Technology Evaluation Assignment

7/28/2019 Technology Evaluation Assignment

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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.

Technology Evaluation Assignment

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Transcript of Technology Evaluation Assignment