in virtual field trips and host guest speakers in order to address curriculum benchmarks.

D. Parental Communications & Community Relations

The rural schools will communicate with parents and other community members by maintaining and keeping current the schools website at www.huroncountyruralschools.com. The website will include calendars of school activities, honor roll, school history, technology plan, and other information as needed.

Schools participate in Country School News which is a monthly newspaper published by students concerning each schools’ unique activities. Students’ schools hold open houses and conferences for parents on an individual basis. Christmas Programs and Science Fair/Young Authors nights are open to the community to attend. Local newspapers publish articles about current school activities throughout the year. Parents and community members are included in School Improvement and technology committees.

E. Collaboration

The rural schools have a history of collaborating with the Huron Intermediate School District and K-12 districts, which their children will attend for high school. They also cooperate and collaborate with area public service agencies on an on-going basis as needed.

Adult Education programming available through the Huron ISD is the only adult literacy provider in the area. Since the rural schools do not involve high school students, little coordination is needed nor appropriate for the purpose of adult literacy.

Professional Development

Part II

F. The rural schools will provide training in united streaming in the fall of 2006 in order to access additional information and lesson plans to help students gain knowledge in various curriculum areas. There is no cost for this training as it is being provided by our local REMC.

Teachers will be encouraged to enroll in technology integration professional development opportunities sponsored by Huron ISD on an on-going basis. Cost for registration fees will vary with courses and will be paid by the district using professional development funds.

All staff in the rural schools will be trained in how to use technology in their individual buildings on an as needed basis. Training activities will be planned which emphasize the guidelines for technology outlined by the State of Michigan Technology Plan.

G. Software manuals available at each school will provide assistance to teachers regarding their use in curriculum integration. Each schools’ website includes a link to the county curriculum which would encompass lesson plans and project ideas to assist teachers in their curriculum needs. The resource library at the Huron ISD makes available print and video resources on technology and its integration into the curriculum. Access to REMC materials, which includes a video lending library as well as access to the United Streaming website, is available.

Infrastructure, Hardware, Technical Support,

and Software

Part III

H. The Rural Schools have two to four computers per school which are maintained and updated on a yearly basis. Each school maintains an Internet connection in order to provide the website. Computers within each school have a network infrastructure within each building. Xerox copy machines can be accessed and utilized by computers on an individual school basis. Schools are equipped with a TV, VCR/DVD player, overhead projectors, digital cameras, and camcorders on an individual basis.

Software is acquired to improve instruction and student learning on an on-going as needed basis for each school. Filtering software is provided on all computers.

Each school contracts with an outside source for technical support to individual districts on an on-going basis.

I. The rural schools will provide a technology support person to maintain operability of equipment and software. Each student will have access to computer technology on a daily basis. Computers and software will be added as needed.

Funding and Budget

Part IV

J. Since each school receives limited funding (approximately $20 to $80 per year) all available funds will be spent to update Microsoft Office software or to obtain anti-virus software.

K. Some Professional Development money is used for technology education. General Education funds and the REAP grant are used to supplement our technology needs.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Part V

L. The Rural Schools Technology Committee will review the plan at a yearly school improvement committee and change or modify it as needed. Evaluation components used to access the plans activity will be a survey of the staff regarding its effectiveness. The eighth grade technology assessment will be administered and will be evaluated to determine whether technology standards have been met. Goals that have not been met will be addressed and strategies for improvement will be implemented on a yearly basis.

The following Acceptable Use Policy is implemented in each of the seven K-8 districts. Teachers are charged with monitoring compliance with this policy.

Huron County Rural Schools

Acceptable Use Policy

Employees

The purpose of this agreement is to regulate access/use of Huron County Rural Schools’ technology resources and Internet connections for legitimate educational purposes consistent with the districts’ mission statement.

To access/use technology resources and Internet connections either at school or away from school, I understand and agree to the following:

A. The use of the District’s technology resources and Internet connections is a privilege that may be revoked by the District at any time and for any reason including, but not limited to, altering system software, placement of unauthorized information, computer viruses, or harmful programs on or through the computer system in either public or private files or messages. The District reserves the right to remove files and limit or deny access.

B. The District reserves all rights to any material stored in files that are generally accessible to others and shall remove any material which the District, at its sole discretion, believes may be unlawful, obscene, pornographic, abusive, or otherwise objectionable. Employees shall not use their District-approved computer account/access to obtain, view, download, or otherwise gain access to such materials.

C. All information services and features contained on the District’s Internet connections are intended for the private use of its registered users and any use of these resources for commercial-for-profit or other unauthorized purposes (i.e. advertisement, political lobbying), in any form is expressly forbidden.

D. The District’s technology resources and Internet connections are intended for exclusive use by registered users. The employee is responsible for the use of his/her account and access privilege. Problems arising from the use of an employee’s account are the responsibility of the account holder. The District incorporates a content filter system to assist in blocking inappropriate content.

E. Any misuse of the account shall result in suspension of the account privileges and/or other disciplinary action determined by the District. Misuse includes, but is not limited to:

1. Intentionally seeking information on, obtaining copies of, or modifying files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users.

2. Misrepresenting other users on the Internet.

3. Disrupting the operation of the Internet through abuse of the hardware or software.

4. Malicious use of the Internet through hate mail, harassment, profanity, vulgar statements, or discriminatory remarks.

5. Interfering with Internet use by others.

B. The District’s technology resources are intended for educational purposes and are neither a public access service nor a public forum. Educational purposes include but are not limited to the use of the District’s electronic information technologies for classroom activities, continuing education, professional or career development, and high-quality, educationally enriching personal research.

C. Users have no expectation of privacy as to information or activity on the District’s electronic information technologies. The District retains the right to monitor all use, including but not limited to computer files, databases, web logs, or any other electronic transmissions accessed through the District’s electronic information technologies.

D. The Employee is responsible for the proper use of the equipment and shall be held accountable for any damage to or replacement of equipment caused by abusive use.

I agree to abide by these rules and regulations of system use and by those that may be added from time-to-time by the District and its Internet provider. I agree to reimburse the District for any fees, expenses, or damages incurred as a result of my use or misuse of these tools.

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Employee Signature Date

The following Acceptable Use Policy is implemented in each of the seven K-8 districts. Teachers are charged with monitoring compliance with this policy.

Huron County Rural Schools

Acceptable Use Policy

Students

• Use of school computers and Internet connections is only for schoolwork with a teacher or teacher aide present

• Using the Internet in school is a privilege for the following purposes:

􀂾 To help me gather information

􀂾 To help me learn about technology

􀂾 To help me learn how to find information and communicate with others

􀂾 To help me learn more in school

• My use of school computers and the Internet may be taken away at any time. I might also have to face disciplinary action including loss of all computer privileges if I misuse either computers or the Internet at school.

I agree to follow these rules:

1. The following actions are NOT ALLOWED, and I may lose all technology privileges, and/or face disciplinary actions if I do them.

a) Getting into someone else’s file

b) Copying or deleting files or software

c) Using or sharing ID’s or passwords

d) Breaking into files or systems

e) Keeping another student or a teacher from doing work

f) Making, reading, or sending inappropriate files

g) Using school technology to buy, sell, trade, or advertise

h) Using technology to damage the school’s equipment. This includes but is not limited to

􀂾 Doing anything that brings a virus into school equipment

􀂾 Purposely destroying hardware, software, or information

􀂾 Trying to learn or use other people’s passwords or identification

􀂾 Sharing my own password

2. I will only use technology my teachers have approved of (that is school appropriate).

3. I will have to pay for any damages I have caused.

4. The school’s technology is only for people who are registered to use it, and I am responsible for my own account and password and/or privileges.

5. The school’s technology may not always meet my needs, and it many not always work.

6. The school will not be responsible for lost data or time or harm caused by me or to me because I did not follow directions or because I did not know how to use the system.

7. The school has the right to check anything I do on school equipment.

8. I have received training in acceptable uses of technology and the Internet.

(Sign and return to your teacher.)

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Printed Name of Student

_____________________________________________________

Student Signature

As the student’s parent or legal guardian, I agree to the terms and conditions of this agreement. I understand that my student will not be able to use District technology resources and the District’s Internet until both my student and I have signed this agreement. I also understand that my student has been taught proper use of the District technology resources and the District’s Internet. I agree to reimburse the District for any fees, expense, or damages incurred as a result of my student’s use or misuse of these tools.

_________________________________________ _________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature Date

_________________________________________ _________________________

Parent/Guardian Signature Date