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SchoolFusion Evaluation

Submitted to: Prince William County Schools/Dr. John Thompson, Boise State University Submitted by: Ryan Osweiler, of the fictitious, Oz Consulting Group

Executive Summary SchoolFusion (www.schoolfusion.com ) is a school website hosting platform that is used by many districts around the country. The platform is created by the company. Schools and districts have the ability to customize colors, headers, footers, and navigation links to fit preferences while keeping a standard, consistent template on all sites. Web site administrators have the ability to create webpages for teachers, classrooms, athletics, clubs, and organizations. SchoolFusion websites can be linked with content and/or learning management systems. These functions allow teachers and students to have personal accounts for grade tracking, announcement, class/activity membership, and informational purposes. According to the Prince William County Schools website, SchoolFusion, and the Web Services Departments goal is: to use electronic information, and communication for effective teaching, learning, and school management. Furthermore, these standards are intended to safeguard confidential student and employee information, and to maintain accurate content and a consistent visual identity throughout the hierarchy of Division Web sites. Development and implementation of PWCS Web sites must also be consistent with the standards set forth in Regulation 295-1, PWCS Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy, which governs access to, implementation, and use of all aspects of the PWCS network infrastructure, and Division Web sites. The evaluation began with identifying the major goals and objectives for using SchoolFusion. Surveys were sent out to students, parents, and teachers in order to calculate an overall rating for objectives one through four. The survey results were calculated in two ways: on demographics (student, parent, or teacher) and combined (total) to evaluate specific and general data. The surveys gave respondents the ability to type additional information and opinions that may be appropriate for data evaluation and for recommendation purposes. The school district web manager, Ms. Mary Anne Billingsley, was consulted to find out the total cost of operation (objective five). Data was collected, analyzed, and complied into the evaluation. Recommendations were analyzed for context and relevance to the evaluation. General observations and comments that were communicated verbally between the evaluator and respondents were included if deemed beneficial for the evaluation. General results of the evaluation appear to support the objectives set forth for using SchoolFusion. There was a negative connection between SchoolFusion and its use for effective teaching, learning, and school management. Results support SchoolFusions ability to safeguard student and employee information, to maintain accurate content and a consistent visual identity, and to remain consistent with regulations and acceptable use policies. According to the district webmaster, Mary Anne Billingsley, the cost for one school website, elementary, middle, or high is approximately $1,500 a year ($120,000) district wide.

Description of Program Evaluated The goal for using SchoolFusion, or any web platform in Prince William County Schools (PWCS) follows a list of specific policies and regulations set forth by the School Board. The objectives state what intended outcomes are for web services in the district. The first four objectives, of the five being evaluated, are found in the overall goal statement of Web Services which oversees all website platform implementation and operation. Objective #1: To determine if electronic information and communication done through School Fusion is for effective teaching, learning, and school management. Objective #2: To determine if SchoolFusion provides a safeguard confidential student and employee information. Objective #3: To determine if SchoolFusion, maintains accurate content and a consistent visual identity throughout the hierarchy of Division Web sites. Objective #4: To determine if development and implementation of district web sites is consistent with the standards set forth in Regulation 295-1, Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy, which governs access to, implementation, and use of all aspects of the district network infrastructure, and district web sites. Objective #5: To determine the total cost of operation (district, per school, and per student).

Objective number five is not listed within the districts goals and objectives for using SchoolFusion. This objective was evaluated in the event respondents happened to question the investment within the surveys. If they did, this information could be used for recommendations to support or argue against the platform. If they did not, this would be used for purely informational purposes. PWCS has a yearly contract with SchoolFusion to provide website platform and hosting services. The SchoolFusion interface is portal-based, meaning the general structure and navigation system is the same across the websites. All that is done by users is content management. Teachers have webpages they can update with announcements, important dates and events, multimedia (blogs, pictures, videos, etc.), links, and files that can be downloaded. Teachers may post student work and/or images but must follow the guidelines set forth by PWCS. SchoolFusion is linked to Chancery Student Management System. This allows students and parents the ability to see grades and receive electronic notification from teachers and schools when announcements or information is posted to specific websites. These accounts come with a calendar feature so parents can see when a teacher or school posts a date for a test, project, homework, or important event. For example, if a parent has children at 3 separate schools, all important dates and information can be synced to one parent account. Local business partners may purchase small advertising space on individual or district wide website(s).

Evaluation Method Participants The intended participants for the survey included 15 students, 15 teachers, and 15 parental/adult figures. The actual responses came from 7 students, 11 teachers, and 10 parental/adult figures. The sample selection was chosen by the evaluator. The targeted individuals were chosen based on the proximity to the evaluator and the likelihood that a response could be obtained in the time frame given. A personal interview was conducted with Ms. Mary Anne Billingsley who is the PWCS webmaster. She was able to confirm the goals, objectives, and operating cost of the SchoolFusion platform. Procedures At the onset of the evaluation, the goals and objectives for the evaluation were established. Once these measures were defined, a survey was created in SurveyMonkey (www.surveymonkey.com) and sent to 15 students, 15 teachers, and 15 parental/adult figures. Through the course of the evaluation, a personal interview was conducted with the PWCS district webmaster to obtain information regarding the cost of using SchoolFusion. As data was collected, it was compiled into spreadsheet form and averaged by demographic (student, teacher, parent) and by cumulative means (total). Recommendations and discussions were documented based on the surveys, opinionbased comments within the surveys, interview, and observational data obtained by the evaluator and through any informal discussions with participants that were deemed important to the evaluation. This evaluation was conducted over the summer of 2012. There is no interruption of service for SchoolFusion. All school sites remain active and can be updated with the exception of teacher/classroom pages. All teacher pages are archived over the summer. During these months, parents and students do not have access to their accounts. They can access public information on the school and/or district main website but can proceed no further. Accounts are re-linked to updated teacher pages and schools in August in preparation for the new school year. Active participation with SchoolFusion is low to non-existent during this time. Participants had to recall experiences from the past year(s) in order to complete the surveys. Data Sources Documentation of data sources can be found in the Appendices Surveys A four question survey consisted of Likert-scale rating questions to measure PWCS SchoolFusion objectives to perceived satisfaction levels. Personal Interview An interview was conducted with PWCS district webmaster to determine operating cost per school and district. PWCS Website Used to obtain goals and objectives for using SchoolFusion.
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Results As stated in the Procedures section, the surveys were sent to 15 students, 15 teachers and 15 parental/adult figures. 7 students, 11 teachers and 10 parents returned the surveys. The following graphs represent the average Likert scale ratings for each objective based on individual and cumulative responses. Further explanations will be found in the Discussions section of this evaluation report. Objective #1: To determine if electronic information and communication done through School Fusion is for effective teaching, learning, and school management. Respondents generally did not support this objective being successfully achieved.

Objective #1 Likert Scale Response Average


5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Student Teacher Parent Cumulative

Objective #2: To determine if SchoolFusion provides a safeguard confidential student and employee information. Respondents generally agreed that SchoolFusion safeguards confidential information.

Objective #2 Likert Scale Response Average


5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Student Teacher Parent Cumulative

Objective #3: To determine if SchoolFusion, maintains accurate content and a consistent visual identity throughout the hierarchy of Division Web sites. Respondents generally agreed that accurate content and consistent formatting exists in district websites.

Objective #3 Likert Scale Response Average


5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Student Teacher Parent Cumulative

Objective #4: To determine if development and implementation of district web sites is consistent with the standards set forth in Regulation 295-1, Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy, which governs access to, implementation, and use of all aspects of the district network infrastructure, and district web sites. Respondents strongly supported the notion that websites are in line with standards, regulations, acceptable use, and internet safety.

Objective #4 Likert Scale Response Average


5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 0.00 Student Teacher Parent Cumulative

Objective #5: To determine the total cost of operation (district, per school, and per student). The following shows the data collected during a personal interview along with notes as to how the figures were calculated. Cost Per Year District $120,000.00 School* $1,333.33 *(89 Schools+1 District Site = 90) Student** $1.43 **(84,000-estimated for 2012-2013 school year)

Discussion The purpose of this evaluation was to determine the extent of which SchoolFusion meets the overall goals and objectives set forth by PWCS. SchoolFusion has been the chosen web platform in this district for five years. No major changes have taken place to the platform and its interface since its adoption. The overall level of satisfaction among users appears to be at a medium to high level. Generally speaking, users of the platform are content with most aspects of it. The following will describe individual objectives and recommendations in more detail. Objective #1: To determine if electronic information and communication done through School Fusion is for effective teaching, learning, and school management. Based on survey data, this objective appears to be one with the most, and only, negative perception. A few of the respondents commented that the platform is good but not seen as a teaching and learning tool. From discussions with teachers who responded, some feel as if the platform is not equipped with enough web 2.0 tools to make their classrooms as interactive as with other platforms and services that are out in the marketplace. From observation and discussion, some students feel that this platform is not used as a teaching tool because the teacher/school fails to keep the sites updated. One teacher commented that it takes too much time to update on a regular basis. Objective #2: To determine if SchoolFusion provides a safeguard confidential student and employee information. The platform itself appears to have a solid system in place to protect private data. There are risks associated with linkage to the student management system in that some personal information is on the server but that data is not available to anyone other than the individual. More descriptive examples of these safeguards will be found in the discussion of objective number five relating to specific policies and procedures that are in place.

Objective #3: To determine if SchoolFusion, maintains accurate content and a consistent visual identity throughout the hierarchy of Division Web sites. Respondents felt that the uniformity of the interface is useful and helpful, especially among parents who have students at other schools. Two parents commented on the navigation being the same helps them to find in the information they need. Respondents indicated that the district and most school sites they are associated with keep accurate information but teacher pages may lack the necessary and updated information they should have (in their opinion). Objective #4: To determine if development and implementation of district web sites is consistent with the standards set forth in Regulation 295-1, Acceptable Use and Internet Safety Policy, which governs access to, implementation, and use of all aspects of the district network infrastructure, and district web sites. This category scored the highest with regards to levels of satisfaction and perceived objective and goal attainment. A copy of the regulation was provided for reference if needed. If further evaluation was done on this objective, one may expect further explanation and discussion as to the specific details of the Regulation and other policies to determine if the public truly understands what is included. Objective #5: To determine the total cost of operation (district, per school, and per student). According to the interview, PWCS invests nearly $120,000 a year for the SchoolFusion platform. When divided out, that equates to around $1300 per school (89 schools plus one district site). This figure equals an investment of around $1.43 per student (based on an estimate of 84,000 students). Business partners can pay for advertising space that lessens the cost by an unknown figure. Recommendations Upon completion of the evaluation, the following recommendations are being presented. These are not necessarily suggestions for improvement, rather general discussion topics and reflection items to consider when revisiting future evaluations of School Fusion. 1) Due to the low rating score given to objective 1, consider implementation of an initiative aimed at helping teachers and schools create more interactive, web 2.0 functional, and educational websites. It appears that respondents were satisfied with the level of general information but not in the educational value SchoolFusion provides. Teachers must keep webpages updated and encourage collaborative type projects to add educational value to the platform.

2) The ratings for safeguarding information and compliance with policies, procedures, and regulations appear to be strong. Continue to reinforce the importance of internet safety and content that is posted online. Even though the interface and navigation system is the same, it is not completely uniform across the websites. One may want to conduct periodic checks of webpages to ensure current and accurate information is posted and that content and style follow acceptable web design guidelines for professionalism purposes. 3) Given that this is not a comparative evaluation, a discussion regarding cost compared to other platforms cannot be fully addressed. Continue to monitor the investment in SchoolFusion to ensure the money spent is worthwhile. This platform provides many internal and security features that other less expensive platforms do not offer. As technology changes it is always wise to keep abreast of other products that may do the same job for less money.

Project Cost Oz Consulting Group


1601 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington D.C., 20001 Phone (202) 111-1111 Fax (202) 111-1112
TO: FOR:

INVOICE
INVOICE #505 DATE: JULY 21, 2012

Prince William County Schools Manassas, VA 22112

SchoolFusion Evaluation

DESCRIPTION

HOURS

RATE

AMOUNT

Salary (Ryan Osweiler) -15 Days x $500/day Administrative Expenses -Postage -Envelope -Paper -Binding

15

500.00

7500.00

200.00

200.00

TOTAL

7700.00

Make all checks payable to Oz Consulting Group Total due in 15 days. Overdue accounts subject to a service charge of 10% per month.
Thank you for your business!

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Appendices Appendix A: Copy of Survey Letter to Participants

To: SchoolFusion Survey Participants From: Mr. Ryan Osweiler Date: July 5th, 2012 Subject: SchoolFusion Hello Everyone! I am doing an evaluation project in my graduate program. I chose to do an evaluation on our website platform, SchoolFusion. I thought of you all since you have experience using it and I know you would be great candidates for quality feedback. I chose 15 teachers, 15 parents, and 15 students to help with this. If you are able to answer these four short questions, I would sincerely appreciate your help with this. Responses are completely anonymous. You have to indicate if you are a teacher, student, or parent, and rate you preference for each question. The link to the survey is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/35D66MZ . If possible, I would appreciate the responses by July 19th. If you have any questions about this survey, dont hesitate to ask. Thank you very much! Mr. Ryan Osweiler

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Appendix B: Survey (Screenshots)

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Appendix C: Copy of Data Tables

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Appendix D: Copy of Interview Email (Text Version) Hi Ryan, I just have approximate numbers: 1) Approx. $1500 a year per school (2011) (all same for es, ms and hs) 2) Yes, it's paid as a lump sum once a year - Approx. $120,000 a year for (includes all schools as above) and pwcs.edu per year (2011) Other additional costs would be added for additions of new school Web sites and changes on any Web sites Good luck with your classes and have a good summer. Mary Anne

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