Evaluation

Research Site Context. I chose a pseudo name of Midland for this rural town. Midland, Idaho proudly claims to be the seed heart of America and was founded in 1912. It is a small farming community in Southwest Idaho near the Snake River Valley. The population of the city of Midland is 513, according to the U.S. Census Bureau for 2010. The nearest city with a population over 50,000 is Nampa. Those who are not farmers usually commute to Nampa or Boise for employment making the estimated median household income in 2009 averaging $31,205. Fee and reduced meals qualifications for 2003 and 2008-09 were at a high of 64%. Midland School District is made up of one Junior/ Senior High school (Grades 7-12) and one Elementary school (K-6) with a total enrollment of 702 students. According to the Idaho State Department of Education report card for 2009-2010, Midland has missed the goal for improvement in Proficiency for Reading and Math. Recent severe budget cuts have dissolved the Junior High, the music program and reduced the school week to 4 days. The district is facing serious decisions amidst budget cuts. The budget cuts led to the decision, by the school board, to shift to a 4-day school week. This change also initiated other important shifts including a new hybrid schedule of classes and dedicated collaboration time and changed teacher planning time. Administrative Policy has been ranked in the behavioral category as Emergent and in the Resource/Infrastructure as Islands. The new Superintendent is a big technology supporter and is beginning the process of change in this direction to establish policies and begin more formal and consistent use of technology. Steps are being taken in the infrastructure area but behavior has not developed consistency yet.

Planning has been ranked in the behavioral category as Emergent and in the Resource/Infrastructure as Islands. Ironically, budget changes are leading to more technology planning as classes become hybrid. Several teachers are not being retained and many courses will instead be offered online. Budget has been ranked in the behavioral and Resource/Infrastructure categories as Emergent. There currently is no budget or very little budget for new technology but there are plans to change this through requests for funding. There are already several computer labs in place in the high school. Administrative Information has been ranked in Behavioral areas as Emergent. In Resource/Infrastructure it was ranked as Islands although barely rising beyond the Emergent stage. Only a few, such as two, administrators utilize systems. Additional resources are available but more staff would need to be trained and be supportive of the system. With new leadership I believe this is possible.

Curricular Electronic Information has been ranked in behavioral as Islands and in Resources/Infrastructure as Islands. Students and teachers daily utilize computers and email for communication and even some basic lesson assignments. Assessment has been ranked as Emergent in both categories. It was not evident that Assessment utilizing technology in any form was occurring. There was discussion about future testing, and quizzing being offered through online assessments. Curricular Integration has been ranked in both categories as Islands. Specific teachers were passionate about technology integration and some subject areas, such as English, seemed to integrate technology use often. Some teachers appeared to have little to zero integration. One

teacher mentioned taking the students to the library in the beginning of the year so the media specialist could teach them how to research using computers. The integration seemed specific to a teachers own ideas of technology, good or bad. Teacher Use has been ranked as Islands in the area of Behavioral and Islands in the area of Resource/Infrastructure. Every teacher has a computer, printer, scanner, and smartboard available in their classroom. Some teachers used them extensively while others seemed to use them only for email. Student Use has been ranked as Islands in both categories. This seemed dependent on the subject area. There were several computer elective courses which the majority of students attended.

Support Stakeholder Involvement has been ranked in the behavioral as Islands and in the resource/infrastructure as Emergent. Many groups were aware but just not engaged in the process. More startling was the lack of representation of groups in the actual planning process. Again, new leadership was striving to change this. Administrative Support has been ranked in both categories as Islands. Nothing formal seemed to exist for implementation but some key administrators carried the load. No consistency whatsoever. Training has been ranked as Emergent. No system currently exists beyond a monthly newsletter which list websites, conferences, and articles for support. Technical/ Infrastructure Support has been ranked in behavioral as Emergent and in Technical/Infrastructure as behavioral as well. The technical support seems to be ask the computer teacher, a techie kid, or try a google search for help.

Connectivity Local Area Networking ranked as Emergent in Behavioral. This category was chosen mainly because the use by teachers is so sporadic. In the Resource/Infrastructure type I have ranked it as Integrated due to the high-speed networking and access. This appeared so strangely to me on the spreadsheet as it stood alone in this category. There certainly is potential. District Area Networking I did not rank as I do not have that information available. It is a very small district and I could guess no service exists. Internet Access ranked as Islands in the area of behavior not surprisingly given what I have stated previously. However, in Resource/Infrastructure it is ranked Integrated because direct LAN access exists in some locations. Communication Systems ranked as Islands in behavioral and resource/Infrastructure. Email is used often by most teachers and administrators but I am not sure it is significant. The real communication seems to take place in person. Some students use email depending on their course schedule. For example, students with computer class electives use email accounts.

Innovation New Technologies ranked in behavioral as Islands and in Resource/Infrastructure as Emergent. I am being generous in choosing islands for behavioral as there are a few passionate teachers open to new technologies. The computer department, surprisingly rejects new technologies as difficult to maintain, train, support etc. Leadership has a different philosophy. Comprehensive Technologies ranked both behavioral and resource/infrastructure as Islands. Scanners are readily available and each classroom has smartboards. For the most part smartboards are used but in widely different manners depending on teachers level of expertise.

Conclusion I would conclude this school to be in the Emergent System stage based on the fact that as I analyzed the results of the survey the majority of the time the individual categories aligned with the descriptions of an emergent stage as follows: Lack of formal support when using computing technology for instruction No formal plans, policies or procedures exist to ensure the efficient and appropriate acquisition or use of technology throughout the Institution Computers are used sporadically throughout the Institution Institution wide coordination to ensure grade level and program level access is absent Formal support for teacher training is minimal I am hopeful that they can move into the Islands of Technology stage soon as they have new leadership and several experienced and technology passionate teachers.