An Environmental Scan of Educational Technology and the Future of Learning

    Nestled in the wind-swept Texas Panhandle sits Canyon and the Canyon Independent School District. West Texas A&M University also calls this wide-open flat grassy terrain home. Many residents in Canyon proper are diversely employed as teachers and professors, bankers, doctors, preachers and ministers, small and big business owners, and of course ranchers. With Amarillo being just 16 miles to the north, many community members make the commute to work in Amarillo and raise families in our close-knit quiet community. Many of our students aim to be employed as engineers or technicians at Bell Helicopter or Pantex. Canyon has seen an increase in growth and has recently opened a new High School feeder pattern to accommodate the urban sprawl between Amarillo and Canyon. Our warm summer nights and mild cool autumn and spring days brings out many visitors to our Palo Duro Canyon State Park, the second largest canyon in the US and located 12 miles east of us. 

    Canyon ISD is comprised of three High School feeder patterns with an Alternative High School that has an attached Career and Technology Academy, three Junior High 7/8th grade campuses, three Intermediate 5/6th grade campuses, and ten PreK-4th grade Elementary campuses. In total 20 campuses with a staff of 1,429 employees enrolled 11,012 students in the 2022-2023 school year. Across the span of the district, 36.5% of students are in economically disadvantaged homes. In schools, 62.2% are white students, while 29.8% are Hispanic and 3.2% are African American. English is the predominate language spoken with 3.5% of our students in a Bilingual/ESL Program.

    With a competitive spirit and a mission for students to obtain lifelong success, Canyon ISD celebrates our many achievements proudly. Social Media posts engage our community to cheer on our rankings in the UIL Lone Star Cup for currently being in 3rd, 4th, and 9th standing for 4A High Schools (the UIL Lone Star Cup honors the best overall athletic and academic programs in Texas). And for being recognized as a Google Reference District for its innovative use of Technology and Google products in the district. Not to mention one high school's competitive eSports team. Students in the classroom have 1:1 Chromebook availability, with many students in High School bringing their own device. Most students in the district have at least one computer with internet access at home, but over 1/3 of families do not have a device for students to complete homework if internet access is needed. Additionally, many of our families still have limited broadband internet access in the rural farming and ranching areas in our district. This year the district has made a push for students to remain off of cell phones in the classroom and teachers are encouraged to keep students engaged in other digital tools and resources (with the exception of marching band students that use an app on their phones to help teach them their steps!). Teachers in the classroom utilize online textbooks, document cameras, and Promethean Boards for instruction, and Google Classroom for the LMS (Learning Management System). Students begin to practice and understand their Chromebook technology in early elementary library lessons, then transition to more independent navigation of devices at the Intermediate campuses. Even with an Acceptable Use Policy in place, unsafe and off-task computer use became a discipline issue. Now, teachers are able to watch Chromebook screens through an application called Classwize. Classwize allows teachers to monitor Chromebook use to ensure students stay on-task if working independently or in groups, even if a student is in a different part of the building working on an assignment. 

    Sadly, the 14 librarians in our district don't fill a digital media center role for staff in the capacity they should. At the Elementary and Intermediate campuses, Chromebook issues are taken to the librarian for fixing or sent on to the technology team if the librarian doesn't have the ability to fix the issue. Librarians teach digital literacy and citizenship lessons to students, but the Librarians aren't asked to provide Professional Development to teachers. Instead the High School iConnect specialists send monthly newsletters with EdTech tools, AI integrations, and STEM connections to their feeder pattern teachers. With our district growing in CTE (Career and Technical Education) Programs, our librarians should be collaborating with teachers and offering professional development on technology resources to align with the needs of the students in core classes, special education students, and GT students as well. During the 2022-2023 school year, 68.6% (just under the state's 72.3%) of high school students in CISD were enrolled in a CTE Program. Enrollment numbers in these courses is impressive, and shows our students are interested in utilizing technology to give them a head start on their futures while still in high school.  

    While CISD has many achievements and provides students with many educational technology tools, I am understanding the district has opportunity for areas of growth. There is potential for librarians to integrate tech more consistently, ensuring that all teachers effectively integrate technology into lessons that may require ongoing training and support. Librarians can direct their staff to explore AI Educational interfaces for tutoring, rubric and grading assistance, or modifying assignments for diverse learning needs for example. The best thing of all, since our librarians understand and are so connected to their campus culture, they can provide specific guidance for their teachers and students. Librarians are the bridge that connect teachers and students to the future of learning.

References:

• Isd,C. (n.d.). Canyon ISD. Gabbart Communications and Canyon ISD. https://canyonisd.net/
• UIL Lone Star Cup — University Interscholastic League (UIL). https://www.uiltexas.org/lone-star-cup