TF-VII. Procedures, Policies, Planning and Budgeting for Technology Environments.

Educational technology facilitators promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for P-12 schools.

Ashley Fleming

W520

Interview with: Ken Downs, Technology

Technology Procedures, Planning, & Budgeting

GOAL: To learn more about how your school plans and budgets for technology. How
is technology used and maintained in your building?

TASK: Interview a school technology facilitator or any person within your building that
can provide you with the answers you require.

Requirements:
1. You can video or audio record your interview. If you choose this method, write a brief synopsis of your findings. 2. You may choose to type out the responses of your interviewee.

Questions to ask:
1. How are teachers using the school technology facilities and resources to implement classroom instruction? The teachers at Minors Lane Elementary are using technology as best as they can. Mr. Downs believes that they dont have enough time to practice with the resources and programs and to really get to know them or they would use them even more. Currently teachers are using their district provided tablets, projectors, and SMART boards. They use them mainly like a dry erase board and to watch videos and clips. Some of the teachers are using SMART software to do more advanced things. The functional mentally disabled teacher uses a lot of touch screens, iPads, and reading programs in her classroom. Mr. Downs works to increase the use of technology in the building. 2. What types of productivity tools are used within our building? Mr. Downs reports that the main productivity tool used in our building is the Microsoft Office suite. He admits that some teachers experiment with others. Teachers make particular use of Word, Powerpoint, and Outlook. The administrators and resource teachers use Excel extensively. 3. What software is the most widely used to deliver instruction in the classrooms? Mr. Downs reports that teachers mostly use the SMART technologies software to aid in instruction. It is full of teaching tools from a shade to hide things to a screen capture tool. Teachers in our building also make extensive use of

TF-VII. Procedures, Policies, Planning and Budgeting for Technology Environments. Educational technology facilitators promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for P-12 schools.

Powerpoint to deliver lessons. The special needs classrooms use a special needs curriculum called News 2 You to be a daily reader and social studies lesson. 4. What resources are available for incorporating multimedia into lessons? Our district provides a plethora of technology. Each teacher has a tablet laptop that is assigned to them. Each room has a projector, SMART board, and sound system installed. Each room has the internet available through ports, but also through wireless connections. Each room has two-four computers for student use. In our building there are document cameras, DVD players, and overheads also available for checkout. The district also provides special needs technology specialists who can come to the building to evaluate student needs and supply ECE technology such as switches and programs. 5. What technology is available to the school to use as a management tool? (Video surveillance with software, Id scanners for guests, Grading software, etc.) Mr. Downs reports that he uses a program called AB Tutor to monitor and teach within his technology special area class. This program allows him to see what each student is doing on his or her screen. This allows him to make sure they are on task, but also allows him to give individual help as he can take control and type, use the mouse, etc. on each students screen or on the class as a whole. It is a really neat program. We do not have any of the other types of tools, but many schools in Jefferson County have video surveillance with software that administrators can log onto on their laptops to see and work with footage. Many schools also have grading software, but currently elementary schools still just use the paper report card. 6. What tools are currently being used in your school for evaluation or portfolio purposes? Our school uses a program called CASCADE in order to upload and monitor data and scores. This program provides data on the school and individual student data. You can also use it to set goals and print reports. The district can also pull and input data. Many schools even have a special printer/scanner that allows teachers to feed tests in to be scored and uploaded at one time. 7. Does your school offer any computer based instruction courses?(Online courses) Our school does not offer online course. It does however have a technology special area class taught by Mr. Downs once a week for each class. This occurs in the computer lab.

TF-VII. Procedures, Policies, Planning and Budgeting for Technology Environments. Educational technology facilitators promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for P-12 schools.

8. What strategies are applied for troubleshooting and maintaining various hardware/software configurations? Mr. Downs reports that teachers know to email or tell him when a piece of technology in the building is having problems. He then responds as quickly as he can to fix it. If it is beyond his skill he refers out to the district to come and fix it. 9. Can you explain how our school computer network works? Mr. Downs reports that it is monitored by the district through a variety of servers. There are two departments MIS and Computer Ed. that comes and troubleshoots and configures the network. If anything breaks or goes down, a company called Telecom comes and fixes it. He just has to notify the correct people. 10. What strategies do we have in place to ensure that our staff has support personnel to maximize the use of technology resources by administrators and teachers? Each JCPS school is provided with a STC (School Technology Coordinator). It is this persons job to be the front line of servicing and implementing technology in the building. It is also their responsibility to maintain and keep track of each piece of technology. They answer staff questions, get help from the district when needed and offer school-based professional development as needed or requested. 11. Can you explain the procedures and guidelines that are used in planning and purchasing technology resources? Mr. Downs reports that he must justify the validity and usage for all groups of students in the building to the schools site-based decision making board (SBDM). If they approve they allot the funding for his use and he can then make the purchase. The district also provides new programs and equipment each year. 12. Do you have any recommendations for purchasing instructional software that will support and enhance the school curriculum? Mr. Downs reports that he loves Learning.com. It is an incredible educational resource that each school should make use of. He also suggests Successmaker software and Study Island to use as intervention tools. He is still a big fan of SMART software.

TF-VII. Procedures, Policies, Planning and Budgeting for Technology Environments. Educational technology facilitators promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, plans, and budgets for P-12 schools.

13. Can you discuss the guidelines used for budget planning and management procedures related to educational computing and technology facilities and resources? The district puts out the guidelines for purchasing and managing. He shares them with the staff. The SBDM has the right to use the funding allocated by the district. He submits his case for how it should be used and they approve it or not. 14. Can you discuss the procedures used for troubleshooting and preventive maintenance on the school technology infrastructure? The district routinely sends out updates for all district equipment. The occasional issue arises with the teacher tablets. They are often taken home each day, so they rarely receive the updates. He attempts to update, fix, and monitor all technology, but if problems arise, he calls for district support. 15. What does the school or corporation do to ensure that you continue learning about issues related to management of school facilities, technology resources, and purchases? The district offers technology professional developments throughout the school year and heavily in the summer. It heavily encourages teachers to not only attend, but conduct the professional developments. The district also brings experts in to demonstrate their products. The STC at each school is also supposed to complete training as needed tailored to each school. The largest training is the yearly Technoversity which occurs in the summer. This is a weeklong PD that covers everything from newest technology to digital pictures. Staff can choose whichever sessions that would support their learning.

The interview with Mr. Downs was very interesting. He is a jolly man who clearly loves working with his children. He has been teaching at Minors Lane since 1989. Technology is one of his passions and the students cannot wait to get into his class each week!