Technology Plan Evaluation; Module 3

Vicki Lee, Lee McFatridge, Stephen (Andy) Meyers

FRIT 7232; Visionary Leadership in Instructional Technology
 Annotated List of Resources

Title: Resources: Paragraph Description:

1 System http://www.gadoe.org System technology plans are needed to

Technology /Technology- ensure coherent, effective use of federal,
Planning Services/Infrastructur state and local education technology funds
e/Pages/default.aspx to support student achievement. To be
eligible for E-Rate and competitive grant
funding, systems are required to have
current, approved technology plans. A
technology plan is designed to improve
education and should cover the entire
funding year (July 1 to June 30) but not
more than three years. 2013 Tech Plan
Rubric

2 Technology http://files.eric.ed.gov The successful integration of any

integration in /fulltext/EJ855000.pd technology, thus ICT, into the classroom
education in f warrants careful planning and depends
developing largely on how well policy makers
countries: understand and appreciate the dynamics of
Guidelines to such integration. This paper offers a set of
policy makers guidelines to policy makers for the
successful integration of ICT into the
classroom.

3 Planning Your http://nces.ed.gov/pub Technology plans are central to technology

Technology s2005/tech_suite/part deployment. They can be tools of reform
Initiatives _1.asp and guidance and, as such, affect every
aspect of a technology initiative, from
inception through evaluation. In its
simplest form, a technology plan can be
informal. A local technology proponent
such as a superintendent, principal, or
teacher technophile might initiate one. At
the other end of the spectrum, a technology
plan can be quite formal and, in many
jurisdictions, require a public hearing or
another prescribed venue for receiving
input from various stakeholder groups.

4 http://www.gadoe.org E-Rate: Technology Planning E-Rate

E-Rate Program /Technology- requires approved technology plans as a
Services/Infrastructur prerequisite for receiving Internet access or
e/Pages/erate.aspx internal connections discounts. There are
 five specific areas that the technology plan
must address in order to be meet E-Rate
compliance and receive technology plan
approval. These include compliance with
the Childrens Internet Protection Act
(CIPA) that protects children from lewd
images.

5 http://www.fcc.gov/g This website outlines the requirements for

Federal uides/childrens- the Childrens Internet Protection Act
Communications internet-protection- (CIPA), which enables school systems to
Commission: act get discounted internet access if their
internet connections have filters to protect
Childrens
children while using the internet.
Internet
Protection Act

6 http://www.ncrel.org/ This Critical Issue was written by Alan

Critical Issue: sdrs/areas/issues/meth November, senior partner at Educational
Developing a ods/technlgy/te300.ht Renaissance Planners in Evanston, Illinois,
School or District m and Carolyn Staudt, an educational
Technology Plan consultant, in conjunction with Mary Ann
Costello, a free-lance writer, and Lynne
Huske, Pathways coordinator at North
Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

7 School Technology http://www.jefferson. This site has all the schools technology
Plans k12.ky.us/Department plans of an entire county in one document.
s/DigitalTechnology/ It is very useful because it is uniform and
School_Technology_ consistent.. Each school in the county has
Plans.pdf the following information: Current
Technology, Goals, Funding, Budget,
Monitoring and Evaluation.

8 Planning for 21st http://www.thethinkin A 21st Century Tech Plan looks to bring
Century gstick.com/files/plann people and resources together. A system
Technologies in ing-for-21st-century- that allows all school stakeholders to log
Schools technologies.pdf on through a single system and access the
information they need when they need it. It
should allow stakeholders to communicate
more efficiently. By creating a network of
users, you allow them to connect to each
other, forming relationships that are natural
to students today.
9 http://www.nais.org/ This remarkable set of characteristics
Transforming Magazines- explains why computers, the Internet, and
Schools with Newsletters/ISMagazi the World Wide Web became pervasive so
ne/Pages/Transformin quickly and digital technology will
Technology
g-Schools-with- become even more remarkable as prices
Technology.aspx continue to drop, new capabilities become
feasible, and various media converge. The
proliferation of jargon (Internet II, HDTV,
Web 2.0, even Web 3.0) is confusing. What
is important is how digital tools actually
help schools meet key education goals. We
don't have to be out front on the cutting
or bleeding edge of technology. We
don't have to invent new learning skills for
the 21st century. We just need to keep
focused on our mission in education and be
aware of the many ways digital technology
can help us transform our schools into the
schools we say we want.

10 http://www.edutopia. Technology also changes the way teachers

Why org/technology- teach, offering educators effective ways to
Integrate integration- reach different types of learners and assess
Technology introduction student understanding through multiple
into the means. It also enhances the relationship
between teacher and student. When
Curriculum
technology is effectively integrated into
?: The subject areas, teachers grow into roles of
Reasons Are adviser, content expert, and coach.
Many This site also has a response piece.

11 http://www.centerdigi Over the past 18 months, education

5 National Ed taled.com/policy/Nati researchers have written and edited the
Tech Goals for onal-Ed-Tech-Goals- plan with input from the public, industry,
2015 2015.html educators and students.
Is your school or district already meeting
some of these goals?

12 Technology Norton, s. K. (2013). This is an education magazine article

Planning: Technology planning: written by an ALA Board member that
Designing The designing the discusses technology implementation in
Direction To Get direction to get there. schools. It includes technology planning,
There. Knowledge Quest, goals, budgets, assessments and
 42(1), 64-69. development of educators. Also mentioned
are the roles of school leadership and how
school media specialists are an integral part
of technology planning.

13 Using Systems Levin, B. L. (2013). This is a journal article that summarizes the
Thinking to Using Systems technology planning efforts of eight
Leverage Thinking to Leverage different school systems in America. It
Technology for Technology for includes results of focus groups, interviews
School School Improvement: with participants, observations and offers
Improvement: Lessons Learned helpful dos and donts based on lessons
Lessons Learned from Award-Winning learned. A literature review on
from Award- Secondary technology integration is also included in
Winning Schools/Districts. the article.
Secondary Journal Of Research
Schools/Districts. On Technology In
Education
(International Society
For Technology In
Education), 46(1), 29-
51

14 A Technology Plan Overbay, A., This is an article from an education

That Works. Mollette, M., & Vasu, magazine that discusses five main areas
E. S. (2011). A that technology directors and
Technology Plan That administrators should keep in mind when
Works. Educational attempting new technology integration in
Leadership, 68(5), 56. schools. These include: allowing the
[technology] plan to fit the school and
considering staff turnover, also
advocating for development of staff and
ensuring collaboration among decision-
makers and those the plan will affect.

15 National Center http://aem.cast.org/po This website is for educational system

on Accessible licies/nimas-and-aim- stakeholders and offers information and
Instructional in-idea.html#.VN- resources for integrating technology into
Materials BAebF-So curriculum so that any learner will be able
to understand and participate in active
learning, including those with disabilities..
The resources include an overview of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA). There are also links to the
Universal Design for Learning principles
website.
 The Technology Plan that our group used in the evaluation below was the
Pickens County School District (PCSD) in Jasper, GA.

Pickens County Board of Education; Three Year Technology Plan; July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2015.
(2014, January 31). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from
http://www.pickens.k12.ga.us/PCTechnology Plan revised 1-31-14 sm.pdf

Technology Plan Evaluation Rubric

1 2 3 4 Score
Weak Limited Strong Excellent Totals

Goals Technology Technology Technology All of the

Plan goals are plan goals are plan goals are Technology plan 2
not present or measurable, measurable, goals were met in
measurable; but do not and address projected timeline
goals are address all some systems and includes all
general and do aspects of changes of systems changes.
not address technology systems
system change integration including
systems equipment and
including people..
equipment and
people.

Professional No professional A general A general The plan includes

Development development Professional plan of specific instruction
plan is in place
to train staff
development
plan is
professional and development for
development all educators and 2
with integrated outlined and is in place to support staff with a
technology and includes train staff with timeline for
resources technology technology completion. Specific
resources to and resources, technology
integrate into but has no assistance planning
curriculum. timeline for is in place.
completion.

Assessment of There is no Assessment Assessment Assessment plan for

telecommunicat assessment plan for plan for telecommunication 2
ion services, plan for telecommunica telecommunic service, hardware, or
hardware, telecommunicat tion service, ation service, software needed is
software needed ion service, hardware, or hardware, or identified and
hardware, or software software addressed, with
software needed is needed is recommended
needed. mentioned, but identified and solutions, budgets,
lack the detail articulated, and responsibilities.
to build into an but solutions
action plan. and
suggestions
lack detail or
clarity.

Accessibility of There is no The plan The plan The plan utilizes

technology plan that outlines few incorporates every alternative
resources addresses needs accessibility some learning methods
(ADA) of students with
disabilities
options for
students with
alternative
learning
and makes
accommodations for 1
disabilities. modes learning using
according to technology such as
the voice, interactive
Individuals graphics and, braille
with for students with
Disabilities disabilities.
Act
Requirements

Budget System has no System has no System has a System has a

budget and no budget for small budget sufficient budget for
plans of implementing that is implementing
funding for
implementing
technology
and/or
adequate for current technology
implementing and/or resources, and 3
technology resources, but technology has a strong plan of
and/or has a strong and/or raising future funds
resources plan for raising resources
the funds short term, but
has a weak
plan of raising
future funds

Ongoing There is no There is an A future A comprehensive

Evaluation option for
future
outline for
future
evaluation that
includes
evaluation of
technology use 4
evaluation of evaluation of infrastructure including
the technology technology and staff use infrastructure, staff
plan plan that is in plan. use and student
 involves satisfaction is
technology planned on specific
infrastructure timeline.

Total score (out of 24)

14
Recommendations for improvements:

Goals:

Technology plan goals are measurable, but do not address all aspects of technology integration
systems including equipment and people. Although the Pickens County plan mentions various
technology resources that are available to teachers and students, the standard of allowing interactive
student involvement seems to be lacking. The goals stated on pages 11-14 of the PCSD plan mainly
address updates in classrooms, such as projectors and sound systems. The goals should have a more
in depth plan that utilizes online learning communities and interactive tools that allow students to be
engaged with technology, including technology based assessments that are routinely used throughout the
school year and not only for grade exit exams. (http://www.centerdigitaled.com/policy/National-Ed-
Tech-Goals-2015.html) .

Professional Development:

A general Professional development plan is outlined and includes technology resources to integrate
into curriculum. Pickens County has outlined that they will hold many collaborative learning
opportunities (meetings) for teachers and staff to share their strategies, results, observations, etc. related to
professional learning plan goals. In order for teachers to accomplish tasks and stay updated with the
constant evolution of technology, there must be concrete training in place on how to utilize technology
best for their classrooms. Too many times technology is thrown into a teachers classroom with the
expectation of her/him using it. However, they receive no training on the device.

Assessment of telecommunication Services, hardware, software, other services needed:

Assessment plan for telecommunication service, hardware, or software needed is mentioned, but
lack the detail to build into an action plan. There should be a plan to implement the Childrens Internet
Protection Act (CIPA) in order to protect children from harmful and obscene images and potential online
predators. PCSD should have a plan in place that utilizes an acceptable internet filter such as those
described on the Georgia Department of Education website that enables a school to get an E-rate for
internet use for compliance with CIPA http://www.gadoe.org/Technology-
Services/Infrastructure/Pages/erate.aspx. CIPA is outlined on the Federal Communications Commissions
website: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act.

ADA Accessibility:

There is no mention in the PCSD plan for providing access to students with disabilities. In order for
the PCSD plan to be current with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), there should be a
detailed plan that provides for access and modification of educational curricula materials, including: large
print or braille, use of voice technology. For the purposes of a modern technology plan, an example could
be for PCSD to implement the Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) that translates text to voice
for visually impaired students http://aem.cast.org/creating/daisy-and-nimas-in-html.html#.VN-GFObF-So.

Budget:

System has a small budget that is adequate for implementing technology and/or resources short
term, but has a weak plan of raising future funds. The current goals of the Pickens County Technology
plan are to place LCD projectors and 5 working computers in each classroom. The long-term financial
strategy clearly states where the funds for the projectors will come from, but fails to allocate any money
towards purchasing the 5 computers per classroom. Also, the funding is vague as to where it will come
from, stating that they will reach their goals with ESPLOST or other funds where applicable. A plan
needs to be in place for where these funds will come from as well as exactly how much is needed to
complete any set goals http://www.gadoe.org/Technology-Services/Infrastructure/Pages/default.aspx.

Ongoing Evaluation:

A comprehensive evaluation of technology use including infrastructure, staff use and student
satisfaction is planned on specific timeline. In order to evaluate the plan and have it remain fluid and
continuous, each school in the district has a technology committee, each school also has their own three-
year plan. All stakeholders, at the school level, have input of this school plan. One member from each
school committee serves on the district technology committee to develop extensive technology goals and
evaluations for these goals. From this venue is how the comprehensive district plan is developed. The
system plan is reviewed and revised yearly, by evaluating how technology is enhancing student learning as
well as improving student achievement. Major revisions to the district plan are then submitted to Georgia
DOE every three years.