School Technology

Cell Phone and Smart Device Use in Schools

OSPI guidance on cell phones and smart devices provides a framework for districts to use when developing policies on these technologies. School leaders are encouraged to work with their communities over the next year to create a plan that will work best for their local context.

K-20 Network

The K-20 Educational Network is a high-speed, high-capacity network that connects colleges, universities, K-12 school districts and libraries across Washington state.

Federal Connectivity Programs

Review federal programs that provide funding for internet and device access for students, teachers, and families (dependent on the program).

Computers 4 Kids

Computers that have completed their state service are available to needy public schools across Washington. Waiting list for refurbished computers

Digital Equity and Inclusion

Digital equity and inclusion (DEI) in education is the push for all students no matter their geography, socioeconomic status, race, or school district to have equitable access to the same quality of education.

Media Literacy & Digital Citizenship

Media literacy and digital citizenship are overlapping content areas that should be integrated into every subject taught in today’s classrooms. The standards associated with media literacy lead students to think critically about the messages they consume and create through a variety of forms of communication. Those associated with digital citizenship enable students to use technology in ways that are safe, responsible, ethical, and kind.

Best Practices

Technology has a unique role to play as innovation and economic hardship transform teaching, learning and education management. With its limitless versatility, educational reach and proven ability to boost productivity, technology has become necessary infrastructure in every district office and classroom.

State Technology Survey

The State Technology Survey is conducted to get current data on the state of tech integration across Washington’s public schools. Available through the state’s longitudinal data system, this important dataset supports educational technology programming at the school, district, and state levels.

GIS Software

Free licenses are available for Washington state K-12 schools to use Geographic Information System (GIS) software for instructional purposes. Educators use this valuable software to help students understand geography, earth science, social studies, math, language arts, and more. Learn more about the ConnectED initiative or sign up for your free account.

Once you’ve downloaded GIS software, take it out for a test drive. We’ve compiled tutorials that demonstrate instruction basics and data sets (boundaries, census, education, environmental, geographic, and transportation) that you can use as instructional support.

Educational Technology Law & Policy

Instruction enriched by technology makes it possible to remove physical barriers to learning and differentiate curricula to address different learning styles. This is an important role for the state’s EdTech initiatives and one that connects with students today — keen to create, collaborate, and think critically with technology. The goal is to keep kids in school and prepare them for life and work after graduation.

EdTech at OSPI serves the two components of successful tech integration:

1. Technology. Classroom technology, internet connectivity, and network infrastructure and policy; and
2. Instruction. Standards, assessments, and the need to integrate instructional technologies into standards-based curricula.

The Law

The work of the Educational Technology (EdTech) department at OSPI is identified in the state’s definition of basic education — specifically with the inclusion of technology literacy and fluency in RCW 28A.150.210.

The legislature finds that technology can be effectively integrated into other K-12 core subjects that students are expected to know and be able to do. Integration of knowledge and skills in technology literacy and fluency into other subjects will engage and motivate students to explore high-demand careers, such as engineering, mathematics, computer science, communication, art, entrepreneurship, and others; fields in which skilled individuals will create the new ideas, new products, and new industries of the future; and fields that demand the collaborative information skills and technological fluency of digital citizenship.

Further to the definition of this law and its charge for EdTech are:

• Mandates that cover statewide support for educational technology, Chapter 28A.650 RCW
• Requirements for educational technology literacy and technology fluency standards and assessments, RCW 28A 655.075.

Section (3), RCW 28A.150.210, speaks directly to the benefits of technology integration as a path to one of the key legislative priorities for basic education: Think analytically, logically, and creatively, and integrate technology literacy and fluency as well as different experiences and knowledge to form reasoned judgments and solve problems. The Educational Technology department at OSPI delivers on this mandate to make technology literacy and fluency possible across all the core subjects. They serve the need for industry- and college-ready literacies and fluencies:

• Policy-based strategies and standards that ensure robust network and technology infrastructure.
• Research-based instruction and assessment practices, without which teachers cannot achieve their full potential as powerful educators, and students will not graduate ready to meet the demands of college and career.

Technology

E-rate Discount Program

EdTech staff guide districts through the complexities of the E-rate process and provide training as districts submit the required forms and data. The E-rate program brings in $25-40 million annually in discounted telecommunications and internet services for Washington K-12 schools.

Move to Online Assessment

EdTech is at the center of two major initiatives to which the state has dedicated considerable time and human resources – the online ELPA21 and Smarter Balanced adaptive assessment system. EdTech staff at OSPI provide data, expertise, and support – technical, communications, logistical. They work directly with the field, contractor, and assessment staff on system implementation and technology readiness.

K-20 Network

EdTech at OSPI is where state support centralizes for K-20 network infrastructure and its related policy, both of which are critical to learning and assessment environments. Most school districts, ESDs, and tribal schools depend on this high-quality, high-speed backbone for internet access and distance learning.

Microsoft Imagine Academy Certification System

OSPI staff from EdTech and CTE work closely on content coordination and program administration for the Microsoft Imagine Academy. More than 24,500 students earned certifications, mainly in Microsoft Office, during the 2015-2016 school year.

Computers 4 Kids (C4K)

EdTech at OSPI is a partner with the departments of Corrections and Enterprise Services in a program that distributes more than 5,000 standards-based computers each year to low-income school districts. C4K was designed to take advantage of state computing technology that agencies surplus or take off lease.

K-12 Policy

Districts look to EdTech as the state’s source for technology-related policy support and guidance. Staff provide ongoing support, and deliver training that helps districts understand the complexities of federal statute. EdTech at OSPI, as a department, is focused on the development and implementation of policies and practices that keep students and teachers safe on the Internet.

Instruction

Standards and Assessments for Educational Technology

The Legislature has mandated the development of standards and classroom-based assessments for educational technology. The EdTech assessments integrate Common Core State Standards and bring the state’s EdTech standards into K-12 subject areas. Each assessment comes with a suite of technology integration resources and instructional support materials.