Journal of the Effective Schools Project, Volume 18, 2011 Page: 25

lum. It is always helpful to share
information with and learn from
others going through similar pro-
cesses and Texas schools have al-
ways been ready to share.
With the purchase of the AlertNow
system, an emergency response
system, communication with par-
ents and guardians is improving.
The software also helps the com-
munication with non-English
speaking parents. The superinten-
dent, Mr. Barnett, is also working
with various community leaders to
expand the WiFi access beyond the
school campus. Expanded WiFi
access will provide more opportu-
nities for students who do not have
access to the internet at home.
Ongoing professional learning, as
defined by ISTE, is "technology-
related professional learning plans
and opportunities with dedicated
time to practice and share ide-
as." (ISTE, 2010).
According to Shaun Barnett, su-
perintendent of Dublin ISD:
Professional learning opportuni-
ties are provided to the teachers
in diferent scenarios. One op-
portunity our teachers have to
increase their technology
knowledge and skills is through
staff development trainings that
are offered each Wednesday.
These sessions are provided by
our instructional technologist
and cover a variety of topics
from Web 2.0, to Google Docs,
to blogs and wikis, to Smart
Notebook, to podcasting. Since
these sessions are created local-
ly, they can be designed based
on teacher request. Many of the-
se sessions are placed on the
school's website in a podcast
format.

Another opportunity that our
teachers have for professional
learning is through the profes-
sional learning communities
(PLC) on the high school cam-
pus. These communities have
been created based on content
taught so that discussions can
focus on curriculum, teaching
strategies, and teacher and stu-
dents' need. Teachers are as-
signed to a PLC period on the
master schedule and are ex-
pected to meet with their team
during that period. Topics of
discussion would range from
student data disaggregation to
curriculum alignment, to teach-
ing strategies, or to technology
integration. Teachers were a
little apprehensive at first but
now seem to have begun to see
the benefit of the group. The
principal is primarily the one
who sets the agenda for these
meetings. She has requested that
the district's instructional tech-
nologist meet with each team to
provide instruction and support
as new technology ideas are in-
troduced. (S. Barnett, per-
sonal communication, December
13, 2010)
By incorporating the new curricu-
lum and integrating interactive
Smart Boards, Mac Books, and
other technologies, Dublin hopes
to increase the students' abilities to
create meaningful content using
higher order thinking activities and
provide opportunities for student
problem solving. The introduction
of the new technologies and curric-
ulum has required a strong com-
mitment from the teachers and
staff. District leaders have provid-
ed a variety of professional devel-
opment opportunities for faculty
and staff. Training is open and
available for one on one during the

By incorporating the
new curriculum and
integrating interactive
Smart Boards,
MacBooks, and other
technologies, Dublin
hopes to increase the
students' abilities to
create meaningful content
using higher order
thinking activities and
provide opportunities for
student problem solving.

25