Anthro-Tech Assignment

 Understanding Your School’s Technology Culture

I. Technological Capacity and Capabilities

1.   What kind of technology is available to you?

I have a classroom computer/SmartBoard, portable laptop cart for math classes, access to library/computer labs when needed

2.   What internet capability is available?

Our school has wireless internet-Safari and Firefox browsers.

3.   How is computer and internet access provided? Dispersed computers? 1 to 1? Labs? Can students use their own equipment?  All of the above

4.   What kinds of filters are in place, and how do they restrict what you might want to do?

The servers block popular sites like YouTube from student use, but teachers have access.  Educators can override filters with passwords for needed sites. 

5.   If resources like social media are blocked, are there “intranet” options? Are there ways to get special permission to use blocked resources?  Yes, and yes

6.   Who has the specialty gear (cameras, scanners, etc.) and can you use it?

We do have specialty gear (camera gear) it is used by the digital media productions class, taught by Mark Woodward.  Depending on their schedule

and rules, they do have equipment that may or may not be available for

use.   If you are looking for something I would

be happy to help you track things down for a project

7.   What is your best sense of the technology that your students have at home? To what extent can you expect them to have access to technology and internet access outside school to work on school projects? 

Probably 75% of students have web access at home. 90% of them have web access on their cell phones.  The library lab is available to them before and after school each day.   The public library computers are available six days a week.

II. Leadership and Policies

8.   Does your school have a mission statement and an educational technology plan? If so, when were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog. 

 You can find our tech plan and mission statement at:

http://www.kgbsd.org/Page/2601.  It is updated every three years.  I believe it is up next year for review.

9.   Are missions and plans used and generally valued at school? Do you use them?  I’ve never heard of one.

10.      Do the missions and plans address the issues of digital citizenship, or of developing a balanced view of technology adoption?

11.      Is technology well-funded at your school? Do you see signs of technology rotation, professional development and on-going maintenance of existing equipment? Yes, and yes

12.      Does your school have Internet use and parent permission policies? When were they last updated? Yes.  Last updated 2012.

http://www.kgbsd.org/cms/lib3/AK01001769/Centricity/Domain/112/OFFICIAL%20ACCEPTABLE%20USE%20AND%20INTERNET%20ACCESS%20PERMISSION%20LETTER.pdf

13.      Has your school adopted or established competencies for students? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.  Yes.  Updated this year.  (attached to email)

14.      Who are the ed tech leaders within your school? Does your school have an ed tech committee? Is it active? What are its responsibilities?   Steve Thomas, Chasina Worman.  No committee.

15.      Who are the student leaders in technology? Are there programs that allow them to use their expertise to help teachers and other students? Are there special programs that allow them to pursue their interests?  Mr. Thomas’s class, Mrs. Robb’s class....Mr. Thomas’s students repair computers and equipment.  Mrs. Robb’s class updates the school website.  We also have a Robotics club.

16.      Are community members involved in regards to using technology in your school?  They help with websites, sports streaming activities, video production

17.      If something breaks, who fixes it? How do you contact them? Are corrective and on-going maintenance well supported?   Building rep, then IT dept.  Email, work order.  Yes, they are.

Reflection

In a few paragraphs, summarize your assessment of your school as a technology culture by addressing the following points:

·      What is the current status of your school as a technology culture?  Every class uses some form of technology. Email is the primary form of communication among staff, and all grades are communicated online.  Several of our course offerings are online courses.

·      What is the overall attitude about and level of support concerning the use of technology at your school?

o   Technology is critical for education, and our district recognizes that.  We have a good level of tech support, and a lot of available professional development in-house.

·      What areas are doing well?

o   Lots of workshops to broaden tech skills

·      Which need improvement?

o   Better communication with building reps/tech department when there is a technology issue

·      How can you become involved?

Ketchikan Education Association

·      If you had a budget and authority, what would you do to improve your school’s technology culture?

o   I would assign more than one building rep for technology issues-when you have only one, he’s spread thin with his own work obligations and the demands of the entire building.  I would ensure all new teachers had document cameras, projectors, laptops, printer access, and Smartboards from the first day of school and beyond.

Reflection:

Every class in our building uses some form of technology. Email is the primary form of communication among staff, and all grades are communicated to students and parents online.  Several of our course offerings are online-only.  Technology is critical for education, and our district recognizes that.  We have a good level of tech support, and a lot of available professional development in-house.

Probably 75% of students have web access at home. 90% of them have web access on their cell phones.  The library lab is available to them before and after school each day.   The public library computers are available six days a week, so every student has some level of web access.  Various teachers and study halls also have internet access for students.  This teacher has found that there is plenty of convenient technology for students, but new faculty members have to search a bit harder for resources.  Printer access, laptops, projectors, and other tech items are not just waiting in the classroom.  These items have to be tracked down and are not always easy to obtain.