The DITS' (Departmental Integration of Technology Specialists) responsibilities can be roughly divided equally among these three main areas: Training; Curriculum; and Mentoring. DITS will be assigned one teaching section to carry out their duties. Below is an outline of DITS duties in each of these three areas.

I. TRAINING
Duties
In concert with the Director of IT, DITS will provide training for teachers (in Grade Level divisions), and will also assist departments in reaching their PD goals with respect to IT training. This will include:
" carrying out scheduled, after-school training sessions for teachers as necessary;
" finding and compiling worthwhile on-line resources for teachers, both for personal training and in-class use;
" providing specific assistance to individual teachers particularly for such universal needs as the reporting system, the ZIS email system, etc.

II. CURRICULUM
Duties
DITS will assist the Director of IT, curiculum supervisors and teachers as they work toward the goal of integrating IT into the curriculum. DITS will:
" help to coordinate the introduction and reinforcement of IT skills across the curriculum;
" help to coordinate and deliver concentrated "tech shots" to provide students with IT-specific training (i.e. at the beginning of the school year and during project periods);
" help teachers to develop specific projects/lessons which integrate IT;
" help to assess and take advantage of cross-curricular ties and areas in which IT can serve as a bridge between traditional subject areas.

III. MENTORING
Duties
One of the most important functions of DITS is their role as mentors and exemplary users of IT within the classroom. It is important that they themselves become expert users in the classroom and develop projects and resources that can be of use to other faculty members. With the help of the Director of IT, DITS will:
" meet for an average of 2 after-school sessions per week in order to train, learn, research and plan their activities;
" develop short- and long-term "model uses" of IT in the classroom;
" document their work, sources, successes, failures, etc. so that their experience can be of use to other faculty members;
" present their model uses to faculty, parents, the Board, or other interested parties;
" provide active support to teachers as they integrate into their own classes.

Lower School: PowerUsers

At the Lower School, differences in scheduling and classroom responsibilities necessitated a different approach.  In the Fall of 2001, the PowerUsers program was instituted as a way to initiate a similar form of mentoring program into the Lower School.  Five teachers were chosen out of a list of 13 applicants.  While the Lower School structure does not lend itself well to assigning a portion of teachers' actual work time to the program, members of the team are provided with hardware, training and professional development incentives.

It is our intention to change the membership of this team as well, although it could be beneficial to maintain a bit of continuity and overlap from year to year.

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PowerUsers Job Description

I. CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

PowerUsers will assist the Director of IT, the IT Curriculum Coordinator, the PYP Coordinator, and teachers as they work toward the goal of integrating IT into the curriculum.  PowerUsers will:

*help to coordinate the introduction and reinforcement of IT skills across the PYP curriculum;

*help to coordinate and deliver concentrated “tech orientations” to provide students with IT-specific training (i.e. at the beginning of the school year and during project periods);

*help PYP teachers to develop specific projects/lessons which integrate IT;

*help to establish ways in which IT can further the aims of PYP Units of Inquiry

*help to document the integrated use of IT so that we can build a substantial resource base for teachers and students

Power Users Mentoring

One of the most important roles of a PowerUser is as a mentor and exemplary user of IT within the classroom.  It is important that they themselves become expert users in the classroom and develop projects and resources that can be of use to other faculty members.  With the help of the Director of IT and the IT Curriculum Coordinator, PowerUsers will:

*meet for an average of 2 sessions per week in order to train, learn, research and plan their activities;

*develop short- and long-term “model uses” of IT in the classroom;

*document their work, sources, successes, failures, etc. so that their experience can be of use to other faculty members;

*present their model uses to faculty, parents, the Board, or other interested parties

*take part in professional development opportunities in the use of IT;

*provide active support to teachers as they integrate into their own classes.

If you have any questions regarding either of these programs, please contact Greg Curtis, ZIS Director of IT.

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