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 - landwise. Our district covers two counties and 8 various small towns. Numbers in 2000 Total population - 17,866 Median 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 Intermediate School, 1 Alternative Education School) Students (K-12) - 2,307 Students with IEPs - 430 High School Students - 664 Amer. Ind./Alaskan - 35 Asian/Pacific Islander - 9 Black - 16 Hispanic - 10 White - 594 Free Lunch Eligible - 278 Reduced-price lunch eligible - 75

Administrative
Policy
Behavioral - Intelligent

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's system. Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent Again our plan is very comprehensive and sets forth some specific goals, but the end date is 2012. So, after talking with our technology director he is in the process of revising and updating the policy that we currently have. It is very detailed into what goals 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, and sometimes it doesn't seem as if they are connected with any other planning efforts as he technology department seems to work on their own, by no fault of their own, to create any plans for the school. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated I had to talk with the technology department about this and they have a formal plan that is review by upper administration. They did share that is one of their frustrations. They learn about new technology from teachers, but never get any feedback about how it is going. This document is not reviewed by departments only a superintendent who, quite honestly, is afraid of technology and doesn't like email.

Budget
Behavioral - Islands Our technology department does have a budget. However, the budget does not really allow for the purchase of new technologies. It is pretty much enough to work at upgrading what we currently have. Much of the new technology we have gotten has come from grant money that the technology department is constantly seeking. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated There is a specific technology budget, but very few departments actually have a line item for technology in their budgets.

Administrative Information

Behavioral - Integrated Our school has an online grading and discipline system in place. That grading system is 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 paper method.

Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent 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
Behavioral - Islands 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. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated 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

Behavioral - Emergent We only have a handful of teachers that actually use online sources for evaluation and grading. One teacher use Google docs for most of what he does and uses it for student to 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 pen and paper style tests. The students may take a paper test and have their answers scanned to the system or they may take the test online. Regardless there are many teachers that do not utilize Pearson for their assessment needs.

Curriculum Integration
Behavioral - Islands We have many teachers that feel technology takes too much time to integrate and is too difficult to integrate into curriculum. They feel they will have to teach the technology instead of guide the technology. The see integrating technology as more work than they otherwise would do. Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent We do have many opportunities for staff in all curricular areas. The problem is that most do not utilize it to their full potential.

Teacher Use
Behavioral - Intelligent Teachers are required to do all grading using an online system. Attendance is taken utilizing the same system. So technology is a must for our teachers to do their jobs. Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent Every teacher has available to them in their classrooms, a computer with internet access, a document camera, and an LCD projector.

Student Use
Behavioral - Islands Students have access to technology in the Media Center and other labs. Technology use is limited to when teachers use the lab or the students on their own which means they are playing games or other non-school research.

Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent 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
Behavioral - Emergent 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 twoman 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 is discussion with other administration, but I do not believe they are actively involved in the planning stages. This is left entirely up to our tech team.

Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated Considering it is our tech team that is in charge of the technology planning I chose to go with 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 to all the planning. They create the plan then submit it for review, which basically means asking if there is money to do what we would like to do. Then educating a Superintendent who is afraid of technology (she's been with the district for over 30 years).

Training
Behavioral - Emergent We do not have on-site technology training. Any training a teacher wants to do will be done on their own time. However the local ISD does offer training and tech nights, but very 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 to teachers to find their own training. Our ISD offers opportunities, but few take advantage.

Technical & Infrastructure Support

Behavioral - Emergent We do have opportunities for support. Our tech guys are an email away or a walk to their office and are very helpful. However most teachers would rather complain instead of asking for assistance. Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent 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 respond rather quickly to any requests we may have.

Connectivity Filter
Local Area Networking
Behavioral - Islands Our staff utilizes our available networks, but the use is limited to email and the grading programs. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated All buildings are linked wirelessly, and information can be accessed from anywhere in the district no matter what building a person may be in.

District Area Networking (WAN)

Behavioral - Islands All of our buildings are linked, but use is limited to email communication. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated The infrastructure is available to us and we just recently have added wireless capabilities to all buildings, so teachers can access the network via an iPad or other mobile device.

Internet Access
Behavioral - Islands We have Internet access and staff and students use the Internet regularly but not many teachers actually integrate the technology into their curriculum.

Resource/Infrastructure - Intelligent We, as a staff, can access the Internet in all buildings within the district.

Communication Systems
Behavioral - Intelligent

Our staff uses email for all communication. It is the number one way for communicating with each other within the building and district. Some students will utilize it to contact teachers as well. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated All teachers have email addresses and those are public knowledge so students and parents can communicate with teachers. Student access to district email accounts is limited to those students who are dual enrolled and those taking online courses.

Innovation Filter
New Technologies
Behavioral - Islands Many on staff are willing to find and experiment with new technologies but we are sometimes limited to what the tech department is willing to let us do without compromising security of the network. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands I would say that many on staff are open to new technologies, but most do not integrate those 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. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands As previously mentioned we are limited to what we have. All classes have document cameras and LCD projectors and a computer and nothing more.

Summary

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 and attendance. 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 not emerging 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.