The Office of Instructional Technology in the Baltimore County Public Schools (BCPS) has created a Technology Integration Institute based upon the principles of Understanding by Design as described by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins.  The primary goal of the institute is to provide quality professional development for using technology to teach Reading and Writing across the curriculum, Grades K-12, as the BCPS curriculum emphasizes the need to teach reading and writing in all content areas. The institutes are based on the Maryland Teacher Technology Standards and the BCPS Learning Goals and Indicators, PreK-12. Separate institutes are provided for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.

 Teachers participate in a 32 hour institute that includes:

• Using a planning tool to create lessons that effectively integrate the use of technology indicators with content indicators to teach reading and writing.
• Using a variety of technological resources including licensed BCPS software (Microsoft Office, Inspiration, KidPix, and Hyperstudio), web-based research tools, digital cameras, scanners, and projection devices.
• Developing management strategies for implementing technology-infused lessons.
• Reporting and reflecting upon the planning process and the implementation of lessons.

Important components of the Institute are modeling effective use of technology by institute instructors, using rubrics for peer review, allowing time to implement lessons planned, and the sharing of lessons and student products.