Instructional Technology Survey:Highlands School District

Shawn Cressler, Summer 2013

Purpose:The goal of my project is to develop relevant and valuable online instructional technology focused professional development activities for the faculty and staff of Highlands School District (HSD.)

The first order of business is to assess the technology and training needs of the faculty and staff of. An online survey was chosen as a data gathering instrument owing to the fact it could be assembled, customized, and widely distributed in an expedient fashion

Goals of the Survey:1. To gauge staff familiarity with the basic operations,

trouble shooting, and availability of instructional technology within HSD.

2. To collect data regarding current level technology integration throughout HSD(including frequency of use, technologies implemented, and types of tasks attempted…)

3. To collect information regarding the staff and faculty’s perceived technology integration, usage, and ongoing training needs.

Implementation:LimeSurvey was chosen as the platform for the survey.

http://surveys.hazelcressler.com/index.php?sid=58193&lang=en

Survey questions were divided into three separate categories each focused on fulfilling a stated goal.

1. Self-assessment of basic technology skills

2. Reporting on the types and frequency of instructional technology use.

3. Assessment of the perceived training needs and attitudes towards instructional technology

Data: Overview• The survey ran for six

days 6/4 – 6/10/2013• At least one participant

from each HSD location

• 62 participants total• 55 completed• 7 with items unfinished

(most likely the last item)

Self-assessment of basic technology skills

The Good:

62% of staff answered that they could accomplish basic technology tasks on their own.

The Bad:

38% of teachers are unsure of how to complete basic technology tasks

This portion of the survey asked teachers to rate their skills with basic technology and software. Such as using projectors, whiteboards, productivity software or dealing with technology problems

Self-assessment of basic technology skills

The Concerns:→Less than half, 43%, of the respondents indicated that

they felt able to troubleshoot problems with technology.

→Only 35% of the respondents indicated that they were able to use the specialized functions and features of basic productivity software (e.g. mail merge, smart art

Now What?→Develop activities that address basic technology skills

including troubleshooting that can be applied to a large number of situations.

Current Levels of Technology Integration

The Good:

35% of respondents utilize an interactive white board in instruction at least once a week.

44% present some form of multimedia as a part of instruction on a weekly basis.

The Bad:

On average 55.4% of the respondents indicated “Never” for the various technologies available within HSD.

This portion of the survey asked participants to report how often they utilized various technologies available within HSD as a part of their planned learning activities.

Current Levels of Technology IntegrationThe Concerns:→Very few participants indicated that they conducting activities

that require student interaction with technology. • 65% indicated they never have students write, edit, or revise

assignments using word processing software.• 80% indicated they never have students submit assignments

online.

Now What?→There are resources that allow students to easily submit

assignments digitally, education on these may ease integration of technology based assignments.

→Use of word processing might be seen as contrary to how

standardized assessments are conducted .

Perceived Needs and Attitudes

The Good:

85% of participants indicated they would participate in technology trainings.

65% of participants responded that they would participate in online training opportunities.

The Bad:

42% of responders don’t feel competent with technology, while 67% feel they do not have enough training to integrate technology.

54% are unfamiliar with copyright law.

This portion of the survey attempted to assess faculty and staff attitudes towards their ability to successfully integrate instructional technology.

Perceived Needs and AttitudesThe Concerns:→ There seem to be a lot of negative responses about implementing

technology. → There also may be some confusion among the staff

• 51% of participants feel they are familiar with available resources• However, 69% of responses indicate they do not have easy access• Perhaps respondents are not fully aware of what is available

Now What?→ Participants have indicated they are willing to learn, independently

and online. Providing opportunities for training will essential.→ Staff and Faculty need to be fully informed about the resources

available and how to utilize them.→ Copyright training for TEACH Act Compliance.

Conclusions:My project as proposed can provide training and support to address instructional technology concerns expressed the staff and faculty.

Based on the data collected and including the concerns expressed by the Information Technologies Staff and Administration; I Propose the following online professional development activities. To be developed and implemented as time and resources allow.

1. Basic computer trouble shooting skills

2. Copyright Law for teachers

3. A primer on available resources (e.g. Web Lockers)

Thank you, for your attention.