SWOT Analysis - Cindy Reeves Electronic Portfolio

SWOT Analysis Template for Technology Planning Needs Assessment

What is the current reality in our school?

Name: Cindy Reeves ITEC 7410, Semester: Summer 2014

ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: Effective Instructional Uses of Technology Embedded in Standards-Based,

Student-Centered Learning

ISTE Definition: Use of information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate engaging approaches to learning.

Guiding Questions:



How is technology being used in our school? How frequently is it being used? By whom? For what purposes?



To what extent is student technology use targeted toward student achievement of the Georgia Learning Standards (GPSs,

QCCs)?



To what extent is student technology use aligned to research-based, best practices that are most likely to support student engagement, deep understanding of content, and transfer of knowledge? Is day-to-day instruction aligned to researchbased best practices? (See Creighton Chapters 5, 7)

Strengths



100% of the teachers maintain a class website on Microsoft

Sharepoint.



Over the past two summers, STEM academy teachers have collaborated and developed multiple standards based integrated STEM units for grades 2 – 6 which are published on the district intranet site.

 A “Global Classroom” is available for video- conferencing and virtual fieldtrips. 5 th grade has worked with

NASA on multiple occasions.

Weaknesses



Teachers and administrators are not familiar with the ISTE standards for technology.



All teachers are not using technology to promote problem solving and critical thinking skills.



Science is the primary content focus of the integrated STEM units.

More content standards need to be integrated.



Technology that is sometimes used for only teacher directed lessons or drill and practice.

Opportunities



Send a team to specialized training such as the Verizon

Mobile Learning

Academy for best practices and principles guiding today’s most effective mobile learning environments.



Provide leave time for teachers to develop and publish integrated units that support student engagement, deep understanding of content, and transfer of knowledge.

Threats



Some teachers feel intimidated by the

Global Classroom.



Some teachers have voiced opposition to the

STEM units which were written beyond minimum competencies.



Teachers feel overwhelmed by the quantity of resources available.



Political opposition and misunderstandings related to Common

Core and Next

Generation Science

Standards.





A fluid school based scope & sequence has been developed for technology skills to be mastered at each grade level.



A compilation of available Web 2.0 tools and district/school based subscription services has been developed.

Summary/Gap Analysis:

The resources for quality research-based best practices are available for every teacher at Clark Creek, but every teacher isn’t necessarily using the resources to promote engagement and critical thinking. Ongoing professional development, integrated lesson plan development and a greater focus on collaboration can provide teachers with the support necessary for a change in teaching philosophy. As more unit plans are developed, a greater emphasis should be placed on integrating content standards from multiple disciplines with the technology standards.

Data Sources: Clark Creek Elementary STEM Academy 2013-2014 School Improvement Plan ; Clark Creek Elementary STEM

Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP; Minutes from 2014 STEM Collaborative Scope & Sequence Planning March 4,

2014.



ESSENTIAL CONDITION TWO: Shared Vision

ISTE Definition: Proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among school personnel, students, parents, and the community.




Is there an official vision for technology use in the district/school? Is it aligned to research-best practices? Is it aligned to state and national visions? Are teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members aware of the vision?



To what extent do teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members have a vision for how technology can be used to enhance student learning? What do they believe about technology and what types of technology uses we should encourage in the future? Are their visions similar or different? To what extent are their beliefs about these ideal, preferred technology uses in the future aligned to research and best practice?



To what extent do educators view technology as critical for improving student achievement of the GPS/QCCs? To preparing tomorrow’s workforce? For motivating digital-age learners?



What strategies have been deployed to date to create a research-based shared vision?



What needs to be done to achieve broad-scale adoption of a research-based vision for technology use that is likely to lead to improved student achievement?



Strengths

When the school was opened two years ago,

100% of the original faculty and staff came together during the summer to develop the school’s mission and belief statements.

These statements are published in the School

Improvement Plan and the School Website.

Weaknesses



New hires that did not have a voice in the original plan.



Some teachers are not supporting the vision for STEM certification even though it is a district level expectation.





Teams of stakeholders



Opportunities

Collaborative planning to meet the stringent standards for state

STEM certification. should visit one or more of the few elementary schools with state STEM certification.

Include resistors in research and planning.



Threats

Teachers are concerned about the new high stakes testing being developed.



Failure to recognize technology as, not just one more thing to teach, but a vehicle to prepare our students for more rigorous assessments.





There was a consensus that science, technology, engineering and science would be fully integrated into the curriculum.



In 2013, the staff again reached a consensus to apply for STEM certification from the state of Georgia during the 2015 – 2016 academic year.



Create a timeline with a periodic schedule for technology plan evaluation and revision.



Some teachers are reluctant to move forward because they fear that reading and language skills will suffer.



As a school of choice, we have approximately

200 students from outside our district in attendance because of the school’s vision and

STEM curriculum.


When our school opened two years ago, the principal chose her staff very carefully based on her own vision. She chose teachers with strong backgrounds in science, math, gifted education, technology, and leadership then forewarned us all that we were going to make history! The demands on the teachers has been high, but most share a strong vision for preparing our students for the

21 st

century through a strong science, technology, engineering and math based curriculum. The additional district expectation to obtain state STEM certification has increased the demands, so there are those who are concerned that the workload is too great or that reading and language skills will suffer.

It is important that all stakeholders, especially the resistors, are included in the planning as the vision has been altered from its original form.


Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP



ESSENTIAL CONDITION THREE: Planning for Technology

ISTE Definition: A systematic plan aligned with a shared vision for school effectiveness and student learning through the infusion of ICT and digital learning resources.




Is there an adequate plan to guide technology use in your school? (either at the district or school level? Integrated into

SIP?)



What should be done to strengthen planning?

Strengths



There is a technology plan included in the

School Improvement

Plan.



Technology implementation is included in the Action

Plan for each of the school improvement goals.



Weaknesses

The technology plan within the School

Improvement Plan does not match the rigor of the state expectations for STEM certification.



The existing technology plan’s primary focus is on the current and future hardware and software resources with limited focus on how the technology is being used to support instruction.



The technology plan does not take the ISTE standards into consideration.

Opportunities



Gilda Lyons from the

Georgia Department of

Education will be invited to the school in the upcoming year to make recommendations for improvement.



Staff development and collaboration for integrating content standards and ISTE standards.

Threats



The awareness of ISTE standards and best practices related to the use of technology is a concern.



Teachers that may be unwilling to alter their teaching methods to accommodate state

STEM certification requirements.




The current technology plan focuses on available hardware and software which is important, but not a huge area needing improvement at our school. The greatest area for improvement is in becoming familiar with the ISTE standards for technology and using technology as a tool for critical thinking and problem solving. The state STEM certification requirements must be included in the technology plan.


Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP; Georgia STEM Program Certification Rubric for Elementary School



Strengths



All classrooms are equipped with the same basic technology suite that includes 5 desk top computers, a

Promethean board with voting devices, installed projector and audio system, teacher laptop, document camera, and iPad.



Most classrooms have a mobile laptop lab and several classrooms have mobile iPad labs.



All students participate in robotics and engineering in the

STEM lab.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION FOUR: Equitable Access

ISTE Definition: Robust and reliable access to current and emerging technologies and digital resources.




To what extent do students, teachers, administrators, and parents have access to computers and digital resources necessary to support engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning?



To what extent is technology arrange/distributed to maximize access for engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning?



What tools are needed and why?



Do students/parents/community need/have beyond school access to support the vision for learning?

Weaknesses



All students do not have internet access, computers or printers available at home.



It is difficult to fully utilize the flipped classroom model when all students do not have access to the technology from home.

Opportunities



Partner with an agency like Mobile Beacon , a non-profit that can help families in our district connect to the internet.



Seek out corporate sponsors that would be willing to purchase laptops or iPads that can be checked out to students.

Threats



A belief system that our low performing students are better served with traditional teacher directed lessons followed by drill and practice over studentcentered classrooms using problem based learning.





Additional computers and mobile labs are available in the computer lab, the media center, the math lab, the science lab, and the advanced strategies lab.



All students use iPads in the music classroom.



All teachers are encouraged to use their

Sharepoint websites to provide links, documents and activities that students can use from home.



Office 365 provides students with access to all of the Microsoft products from any internet connected computer.



All 5 th

grade students have district email accounts.





All 5 th

grade students have webpages under the umbrella of their homeroom teacher’s

Weebly account.



Assistive technology, including predictive software, is used with our students with special needs and ELL

(English Language

Learners) population.


Once again, access to the technology tools is not a problem at this school. The addition of Office 365 last spring puts all of the Microsoft Office products into the hands of our students inside the classroom and out as long as they have access to the internet.

For those that do not, our media center is open late two days a week. Students can also come in early or use the public library computers. Unfortunately, these solutions also require the parents to provide transportation which is sometimes difficult with some of our population. The best solution to this home access gap is to try to obtain corporate funding to provide a checkout system and internet access to those in need.





ESSENTIAL CONDITION FIVE: Skilled Personnel

ISTE Definition: Educators and support staff skilled in the use of ICT appropriate for their job responsibilities.




To what extent are educators and support staff skilled in the use of technology appropriate for their job responsibilities?



What do they currently know and are able to do?



What are knowledge and skills do they need to acquire?

(Note: No need to discuss professional learning here. Discuss knowledge and skills. This is your needs assessment for professional learning. The essential conditions focus on “personnel,” which includes administrators, staff, technology specialists, and teachers. However, in this limited project, you may be wise to focus primarily or even solely on teachers; although you may choose to address the proficiency of other educators/staff IF the need is critical. You must include an assessment of teacher proficiencies.

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats



100% of the certified personnel have met the state Technology

Competency Standard.



100% of the certified personnel have received district STEM

21 certification which included on 21 technology training sessions.



There has been little to no follow up after the initial training within the STEM 21 program.



There is no criteria or data available for successful implementation.



Attendance in training sessions does not always equate to classroom implementation.



The district

Instructional

Technology Specialist assigned to our school is available one day a week.



Technology coaches are being raised up within the school with

3 teachers pursuing advanced degrees and certification in

Instructional

Technology through

Kennesaw State

University.



Providing time for teachers to become proficient with the new technology is difficult.



Teachers using technology only for knowledge based skill practice as opposed to problem based learning.





42% of the certified personnel have district

Teach 21 certification that included 200 hours of rigorous technology training and classroom implementation documented in an online portfolio with a

Capstone experience.



98% of the homeroom teachers have gifted certification.



The rigorous Teach 21 program is no longer available through the district professional development department.



Training based on specific ISTE standards has not been included in the professional development.



Teachers need to have the opportunity to observe and learn from their colleagues who are using technology for problem based learning.


Teachers demonstrating proficiency with the use of technology is not enough to ensure student- centered classrooms with the seamless integration of technology. Without an understanding of how to integrate the content standards with the ISTE standards, a framework for successful implementation may not exist. When teachers are given new equipment and software, not only should there be initial training, but opportunities for practice and follow-up are needed in order for the teachers to become proficient in the use of the new technology.


Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP; CCSD Academies Status Report



Strengths



School-based professional development specific to

STEM integration is planned.



The instructional technology specialist will continue to spend at least one day per week at the school.



The district has purchased a technology embedded project based learning subscription.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SIX: Ongoing Professional Learning

ISTE Definition: Technology-related professional learning plans and opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas.




What professional learning opportunities are available to educators? Are they well-attended? Why or why not?



Are the current professional learning opportunities matched to the knowledge and skills educators need to acquire? (see

Skilled Personnel)



Do professional learning opportunities reflect the national standards for professional learning (NSDC)?



Do educators have both formal and informal opportunities to learn?



Is technology-related professional learning integrated into all professional learning opportunities or isolated as a separate topic?



How must professional learning improve/change in order to achieve the shared vision?

Weaknesses



The rubric noted a weakness in inquiry based lesson planning



Documentation for the implementation of technology training is not evident.

Opportunities



Send teams to visit other STEM certified elementary schools.

Threats



Traditional teacher delivery models where a Power Point presentation is considered as integrated technology is still common.




State STEM certification requires that a culture of inquiry, creativity, and innovation exists with 51 – 100 % of all learning taking place in the adaptation level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In other words classroom instruction needs to be primarily student centered with challenging problems for which students develop creative solutions. Based on the staff’s analysis of the STEM rubric, it is evident that professional development in the area of problem-based learning and inquiry is needed in order to implement a large scale change in teaching philosophy. This is probably the greatest obstacle to overcome because it is so radically different than traditional teacher delivery model where all students had to reach a minimum competency level on multiple choice, standardized tests. With the tests changing this year, the reluctant educators may begin to recognize the need for a change.


Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP; Elementary STEM Rubric as reviewed by Clark Creek ES Administration and

Faculty based on Gilda Lyons’ Pathways to STEM Certification webinar on 2/19/14



Strengths



Our district has a multilayered infrastructure for technical support.



When any kind of technology problem arises, the teacher can easily put in a request to the help desk through the district intranet.



We share a technology specialist with 2 other schools, who generally resolves a problem within one to two days from the date of report.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SEVEN: Technical Support

ISTE Definition: Consistent and reliable assistance for maintaining, renewing, and using ICT and digital resources.




To what extent is available equipment operable and reliable for instruction?

 Is there tech assistance available for technical issues when they arise? How responsive is tech support? Are current “down time” averages acceptable?



Is tech support knowledgeable? What training might they need?



In addition to break/fix issues, are support staff available to help with instructional issues when teachers try to use technology in the classroom?

Weaknesses



The technology specialist is often overbooked because teachers have not learned to troubleshoot minor problems.



The technology specialist may not be in the building when a real need arises.

Opportunities



Teach students to troubleshoot technical problems.

Threats

 Students’ abuse of technology equipment may cause down time.





The technology specialist assists with software installations and updates when necessary and maintains the inventory of technology equipment in the school.



Many teachers are adept troubleshooters that can often take care of a quick fix without calling in the technology specialist.



All equipment was purchased new when the school opened in

August of 2012.



In addition, we have an

Instructional

Technology Specialist who assists with training and classroom implementation at least one day per week.




Overall the technology support for our entire school district is excellent. Our school has few major problems due to the age of our equipment. Student abuse is the worst problem that we have, but there is less abuse when students are actively engaged in the learning process. It is beneficial for teachers to learn basic troubleshooting skills and share those with their students.





Strengths



The ISTE Standards for students are research based best practices in education utilizing technology as the vehicle.



Regularly occurring professional development provides teachers with the digital curriculum resources necessary to integrate technology with the content standards.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION EIGHT: Curriculum Framework

ISTE Definition: Content standards and related digital curriculum resources




To what extent are educators, students, and parents aware of student technology standards? (QCCs/NET-S)



Are technology standards aligned to content standards to help teachers integrate technology skills into day-to-day instruction and not teach technology as a separate subject?



To what extent are there digital curriculum resources available to teachers so that they can integrate technology into the

GPS/QCCs as appropriate?



How is student technology literacy assessed?

Weaknesses



Few educators, students and parents are aware of the technology standards.



There is no formal assessment for student technology literacy.

Opportunities



All stakeholders need to be made aware of the standards.



Teachers already teaching the standards will be validated.



Teachers not currently teaching the technology standards may be inclined to change their way of thinking.

Threats



Teachers might view the standards as one more thing to teach as opposed to a way students learn.





As we develop our scope and sequence of technology skills needed to be mastered in each grade level, the teachers will begin developing rubrics to assess mastery.


The school’s vision is based on the expectation that we work toward obtaining state STEM certification, which is based on the seamless integration of technology into student-centered problem based learning environments. The ISTE student standards are the standards that we have to meet in order to achieve our goal. While the teachers may not currently be aware of the standards, those teachers who are using the research-based practices in their classrooms are actually meeting those standards. While awareness of the standards is not crucial for these teachers, it will be validating. For teachers who are reluctant to move away from the teacher delivery model, introducing the ISTE standards might help nudge them along into changing their way of thinking.


Academy 2013 – 2014 Title I Addendum to SIP, ISTE Standards

SWOT Analysis - Cindy Reeves Electronic Portfolio

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