edtech 501 - school technology evaluation

7/28/2019 EDTECH 501 - School Technology Evaluation

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This evaluation was performed for Green High School.

School Demographics:

● 1400 students in grades 9-12

● 25,000 residents

● Median household income of $87,762● Poverty rate: 1.9%

● 44% of adults hold at least a bachelor’s degree

Technology Demographics:

● Three computer labs to be shared among all departments

● Some classrooms have their own computer labs (mostly in technology and business curriculum

areas)

● High-speed internet and wifi throughout the building

● Laptop carts available from the media center

● Web services available to track student scores on state examinations, prepare and give

assessments, and create online portfolios for students. Google apps accounts for all students andstaff.

Administrative:

Policy:

Behavioral: Islands

Several useful technologies have been purchased but are used by very few people in the district.

Resource/Infrastructure: Islands

Planning is currently underway for a new, more comprehensive district technology plan.

Planning:

Behavioral: Emergent Items are purchased primarily by one individual and lack a formal planning process. Large

purchases must go through the board of education.

Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

No formal implementation plan exists.

Budget:

Behavioral: Islands

The district technology coordinator has a budget for technology improvements. Currently there is no

long-term budgeting that I know of.

Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated

Individual department budgets may be used for technology improvements in addition to the district

technology funds.

Administrative Information:

Behavioral: Integrated

Paperless systems exist for grading, but many administrative tasks such as behavior referrals are

still being done on paper.


Most staff members have access to the systems required to do their jobs. Enhanced reporting



capabilities for grading and attendance would save time for a lot of staff members.

Curricular:

Electronic Information:

Behavioral: IslandsThere are pockets of the school that are very technology-rich, but some areas don't have access to

technology at all. The school has 4 computer labs and 2 laptop carts to be shared between all

teachers. Business and technology classrooms all have their own computer labs.


Because of the lack of individual computing devices for all students, not all technology resources

can be leveraged in all areas of the school.

Assessment:

Behavioral: Islands

Online assessment tools are available to all staff but are not used frequently due to lack of

computer access.


Online assessment data is primarily focused on state exams. Some teachers use the online

assessment tool for all of their formative and summative assessments, but this is limited to areas

with computers.

Curricular Integration:

Behavioral: Islands

Areas with their own computer labs use technology in virtually every aspect of the curriculum, while

other subject areas only use it sporadically.


Many areas lack consistent, reliable access to computers and the internet.

Teacher Use:

Behavioral: Islands

Most teachers use technology in their daily administrative tasks, but it is not a critical part of their

curriculum.


Most teachers and staff members have access to their own computer and online resources.

Student Use:

Behavioral: Emergent

Only students in classrooms with dedicated computer labs use technology on a regular basis as

part of the curriculum.Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

Few students have consistent access to technology throughout the school day in all of their

classes. It is against school policy to use laptops, tablets and cell phones in the school building, so

students do not have the ability to bring their own device from home. Based on the town

demographics, it is likely that most students have a smartphone, laptop, or tablet that they use at

home and could bring in to the building if it were allowed.



Support:

Stakeholder Involvement:


Very few people are aware of the technology planning, purchase and implementation process.

Usually they just ask the district technology coordinator for something and either it is purchased or

it is not. There is no consistent process whereby stakeholders are identified and engaged in theconversation. As a result, there are many technologies available to staff members but very few

understand their purpose or how to use them.

Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

There is no formal planning and implementation process and very few people outside the district

technology office are involved.

Administrative Support:

Behavioral: Islands

School administration does not have the final say on large technology purchases for the school and

they are not always involved in the planning and implementation process. Currently, a district-wide

technology plan is being written by the central administration office. I do not know of any meetings

with teachers or administrators at the various schools to determine what their needs and wants are.


There is one district technology coordinator who is responsible for the planning and implementation

of all technology across all nine schools. He has a team of 5 technicians to support him. They do a

good job with what they have, but having more people on the team so that there is someone

dedicated to each school would be a big improvement.

Training:


Technology training is limited to sporadic events at department meetings and there are no formal

technology training sessions.

Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent There are no formal training sessions for new teachers, existing teachers or staff members when a

new technology is implemented. There are no ongoing formal training sessions for staff.

Technical/Infrastructure Support:


There is a help desk available to all staff but no formal training process so most staff rely on one

another to learn how to use a particular service or technology.

Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent

The district's help desk is very talented and dedicated, though they only have 5 people to support 9

schools.

Connectivity:

Local Area Network:

Behavioral: Islands

Use of the LAN is limited to file servers that are not organized well.


Network could be leveraged for video, voice and data needs if desired.



District Area Networking:

Behavioral: Islands

District services that can be performed online are limited to email and grading. File servers can not

be accessed from different district buildings.


The network has the capacity for video and voice and could be used that way if desired.

Internet Access:

Behavioral: Island

Lack of computer access for many departments. All staff have computers, but students do not have

reliable, consistent access to technology.


Direct access to the internet via a high-speed connection in all areas that have computers. Wifi

throughout the building.

Communications Systems:

Behavioral: Integrated

Email is the primary means of communication throughout the building and the district.Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

The school does not provide student email accounts. All staff have email accounts. School policy

dictates that students are not allowed to check their email while using a school computer, but some

staff us student email addresses to send reminders about assignments or have the students email

an assignment to group members.

Innovation:

New Technologies:


Lack of training and understanding of new technologies makes some staff reluctant to use or

implement them into the curriculum.Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

Some staff readily accept new technologies into the curriculum, but most staff do not.

Comprehensive Technologies:

Behavioral: Islands

SMART boards are in many classrooms. I am not sure how often they are used for their advanced

capabilities.


Most staff rely on SMART boards or projectors and power point presentations. They do not leverage

the capabilities of online assessment and collaboration afforded to them by google docs and other

services that the district has purchased. This is likely due to the lack of consistent, reliablecomputer access for students.

Final Summary:

I would rate North Windsor High School as in the Islands section of the Technology Maturity Model. There

are some pockets of the school that have reliable, consistent access to the internet for each student. In

those areas, some teachers are using online assessments, both formative and summative, to inform their



instruction. Students use the internet for collaboration, research, and portfolio creation. Great things are

happening with technology to drive student learning in those classrooms. However, the staff who are doing

those things have taken it upon themselves to learn and use the technology. The vast majority of the school

does not have similar access to technology and no way of doing those types of online activities

consistently. I believe that if a 1:1 policy were implemented, technology would be used far more than it is in

the curriculum.

edtech 501 - school technology evaluation

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