technology program administrator harris benjamin
TRANSCRIPT
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Running head: TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM
Technology Program Evaluation: Clayton County Public Schools Department of Technology
Benjamin Harris
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The Context
Technology is a necessary component in modern life and is evident in the increased focus
of the integration of technology in education. The researcher is the Coordinator of Instructional
Technology and is part of a team that supports a school district in its professional development.
The school district supports an area on the urban fringe of a large city. The district serves
approximately 53,000 students. The Department of Technology supports the district through
technology support and staff development. Digital Learning Specialists also support school
administrators and site facilitators in technology planning for the school year. Technology
integration in the classroom is supported and encouraged in the district, but there remains some
confusion and reluctance that hinders its ability to be ubiquitous. The Visions 2020 government
education t echnology plan states Advanced technologies under development by U.S.
businesses, universities, and government could create rich and compelling learning opportunities
that meet all learners needs, and provide education and training when and where they ar e
needed, while boosting the productivity of learning and lowering its costs (Ed.gov, 2004) . With
the expenditure of resources going into the billions of dollars, it is essential that faculty and staff
make sound choices in technologys role at his or he r school.
The Area of Focus Statement
The purpose of this research is to find out how professional development in the area of
instructional technology can be used most effectively to support and assess student learning.
The Statement of the Problem
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The researcher proposes to identify how the instructional technology department can provide
technology training that will allow greater staff involvement in technology and increase student
learning.
The Subproblems
The first subproblem is to determine the areas of need in the system that will necessitate more
technology professional development.
The next subproblem will analyze how to increase the motivation of staff members to accept and
use technology in the classroom.
The Hypotheses
The first hypothesis is that with the increased emphasis on online assessments, the schools will
have a greater need in preparing students for blended concepts.
The next hypothesis is that technology will become more accepted among teachers and staff once
training is specialized towards their needs.
The Delimitations
The study will not attempt to focus on the need of specific software or hardware training, but the
learning needs of students and the efficiency needs of teachers.
The Definition of Terms
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Extensive research has been accomplished in this area by CARET, the Center for Applied
Research in Educational Technology and the Milken Exchange on Education Technology.
Instructional technology specialists will need to have a better focus and direction in staff
professional development to affect classroom instruction and greatly enhance the assessment and
learning support of students. With large economic resources at stake, technology tools should
have immediate impact on student achievement .
Needs Assessment
Taking a close look at the current technology organizational structure revealed three
symbiotically related strands: Information, Instructional, and Support Services. The information
strand focuses on the student information system and related data, the instructional strand
focuses on staff training, and the support services focuses on the technical support and repair of
available equipment. There exists a need to align the purchasing of equipment with these strands
in mind. Currently technology purchases can be made by outside departments such as Title I
without the consultation of any of the three strands. This creates a problem when the technology
department is asked to support the newly purchased software or devices because it may not
seamlessly coexist with the current available infrastructure. The purchasing leaders did not
possess any technical backgrounds; therefore, the fiscal decisions were made based upon their
own interpretations of classroom needs instead of research and collaboration with technology
staff.
Secondly, the systems in place by CCPS each form separate functions and have no data
interoperability. There is Thinkgate, an instructional information system, Edmodo, a learning
management system, and Infinite Campus, a student information system. None of these systems
talk to each other to streamline support for students and teachers. This is very frustrating for
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System.Use technology to improvestudent academicperformance andincrease technology
literacy for students andteachers.
1) Ensure that technology integration is an instructionalcomponent of every subject area by aligning to the stateand national standards (ISTE).
2) Target grades 5-8 in preparation for the Georgia
Milestones Assessment.3) Purchase an observation tool to better measure classroomteacher technology integration and innovation.
4) Establish software/hardware advisory committee orclearinghouse to streamline technology purchases by alldepartments and schools
Training and skillenhancement to increasetechnical staffcompetencies are isolatedto a few schools.
1) Provide a professional development training plan that isinclusive of the entire district to make sure that schoolsare not forgotten because school leadership failed tomake professional development requests.
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References
(2004). Visions 2020.2: Student views on transforming education and training through advanced
technologies. Retrieved April 27, 2008, from Ed.gov Web site:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20
202.pdf
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20202.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20202.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20202.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20202.pdfhttp://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/documents/visions_20202.pdf