Nicholas Martin Planning for Technology Spring 2013 Case Study District Technology Planning Coventry Local School

l District Intro/Team Planning The Coventry Local School District in Summit County created an Educational Technology Plan in 2009 using the eTech Ohio online Technology Planning Tool. The plan was last updated on April 30, 2009 and certified on June 1, 2009. The plan covers the school years 2009-2012. The purpose of this case study is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current technology plan and propose recommendations for the districts next technology plan. In my evaluation of the districts current technology plan, I compared the local plan to the National Education Technology Plan (2010-2020) and the Ohio Educational Technology Plan (2009-2014). I reflected upon the key features and recommendations that were made in both the national and state technology plans and determined what areas of the district technology plan were strong and what areas needed improvement. In addition to reviewing the national and state plans, I also reviewed a local plan from a neighboring school district to compare and contrast how both districts are utilizing human and fiscal resources to achieve their goals for technology integration and make progress towards using technology to improve teaching and learning for their students. The district has established a technology planning committee that meets on a regular basis and guides the implementation of the technology plan. The committee includes the technology coordinator, curriculum coordinator, a library/media specialist, administrators and teachers from each building in the district, school board members,

and a parent. There is adequate representation across all grade levels, so decisions can be made using data and feedback related to all students in the district. Teachers and support staff from all the buildings can have their input on the committee by sharing ideas with the representative from their building. This makes technology integration a more collaborative process that involves many different facets of the school district. Even though the technology committee meets on a regular basis, there is little evidence within the districts technology plan about how topics that are discussed by the committee or any decisions that are made are disseminated to the rest of the district. It is recommended that the committee adopt a newsletter (print or digital) that is sent to all interested parties within the district to inform them about the committees activities. The newsletter should be distributed to the district within a week of each committee meeting. In addition, the technology planning committee could also hold community meetings to get input and feedback from interested parents, businesses, and community members. These community meetings could be held twice a year, and the dates could be made available to the public through the district website or local media. Students could also be involved in these meetings and give their input about how new technology should be integrated into their education. Part of the districts mission statement states that the Coventry district strives to educate and collaborate as partners with students, families, businesses, and the community (pg. 4). Both the national and state technology plans emphasize that students should be allowed to use the technology they use outside the classroom as an integral part of their learning experiences. Perhaps new partnerships with local businesses could be fostered from these meetings that result in new financial support for the purchase of new technologies or the costs of additional teacher training.

The committee could also post the newsletter to the district website where it would be available to the public. Any ideas that would help the planning committee communicate with stakeholders across the district and increase community involvement should be included in the districts next technology plan. Curriculum Alignment and Instructional Integration When the plan was written in 2009, the district was in the process of developing grade-level curriculum maps and assessment maps using the Ohio Academic Content Standards. Since the current content standards are being phased out and replaced by the Common Core standards, the school district will need to revise its existing gradelevel maps to ensure alignment. The district curriculum and technology committee will need to set new goals and timelines and give teachers adequate release time from the classroom to ensure that alignment plans are revised in a timely manner. The districts next technology plan will need to eliminate references to the Ohio Academic Content Standards. School administrators and district staff will need a plan to educate teachers about Common Core through informal training at staff meetings or formal professional development. This plan will need to emphasize how teachers can help their students master the 21st-century skills that are the central focus of the Common Core standards and how technology integration can help achieve the districts mission of ensuring that all students achieve the levels of knowledge and technology skills required to be successful in todays global society (pg. 4). There are several ways in which the Coventry Local School District is doing well in the area of instructional integration of technology. Students in language arts classes use the Internet and electronic databases to conduct independent research about topics that are of personal interest. Foreign language students use software and other online

resources to improve fluency and comprehension and hear languages spoken by native speakers. High school students also participate in virtual learning experiences that help them develop an appreciation for world cultures and learn about historical sites across the globe. Students in middle school math classes use a web-based math program that tracks their progress throughout the year, and teachers can run reports to obtain current data about student achievement. High school math students use graphing calculators to analyze data and have access to computers in the classroom. Science students at all grade levels use complete computer-based investigations (WebQuests) and conduct research, and high school students use digital microscopes for lab activities and create multimedia presentations to share content and conclusions from scientific experiments. High school students also use video and music editing programs and other multimedia tools to share knowledge with different audiences. Across all grade levels and subject areas, the current technology plan states that teachers use a wide variety of technologies (overhead projectors, document cameras, interactive whiteboards, etc.) to help students achieve academic goals and objectives. However, the current plan lacks specific details about how students actually use these tools to develop new skills and knowledge. This type of technocentric approach in the plan was particularly evident at the elementary level. The plan regularly mentions that elementary students use computer labs to access web-based programs, but there is no information about specific skills that students learn while using computers or how the teachers use data from these web-based programs to influence instructional practice. The districts next technology plan will meet to include how these web-based programs align with the Common Core standards, how students will use these programs to make

progress in their learning and apply these new skills to other areas, and how teachers will collect and analyze the data to make effective instructional decisions. If the district wants to use web-based systems, then it needs to research systems that help students develop digital literacy skills, apply critical thinking skills to solve real-world problems, and share new knowledge with others through print or web publishing. These learning systems must adapt to individual learners, be highly engaging, and provide immediate feedback. These web-based learning systems can include virtual simulations, games, cognitive tutors, or collaborative environments as suggested in the National Technology Plan (pg. xvii). The district needs to have a clear vision of the specific learning systems will help their students achieve academic growth and provide the district with accurate and meaningful data. The Barberton City Schools, a neighboring district, describes the data from state tests and other assessments (Dibels and AimsWeb) as major indicators of progress. In the related section of the Coventry plan, it just describes the adoption of textbooks and resources and classroom integration of the curriculum maps as important milestones of progress. In addition, the district needs to give specific names for the software applications or web-based tools that students, teachers, and administrators are using. For example, Barberton City Schools (a neighboring district) names A+ Curriculum Software, ePals, and Kidspiration/Inspiration among others as tools used by students in language arts. In the same section, the Coventry plan just lists web-based resources and interactive programs. Barberton also names Progress Book as the online system where teachers input grades and students/families can monitor student progress. Coventry just refers to the system as a web-based program to communicate with parents and students.

The districts next technology plan will need to include a timeline or schedule outlining how members of the planning committee will make field visits to all classrooms to observe current levels of technology integration and determine existing and future needs. Since the level of technology use by students at the elementary level seems to be unclear in the current plan, visits to the elementary schools should be considered a priority for the committee. The current plan describes how students have access to software they can use at home that is provided by their textbook (mathematics and social studies), but there is no indication of any data in the plan that would support that students are actually using the software. The technology planning committee should collect data through student surveys about actual software usage and evaluation of student achievement in those two subjects to determine if the software is helping students achieve academic goals. Through this process, the committee can decide whether to purchase textbooks that have software for students. If the committee concludes that the software is helping students reach learning goals, then the next technology plan should provide specific evidence in the form of measurable results supporting this statement. If the committee concludes that the software is not being used or not helping students achieve, then the committee could save money in the future by not purchasing textbooks with software. Policy, Leadership, and Integration In order to ensure successful integration, the district technology committee meets on a regular basis to review policies and procedures and recommended changes if the districts goals and academic needs are not being met. The committee revises goals to reflect progress that has been made and monitors funding to purchase new technology

for the district. The committee conducts a needs assessment at the beginning of the school year to determine the level of support and ongoing professional development that teachers and administrators will need throughout the year. The current plan does not indicate whether a needs assessment is conducted at other times during the school year, so it is unclear how the district would react to changing needs or the latest trends in technology. School administrators serve on several committees that facilitate the sharing of ideas that can improve the quality of technology integration throughout the district. The technology coordinator is a district leader for providing technical support, maintenance, and staff development. When the plan was written in 2009, the district was in the beginning stages of adopting the state technology standards and creating an electronic network to share information with stakeholders. Therefore, the next technology plan will need to include specific examples of progress in these areas. In the current plan, administrators are to complete an evaluation form whenever they take part in professional development that asks them to describe what they learned and how they can use the information in the future. However, the current plan does not describe how the new skills and knowledge that administrators learn about in PD gets shared with teachers and staff in the district. One of the tenets of the national technology plan is to increase productivity at all levels of education. If administrators are learning about new ways to use technology that are more cost-effective or save time, then this knowledge should be shared with teachers who could apply the same tools or ideas. The new technology plan should give specific examples of how new ideas related to technology are shared across the district. One suggestion would be the development of an online learning community where teachers

could share helpful websites, examples of quality student work, or ideas for integrating emerging technologies as suggested in the national and state technology plans. Data related to student achievement could also be available to teachers and administrators through this online learning community in order to effectively track student progress. According to the national technology plan, relevant data must be made available to the right people at the right time in the right form (pg. xi). Everyone in the district needs to have the same access to student data and have the support to manage it properly to make the right decisions that will benefit student learning. Management and Support (Professional Development) One major strength in its 2009 technology plan is that the Coventry school district is conducting important research before making decisions about the kinds of technology to introduce and install in its schools. The district states in the 2009 plan that it plans to research the possibility of increasing the number of thin client computers and wireless connections throughout the district and started researching Voice over IP technology. Before implementing VOIP, the district wants to have a plan in place; which includes researching and testing possible solutions, securing funding, and having the support personnel and equipment to support the system and achieve the desired results. The district also has a similar approach for choosing educational software by researching different options and evaluating how well they meet the districts need, including cost. One major weakness in the area of support is that the technology coordinator is not spending enough time with teachers in the classroom. At the time this plan was written, the technology coordinator spent 20% of her time on repair and maintenance and another 20% of her time on technical support and training. She also only spent

2% of her time on curriculum alignment and instructional integration. In the districts next technology plan, the technology coordinator needs to include more time to conduct peer coaching sessions with teachers (and students) in the classroom. There needs to be more time for her to learn about new technologies, determine if new technologies fit the districts needs, and model these technologies for teachers through applied practice, instead of during one-time training workshops. The technology coordinator needs to be more visible to the teachers in the district as a role model for professional growth. Professional development opportunities should be embedded into daily practice. One recommendation would be to develop an online learning community for teachers across the district to share ideas. Online learning communities are suggested in the national and state technology plans. These online learning communities can include discussion boards and multimedia content (audio and video) posted by teachers that demonstrate lessons or assessments involving technology. Teachers can also share examples of quality student work within the online learning community. Before posting student work, the planning committee would have to take steps to make sure that the community is protected by secure login and passwords. Teachers would also have to get permission from parents or guardians to post student work online. The district also needs to explore ways for teachers and administrators to participate in larger online communities and social networks that involve multiple school districts. As the National Technology Plan states, technology gives educators across the nation and around the world the power to discuss solutions to problems and exchange information about best practices in minutes, not weeks or months (pg. xviii). Since numerous people will have access to this site, the district should protect users privacy and security at all times.

The districts current technology plan does not describe in great detail how the technology planning committee decides what professional development opportunities will be offered for district employees. In order to provide PD that meets stated, specific needs of the district, the planning committee should distribute surveys to all employees (teachers, administrators, and support staff) to evaluate their current technology skills and describe how they integrate technology into their classrooms or work environment. Teachers could also be asked to evaluate how well they feel their students demonstrate technology skills in the classroom. Some questions on the survey could be specific to teachers, administrators, or support staff. Questions for teachers could be organized around the NETS-T and NETS-S standards, and the survey could be distributed during the summer. Teachers could reflect on the students they had the previous year while completing the survey. The survey should be available online for convenient access. The planning committee could also generate reports of the results. The districts next technology plan should include how the results from this survey impacted professional development offerings in the district. The plan ought to outline if any topics were added or deleted based on the survey results. If the district implements an online learning community or web portal, the plan should also outline how the results were used to determine tutorials or helpful websites that are made available to employees through that website. It is also highly recommended that the district use the survey results to organize teachers, administrators, and staff into three categories based on beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels of technology usage and knowledge. The district could tailor professional development to meet the specific needs of these three groups. The Barberton City Schools, a neighboring district, offers

professional development for all teachers after school at three different learning levels. All teachers begin at the first level and work their way up to the third level, where they integrate technology into a teaching unit. This model would allow all teachers in the district to build upon their existing technology knowledge and skills and not waste time learning about concepts they already know. Barberton also conducts embedded PD during common team planning times. The Coventry schools ought to explore these options and determine if they would meet the needs of the teachers within the district. Budget and Planning for Sustainability Before making any new purchases, the district considers how long the hardware or software will last, the time it will take to maintain it, and if the hardware or software can possibly be used for new purposes than what originally thought. The district also considers different offers before purchasing new technologies in order to find the best possible price. The district has also included extra time in its technology planning to address any unexpected issues that might arise during the process. There are several older school buildings in the district that were never designed for computer networks and digital infrastructure, so the district must ensure that new hardware and software will work on the existing network with the existing equipment. The district will need to budget money to replace or update outdated equipment (computers, phones, fibers, routers, servers, etc.) to develop a strong network across the district, so everyone is able to connect to technology. As described in the National Technology Plan, there should be an infrastructure to support always-on learning where students, educators, and administrators have access to information, discover and share knowledge using multimedia tools, and participate in online communities anywhere and anytime. If the

district wants to increase wireless access and introduce IP telephone systems, then it will need to plan to improve security measures (firewalls, web filters, anti-virus software, etc.) to protect student and staff data and decrease the risks of a security breach in the network. The district will need to research how to secure funding to improve security and ensure that there is enough support personnel to implement these changes. The district should also review the current Acceptable User Policy and security policies to determine if they need to be revised to reflect any changes to the districts network. Like other school districts across Ohio, the Coventry Local Schools has seen a reduction in federal and state funding. Recent school levies over the past couple years have failed, which has led to workforce reductions, pay-to-play fees for student-athletes, and other budget cutbacks. The school district will have a bond issue on the ballot next month asking voters to approve funding for a new high school and upgrades to existing buildings. If the bond issue passes, there would also be technology upgrades at the elementary and middle schools. Regardless of whether the bond issue passes next month, the districts next technology plan will need to demonstrate how it spends funds to support educational goals and meet educational needs. For example, if the district purchases new software, then the plan should indicate exactly why the software was needed. Was the existing software outdated and no longer capable of achieving its intended purpose? Does the new software do a combination of tasks or procedures that were previously performed by multiple software platforms? How will the software save the district money in the future? How much training will employees need to use the new software properly? The district will need to consider these types of questions

when purchasing new software, new computer equipment, new telecommunications devices, or other peripherals (printers, TVs, calculators, LED projectors, cords, etc.). The technology planning committee needs to work closely with the school board, superintendent, and treasurer to include line-items in the districts overall budget to meet the districts needs for supporting curriculum goals through technology. Since funding directly from the district could be limited, the committee should continue its efforts to secure outside sources of funding (grants, local business partnerships, etc.) for new technology projects and investments whenever possible. Since the Coventry district does not know whether new buildings will be built and existing buildings will be renovated in the future, the district will have to plan for future technology based on its current capacities. Additional Recommendations for Change These are other recommendations for change for the next technology plan: The district uses short-cycle assessments to measure student progress in the four major content areas (language arts, math, science, and social studies), but the current plan does not mention how those assessment results are used to influence technology decisions. The future plan could suggest technology that could improve student outcomes on these assessments or challenge students that perform well. The district should also set specific goals for increasing state test scores and scores on the short-cycle assessments. The current Coventry plan does not describe how administrators visit classrooms to make observations about technology usage - something that is mentioned in the Barberton plan. The future plan should include a schedule for principals to

visit classrooms to learn how teachers and students are using technology to fulfill teaching and learning outcomes and give feedback for improvement. The current plan does not mention the use of student response systems to assess student progress. The future plan should explore securing funding to acquire a set of these devices for each school. The state technology plan describes the need to have performance data that is immediately available to learners and educators to make instructional decisions that have a positive impact on student learning and meet individual learning needs for each student. Even though this is not mentioned in the Barberton plan, the middle school has recently opened a Twitter account to communicate information about activities and special events to both students and parents. Since Twitter is a free service that can be accessed using a computer or mobile device, the Coventry schools should explore this opportunity to develop a stronger relationship with families and educate the broader community about what is happening in the schools. Perhaps voters would pass a levy or bond issue if they knew about the positive things that students and teachers were doing at school and in the community. Middle school students currently have 35 minutes of Enhancement time during the school day. Students mostly use this time to complete projects or have a study hall. Teachers can also use this time as intervention for students who might be struggling in their class. The district should explore using this time to teach students mini-lessons about technology. Teachers could share useful websites, demonstrate how to perform a task using Microsoft Office applications,

or create an original multimedia product with student input. When students are not receiving intervention from teachers, they can participate in these lessons. Depending on whether the bond issue gets passed to build a new high school, the district could explore adding distance learning options for students at the high school. The district could collaborate with local colleges and universities to find the right courses to meet student needs and install the right equipment. It is possible that the district would have to secure an outside grant for this project, since it would be an expensive investment for the district to make. The district should also explore Bring Your Own device policies at all its schools (there is a BYOD policy at the high school). Both the national and state plans indicate that students should be able to use the technology they use at home as part of their learning experience. The district should explore having a technology coach at each school building that might relieve the strain on the technology coordinator to train teachers. It could be most cost-effective for technology coaches to be current employees, since a stipend could be added to their pay rate. It could be more expensive to hire an additional person(s) to work as technology coaches for the district. The district could also explore outsourcing maintenance of computer equipment. At the time the plan was written, the average response time for computer issues was 73 days. This definitely needs to improve in the future. The district will definitely need to include in its next technology plan how it plans to meet the technical demands of the new PARCC online assessments that will be implemented in the 2014-15 school year. To meet this increased hardware

demand, the district could research the purchase of mobile laptop carts. These carts could also be used by teachers and students for regular learning tasks. The district could collaborate with neighboring school districts to have a joint professional development opportunity. This could be a one-time workshop where teachers, administrators, and staff meet face-to-face or meet online at a specific time using webconferencing or videoconferencing tools. Having joint professional development helps make technology integration more acceptable among all teachers (even ones without technology experience) by giving novice teachers more support in learning about technology. Also, it promotes the idea that technology can be a powerful learning tool for all students, no matter what school district they attend.