The Colorado Education Technology Information Literacy (ET-IL) Plan builds on the strengths and successes of the original plan, initiated in the fall of 2002. Colorado school districts have been planning, incorporating and evaluating technology and information literacy programs for three years.

While districts are required to have plans for E-Rate, Title II-D, and other funding program eligibility, ET-IL Plans must not stop there. The 21st century is now. Students in Colorado classrooms are millennials, unlike any generation before them in their access to technology and their need of information literacy skills.

The revised ET-IL plan remains true to the basic premises of the original plan: student achievement, collaboration, and the importance of education technology and information literacy. It also addresses federal program requirements. Finally, the plan affords the opportunity of aligning ET-IL within the larger context of 21st century skills and district level planning.

The ET-IL Planning Guide provided by CDE has the multiple purposes of ensuring that districts, and qualifying schools, meet the necessary requirements to be qualified to receive Title IID Competitive and Formula funds, E-rate funds, and/or state accreditation.

To meet the minimum requirements for any or all of these three areas, a district needs to only complete and submit (on-line) the specific "plan elements" (Sections A-H)  that address the appropriate planning indicators (Title IID, E-rate, Accreditation) that the district wishes to be qualified to receive.  These plan elements and planning indicators are outlined in the ET-IL Plan Scoring Guide (see attached) and the ET-IL Planning Guide.

The collaboration of the Colorado Department of Education and district administrators, curriculum directors, librarians and technology directors can result in one district plan or the inclusion of ET-IL elements (Sections A-I) within a district’s strategic planning document(s) that will address:

• District Accreditation rules by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) (Sections 2.01(4)(r), 4.02(1)(a), and 4.03(1)(c)

• E-Rate telecommunications discounts
• Title II-D of NCLB formula (Consolidated Applications) and competitive funding.   

A three-year Education Technology and Information Literacy (ET-IL) plan is required for any district that wishes to be eligible for federal E-Rate telecommunications discounts and No Child Left Behind Title II Part D (Enhancing Education Through Technology) funding. At the state level, district ET-IL plans are required as part of the CDE Accreditation Rules.

In order to assist school districts in meeting the requirements of federal and state programs, CDE has established ET-IL planning criteria and a corresponding approval process.

Note: The Education Technology and Innovation unit at CDE will monitor any changes made by the federal government related to the E-Rate and Title II-D programs or changes to state programs enacted by the Colorado Legislature and notify districts if there are any necessary changes or addendums to existing plans required. 

Brush ET-IL 2011 Testing Will Cover These Topics

Teacher Technology Assessment Task Sheet

T1: Software

1. Open the piece of software that you will be demonstrating.
2. Go through the program and briefly explain the activities or procedures that are needed to use the software or tool effectively.
3. Explain how you integrate the software or tool into you curriculum.
4. If you wish to be considered advanced, please follow all steps with a different software program.

T2: Word Processing

1. Open Word to a new Word document.
2. Type the word “test”.
3. Change the style, font and color of the text.
4. Type “another test” under the first word, but make sure that the line spacing is 1.5.
5. Change the page layout to landscape.
6. Change the top, bottom, and side margins to 1.5”.
7. Change the alignment of the text to center and right alignment.
8. Bold and italicize the first word.
9. Cut/copy/paste the second line above the first.
10. Insert a piece of clipart under the last line.
11. Add a numbered list 1-3 in Roman Numerals under the clip art.
12. Copy your clip art and place it above the Roman Numerals.
13. Beneath the second graphic, add 4 bullets that look like diamonds.
14. Type a description of the graphic you inserted and spell check it.
15. Do a print preview and then print your document.
16. For an advanced rating show an example of text wrapping, creating a page border, WordArt, insert a hyperlink, insert a table or insert a graphic other than clipart.
17. Close and exit the program.

T3: File Management

1. Explain the differences between the “H” drive, “C” drive, “desktop”, “A” drive, “Shared drive,” and a flash drive.
2. Use the “search” feature to locate a Word or PowerPoint document on the “C” drive.
3. Open your “H” drive and “Shared Drive” to demonstrate file management. (Folders created and labeled in a way you know what they are, documents filed into folders, and obsolete items deleted.)
4. Locate and access a shared application.
5. Save a document to the home directory and a shared file.
6. Move a folder from one location to another on the home directory.
7. Explain the difference between “Save As” vs. “Save”
8. Explain what type of documents is saved with these extensions: .pdf, .xlt, .ppt, .doc, .html.
9. For Advanced: Create shortcuts to the desktop

T4: Trouble-shooting

1. Identify 2 trouble-shooting procedures for each of the following:
2. Audio trouble
3. Printer problems
4. Frozen or blank computer screen
5. Identify 1 trouble-shooting procedure for each of the following:
6. Document of project won’t save correctly
7. Mouse or keyboard won’t work
8. For Advanced: Identify more than the above trouble-shooting procedures above.

T5: E-mail

1. Explain the differences between the web e-mail and Outlook.
2. Create and send an email message
3. Delete and purge unwanted messages in the mailbox.
4. Send, open and save attachments
5. Create an appointment in the Calendar for Advanced.

T6: Multimedia

1. Open the program you would like to demonstrate, or open a project that you have created in that program.
2. Show the project you have created.

OR

1. Demonstrate these skills
2. Format or insert a background
3. Insert a graphic/picture/clipart
4. Navigate to a new page
5. Create text
6. Add sound (if applicable)
7. Add a new page, slide, etc.
8. Save to desktop and close the program.
9. Do #1 and #2 for a second program for advanced.

T7: Data-Driven Reports

1. Describe how reports in data driven software are used to analyze student performance to drive your instruction.

OR

1. Show examples of reports generated from data driven software, and how they are used to drive your instruction.
2. If at Advanced, generate a report and explain its relevance to your curriculum and instruction.

IL1: Inquiry/Problem-based learning and higher level questioning

1. Explain how inquiry-based learning differs from the traditional approach to teaching.
2. Explain at least 3 critical attributes of an “essential question” in the inquiry-based learning approach.
3. Create 3 questions that utilize the higher level questioning in each of the following Bloom’s Taxonomy:
4. Analysis
5. Synthesis
6. Evaluation

This is for the advanced designation.

IL2: Searching the Internet

1. Perform an advanced Boolean search by typing in a broad topic then narrow the search criteria using 3 search strategies until the topic is very specific with relatively few hits.
2. For Advanced: use more than 3 search strategies.

IL3: Searching Databases and On-line Libraries

1. Perform a search for a topic on the school’s on-line library catalog for a title related to your content area.
2. For Advanced, do a similar search using an on-line database such as EBSCO.

IL4: Structure student web searches

1. Explain at least 2 techniques that you would use to structure or focus student web searches so that students only go to teacher directed sites.
2. For Advanced, explain more than 2.

IL5: Evaluating Web Resources

1. Choose a website related to your curricular area.
2. Demonstrate 3 methods for checking authenticity and reliability of a webpage.
3. For Advanced, demonstrate more than 3 methods.

IL6: Ethical Use

1. Describe 2 ways of preventing plagiarism.
2. Describe 1 copyright issue involved in using text-based resources.
3. Describe 1 copyright issue involved in the use of multi-media.
4. Describe the importance of the AUP for both students and staff.
5. Describe 1 copyright issue involved in webpage publishing.

IL7: District Citation Format

1. Name the approved citation format used throughout the district and where you can find examples of it.