Coffman, T. (2009). Getting to the Heart of Technology Integration: Virginia's Instructional Technology Resource Teacher Program. Learning & Leading With Technology, 36(7), 20-23.
Summary:
This article describes how the state of Virginia tackled instructional technology integration. After NCLB, the state devoted millions of dollars to ensuring that every school has two types of technology positions; Instructional Technology Resource Teacher (ITRT) and Technology Support Staff. The Technology Support Staff are just in charge of infrastructure for the district/building. The ITRT position is in charge of providing support for teachers as they integrate technology into their classrooms. The state mandated that districts must have at least one ITRT per one thousand students. This article was published in 2009 and at the time of the publication the state started to see data that suggested this initiative has already increased scores on the Virginia Standard of Learning tests.
I think this is a great start in technology integration for the state. This initiative ensured that all districts began technology integration close to 10 years ago. I also like that the state set a minimum number of ITRT staff that a district can have. Right now, West High has one Instructional Technology Specialist for a building of 4000 students. She also works in the library, so isn't even a devoted ITRT. The district has tried to make up for that by providing small stipends to four teachers to help, but those four teachers don't get extra time in order to be resource to the staff.
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