EDUCATION

School Districts

CWA assists California school districts and county offices of education in developing educational technology plans. This is an important service, as approved plans are necessary to receive EETT and E-Rate funding as well as the K-12 Education Technology Voucher funding. CWA also provides assistance to school districts in Network Infrastructure evaluations, redesigns and technology budgets, as well as hardware and software volume purchasing.

 

Over the past 10 years many state supported educational technology services provided professional development, planning, and implementation assistance to help schools use technology to support teaching and teaming. More recently, these programs include the eleven Regional California Technology Assistance Projects (CTAP) and four Statewide Educational Technology Services (SETS) projects.

 

CWA programs help provide professional development and support in three program areas including:

 

• Use of technology as a tool to improve teaching, learning and communication.

• Hardware and network evaluations, implementation and/or restructuring.

• Using technology to improve school management.

 

CWA’s services are intended to reduce local duplication of needed services and assure equal access to many available resources within districts especially when the districts are in rural and technologically challenged areas.

 

Educators need additional support and training so they may:

 

• Confidently and effectively integrate purchased technologies into instruction.

• Be aware of, and make informed decisions about enlarging new technologies.

• Access and utilize the State-supported High Speed Network (NSN).

• Assist rural and under-served schools equally to access the use of new technology.

• Encourage schools to apply for State and Federal funds for technology.

 

CTAP – Overview and Demographic Profile

 

Overview of Services

 

The eleven CTAP regions are intended to provide a common and equitable system of educational technology services statewide while addressing the unique characteristics and needs of the counties and districts they serve.

 

The CDE has operationally defined CTAP services in terms of the following four major Program Areas which incorporate the legislative intent. Each CTAP region is accountable to deliver services to educators based on these four Program Areas:

 

• Professional development and teaming resources to use technology as a tool to improve teaching and teaming.

• Professional development and support related to hardware and telecommunications.

• Professional development and support related to using technology as a tool to improve school management.

• Funding and coordination with federal, state, and local programs.

 

Types of services delivered: The overall intent of the legislation (SB 1254) authorizing and funding CTAP and SETS is to contribute to an increase in knowledge of technology in order to improve teaching and learning by doing the following:

 

• Provide technology planning and technical assistance.

• Provide professional development in technology and curriculum integration.

• Work collaboratively with school districts, county offices of education, and businesses in the region.

• Assist schools to utilize high-speed telecommunications networks.

• Document and address the needs of rural schools and technologically under-served school districts and county offices of education.

• Evaluate the implementation of, access to, use of, and local impact of, the services provided by the region.

 

A major role of CWA is to provide support for technology plan development and to provide information and assistance with technology purchasing decisions as well as professional development. DELL and Microsoft offer academic discounts as well as volume purchasing benefits when purchased through their academic alliances.

 

Classrooms and labs often have mixed network environments with MAC and PC based hardware as well as software. Knowing the difference and how they communicate can make the difference when trying to extend the use of applications throughout a specific school or the entire district.

 

Let CWA help you get informed about your hardware and network infrastructure!

 

• CWA can help your lab assistants, network dept., district or school in the planning, training, implementation and maintenance of your hardware or network infrastructure.

• Use the planning, implementing and maintaining segments using your available network infrastructures for instructional purposes.

• Be educated when selecting and using technology-based applications to access, manage, and analyze student assessment and related information.

 

We can help in identifying and applying for state, federal and/or private funding related to the application of technology to access and/or utilize technology in education.

 

Our initial consultation is free and our consultation services are project based after we have reviewed your goals, requirements and budget.

 

Consultation defined: Consultation includes answering questions and providing technical assistance by phone, email, and in person that relate to any of the following topics: funding, defining or purchasing resources, meetings and conferences, use of technology, technical solutions, SETS information, project evaluation, completion of forms required by the state, etc,