School Technology Environment Evaluation

School Pseudonym: Public School 000 Elementary (PS000) Your Name or Group Name: Rashell Clarke (IOTA Group)

About Public School 000

Public School 000 Elementary is one of over 1,700 schools in governed by The New York City Department of Education. This elementary school has an enrollment of about 1,500 students with 180-200 students in Kindergarten - sixth grade and about 60 students in pre-kindergarten. The school is a Title I school. Some relevant statistics for PS 000 includes: 55% of students are eligible for free school lunch and 15% are eligible for reduced-price lunch The schools student body is comprised of 50% of Hispanic/Latino students, 45% Caucasian, 4% Asian and 1% African American 10% of students have limited English proficiency In the school year 2011-2012, more than 50% of students in grades 3-6 passed the New York States mandated English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science tests

Administrative
The Administrative category includes Policy, Planning, Budget and Administrative Information criteria. Projects that focus on this area will impact administrators and staff the most.

Policy
Behavioral: Integrated Administrators and many teachers embrace technology and use technology in various ways. Some teachers are new to the available technologies and use technology minimally while others with experience use the tools in innovative ways. Resource/Infrastructure: Island A formal technology policy does not exist. The value and intent for technology use is not clearly articulated. For instance, the school purchases interactive whiteboards every year and install them in classrooms, and although teachers are trained, they are not required to use them. A clear rationale for purchasing these equipment is not articulated or documented.

Planning
Behavioral: Emergent At PS 000, there exists an informal technology planning process. Administrators will sometimes meet with a technology teacher to discuss purchasing technology; however, technology acquisition and use are mostly project isolated and/or budget-driven. For example, interactive whiteboards are purchased based on the quantity the budget or grants will allow for. Likewise, some educational software purchased for specific groups of students (e.g., students in Special Education) are planned for informally and acquired for a single purpose (e.g., improving test scores). Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent

In regards to resource and infrastructure, the school does not have a formal technology plan. The schools everyday operation is focused on data and data collection and technology acquisition is usually tied into this focus.

Budget
Behavioral: Integrated There exists a high priority technology budgeting process, based on regulations from the New York City Department of Education. As a result of New York Citys schools having a yearly budget, which fluctuates annually, there is no long term budgeting. Like many schools in the city, PS 000 has to spend their budget by the end of each school year or lose what remains. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated A specific technology budget is provided as well as line items in other budgets, such as the schools Library budget.

Administrative Information
Behavioral: Integrated Administrative systems, such as e-mail, grading and attendance, are utilized by most staff members. However, some paperless systems are still in place. While administrators have access to electronic attendance, teachers still report attendance and report card grades on paper. Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent Administrative systems are available to administration and/or a few staff only. For example, although all staff members have access to e-mail accounts, not all staff have access to the schools electronic attendance system or digital evaluation tools..

Curricular
The Curricular category is composed of Curriculum Integration, Assessment, Teacher Use and Student Use criteria. Projects that focus on this area will impact teachers and students the most.

Electronic Information
Behavioral: Integrated Students and staff are very dependent upon information resources and utilize them on a regular basis. This is more evident in the upper grades (3-6) but is used school-wide. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated While resources are fairly comprehensive and provide depth and diversity, access is only available to most students. While more than 75% of the student body have access to these resources, not all students have regular access. This is due in part to insufficient reliable or working technology, teachers willingness to make use of what is available and the logistics of students accessing mobile technology.

Curriculum Integration
Behavioral: Island Curriculum is somewhat dependent on technology and used in multiple ways. Although there are some teachers whose curriculum activities are dependent on the use of technology, there are other teachers who minimally integrate technology in their curriculum.

Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent Technology and related resources are available for all curricular areas.

Assessment
Behavioral: Island Technology is used by many of the staff and some of the students for the evaluation of work and self assessment. For example, in the upper grades, students and teachers make use of tools, like ACUITY, to gauge students performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics. Even with this availability, it is not used by all students or staff or used on a regular basis. This tool, or similar tool, is not available in the lower grades. Resource/Infrastructure: Island Electronic tools are rarely used for assessment as it is often difficult to schedule whole classes to use the computer labs or limited mobile laptop carts.

Teacher Use
Behavioral: Integrated Technology is used on a daily basis by teachers for administration and curriculum. All teachers and administrators use e-mail to communicate with each other and record some evaluation data. Most teachers use technology resources to either present or enhance their lesson, prepare for their lesson and/or require students to use the resource as part of the learning process. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent All teachers have access to appropriate technology in their work area. Although they do not always make use of these resources, teachers have access to computers, iPads, the Internet, interactive whiteboards, digital document cameras, educational software and video conferencing tools.

Student Use
Behavioral: Island Most of the students at PS 000 use technology often, but in limited ways. Many students have computer classes for at least half the school year but, outside computer classes, most students use technology for basic word processing and research. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated Most students have consistent and regular access to appropriate technologies. This happens as a result of weekly computer class offered to most students for at least half of the school year.

Support
The Support category is composed of Stakeholder Involvement, Administrative Support, Training, and Technical/Infrastructure Support criteria. Projects that focus on this area will impact teachers and support staff the most.

Stakeholder Involvement
Behavioral: Emergent

Some stakeholders are aware of the planning and implementation procedure, but few are engaged in the process. For example, administrators, technology teachers and, sometimes, a teaching coach might meet to plan for the implementation of technology use. However, this does not happen on a regular basis and classroom teachers or parent representatives are not always aware of or involved in this process. Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent As stated above, few groups are represented in the planning and implementation process. The implementation process is usually in the hands of administrators and/or the technology teachers.

Administrative Support
Behavioral: Island There exists a peripheral involvement by the administration in planning, practice, and implementation of technology. Administrators sometimes purchase technology without formally consulting other stakeholders without being involved in or sharing expectations for implementation. There is not a clear process for documenting the use of technology. Resource/Infrastructure: Island There exists minimal formal administration, time and support allocated to the planning and implementation process. Due to budget-spending deadlines, technology is often purchased quickly, without much planning for their use and implementation.

Training
Behavioral: Integrated Most of the staff members participate in technology training activities. Teachers are rarely all required to be trained; however, most staff members do participate in technology training. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated On-going teacher training is provided by site and district personnel throughout the school year, mostly on a needs-basis. Teachers usually request and are offered training throughout the school year.

Technical/Infrastructure Support
Behavioral: Intelligent All staff utilize formal and informal support to find help efficiently. Some teachers request training from the technology teachers throughout the school year during Tech Support periods available daily. A few teachers will informally meet with support staff for technical support. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated Formal technical assistance is provided through staff release time, hired help and formal district support.

Connectivity
The Connectivity category involves Local Area Networking, District Area Networking, Internet Access and Communication Systems criteria. Projects that focus on this area will impact all segments of the institution.

Local Area Networking

Behavioral: Island All staff and students at PS 000 use available networks often, but use is often unsophisticated and limited. There are staff members who do use available network in sophisticated ways (e.g., the librarian hosts video conferencing with some of her students) but most staff members use the technology minimally. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent Although networking is comprehensive and expandable for data, voice, and video, connectivity is sporadic. This often negatively influences how the staff use the technology.

District Area Networking

Behavioral: Island Although some staff members use district services extensively, most staff use these services in very traditional and basic manners. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated District area networking infrastructure with dedicated, high-speed lines and several data services are available. However, connectivity is sporadic.

Internet Access
Behavioral: Integrated Most staff and students use the Internet frequently. This use is integrated into the curriculum. Teachers use the Internet for professional development, to create or share their lessons and use it as part of their lesson presentation. Students often use the Internet for research, collaborating and blogging. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent Direct Internet access is available in all locations at PS 000. However, Internet connectivity is sometimes sporadic and slow.

Communication Systems
Behavioral: Intelligent E-mail is an integral part of the school learning and support communications. Teachers and administrators communicate via e-mail regularly and teachers often use e-mail to communicate with parents. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated (for staff only), Island (for students) E-mail is only available to all staff. E-mail is not available to students.

Innovation
The Innovation category is composed of New Technologies and Comprehensive Technologies criteria. Projects that focus on this area will impact teachers and students the most.

New Technologies

Behavioral: Island The application or acceptance of new technologies isn't always encouraged by administrators for fear of overwhelming staff. New technologies are accepted by many staff members, although opportunities for experimentation are limited. Teachers are often overwhelmed by data collection, so new technologies that do not lend themselves to this purpose are not always quickly adopted. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated Implementation is usually slow or abandoned due to networking issues, budget cuts and/or not being required to use the technology. New technologies are readily accepted by the staff with moderate implementation.

Comprehensive Technologies
Behavioral: Integrated Technology is fairly comprehensive but lacks more advanced techniques. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated Available technology is used but equipment has not reached full potential. There are teachers who use the technology in a sophisticated manner but many staff members still use the technology in a basic manner.

Summary
Based on the result of the Technology Maturity Model survey, PS 000 is described as being in the islands of technology stage. The technology is in place and most teachers are using the technology, especially for curriculum integration. There is institutional and school sponsored training. Also, there exists use of computers at one or more grade levels and program levels on a regularly scheduled basis through access to formal computer class. Technology has budgetary visibility at the the school and the instructional delivery system is somewhat dependent on technology. According to the Technology Maturity Benchmark, this places the school at the island stage. However, administrators need to get all stakeholders involved in a formal technology use planning. Formal plans, policies and procedures do not exist to facilitate the optimal use of technology in both instructional and administrative areas throughout the school. Most teachers are obviously willing to use the technology as they request training. This shows their interest in using the technology available to them. Despite this interest and technology accessibility, the technology will not be used to its maximum potential without a clear technology use plan and a formal implementation process. A school-wide technology use plan to help guide educators on how technology fits into education and provide stakeholders with justification as to why technology is vital. What has been happening at PS 000 is, due to onslaught of technology acquisition, there is little on how the technology will be maintained. This has led to technology not being used because it is unreliable or requiring parts that the budget does not allow for. There needs to be a plan that states the schools long-term goal, provides directions for attaining that goal and helps the school clearly understand the role of technology in the schools educational vision.