Hannah

McCaffertySecondary Education:
History

TECHNOLOGY ANALYSIS
PROJECT REPORT
(GROUP B)

Chris NguyenSecondary Education:

History
Madison TreserSecondary Education:
Mathematics
Damon VossSecondary Education:
History
Zachary WamplerSecondary Education:
History

We began our project with a moderate proposal for the school. This proposal illustrates the
essential pieces of technology a new school needs to operate. Based off of our budget of $500,000.00,
twenty-five classrooms with twenty-five students in each class, we were able to choose three tools that
are essential. In this report, we will list all of our possible choices with price, pros and cons, and use in
the classroom. We will then reveal our final three we plan on implementing in the school and the overall
price of these tools. Our top three choices were chosen based off of price, functionality, user friendly,
and if they were all compatible with each other. At the end of the report, we will explain how we are
going to train our teachers, maintain this plan of action, and our total cost.
There are several benefits to having this technology in the classroom, but the primary benefit
we all agreed upon was student engagement. Engaging students in the classroom is always beneficial.
The benefits from engagement affect all parties involved in a learning environment, from individual
student, to parents and teachers. Statistically students interested and involved in the learning processes
have a much better understanding of the material, and go on to become self-motivated learnings in the
future. Which brings us to the problem at hand; so exactly how are teachers supposed to consistently
engage their students? There is no one straight-line answer to this, but educators from across the globe
have come to understand that the proper implementation of technology can positively affect students
through engagement. With this in mind, my colleagues and I propose the implementation of three
specific technology resources for a new school corporation to adapt in order to maximize student
learning.
The first resource is a student information system known as Alma. Alma is software that allows
for open communication between parents, students and teachers outside of the classroom. This
communication comes in the form of current grades, attendance, event calendar, announcements and a
message board for homework help. The benefit of software such as Alma is that it breaches the
boundaries between home and the classroom. Parents now have an exact idea of what their students
are working on at school. Similarly through Alma students have a resource at home where they can ask
the teachers questions regarding assignments. Furthermore, Alma solves the proposed problem of
engagement by being a visual reminder of their standing in each class. Students can see their score on
assignments and overall grade anytime they wish, in turn intrinsically motivating them to submit their
best work.
The second resource we propose to implement is the Microsoft tablet, the Surface 2. This
tablet is unique in that it functions identically to a traditional operating system. Students will have the
computing power of any desktop in the form of a portable, user friendly tablet. This powerful tablet aids
in solving the proposed problem of engagement by letting students to take learning into their own
hands. Additionally, another benefit utilizing the Surface 2 is that it is extremely cost effective in
comparison to purchasing laptop and desktop computers.
Thirdly, my colleagues and I propose that the school corporation enact the Mimio
Whiteboard in order to foster student involvement and maximize learning. The Mimio Whiteboard is a
gadget that is universally compatible with any whiteboard. The Mimio apparatus attaches to the side of
the whiteboard, and horizontally projects a LED light that makes the whiteboard interactive using the
Mimio software. This directly solves the proposed problem of student engagement because it does
exactly that; require students to interact with their learning. An example of this would be a geography
teacher projecting an interactive map of Japan on the whiteboard. Students would look over the

projected map of Japan, and come up to the board in order to touch any region on the map. The LED
light corresponds with the students touch on the Mimio projection, and an image of the chosen areas
landscape would appear for all students to see. This technology tool not only visually engages students
but serves as a platform for teachers to take their class to places that would otherwise be inaccessible.
My colleagues and I propose the implementation of the technology resources known as
Alma, Surface 2 tablets, and the Mimio Whiteboard. These technology tools in their own effective way
directly answers the dilemma that teachers face, engaging students in the classroom. The proposed
resources have a plethora of educational benefits that will in turn teach students to take control of their
education.

In regards to implementing the technology in the classroom, we chose to break it down by each
piece of technology we selected and then broke it down through bullet points:
o

Alma must have a training session

training is included in the Gold package

there are three full days of training with this package

support visits anytime needed prior to noon

the three full days of training will be 2 weeks prior to school starts

Surface 2

teachers will be issued the tablets at the beginning of summer before school
starts

students will then be issued tablets at the beginning of the school year

there will be a full day of training given by the schools tech advisor

Mimio

this will allow the teachers to get used to the technology

there will be a Mimio Training Quick learn session

this will be a full one day training that is online based

there are also free webinars

the entire training process is free

the tech advisor teachers will educate themselves on this tool and also guide
their fellow teachers in the device

Total Implementation Time and Training

There will be a full week of training two weeks prior to school

The first three days will be on the Alma System

The fourth day will be on the Surface 2

The fifth day will be on the Mimio smartboard

Cost:
In completing this project my colleagues and I believed that we needed to find effective
technologies, while staying under budget. Taking into consideration the cost of the many
aspects of this implementation, we have decided that the most inexpensive options of the
highest quality technologies would be the best option. Below we have listed two scenarios, in
which the students are given the Windows Surface 2 with or without the option to bundle. The
figures below demonstrate each option we found necessary for the classroom including the
three major technology options for the one to one technology integration. Each option stayed
under budget, although scenario one came very close to the budget.

Item

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Surface 2 with the bundle

1 @ $653
625 total =
$408,125

Surface 2 without the bundle

Warranty for the Surface 2

1 @ $406.10
625 total =
$253,812.50
1 @ $99
625 total = $61,875

Mimio Whiteboard

1 @ $1,066
25 total = $26,650

1 @ $1,066
25 total = $26,650

Alma Software

$3,000 per year

$3,000 per year

Computer for teacher and a classroom set of

3

1 @ $579.99
100 total = $57,999

1 @ $579.99
100 total = $57,999

Power Strips for Classroom

1 per room

1 @ $3.89
25 total = $97.25

1 @ $3.89
25 total = $97.25

Wifi Gateways
1 per room

1 @ $100
25 total = $2500

1 @ $100
25 total = $2500

Cost of internet for the year

per month @

per month @ $64.95

Project Total Cost

$64.95
per year @ $779.40

per year @ $779.40

$499,150.65

$406,713.15

We took several things into account when we were coming to the conclusions we did.
The first of these criteria was effectiveness in and/or out of the classroom. The Alma Student
Information System was the first of these choices. Based on the reviews of the system we
gathered that it was easy to use after being trained. It was effective because it easily keeps
track of grades and other classroom management aspects. The Mimioboard is effective because
it is versatile. The board itself is a basic whiteboard and can be used as such but the interactive
projector that the user attaches to the board makes it interactive. That projector can be used
on any board and that is what makes it effective. The Surface 2 is a computer in the body of a
tablet. It comes with a stylus that students can use to write notes but it is also saved digitally. It
takes up little space and is easier than a laptop to carry around. The next criteria that our group
used was the price. All three technologies, compared to other technologies like it, are a cheaper
choice but we still get a bang for our buck.
These technologies would be good for this school because they give students and
teachers the resources they need to succeed in academia. Keeping track of the students
progress through the year and communicating with both students and parents are an important
part of a teachers duties. With the Alma system teachers can create custom gradebooks for
their classes and custom grade reports which can be sent home with students. Alma has a
calendar feature that allows teachers to communicate with students and parents what they are
currently doing in the class. The Surface 2 is a tablet that has both a keyboard for typing and a
stylus for writing. It has been proven by psychological studies that students remember things
that they write more than those that they type. The Surface has the capabilities to be written
on and still have these notes saved digitally so they cannot be lost. The Surface is also a PC so it
runs Windows software including Microsoft Office which is a main tool that students will use in
school. The power of a PC and the handiness of a tablet are combined into one tool that will be
the tool for success in the school. Teachers can use these tablets for many of the same reasons.
The Mimioboard is a cheaper and more efficient alternative to the SMART Board and
Promethium Board. It can be used by more than one person at once and any whiteboard can
be turned into a Mimio interactive whiteboard. It also can work with any software, Windows or
Apple OS. This versatility is important to a 1:1 school because students will use their Surface 2s
to bring many different creative outlooks to the classroom that can be explored. Our
technologies are going to make education fun and easy for all who are involved.