Demographics

! International Christian School, or ICS, is a private, international school located in a rural

area of Japan. ICS follows the American calendar with some exceptions made for Japanese holidays. ICS is accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). It is also recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Education as an accredited school. ICS consists of an elementary, middle and high school all contained in one school building. Of the 399 students that attend,107 students are in the high school, 91 students in the middle school and 201 students in the elementary school. 51% of students are male and 49% are female. The chart below breaks down the number of students per grade. Student Distribution Per Grade 60 45 30 15 0 12th 11th 10th 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st K High School Middle School Elementary School

As a private school, there are a wide range of income levels. Students come from

families that are US service members, base contract workers, international business professionals, local industry workers and missionaries. Missionary children make up 5% of the

student population. The majority of students are able to meet the low yearly tuition but 7% of students attend ICS on scholarship and assist in classrooms after school to help reach tuition. ! ICS is a culturally diverse school and while it is located in Japan, there is a high

presence of Americans because of the US military. Due to this presence of American military, many students are raised in multi-cultural, multi-lingual families. Below is a breakdown of citizenship of our students. It is helpful to note that 67% of these students claim dual citizenship. Japan USA Korea Philippines India Other 0 13 25 38 50 Student Citizenship

Percentage of Students ! ! ICS accepts students from all backgrounds and languages, but all instruction is

delivered in English and students must meet a basic english prociency level to be admitted. However, for a majority of students, English is not the rst language or the language spoken at home. Please see the chart below for percentages of home languages. This can make communication from teacher to students, teacher to families, and student to student difcult. First Languages

1%

33% 66%
English Japanese Other

Due to ICSs location in an environment of many rich cultures, bilingualism is

encouraged. Starting in 2nd grade and continuing through 8th grade, all students are required to take a Japanese class. All 9th-12th grade students are required to take 2 years of language. This can be a Japanese class at ICS or students may take a foreign language through Sevenstar online classes. Three students are currently utilizing Sevenstar resources to take several classes that are not offered at ICS. ! As a Christian International school, ICS has many unique characteristics. The school is

considered a Gakko Hojin in Japan. This means it is considered a non-prot school corporation by the Japanese government. ICS is governed by a council made up of stakeholders from the parents, teachers, alumni and local pastors and ministers. The Council approves organizational plans and budgets from the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is selected from the Council and voted on by the Council. The Board of Directors sets policy, tuition and fees and hires faculty and staff. Under the Board is the schools administration which consists of a Superintendent, a principal for the high school and middle school and a principal for the elementary school and others. The current Superintendent and elementary principal hold a Masters degree while the middle/high school principal has her Doctorate. ! Another important piece of ICS is the teaching staff. ICS currently employs 29 full-time

teachers, 2 learning coaches, 5 aids and 1 part time teacher. All of the teachers are required to have a Bachelors degree but it does not need to be in education and they do not need to possess a teachers certicate. However, upon employment at ICS teachers are required to complete the ACSI certication process and are provided with the training and resources to achieve certication. ACSI certication provides professional credentials to Christian school educators. The majority of teachers are missionary teachers and sign a 2 year contract for employment. Occasionally teachers will extend their contract by 1 or 2 years but many return

to the United States after 2 years. This high turn-over in teachers can be difcult with students and cause students to be hesitant about forming relationships and trusting their teachers. Teachers must be exible and willing to serve where needed. There is a limited substitute pool which requires aids and administration to often be called to ll in. ! In order to assess ICS based on the Maturity Benchmarks Survey, I was able to use my

own experience as a former ICS employee. I had access to the latest accreditation report and the current technology plan. I also spoke with ICSs Education Technologist and the guidance counselor, who also serves as a Jupiter training specialist and assists the Education Technologist. We reviewed the Maturity Benchmarks Survey and discussed each point in depth.

Maturity Benchmark Results

Administrative Results: Islands Stage ! Overall ICS has ranked in the Islands stage for the Administrative lter. While a formal

technology use plan does exist at ICS, it is not comprehensive and limited in scope. It focuses on administrative and ofce needs and covers very little educational needs. While it is supported by the administration, it is not implemented and many teachers are unaware of its existence and had no input into the planning process. The budget is very limited and not easily adjusted. ICS recently upgraded to a paperless system but training has been limited and the new system is not used regularly or correctly. Policy ! Policy refers to the administrations creation, application and use of a policy regarding

the appropriate use of technology. It also encompasses the formal approval of the policy.

Behavioral: Islands ! At ICS appropriate technology use is considered and has been formalized in a

technology plan. However, dialogue between administration and staff about technology use is inconsistent and the majority of teachers and staff are unaware of a formal plan and do not feel supported. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated ! A formal plan for technology does exist at ICS. It covers appropriate use of technology

in specic settings and sets several goals for use and acquisition. The formal plan also includes limited short term and long term strategies for technology. A more comprehensive plan is needed specically to cover more educational functions and goals for technology.

Planning ! A technology use plan can give direction and focus to a school. Short term and long

term goals and steps to achieve strategic goals should be identied and set in a formal plan. Behavioral: Islands ! Technology planning at ICS is isolated to specic projects focused mainly on ofce and

administrative use. Any formal planning also relies heavily on the budget. Many staff outside of the administration and technology support staff are unaware of a planning process or of the formal plan. They did not have input during the initial process and are often not included during re-evaluation of the plan. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! Due to the lack of awareness of the formal plan and disconnect during the planning

process by a majority of the staff, the implementation of the formal plan is isolated and inconsistent across the school.

Budget ! The budget for technology use is expected to cover both short and long-term needs. It

should encompass all technology needs and upgrades. Other budgets may be considered and connected with technology needs. Behavioral: Islands ! ICS has a formal budget for technology but it is isolated to specic technology needs

that are identied at the time the budget is created. For example, the budget may include the funds to complete a computer lab by purchasing enough computers for an entire class and to cover purchased programs such as Mathletics and Accelerated Reader. As technology needs arise during the year, there is often not sufcient funds in the budget to meet them. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! Technology is not considered in any other budgets and the budget provided for

technology is very limited. Many teachers use their own personal computers and iPads in the classroom and personal funds to purchase online resources such as Brainpop or Enchanted Learning.

Administrative Information ! Many schools rely on electronic systems to record attendance and grades as well as for

requests that were traditionally completed as paperwork. This could be to request substitutes, plan eld trips, request maintenance and other needs. Behavioral: Islands ! While ICS has an electronic system available for support activities that were traditionally

completed as a paper system, many teachers are hesitant because they are untrained in its

use. This results in irregular and often incorrect use. Many teachers use electronic resources for attendance and grade recording but some teachers remain reluctant to learn and use. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent ! As of the 2012-2013 school year, all paper requests have been transferred to electronic

request. These are available to all teachers, staff and administrators. Jupiter Grades, a webbased gradebook, has been adopted this year for taking attendance, recording grades and feedback and organizing student information.

Curricular Rating: Integrated Stage ! At ICS, there is an abundance of technology resources, specically for teachers.

However, even though the resources are present, not all teachers take advantage of the technology at hand. Many teachers are provided with different technology resources for assessment and utilize these on a daily basis. Students, on the other hand, do not have constant access to the technology resources at ICS. Many resources are currently restricted to teacher access only but ICS is slowly working towards opening up more resources for students. Electronic Information ! Electronic information refers to the abundance of information resources available

electronically. These resources can be varied in subject and depth of information and useful for both students and staff. Behavioral: Islands ! Many teachers are dependent upon electronic information resources because of the

isolation they experience in Japan. Teachers are unable to visit a local library or college to complete research or attend continuing education courses. There is a small section of

educational resources available in the school library that is occasionally used. Students are often given the opportunity to utilize electronic resources but do not use them regularly. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated ! Many electronic information resources are available at ICS, especially for educators.

These help to provide diversity and depth to learning activities. However, access can be limited and is not available at all times to all students.

Assessment ! Technology can be an invaluable tool for assessment and offers teachers new

opportunities to assess students. Students and parents can also take advantage of this form of assessment through its quick feedback and reporting abilities. Behavioral: Integrated ! As of the 2012-2013 school year, all teachers are using Jupiter Grades to plan

assessments, record grades and provide feedback. However, it is only currently available for staff. Parents and students do not have access. There is a plan in place to slowly open access to parents and students over the next year. Teachers and students also use other available tools on a daily basis to receive immediate feedback and to set goals through self-assessment. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated ! Along with Jupiter Grades, teachers have access to other programs, like Mathletics,

Spelling City and Accelerated Reader. These are web-based tools that provide immediate feedback to students and parents but these only apply to math and language arts. Some teachers use their own funds to access online assessment resources like Quia.

Curricular Integration ! Technology can be used to enhance lessons as well as provide new opportunities for

learning. Teachers should be integrating technology and technology resources into their curriculum. Behavioral: Islands ! While many teachers strive to use the resources they have been provided and integrate

technology into daily plans, it is often very repetitive and basic. Many teachers rely on presentations through the projector and the few internet resources they are familiar with. Some teachers experiment and use technology in more varied ways and attempt to encourage and train others. Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated ! Most curricular areas have technology available to them. All classrooms are equipped

with an iMac and a projector. Each grade level has at least one ELMO document camera to share and all classes have access to the computer lab. Different resources have been purchased for almost all subject areas and are available to all staff and students.

Teacher Use ! While technology may be available, it goes to waste if not used. Teachers have the

potential of using a very powerful resource in technology. Behavioral: Integrated ! Teachers daily use the technology they are provided with to plan lessons, write

curriculum and record grades. However, not all teachers use their technology daily to enhance their lessons.

Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated ! Recently the wireless network was upgraded to allow access in all classes. Now all

teachers are able to access the wireless network while at school through their own personal technology. All teachers have access to an iMac with internet and a connection to the shared network. They also have a projector in their classroom that can be connected to their computer or personal device, such as an iPad. However, grade teachers must share an ELMO document camera and do not have access to printers in their classroom.

Student Use ! Technology should not only enhance a teachers lesson and ease their workload, it can

also be used by students to deepen their understanding. It offers new opportunities for students to share their learning and helps reach students that learn in many different ways. Behavioral: Islands ! At ICS, student use of technology is gradually becoming more varied and frequent.

Currently students mostly rely on technology for math practice, reading assessment, research and word processing. Occasionally students use technology to create presentations. A few teachers have begun allowing students to create wiki pages and use blogging in addition to written projects. Hopefully this will continue to be encouraged and spread through all grade levels and subjects. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! There is one computer lab for high school and middle school students to share.

However, there are not enough computers for every student in classes with more than 22 students. This number drops even more when computers are not working. During the 2012-13 school year, a teacher has been assigned to the computer lab during all school hours and after

school. Now high school and middle school students may use the computer lab at any time, with teacher permission, if computers are available. The elementary computer lab only has 15 computers and many classes have between 16-20 students. Occasionally classes are split with an aid monitoring half of a class in the computer lab while the teacher works with the remaining students in the classroom and then the two groups switch. There is no permanent monitor for the elementary computer lab and students can only use it with a teacher present.

Support Rating: Islands Stage ! ICS meets the characteristics of the islands stage for the Support lter. Stakeholder

involvement has been limited while the administration seems to be supportive if slow in implementing technology use across the school. Qualied training is lacking at ICS causing teachers to be less involved in integrating technology or in accepting new technology. ICS recently hired an educational specialist to support teachers but one support person is not adequate for a Kindergarten through 12th grade school. Stakeholder Involvement ! At ICS, stakeholders consist of the parents, staff and teachers (missionary and local

hire) and alumni of the school. The stakeholders play an important part in directing the school through a Council and Board of Directors that is formed from Council members. Behavioral: Emergent ! One of the biggest complaints from stakeholders has been the lack of communication

between the Council, Board and administration and the stakeholders. This lack of communication affects awareness of current policy and plans being created and implemented. ICS is working on creating better communication through their website and email. Information is available but many stakeholders remain unaware and do not engage in the process. Parents

especially do not often attend Council meetings and so remain unaware and apart from the planning process. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! ICS attempts to represent all stakeholder groups during the planning and

implementation process at Council meetings. Parents, teachers, staff and alumni have the opportunity to state their ideas and concerns at these meetings. However, alumni must be at least 25 years of age, teachers and staff must have served at least 2 years at ICS and parents must have students that have attended ICS for at least 2 years to vote on any policies. Even with notice and access to meetings many parents and alumni do not attend Council meetings for varying reasons.

Administrative Support ! The support of the administration should extend through the planning of technology use

into the practice and implementation. The active, formal support of administration can encourage teachers and other stakeholders to value technology. Behavioral: Integrated ! The administration at ICS is very involved in the technology planning and

implementation process. They attend every Council meeting and attempt to continue dialogue on the process. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! While ICS administration is very involved with policy making, technology is not always

made a high priority. More time needs to be allocated to technology planning and to implementation. By increasing the time spent by administration in this area, more value will be given to technology planning.

Training ! Training is necessary for teachers and staff to feel condent in using technology

effectively and efciently. Training not only needs to be provided but it needs to be offered continuously and at differing levels of understanding. The staff needs to understand the value of training and not only attend but actively participate in training. Behavioral: Islands ! At ICS, teachers are required to attended technology training but it is not always

required of support staff, such as aids and ofce staff. While teachers attend training, they are not always actively participating. Teachers need to be encouraged to seek out additional training and experiment with technology on their own. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! Training is offered sporadically throughout the year, mostly when a new technology or

resource is introduced for the rst time. It is very limited in scope, usually focusing on specic technologies and resources that are provided by the school. There are also limited training personnel, only one to two staff members that are qualied to provide training. Often training is provided by the person who has the most experience with a technology or resource, not an expert.

Technical/Infrastructure Support Along with training, it is important to have staff available for technology assistance and continued training and support throughout the year. It would also be benecial to have support in learning to integrate technology into the curriculum and daily lessons. Behavioral: Integrated ! The majority of the staff at ICS use formal and informal support for technology. This

often means asking another teacher. However, not all teachers or staff use the support system available. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! ICS has a computer technologist but he is focused on the ofce and nance sections of

ICS. As of 2012, ICS has hired an educational technology specialist to support teachers and staff. However, he is the only formal staff for a K-12 school. Many teachers turn to other teachers for help rst. Getting support from the education technology specialist is not immediate and can require waiting a day or more depending on the urgency of the need.

Connectivity Rating: Integrated ! ICSs Connectivity rating meets the characteristics for the integrated stage for several

reasons. ICS recently partnered with a local internet provider, NTT, to upgrade their internet access and local area network. Teachers are able to access wirelessly anywhere on campus using school and personal technology. ICS has three local area networks to support teaching staff, ofce staff and students. They also use an off-campus server for back-up. However, there is no district area network and students are limited in their internet use. Students also do not have access to email on ICSs campus.

Local Area Networking (LAN) ! Many of the technological resources available require access to a network so that les,

information and more can be shared and accessed at more than one place. Behavioral: Intelligent ! ICS has three local area networks. One is specic for the ofce, one for the teachers

and one for the students. These networks can be accessed from any computer on the ICS campus. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent ! Since the network was upgraded, connectivity is much more stable and reliable

throughout the school building. The network is comprehensive and can be used for voice, video and data needs.

District Area Networking (WAN) ! While being able to share resources and easily communicate in a school is benecial, it

can be even more effective if information and resources can be shared across a district. Behavioral: Emergent ! ICS does not utilize a private WAN network at this time. As a private school in Japan,

there are no other districts in the area to connect with. The local military school districts are restricted and connecting to the Japanese schools would not be effective because of language difculties. Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent ! While ICS does connect through NTT, a local ISP, there is no dedicated district-area

networking infrastructure.

Internet Access ! Many resources require high speed internet to be use effectively. It is most benecial to

have access to internet throughout an entire building. Behavioral: Integrated

Many of the staff use the internet frequently for planning and enhancing lessons.

Students are able to access the internet from the computer lab with teacher monitoring. Internet use is being integrated into the curriculum and in specic, special projects. For example, the elementary school focuses on internet use during their yearly Culture Fair to research a country and create a wiki page to share their information. Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent ! ICS recently joined with a local company, NTT, to upgrade internet access. The teacher

iMacs and student iMacs are all connected by the ethernet. Wireless internet can also now be accessed from any room in the school building, including the separate gymnasium. Teachers can access the wireless network on personal devices, such as laptops and iPads, but students do not have this option.

Communication Systems ! Communication is priceless in a school environment. Communication between teachers,

students, administration, parents and the community is an everyday occurrence and email enhances communication immensely. Behavioral: Integrated ! All staff and teachers have access to email at school and at home. It is frequently used

between teachers and administration. Occasionally email is used to communicate between teachers and parents but any email communication is often followed by a paper communication sent home. Students are rarely communicated to through email. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! Upon employment at ICS, all teachers are provided with an email address of

rstnamelastname@ocsi.org. This email can be accessed through their iMac Mail application

or through gmail from a personal computer. Students are not provided with an email address nor do they have the ability to use school computers to check personal emails.

Innovation Rating: Islands Stage ! While ICS is striving towards adopting new, more comprehensive technologies it

currently meets the characteristics of the islands stage for Innovation. New technologies are occasionally introduced at ICS but many teachers are not accepting or willing to learn. Limited training does not help to encourage reluctant teachers to step out of their comfort zone. Comprehensive technologies at ICS are more limited to computers and projectors. Grades are able to share an ELMO document camera to help with digitalizing. Some A/V equipment is in the library only.

New Technologies ! Technology is a rapidly changing eld offering new tools and resources. It is important to

stay aware of new technologies and apply them systematically. Behavioral: Islands ! Many of the staff at ICS accept new technology quickly but they are often limited in

opportunity for training and experimentation. Some staff members are hesitant to try new technology and would rather reject it than take the time to learn. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! New technology is often introduced and accepted at ICS but very few teachers

implement it regularly into their classroom. Teacher reactions can be hesitant to hostile when asked to implement new technology.

Comprehensive Technologies ! Technology can be used regularly across subjects. In order to reach technology uses

full potential, it must be used comprehensively. Behavioral: Islands ! Technology is gradually expanding past computers in use at ICS. Teachers use

projectors daily and ELMO document cameras often. However, scanning is rarely used and A/V use is limited. Resource/Infrastructure: Islands ! All teachers have access to iMacs and projectors. Each grade level has access to an

ELMO projector but must share it between classrooms. A/V equipment is available to be used in the library only. Conclusion ! Overall, ICS is in the Islands of Technology stage. Computers are used across grade

levels to enhance instruction but is not yet a specic focus of instruction. ICS is working towards completing each computer lab by having enough available computers for each student so that all students can regularly access computers and internet. ICS has partnered with a local internet provider, NTT, to provide more reliable, stable internet access. However, at this time students do not have access to ICSs wireless network with their own personal devices. Students must use the appropriate computer lab during monitored hours. This can cause difculty due to the limited number of computers available. ! At this time, teachers are the main users of technology at ICS, with regular access to

many different resources. Teachers utilize these resources for communication and instruction but many have limited training and knowledge. Some training is provided by the school but it is not extensive. Training focuses on the few electronic information systems in use. Training does

not focus on how to integrate technology into instruction. Many teachers at ICS are also reluctant to leave their comfort zone and learn new technologies during training sessions. They also will not use their own time to learn and research ways to integrate technology into their daily lessons. Occasionally teachers have even been hostile about adopting new technology and would rather reject it in favor of what is already known. ! At ICS, there is currently a formal technology use plan. While the plan covers many

aspects of technology use it is not comprehensive. The plans main focus is on ofce and administrative use while the educational use sections are very general and limited. Short and long term goals are identied but again focus mainly on administrative and ofce needs, not educational needs. By providing more support to teachers through training, more access to resources for students and focusing on updating the technology use plan to be more comprehensive, ICS can mature in its technology use and grow from the Islands stage.