Running head: TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 1

Ashley Mazen

ET-680

Technology Planning Paper

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 2

Technology Planning

Relay Elementary school is located in Halethorpe, Maryland. There are 660 students that

attend Relay from grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. There are a wide range of

experienced teachers who work at Relay. There are teachers who have been teaching for 25

years and teachers who are in their first year teaching.

Relay is located in Baltimore County. Within the last 5 years Baltimore County has

implemented one on one devices for all grades except kindergarten. Kindergarten received a

set of six classroom devices. My school has also received an ActivPanel in each classroom. An

ActivPanel is essentially an interactive whiteboard. There is also a push in Baltimore County for

a Makerspace room in each school and a focus on coding being implemented in the classroom.

Needless to say technology and innovation have made a swift entrance into many schools in

Baltimore County.

The push for technology in Baltimore County coding devices are definitely an innovation

worth investing in. Coding devices promote teamwork and problem solving skills. This allows

students to gain knowledge and skills they will need when they are no longer in school. This

also allows students to use technology they will exposed to in many different 21 st century jobs.

Perceived Attributes

There are 5 different perceived attributes when incorporating a new innovation such as

coding devices into a school. They include trialability, observability, relative advantage,

complexity and compatibility.

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 3

Trialability refers to the ability to be able to test something out. At Relay we have a

beautiful new Makerspace room where teachers can sign their class up to use the space or for

teachers to use during their free time. At the beginning of the year we had a brief professional

development on coding devices. The specific coding devices we use at Relay are Ozobots, code

and go mouse and blue bots. We have 12 Ozobots, 10 code and go mice and 6 blue bots. After,

the brief training we got the opportunity to test out these coding devices in the Makerspace

room. A lot of teachers choose to test them out during their planning time. Our STAT teacher

was available to answer questions if any teachers needed to know how to implement the

coding devices or if they needed to know how to use them.

The second perceived attribute is observability. This is when teachers can see results.

Coding devices encourage students to problem solve and collaborate with one another. You will

have students who have never collaborated or students who have very little experience

working with others to solve a problem. You might see some observable results right away with

some students but for other students it might take more time to see results. After many

teachers at Relay worked with the coding devices we discovered that results depended on the

teacher’s population of students. One thing every teacher observed though was the joy

students got from using the coding devices. This leads to an enhanced willingness to learn.

Relative advantage has to do with whether the innovation is better than the status quo.

When students leave school we want them to have skills on how to work with others to

complete tasks. That is what a lot of jobs require and coding devices allow students to obtain

these skills. A lot of teachers feel like our curriculum now doesn’t have as many opportunities
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 4

for students to collaborate to solve problems. Coding devices allows students to be able to

obtain these skills.

Complexity is the fourth perceived attribute. This is how easy or hard teachers find a

certain innovation to be. The good thing is that coding devices are hands on. People learn at

different speeds and some people are more intuitive when it comes to using technology. This is

the same for the teachers at Relay. At Relay teachers can explore with these devices and

become comfortable with them in their own time. We also have a STAT teacher who is willing

to teach people how to use these devices. She will also be another set of hands in the room if

you need assistance teaching students how to use them.

The final perceived attribute is compatibility. This means how easy a teacher finds

incorporating an innovation into their daily routine. At Relay, our STAT teacher works with

teachers to help them use coding devices within lessons they are already teaching. For example

the STAT teacher created posters for the kindergarten team with different pictures. The

students needed to draw a card and program their blue bot to move to the picture on the

poster that rhymed with the card in their hand. This is a normal activity the kindergarten

teachers would do at Relay. They just used the blue bots to enhance the lesson. Having a

wonderful STAT teacher at Relay that helps create resources really helps with compatibility.

Ely’s Eight Conditions

Ely’s eight conditions predict the likely hood of a software program being implemented

in a school setting based on whether the eight conditions are met. (Ely, n.d.). The eight

conditions include dissatisfaction with the status quo, knowledge and skills, resources, time,
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 5

rewards, participation, commitment, and leadership. Here are the eight conditions in reference

to the using coding devices at Relay Elementary School. I will also be rating my school on a

scale of 1-10 on how successfully I think they are meeting Ely’s 8 conditions when implementing

coding devices. 1 will be the lowest score and 10 will be the highest score.

At Relay there are always teachers concerned that the curriculum is not preparing

students for the working world and not preparing them for 21 st century jobs. This is a clear

dissatisfaction with the status quo. Coding devices allow students to work together in a team to

enhance their problem solving skills. By working together to solve problems this is preparing

students to leave the school house and have the skills necessary to be effective at their job.

Coding devices also expose and give students experience with technology that is very prevalent

in today’s society. My rating for dissatisfaction with status quo is an 8.

At Relay the STAT teacher recruited a teacher from every grade level to test out

different coding devices in the Makerspace room. After other teachers saw the different

excitement around the coding devices they started reaching out to the STAT teacher to set up a

time to have their students use the coding devices. The STAT teachers has also done

professional developments and one on one trainings with different teachers in their free time.

This is allowing the teachers at Relay to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to implement

the coding devices in their classroom. My rating teacher’s knowledge and skills on coding

devices is a 5.
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 6

At Relay there are 12 Ozobots, 10 code and go mice and 6 blue bots. There may not be a

class set for everybody but the resources are definitely available at Relay. My rating for the

resources available is 6.

Teachers at Relay have the opportunity to experiment with the coding devices at their

leisure. All of the coding devices can be tested out during a teacher’s planning time. Our STAT

teacher will also work with a teacher one on one to help them learn about the different coding

devices and how to implement them. There has also been resources created by our STAT

teacher to help eliminate time teachers will have to spend on creating different resources for

the coding devices. My rating for time available is 3.

At Relay there are not really any rewards or incentives for using the coding devices. The

only reward is the knowledge that you know you are doing a good job and making a positive

change. My rating for my school is a 2.

Participation in using coding devices is encouraged at Relay. Our administration went

out and got a set of blue bots because the teachers at Relay wanted them after using the

Ozobots and code and go mice. The STAT teacher also spends a lot of time creating resources

for the coding devices and encouraging other teachers to use them. Our STAT teacher even

teaches when teachers use the coding devices. She will either come to your room to help you or

she will go to the Makerspace to help you. About half of the teachers at Relay have some

experience with the coding devices. My rating for participation is a 5.

There is absolutely support if a teacher wants to try out the coding devices at Relay. The

administration has shown commitment by purchasing more code devices after teachers
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 7

showed interest in using them. Our STAT teacher is also reaching out to teachers all the time via

email offering support to anybody who would like to try the coding devices out. About half of

the teachers at Relay have also shown that they want to learn more about the coding devices

and are trying to implement them in their classrooms. The rating I would give for commitment

on the part of the leaders at Relay and the teachers that have tried the coding devices is a 7.

Leadership is evident at my school because the administration has purchased many

different coding devices and have appointed the STAT teacher as the contact person for

anybody who would like to use the coding devices. Our STAT teacher sends out many emails

about using the coding devices and what resources we need created in order to implement

them. The rating I give for leadership buy in is an 8.

At Relay we have already started the process of using coding devices and are working

hard to meet Ely’s 8 conditions. The two conditions I think Relay could work on to achieve a

higher rating are time availability and rewards and incentives. I cannot add any more time to

the day but I could see if Baltimore County Public Schools are having any professional

developments throughout the school year during the day. Teachers could get subs and attend

trainings on how to use coding devices in their classroom. I could also see if they are having any

paid trainings after school hours or during the summer. Once I find these professional

developments I could send them via email to my school to see if anybody is willing to sign-up

and attend. My administration is also very supportive of implementing coding devices in the

classroom. I could see if they would allow me to hold a professional development on coding

devices during our mandatory facility meetings. Hopefully this would lessen the burden of using

free time to learn about these coding devices. Another one of Ely’s conditions I think our
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 8

school is struggling with is providing rewards and incentives. To fix this issue I could see if the

school is willing to purchase gift cards and anybody who attends coding meetings could get

their named entered in to win a gift card. I know they have done that throughout Baltimore

County in order for people to take surveys. I would have to get permission from my

administration before I did that though. The other incentive I could offer is different resources. I

could give teachers different printouts or different materials I have made if they come to the

coding meetings. I am hoping these strategies will help us meet all of Ely’s 8 conditions.

ACOT Model

Besides Ely’s 8 conditions it is important for Relay to understand the ACOT model and

what stages teachers are in. You cannot blink your eyes and expect teachers to move up two

levels on the ACOT model. It is important to assist teachers in gradually moving up on the ACOT

model. There are 5 stages in the ACOT model. Here are the five stages of the ACOT model from

the least innovative to the most innovative. The ACOT model includes the entry level, adoption,

adaptation, appropriation, and invention. I am going to go through and explain what each level

is and I am going to rate my school on where it stands on the ACOT model. 10 will represent

everybody having mastered this stage all the way down to 1 where nobody has mastered it.

The first stage is the entry level stage. This is where a teacher has had very little

experience using technology in their classrooms. Everybody at Relay is past this stage. We have

had 1 to 1 devices for many years now and interactive whiteboards are very prevalent in many

classrooms. I rate my school at a 10 with the entry level stage.

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 9

Adoption is where teachers have started to incorporate technology but they still pretty

much teach the same way. There may even be some behavior issues while incorporating the

new technology because the teacher does not know how to manage the new technology with

behaviors. I see this a little bit throughout my school not with all technology but when new

programs are being introduced. For example I have seen teachers struggle with signing students

into MAP testing. This leads to their students’ misbehaving because the teacher is trying to

figure out the program and manage the class at the same time. I rate my school an 8 for

adoption.

The third stage is adaptation, where teachers start to master certain technologies. This

is where you start to see student achievement rise because teachers and students know how to

effectively use the technology. I would rate my school a 7 at this level. Many teachers at my

school have been using technology for so long that they can use it effectively.

Appropriation is the fourth stage. This where technology is second nature for teachers

to use. Teachers at this stage probably think to themselves what would they do without

technology. I would rate my school a 5 with appropriation.

The final stage is invention. This is where future change happens. I know a lot of

teachers at my school like to try new technologies out and focus on the new technologies

Baltimore County wants us to focus on. I am unaware if anybody is actively working on future

change. I would rate my school a 1 because I am not even entirely sure what the invention

stage would look like.

Examples of teachers at my school in different stages

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 10

Entry Level- There is no teacher at the entry level in my school with technology as a

whole. Everybody at my school except the STAT teacher is at the entry level for incorporating

coding devices. This is the first year we have the coding devices and teachers are just starting to

test them out. Some teachers are working with the STAT teacher to use the coding devices in

small group but it is very basic stuff they are doing.

Adoption Level- At Relay we have a wide range of teachers. We have teachers who have

been working for 30 years and teachers where this is their first year teaching. The first teacher I

am going to discuss in the adoption level of the ACOT model. She has been teaching for 25

years. While this teacher gets very excited for new technology and innovation she very rarely

incorporates it into her daily lessons. She mainly uses her interactive whiteboard to play

YouTube videos and Brainpop jr. videos. Anytime she needs to use the devices for her students

to do any type of testing, she spends about an hour trying to figure out how to get her students

to take the test. The she finally asks for help. At this point the students are very restless and in

no mood to take a test. After many attempts her students can get onto Dreambox (individual

math game) without issue now. She is a great example of a teacher who wants to use

technology but doesn’t really have great management with. She tends to stick with traditional

lessons.

Adaptation level- Probably half the teachers at Relay are in the adaptation level of the

ACOT model. There is a teammate of mine who is a good example of the adaptation level. This

is the first year this teacher has had an interactive whiteboard in her classroom. She uses it

frequently to teach ELA lessons and says she has seen more improvement in her students this

year. She is getting more comfortable using the interactive board every day. The only thing is
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 11

she has never made her own flipcharts for the interactive whiteboard. All the flipcharts are

from Baltimore County or given to her by our teammates. That means she doesn’t always use

the interactive whiteboard if the resources are not there for her. She is very comfortable using

the 1 to 1 devices and becoming more comfortable using other technologies because she sees

the advantages.

Appropriation level- This is the level where I feel like teachers wouldn’t know what to do

if they didn’t have technology. There is a teacher I used to work with who would create

flipcharts for every single math and ELA lesson. She is the one who taught me how to use the

software to make flipcharts and she used to share a lot of resources with me. She really saw the

benefits to using technology and different innovations in the classroom.

Invention level- I do not know anybody who is in the invention level. There is no one I

know working on something that Baltimore County will focus on in the future.

My hope is to have as many teachers as possible move from the entry level with coding

devices to the adoption level. I want teachers to move from testing these coding devices out

during their free time to trying it out in their classrooms. I know things may not go perfectly the

first time but with time and practice the students will start to understand the process and be

able to to manage working with the coding devices.

Stakeholders

In order for any new technology or innovation to be successful in a school there needs

to be key people who are going to be responsible for helping move innovation forward. After

reading The Guidebook for Developing an Effective Technology Plan (Guidebook for Developing
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 12

an Effective Instructional Technology Plan, 1996) the key people for implanting coding devices

at Relay are the administration, the STREAM committee, the STAT teacher, the parents and the

students. We call these key people, stakeholders.

It is important for the administration to be stakeholders because there needs to be

administer buy-in if they are going to purchase coding devices, allow for professional

developments and allow for coding nights to be done at school. Without the administration,

implementing the coding devices would fail. When implementing a new innovation it is very

hard for one person to do it on their own so that is why you need a committee. At Relay the

committee who works to incorporate the coding devices is the STREAM committee. This is the

committee that helps keep a timeline and everyone on track for using the coding devices. This

year they have already held a coding night at Relay to get parents and students excited about

using the coding devices. Parent and student buy-in is important because the more parents and

students are excited the more they want to learn and the happier they are. It is always nice to

have the support of parents and students. The last stakeholder that is very important is the

STAT teacher. At Relay she is the person who is responsible for creating resources for the

coding devices, she helps teachers learn how to use the coding devices and she also teams with

others to help make lessons with coding devices go more smoothly.

How to keep stakeholders involved

It is important to keep stakeholders involved. In order to keep stakeholders involved you

need a plan of action and a timeline. This way stakeholders can attend meetings and events

that you have planned. Things tend to dissolve if there isn’t communication or goals. A timeline
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 13

would allow stakeholders to know what’s happening and when. It also shows that you have

goals that you want met. If stakeholders are going to invest their time and resources they want

to know that it is being taken seriously.

Ideal Committee vs. My Committee

In the article The Guidebook for Developing an Effective Technology Plan (Guidebook for

Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan, 1996), it states who should be on the ideal

technology committee. They believe students, parents, community members, faculty members,

administrators, business persons, laypersons, librarians, administrative support personnel, and

technology professionals should be on a technology plan committee. The committee I would put

together includes students, parents, community members (parents), faculty members (STREAM

committee), administers, laypersons (parents and students), librarians (STREAM committee),

administrative support personal (STAT teacher) and technology professional (STAT teacher and

the technology support person on the STREAM committee). The only person that I do not have

on my stakeholders list that differs from the ideal list is a business person. The reason I do not

have a business person on my committee is because I do not know what role they would play or

how they would be beneficial to helping incorporate coding devices at Relay. I would be open to

adding a business person to the committee if I found a need.

My committee and Ely’s 8 conditions

The stakeholders will help make sure that we are meeting some of Ely’s 8 conditions. It

always helps when the people at the top believe in what you are doing. That is why having the

administration and administration personal as stakeholders will allow us to show that leadership
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 14

is evident. If the administration buys in they will make sure that we have the recourses we need

as well. Knowledge and skills is another one of Ely’s conditions. That’s why it is important to have

the STAT teacher and STREAM committee involved. They can help spread the knowledge and

skills to other staff members. The STAT teacher at our school makes a lot of resources for teachers

who want to incorporate coding devices. Having resources made for you is a big incentive to

participate in using coding devices. By getting certain stakeholder involved in incorporating

coding devices we are on our way to meeting Ely’s 8 conditions.

Plan of Action for Technology Planning

Vision/ Mission

The vision or mission I have for my school is to see students using coding devices

throughout the day. Coding devices allow students to work together to solve different

problems. I want to see the teacher as more of a guide on the side. The teacher should be

walking around the classroom or working with a small group. They should be asking critical

thinking questions not just lecturing in front of the class. We need to prepare our students for

what they are going to be doing once they leave school. A lot students will either go to college,

then get a job or they will be going right into the work force. When students get jobs out of

high school they are going to be asked to work with other people to complete tasks not just sit

and listen to somebody talk. It is critical that we make sure that we prepare students for this.

That is why coding devices are wonderful. In order to use coding devices students need to use

those collaboration and critical problem solving skills in order to complete a task. Using coding

devices will allow students to get experience with working with modern technology as well. I
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 15

know that this is going to take time and my mission statement may change, but here is an

example of what I would make my mission statement right now if I had to:

At Relay Elementary School we strive to prepare students for when they leave the classroom and

enter the work force. In order to prepare our students for future careers we incorporate coding

devices into our curriculum. These devices teach students how to work cooperatively in a team

and use problem solving skills in order to complete a task. It is our goal at Relay Elementary

School to make sure we prepare our students for their future.

Timeline and Action Plan

In order to make sure that my vision is met and I meet my goals there needs to be a

timeline of events and an action plan created. Timelines and action plans let people know that

you are serious about what you are doing, people are held accountable and it makes sure

everybody is kept in the loop. I have created a rough draft action plan to get The Relay staff

incorporating coding devices into their classrooms. There also needs to be a timeline of when

things are going to happen. Here is the rough draft of my action plan:

Objective Action Who is Date of Assessment

Responsible Completion (what and

who)
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 16

To understand Held professional STREAM September N/A This is just

what coding development, allowed committee and 2017- June a chance to

devices are. teachers to STAT teacher. 2018 give teachers

experiment with the the chance to

devices in the experiment

Makerspace room. with the

coding devices.

You can give

feedback to

the STAT

teacher.

To have staff The STREAM Administration, December Parents,

and teachers committee held a students, parents, 2017 students and

participate in coding night for 100 STREAM teachers got to

coding night. families at our school. committee, and give feedback.

We split the students other staff

up between primary working the

and intermediate. coding night.

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 17

To have Teachers are Teachers and September Feedback to

teachers use the encouraged to sign STAT teacher 2017- June STAT teacher.

coding devices. their class up to use 2018

in the the coding devices in

Makerspace the Makerspace room.

room with their The STAT teacher is

class. there as an extra set of

hands.

To inform To inform teachers Mazen, STAT June 2018- Feedback to

teachers about about paid coding teacher August Mazen/ STAT

professional trainings over the 2018 teacher.

development summer. Complete

throughout the survey by

summer on BCPS.

coding.

To have the To come up with a STREAM October N/A

STREAM plan to implement committee 2018

committee coding more. Also set

meet again. up another coding

night.
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 18

To hold another To reintroduce coding STREAM December Survey handed

PD on coding devices to teachers committee 2018 out by STREAM

devices and who are familiar with members. committee.

how to them or to introduce

implement coding devices to

them into your teachers who have

classroom. never used them

before.

To hold another To hold another coding Administration, December Parents,

coding night. night to get parents, students, parents, 2019 students and

teachers, STREAM teachers get to

administration, and committee, and give feedback.

students excited about other staff

using coding devices. working the

coding night.

To inform To inform teachers Mazen, STAT September Feedback to

teachers about about paid coding teacher 2018- June Mazen/ STAT

professional trainings over the 2019 teacher.

development school year. Complete

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 19

throughout the survey by

year BCPS.

To have Teachers are Teachers and September Feedback to

teachers use the encouraged to sign STAT teacher 2018- June STAT teacher.

coding devices their class up to use 2019

in the the coding devices in

Markerspace the Makerspace room.

room with their The STAT teacher is

class. there as an extra set of

hands.

To have the To set up another STREAM April 2019 N/A

STREAM coding night in the committee

committee spring.

meet again.

To hold another To hold another coding Administration, May 2019 Parents,

coding night. night to get parents, students, parents, students and

teachers, STREAM teachers get to

administration, and committee, and give feedback.

other staff
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 20

students excited about working the

using coding devices. coding night.

To get feedback We will pass out a STREAM June 2019 Survey

about how survey to get feedback committee

implementing on how implementing

coding went coding went

throughout the throughout the school

year. year.

How Action Plans Resolve Issues

Having an action plan and timeline resolves issues because it allows people to be held

accountable. A lot of times incorporating innovations fail because there is no organization or

ideas on how to implement them. Having a plan with timelines and goals allows the innovation

to be taken seriously. It also lets people know who is responsible for what. Being organized

always helps things run more smoothly.

Two Different Plans

While creating the rough draft of my action plan I looked at a few other action plans to

get some ideas. The first school I looked at was the St. Philp Neri School in Baltimore, MD

(Bowser, technology plan, 2015). A couple of things I liked about their technology plan is that it

is very organized. There is a table of contents that outlines everything thing that is in their plan.
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 21

If you are looking for a particular part you can go right to that page. I also liked how they had a

timeline for the future. We always think about what is happening now but it is nice to see what

their plans are for the future. One thing I noticed is that their technology plan was very long.

They really didn’t focus on one innovation, they sort of listed every technology they had. It

could be seen as a little lengthy. Sometimes I feel simple is best.

I also looked at the technology plan for the Bill Childress Elementary School that is

located in the state of Texas (Bill Childress Elementary School, 2014). Their technology plan was

also very organized. They had multiple goals and objectives that they wanted to achieve. I

loved how they had a chart with a timeline. Every time they met a goal they checked off the

box. This held them accountable for meeting their goals. One thing that did stand out to me

though that I did not like, was they did not seem to meet their goal of making sure they got

teachers enough professional development. This goes back to not having enough time, so not

all of Ely’s conditions were met.

Looking at all of these technology plans gave me some wonderful ideas on how to

create a technology plan for my school. I really believe coding devices are the future. I hope to

use all that I have learned to make sure I am successful in making sure they get implemented

throughout my school.
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 22

References

Bill Childress Elementary School Technology Plan. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.canutillo-

isd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_52913/File/Departments/Technology/Technology%20

Plans/BCE%20Technology%20Plan.pdf

Ely, D. P. (n.d.). Conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational technology

innovations. Retrieved from

https://moodle.loyola.edu/pluginfile.php/1209498/mod_label/

Intro/ElyEightConditions.pdf

Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan. (1996). Retrieved from

https://moodle.loyola.edu/pluginfile.php/1268337/mod_tab/content/403/Guidebook.p

df

Technology Plan - Jennifer Bowser - Technology Internship

https://sites.google.com/site/jbowsertechnologyinternship/technology-plan