Delgado 1

Daisy Delgado

Jodi Flowers

EDU 214

9/20/2022

Administrator Interview

I got the chance to learn about technology in the schools with Ms. Godinez via email and

in person. Ms. Godinez is the principal at Tobler elementary school. She has been an

administrator for Clark County School District for about eight years, but this year will be her

fifth year at Tobler. She enjoys watching her students grow and achieve their goals.

We started the conversation if Tobler has a technology plan and who creates the plan. She

began to tell me that Tobler does not have a technology plan and that Clark County School

District has several different “plans” for technology. The district has a plan and uses LMS,

Canvas. They have a plan for their technology standards, but she doesn’t think there is one

overarching plan, and that different departments create their own plan.

Ms. Godinez mentioned that making decisions on which technology is purchased for the

school and where it’s placed is based on what a teacher needs. That her first year at Tobler all the

projectors were falling apart and needed to be replaced. It took some creative budgeting, but she

purchased new projectors for the entire school. I asked her what if a teacher needs a type of

technology for their classroom and what is the process of providing one. She said that if one of

her teachers needs a certain item they would have to put in a request for that item and the school

must see if it is within budget, and if the technology is beneficial for the student. Currently, at

Tobler, they have teachers who utilize Donor’s Choose to try to get different things funded. They
 Delgado 2

have a teacher who is trying to get a maker space, with a 3-d printer funded through Donor’s

Choose.

“Tobler has a full-time site-based technician who is wonderful,” says, Ms. Godinez. He is

the person to go to if any type of technology arises in the classroom or if a teacher needs support.

Mr. Myers is the technician and is always on top of everything and gets things fixed

immediately. Sometimes things will need to be sent out for repair but in those cases, Tobler has

backup items that teachers can use until the item is repaired. I asked if all schools have someone

on call for their technical support, and she said that not all of them. I thought that would be

helpful if all schools had a technician 24/7 in case of issues.

The school does offer courses for teachers to learn how to use the software and hardware.

According to Ms. Godinez, the teachers have several options for self-paced classes on their

learning management system that they can take. But most teachers learn on their own or from

their colleagues.

Currently, at Tobler, they do not have any type of events or activities that involve the

community with the school’s technology. I asked Ms. Godinez what the reason was for not

having the community involved. She said once the school has the maker space up and running

that it would be great for getting their community involved with the school’s technology.

Ms. Godinez and I later got to discuss what was Tobler’s best features that were related

to technology in learning. She said that Tobler is a one-to-one school and that is a blessing and a

challenge because it allows teachers to access different ways of teaching and differentiating for

students. It can be a challenge because teachers can overutilize technology and it can get in the

way of the student achievement. I mentioned to her that I do agree that technology can get in the

way of a student because it can be a distraction for them while trying to learn.
 Delgado 3

The Clark County school district adopted new technology standards recently says, Ms.

Godinez. This is to ensure students have an equal opportunity to learn how to use computers

while enrolled in the school. It helps guide teachers on what needs to be taught in each grade

level. Listening to Ms. Godinez say that CCSD did that recently will help not just teachers but

students as well in their learning. I brought up to Ms. Godinez if there was any digital divide that

exists among schools in the district, and she said “there used to be, but not anymore. After covid,

CCSD made every school a one-to-one school which helped close that divide.

I thanked, Ms. Godinez for her time and for answering the questions that I sent her via

email. Listening to her, how technology does make an impact in the schools and for our students

but it seemed that CCSD does not support or have much funding for schools so teachers can get

the materials and technology they need. I did mention that to her, and she said that “CCSD could

do better to provide better technology for schools, but as an administrator, I do my best to help

the teachers at Tobler.” That I can agree on, and I hope that one day I can provide my future

students with the best technology and materials.

 How long have you been an administrator at Tobler?

-“This is my fifth year as principal, and I was vice principal for my first year.”

 What type of technology did Tobler provide for teachers and students during the

2020 pandemic?

-“We provided every student and teacher a Chromebook. We also provided hot

spots so they can have connectivity.”

 Do you think using technology in the autism classroom help students and

teachers?
 Delgado 4

-“Absolutely, technology can often be a way that a student can communicate, and

it can be their voice. Technology can also be a very effective reinforcer for

students as well as open other avenues for instruction.”