Running head: SWOT ANALYSIS 1

Technology SWOT Analysis, Goals, and Plan

Erin Skaff Timmons

University of West Georgia

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Technology SWOT Analysis, Goals, and Plan

I am currently employed as a media specialist for Clayton County Public Schools. In this

district media specialists also serve as the unofficial technology person for the building. That is,

it is the district’s expectation that I attempt to troubleshoot and resolve most technological issues

that arise within the building before submitting a ticket requesting assistance from Technology

Department personnel, as well as teaching new staff how to use our existing technology. I am

responsible for maintenance and basic resolution of problems with printers, scanners, desktop

and laptop computers, projectors, IMM pads, clickers, document cameras, and the IPTV

equipment in our newsroom. Additionally, it is my responsibility to submit technology tickets for

building-wide issues such as network outages.

Strengths

It is my opinion that my biggest strength when it comes to educational technology is that I

taught in the classroom for eight years and during that time I taught myself how to use all the

technology in our building. I think that being self-taught gives me the unique ability to anticipate

what information will be most valuable for getting started and what can wait until a later training

session. Often times the district-level trainers have never been classroom teachers and end up

giving information that is not immediately relevant for teachers or that does not address

immediate concerns. Having been in the classroom also means I can empathize with teachers

whose lesson plans are completely dependent on some piece of properly functioning technology

and how critical it is to get those issues resolved before a printer jam or making the PowerPoint

slides look bigger on the screen. I prioritize by which problems would be most dire for me if I

were the classroom teacher, whereas the district people prioritize by what is under warranty,
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what takes the least amount of time to fix, or by who is going to be in the neighborhood of the

school in need of help and what that particular person’s knowledge base is.

Personally speaking, I think my ability and willingness to teach myself how to use new

resources is a significant strength. If I cannot figure out how to do something, I will call my

husband, who is also quite technologically savvy, or look up a solution online. For whatever

reason, some of the media specialists in our district do not approach technology use with this

same attitude, and so I think the teachers at my school have an advantage over teachers at other

schools in our district.

Threats

Probably the biggest threat for me is that the majority of educational technology jobs on a

district level require some level of computer science training and/or education, which I do not

have. I have looked into getting a second Bachelor’s degree, but from what I have read, the math

classes required for this degree are far beyond what I can do. While this lack of expertise is not

an immediate threat, my career aspirations are limited within the school district.

With regard to educational technology as a whole, in my opinion the biggest threat is the

“we’ve always done it this way” attitude. As our friend Bob Dylan once said, “the times, they are

a changin’” Technology in education is not going to go away. On the contrary, it is going to

continue to evolve and will, hopefully sooner rather than later, revolutionize the educational

system. A refusal to embrace the role of technology in the classroom and to learn how to use the

technology in ways that center on students and benefit their achievement is, to me, a refusal to do

what is best for kids and possibly a death knell to one’s teaching career.

Opportunities
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My biggest, best opportunity is education, which is why I am pursuing this degree and why I

will next pursue a doctoral degree in instructional technology. While I have definite goal in mind

for my career trajectory, and have carefully chosen my classes according to that goal, the

learning opportunities I have in these two degree programs will enhance my practice regardless

of whether I continue along my current path or change paths altogether. I would also like to take

advantage of stand-alone classes offered throughout the community or classes and tutorials found

online to learn more about computer science and programming.

The district in which I work is a Title I district, as well as a Race to the Top district. We

receive a tremendous amount of money from the federal government through those two

programs and, as such, can afford a many technology resources that other districts cannot. I think

this money gives Clayton County the opportunity to advance the infusion of technology into

instruction. A one-to-one student-computer ratio would go a long way towards achieving that

goal. Such an initiative could be disastrous if executed just for the sake of saying, “all of our

students have their own computer.” With careful planning, though, this initiative has the

potential to provide previously impossible learning opportunities for our students. My friends in

the district office tell me that this plan is in the beginning stages, which is exciting, but I think it

will be still a few years before they are truly, adequately prepared to roll it out with success.

Threats

With regard to my personal opportunities, goals, and plan, my biggest threat is a financial

one. Thankfully, I do get nice pay raises after the attainment of each degree, but they do not quite

offset those student loan payments.

The biggest threat to total, effective technology infusion at work, without any changes from

higher-ups, is probably time. More time is needed to train teachers how to use the myriad
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resources available to them. More time is needed to teach students basic computer skills as well

as how to use the aforementioned resources. More time is needed for teachers to include more

than a cursory incorporation of educational technology into their lesson plans and assessments.

Finally, more time is needed for district to plan and execute well thought out technology roll-outs

into the schools.

Aside from time, the other significant threat to total, effective technology infusion is that

educational mandates continue to come down from on high without any thought as to how they

can realistically be put into place in such a way that money is well-spent and resources are used

effectively. This practice obviously needs to stop. Curriculum should no longer be handed to

teachers without the technology already infused. Continuing to mandate curriculum not written

in this matter is a threat to technology infusion and to student achievement.

Goals and Plan

Aside from finishing this degree program, the plan to reach my career goals is to complete the

leadership add-on program and then take year off (six years in school is a long time!). After the

break, I will pursue a doctoral degree in instructional technology. It is my intention to either

move into a district-level position in the technology department, or, ideally, to gain employment

with a curriculum writing company (online textbooks maybe) and work in curriculum design that

incorporates extensive use of instructional technology. I think that my expertise as a reading

specialist, coupled with the expertise I’ll soon have as an instructional technology specialist, are

an ideal combination for writing the kind of curriculum our students need for success in our

technology-driven world.