Chris ONeil

FRIT 7739
Technology Program Administrator

Part A: Program Evaluation

Executive Summary

LaFayette High School is a school located in North Georgia and is part of the Walker

County Schools system (WCS). In a school system with over 70% free and reduced lunch, LHS

is home to 1,245 students. LaFayette High is located in a rural community 45 Minutes South of

Chattanooga, TN.

During the process of observing and evaluating the Technology Program Administrator at

LaFayette High, Mrs. Courtney Asher, I attempted to observe and highlight the duties of

Lafayette High Schools technology program, how it relates to the technology program of the

school system, and how well the LHS technology program meets the needs of the 21st Century

student.

I began this process by creating an organizational chart to determine the hierarchy of

Technology Administrators in the school system and the broad duties and expectations expected

of each until I reached the technology program director at LHS. Upon completion of this chart I

began the process of the program evaluation in which several methods of evaluation were used to

determine my findings.

The context and goals in which the technology program at LaFayette High School

attempt to achieve were minimal, hard to find, and vague. The evaluation made is based upon

these context and goals as well as observed deficiencies and needs of the technology program

and its administrators at LHS and the WCS system.

Methods

I gathered data using several methods in order to complete my evaluation of the technology plan

at LHS. I began by looking the LaFayette High School Website as well as the Walker County

Schools website concerning the technology plan and intended use of technology at LHS and

across the school system (Appendix A). The next place I looked at was the LHS Teacher

Handbook for the same information (Appendix B). After this I conducted an interview with our

media specialist, who acts as our Instructional Technologist liaison at LaFayette High School

(Appendix C). After several sessions of observations I was able to create a checklist of items I

believe should be part of a technology program as well as those that are used at LaFayette High

School (Appendix D).

Instructional Technologies at LaFayette High School almost entirely runs through the library and

the Media Specialist Mrs. Courtney Asher. The media specialist at LHS answers to the schools

administration and the counties Instructional Technologist about all issues concerning

Instructional Technology.The main focus of the media specialist is print resources. This is the

checking in and out of books, purchase of books, and library oversight. Over the last few years

the media specialist has been given the duties of school instructional technologist. These duties

include many different duties including the oversight of 10 computers in the library in which

students are allowed to access, the management of 5 computer carts that teachers are allowed to

check out for classroom use, and the oversight of technology use and maintenance. The oversight

of technology mentioned above includes the maintenance of technology, the management of

student and teacher email, the management of PowerSchool and other software, along with all

other items considered technology related. If unable to manage, troubleshoot, or fix, our media

specialist can contact our school systems technology specialist who mainly deals with the

installation of new technology and the maintenance of broken technology.

Center Activities

There are several activities orchestrated by the Media Specialist at LHS that I was able to

observe during my time in the LaFayette High School Media Center.

The oversight of the library including the cataloging of books and media.
The management of printing and laminating, among other things, for teacher and school use.
The oversight of students research on library computers and the assistance with the process. This
includes helping students with the use of the internet, software, online resources, etc for the
use creating essays, papers, projects, and more.
Management and checking in and out of laptop carts for teacher use.
Troubleshooting and fixing technology and software issues.
The research and purchasing of new technologies when needed.
 The creation of online material for departments like Google Forms for Leadership Team and
Website for Online Learning program.

Evaluation

The use of technology is a growing at LaFayette High School and in WCS, but is behind

in the area integrating technology into the classroom compared to most other school districts in

the surrounding areas. This assertion was made while observing the use of technology in this

particular school during my observations as part of my practicum as well as during my time

employed in WCS. After completing my time of observing the use of technologies and the

administration of, I have found several areas of deficiencies that need to be addressed.

One of the main issues I have found with the Technology Program at LaFayette High

School is the lack of attention and detail paid to the use of technology on the schools website, in

the schools teacher handbook, on the school systems website, and even in the school systems

Strategic Plan. Without a detailed plan of action for the use of technology and its use for

instruction, a technology program is going to struggle to get off the ground and grow into what it

needs to be for the education of the 21st Century student.

Another main issue I have seen in my time observing the technology program at LHS is

the fact there is little support for the media specialist when it comes to technology. The current

media specialist went to school to be a school librarian, not an Instructional Technologist. Even

though the media specialist at LHS, Mrs. Asher, is a quick study and great with technology, there

should be more support in place for her. Only having one Instructional Technologist for a school

system with over 9,000 students k-12 is hardly enough. I believe there should be the main

Instructional Technologist for the school system and one Instructional Technologist for each

level, elementary, middle, and high schools at the least. If not one for each school. In the world
of education today where so much is based in instructional technologies, not having proper

support in place can only limit what is able to be done using technology.

The last major issue I see with the Technology Program at LHS is the lack of funds to

provide the amount of technology in the hands of students and teachers to meet their needs. As is

with most school systems, money is in short supply, thus causing there to be a lack of technology

to meet the needs of the school. What is in place is often outdated.

Appendix A:
Walkerschools.org
lhs.walkerschools.org
Walker County School District Strategic Plan
Appendix B:
LHS Teacher Handbook
Appendix C:
What is your main role as Media Specialist at LaFayette High School?
I am in charge of the school media center. Our media center houses books and technology.
Has your role as Media Specialist changed since you have been at LHS?
When I began as a media specialist, we had one stationary computer lab and most research was completed
using print materials. Now, we have a lab plus numerous mobile labs. Most research is completed using
the Internet.
What is your current role when it comes to technology at LHS?
I keep technology inventory, help troubleshoot, complete county technology requests when needed,
consult with admin on future purchases
Do you feel like you have the support you need when it comes to your role with technology?
For what we have, my support is fine for the most part. It is hard to keep these older machines working
efficiently. We have had county support with that in the past. The administrators know that we have
technology concerns and are trying to add new teacher machines each year. Technology is so expensive
and we have such a large population that it is hard to keep up.
What are the goals for the use of technology at LaFayette HS and in Walker County Schools?
We don't have a technology committee therefore no specific goals. Funding is an issue at LHS. Ideally, all
teachers will have a new laptop and the school can add additional mobile labs for student use
Do you feel like the technology offered at LHS is enough to support the needs and goals for the use of
technology at LHS?
No, we are falling behind very quickly. There are very few machines in the school that would be
considered up to date. WCSD has talked many times about a one to one initiative. There is no way that
LHS could fund that in the near future. The move towards Google applications this year is a move in the
right direction for the future. However, we can't get technology into the hands of ALL students on a daily
basis.
What role do you feel technology is going to play in education in the future?
I feel we are headed towards and education that cannot function with out the use of constant technology
use in the classroom. There is no turning back from here.
How well do you feel LHS does with teaching students Digital Citizenship skills?
I feel that LHS does not do an adequate job addressing Digital Citizenship skills with our students. This
may be lack of knowledge of the staff or the assumption that this has been addressed in another
classroom. Sometimes, I think our teachers are under the assumption as long as students are using a
filtered Internet that all is safe. I see on a daily basis that this is not the case. We need to do a better job of
encouraging Internet safety and etiquette.
Do you feel like the staff at LHS use Instructional Technology efficiently and effectively?
Overall, I think they do the best that they know to do. There is a lack of training at LHS for technology
use. Most teachers use it for research, typing and PowerPoint. There are so many more uses for
technology but most of our teachers have not been exposed to new ideas. More training with would be
great. Technology is lacking at LHS and training is a mute point with teachers until we can add more
student machines
Are there any ways you think the use of technology could improve on at LHS and/or in Walker County?
Better equipment, more equipment, more thorough training for student/teacher use Teachers are not
teaching students to be respectful of technology --whether it is appropriate use or even appropriate
treatment of the equipment.

Appendix D: Technology Program Checklist

1. Uses technology on a daily basis.

2. Is knowledgeable with the maintenance of technology and software.

3. Can help students and/or teacher with questions concerning technology.

4. Can demonstrate the use of technology using different tools.

5. Uses research based techniques when using technology in instruction.

6. Teaches students Digital Citizenship Skills. x

7. Can create items using Web 2.0 Tools like Google Forms, Sites, etc...

8. Manages student and teacher email and PowerSchool accounts

9. Collaborates with others in the system to improve the improve the use of x
instructional technology at LHS and WCS.

10. Has detailed plans for the future use of instructional technology at x
LaFayette High School.