Instructional Technology

      CVE’s mission is to provide students with a rich program of studies facilitated by the use of multimedia technologies. The school brings together the best of what is known about effective learning research and powerful learning technologies and synthesizes it into a transformed school setting that employs personalized learning opportunities, a curriculum for today and tomorrow, and the assumption of learning success for each child.
Our school vision is to provide an atmosphere in which students, staff, parents, and members of the community work together to create a safe, child centered learning environment where every student is actively engaged in authentic and challenging instruction. We provide an integrated curriculum for our students utilizing technology and performance based instruction through real-world applications. Our highly qualified, enthusiastic staff prepares our students to be technologically literate so that they will be successful in the 21st Century.
Goals, objectives and activities incorporate technology and have been developed to maximize student achievement; technology is not viewed as an “add” on, but as tool to help achieve a goal. . Our program is aligned with Maryland Technology Literacy Standards for Students and with Baltimore County Technology Outcomes and Indicators.
Our technology literacy standards state that students will: develop foundations in the understanding and uses of technology systems; show responsible digital citizenship by practicing ethical, legal, and safe use of technology; use a variety of technologies for learning and collaboration; use technology as a productivity tool to communicate information and express ideas; use technology to locate, evaluate, gather, and organize information and data; and to use technology to develop strategies to solve problems and make informed decisions. Students also demonstrate an awareness of the impact of technology on society in order to respond to global issues.
CVE’s technology leadership team designed an innovative instructional technology curriculum aligned with National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) that exceeds state and county standards. Innovative instructional strategies are incorporated into authentic learning settings. Our kindergarten, first and fifth grade students receive instruction using state of the art technology in sound enhanced classrooms. Daily announcements are produced and broadcast by students in all grades from our TV studio. Students assimilate learning to create multimedia projects and save them using their personal active directory accounts. Students maintain electronic portfolios in grades 2-5 which showcase their integrated projects. Teachers integrate technology to enhance daily instruction through the use of multi-media presentations, interactive white boards, Turning Point (an electronic every pupil response system), document cameras, digital cameras, Internet resources, Safari Montage (video retrieval system), and fee-based databases.  Every classroom is equipped with five student and one teacher computer, the ability to project from the computer to the TV and a networked black and white printer. Teachers and students have access to networked color printers throughout the school. Kindergarten, first grade, and fifth grade classrooms are equipped with sound enhanced systems. CVE has three full computer labs equipped with a minimum of 24 student stations, projection devices and printers, and whiteboards.
Our goals are accomplished using a variety of software applications. Students use software from the Microsoft suite including, PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, Excel, Photo Story 3 and PhotoDraw. Kidspiration 2.0 and Inspiration 7.5 are concept mapping programs that are designed to help students organize their thoughts when in the first step of the writing process. In grades 1-5, students use MicroWorlds to learn basic programming using the computer language Logo. Students in grade five participate in a robotics unit using Lego’s Robolab™. Students are given opportunities to extend their technology skills in a photography and video class and in a communication club.  Students participate in a unit on Internet safety in the beginning of each year and ethical use of technology resources are taught and reinforced consistently.
 Our music and art programs have unique aspects to their instructional strategies where technology is included. The Yamaha Music in Education™ keyboards support technology and are used by all students to teach music fundamentals and allow students to compose and improvise original music. CVE’s art program is involved in the “MY… project”, an elaborate international on-line collaboration of students and teachers who are creating a vast digital art exhibition sponsored by the Oxfordshire Arts Council in England.
Since all teachers at Cromwell are teachers of technology, teachers receive ongoing staff development to broaden their technology skills that enable them to deliver cutting edge instruction aligned with the magnet program and the Voluntary State Curriculum. Three teachers from CVE have been awarded as “Baltimore County’s Outstanding Educator Using Technology” award, competing against not only all elementary school teachers, but also teachers in middle and high schools! Jill Wright will be presented with this award in May of 2008; Dana Novotny received it in May of 2006 and Christy Spurrier in May of 2005. Several CVE teachers are certified by BCPS as instructors for MSDE accredited technology courses that provide staff the opportunity to participate in on-site courses.  In 2007, a group of fourteen teachers participated in a six week e-community on-line course where members examined the positive effects of technology on student achievement. This year a team of teachers and administrators will participate in a graduate certificate program in School Leadership in Technology Integration that is a partnership between BCPS and Johns Hopkins University. 
Our vision is achieved by providing a motivating, enthusiastic, comfortable, safe and ethical learning environment where technology is seamlessly integrated into the curriculum to prepare students for the 21st century.