TechnologyProgramAdministrator

ByLeslieWalbert
FRIT7739:Spring2015

PartA:ProgramEvaluation

ExecutiveSummary
ThemediacenteratGreenHedgesSchoolservestheteachers,students,
administrators,parents,andstaff.StudentsatGHSincludeMontessoristudents
(preschoolages35)andgrades1to8.Ithasaprojector,andAppleTVtoproject
anythingfromourAppledevices,aniPadcart,andalaptopcart.Teacherscanalso
checkoutcameras,electronicmicroscopes,anddocumentcameras.Themediacenter
hasalibrarianthatstaysinthelibrary/mediacenter.Ourschoolalsohasatechnology
integrationspecialistandaparttimetechnologyspecialist.Thetechnologyintegration
specialistalsoteachesmath,thereforehisofficeisalsothemiddleschoolmathroom.
Thetechnologyintegrationspecialistprovidesteacherswithinstructionalresourcesand
trainingthatarebeneficialforteachers.Healsocoteacheswhenteacherswant
assistanceincorporatingtechnology.

Professionallearningissometimesheldinthelibrary/mediacenterwheniPadsor
computersareneededaspartoftheprofessionaldevelopment.Rulesand
responsibilitiesfordigitalcitizensarepostedandreinforcedbythelibrarianand
technologyintegrationspecialist.Thelibrarianisresponsibleforthelibrary/media
centerandcheckingoutresourcessuchas,iPads,MacBookAirs,documentcameras,
cameras,andelectronicmicroscope.Thetechnologyspecialistcomestoschool2times
aweektoprovideassistancetoanyteacherwhoneedshelpwiththeirdevice(iPad,
MacBookAir,AppleTV,projector,printer,etc.).Heisalsooncallwhennotatschoolto
assistwhenneeded.

Theschoolhasmademanyimprovementsonthetechnologyintegrationenvironment
byimprovingWIFInetworks,gettingmoredevices(morelaptops,gettingiPads,getting
AppleTVsforeachteacher),updatingdevices,andprovidingmoresoftware(interactive
WhiteBoardactivities,iPadApps,etc.).The3yearplanistocontinueimprovingand
updatingthetechnologydevices.Theschoolwillneedtodetermineiflaptopsare
necessaryorifiPadsaresufficient.GHSwillneedtoconsidermoretrainingfor
teachersandcreatingaformalbudgetforpurchasingtheneededtechnologyitems.

OrganizationalChart:

Methods

Datawascollectedbyinterviews(AppendixA),observations(AppendixB),andviewing
thecurrenttechnologyplan(AppendixC).Iinterviewedandobservedcurrentteachers
andthetechnologyspecialistsatmyschool.
Iconductedinterviewswithourcurrent
technologyintegrationspecialistandinformationaltechnologyspecialisttocollectdata.I
alsosentoutanopenendedquestionnairetoallofthefacultytogetfeedbackonhow
muchtheyintegratetechnologyandhoweffectiveithasbeenintheirexperience.Iam
mostlycollectingdataonhowthetechnologycentereffectivelyprovidestechnological
resourcesandnotasmuchwithliteracyresources.

CenterContextandGoals

ThemissionofthetechnologycenteratGreenHedgesSchool(GHS)istoprovide
teachersandstudentswitheffectiveanddependabletechnologytointegrateinto
learningandteaching.TheGHSlibrary/mediacenterisusedprimarilyasalibrarywith
mediaresourcesavailable.Therearenocomputerlabsatthisschoolbecauseourgoal
istobetechnologicallyintegratedbywayoftheblendedlearningapproach.This
approachcombinesfacetofaceinstructionwithonlineandtechnologicalinteractive
education.Thelibrarianistheonlypersonhiredtorun,facilitate,andmanagethe
library.Parentsvolunteerforeachclasstocomeinandassistthelibrarianinchecking
outbooksforthestudents.Theseparentsalsohelpwithorganizingandshelvingbooks.

Thegoalsofthemediacenterare:
Continuetrainingteacherstoimplementtheblendedlearningapproach.
Decidetohaveacombinationoflaptops(MacBookAirs)andiPadsorswitchto
changingovertoonlyhavingiPads.
CreateformalbudgetingprocessforIT.
Createa
processtopurchaseandupgradeequipmentona3or4year
technologylifecycle.
OrganizeanITleadershipteam/council/committeetodetermineITneedsas
relatedtohowITwillbeusedintheclassroombyteachersandstudents.
ITselectionswillbemadebyplanningandtesting.
Improvesystemsautomation.

Thestakeholdersincludestudents,teachers,administration,parents,andotherstaff
members.Studentsandparentscancheckoutbooks,magazines,videos/DVDs,CDs,
andaudiobooks.Studentsin4ththrough8thgradehavetheirowniPads.Teacherscan
checkoutiPadsforstudentsinMontessoripreschooluptograde3rdgrade.
Teachers/Administrators/staffcanalsocheckoutbooks,laptops,cameras(document,
video,anddigital),electronicmicroscope,videos/DVDs,CDs,andmagazines.

CenterActivities
Thepurposeofthisfacilityistoprovideavarietyofeffectiveresourcestothe
stakeholders.Theactivitiesareconductedonsiteandonline.Theonlineresourcecan
befoundontheGHSwebsitehere:
http://www.greenhedges.org/portal/greenhedgeslibrary/
.Parents,students,andGHS
staffmustlogontotheirHaikuaccounttoaccessthis.Theschoollibrarianpromotes
theStarReaderProgramwhichhasincentivesforstudentstoreadacertainamountof

hoursbytheendoftheyear.Shealsoinvitesguestauthorsandstorytellerstopresent
toalltheclasses(preschoolto8th).Eachclassgetstoattendlibrarytimefor45
minuteseachweekwherethestudentshearastory,havetimetocheckoutbooks,and
logwhatbookstheyveread.TeacherscheckoutlaptopsandiPadsonlinebyentering
adate,time,device,andgrade/teacheronGoogleCalendars.Thisismanagedbythe
technologyintegrationspecialist,notthelibrarian.Thetechnologyspecialistthatcomes
intwothreetimesperweekissometimesstationedinthemediacenter/librarybutis
oftenfoundallovertheschool(indifferentclassroomsandhelpingvariousstaff
membersaroundtheschool).Heandthetechnologyintegrationspecialistcanbe
contactedbyemailifsomeonewishestosetupanappointment.

Professionaldevelopmentisheldhereperiodicallyforfaculty,staff,andadministrators.
Thespaceisnotlargeenoughtoseattheentirefacultysoitissometimesusedasone
ofmanyroomswhenwearesplitupintogroupsduringinservice.Also,monthlyParent
TeacherAssociation(PTA)meetingsareheldhereforanyparentswhoareonPTAor
anyoneintheschoolcommunitywhowantstoattend.

CurrentState/Inventory
GreenHedgesSchoolhasimplementedaMacBookLaptopandiPadprogram
witharatioofdevicestostudentsofapproximately1:4and1:8,respectively.
TheLaptopsare3to5.5yearsoldrunning10.6.8
TheiPadsare0.5yearsoldrunningiOS6.0
TheschoolalsohasaMacOSXServer(10.6.8)whichprovideslaptop
management,datasharing,VPNandbackupservices.
Networkingisastandard100Mbpsethernetwithsomeareashavinggigabit
switchescapableoffasterspeeds.TheschoolalsohasWireless(WIFI)
networkinginallcampusareasprovidedbyAppleAirportExtremeunits(5years
old).Wifisignalstrengthisgoodinmostlocationsbutdensityofaccesspointsis
lowwhichcausescongestionwhenmanydevicesareconnectedand/orfor
higherbandwidthactivitiesthatrequirezeropacketloss(streaming
media/AppleTVmirroring).NumberofdevicesonWIFInetworkhasincreased
dramaticallyduetosmartphones,Laptops,andotherdevices(Printers,Apple
TV,etc)usingWIFI.

Softwareinuseattheschoolforthe201213yearonLaptopsincludesthefollowing:
Noteothersoftwareisinstalledbuttheabovesoftwareisthemostfrequentlyused.

WebBrowsers(Firefox,Safari,etc)
AdobeFlashandShockwavePlugins

iPhoto
MSFTWord
MSFTExcel
iTunes
Calcuator
Sketchpad
Inspiration
Etoys
GollyGeeBlocks
KidPixDeluxe
PhotoBooth
Sketchpad
TypetoLearn
AdobeCreativeSuite
FrenchSoftware

iPadshavethefollowingAppsinstalled:

GeoQuizbyBrainCafeFree

MerriamWebsterDictionaryHDFree
PainlessGrammarChallenge(Barron'sEducationalSeries) free

AmericanRevolutionInteractiveTimelineforiPad(Bluecadet)free
PainlessGrammarChallenge(Barron'sEducationalSeries) free
AmericanRevolutionInteractiveTimelineforiPad(Bluecadet)free
MerriamWebsterDictionaryHDFree
SingingFingers
ProMetronome
DrumKit
MusicKeys
Virtuoso
MusicIntervals
MusicTones
QuickFlashNotes
EarlyJamestown

Evaluation
Itisclearthatthelibrary/mediacenterprovidesalargevarietyofresourcestotheGreen
HedgesSchoolcommunity.Studentsinupperelementarythroughmiddleschoolare1:1
iPadsandstudentsinlowergradeshaveeasyaccesstotheiPadcart.Thereare
enoughextraiPadsforcheckingoutthatteachersdonotfeelthattheyareunavailable.
EveryclassroomhasaprojectorandanEnoBoard.Overall,teachersandotherstaff
membersoftheschoolfeelprivilegedandluckytohavetheaccesstogreattechnology.
Iwouldsaythatthecenterisfulfillingitsmissionbasedonthedatacollected.

Thesummaryofdatacollectedfromteacherinterviewquestionsincludesteachers
feelingsomelimitationswithtechnologyintegration.Theyarepleasewiththeamountof
resourcesprovidedbutmanydidnotfeelcomfortableusingthetechnology.Teachers
feellikethereshouldbemoretrainingprovidedwiththeirEnoBoardsandiPadapps
suchasNearPod,EdPuzzle,Edmodo,andSocrative.Theteacherswhofeelmore
comfortablearethefewwhohavereceivedexplicittrainingintheseapplications.Igot
severalcommentsfromteacherswhosaidthateversincewebecameblendedthey
havefeltlostinteachingeffectivetechnologyusagetostudents.20142015wasthefirst
yearthatstudentsdonotattendaseparatecomputerclass/computerlab.Therefore,
studentsareexpectedtolearntobecomfortablewithandutilizetechnologyasitis
blendedintotheireverydaylearning.Theproblemwiththisisthatnotallteachersknow
howtodothiseffectively.

Teachersseemedsatisfiedwiththecheckoutsystemforresources.Mostteachersfrom
grades1to8indicatedthattheycheckoutiPads34timesperweek.Mostofthethese
teachersalsosaidthattheycheckoutlaptops23timesperweek.However,the

MontessoriteachersexpressedonlycheckingoutiPads12timesperweekandnot
checkingoutlaptopsatall.ThisismostlybecauseoftheMontessorimethod.

AppendixA:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Interviewquestionsforteachers:
Whatlimitationsdoyoufacewhenitcomestotechnologyintegration?
Whatimprovementswouldyoumaketothelibrary/mediacenter?
Doyoulikethecurrentcheckoutsystemforteacherswhenitcomesto
technologicaldevices?Ifnot,howwouldyouimprovethis?
Howoftendoyoucheckout/useiPads?
Howoftendoyouuselaptops?
HowoftendoyouusetheEnoBoard?

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Interviewquestionsfortechnologyintegrationspecialistandtechnology
specialist:
WhatITrequirementsareneededintheupcomingyear?
Whatdevicesareneededorbeingconsideredacrossthegradelevels?
Whatlimitationsdoyoufacewhenitcomestotechnologyintegration?
Doyoufeelfacultyandadministrationusetechnologicalresourcestoitsfullest
extent?
Doyoufeelstudentsusetechnologicalresourcestoitsfullestextent?

Theseareobservationsfromthecurrenttechnologyspecialist.Theyaretypicalof
smallerorganizations.Pleaseconsiderthemcriticalbutnotunusualforaschoolofthis
sizewithparttimeITDirectorsandsmallITspends
.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Question:WhatareGHSsITneedsorproblems?
LackofformalbudgetingprocessforIT.
Noprocessinplacetopurchaseandupgradeequipmentona3or4year
technologylifecycle.
LackofITleadershipteam/council/committeetodetermineITneedsasrelatedto
howITwillbeusedintheclassroombyteachersandstudents.
ITselectionsmadewithoutplanningandtestingduetolackofrequirements
planningandshorttimelinesforimplementation.
TheschoolsITsystemsforRaisersEdge,FinancialEdge,Sandbox,LDAP
Server,GoogleandHaikuareallseparateandkeepingthelogindatabasesin
syncisahugeeffortfraughtwitherrorsduetoalackofsystemsautomation.

AppendixB:
Iconductedobservationsofhowoftenteachersutilizedtechnologyinoneweek.Here
aretheitemsIlookedfor:
1. Teachertechnologyusage
2. Studenttechnologyusage
3. Updatedresources
4. Updatedclasswebsitesforparentcommunication
5. Confidenceamongteachersimplementingtechnology
6. Confidenceamongstudentsusingtechnology.

AppendixC:
ThecurrenttechnologyplanindicatesthatthereareITneeds,requirements,and
updatesthatshouldoccuroverthenext3years.

LikelyITRequirementsinthenext0to3years

1. TheschoolneedstodecideonwhetherwewillbeupdatingourLaptopmachinesthat
areapproaching6yearsold.ApplehasnotmadeanOperatingSystemthatcanrun
onourfleetfor3yearsandsoftwarevendorsarestartingtodropsupport/compatibility
foroursystems.Needtobegina3yearreplacementprogramin2012/2013(e.g.,GHS
laptopmachinesareworthabout$200eachandnewbatteriesaloneare$125each)
a. Doweneedlaptops?Howmany?
b. WhatwilllaptopsbeusedfornowthatiPadsareviableandpopular?
c. ERBTestingisnowonline.Whatwilltheirrequirementsbefortesting?
d. Laptops(MacBookAir1364GB)are$1150withwarranty
2. iPadshaveprovenfairlypopularinthefirst2monthsofthe2012schoolyear.iPads
arebestusedina1:1programduetocurrenttechnicallimitations.
a. iPadscaneasilybeusedbyyoungerstudentswherecomputers
(mice/keyboards)areusuallybarrierstouseingrades3/4andbelow
b. iPadsarehalftheweight(orlessiPadMini),halftheprice(orlessiPadMini)
andhave45xthebatterylifeofalaptop,easilylastinganentireschoolday.
c. iPadsarenotthebesttoolsforsomeactivitieslikewritingabookreport.
Thoughitcanbedone,todaylaptopsseemtobeeasierforsomeactivities
especiallyforolderstudents(7/8thgrades).Thiscontinuestochangewith
softwareinnovationontheiPad.Andwemaywanttoconsiderkeyboarddocks
forsomeuses.
d. iPadMiniExpectedpriceforeducationis$350/machinewithwarranty.
RegulariPadprice$475$575permachinewithwarranty.
3. WirelessnetworkattheschoolisbuiltusinglowcostconsumergradeWAPs.
EnterprisegradeWAPsprovidemuchbetterthroughput,intelligenthandoffbetween
WAPs,multiplefrequency(2.4and5.0GHz),MIMOandothermanagement

capabilities.
a. AeronetisapopularmanufacturerforAppleandEducationalenvironments.
b. WIFIplanningisneededtodeterminenumberofWAPsneeded.Todaywe
have8WAPsbuthaverecentlyadded3newWAPstoimprovecoverage.I
suspectthenumbershouldbecloserto15whichwouldprovideaWAPfor
eachclassroom.
c. AerohiveWAP121runsabout$700plus$50/device/yearforthemanagement
software(cloudbased).Inquantitywemaybeabletogeta20%discounton
theinitialpurchase.