Competency 9

Technology availability at Jeffers Hill Elementary School seems fairly basic for an elementary school. The
Howard County School system has a deal with Apple so the entire faculty has an Apple device of some
sort and the computer labs have iMacs. Technology use seems to be expanding, as there is a
Technology class that all grade levels take, and seem to be quite interested in. That being said, I have no
idea when they will start to give students individual devices, I dont think that will be a possibility due to
the high cost of Apple devices, compared to BCPSs deal with Microsoft, who have more inexpensive
laptops for students/staff.

The laptops seem to be a widely used and important tool for the teachers/staff, but the software they
use for the school system seems to have a lot of bugs and can hinder the effectiveness of the teachers.
Other devices such as the projector seem to be used sparingly and only as a necessity for meetings or
class.

As for the music classroom, there is an Elmo projector, electric keyboard, Bluetooth speaker system, and
the county-provided Macbook Air. All of these devices are used all the time in class, to provide a
musical backdrop for students to sing behind and as a teaching aid.