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The 2000 Technology Connectivity Grant from the Indiana State Department of Education provides the MCCSC with a unique, one-time, opportunity to focus State-provided, non-Capital Projects Funds on staff development activities dedicated to the integration of technology into the teaching and learning process.

The MCCSC Ongoing Technology Plan, approved by the Board in 1994 and updated in 1996, 1998, and 2000, has a curriculum-technology integration component. The expectations of the State grant, the 2000 revision of the Ongoing Three-Year MCCSC Technology Plan, MCCSC 1998 Board priorities, and the Board's District Focus 2001-2002:

Technology Develop or refine the skill level of professional staff members in the area of instructional technology, particularly curriculum integration.

Indiana State Board of Accounts findings hold that technology expenditures using CPF monies may be used for staff development activities but may not be used for salary-related expenses for MCCSC staff or substitutes. Further, the constraints of the general fund budget mitigate against creation of new, continuing, positions and any expectations of ongoing centralization of curriculum integration staff development activities using general fund monies.

The Office of Curriculum/Assessment/Instruction and the Office of Information Services have developed a two-year plan which uses the State technology funding to seed activities designed to initiate a central set of staff development directions. These can then be adapted by each school and continued after the first two years using building technology funds and other appropriate funds available to the buildings.

The CAI/IS proposal

1. Identifies a core of technology applications
   
2. Allocates State-provided technology funds to a series of workshops directed toward
   1. Providing building principals with knowledge and understanding to manage both the curriculum-integration activities and the building-level staff development needs;
      
   2. Assisting principals in identifying a cadre of building-level instructional staff who will design and implement in Phase 1 a model curriculum-technology integration project and will design and implement building-level staff development activities for Phase 2 of the project.
      
   3. Training a cadre of technology application trainers who will be tasked with assisting building-level teams to design the Phase 1 model curriculum-technology integration project.
3. Allocates State-provided technology funds for individual, "Just-in-Time," online training in the core of technology applications;
4. Defines the outcomes of the two-year project in terms which can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the project.

These introductory sessions with the project consultant will provide building principals with knowledge and understanding to manage both the curriculum-integration activities and the building-level staff development needs, will assist principals in identifying a cadre of building-level instructional staff who will design and implement in Phase 1 a model curriculum-technology integration project and will design and implement building-level staff development activities for Phase 2 of the project.

The sessions with the Applications Facilitators identified by CAI/IS will address how, and how much, specific training should be provided to assist users with the MCCSC software applications.