T.R.A.I.L. NYTechnology Resources for Administrators and

Instructional Leaders in New York State

TRAILNY.WNYRIC.ORG

The T.R.A.I.L. NY (Technology Resources for Administrators and Instructional Leaders of New York State) website is one of several projects funded through Erie 1 BOCES’ Enhancing Education Through Technology Grant (2009-2012).

The primary goal of the website is to build the capacity of administrators in the Erie 1 BOCES component districts (and the non-public schools within their boundaries) to serve as effective 21st Century Leaders.

The web site will serve as a central location for educational leaders to find information, research, and professional development resources related to technology and leadership. These resources will assist in effective decision-making and program implementation for 21st century school reform.  

Leading the development of the website content is group of committed building and district administrators from the WNY area who meet regularly to discuss and form consensus on policies, procedures, appropriate technology use, recommended resources, and promising practices that will impact 21st century reform and system change.

Through this website project, district and building administrators will have instant, on-demand access to resources that will allow them to make informed decisions, learn independently using quality products, and collaborate with other administrators facing similar challenges. They will increase the number and frequency of administrative performance tasks achieved, as outlined in ISTE’s NETS for Administrators, which in turn will build their capacity to lead their schools and districts to excellence in the 21st century.

ANTICIPATED PROJECT OUTCOMES• Collaboration between

administrators from different school districts in the WNY region

• Development of regional policies and procedures relating to technology use

• Active participation and contributions in an online virtual learning community from the educational leaders

• Administrators increasing the number and frequency of performed tasks as outlined in ISTE’s NETS for Administrators

• Administrators identifying instructional staff and resources for on-going professional development opportunities to drive system change

SITE DESCRIPTIONThe T.R.A.I.L. NY site is built in Drupal, an open source CMS that boasts both rapidly-growing popularity and an already well-established support network. Erie 1 BOCES chose the system for its functionality and flexibility.

The site was designed for ease of use. A dynamic home page illustrates spotlighted content, and the drop-down navigation bar allows users to easily move through the pages. In addition, the site includes a blog and calendar of events.

The majority of the site is organized under the categories of Leadership, Research, Planning, and Application/Implementation. When users visit these pages, they will find resources specifically targeted to assist school and district administrators in developing their capacity to serve as effective 21st Century Leaders.

Users can also search for resources using the custom search tool. Search results display thumbnails, descriptions, and ratings of relevant resources, which are organized by resource type to allow busy administrators to quickly find useful content.

WEBSITE FEATURESThe Trail NY Website includes the following

features:

• Robust search tool that allows users to search for resources by‣ Key word‣ Title‣ Author‣ Resource Type‣ Date Uploaded‣ Category

• Customized search results page that displays ‣ Resource Type‣ Description‣ Category‣ Thumbnail‣ Date Uploaded‣ Author

• Custom design and theme

• Blog

• Calendar

• Dynamic home page with revolving iPod Touch/iPad-friendly animation and links to featured content

And for Authenticated Users:

• Personalized profile page

• Guestbook

• Ability to bookmark favorite resources

• Forums

• Ability to comment on resources

• “Who’s Online” recognition

• Latest Activity Updates

Finding Resources on T.R.A.I.L. NYThere are many ways to access resources on T.R.A.I.L. NY. The simplest is using the basic

search.

Type a keyword(s) in the white rectangle, and click the magnifying glass.

The search results page will display a list of resources. For each resource, you will see type,

title/description, category, author, and rating. (Some will have thumbnails.)

You can filter the results by clicking the headings that are blue and underlined.

To view a resource, click the green arrow.

If you want to limit your search, use the advanced search feature. Click the down arrow

on the search tool.

You will be able to search by keyword, as well as author, date the resource was added to the site, type, and category. Click the magnifying glass

to search.

For instance, if you click “audio” and “Leadership,” the system will return only audio

files or links to audio in the Leadership category.

You can find links to resources on all of the website pages. Several pages feature spotlight

resources.

The administrative cadre suggested a “Top 10” page for easy access to resources on topics

most on the minds of administrators. This page is located under Leadership.

Click any of the buttons on this page for resources related to these topics.

Categories in T.R.A.I.L. NYCATEGORY DESCRIPTION EXAMPLES

Leadership

Information specifically related to the roles and responsibilities of administrators and instructional leaders

Anything that tells them how to do their job better, how to hone their skills, how to support their teachers and students, etc.

• Articles from a leadership journal

• Checklists• Power Points for principals

to share with staff• Information on how to be a

better administrator• Information on how to

choose/support teachers

ResearchInformation related to technology, technology integration, etc.

“What the experts say”

• Research studies• White papers• Information to build

background• Scholarly articles• Case Studies

Planning & Support

Information and documents that will help users to plan and execute plans“Working” documents

• Spreadsheets or other “working documents”, such as templates

• Sample agendas, pd plans, etc.

• Sample forms (i.e. technology requests, referrals, form letters)

Application & Implementation

Information on what others are doing, how they did it, what the successes were, where they failed, and how users can replicate

Useful, practical how-tos, lesson plans, implementation ideas, etc.

• Tutorials (videos, etc.)• Case Studies• Articles about promising

practices• Lesson ideas to share with

teachers

Other Anything that doesn’t quite fit in with the above

Categories may overlap in some instances.

Remember that resources can link to more than one category.

Categories may overlap in some instances.

Remember that resources can link to more than one category.

Categories may overlap in some instances.

Remember that resources can link to more than one category.

Logging in to TRAIL NY and Setting Profile

Your user name will be given to you.

When you first log in, you will see your first name in a white box. (You will not see a picture.)

Under your name, you will see your dashboard links.

Click on Edit My Settings to change your profile.

Above your user name you will see four main tabs.

The “Edit” tab will be selected, and below it, you

will see that you are able to change your Account settings and your Personal Information.

Under “Account,” you can change your password or e-mail address, upload a picture,

and select contact settings.

Under “Personal Information,” you can add your full name, title, and organization, all of which will

appear on your “business card” in the blue sidebar.

You can also add a bio, which will appear on your profile page for others to view.

got to http://trailny.wnyric.org

THERE IS NO WWW

From the TRAIL NY home page, locate the log in block on the blue right-hand task bar.