Technology Needs Assessment

Todd Alexander, Geometry Teacher, Salem

High School
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: Salem High School in Salem, IN
Enrollment: 607
Staff & Administration: 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Athletic Director, 2
secretaries, 1 attendance clerk, 1 book store clerk, 1 nurse, 3 counselors, 1 social
worker, 1 alternative school teacher, 1 alternative school assistant, 32 teachers, 4
special education teachers, 5 special education aides, 1 study hall teacher, 1 librarian,
1 library assistant

TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES AVAILABLE

What does your school have available to students to further their
learning?

Current
#

Need #

Include computers, tablets, cameras, e-readers, calculators, etc.

Teacher/Staff Computers

52

365

40

Printers

42

SmartBoards

15

Projectors

12

Laptops

26

Tablets

32

Student Computers

Graphing calculators

30

30

Scientific Calculators

30

30

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.

Devices/software/applications/websites

Disability

Cost

WHAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE:

DEVICES
iPad: The special education department has two iPads
available for student use. During the school day, students
have a few opportunities to practice skills theyve learned
using various apps on the iPads. The apps are mostly for
rewarding good work in the class.
Non-Verbal
*Note: Our school district has very few high school special

Learning

education specific technology resources (there are more

Disorders

$300
$500

available at the elementary and middle school). All special

education classes have access to our computer labs. This is
the only case I found that their department has as far as
devices are concerned and they are used in the selfcontained special education class.
IPAD APPS
Chicktionary: This is a game of scrambled words. Students
use a set of given letters to come up with as many words as
they can.
Phonics Genius: This app helps students learn to speak,
read, and recognize over 6,000 words.

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia

Free

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia,
Aphasia,

Free

Dysphasia

Note: There are very few subject-specific apps that the special needs students are
able to use in the self-contained classroom. At this point, since there are only a few
iPads available for student use, they are used primarily as an incentive to do good
work in the class. Hence, students can be rewarded for good work by getting to play
with the iPad.
SOFTWARE
Complete Edmark Functional Words Series: This is a
computer series that the self-contained class has available.

Dyslexia,
Central
Auditory

$600

It helps students with word recognition. It has stories,

games, and flash cards to practice these skills.

Process, Nonverbal Learning

disorder,
Aphasia

WEBSITES
Math Playground: A website full of games to help build or
extend math skills in a variety of interactive ways.
Cool Math Games: Another website full of games to help
build or extend math skills in a variety of interactive ways.
Language Arts Games: A website with games to help
students with grammar, spelling, and vocabulary.

Dyscalculia

Free

Dyscalculia

Free

Dyslexia,
Nonverbal
Learning

Free

Disorders

RECOMMENDATIONS (10 minimum )

DEVICES
i-Clicker: A set of classroom clickers would be great to
incorporate for a student response system.

Central
Auditory,

$45 per

Nonverbal,

device

Visual

IPAD APPS
Operation Math: An app which is actually a game in which
students travel the globe while helping them learn addition,

Dyscalculia

$2.99

subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Conversation Builder for Teens: An app which is speech
therapy geared towards teenagers specifically. It has
auditory comprehension through written stimuli paired with

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia,
Central
Auditory,

auditory and visual representations.

Nonverbal,

Dragon Dictation: This is a voice recognition app where

Dysgraphia,

students can speak into the microphone and it will show the
text of the audio. This could help with speaking and spelling.

$19.99

Visual
Dyslexia,
Central
Auditory

Free

Process, Visual
processing,
Aphasia

Social Quest: A game app which helps all grade level

students with speech, language, and social skills.

Aphasia,
Nonverbal,
Dysgraphia,

$21.99

Dyslexia

i Get It!: This is a series of applications that help cognitive

growth and building language skills.

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia,

Varies

Visual

depending

Processing

on the

Disorder,

package

Aphasia

SOFTWARE
Dragon: Speech recognition software where students can
bring their voice to text on the computer.

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia

$99

Merit Solutions Software: There are multiple software

resources from Merit Solutions, ranging from math to reading
comprehension and vocabulary.

Dyslexia,
Dysgraphia,

Varies

Dyscalculia,

depending

Nonverbal,

on package

Aphasia

WEBSITES
Special Education Websites & Software: This site has multiple
tech resources for special education.
Educational Websites: This site lists, reviews, and links four
websites for students with disabilities, including Learning
Ally, LD Online, WhizKid Games, and Do2Learn.

All

Varies

Dyslexia,
Central
Auditory,

Free

Nonverbal,
Visual,
Aphasia
Study Island: A great resource for all grade levels to study

Dysgraphia,

language arts skills through interactive games and formative

Nonverbal,

assessments.

Visual,
Aphasia

Depends
on
Package

Distance Learning
School Website:
LINK: Salem Community Schools Website
The SCS website is used to keep the community up-to-date about happenings in the
school system. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators all have access to
resources from each school and information about the school corporation (calendar,
closings, jobs, events, etc.). Each school has their own section on the website. Each
school does not have its own website. Teachers are able to have information posted
on the website about their classes.
School Website recommended additions or changes:
The school corporation needs to make the website more user-friendly. The site is like
a big Easter egg hunt when it comes to finding information on there. It also needs
to be updated more regularly. There are times when events are posted that will show
up only a few days before the event occurs. Also, each school needs to have its own
website but linked from the SCS homepage.
Teacher Websites:
60% of the teachers at our school either have information posted on the school
(corporation) website or they have their own website. About one quarter have a
classroom website.
50% regularly update their information on the school (corporation) website. Only a
few do regular updates.

Staff with classroom websites use Weebly, Wordpress, and School Rack.
Teacher Website Recommendations:
I would like to see every teacher have their own website (preferably through Weebly)
or at least a section of their own on the school website. I would like to see every
teacher use it to introduce themselves to the community, offer resources for their
classes, and provide information about what happens in class on a weekly basis. I
think this goal should be achieved by the beginning of next school year.

Learning Management Systems

CURRENT

COST

There is not one universal learning management system being used by

the school. Some teachers have shared that they use Drop Box and
Google Docs for digitizing assignment submissions. Some use Remind
101 to keep students and parents informed about due dates. The

Free

closest thing we have to a universal learning management system is

PowerSchool which is used to keep track of attendance and grades.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
I would like to see us using sites like Edmodo, Schoology, or My Big
Campus to digitize assignments and assignment submissions. We
should research further the potential of using these three resources and

Free

choose the one which best fits our needs within the next two years.

Software Available
SOFTWARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE (20 MINIMUM)
PRODUCTIVITY/INSTRUCTION
Smart Notebook: Teachers (especially the math teachers) use this heavily in their
instruction.
Visual Basic: Computer Programming Classes
TI Smartview Calculator: A few of us math teachers have the TI Smartview to use on
the SmartBoard.
Microsoft Word: Written assignments in all classes.
PowerPoint: Presentations in all classes
Excel: Used in computer, business, math, and economics classes.
Drop Box: Some staff (mostly in English) use this for students to submit essays.
Google Drive: Some staff use this to share resources with students/parents and for
students to submit assignments digitally.
Pasco Capstone: Used for data analysis (physics class).

Virtual Physics: Used for digital physics labs

Molecular Modeling: Used for digital chemistry labs
Moodle: Teacher online websites with course information and resources.
Photoshop: Journalism and Art classes use this; the Yearbook team also uses this.
School Rack: Classroom websites and resources
Snipping Tool: I use this regularly when I make exams I take snips from
worksheets and various resources we use in class and attach them to my exam
documents.
GeoGebra: I use this to create geometric constructions for my math classes (its
similar to Geometers Sketchpad, but its free).
ASSESSMENT
Class Dojo: Classroom management app used by some special education teachers
Acuity: Algebra teachers are required to use Acuity testing to perform predictive
analysis of ECA Algebra results. Some of them also use Acuity for extra practice with
Algebra skills.
iTester: An online digital assessment system app.
NovaNet: Students needing extra credits or credit recovery can take courses on the
web through this resource.
ExamView: Many teachers use their exam view test generator to create tests which
are synched up to their textbook.
WEB BROWERS
Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Google Torch
MULTIMEDIA
Movie Maker: Used in history and English classes to do video projects.
Prezi: Online presentations for multi-media projects in many different classes
MANAGEMENT
Class Dojo: Classroom management app used by some special education teachers
Chart Keeper: I use this to keep tabs on attendance, behavior, and participation in
class.
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT/SECURITY
Microsoft Essentials: Our district wide antivirus software.
App River: Blocks spam on our emails
Firewall: Dell Sonic Wall is used to block and unblock websites
Software Recommendations

Cost $

We all have Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010. Pretty much all staff is
satisfied with these. I did a survey for colleagues using Google Forms.
Through their responses, I came to the following conclusions.
Document Cameras: Many teachers have requested document cameras to
replace the old school overhead projectors. Many teachers have these at

$200 -

our Middle School but we think its time for them at the high school. These

$1000

would ease the process of going through assignments and/or instruction

(especially in mathematics).
Tablets or Chromebooks: Many teachers would like to switch from
textbooks to tablets and Chromebooks for instruction and assignments. A

$1000s

department set would be a great start.

Online Resources
CURRENT ONLINE RESOURCES AVAILABLE: (15 minimum)
Collaboration between students or staff:
Email All staff correspond daily through our email system (which is through Outlook).
SCS Website Teachers can submit events to have posted to our website. We also have
a Salem Lions newsletter sent out every month to keep the community updated on
happenings at the high school.
Moodle & Weebly Some teachers use Moodle and Weebly websites to keep in contact
with students/parents outside of the classroom.
Facebook & Twitter The school has Facebook and twitter accounts. Many educators
also communicate with students/parents through those sites (we are a very tight knit
community). Several clubs have their own Facebook and twitter pages.
Disseminate Information:
Google: Teachers use google for forums, surveys, and quizzes.
QuizStar: Teachers use this online assessment system to easily manage quizzes.
Prezi: Some teachers opt to use Prezi instead of PowerPoint to teach lessons (its more
interactive).
Research:
History:
History Channel: http://www.pbs.org/
PBS: http://www.pbs.org/
The Smithsonian: http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/
US History & Government: http://www.ushistory.org/
CNN Money (Economics): http://money.cnn.com/data/markets/
Math:
Khan Academy (Online Video Resources): https://www.khanacademy.org/
iXL Math (practice skills in all grade levels and classes): http://www.ixl.com/math/
Wolfram Math (research all topics/information in math):
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/
Science:
Pasco Capstone: Online Physics Labs http://www.pasco.com/capstone/
Virtual Physics: Online Physics Labs www.nahliksoft.com/vphysics.html
Molecular Modeling: Online Chemistry Labs
http://chemagic.com/JSmolVMK2.htm?rid=&echo=
U.S. Geological Survey: Earth/Space Science Class: http://www.usgs.gov/

The Biology Corner: Anatomy & Physiology Class:

http://www.biologycorner.com/anatomy/
English:
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Compilation of Literature Sites: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/sites.htm
Grammaropolis: http://www.grammaropolis.com/
Business:
Accounting Coach: http://www.accountingcoach.com/
College & Career Readiness: http://www.betterhighschools.org/CCR/resources.asp
Art:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/
The Google Art Project: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/project/art-project
All Subjects:
Academic Research Premier (Ebscohost):
http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/academic-search-premier
Listing of Research Databases: http://www.asha.org/research/researchertools/databases/
Assessment:
Acuity (Algebra testing):
http://www.ctb.com/ctb.com/control/productFamilyViewAction?productFamilyId=444
&p=products
iTester: Online Testing: http://www.emetric.net/itester
Moodle STAR Testing: https://docs.moodle.org/27/en/Import_questions
Google Forms for Testing: http://www.google.com/forms/about/
Multimedia:
Prezi Interactive and Multimedia Presentations for Lessons: http://prezi.com/
Flickr Art and Photography uses this site/app: https://www.flickr.com/

Recommendations: (10 minimum)

Collaboration between students or staff:

COST

Todays Meet: Online collaboration/discussion: https://todaysmeet.com/

Google Drive The school needs to get accounts set up for the teachers so
they can share resources with one another. https://drive.google.com
IDOE Digital Content Cohort: Teachers across the state can collaborate in

All

cohorts via the IDOE site. There are cohorts for sets of grade levels for English

are

and math classes. http://www.doe.in.gov/elearning/digital-content-cohort

Free

MyBigCampus Not only can teachers set up classes on this site, they can
collaborate with students, parents, and other educators.
http://www.mybigcampus.com/
Disseminate Information:
Weebly Classroom Websites - http://www.weebly.com/

Free

Moodle Online Classes https://moodle.org/

Remind Sent text message reminders to students/parents
https://www.remind.com/
Research:
History Teaching materials for history teachers: http://teachinghistory.org/
English Language arts teaching resources: http://www.onestopenglish.com/
Science Science teaching resources:
http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/
Math NCTM resources for math teachers:
http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=538

Free

Business Hour of Code Coding Program (Yearly): http://csedweek.org/

http://code.org/learn
Art Digital Art Websites:
http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=67&entryid=584
Assessment:
Poll Everywhere Ask questions to students and respond to results in real
time: http://www.polleverywhere.com/
Socrative Online formative assessments: http://www.socrative.com/

Free

Mentimeter Online polling/formative questioning:

https://www.mentimeter.com/
Multimedia:
Padlet Digitizing multimedia projects: http://padlet.com/
Blendspace Online lessons with digital content:
https://www.blendspace.com

Free

Linoit Sticky pad for notes (English classes do this with literature but with
actual sticky notes): https://en.linoit.com

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

Smart Notebook

Teachers should use classroom websites

PowerPoint Slideshows

to make available assignments and

Lessons given on whiteboards and

resources (Weebly).

physical assignments or textbook

Teachers should look into using online

assignments

presentation tools such as Prezi,

PowToon, and Sparkol VideoScribe (Link).

Teachers should look into using YouTube

and ScreenCastOMatic to create flipped
learning experiences for their students.
Teachers should link videos from Khan
Academy on their websites as
enrichments or re-teaching exercises
to extend what was taught in the
classroom (more than math classes are
available).
COLLABORATION OR COMMUNICATION
Teachers primarily use email and the

I think teachers should expose themselves

school website to communicate with one

to the world of blogging. It has been

another and the community at large.

something I have wanted to do since my

Several educators and the school have

first year. It would be a great resource for

Facebook and Twitter pages to keep in

teachers to communicate and share

contact with the community.

concerns or potential developments in the

In class collaboration: primarily group

future for their schools. Googles

discussions, partner work, and debate.

Blogger would be a good place to start.

Teachers use a Google Hangout to
communicate with one another (preferably
between and among other educators from
other schools or districts).

STUDENT PRODUCTS THAT DISPLAY UNDERSTANDING OF COURSE CONTENT

Student Projects: PowerPoint

Use Google Docs to access and submit

Presentation and videos through Movie

word documents and excel spreadsheets.

Maker.

Teachers should also look into using Drop

Essays and written assignments can be

Box for students to submit work digitally.

done using Word.

Any quality video created for projects

Science, computer, math, and

should be shared via YouTube and linked

economics classes use excel

from the classroom websites.

spreadsheets.

Teachers should introduce students to the

Screen Cast tool in conjunction with either
PowerPoint or Prezi to create video
presentations.

TEACHER PRODUCTIVITY AND ORGANIZATION

Teachers are evaluated and submit

Teachers should try blogging to share

information (lesson plans, reflections,

their reflections with other teachers in

etc.) through Teachscape.

addition to the reflections provided to

Teachers use traditional plan books to

administrators.

write out lesson plans. Traditional

Teachers should try Google Docs to

gradebooks for grades.

digitize lesson plans and keep track of

We are in the process of designing a set

grades.

curriculum for all subject areas.

To aid with the curriculum development,

teachers should post resources for their
classes to their classroom websites.