DoironFinalEvaluationReport1

GoogleSitesasanLMSforSunnyvaleSchools
FinalEvaluationReport May2013

SubmittedtoSunnyvaleSchoolsbyJamieDoiron

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Summary
SunnyvaleSchoolsisapreK12districtthatcurrentlyprovidesaGoogleAppssubscription toallfaculty,staffandstudentsingrades912.Districtcurricularadministrationdesiresto implementalearningmanagementsystem(LMS)atthehighschoollevel.Sincethedistrict isalreadyusingGoogleSites,auserfriendlywebsitecreationprogram,administration wantedtoseeifitcouldbeleveragedasanLMS. ThepurposeofthisreportisprovideaneducatedopiniononwhetherornotGoogleSites wouldbeaviableLMSsolutionbasedontheneedsofSunnyvaleschools.Thisevaluation usesadiscrepancymodeltocomparethecapabilitiesofGoogleSitesagainsttheneeds ofthedistrict.Theseneedswereassessedthroughinterviewswithstakeholdersand surveysoffacultymembers.Oncetheneedswereunderstood,theywerecompared againstthecapabilitiesofGoogleSites. Ultimately,GoogleSitesalonewillnotfulfilltheneedsofSunnyvaleschooldistrictunless theyareabletoprovideadedicatedresourcetomodification,implementation,and training.TheGoogleappssuiteasawholecanprovidemanyofthecommonfeatures foundinanLMS.However,thatrequiresextensivemodification,customization,and trainingforusers.ThisissomethingthatSunnyvaleschoolswashopingtoavoidin leveragingatoolalreadybeingusedatthehighschool.Therefore,GoogleSitesisnota goodfitfortheirneeds.

ProgramDescription
ProgramObjectives SunnyvaleSchoolsobjectiveistodetermineifGoogleSitescouldbeleveragedasan LMSatthehighschoolgiventhatitisalreadyinuseincertainclassroomsandallstudents andfacultyhaveaccesstoitcurrently.AnyLMSmustmeetthefollowingrequirements: Lowcost.ThereisnobudgetavailableforLMSimplementation Requirenoadditionalpersonneltomanage.Thereisnohiringbudgetforasupport person. Requireminimaltraining.Thereisonlyoneinservicedaypriortothestartofthe schoolyearandlimitedtimetotrainfaculty Supporttemplates.Facultyshouldbeabletosetupacoursequicklyandeasilyby choosingatemplate. Organizeunitsandassignmentsandsupportmanyfiletypesfordownloading. Serveasasingledestinationforallcoursematerialforallofastudent'sclasses. SunnyvaleschoolscurrentlyusesPowerSchoolasanattendance,scheduling,andgrade

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managementsoftware.Therefore,theyhavenoneedofthegradingcomponenttraditionally foundinanLMS.Theyalsohaveaquia.comsubscriptionforonlinequizcreation,sothatis notdesiredorneededaspartoftheLMSsolution. ProgramComponents GoogleSitesisafreewebsiteandwikicreationtoolintheGoogleAppsproductivitysuite. Itallowsuserstocreatewebpages,sharethemwithotherusers,uploadfiles,andeditthe contentofthesitethroughtheuseofHTML,Javascript,andCSS.Thecustomization availablethroughthoselanguages,however,islimitedbecauseusersmustusethe providedsitethemesandpagestructure.Usersarelimitedto10GBofstorage. SunnyvaleHighSchoolisa912schoolwithapproximately1,400students.Thereare160 facultymembersandfourinschooladministrators.Districtwidethereisanassistant superintendentofcurriculumandinstructionandanadministratorthatoverseestechnology implementationandmaintenanceforallsevenschoolsinthedistrict.Hemanagesateam offourtechniciansthatserveallschools. Thehighschoolitselfhasfourcomputerlaboratoriesforallclassestouseandonelaptop cart.Someclassroomsinthebusinessandtechnologyareashavetheirowncomputersin theroom.Thedistrictisalsocurrentlypilotinga1:1laptopinitiativewith30studentswho havereceivedChromebooks.

EvaluationMethod
Participants Theevaluationinvolvedmembersofdistrictandschooladministrationaswellasfacultyat thehighschool.Theassistantsuperintendentofcurriculumandinstructionhasbeenwith thedistrictforfiveyearsandoriginallyrequestedtheevaluationbeperformed.Thedistrict technologyadministratoroverseesalltechnologyimplementationandmaintenanceforthe districtandcontrolsthebudgetforsuchprojects.Sincethefacultywillbetheendusersof anyLMSsoftware,theyweresurveyedduringtheevaluation.Nosamplingwasused becausethereareonly160facultymembersatthehighschool.ShouldanyLMSbe implemented,itwouldbemanagedbythefourpersontechnicalteamthatprovidessupport toallsevenschoolsinthedistrict. Procedures Theevaluationbeganwithameetingbetweentheevaluatorandtheassistant superintendentofcurriculumandinstructiontodeterminewhatthedistrictsneedswere withregardtoanLMS.Itwasinthismeetingthatthefollowingneedswereidentified: Lowcost Requirenoadditionalpersonnel

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Minimaltraining Templatesforeasyimplementation Organizecurricularunitsandfiles Singledestinationforallofastudentscoursework

TheevaluatoralsolearnedthatthedistrictdoesnotrequiretheLMStoprovideonlinequiz orgradetrackingcapabilities,sincetheseareredundantwithservicesthatthedistrict alreadymanagesandpaysfor.Thedistrictwouldnotbeabletodiscontinuetheircontract withPowerSchoolintimeforanLMSimplementation,andthegeneralfeelingisthatfaculty andadministrationaresatisfiedwiththatsoftwareanddonotwishtochange. Thenextstepintheevaluationwasameetingbetweentheevaluatorandthedistrict technologyadministratortounderstandthetechnologycapabilitiesandlimitationsofthe district.Theevaluatorlearnedthatthereareonlyfourtechniciansthatsupportseven schoolsandthereisnoavailablebudgettohireanothertechniciantosupportanyLMS. Shouldstudentsbegintobringintheirdowndevicestoschool,thehighschoolwireless infrastructurewouldneedtobeupgradedtosupporttheadditionalnetworktraffic.There arecurrentlynoplanstoaddanyadditionalcomputerlabstotheschool.Mostclassrooms onlyhaveoneteachercomputerintheroomandonlythebusinessandtechnologyrooms haveonecomputerforeverystudent.Allotherclassesmustuseoneofthefourcomputer labsforcommonuseorthelaptopcart. Thismeetingwasfollowedupbyasurveyofhighschoolfacultytodetermineiftheyfeelthe needforanLMSgiventheircurrenttechnologysetup.63%offacultysaidthattheywould hosttheircoursecontentonlineiftheywereproperlytrainedintheuseofGoogleSites,but manyclassroomsdonothavetherequiredtechnologytomakeitusefulforstudentswhile inclass,eventhoughfacultymemberswantstudentstobeabletoaccesstheonline contentintheroom. Lastly,theevaluatorcompareddistrictneedsandconstraintsagainstthecapabilitiesof GoogleSitestodetermineifitwouldbeagoodfitgiventhecurrentbudgetandtechnology environmentatSunnyvaleSchools. DataSources Therearefourprimarydatasourcesforthisevaluation: Interviewwiththeassistantsuperintendentofcurriculumandinstruction Interviewwiththedistricttechnologyadministrator Onlinesurveyofhighschoolfaculty GoogleSitesitself

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NoobservationsoccurredduetothefactthatthedistrictdoesnotcurrentlyuseGoogle SitesasanLMSandthisevaluationspurposeistodetermineifGoogleSiteswouldmeet theneedsofthedistrict.Interviewandsurveyquestionsareavailableintheappendix.

Results
Basedontheevaluatorsinterviewswithstakeholders,facultysurveys,andanindepth explorationofthecapabilities,anassessmentofhoweachdistrictrequirementwouldbe metbyGoogleSitesisprovidedinthefollowingsections.Thetablebelowprovidesa visualsummaryofeachrequirement. Requirement LowCost NoAdditionalPersonnel MinimalTraining Templates CurricularOrganizationandFileSupport SingleDestinationforStudentCourseWork MetbyGoogle Sites? Yes No Partial Yes Yes No

Requirement1:Lowcost GoogleSitesmeetsthisrequirement.Itisfreesoftwarethatthedistrictalreadyhasaccess toaspartoftheirGoogleAppssubscription. Requirement2:Noadditionalpersonnel GoogleSitesdoesnotmeetthisrequirement.Giventhatthedistrictisalreadymanaging technologyforsevenschoolswithonlyfourtechnicians,theadditionalburdenof troubleshootingtechnicalissuesforGoogleSiteswheneveryfacultymemberandstudent atthehighschoolisusingitwouldbeunmanageable.Anadditionalsupportpersonwould berequired. Requirement3:Minimaltraining GoogleSitespartiallymeetsthisrequirement.Manyonlinetutorialsareavailablefor GoogleSitesanditisfairlyuserfriendly.However,thedistrictdesirestobeginusingthe LMSinthe201314schoolyear.Sincethereisonlyonedayavailableforprofessional developmentbetweennowandthen,itisnotfeasibletotrain160facultymembersandset

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uptheircourseswithinthattimeframe.Shouldthedistrictdecidetopilotthiswithafew classesandtraintherestofthefacultyoverthecourseofthecomingyear,thetraining requiredwouldberelativelysmallgiventheextendedtimeframe. Requirement4:Templatesforeasyimplementation GoogleSitesmeetsthisrequirement.Itiseasytocreateandusetemplates.Thedistrict currentlycreatestemplatesforstudentstouseasonlineportfolios. Requirement5:Organizecurricularunitsandfiles GoogleSitesmeetsthisrequirement.Itispossibleforteacherstoorganizecurricular materialsintounitsanduploadrelatedfiles.GoogleSitesalsosupportsmanytypesof embeddingthatworkwellwithotherGoogleAppsservicessuchasYouTubeandGoogle Drive. Requirement6:Singledestinationforallofastudentscoursework GoogleSitesdoesnotmeetthisrequirement.Eachteacherwouldcreatehis/herown coursesitebuttherewouldbenoplatformonwhichastudentcouldloginandseeallof his/herclasses. AdditionalConstraints Basedonfacultysurveys,theevaluatordeterminedthatthereisnotenoughtechnologyto supportstudentsusinganyLMSwhileintheclassroomasmanyclassroomsonlyhaveone teacherworkstation.Therefore,anyLMSthatisimplementedwouldservemostlyasa resourceforstudentswhileworkingfromhome.Shouldthedistrictmovetoa1:1laptop initiativeastheyarecurrentlypiloting,extensivenetworkupgradeswouldberequired.

Discussion
SunnyvaleSchoolswantedtoknowifGoogleSiteswouldmeettheirneedsfromanLMS. Basedoninterviewswithstakeholdersandfacultysurveys,theevaluatordeterminedthat, basedonthecurrenttimelineforimplementation,GoogleSitesonlymeetsthreeofthesix majorrequirements.Shouldthedistrictdecidetopushoutfullimplementationbyayear, fourofthesixrequirementswouldbefulfilled. Eitherway,GoogleSiteswouldrequireanadditionalsupportpersonneltomakethe transitioneasierforfacultyandstaffbutitwouldstillnotserveasasingledestinationsfor studentstolonginandviewalloftheircoursework.Additionally,thereisnotadequate technologyavailableatthehighschooltomakeanyLMSimplementationmeaningful duringtheschoolday.Studentswouldmostlybelimitedtousingitfromhomesincetheydo nothavecomputeraccessexceptinbusinessandtechnologycoursesorwhentheirclass visitsthecomputerlab,ofwhichthereareonlyfourfor1,400students.

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WhatGoogleSitesdoesquitewell,however,isintegrateallofthetoolsavailableinthe GoogleAppssuitetooneplace.Shouldthedistrictdecideinthefuturethattheywantto havesomeonededicatedtocreatingarichtemplatethatleveragesmanyofthe capabilitiesfoundinotherGoogleservices,thereispotentialforarichclassroomwebsite experiencethatorganizesanddisplayscurricularmaterialinameaningfulway. Unfortunately,basedonbudgetconstraints,thisdoesnotseempossibleatthistime. Overall,givencurrentbudgetandtechnologyconstraints,GoogleSitesdoesnotmeetthe needsofSunnyvaleSchools.Shouldtherebeadditionalfundingforsupportstaffand technologyupgradesinthefuture,itwouldmeetmanyoftheneedsdescribedbydistrict administration.However,giventhecurrentsituation,itwouldlackkeytechnicalsupportand feasibilityintheclassroom.Thiswouldlikelyleadtoalackofuseamongfacultyand students.

ProjectCost
Personnel Professionalsalaries: JamieDoiron:30daysat$500/day TOTALPERSONNEL Travel Estimatedmileage:500milesat$.55/mile TOTALTRAVEL Communications JamieDoironsPhone:30daysat$3/day* TOTALCOMMUNICATIONS TOTALBUDGET *Phonecalculationsbasedonarateof$100/month $275 $275 $275

$15,000 $15.000

$15,000

$90 $90 $15,365

$90

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Appendix
Interviewquestionsfrommeetingwithassistantsuperintendentofcurriculumand instruction 1. WhyuseGoogleSites?Whatisthereasoningbehindwantingtoleveragethat softwareasanLMSwhenthereareothermoretraditionalchoiceavailable? 2. Whatcapabilitiesfromalearningmanagementsystemdoesthedistrictneed? 3. Whataboutgradingandonlinequizzes? 4. WhattimelineareyoulookingtohavetheLMSimplementedatthehighschool? 5. Howdoyouwanttotrainfacultymembers? 6. DoyouplantohavesomeonededicatedtoGoogleSitessupport? 7. HowdoyouenvisionthefacultyandstudentsusingGoogleSitesafter implementation? Interviewquestionsfrommeetingwithdistricttechnologyadministrator 1. Explainthecurrenttechnologysituationatthehighschool.Doeseachstudenthave acomputertouse? 2. Doeseachclassroomhavemanycomputers? 3. Howmanycomputerlabsarethere? 4. Whataboutthe1:1initiativebeingpilotedwithChromebooks?Whatifthatwere expandedforallhighschoolstudents? 5. Arestudentsallowedtobringtheirowndevices? 6. Doyoucurrentlyhaveanestimateforthecostofnetworkenhancementsrequiredif eachstudenthadawirelesscapabledevice? 7. Canstudentsusesmartphonesinclasstoaccessonlineresources? 8. Howmanytechniciansdoyouhaveprovidingsupporttofacultyandstudents? 9. WouldyoubeabletohiremoreshouldanLMSbeimplemented? 10. ArethereanyothertechnicalconsiderationsforimplementingGoogleSitesasan LMSthatyousee? Surveyquestionsandresults 1. Haveyoueverusedalearningmanagementsystemaseitherateacherora student?ExamplesincludeBlackboardVistaandMoodle? a. Yes31% b. No55% c. Unsure14% 2. DoyoucurrentlyuseGoogleSitestocreateclassroomwebsites? a. Yes20% b. No80%

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3. Ifproperlytrained,doyouseeyourselfusingGoogleSitestohostallofyourcourse contentonline? a. Yes63% b. No27% 4. Ifyouansweredyestothepreviousquestion,wouldyoupreferthatyourstudentsbe abletoaccessthatcontentwhileinclass? a. Yes66% b. No7% c. Iwouldnotputcontentonline27% 5. Doyouhavecomputerforeverystudentinyourclassroom? a. Yes13% b. No87% 6. WouldyoubeOKwithlettingyourstudentsusetheirsmartphonestoaccessyour coursecontentduringclass? a. Yes21% b. No79% 7. Doyoufindthatyoucanalwaysaccessacomputerlaborlaptopcartwhenyou needthemforyourclass? a. Yes60% b. No25% c. Idontusethelabsorlaptopcarts15%