Sherri Harrelson School Evaluation Project

Demographics for School P

The school that I evaluated for the purposes of this assignment is a primary school serving students in pre-kindergarten through 2nd grade, thus I have deemed it school P to maintain anonymity and discretion. There are approximately 500 students being served in this school, although the numbers change frequently as the school is comprised of military families that are required to move often. The average class size is 16 students per teacher, although assistants are available to help with the younger classes, as well as classes with a large percentage of students having special needs. In addition, many of the students in this school qualify for free/ reduced lunch. The student demographics are broken down in the following chart:

Administrative
Policy Behavior: Islands I gave this rating because although there are formal criteria in place, many ignore the requirements of implementation due to the perceived difficulties in regular incorporation of technology. Resource/ Infrastructure: Integrated The administration is making an effort to improve both student and teacher use of technology by establishing requirements pertaining to use of data reporting, curriculum

connections, and time spent in the computer lab; however, some teachers feel that the computer lab is similar to other special classes (e.g. art) and is not worthwhile or important for student learning. In addition, follow up is largely non-existent when it comes to monitoring of technology facilitation within the classroom. Planning Behavior: Emergent From my experience, the planning process is very limited in that very few staff members are involved, it is informal in nature, and due to limited involvement focuses on isolated products that have limited use in the classroom due to perceptions of difficulty in planning and inaccessibility. An example of this would be the acquisition of two SMART boards, one of which is required to stay in the media center at all times and the other which must be checked out in advance of use. The outcome is that only a limited number of individuals regularly incorporate these devices into lessons. Resource/ Infrastructure: Emergent Due to the limited and informal nature of planning, the plan itself is relatively informal and restricted to only those most involved. Budget Behavior: Islands I gave this rating because although technology is of budgetary importance, it is confined to short term efforts and purchases, as opposed to long range goals of incorporation of devices with increased accessibility and ease of use. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Although a specific technology budget is available, it is offered in isolation of other budget related provisions. Administrative Information Behavior: Integrated Although technology is given relatively minimal consideration from much of the staff, it is utilized daily for attendance purposes and for email notifications to staff members regarding meetings and planning. It is even occasionally used when other methods would be more beneficial, as in sending out an email of changes in meeting times shortly before the meeting is scheduled to begin during times that teachers are not typically checking their email accounts.. Resource/ Infrastructure: Integrated It is obvious that there is an effort to achieve growth in the use of technology, as systems are in place to allow for administrative tasks including attendance and grading, although lesson planning and sharing of resources is often done using more traditional methods.

Curricular
Electronic Information

Behavior: Islands I gave this rating because some of the students and staff frequently utilize technology related resources in conjunction with more traditional instruction; however, the problem is that there is not a lot of sharing of these resources and when they are shared, they are often not embraced. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Although some resources are available that could be accessed and beneficial for all students, whether those resources are utilized is entirely up to the classroom teacher. In addition, some of the better resources, like subscription plans to curricular related game services and technology based phonics instruction, are utilized by only the very few teachers willing to pay out-of-pocket for these services.

Assessment Behavior: Emergent I chose this defining term because teachers rely almost exclusively on traditional paper-and-pencil methods of assessment. Although they frequently incorporate projects, they fail to utilize media based methods of presentation or assessment. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands The only technology tool available for assessment is a program designed to test reading comprehension that is available on all of the computers within the school to include those in each classroom. However, even at the administrative level, technology based assessment procedures are given little thought of consequence beyond this particular program. Curricular Integration Behavior: Emergent I decided on this rating because although the technology is available through the provided internet connections within the classroom, it is not often utilized as a supplement to curriculum and instruction methods. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Every classroom is equipped with one computer for teacher use and four or more computers for student use. There is also a tv located within every classroom, as well as SMART boards within the school that are available for use. In addition, there are internet connections readily available on every computer. The possibility for curricular integration is there in terms of hardware, but software and training are very limited. Teacher Use Behavior: Islands Teachers are required to use computer based grading and attendance, but many do not choose to use technology for curricular related purposes within the classroom. Resource/ Infrastructure: Integrated Teachers have access to computers within the classroom, both for leader and student use, as well as SMART boards, ELMO projectors, and media centers equipped with audio/ video technologies. They are provided with email accounts and have internet capabilities within the classroom as well. While they are limited in terms of mobile devices, there

is a great degree of technology available for use. Student Use Behavior: Islands Students frequently visit the media center and computer lab where they are alloted time to interact with technology, watch videos, and view presentations. The main discrepancy is that there is not a lot of growth or development in terms of newer technologies and they are limited to more traditional interactions. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Some students have consistent access to technology within the classroom, as well as other locations throughout the building. The problem is that this based on teacher preferences and how much time they choose, as individuals, to incorporate technology, which in some classes is practically nil while others are at least given free time as a privilege to explore selected sites.

Support
Stakeholder Involvement Behavior: Emergent Few stakeholders, including parents and teachers, have any involvement in the technology planning or implementation process. Perhaps this is because of the many challenges military families face or a lack of awareness of available technologies within the realm of education. Resource/ Infrastructure: Emergent The majority of those involved in planning are those that have direct access to knowledge and information, such as media personnel. Even the administrators seem to focus more on basic instruction as opposed to comprehensive, cross-curricular, technology based enhancements. Administrative Support Behavior: Islands There is minimal administrative involvement, other than emails sent out to staff, approval of budget issues, and concern about networking/ connectivity. There is not strong administrative push to achieve greater technological use, nor is there an effort to correlate staff training on implementation of newer technological resources. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Administration does not heavily monitor the use of technology within the classroom, although it is expected in an informal sense that teachers will use technology, at least for the administrative tasks of grading and attendance, as teachers are reprimanded for failure to use the administrative features available to them. Training Behavior: Emergent This is at a very basic stage, as there is very minimal teacher training in technology related resources. More often than not, if a teacher wants to use a resource he/she must

figure it out or ask directly for help due to the lack of formal professional training during meetings and work days. A prime example of this is the lack of SMART board use. Many teachers have expressed a desire to increase motivation, but are uncomfortable with implementing a new technology, especially independently in the classroom. Resource/ Infrastructure: Emergent Formal training is exceedingly limited, and typically training occurs when an individual or small group decides to implement a technology related resource and asks for assistance. Alternatively, some individuals have taken it upon themselves to learn and purchase new software or subscription based services to use within their classrooms.

Technical/ Infrastructure Support Behavior: Emergent Support sought by staff is typically done on individual basis, as through the use of youTube at home or independent research. Occasionally a staff member may seek out support through media personnel, especially as it pertains to traditional video use and difficulties with administrative processes. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Although major technical issues are typically resolved through outside resources, no formal meetings are provided to ensure the same incident does not recur. In addition, the primary sources of in school assistance appear in the form of mentor teachers or those interested in technology on a personal level that have taken the time to learn on their own.

Connectivity
Local Area Network Behavior: Islands Both staff and students use the provided connection often; however, the use is typically confined to such things as searching for applicable worksheets or templates or playing games in absence of direct curricular connections. Resource/ Infrastructure: Integrated Interestingly, all computers are equipped with high speed access, although I suspect that if teachers were to incorporate more regular and in-depth use into their lessons and activities, the network connections may slow or need to modified. District Area Networking Behavior: Islands Again, use of district networking is typically very traditional and minimal at best. Although the technology is available, lack of training presents a barrier. Resource/ Infrastructure: Integrated Again, the resources are provided and it is apparent that the administration is trying to provide 21st century capabilities to both teachers and students; however, without a more formal plan for use and follow up to ensure proper use, teachers tend to avoid stepping outside of traditional methods.

Internet Access Behavior: Islands I chose this rating because the internet is used, albeit in a limited fashion by all but the few devoted to technology related instruction methods. Many teachers use the internet for new lesson ideas, but fail to involve their students in the process. Rather than using the internet as the tool, they use it to search for more traditional tools like worksheets or project ideas. Resource/ Infrastructure: Intelligent As previously mentioned, every computer is equipped with direct access. The problem here is the trickle down effect in terms of behavior. Teachers have minimal training, so they do not train of encourage use amongst the student population, leaving a very valuable resource essentially untouched. Communication Systems Behavior: Islands The use of email depends on both individual and team characteristics in that younger teachers and those working closely with them tend to use email as a form of sharing ideas and planning group activities; however, older teachers and staff members tend to use email as a very basic tool, relying instead on in person meetings to accomplish planning and sharing of ideas. Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Email use by staff for such things as meeting information and important notifications is mandatory, but few, if any, students are encouraged or allowed to use email as a form of communication.

Innovation
New Technologies Behavior: Emergent Many staff members feel heavily burdened without attempting to learn new technologies, and thus reject new resources that they feel intimidated or overwhelmed by. Instead, they choose to rely on older technologies for very basic tasks and utilize more traditional teaching methods. There are a few teachers that embrace new technologies, such as the SMART boards, and use them frequently, but they tend to be younger, more inexperienced professionals. Resource/ Infrastructure: Emergent In this case, even the available resources are only at the emergent level. Although computers with direct access are available, mobile use is severely limited and many new technology related resources are confined to certain areas. Comprehensive Technologies Behavior: Islands There is some comprehensive use of technology, including scanning of materials to make them more widely available, as well as the implementation of audio/visual technologies; however, there is no formal expectation of use, so widespread use is limited to just a few individuals.

Resource/ Infrastructure: Islands Available technologies primarily include computer with internet or audio/visual technologies, rather than a more robust assortment of devices like cameras, laptops, or tablets.

Conclusion
The overall rating for this school would be that of islands due to the behaviors taking place within the environment. Although there is obvious effort to maintain and improve technology use, many teachers do not incorporate it into regular classroom instruction. I believe that part of this stems from the fact that they are not involved in planning for technology, nor are they adequately trained in the use of the technologies available to them. Many of the teachers are over the age of 40 and tend to have the attitude of if it aint broke, dont fix it, meaning they feel that the traditional methods have always worked, so theres no need to change. The second part of the problem is that the administration fails to take an assertive standpoint in that technology use is encouraged, but not heavily monitored, so many teachers feel that it is not a priority. Heavy emphasis remains on reading and math in isolation of technology, as opposed to an integrated system of growth. Rather than envisioning a model of technological growth that fosters improved skills in reading and math, technology use is seen as another special skill similar to those learned in art or p.e. and is taught to students separate of other core learning domains. In order to improve the technology use within the school, I would recommend that teachers be surveyed to determine attitudes and interests in technology, as well as aptitude. Training should be developed following the survey based on the needs and interests of teachers. Furthermore, teachers who incorporate technology more frequently should be recognized and praised for their behaviors. Teachers that have demonstrated aptitude for technology could also be recruited to serve as mentors for other, more intimidated technology users. While many of these teachers do have an attitude of resistance, they are also interested in doing what is best for their students. To that end, teachers should be encouraged to see how students could benefit from improved access to and use of technology within the classroom. Finally, teachers should be provided a great deal of upfront support so that the transition into using more types of technology more effectively can be a smooth one. This should be viewed as something that is beneficial in improving learning outcomes for students while also improving teacher efficiency, as opposed to being a strain on teacher time. Allowing teachers the support and time to develop skills in using technology, while also educating them on the importance of technology use for students, could go a long way in improving technology use within this school.