Technology Maturity Benchmarks

Upon conducting this informal question and answer interview with the school administrator and technology coordinator, I have drawn the following conclusion pertaining to the functionality of technology in this establishment. Demographics for School 51 in District 51 This suburban charter public school is located in Meridian, Idaho and was established in 2005 by teachers and parents who were seeking a better educational solution for their kids. Charter schools are publicly funded like traditional public schools and is governed by an elected board. One unique characteristic of public charter schools is that they are their own district. This school, like most Idaho public charter schools, have a significantly smaller student body population than that of a traditional public school. Below are the graphs that represent this institution.

This school is considered a modified year round school because it has a shorter summer break but extended days off during the school year. According to school reports the student base is predominantly of European descent with the majority of the students coming from working class families and close to of the families either working for a large corporation or owning their own business.

Administrative
Policy Behavioral- Integrated The technology use policy is in place at this school and actively used throughout this institution. The policy was created in 1998, thus should be revised to include current technology. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent The comprehensive policy was adopted by the school board and administration several years ago. Since the adoption, it is required to be read and signed by both students and parents which reflects their agreement to abide by said policy. Planning Behavioral- Islands When planning for technology it seems that the focus is on upcoming projects which are budget driven. The team consists of the Administrator, Business Manager, and the Technology Coordinator. These members meet only when a specific project is needed with minimal connections to other areas. This area lacks vision and importance with this institution. Resource/Infrastructure- Integrated The comprehensive technology plan established is not part of the informal planning meetings and has little to no bearing on planning efforts. Budget Behavioral- Intelligent

The school plans for long-term budgeting with a small budget based on necessities, as well as available funds. Like many other institutions, they seem to plot out a course of action prioritizing as they proceed. At times, other budgets are utilized for upgrades, repairs, and server maintenance. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent The available earmarked funds are designated to lined items in both short and long-term budgeting needs.

Administrative Information Behavioral- Intelligent Administrators, teachers and classified staff have daily access to the electronic management system. All school members utilize this tool daily which creates a near-paperless environment. Some of the functions include attendance, parental communication, student information, and student progress. This system assists the school staff with time management and accurate student assessments. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent Currently this system is available to all personnel with appropriate access.

Curricular
Electronic Information Behavioral-Integrated Both staff and students depend on the use of technology in their daily lessons. The teachers have become quite dependent on using the Internet, presentation software, videos, etc. They see the necessity of expanding their teaching methods to incorporate current technology. Some teachers in the middle school encourage all students to bring in their own mobile device to be used for class assignments. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent The institution has 3 up-to-date computer labs with 33 desktop computers in each. The labs are available to the students daily through technology and computer classes. On many occasions teachers request open lab time to bring their class into a computer lab as an enrichment to their subject area.

Assessment Behavioral- Emergent Aside from the state mandated tests, neither staff nor students use technology for evaluation of student work.

Resource/Infrastructure- Islands The school has made some reporting assessment tools such as Schoolnet available for the staff this past year, but teachers have not yet felt comfortable enough to use them. Currently, the focus is primarily the traditional methods of assessments. Curriculum Integration Behavioral- Islands Teachers would use the technology on a more consistent basis in their classroom if it could be more reliable daily. According to some teachers the equipment seems to glitch during lessons which causes problems during instruction time. Currently, the teachers find creative ways to include it but refuse to solely rely upon it. Resource/Infrastructure-Intelligent A few years ago the district upgraded the Internet speed, 2 of the 3 computer labs, all teacher laptops, issued iPads to all certified staff, and hung projectors and speakers in each class. The teachers have access to related resources for all curricular areas. Teacher Use Behavioral-Integrated Teachers use the technology daily in a variety of methods which would include administrative duties and curriculum enhancement approaches. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent As previously stated, teachers have access in their work environment to all necessary and pertinent technology. Student Use Behavioral- Integrated Students are encouraged to use technology during the school day for class assignments but in some cases the assignments are not dependent upon the use of technology. Whereas, others do depend upon the use of technology and without it the student can not meet the outcome. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent All students have daily access to up-to-date technology on a regular and consistent basis.

Support
Stakeholder Involvement Behavioral- Intelligent All parties (Administrator, Tech Coordinator, Board Rep) involved in the planning process for the schools technology is aware of current and ongoing progress. The school has indicated that these groups have a representative engaged in the process as well.

Resource/Infrastructure-Intelligent All parties (Administrator, Tech Coordinator, Board Rep) involved are present in the planning and implementation process.

Administrative Support Behavioral- Intelligent The school administrator is motivated to assist in moving the school to 21st Century learning and instructing. She takes part in the planning, practice, and implementation. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent The administrator always makes time to attend and discuss technology plans for current and future events and usage. Training Behavioral- Intelligent During scheduled staff training days, the administration includes some sort of technology training for all staff members to take advantage of. All staff members attend the training. Past training has included: Google Docs, Powerschool, network usage, Schoolnet, iPad, etc. Resource/Infrastructure- Integrated The technology coordinator provides extended on-going training for any staff member who request it as well as being available at any time to help with any computer related problems. Technical & Infrastructure Support Behavioral- Intelligent The school tech coordinator makes himself available to address all needs of the school and staff using both formal and informal methods. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent A full time personnel is available to address all technical needs for the staff and school.

Connectivity
Local Area Networking Behavioral-Integrated At this point, the school staff finds many ways to utilize technology in their classroom but in some occasions lack the training and understanding of how to apply such technology. The teachers use the network for backing up documents, storing video, music, etc. They also access network programs, printers, and files. Resource/Infrastructure- Integrated The school is equipped with 3 different sources to receive high-speed networking. They have whats called a load balancer. The load balancer allows multiple Internet sources to enter

the building. It then takes the signals and disperses the load throughout the switches. This school receives 3 different signal from 3 different sources (40 MB DSL, 50 MB DSL and 5MB fiber optic dedicated line). District Area Networking (WAN) Behavioral- Integrated At this point the district finds many ways to utilize technology in their classroom but in some occasions lack the training and understanding on how to apply such technology. The teachers use the network for backing up documents, storing video, music, etc. They also access network programs, printers, and files. Resource/Infrastructure- Integrated The district is equipped with 3 different sources to receive high-speed networking. They have whats called a load balancer. What it does is allow multiple Internet sources to come into the building then it takes the signals and disperses the load. At this the school receives 3 different signal from 3 different sources (40 MB DSL, 5 MB DSL and 5MB fiber optic dedicated line). Internet Access Behavioral-Intelligent Presently, all staff and students use the Internet daily to access files, sites, videos, music, and any other data needs for their daily function in the class. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent The school provides direct high speed Internet access to all building and classrooms. Communication Systems Behavioral- Intelligent Email is an integral part of communication between staff, administration, students, and parents. This form of communication is used on a daily basis and is incorporated into the school routine. Resource/Infrastructure- Intelligent All staff and students from grades 4th-12th have a school generated email account and is always available.

Innovation
New Technologies Behavioral- Integrated Upon speaking to several staff members they seem to accept the new technology and are eager to implement it.

Resource/Infrastructure- Integrated The staff seems to be quite receptive to new forms of technology. Last year they were given iPads to implement into their curriculum. They were then trained on how the iPads work plus given several free and paid apps to use. The teachers found various ways to use the iPad daily. Comprehensive Technologies Behavioral- Integrated The technology at this institution is fairly comprehensive, but lacks more advanced training. Resource/Infrastructure-Intelligent Teachers and staff members utilize the resources available to include video, various apps, and software programs to enhance the learning experience. Conclusion In summary, the school administrator and tech coordinator were very optimistic about the future plans of their schools technology. In the near future, the school is on track to upgrade in areas such as video conferencing, virtual classrooms, and virtual field trips. Some of the areas of improvement which will be addressed in their future plans are: planning, assessment, and curricular integration. This survey has helped the school visualize the immediate shortcomings in terms of the functionality of technology in this establishment. Their goal is to work on a plan to strengthen those areas to enhance the childs learning experience. Finally, the overall rating of this institution based on the Maturity Benchmark Survey Sheet is: Integrated stage with hopes of moving to Intelligent stage in the near future.