Technology Maturity Benchmark Evaluation
School Demographics Grand Le Fleur High is an inner city school that serves approximately 1,700 students in grades 9-12. The student body is comprised of 22% caucasian, 48% African-American, 20% Hispanic, and 10% Asian. The special education population makes up 32% of the total student body. Student to teacher ratio averages 30 students per teacher. Special education classes average 10 students per teacher. The school does have integrated classes, where special education students are put into a regular class for their education. Some teacher may have a resource teacher assigned to their class depending on the number of special education students. 52% of the students receive free/reduced lunch. The school staff and administration is comprised of one principal, four assistant principals, one International Baccalaureate director, one athletic director, ten support staff, one hundred thirty-eight teachers, and two technology specialists.
Maturity Model Benchmarks
1. Administrative
a. Policy- Behavioral: islands Resource/Infrastructure: intelligent The teachers and the students have set policies for the use of the technology that they sign each year. The teachers use their computers for personnel use in which the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) clearly states its the schools property. The school district has approved the technology use plan for the district. The policy allowed for the schools to have access to technology. b. Planning- Behavioral: islands Resource/Infrastructure: integrated The plans are in place for the use of technology. Technology planning is used throughout the school in instruction and areas of administration. The district buys technology without knowing how or who will use the technology. The planning committee usually plans for one core subject or area. c. Budget- Behavioral: integrated Resource/Infrastructure: islands The school has funding for technology budgeted for every two years. The funding will cover technology at all levels computers to software. The budget for special projects or specific areas is given priority. The budget for the entire school will include SmartBoard, televisions, and projectors. The specific budget will include software for core subjects, cameras for photography classes, and calculators for math. d. Administrative Information Behavioral: integrated Resource/Infrastructure: integrated The faculty uses software for grading and attendance which is online called SIS. The school has an updated website that contains many different links and documents. Families are able to view students attendance and grades online.
2. Curricular
a. Electronic- Behavioral: emergent Resource/Infrastructure: island Many of the educators are not teaching technology or using technology in the classroom. Students are not using the web to locate information. Teachers are using the technology to demonstrate a lesson. The resources available include internet connection, computers, cameras, television, and software. The teachers have regular access to the different technological devices. Teacher training can be done to help them become successful in classroom integration. b. Assessment- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: island
The school has two online assessment tools: Quia and Study Island that are used throughout the school. In core areas they have Cortez math and Work Keys for English. Overall, most of the teachers use pencil and paper assessments. c. Curriculum Integration- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: islands The teachers in certain areas use a given program as their core curriculum. While most use pieces of technology in their curriculum such as going to a website or showing a video. The math and English classes have electronic programs used in a few of their classes. d. Teacher Use- Behavioral: integrate Resources/Infrastructure: intelligent Teachers use the computer lab for research or skill builders for the students. Teaches also use some online programs or presentation to reinforce their curriculum. All teachers have access to computers- they have an issued laptop. The teachers who requested extra computers for their classrooms were issued student computers. There are teachers who prefer not to use technology or just need more training. e. Student Use- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: integrated Students are using technology in a few of their classes. Their use is depended on the teachers integration. The students use the library as a means to use technology to check mail or research. Many students are able to utilize the internet and educational program in school but limited if they use it per the teacher. Students who are in working core labs use technology on a daily basis. The school has two laptop carts for student use if the teachers are able to schedule them for class.
3. Support
a. Stakeholders- Behavioral: integrated Resource/Infrastructure: intelligent The district plans the technology with teachers, administration, and community leaders. Within the school, the planning committee, comprise of the technology specialist and the principal who use the district plan as a guide. b. Administrative Support- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: integrated The district and school provides limited training resources for teachers. The school provides training on new and former technologies, but its only a brief session. The technology specialist provides training on new software along with the building level technology teachers. c. Training- Behavioral: integrated Resources/Infrastructure: integrated The teachers are provided a staff development on technology two times a year. Teachers are provided opportunities to increase their technology knowledge, but these are brief sessions or by appointment only. The district and administration provide opportunities for training to those who want to learn more. Teachers are normally given an initial training and then left to figure it out on their own. Teachers need a comprehensive and detailed training, so they feel comfortable with the new technology. d. Technical/Infrastructure- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: intelligent Some of the teachers use the technology specialist to help implement technology into their curriculum. The technology specialist is available by appointment only. The technical support for computer issues will be done only if work order is submitted .
4. Connectivity
a. Local Area Networking (LAN)- Behavioral: intelligent Resource/Infrastructure: intelligent All building computers are networked through a sever. The teachers and students use the computer lab in various classes. Some the sites that are valuable to learning are either restricted or banned from the students and teachers to use. b. District Area Networking (WAN)- Behavioral: intelligent Resource/Infrastructure: The teacher uses a district wide student management system. Teachers also use email and videos. The schools have an intranet which is accessible from the website. Students are also allowed to use a shared file which helps in sharing their work.
c. Internet All access- Behavioral: integrated Resource/Infrastructure: intelligent The teachers access the internet daily to access the student management system. The individual teachers may or may not use the internet with their students. The entire district along with each individual school is connected to the internet. d. Communication Systems- Behavioral: integrate Resources/Infrastructure: intelligent All faculty use the internet to communicate through email. Some teachers use social networks and blogs to communicate with students. The school is equipped with email access for everyone. The students are able to email their teachers at anytime.
5. Innovation
a. New Technologies-- Behavioral: integrated Resources/Infrastructure: integrated Teachers bring new technology to utilize but may or may not be given the opportunity to use it if its not approved. Teachers welcome the use of new technology from the district but are not trained to incorporate it into their curriculum. b. Comprehensive Technologies- Behavioral: island Resource/Infrastructure: integrate Teachers need to be trained in advance technologies such as Skype and Facebook, so they can be used in the lesson plan. The training for teachers will hopefully help the students become engaged in technology.
Final Summary
The Maturity model benchmark rubric rating for Grand Le Fleur High school overall was Integration stage. The ratings were in five categories and two filters for each. The ratings for Emergent: 1/38 this was the lowest scoring stage. The rating for Islands: 11/38 this was the second top scoring stage. This lets the committee know there is still room for growth. The Intelligent rate: 15/38 this was the top rating. This rating indicates the school is well on its way to being a 21st century learning environment. The last rating, Intelligent rated: 9/38 this is the area in which we as a school needs to improve for the future. Overall, the school is doing a good job of implementing technology into the schools and at all levels. The school does need a better training program, so that teachers become successful in the different new technologies before integrating them in a lesson. The benchmark provided an insight of what is needed and it is up to the stakeholders to provide the means of implementing the technology.
