Evaluation DoreA

8/2/2019 Evaluation DoreA

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EdTech 501 Aaron Dore

Technological Maturity Evaluation

Institution - The Hills High School

The Hills Demographics -

The Hills is a consolidated rural district. We are the largest district in the state - land-wise. Our district covers two counties and 8 various small towns.

Numbers in 2000Total population - 17,866Median Household Income - $35,893 (in 1999 dollars)Per Capita Income in 1999 - $18,544

2010-2011 School Year

Number of Schools - 7 (3 elementaries, 1 high school, 1 Middle School, 1 IntermediateSchool, 1 Alternative Education School)

Students (K-12) - 2,307Students with IEPs - 430High School -

Students - 664Amer. Ind./Alaskan - 35Asian/Pacific Islander - 9Black - 16Hispanic - 10White - 594Free Lunch Eligible - 278Reduced-price lunch eligible - 75

AdministrativePolicy

Behavioral - Intelligent


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Although it is yet to be updated, our district does have a published technology plan.There are also guidelines for student and staff conduct when logging on to the school'ssystem.

Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent

Again our plan is very comprehensive and sets forth some specific goals, but the enddate is 2012. So, after talking with our technology director he is in the process ofrevising and updating the policy that we currently have. It is very detailed into whatgoals and projects the technology department is striving to achieve.

Planning

Behavioral - Islands

Planning does take place on our technology plans, however they are on a rather small

scale. We do not always see the big picture. And our focus is on specific projects, andsometimes it doesn't seem as if they are connected with any other planning efforts ashe technology department seems to work on their own, by no fault of their own, tocreate any plans for the school.

Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated

I had to talk with the technology department about this and they have a formal plan thatis review by upper administration. They did share that is one of their frustrations. Theylearn about new technology from teachers, but never get any feedback about how it isgoing. This document is not reviewed by departments only a superintendent who, quite

honestly, is afraid of technology and doesn't like email.

Budget


Our technology department does have a budget. However, the budget does not reallyallow for the purchase of new technologies. It is pretty much enough to work atupgrading what we currently have. Much of the new technology we have gotten hascome from grant money that the technology department is constantly seeking.


There is a specific technology budget, but very few departments actually have a lineitem for technology in their budgets.

Administrative Information


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Behavioral - Integrated

Our school has an online grading and discipline system in place. That grading systemis used by all teachers and is required that all teachers use it. As for the discipline, it

can be done through our grading system, but many teachers prefer the standard papermethod.


Our grading system is available to all staff as they are required to use the system and

all students and parents are given access to the system to check on student grades and

progress.

Curricular Filter

Electronic Information


I feel our students and staff use technology fairly regularly but some more than others.

Some only use the technology to type papers and do research. Most do not utilize

technology to enhance the curriculum in their classrooms.


All of our students and staff have access to computers in the form of the Media Center

or other computer lab. I do believe we have good resources, but could be much better.

We lack the depth of technology.

Assessment


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Behavioral - Emergent

We only have a handful of teachers that actually use online sources for evaluation andgrading. One teacher use Google docs for most of what he does and uses it for studentto evaluate other students as well, but the majority of our staff does not utilize such

resources.

Resource/Infrastructure - Islands

We currently use Pearson Limelight as an assessment tool that is very similar to penand paper style tests. The students may take a paper test and have their answersscanned to the system or they may take the test online. Regardless there are manyteachers that do not utilize Pearson for their assessment needs.

Curriculum Integration


We have many teachers that feel technology takes too much time to integrate and is toodifficult to integrate into curriculum. They feel they will have to teach the technologyinstead of guide the technology. The see integrating technology as more work than

they otherwise would do.


We do have many opportunities for staff in all curricular areas. The problem is thatmost do not utilize it to their full potential.

Teacher Use


Teachers are required to do all grading using an online system. Attendance is takenutilizing the same system. So technology is a must for our teachers to do their jobs.


Every teacher has available to them in their classrooms, a computer with internetaccess, a document camera, and an LCD projector.


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Student Use


Students have access to technology in the Media Center and other labs. Technologyuse is limited to when teachers use the lab or the students on their own which meansthey are playing games or other non-school research.


Students do have regular and consistent access to technology. When teachers use the

labs or on their own time before, after school, and during their lunch.

Support Filter

Stakeholder Involvement


Groups in our district are aware of technology planning, and implementation as we are

usually filled in on progress during our in-services at the beginning of the year. Very

few are actually engaged in the process.

Resource/Infrastructure - Emergent

As far as I can tell the only individuals involved in the planning of technology is our two-

man technology department, and it seems the planning is really left up to the technology

director.

Administrative Support

Behaioral - Emergent

As far as I can tell here our technology department does all the planning. There isdiscussion with other administration, but I do not believe they are actively involved in theplanning stages. This is left entirely up to our tech team.


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Considering it is our tech team that is in charge of the technology planning I chose to gowith integrated here. Our tech guys spend all of their time working on our technology

and finding ways to make it better. They are the ones that devote their precious time toall the planning. They create the plan then submit it for review, which basically meansasking if there is money to do what we would like to do. Then educating aSuperintendent who is afraid of technology (she's been with the district for over 30years).

Training


We do not have on-site technology training. Any training a teacher wants to do will bedone on their own time. However the local ISD does offer training and tech nights, butvery few individuals take the opportunity to use them.

Resource/Infrastructure - Emergent

As mentioned previously we do not have formal training sessions if any. It is up toteachers to find their own training. Our ISD offers opportunities, but few takeadvantage.

Technical & Infrastructure Support


We do have opportunities for support. Our tech guys are an email away or a walk totheir office and are very helpful. However most teachers would rather complain insteadof asking for assistance.


We have two full-time technology personnel. Even though they are extremely busy

supporting the entire district, they are more than happy to help and usually respondrather quickly to any requests we may have.


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Connectivity Filter

Local Area Networking


Our staff utilizes our available networks, but the use is limited to email and the gradingprograms.


All buildings are linked wirelessly, and information can be accessed from anywhere inthe district no matter what building a person may be in.

District Area Networking (WAN)


All of our buildings are linked, but use is limited to email communication.


The infrastructure is available to us and we just recently have added wirelesscapabilities to all buildings, so teachers can access the network via an iPad or other

mobile device.

Internet Access


We have Internet access and staff and students use the Internet regularly but not manyteachers actually integrate the technology into their curriculum.


We, as a staff, can access the Internet in all buildings within the district.

Communication Systems



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Our staff uses email for all communication. It is the number one way for communicatingwith each other within the building and district. Some students will utilize it to contactteachers as well.


All teachers have email addresses and those are public knowledge so students andparents can communicate with teachers. Student access to district email accounts islimited to those students who are dual enrolled and those taking online courses.

Innovation Filter

New Technologies


Many on staff are willing to find and experiment with new technologies but we aresometimes limited to what the tech department is willing to let us do withoutcompromising security of the network.


I would say that many on staff are open to new technologies, but most do not integratethose new technologies into their classrooms.

Comprehensive Technologies

Behavioral - Integrated

We have a pretty good system of technology for our area, we have document cameras,and LCD projectors, but I feel we really lack more advanced options.


As previously mentioned we are limited to what we have. All classes have documentcameras and LCD projectors and a computer and nothing more.

Summary


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This assignment left me feeling a little bit better about our technology situation. I had

always felt that The Hills was a bit in the dark ages and behind technologically. What I

really found was a system in place to attempt to incorporate many new technologies. I

also realized that our technology department works hard to find grants, because the

budget is not there, to bring in some of the latest technology. They really do not have a

lot of support. The majority of the support, in my opinion from the survey, is supporting

the technology department to just maintain what we currently have and making sure it is

all operational. I also feel this does our district a disservice.

Technology is the future. That being said our staff at The Hills needs to begin to be

more open to incorporating technology and have the opportunities to be properly trained

on how it could be used. This is where The Hills really falls behind. We have no means

for technology training, or at least none that individuals are willing to attend. Our ISD

does a fine job of having open labs for teachers to come learn about technology but not

many take advantage. Our staff mainly uses technology for email, grading andattendance. Even our LCD projectors and document cameras do not get much use in

many of the classes.

The other disconnect we have is when a teacher does receive a new piece of

technology, they do not always report back to the technology department to fill them in

on how the device or application is working. In my discussions with our technology

guys, they shared this as their biggest frustration. They want to know what is working

so they can seek the same types of alternatives for other teachers.

We are definitely not an intelligent school, we do have a long way to go, but we are notemerging either. I thought for sure many of my answers would be emerging and

islands, but the opposite was true. I had many islands and integrated with a few

intelligents. This makes me feel pretty good about the path we are on. The key will be

to show others how technology can actually make their job easier.

Documents

Evaluation DoreA