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
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.
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.
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