Technology Needs Assessment

In this assignment, you will determine what resources are available to you and your
students. You will have to contact people to get the information you need. People that
may be helpful can include your media specialist, technology integration specialist,
resource teachers, special education teachers, or department heads. It may be
beneficial to create a survey using Google Forms and distribute it to your staff. We are
working to determine what your school currently has and to assess its needs for future
technology. This needs assessment will help us in creating our technology plan which
will layout the technology goals for our school over the next few years.

SCHOOL POPULATION
Location: E.O. Muncie Elementary, Madison, IN
Enrollment: 575 students
Staff & Administration: 45= 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 2 Administrative
Clerks, 2 Counselors, 5 Enrichment Teachers, 20 Teachers, 7 Special Education
Teachers, 2 ELL Teachers, 4 Custodians

TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AVAILABLE

What does your school have available to students to further their
learning?
iPads- every student has an iPad, each teacher has an iPad, and every

Current
#

Need #

615

30

20

Computers- every teacher has 1 Dell computer

20

25

Set of Activ Clickers- grades 3-5 have a set of 25 clickers for the

12

classroom has a loaner in case a student forgets their iPad

Promethean Boards- every classroom has a promethean board,
except for the gym and the music room
Document Cameras- every K-5 classroom has a document camera,
but not the enrichment classes

Promethean Board
Copier- we have two copiers in the teachers lounge
Projectors- every classroom has a projector except for the gym and
the music room

sets

20

Adaptive/Assistive Technology List all adaptive/assistive technology available at your school.

You may need to contact someone within the school or district that is an expert in this area. After listing

what you have and your recommendations, you must address all 7 types of learning disabilities listed in
this site. Please identify the disabilities.

Dis

Devices/software/applications/websites

abi
lity

Co
st

WHAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE:

DEVICES
iPads
Stylus

What is
the
disability
?

Estim
ated
Cost

IPAD APPS
Guided Access: Guided Access helps students with autism or other
attention and sensory challenges stay on task. A teacher or therapist
can limit an iOS device to stay on one app by disabling the Home
button, and even restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen. So
wandering taps and gestures wont distract from learning.
Speak Selection: Hearing a word as its being read can help with
comprehension for a wide range of learners. Speak Selection can read a
students email, iMessages, web pages, and ebooks out loud. Doubletap to highlight text in any application, tap Speak, and the device reads
the selected text. Students can have words highlighted as theyre being
read so they can follow along. And the voices dialect and speaking rate
can be adjusted to suit students needs.
Dictation: For students with print disabilities like dyslexia, it may be
easier to speak a thought than to type it. With Dictation they can reply
to an email, make a note, search the web, or write a report using just
their voice. Tap the microphone button and Dictation converts words
(and numbers and characters) into text.
iBooks: iBooks Author gives teachers a way to create customized
learning materials for iPad to support a wide range of learning needs.
Interactive features like 3D images, video, audio, and photo galleries
provide multimodal learning opportunities that make iBooks textbooks
more engaging to learners. Features like multicolor highlighting, notes,
search, study cards, and the glossary help students be better organized
and better prepared. Built-in review questions give students an
immediate assessment of their knowledge so they understand where to
focus more study time. And iBooks supports VoiceOver, Speak Selection,
and closed-captioned videos to help all types of learners.

Free
Autism

with
iPad

Zoom: Zoom is a built-in screen magnifier that works anywhere in iOS,

so students can better read an essay, view a diagram, or get details on a
map. And it works with all apps from the App Store. A simple doubletap with three fingers instantly zooms in 200 percent, and the
magnification can go up to 500 percent. While zoomed in, everything
works as usual: Students can use all the familiar gestures to navigate
their device. And Zoom works with VoiceOver, so they can better see
and hear whats happening on the screen.
Mono Audio: Stereo recordings usually have distinct left- and rightchannel audio tracks. So students who are deaf or hard of hearing in
one ear may miss some of the audio contained in that channel. iOS can
help by playing both audio channels in both ears, and lets students
adjust the balance for greater volume in either ear, so they can
experience all the audio in a lecture, video, or musical composition.
GarageBand: GarageBand can help improve auditory comprehension
among deaf and hard of hearing students particularly those adjusting
to new cochlear implants. Teachers can create podcasts of
conversational speech and download them to a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or
iPod touch. Students use the podcasts to learn inflection and how to
differentiate one voice from another. GarageBand is also great for
speech therapy, learning tonal languages like Chinese, or helping deaf
students gain an understanding of how loud things sound with an audio
wave file.
SOFTWARE
Intensive Reading Web Suite:
http://www.meritsoftware.com/software/intensive_reading_web_suite/i
ndex.php
Covers vocabulary and reading comprehension skills
High interest material engages students of all ages
What is

Explanations for correct answers, whether responses are right or

wrong
Students' scores may be monitored by instructors while students'
work
Great for RtI (Response to Intervention) and blended learning
Designed for students at reading levels 3.0 through 8.0, the software

the
disability
?

Estim
ated
Cost

can also be used by English language learners, learning disabled pupils,

and remedial readers.
MindPlay: http://www.mindplay.com
MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach improves students reading
performance by assessing reading abilities and differentiating lessons
and activities.For students, MVRC provides interactive lessons with
media-rich content, direct, explicit, and systematic instruction,
scaffolded support, a virtual reading specialist and speech pathologist,
self-paced and mastery-based instruction and immediate and specific
feedback

WEBSITES
Do2Learn: http://www.do2learn.com
Estim

Learning Ally: https://www.learningally.org

ated
Dyslexia

Cost

RECOMMENDATIONS (10 minimum )

DEVICES
iPad

All
disabiliti

$400

es

IPAD APPS
Hark the Sound- simple sound game for the visually impaired
http://www.cs.unc.edu/%7Egb/research/hark-the-sound/
Visually

Blue Bird:

Impaired

http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/assist/et/projects/bluebird/

Visually

An audio track base sequencer

Impaired

Dragon Dictation: http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/mobile-

Speec

applications/dragon-dictation/index.htm
Recognizes and transcribes words

h to

NA

NA

$150

text

SOFTWARE
Edmark: The program uses a carefully sequenced, highly repetitive
word recognition method combined with errorless learning. This

Dyslex
ia

$500
for
each

level

approach eliminates incorrect responses and helps students view

themselves as readers.
http://donjohnston.com/edmark/#.VH5XBF6Jlg0

All
disabil
ities

iReady: pinpoints students needs in mathematics and reading.

$450
for
each
level

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/iready/diagnosticinstruction.aspx

WEBSITES
Smart Kids: a great website that offers support for teachers, students
and parents with learning disabilities.
http://www.smartkidswithld.org
TeachingLD: a website that has newsletters about how to accommodate
those students with learning disabilities.

All

http://teachingld.org
Reading Rockets: this website has other websites they recommend for

All

students with learning disabilities, includes support and materials

students can complete based on their learning disability
http://www.readingrockets.org/resources_new/c585
ABC Mouse: this website is very educational, however it is only for
preschool through kindergarten, it offers math and reading
https://www.abcmouse.com/landing/SEM:GOOG?utm_medium=plm&ut
m_source=adwords&utm_campaign=Preschool&utm_extra=dim1/Game

Cur
All

rent
ly

All

Fre
e

Dyslex
ia

s&utm_term=ad+text&gclid=CKSzva7PqMICFcayMgodhBEA6w
National Center for Learning Disabilities: this website has homework

all

and study skills for those students with disabilities as well as how to
read an IEP.
http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/ld-education-teachers

Distance Learning
School Website:
LINK: http://eom.madison.k12.in.us/students/istep-video
Our website contains information about our principals blog, events calendar, family

enewsletter, document library, the location of the school, student handbook, teachers
and their e-mail, ISTEP information, online registration, online payments, nurse
newsletter, accident insurance, device insurance, vaccine information, skyward access,
and contact information.
The website is updated once a month by the principal.
No, parents do not use this site regularly. However, I have noticed my parents that
have students at the junior high use it more frequently than my parents that only have
elementary aged students because they can view their childs grades.
School Website recommended additions or changes:
I think our school website needs more pictures of what is happening in our school as
well as the links to our teachers websites. I think it would also be nice to post the
life-skill of the week and how parents can work with their child on that life-skill.
Also, I think the school should have a training on how to navigate the website and
skyward during open house.
Teacher Websites:
Currently only 20% of our teachers have classroom websites. Of these four teachers,
only one has a website and the other three have a Facebook class page.
Out of the 20%, these teachers update their classroom website on a weekly basis.
They post pictures, homework, spelling words, and newsletters.
I am the only teacher that has a website (the others have a Facebook page). I used
blogspot.com to create my website.
Teacher Website Recommendations:
What goals would you like to set for your staff in regards to their classroom websites?
I would like for at least half of the staff to be using a classroom website. I think the
main reason many do not have one is because they think it will be too much trouble
than it is worth. However, I found it has saved my parents and me a lot of time
because I can post homework, spelling words and projects we are working on in class.
How many staff members would you like to see using a classroom site? I would like to
use at least ten teachers create a website. What type of information do you think they
should include? I think they should include information about e-learning days, a
calendar of homework and reading, as well as events that are happening in their
classroom. This will help parents get involved in their childs education. How often
do you think they should update the site? I think they should update it as last once
every two weeks. What is the time frame for this goal? My time frame for this goal is
three months.

Learning Management Systems

CURRENT
TOOL: MyBigCampus

COST
Free- Im

We use mybigcampus.com for our mandatory e-learning days. The

still waiting

state also approved us to use this so we will not have to make up our
snow days.

to hear
back from
the
technology
coordinator
about the
pricing.
Online says
its free.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
TOOL: So far, I have had a good experience with mybigcampus.com. I
would like for the grading portion to be a little more user friendly. I
struggle finding the quizzes my students submit to me. I would also
like to add other students from other classes who are in my advanced
reading. Right now, I can only give my twenty students schoolwork.

Free

Lastly, I think it would be beneficial if parents also had accounts and

they could see what type of work their student is submitting. Or if
mybigcampus.com e-mailed the parents their childs response.

Software Available
SOFTWARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE (20 MINIMUM)
PRODUCTIVITY/INSTRUCTION
Microsoft Word 2013- This is used by teachers. Teachers use Word to create letters
to send home to parents and lesson plans.
Excel- This is used by teachers. Teachers use Excel to track students data.
Powerpoint- This is used by teachers. Teachers use Powerpoint to introduce a new
topic or lesson.
Dropbox- This is used by a fourth of the teachers. Teachers use dropbox to share
materials as well as to save anything they have created.
Reflector- Approximately 10% of teachers have reflector. They use reflector to
project the iPad on the Promethean board.
ActivInspire- This is used by all teachers. Teachers can create interactive whiteboard
lessons.
Java and Abobe- This is used by all teachers for videos.
iMovie- This is used by teachers in grades 3-5. Teachers can create a short video to
introduce a new lesson to students or they can have students create their own
iMovie.
Publisher- This is only used by a few teachers-mainly the technology teacher. They
can create graphics for their newsletters or agenda.

ASSESSMENT
ActivInspire Clickers- Teachers can create a short assessment and then students can
use the clickers for the correct response
MasteryConnect- Only grades 3-5 use MasteryConnect.com. Teachers can print out
the assessment, then students fill it in and place it under the document camera and
it automatically grades it.
WEB BROWERS
Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari
MULTIMEDIA
Windows Movie Maker- this is used on the computers to create movies
iMovie- this is used on the iPads to create movies
Windows Media Player- this is used on the computers to play movies or music
Screen Cast-O-Matic- this is used to create videos for flipped learning
MANAGEMENT
Class Dojo- this is used by the enrichment teachers to manage behavior
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT/SECURITY
LightSpeed- this manages our students activity on the internet. Students have to
log on each time they get online. Then LightSpeed will notify the technology
department if a child is looking at inappropriate items.
Software Recommendations (A survey asking staff this question would be

Cost $

helpful)
We are updated on the new ActivInspire tools and it has helped us make
engaging math lessons for students.
My district is slowly moving away from the Microsoft Word Suite. They are
wanting everyone to start using Google Drive. I think this will cause my

Free

conflict because all of the teachers are very use to Microsoft Word.

Online Resources
CURRENT ONLINE RESOURCES AVAILABLE: (15 minimum)
Collaboration between students or staff:
E-mail: Teachers and students can e-mail each other to communicate
Google Drive: Teachers use Google Drive to create lesson plans and then other
teachers on their team can edit them
Linoit: Teachers can view students projects and post comments using the sticky
notes
StoryBird: Students can create a book and then teachers can comment on their story
Disseminate Information:
Prezi: Teachers use this to have students create projects. For example, in fourth
grade we use Prezi for students to create a slideshow over the state of Indiana
Weebly: I use this to have my students blog about information

Research:
History: www.discoveryeducation.com- we use this to show history videos. There are
great resources on this site for the Underground Railroad. I recommend Harriet
Tubmans route to freedom video. It is animated and the students can really
understand the process of the Underground Railroad after viewing it. All grades use
discovery education.
Math: www.frontrowed.com We use this in fourth grade for morning work. Students
must take an assessment in each of the math common core strands. Then it
differentiates and each child gets different work to complete. They e-mail you once a
week to let you know how each child is doing. Only fourth and fifth grades use this
website.
Science: www.khanacademy.com This website has great science videos to show kids.
Currently, my class has been viewing the videos about heat and electricity. Only
fourth grade uses this site because we are the only grade tested in science.
English: www.spellingcity.com We use this website for students to practice their
spelling words. Grades K-5 use this website.
Business: At my elementary school, we do not teach business.
Art: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/education/kids.html The Art teacher at
my school uses this website. Students can research or create a project and then
display it.
All Subjects: http://www.funbrain.com We use Fun Brain for all subjects and all
grades use this website. The students can play games and activities that are
academically related.
Assessment:
MyBigCampus: All teachers are required to use this. They post quizzes and the
students must complete them on our e-learning days. www.mybigcampus.com
Acuity: This is an assessment mandated by the State. It gives us assessments to give
our students to prepare them for ISTEP. All teachers are required to use this.
www.acuityathome.com
Multimedia:
LearnZillion: Grades 3-5 use this website to help differentiate learning. It has a lot
of videos and lesson plans aligned to the common core standards.
www.learnzillion.com
LearningA-Z.com: All grades use this. Teachers can print out books and lesson
plans for guided reading. These books are great for students to take home.
www.learninga-z.com
RazKids.com: All grades use this. This is an app that allows students to have a
library on their iPad. They can read a book and then take a quiz. It is very similar to
AR. Then the teacher can view how many minutes the child has been reading and
what skill the child needs to work on. www.razkids.com

Recommendations: (10 minimum)

Collaboration between students or staff:

COST

Pinterest: Teachers and staff can create boards to share with each other on
educational ideas.
Linoit: Teachers and staff can create one board and post ideas to it.
Google Drive: Teachers can have one document and everyone can view or edit

cost

the document to add things. This would be great for Market Day or the
School Fair. Everyone can sign up on the drive instead of having to pass
around a piece of paper.
Disseminate Information:
Remind101: I use this in my class now and my parents love it. I like it
because they cant text back and I can send short reminders of upcoming
assessments. www.remind101.com

cost

SchoolRack: I use this in my class to post homework in case someone forgets

it at school they can go to the website to view it. www.schoolrack.com
Research:
History: www.teachinghistory.org This website has great teaching materials
and resources for grades 6-8. This site would be good to use to have
students view the photographs and video clips.
Science: www.undsci.berkeley.edu This website is great for teachers and

All of

students. They have resources for all grades organized by unit. They also

these

give you hands-on experiments to do with kids.

are

Language Arts: www.teachervision.com This website has fun online language

free

arts games to help your students with the parts of speech.

Math: www.aplusmath.com This website is great for students and parents. It
offers games and worksheets as well as a homework help tab.
Assessment:
Exemplars: www.exemplars.com This website gives you guided questions to
ask students to see if they really understand the topic.
Intervention Central: www.interventioncentral.org This website gives you
great RTI resources. Also there is an area for you to type up a passage and
then it will create a cloze reading passage for you.

All of
these
are
free

Multimedia:
Screencast: This allows students to video what they are doing online and it
uses audio.

Free

INNOVATIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

As technology changes and advances over time, we as teachers need to stay current

with the changes to best reach our learners. In this part of the needs assessment we
need to evaluate our current use of technology and offer recommendations for
improvement.
TECHNOLOGY USED FOR INSTRUCTION
CURRENT

RECOMENDATION

Promethean board is used as a glorified

Create interactive flipcharts or download

white dry erase board. Teacher writes

interactive flipcharts that have already

all information on the board. Does not

been created on prometheanplanet.com.

make it interactive.
COLLABORATION OR COMMUNICATION
Currently, e-mail and calling parents is

Remind101.com and get as many parents

the easiest way to communicate.

signed up. Send out weekly text

messages about upcoming events in the
classroom.

STUDENT PRODUCTS THAT DISPLAY UNDERSTANDING OF COURSE CONTENT

Students do a quick write over their

Teacher creates a kahoot over the topic.

understanding.

Teacher creates a short multiple choice

Students complete an exit slip over their

quiz on My Big Campus.

understanding.
TEACHER PRODUCTIVITY AND ORGANIZATION
Teacher files things in data binder or in

Teacher downloads information onto

tote.

Google Drive or cloud.