Why & How
To Encourage Student Technology Leadership
Align with StandardsBegin with College and Career Readiness and Technology Learning as the End in Mind , then weave in other content areas.
The SWAT Resources can be used to align with your school goals for a student leadership program. You know your students best. SWAT is not prescriptive, it is adaptive, to the needs of your students. SWAT is a beginning structure. This is how it works: When you meet in PLC's align the Essential Standards with the roles the students take on in their leadership roles. SWAT can integrate with any content area, ELA, Science, SS, Math, etc. The students can reflect on their experiences and collaborate with others. Adding the reflective writing aspect in ELA is critical as well. You can easily set up Higher Order Questions to get your students thinking and collaborating about any important technology issue and need in your school. Use any online collaborative tool such as Google Drive, Edmodo, Facebook, Moodle, etc. . |
Mission and PurposeThe technology may change, the players may change, but the concept lives on.....................Since its inception in 1997 and through past partnerships with several institutions SWAT Teams are taking the lead in supporting teachers and students with technology needs at their schools and in their communities. There are now hundreds of SWAT Team Programs at the elementary, middle, and high school levels throughout the United States and also some internationally.
The mission of the nationally recognized SWAT concept is to promote student leadership training, address technology competencies, provide outreach to the community through parent involvement, corporate support, and student community service, and to encourage collaboration among student SWAT Teams nationally. A SWAT Team is directed by a motivated teacher and is comprised of any number of students who wish to form a structured group to advance the technology program at their school. The students advance their level of technical skills while also assisting other students, teachers and the community with computer skills. Students are required to fill out a job application and interview to be on the SWAT Team. National and State Technology Competencies are addressed as the foundation of the SWAT Team's Mission. The SWAT Team may consist of specialized "Task Force Teams" formed to address the job force objectives and the technology goals at any school. |
How to Direct a TeamSWAT is a beginning structure, the methodology and practice of applying the concept begins in your schools.......
SWAT can be featured in any of several ways at your school: * After School Technology Club ( Elementary to High School) * Independent Study Course ( Middle and High School) * Service Learning Module * Summer Camp * Help Desk Support * Enrichment Class * Computer Buddy Support * Community Service Outreach Program * Technology and Media Services at School * Student Leadership Training * Teacher Internet Research and Special Technology Support * Computer Refurbishment Programs * Technology Recycling Projects * Students Helping Teachers Learn New Technology Programs |
Product Offerings Overview
Click here for the SWAT store
![]() Star Tech Troopers-A student technology leadership program with a focus on workforce readiness, service learning and leadership development.
To Purchase resources to start a Tech Trooper program click here About STAR Tech Troopers The goal of the STAR TECH Troopers Tech Club is to prepare 21st Century learners. Students will share, collaborate, and support students and teachers with basic technology tasks as well as communicate to the community the learning efforts of the students. Some examples of tasks students may perform on this team could be any of the following: · Cleaning and tidying the computer labs · Helping to post photos and content to the Supply school website · Helping teachers with posting homework to the school website or yearbook. · Learning from the technology support personnel (job shadowing) · Help write simple tech tips for teachers · Use and integrate technology on the morning announcements · Help younger students with learning basic technology skills Students will be gaining valuable 21st Century skills which align with Common Core and Technology Essential Standards.Students in Tech Leadership programs are: Active: They actively engage in educational activities where technology is a transparent tool. Collaborate: Students use technology tools to collaborate with others. Constructive: Students use technology to understand content and add meaning to their learning. Authentic: Students use technology tools to solve real world problems meaningful to them. Goal Directed: Students use technology to research data, set goals, plan activities, monitor progress, and evaluate results. The first Star Tech Trooper, "Captain William", helped with the School Board Tour. He used an iPad to take photos of the school board members. Tech Troopers also learned valuable 21st Century Job skills when they shadowed our tech support to learn about network printers. They also worked with our custodian to take apart an old outdated computer to learn about the parts of a computer. |
SWAT ( Students Working to Advance Technology) Resources
To Purchase resources to start a SWAT program click here. Why should your school invest in the SWAT Program? Support 21st Century Learning Skills Support Service Learning Efforts in your school and community Develop Student Technology Leadership and Support for your school Win additional funding and national recognition for your SWAT program Through Service Learning students are able to connect academic curriculum with their real world service. The 5 Core Components of Service-Learning Investigation, Planning, Action, Reflection, Demonstration/Celebration The technology may change, the players may change, but the concept lives on..................... Michael Milone, Ph.D. Prior Coordinator of the Teacher of the Year Program for Technology and Learning Magazine speaks out about the SWAT Program: Although SWAT is strongly associated with the most contemporary technology, the principles that underlie SWAT reflect the very best education traditions. One of the strongest of these traditions is encouraging students to become stakeholders in their own education. Students who participate in SWAT gain a sense that they are active participants in the education process and recognize that their contributions are valued, thus they develop a stronger sense of ownership of the process. Another tradition that underlies SWAT is that of accountability. From their first experience with SWAT, submitting their application, through the various SWAT activities, students know that their peers and the significant adults in their life have expectations of them, and that meeting these expectations is part of their role in SWAT. Related to accountability is the notion of standards. The teachers and students who participate in SWAT have clearly raised the bar, and the performance standards they establish are rigorous and relevant. Students are willing to meet these standards because they feel ownership of them and know that the standards demonstrate an uncommon commitment to excellence.Students who are involved in SWAT quickly learn that their efforts contribute to the common good. Unlike many programs that promote excellence, SWAT is a team rather than individual effort whose outcomes benefit the education community, not the individual student. Working together as a team and contributing to the common good are two of the most important lessons students can learn, and their SWAT participation will make it more likely that students will bring these lessons to their subsequent education and career experiences. Finally, SWAT participants engage in active, dynamic learning. They learn by doing, and they acquire the ability to adapt what they have learned to novel situations. When a SWAT student sits down to tutor a younger student or engage in online research, for example, there is no script to follow. The student must recall previously learned strategies, apply the strategies in a novel situation, and evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies that have been brought into play. In short, the student must engage in applying a variety of higher-order skills, which is one of the most highly valued outcomes in education. |