Technology Evaluation Wayside School By Stacie Barker

A little background knowledge on Wayside School. It is a Title 1 school, which operates on an Indian Reservation in the United States. The district is made up of roughly 540 students, grade K-12. The school serves 98% Native American students. All the students are enrolled in the free lunch program.

Administrative Filter behavioral Policy

Type

Rating

Emergent Emergent Islands Emergent Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated

resource/infrastructure behavioral Planning resource/infrastructure behavioral Budget resource/infrastructure behavioral Administrative Information resource/infrastructure

Evaluator Comments Technology is informal and inconsistent No technology plan exists Planning takes place but only on specific projects Informal plan Technology planning budget Formal technology budget available Systems are in place but they are not integrated into regular practice Systems are available to administrators and staff

Curricular Filter
behavioral Electronic Information

Type

Rating

Islands Islands Integrated Islands Emergent Islands

resource/infrastructure behavioral Assessment resource/infrastructure behavioral Curriculum Integration resource/infrastructure

Evaluator Comments Students and staff are somewhat dependent on technology Resources are beyond basic but are not available to all parts of the school Some computer testing is used by most staff Electronic tools are not readily available to use all the time Some technology is used in the curriculum Technology is available to some curricular areas but not all

behavioral Teacher Use resource/infrastructure behavioral Student Use resource/infrastructure

Islands Islands Emergent Emergent

Technology is used by teachers but not everyday Some teachers have access to technology in their classrooms, while others do not Technology is used mainly for remediation or enrichment Students have inconsistent and irregular access to technology

Support Filter behavioral Stakeholder Involvement

Type

Rating

Island Emergent Emergent Emergent Emergent Emergent Emergent Island

resource/infrastructure behavioral Administrative Support resource/infrastructure behavioral Training resource/infrastructure Technical & Infrastructure Support behavioral resource/infrastructure

Evaluator Comments Few are engaged in the implementation process Few groups are represented in the planning process Support is very limited by the administration No time for the planning and implementation process Few staff participate in trainings, usually only a few are sent Very limited training available for teachers Few staff make use of the limited support that is offered There is limited support available to teachers

Connectivity Filter behavioral Local Area Networking

Type

Rating

Emergent Emergent Islands Islands Islands Islands Islands Emergent

Evaluator Comments Available network is irregular Slow speed network is only available Staff us district services but it is very basic Limited district area networking available Curriculum integration is limited, but internet is used frequently Limited internet access Email is used, but not the main form of communication Email is available to most staff, but not to students

resource/infrastructure behavioral District Area Networking resource/infrastructure behavioral Internet Access resource/infrastructure behavioral Communication Systems resource/infrastructure

Innovation Filter New Technologies

Type behavioral

Rating

Islands

Evaluator Comments New opportunities for experimentation with new technology is limited.

resource/infrastructure behavioral Comprehensive Technologies resource/infrastructure

Islands Emergent Emergent

New technology is accepted, but most of the staff do not implement it Technology is limited to computers, and a few other technology Available technology is limited and most staff do not use it to the full potential

After taking the technology survey my eyes are really being opened to the work that needs to be done at Wayside School. I always knew we were behind in the technology area, but after completing the survey I realized just how behind the school really is. I think they are starting to head in the right direction, but it is going to take hard work and commitment. Not only from the teachers but also the administrators of the school. After looking over the survey it is apparent that Wayside School falls under the Emergent stage more often than not. Some of the reasons the school falls in the Emergent stage is because of lack of resources. The school does not have adequate technology resources available. SMART boards, teacher computers, and computer labs are used in the school but they are extremely out of date and need to be updated. Lack of training available for teachers to successfully implement technology is not available. In the three years I have spent at Wayside School I have received training specifically on technology only once or twice. Some of the teachers do not want to use technology. They are not open to having to learn how to use a new piece of technology. Administrators talk about using technology but that is where it stops. The administrators do not follow through with the technology and have very limited technology backgrounds. The reservation that Wayside School sits on currently does not have fiber optic lines, so internet is very slow and limited. This summer they are going to begin putting in fiber optic lines throughout the reservation. This will be a positive for not only Wayside School, but also all the members who currently live on the reservation. This means more families will have access to internet at home who did not before. Wayside School lost their technology personnel during last summer. This meant none of the computers were updated and the technology problems from the following year were never addressed. Wayside School finally hired technology personnel a few months into the school year. They are still trying to address all the problems from the

following year. I believe they are working very hard, but there is only so much that can be done in such a short amount of time. After this year is over I will be putting in my resignation at Wayside School. I am very interested to see what my new school district has in place for technology. In a perfect world I would love the newest technologies available, training on successful implementation of the technology, support from both the administration and the teachers. I wonder if such a place exist, after spending an entire semester hearing from teachers from all the United States it sounds like every district has their share of problems. My hope is that we as teachers are all helping our school districts to move from the Emergent/Island stages to the Intelligent stage.