David Couch, associate commissioner for the Office of Education Technology in the Kentucky Department of Education, hosted his monthly Web cast live Tuesday from the Madison County Technology Center.
His special guests for the month included Madison County Schools Superintendent Tommy Floyd, Madison County Schools Board of Education Chairperson Becky Coyle and Madison County Schools Technology Director Charlene McGee.
“We are very proud to have you in our district today,” Floyd told Couch. “It’s always an honor to get to show off our district on the state stage.”
Couch talked with the three Madison County representatives about the integration of technology into the instructional practices throughout the district. The focus of his questioning was about the Dual Credit program which operates through distance learning technology, the district’s use of Turning Technologies, an instant assessment tool for teachers, and TransFinder, a software program that features bus routing and online field trip requests.
“Technology and education are no longer two separate subjects,” Floyd said. “The more we know and understand how to join the two together, the better equipped we are to serve our students.”
McGee agreed, adding that one fuels the need for the other and together they are helping Madison County students succeed at higher rates.
“We let instructional needs guide what the district does with its technology,” McGee said. “We generally get requests from teachers or principals saying they would like to accomplish this goal, what technology is available to help support their efforts.”
Madison County Schools is fortunate to have access to a great deal of technology, Couch said.
“A district can’t get as far as (Madison County has) without the full support of the Board of Education,” Couch said.
“We are presented with data that supports a need for technology,” Coyle said about the board. “When there is a need for something and data to support it, it is easy for the board to let the district move ahead with a purchase.”
The Web Cast also featured discussion about several education bills that are being considered by the Kentucky General Assembly, in particular those education bills that also affect technology.
Before closing discussions, the panel also touched briefly on the state’s budget situation and how the federal stimulus package might impact technology in Kentucky.
“If we receive the money we are anticipating, we will be able to continue to supply districts across the state with some of the current software packages that we are currently subscribing to, like Encyclomedia,” Couch said.
