technology evaluation assignment
TRANSCRIPT
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Technology Plan EvaluationFRIT 8132 - Administration of Technology Resources
Dr. Charles Hodges
Amy Womack & Rachel StewartFall 2012
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Part 1:Technology Planning Analysis Rubric
Criteria 1 2 3
Executiv
e
Summar
y
Executivesummary is absent
or incomplete.
(Missing 2 or more
components of
information)
Providesadequate and
accurate
information
in Executive
Summary.
Identifies clearly and concisely for thereader the vision, mission, goals and
objectives, background, findings, issues,
conclusions, and recommendations of the
technology plan.
Goals
and
Objectives
General learning
goals are not clear
or are absent.Goals are
broad and
comprehensi
ve but are notcompletely
clear. They
are linked to
objectives,
but are not
readily
obtainable or
measurable.
Goals are
loosely tied to
the state or
district
documents.
Goals are broad and comprehensive,
addressing teaching and learning needs.
The goals are clear, attainable, and
measurable. Objectives are delineatedfrom goals, further defining how they will
be met.
Professio
nal /Staff
Develop
ment
Staff Development
is absent or
provides only
minimal
information on
current and
needed technology
competencies or
how the plan will
help staff achieve
the needed
Provides a
general
overview (not
detailed) of
current &
needed
technology
competencies.
Describes a
few strategies
and
Clearly describes current and needed
technology competencies; Describes how
plan will take teachers and other staff from
present level of technology competency and
knowledge to the level of skill required in
the plan; describes staff development
resources.
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competencies. recommendations for
incentives
and
resources.
Needs
Assessme
nt
Needs Assessment
is absent,
incomplete.Technology
has been
assessed and
analyzed, but
may not
include
summaries of
information
from allelements in
the
technology
surveys.
Assessment is comprehensive and contains
detailed information from hardware
resources, technology needs assessment and
Maturity Model Benchmark surveys;
identifies use by students and staff, and
training received and desired.
Needs
Assessme
ntEquipme
nt
An inventory
exists, but is
limited to
computers only
and does notrepresent vintage.
The
inventory
moves
beyond
computersonly (phone,
TV), but does
not address
infrastructur
e or vintage
of equipment.
A comprehensive equipment inventory was
provided, including computers,
infrastructure, access, ITV, Telephone and
other equipment.
Evaluati
on
No formal
evaluation is
described.
An
evaluation
process isdescribed,
but lacks
detail and
comprehensi
veness. It
An evaluation process and instrument are
described in detail, and is comprehensive in
nature. Assessment is timely, and tied tothe objectives.
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does not refer
to learning
outcomes.
Vision
Statemen
t
Vision statement is
not included or
does not address
learning outcomes;
is difficult to
understand.
Vision
statement
provides
adequate
description of
how
technology
will improve
learning but
instructional
outcomes notfully
addressed.
Vision is comprehensive and deals with
learning outcomes, not just technology
outcomes. Clearly and concisely states
your teams vision for using technology to
improve learning; identifies who will be the
users of technology and how it will be used
to enhance learning; indicates the benefits
that you envision will result from the use of
technology by students, teachers,
administrators or others.
Mission
Statemen
t
Mission statement
is missing or does
not address
instructional
outcomes.
Provides
incomplete and/oris difficult to
understand.
Mission
statement
addresses
learning
outcomes but
provides
limitedinformation
about what,
why, and for
whom the
school or
district is
doing the
plan.
Mission statement is focused on
instructional outcomes and indicates
clearly what the school or district will do to
make its technology vision a reality; why
the school or district wants to do this; and
for whom the school or district is doing
this.
General
IssuesGeneral Issuesmissing or very
incomplete;
difficult to
understand.
Adequatelyaddresses
most, but not
all, of the
most
significant
Clearly addresses issues if: staffdevelopment, technical support, technology
standards; student access to computers,;
integrating new with old technologies;
capacity of present facilities to
accommodate new technologies; how
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issues
specified in
Excellent
column.
technology resources and budget will be
distributed among schools for equitable
access; now needs of students with
disabilities or limited English proficiency
will be addressed; student access tocomputers; integrating new with old
technologies; capacity of present facilities
to accept new technologies, etc.
Conclusi
ons and
Recomm
endation
s
Conclusions and
recommendations
are missing or are
not adequately
justified based on
the informationgathered in
planning process.
Conclusions
and
recommendat
ions are
adequately
justifiesalthough the
basis of some
conclusions
not entirely
clear.
Clearly identifies the most important needs
and challenges confronting the school and
recommends the projects and steps to be
taken to achieve the vision. Conclusions
are strong and relevant.
Acceptan
ce Use
Policy
Policy issues are
absent, incomplete,
or difficult to
understand.
Provides an
adequate
description of
the mostrelevant
policy issues.
Describes policies that are needed to ensure
proper use of the technology resources
(e.g., guidelines, software, and facilities use
policies, parental consent for Internet use,etc.). Includes well-written draft of
Acceptable Use Policy.
Technolo
gy and
Learning
Statemen
t
Technology and
Learning
statement absent
or provides
incomplete
information on the
current use orfuture role of
technology in the
school district and
how it will enhance
learning.
Provides
overview of
the current
and future
use of
technology in
enhancingthe teaching-
learning
process for
students.
Little detail
Provides clear and strong description of
how technology is currently used in
learning environment and ways it will be
used to achieve instructional outcomes;
describes how technology will enhance
curriculum and teaching and learning
strategies; is tightly coupled to otherreform efforts.
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on how
technology
will be
integrated
into learningand
curriculum.
Technica
l Support
and
Mainten
ance
Technology
support and
maintenance are
absent or provides
vague or little
information on
technical supportrequirements for
plan.
Provides
adequate but
not
comprehensi
ve
description of
technicalsupport
requirements
and services.
Provides clear and comprehensive
requirements and plans for services
available and needed to support technology
use (network, computer, and software
support). This plan includes the repair and
replacement of equipment and staff
development.
Technolo
gy
Standard
s,
Requirements,
and
Models
for
Technolo
gy and
Learning
Technology
standards and
requirements are
missing or
incomplete.
Provides
general
description of
hardware,
software and
connectivitystandards
and
requirements
. Although
clear, may
miss some
information
elements.
Provides clear and comprehensive
description of the capabilities of hardware
and learning environments. It identifies
minimum standards and requirements for
computer hardware, software, and
connectivity; describes the types of learningenvironments that currently exist and those
to be created by the plan.
Identifies
Contribu
tors and
Stakehol
der
Groups
Membership is notlisted or is
inadequate to
determine
representation of
stakeholder
Membershiplist is
provided and
describes
constituencie
s
Membership list has complete descriptionof constituencies/stakeholders groups. All
areas are equitably represented.
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groups. represented.
Projects,
Budgets,
and
Timeline
s
Projects, Budgets,
or timelines
missing; provides
vague information
on project,
budgets, or
timelines; project
appear not
relevant to plan
goals; budget
estimates appear
incongruent with
plan or unrealistic.
Provides
most but not
all of the
project,
timelines,
and budget
estimate
inforamtion.
Appears to
be generally
consistent
with plan
goals.
Provides a prioritized list of major tech
plan projects, tasks and timelines.
Provides budget summary estimate of
captial expenses(hardware, software,
facilities, infrastructure, staff development,
tech support, etc.). Identifies possible
alternative funding resources. Projects,
timelines, and budgets are realistic and
consistent with plan goals and objectives.
Multi-
Year
Planning
A timeline is not
mentioned.
The plan only
covers one
academic
year or
project.
The plan is multi-year and references
multi-year funding, support, and planning
activities.
Specific support plans are articulated. This
included the process for specific support
issues and on-going equipment
replacement, staff development, and repair.
Clarity
of
Writing
Writing is difficult
to understand.
Evidence of
spelling, grammar,
and punctuation
errors.
Writing is
clear but
unnecessary
words are
used.
Meaning is
not clear in
someinstances.
Few errors in
spelling/gram
mar.
Writing is concise and clear; uses active
voice when appropriate. No misspelling,
grammar, or punctuation mistakes evident.
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Technology Plan EvaluationIntroduction
A Technology Plan within a school district is vital when desiring to integrate technology
successfully into the curriculum. The Technology Plan is a guide for teachers, administrators,
and parents on how to effectively implement technology in the learning process. A plan is
needed to describe the current uses of technology taking place in the school system, the needs of
the system, the goals of the system, and also includes the budget of technology resources within
the district. It is the Technology Plan that describes ways to successfully plan long-term
technology integration, describes professional learning opportunities for educators, and the plan
also highlights the use of technology resources available within the county.
On July 1, 2011 a Three-Year Technology Plan was approved by the Burke County
Board of Education. The Technology Plan will be effective through June 30, 2014. The plan is
very accurate in illustrating current access to technology and the uses of technology within the
schools. The plan breaks the software down by each school and administrative uses also. Webelieve the plan does well identifying the gap in achievement and the goals and benchmarks of
the plan describe ways in detail on how to improve academics through the use of technology.
There are nineteen components listed in the rubric. Each component of Burke Countys
Technology Plan will be evaluated using a 1-3 scale.
Executive Summary
The first component to be rated in the Burke County School System Technology Plan is
the executive summary. This component scored a three because it clearly identifies the vision,
mission, goals and objectives, background, findings, issues, conclusions, and recommendations
of the plan.
Goals and ObjectiveThe goals and objectives in this Technology Plan are directly related and linked together
so we decided to evaluate the two together as one component in the rubric. Each goal that is
listed is very specific in what is to be expected and of whom and what it is to benefit. The goals
also have a timeline of when it should be met including the person who will be in charge of
making sure the goal is achieved. A funding analysis of what the projected cost will be to
achieve each goal is also included in the table. The objectives in Burke Countys Technology
Plan are called benchmarks and they describe the ways in which each goal will be achievedthrough the use of technology equipment. The objectives(benchmarks) are very specific in the
ways that technology resources will be improved to meet the goals that have been set. We gave
the goal and objectives component of this Technology Plan a rating of score of three.
Professional /Staff Development
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Professional development for staff in Burke County is very important because it plays a
major role in the success of the students in the county. The Burke County School District
believes that technology is a major part of instruction and the district is dedicated in seeing that
teachers are comfortable and familiar with technology resources. The district believes that
technology is a necessity and should be implemented into classroom instruction. The Burke
County Technology Plan makes it very clear how technology is placed within the schools and
how training sessions are scheduled to meet the needs of the staff on how to use the technology.
We scored the staff development component with a score of three because of this very reason.
Training sessions take place after hours, during the summer months and on teacher work days if
needed. After the first training there is always a follow up session where teachers can ask
questions about new technology. Burke County keeps teachers updated and trained on new
technology and programs that are being implemented in the county.
Needs AssessmentThe next component to be rated is the needs assessment component. The Burke County
Technology Plan identifies this as the gap analysis. The gap analysis is complete and detailed
in the list of the technology needs in the county. Based on the plan for the next three years the
county lists the needs as additional technology integration in all content areas by advancing
teacher training, a need for professional learning that will target utilizing technology to assess
student learning, and the greatest need is to narrow the achievement gap between the subgroups
of students. The main use of technology use is the Promethean Board in the classroom but in
many cases it used as a fancy chalkboard so it is desired that teachers use hands-on
individualized technology to be most effective. The needs were identified by conducting school
inventories and teacher and administrator surveys. We scored this component with a rating of
two because the gap analysis did not specifically address, in this component, the training
received.
Needs Assessment EquipmentIn the Technology Plan for the Burke County school district, there is a comprehensive
equipment inventory list that includes the computers, infrastructure, access, ITV, telephone and
other equipment. This list is provided by each school and is used in the assessment of the needs
the school has for the goals and objectives for the next three years. With this list the plan
provides information on the services the students receive in the classroom.
EvaluationAn evaluation process is provided in the goals, benchmarks, and strategies table that is
part of this Technology Plan. For every goal in the table there is an evaluation plan included
along with it. The way it is set up is very easy to follow. The only thing we think could use
some work is the description of the evaluation process. Instead of it being listed we feel it
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should have a better description of how the evaluation process will be conducted. We gave this a
rating score of two.
Vision StatementBurke County Public School System is committed to offering the students the latest
educational technologies. Burke Countys Technology Plan does a great job at describing
exactly what the district envisions for the county to be successful academically through the use
of technology. The plan is specific in describing how students, teachers, administrators, and
parents will access and benefit from the use of technology resources and programs. We scored
the vision statement with a rating score of three.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Burke County School District Technology Plan was not clearly
identified in the document. It did not have its own section in the plan but in our opinion was stilleasily identifiable. The plan states that the district will become a learning environment where
all administrators, teachers, students, parents, and school staff will use technology daily to
effectively help students attain high academic standards and prepare for their future. Although
the plan did not have a separate section for the mission it is clearly stated above. We scored this
component with a two only because it was not easily found within the document.
General IssuesThe Burke County School Districts Technology Plan address general issues throughout
the document. Staff Development is addressed in two different sections. In the area of
Technology plans and existing programs and in the needs of the staff such as trainings. The plan
lays out the existing technology in the classroom and the needs in each grade levels by schools.
With the need for new equipment and software, the need for Staff trainings on the new
equipment is stated. The issue of technology support is address throughout the document. In the
section with Budget and timeline, the document addresses the need for new funding sources and
examples of new fund resources. All of the issues that the Technology Plan addresses are
consistent with the Technology Goals and Objectives for the Burke County School System.
Conclusions and RecommendationsThe needs of the Burke County School District are clearly stated. The need for wireless
mobile stations in each classroom. The need for advance teacher training on how to effectively
use technology in the classroom, and on how to provide safe and productive experiences for
students using the Internet continues to be an ongoing need. Another need is for further
professional learning and staff utilizing technology to assess student learning. More training for
staff is need in the area of utilizing existing system such as Longitudinal Data System and Data Director
to monitor student achievement in order to design interventions in a strategic and timely manner or
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maximize instructional time. In order to meet the needs of all students, more flexible grouping and
differentiated instruction is needed.The recommendations are clear and precise about the needs of the Burke County School District.
The plans in this document over the next three years reflect the act of the school board to act on these
needs.Acceptance Use Policy
The Acceptance Use Policy of the Burke County District Technology Plan describes the
policies that are needed to ensure proper use of the technology resources. This includes the
guidelines for software and facility use and parental consent for internet use. The plan also
included a well-written draft of Acceptance Use for Teachers and students for internet use. The
plan shares the purpose of use and describes the activities the students and teachers should use
the equipment for. The plan is clear about consequences for misuse and the fact that a students
files are open for parents review at any time.Technology and Learning Statement
In the Technology Plan of the Burke County Schools, the use of technology in the
curriculum is listed by grade level. The plan is clear on the technology integration in the
curriculum with detail for each grade level but does not have a Technology and Learning
Statement. Current programs are laid out to match with instructional outcomes. Current uses
of technology used in the county are mentioned in sections broken down by students, teachers,
parents, and administrators. The table included in the Technology Plan breaks down how many
computers and other additional technology equipment will be used at each school within the
school system. Students will have access to software such as iPass, Reading Plus, and Waterford
Early Reading Program. These are just software programs that students have access to not tomention Activboards, digital cameras, laptops with wireless capabilities etc. The plan goes on to
mention what administrators and parents will have access to when it comes to the use of
technology. We gave this component a rating score of two because it failed have a component
that mentioned Technology and Learning specifically. Although it did not mention a
Technology and Learning Statement it is clear to the anyone reading the plan what is desired and
in place.
Technical Support and MaintenanceTechnical Support is found within the goals, benchmarks, and strategies table in the
Technology Plan. This component receives a rating of three. For each goal/strategy listed the
person responsible is also listed. The table states which strategies the technology coordinator
will be responsible for and it also states how it will be evaluated. The Technology Director for
the most part is responsible for access to technology, the administrative uses of technology, and
the parent and community uses. This goes to show how much responsibility a Technology
Director has in the implementation of a strong technology plan.
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Technology Standards, Requirements, and Models for Technology and
LearningWithin the Burke County Technology Plan the description of the hardware and software
is very general and it discusses the variety of capabilities that the county would like to have in
place by the end of the three year plan. The plan discusses the numerous software programsoffered by the county to assist with test scores, reading and math skills, and other student data
software. The only thing it does not do is describe the software programs in great detail.. The
technology standards are not mentioned in the plan that we can tell so this is why we only rated
this portion a score of two. We would suggest to directly relate the goals with a technology
standard.
Identifies Contributors and Stakeholder GroupsContributors and stakeholders in the Technology Plan are somewhat mentioned in the
Communications and Marketing portion of the document. The plan mentions that parents,
community members, and stakeholders are important when considering how to meet studentachievement. The document also says that planning meetings occur monthly to evaluate the
needs of the system. The meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to develop strategies to
include all stakeholders successfully in the development of technology development for the
county. Although the plan does state the opportunity for stakeholders the opportunity to help in
the building of strategies it fails to be specific in naming the the stakeholders directly. It is
important, in our opinion, that stakeholders and contributors to be mentioned and that is why we
gave this component a rating of two.
Projects, Budgets, and TimelinesThe Technology Plan for the Burke County School systems documents a prioritized list
of major technology plan projects for the coming three years. These plans are well document in
a chart format to resource tasks and a timeline for accomplishing the goals set. This chart
provides a budget summary that includes existing hardware, software, facilities, infrastructure,
staff development and technology support. This chart also identifies new possible alternative
funding resources. The projects identified and the budget and timeline for these projects are
consistent with the goals and objectives for the Districts Technology Plan.
Multi-Year PlanningThe Technology Plan for the Burke County District School Systems is for the 2011
through 2014 years. This plan is a three year plan. This document supports the plans for the
upcoming three years. A chart is in the document that shows funding, support, and planned
activities to achieve the objectives for the coming three year projection.Clarity of Writing
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We scored this component of the Technology Plan with a three. It is very easy to
understand and is very well organized. The document is descriptive in the needs, goals, and
visions of the system. We did not find any grammar or punctuation errors.
SummaryI am actually a teacher in the Burke County School System and I see the majority of the
programs that are mentioned in this plan on a daily basis. The Burke County School System is
very fortunate because we have an extra funding source that many counties do not have the
luxury of having access to. Burke County is the home of Plant Vogtle. I can speak from
experience that the technology resources mentioned in the Technology Plan are being
implemented and teachers are encouraged to use them on a daily basis. The faculty and staff
receives adequate training in the the newest technology being implemented by the county. The
Technology Plan mentioned that Promethean Boards are the main use of technology that is being
used and this holds true. Many times teachers use the Promethean Smart Boards for their own
use, like a fancy chalkboard as the Technology Plan mentions, but the school administrators arevery clear that they are for student use just as much.
My partner for this project was very impressed at the Technology Plan for the Burke
County School System. She scored each component based on an external evaluator and they
seem to match my scores and I am what is considered an internal evaluator. We both went back
through the rubric to be sure we carefully reviewed each component taking into consideration the
requirements for each. After careful review of the Technology Plan we both agreed that Burke
County is well on its way to meeting the goals it set out to accomplish in 2011. The plan is up
for re-evaluation in 2014.