Part VII. Special Emphasis Area
J2. Technology
Allen High School teachers and administrators, along with the district
technology department staff, developed a long-range plan for AHS. Included
in the vision is the use of "Key Instructional Design Strategies"
(KIDS), funded through an U. S. Department of Education Technology Innovation
Challenge Grant in collaboration with several other school districts.
KIDS allows parents to use computer technology to communicate about
their child's current grades, attendance and work habits, and check
the online calendar. It provides online resources and additional help
to students and parents after the traditional school day. A major component
of KIDS is Dynamic Curriculum, which assists teachers with a plan of
rich curriculum that emphasizes higher-level thinking and critical analysis.
Diverse Instruction in the classroom with new approaches, reviews, and
self-paced strategies for mastering material is available to teachers
on the KIDS web site. The KIDS online environment allows parents and
teachers to discover how a particular student learns best. This integrated
model balances academic and individual needs and promotes a whole-person
approach to learning. By putting educational communities on the information
superhighway, it utilizes all of the tools available to keep parents,
teachers, and students striving for the same goals. Outcomes of the
KIDS grant have included improved academic performance, increased educational
opportunities for students, increased educational equity, and increased
staff development opportunities.
The development of the Livewire (D3), an electronic café born
in the fall of 1999, is a prime example of the innovative use of technology
at Allen High School. The Livewire was designed and planned by a committee
of students, architects, teachers, and administrators. From the beginning,
it has been very popular with students and the community. Students have
access to digital cameras, color printers, a CD burner, a scanner plus
computers with a variety of software to assist they with class projects
and research projects. The Livewire is open before school and after
school to allow students easy access. It is also open to the community
Monday through Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for extend learning
opportunities.
The Virtual High School Project is a cooperative consisting of schools
across the country, and in several foreign countries that offer net-courses
to students in member schools is housed in the Livewire. This large-scale,
highly innovative project consists of 43 Founding Schools coordinated
by Hudson Public Schools with assistance from the Concord Consortium.
Five years of substantial funding from the U.S. Department of Education's
Technology Challenge Program will permit us to develop and expand the
collaborative over the five years. Over 30 AHS juniors and seniors at
a time have the opportunity to take VHS net-courses taught by teachers
around the country. These students are scheduled into the Livewire for
one period with times varying per student. During this time, students
work on their course work which may involve email, internet research,
creating presentations, participating in discussion groups and much
more. Students meet weekly with the VHS Coordinator to discuss their
net-course progress along with their experiences as a part of the VHS
and periodically all VHS students will get together to share their experiences.
Mrs. Costilla, the site coordinator, who is also a VHS instructor, will
serve as a constant resource for the VHS students.
Teachers receive computer and grade book training and support from the
personnel housed in the Livewire. A network administrator, computer
technician and instructional support person are available on the AHS
campus everyday to provide additional support to the staff. Academic
and Career & Technology classes use the three computer laboratories
in the library as well as the computers in their own classrooms. The
school is wired for Internet access in 100% of the classrooms. Each
classroom has at least two computers and a printer available for teacher
and student use. Roll-around equipment is available for videoconference
hookups in the classrooms; in addition, several rooms are equipped for
these conferences with standard equipment. Over one hundred laptops
are available for students to checkout for use at home on projects.
Due to student interests, a dual credit course of internetworking (CISCO
training) providing both high school credit and Collin Community College
Credit was added this fall. Other computer courses include, Webmastering,
Business Computer Information Systems I and II, Computer Keyboarding,
Computer Applications, Computer science I & II, Engineering graphics,
Architectural graphics and Media technology. Through the Collin County
Community College Tech Prep Consortium, The Global Edge; access to Bridges.com
an internet subscription service that provides Career Exploration and
Career Development information is available to teachers, administrators
and students. Collin County College offers various computer classes
including CISCO training for college credit and continuing education
on the AHS campus in the evenings. The AHS web page www.allenisd.org
is an effective tool for communication between the parents, students,
teachers, and the community.
