Running Head: Needs Assessment 1

Needs Assessment

Ashley Calloway

University of West Georgia

 Needs Assessment 2

Needs Assessment

My name is Ashley Calloway, and I am a 7th grade special education interrelated

resource teacher at South Forsyth Middle School in Cumming, Georgia. This coming school

year I am also taking on the role of special education department chair. I teach 7th grade

resource and co-taught math, as well as 7th grade co-taught science. I am responsible for

managing a caseload of special education students in addition to my teaching duties. As

department chair I will also be supporting the needs of all special education teachers in the

school as well as working as an intermediary between the department and administration.

Needs Assessment Process

The purpose of a needs assessment is to determine how to bridge the gap between the

status quo conditions of an organization and more optimal desired conditions or outcomes of a

organization. Throughout this process I have discovered that an important part of the needs

assessment is to determine what the desired conditions or outcomes actually are. An equally

important outcome of a needs assessment is identifying problems or issues that can be

improved. As I began developing my survey and interview, I endeavored to keep the questions

open-ended enough to get stakeholders’ true opinions, yet also specific enough that the

information gathered would be applicable to my school’s technology needs. I conducted my

survey by sending out a link via e-mail. I chose a variety of teachers from all grade levels and

subjects at our school. I sent out the surveys via e-mail and followed up with texts since some

teachers do not regularly check their e-mail in the summer. Fortunately, I got seven responses in

the span of a few days. I used the Survey Monkey’s analysis page to look at overall percentages

and individual answers. It was very helpful in narrowing my focus to perceived issues and

possible solutions. In addition to the surveys, I also made an appointment with one of my
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assistant principals, Dr. Jo-Ann Jackson, to conduct a technology interview. I recorded the

interview on my phone so I could transcribe it later. About a week later, I conducted the same

set of interview questions with Kerry Hartshorn, a teacher and social studies department chair. I

also recorded this interview so that I could transcribe it. I organized my needs assessment report

by reviewing the survey responses first and then transcribing the interviews. Once that was done

I began to identify problems and solutions regarding technology at my school. I made sure to

have all information regarding survey responses, interview transcriptions, available technology,

teacher information, and directions handy while developing this needs assessment.

Available Technology at South Forsyth Middle School

At South Forsyth Middle School, each teacher has ten Chromebook in their classrooms at

all times. There are also Chromebook carts containing twenty to forty Chromebook that can be

checked out. There are about four of these carts for each grade level and the connections

department, so they are often in high demand. South Forsyth Middle School does have a Bring

Your Own Technology (BYOT) policy, and most students have their own smartphone.

However, phones have increasingly become a problem and were actually banned from BYOT

use the last month of the 2017-2018 school year. Students could have their phones at school, but

they were to be put away and not used for instructional purposes. Students were still allowed to

use their own tablets or laptops. There has been much discussion as to whether the no phones for

instructional purposes policy will continue during the 2018-2019 school year. South Forsyth

Middle also has smart boards that teachers can use with their laptop computers. The media

center has other technology available for teachers to use or check out such as headphones,

computer labs, document cameras, and colored printers. Black and white printers are located
 Needs Assessment 4

throughout the building, usually about one for every three or four classrooms. Copiers for

teacher use are available in several teacher workrooms and the front office.

Description of Participating Stakeholders

The first person that I chose to interview was my assistant principal, Dr. Jo-Ann

Jackson. I chose to interview Dr. Jackson because she is a true leader of technology

implementation in our school, and she has vast knowledge of instructional technology as well as

our district’s expectations and plans regarding technology. Dr. Jackson is a former teacher and

graduation coach, and this is her second year as an assistant principal at South Forsyth Middle

School. Her duties include serving as our school’s testing coordinator, student discipline, teacher

evaluator, parent communicator, and staff supporter. I also chose to interview Kerry Hartshorn,

an 8th grade social studies teacher and social studies department chair. I chose Mrs. Hartshorn

because she admittedly struggles with technology and is not completely comfortable with it’s

use. Mrs. Hartshorn is a veteran teacher with many years of experience in teaching, and despite

her admitted fear of technology, she does try to the best of her ability to incorporate it in the

classroom. I thought Mrs. Hartshorn would have a unique and important perspective on the

subject. Mrs. Hartshorn has been at South Forsyth Middle for ten years. Her duties include

instruction of both inclusion and advanced 8th grade social studies classes. As social studies

department chair, she is responsible for holding department meetings, supporting teachers, and

selecting resources and materials. The teachers that I chose to survey were from all three

different grade levels as well as the connections department, and they represent all different

subjects and levels from special education to gifted. The teachers’ experience levels ranged from

less than 5 years to more than 20 years. I also included a teacher who also is a parent of students

at the school because I believe she would have a valuable perspective. I surveyed teachers who
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have a vast understanding of instructional technology, as well as teachers who are in the

beginning stages of successful technology implementation. All of these teachers obviously have

duties of instructing their classes and all that entails, but they also have other things they are

responsible for such as coaching, sponsoring clubs, serving on committees, managing caseloads,

or serving in leadership roles.

Major Outcomes

In looking at the needs identified in the interviews and surveys as it relates to technology

at South Forsyth Middle School, there were several commonalities among the responses. Half of

the teacher respondents mentioned their frustration with the unreliable network at school, and

how frustrating it is when the the internet goes down during a lesson that depends on it. Another

issue that about half of the teacher respondents mentioned was the availability of resources.

Almost 60% of teacher respondents thought that purchasing more technology resources would

help improve technology usage at South Forsyth Middle School. In interviewing the assistant

principal, she mentioned that she does feel that as of this past school year we have acquired an

adequate amount of technology resources. However, she even mentioned that getting resources

requires more upfront planning and she also would love for each student to have their own iPad

pro. 75% of the teachers that were surveyed or interviewed as well as the assistant principal

spoke about the need for better monitoring of student technology usage. Most of the

stakeholders involved in this assessment seem to agree that monitoring student usage will be a

big goal for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. In relation to this issue, it was mentioned that

a goal of education at South Forsyth Middle School is to develop good digital citizens and all

that entails. Another issue that came up was using technology for meaningful purposes as

opposed to using it for basic things like presentations. Some teachers at South Forsyth Middle
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are using technology as a means for transformational learning, or what Dr. Jackson described as

learning that could not otherwise occur if technology was not being used. Incorporating

technology in this manner is a long-term goal, and while there is a place for technology usage in

things like presentations, we should be moving toward usage that promotes critical thinking and

problem solving. Finally, many teachers expressed a need for learning how to access technology

resources that will work for their classrooms. Time is almost always cited as a big obstacle for

teachers, and with so many resources available it can become very difficult to choose. Kerry

Hartshorn used the analogy of The Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant that is well known for

having an absolutely huge menu, which sometimes causes diners to feel overwhelmed so they

just order the same thing every time. Likewise, many teachers, especially veteran teachers, are

so overwhelmed at all of the available resources that they just keep going back to the two or

three that they are comfortable with.

Priority Needs

After considering all of the identified needs in my survey and interview data, I have

selected three which I feel are South Forsyth Middle School’s biggest priority needs. The first

one I have selected is monitoring student usage of technology. The reason I have selected this as

a priority need is because currently there is a fairly large discrepancy in how we want students to

use technology in school (the ideal situation) versus how they actually are using technology in

school (reality). Toward the end of the 2017-2018 school year there was an uptick disciplinary

issues involving smartphones. Improper usage of cell phones by students can cause huge

negative consequences for both students and school staff. If we were to ignore this problem, we

risk everything from loss of productivity in learning all the way up to legal

ramifications. However, if we were to completely ban technology there would be a negative

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impact on learning. Therefore, it is a priority to come up with a policy that teachers, students,

and administration can use to monitor the safe and appropriate usage of technology at school.

The second priority need for South Forsyth Middle School is coming up with a way to

help teachers select technology resources that work for their classrooms. Many teachers

lamented that they are frustrated with the amount of resources available and that they get bogged

down with choosing what to use. If we ignore this problem we risk having teachers avoid

incorporating technology as much as possible, which in turn has negative effects on students. A

solution is needed to help teachers to become more comfortable with identifying relevant

technology resources.

The third priority need for South Forsyth Middle School is strengthening the reliability of

the school’s network. This is something that the district is primarily responsible for, but it has a

huge impact on classrooms when a technology lesson has been planned and the network is

down. Teachers have to scramble to come up with backup lessons, which usually involve some

sort of worksheet or busy work and are not as effective or engaging as the originally planned

lesson. The monetary cost of correcting this need is considerably larger than the other two

priority needs, however, it is still crucial to the successful incorporation of technology in

instruction.

Need Causes Consequences Difficulty to Correct (low, medium,

high)

Policy on -improper usage of -loss of Medium, because although it does

monitoring student technology productive not necessarily have a monetary
student usage -usage that is not learning time cost, the solution will require all
of technology related to -distracted teachers and administrators to be on
(especially academics students the same page in terms of proper
phones) -students -discipline issues monitoring. The policy must be
accessing -legal issues (for applied consistently. Students must
inappropriate example, if be taught the policy, so there is a
school material inappropriate cost in terms of time.
 Needs Assessment 8

-lack of images or threats

technology are exchanged)
monitoring by -teachers could be
teachers held responsible
-unauthorized for not properly
communication monitoring
via technology -administration is
-students overwhelmed with
accessing dealing with so
inappropriate many discipline
applications or issues.
websites.

Training -teachers feel -teachers tend to Medium, because it will require a

teachers on overwhelmed at stick with the lot of time, training, and
how to select the sheer number same resources all commitment.
technology of resources the time
resources -teachers are not -students are not
all comfortable as engaged as they
using different should be
types of -teachers may
technology avoid technology
altogether
-teachers are
hesitant to try new
things.

Improved -Too many people -technology based Low, although this is probably the
network using the network lessons get most expensive in terms of money,
reliability at once interrupted it really is just as simple as paying
-not enough -learning time is to increase and maintain the
bandwidth sacrificed network. This is the type of
-increased teacher problem that money can solve,
and student whereas money will not solve the
frustration. first two priority needs.

Action Plan

The first action plan involves developing a policy for monitoring student usage of

technology. One possible solution for eliminating inappropriate student use of technology is to

do away with the Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) policy altogether. However, this is not

an ideal solution as there is a lot of value in allowing students to have and use their own
 Needs Assessment 9

technology in class, even smartphones. Perhaps especially smartphones, because they are so

convenient and easy to use. So, we must come up with a policy that allows teachers to authorize

the use of students’ personal technology and involves appropriate monitoring of the use. The

action plan starts with the leadership team, who will discuss the issues surrounding inappropriate

student use of technology. The leadership team at South Forsyth Middle School is made of of

teacher-leaders, department chairs, grade level chairs, and administration. The solution that

would work best would be to have a policy in which students should only use their technology at

times when teachers have authorized them to do so, and at all other times the technology must be

out of sight. When any technology is being used in the classroom, teachers must circulate and

monitor its usage. Screens should be oriented in a way so as not to conceal anything. Likewise,

teachers and administrators should be in the hallways during transitions to make sure no

technology use is occurring. There should be a set of escalating consequences for students who

do not follow instructions regarding technology. These consequences and appropriate use should

be taught explicitly to students at the beginning of the school year. Teachers who do not

regularly and consistently apply and monitor students’ usage should be dealt with by

administration on an individual basis. The policy must be spelled out and made very clear to all

school stakeholders, including parents.

The action plan for the second priority need involves careful planning and collaboration

among teachers. South Forsyth Middle School already has opportunities for teachers to share

technology resources via a program called “Breakfast Club.” These meetings occur weekly and

allow teachers to introduce their colleagues to programs and methods that they use in their

classroom. This program is very popular; however, it does not always increase teachers’ usage

of the programs they have learned about. It also can lead to further confusion about what
 Needs Assessment 10

programs they should use. My proposed solution is to have volunteer instructional technology

consultants in the building. There are many teachers who are great with technology, and these

are usually the teachers that lead the Breakfast Club meetings. If they want to share their

knowledge and insight, they could volunteer to observe a class of another teacher who is hoping

to better incorporate technology into their instruction. After the observation, they could spend

time with the teacher and perhaps even plan one small lesson and show how technology could be

incorporated. The school’s instructional technology support (ITS) could also be involved in this

process of observing and helping teachers find resources. He could also keep a database of

ideas, technology, and resources that have been shared on the school’s staff ItsLearning page,

where teachers could go and look for suggestions on how to teach different types of

lessons. This same page could also include videos of teachers who are incorporating technology

successfully, and other teachers could watch at their leisure and see it modeled for them. Also, it

would be valuable to record each Breakfast Club meeting and post it on the same page so that

people who could not attend (it is an early morning meeting) can still access the

information. These solutions are not costly, but they are time-consuming. Administration could

assist in supporting teachers in getting coverage or allowing extra time for observation and

collaboration.

The final action plan involves improving the network reliability. One less than desirable

but inexpensive solution to this would to be to stagger the times that teachers and their classes

are using the school internet. This would not require the system to be upgraded at all, and since

there would not be as much demand on the system it is less likely to falter. Although this is a

possible solution, it would be hard to enforce and could possibly cause animosity amongst staff

members. A better solution would be for the school to work with the district to first
 Needs Assessment 11

communicate the impact that the unreliability of the network has on instruction, then to see if

there is any troubleshooting that can be done, and finally to figure out how to pay for an

upgrade. The school or district may have some discretionary funds that can be used toward the

upgrade and maintenance of the system. However, before spending any more money, we should

check with the network providers and support to make sure that it is truly working the way it is

supposed to be. If network reliability is due to faulty equipment, then the internet provider needs

to be responsible. If the network issues are due to too much demand on the system bandwidth,

then the onus would be on the school and district to upgrade it.

Appendix

Interview Transcript with Dr. Jo-Anne Jackson

Ashley Calloway: Today I am talking to Dr. Jo-Anne Jackson, the assistant principal at South

Forsyth Middle School in Cumming, Georgia. My first question is, is integrating technology

important to our school? Why or why not?

Dr. Jackson: Yes, it is immensely important because in the end employers are looking for

students that have technology skills, and not only just the ability but the proper application to use

them in ways that will help them be successful in their roles.

Ashley Calloway: Okay awesome. All right, do teachers in our school adequately incorporate

technology in their instruction?

Dr. Jackson: Yes they do. I have seen technology used in a variety of ways, and just like

anything else in education there is a spectrum. There are teachers that merely use technology as

a means to replace methods that are traditional school methods, and by that I mean that instead of

doing a report that you might write by handwriting they're using word processing to hand in

reports. That's a very base level use of technology. However, what we're really moving toward
 Needs Assessment 12

is having all of our teachers move into more of a transformational use of technology, and that's

using technology to come up with an end result that is completely not attainable without the use

of technology. We do have quite a few of our teachers engaging in those types of activities, but

again it is a whole spectrum at this time as teachers become more comfortable with the many

varied pieces of technology that we have available to them.

Ashley Calloway: Awesome, thank you. Okay, what sort of training and professional

development involving technology is available at our school?

Dr. Jackson: There's a variety we do have district-wide technology where our school ITS

(instructional technology support) may be given some direction in terms of releasing a new

product that the school system as a whole has bought into, and that is far more likely training that

is going to be given to larger groups, and most often times there are expectations that go along

with that in terms of its use. For example, School City where all of our assessments are run

through there and it gives us a plethora of ways to look at data and analyze that data to inform

instruction. However, at South Middle the best implementation of technology training has been

when we invited our teachers who have found something that works for them that they're just

absolutely enthralled with, and we give them the opportunity and something called a Breakfast

Club to share those ideas with other staff members. Infectious learning is a much better way to

inform and educate faculty members than forced training sessions.

Ashley Calloway: Awesome! Okay so the next question is does our school have an adequate

amount of technology resources (and this is kind of an opinion question)?

Dr. Jackson: I believe that we do now, probably as of last year was the first year that I feel like

that we did have an adequate amount of technology. Every teacher classroom is equipped with

ten Chromebook computers, and when class sizes can average about 25 to 30 it is not ideal, but
 Needs Assessment 13

ten is enough to have a small group and rotate kids through that small group. Additionally, we do

have several laptop carts, so that when teachers do want to have a full set a full set can be made

available to them. It just takes a little more proper planning on the front end to arrange to reserve

those carts and have them ready, but I definitely feel that we have an adequate amount of

technology.

Ashley Calloway: Okay, this one you may have to think about a little bit and it may be a little bit

of an opinion, but what are our schools’ short-term technology goals?

Dr. Jackson: The school or the district or both?

Ashley Calloway: Either way, however you want to take it.

Dr. Jackson: Well, I'll share with you that I was fortunate enough to be on a panel, it was called

“Unbox Live” and it was our county level technology department (ITS department overall) that

put on that presentation, and in that presentation they shared with us a lot of the new technology

that is available and that we will be purchasing as a school system. I was incredibly impressed

with the business like way that they have researched these products and the overall plan that they

have to roll them out into implementation. One thing that will be coming this year (that not

many teachers know about yet) is that the electronic whiteboard will be replaced with a stand-

alone computer screen which is almost like a large screen television, and it is its own computer

so it runs itself without having to hook up a teacher laptop to it, which adds another computer to

the room, which also gives the teacher a lot of flexibility because they're not chained to that

white board, and they can work independently from that white board. So that was one of the

exciting things. There's also a lot of exciting things coming on board. They're going to have

software, initially it's only going to be available in our labs and perhaps our media center, but

they plan to roll it out where eventually all of our teachers will have the ability to use it. What it
 Needs Assessment 14

is it's a software program where the teacher can see every student screen on her computer screen.

She can also take control of the student computer screen and show them how to do something,

and more exciting to me is the students can take control of the main display in the classroom. So

if they have a presentation they can click it for the whole class to see and put it on their own

Chromebook without them leaving their seat. Virtual reality is another direction that we're going

in, and the technology department allowed us to try some of the goggles that they have. The

science programs were absolutely phenomenal. There was a beating heart, and literally you could

walk up to the beating heart and stick your head inside the heart and turn your head around and

see all the valves and all the blood pumping. Not only that, but you could select a disease like

coronary artery disease, and you can change the level and intensity of the disease and you can

watch how all different parts of the heart atrophy when the disease sets in.

Ashley Calloway: How fun, that sounds really cool! This next question you already kind of

touched on these, but what are our school’s long-term technology goals?

Dr. Jackson: To continue to add more technology, but again to add to that transformational use

of technology. It's walking the walk that we’re really giving students the skills that they need to

be successful and proficient beyond Middle School, into High School, into college, and

ultimately into the workforce. Can they access credible resources on the internet to engage in

their own learning outside of school? Do they know the difference between a credible source

and a source that’s not credible? Do they know places where they can go and learn? Most of our

kids already are very skillful at using YouTube and websites like that, but there are phenomenal

opportunities for learning on there, so that's a great skill to have.

Ashley Calloway: Cool, number 7 is what is the administration's role regarding technology at

our school?
 Needs Assessment 15

Dr. Jackson: To support it in every way possible, and also to make sure that we are raising good

digital citizens. Technology is here to stay, it is not going away, and it's not about limiting the

use of technology or disciplining against it, it's about educating students on how to use it

appropriately. It's no different than years and years and years ago when I was in school when

passing a note was not allowed in school, but reading and writing is something that you need to

be able to do. So the method is here to stay, it's the means that we have to really be able to

communicate appropriately to students and let them have a healthy appetite and use for

technology.

Ashley Calloway: Awesome okay, so at our school what policies or guidelines regarding

technology usage are in place? You can take that in two different directions, that could be

appropriate used for students, or expectations of teacher usage. However you want to go with

that.

Dr. Jackson: Okay, I can talk to you about both. Pretty much whether it's implied or explicitly

stated we expect teachers to uphold the same expectations that we have of students, and that is to

use technology appropriately. Not excessive use of technology, not overuse or a sense that

they're so connected to it that they can't engage outside of it. We allow our staff to use

technology, to use their own devices, but there is a time and a place for what's reasonable and

appropriate, and we do hold our stuff accountable to that. In terms of a policy for students, we

have an acceptable use policy that's governed by our district about what allowable usage of

technology and what is not at the school, and of course that means immediately backing out of

shutting down, getting out of any programs that make it accidentally through our firewall and

any types of images or websites that are not in the best interest of young adults. We have

something called the BYOT policy which is Bring Your Own Technology because we only have
 Needs Assessment 16

ten Chromebooks per class, and because we happen to be in a very affluent community where a

lot of students have their own devices we want to capitalize on that availability. Some teachers

have students use their cellphones to take online quizzes in class and it is a very good way to

engage students in learning. However, there are guidelines that we have to follow. We are in the

process right now of revising that plan. In fact, I was just working on it two days ago. We are

revising our plan to state that technology is only to be used for educational purposes. That's the

only reason it should be used, and this coming school year we're going to put more onus of the

responsibility on the teacher than we are on the student. In the past, it was put more on the

student and if the student used it inappropriately there were escalating consequences depending

on how many times they had an offense. This coming year we're going to make it the message

very well known to all of our staff because we want them really enforcing the appropriate use

rather than cutting back on it. We are really going to be making sure that all across the board all

teachers support the use only for academic purposes. Where the biggest issues and problems and

concerns have come in in the past are when you have the one or two or handful of teachers that

allow rampant use of technology. Using it almost as a babysitter when there's free time to

occupy students. That becomes a real problem because then teachers who follow the policy feel

undermined. So we will be as an administrative team supervising more carefully to see if we do

see any inappropriate uses of technology with those individual teachers. So in terms of

consequences, it used to be that if a student used technology inappropriately the very first time

automatically they lost the use of their technology for one week’s time. If it happened for a

second time It was two weeks without it and one day of ISS. If it happened a third time, it was 3

weeks without it and 2 days of ISS. We are revising that plan for next year, and we will be

collaborating with the leadership team for their input on this as well, but a first offense will be a
 Needs Assessment 17

teacher warning, a second offense will be a teacher assigned grade level detention, and then a

third offense would then be an administrative office referral, and a student at that time would

lose the technology for a week and also get a day of ISS. What we have not yet determined but

will lead up to leadership to decide is should that be, those 1 2 and 3, is that across all classes and

teachers, or should it be per class for one teacher, and there are pros and cons to that, and that

we’re going to leave up to leadership to come to a consensus on to see how we should track that.

Ashley Calloway: Okay awesome, alright, next question is how do students benefit from

integrating technology into instruction?

Dr. Jackson: Well first of all, it is their native language, they were born with screens in front of

their faces, they are much more likely to engage and to connect with the learning when it's digital

than when it's not. So that is the primary attraction to using it in the classroom, but ultimately it's

also the way of the world. I recently was at a leadership conference and one of the speakers of

the conference said if you don't exist online you don't exist. The true leaders in our world today

are the ones that are getting their word out infectiously through blogging, internet posts,

Snapchat, through Twitter, through all of those means and they are becoming the leaders just

based on the words that they type from behind a computer screen. So like it or not, that is the

way the world is going and if we're going to build our students to be successful, we have to

integrate that.

Ashley Calloway: Okay one last question, and this one is kind of, I really like this question. I'm

excited to hear your answer to this question. If you could change or implement anything

regarding technology in our school what would it be and why?

Dr. Jackson: Every kid would have an iPad Pro with an apple pencil. Do you think I even had

to think about that for a minute? (laughter) The iPad Pro has a program called Good Notes which
 Needs Assessment 18

enables you to upload PDFs and write on them. It totally transforms learning from every hand

out that would be handed out in class is now digitized, it could be written on, it could be

submitted to the teacher, the teacher could write on it and respond back all electronically and any

form of “textbook”, and I use that term loosely, could then be digitized. All of the

communication back and forth, all the feedback, everything would just be electronic in one place

where the student has access to all of it everywhere all the time.

Ashley Calloway: Awesome, alright that's all I have.

Interview with Kerry Hartshorn Transcript

Ashley Calloway: Okay, this is an interview about technology with Kerry Hartshorn, who is an

eighth grade social studies teacher and South Forsyth Middle School social studies department

chair. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview.

Kerry Hartshorn: My pleasure.

Ashley Calloway: So the first question is, is integrating technology important to our school?

Why or why not?

Kerry Hartshorn: Absolutely, to our school specifically or?

Ashley Calloway: Yes.

Kerry Hartshorn: Yes absolutely, I think that because kids are so digitally, you know, aware and

so that's engaging for them, so in order for them to be able to learn effectively, you know, we

have to kind of understand what helps them to learn. And being that they are so aware and have

so much technology at their disposal it would be foolish for us not to have it. I think that our

school too, being that our kids are at so many different levels, you know it really allows us the

opportunity to really engage kids no matter what level they're at.

 Needs Assessment 19

Ashley Calloway: Good, awesome, alright do teachers adequately incorporate technology into

their instruction at our school?

Kerry Hartshorn: I think that they do because you know, I am probably one of the ones who are

least likely to to use technology, because you know, I'm kind of an old dog and new tricks are

sometimes hard, but I use it all the time so you know, I'm not going to speak for everyone, but I

really think if I'm doing it that so many people in our building are.

Ashley Calloway: Okay, awesome, alright what sort of training and professional development

involving technology is available at our school?

Kerry Hartshorn: Well, I think our school and our county does a great job of preparing people.

And being the new teacher orientation leader in the building, like I understand what is required

of new teachers going through, and there's so many you know, there are mandated ones that they

need to go through for ItsLearning, so it really kind of exposes them. They have online

classes, they have face-to-face classes, so that's a great way that they introduce it, but also too we

have so many other opportunities that once we feel confident you know, no matter what level we

are at, we have so many opportunities between the Ed Summit and Google Camp and things like

that. You know, it's right at our fingertips. What we end up using is up to us, but it's all right

there. I think they do a great job with that.

Ashley Calloway: Next question is on the next page okay, does our school have an adequate

amount of technology resources?

Kerry Hartshorn: I would love to see every kid have their own Chromebook. I mean I think

that as a teacher would just be, you know, really the icing on the cake in regards to incorporating

it in the classroom. Because most of the time I say we have an ample amount and we're never at
 Needs Assessment 20

a loss, and you can always find it someplace, but just to have it so conveniently for each student

to have their own I think would be ideal.

Ashley Calloway: Right, okay, what are our school’s short-term technology goals, and this is

kind of your opinion?

Kerry Hartshorn: I think short-term would probably be to you know, in the beginning it was like

incorporate as much as we can, and now I feel like we've got a little pull back on how much we

are including or what devices they're using. So I think our short-term goal is to kind of make it a

comfortable balance, because once we introduced it now it becomes very difficult to control

them using it for the right reasons. So I think that's probably going to be a goal that we're going

to be having for this year. You know, at the end of the year last year at school we kind of put

some things into place that were helping us to control that, but I think that starting from right

from the beginning is going to be crucial.

Ashley Calloway: Okay, what do you think our school’s long-term goals are?

Kerry Hartshorn: With personalized learning I feel like you know, that's going to be something

that technology is going to play a huge part in. So as that evolves, as that becomes more

prominent in the classrooms I think that technology is going to play a huge piece. So that's going

to really be part of the long-term. Looking down the road as to how we're going to incorporate

what that looks like, and how that's going to happen that's going to be something that we kind of

have to do as individual teachers, but then as a county and get more directive in that regard.

Ashley Calloway: Right. Okay, alright question number 7, and this is another kind of your

opinion, what do you think is the administration's role regarding technology for our school?

Kerry Hartshorn: I kind of feel like just like with everything they kind of set the tone. You

know, I feel like some of our administrators are great, I mean all of them are great in regards to
 Needs Assessment 21

usage technology, but you know providing us with different opportunities. Providing us with the

training I really feel like there are really good at offering us. Just like with our breakfast clubs

that we have and just making sure that we have opportunities to be exposed to it. So I feel like

they play a huge part by giving opportunities, but then also modeling you know, all the Twitter

that we use and like all of that. And it's being modeled for us to use.

Ashley Calloway: Okay, number 8 what policies or guidelines regarding technology usage are in

place at our school?

Kerry Hartshorn: We do have the trust posters that we use with the BYOT policy that the kids

have to sign off on in the beginning. And by doing that, they go through a list of procedures and

rules that need to be followed in using technology. So the kids are really aware of what they

should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing, and not that they’re, they’re always conscious

of it, but there not always applying it. We see maybe more Snapchat and things like that than we

should be.

Ashley Calloway: Yeah. Alright, okay how do our students benefit from integrating technology

into instruction?

Kerry Hartshorn: Well, like I said before, it's just a part of who they are so you know, if we want

to be relevant in their world we have to make sure that we are presenting instruction in a way

that that they see relevance, and they see importance with, and that they see as enjoyable. So I

think that's our goal as educators is to make them make those real life connections, so technology

really lets you do that.

Ashley Calloway: Okay, perfect and then the last question, and you can feel free to have some

fun with this one, so if you could change or Implement anything regarding technology in our

school, what would it be and why?

 Needs Assessment 22

Kerry Hartshorn: Oh goodness, that's a tough one for me because it's not an area that I am into. I

would love to be able to say from a teacher perspective, I would love to be able to have some

place that I could go to that has just like these are awesome, awesome tools to use that is

streamlined. I feel that not being skilled myself there so much out there, it's kind of like we

spoke at the training today like, that Cheesecake Factory like when the menu is so big it's so hard

to know what to do, and I think that's intimidating to some teachers you know, because you don't

know what to do. And when you're going to invest time and energy into it you want to make sure

it's something, that once in a while you take chances and if it doesn't work okay, but if you're

constantly doing that, so that's something that I would like to see. I don't know if I answered the

question.

Ashley Calloway: No that was a great answer, that was really good and that is all I have so

thank you for your time.

Kerry Hartshorn: Well, thank you.

Survey Responses

Response #1

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 record keeping

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons
 Needs Assessment 23

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 professional development

 assessment

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Extremely useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

My challenge is knowing which resources to use because there are so many different programs
available.
How often do your students use technology in school?

 A great deal

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 summative assessment

 projects

 practice

 games

 studying

 creating

 reading

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Extremely useful
 Needs Assessment 24

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

I would like each student to have a Chromebook available to them.

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Developing

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 purchasing more technology for student use

 collaboration among teachers regarding technology

 collaboration among students regarding technology

Response #2

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Sometimes

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 record keeping

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 assessment
 Needs Assessment 25

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

The greatest challenge is consistency of the systems working and enough technology access for
every student.

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A little

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 projects

 practice

 games

 studying

 problem solving

 communicating

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Somewhat useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Staying on task with the assignments they are suppose to be engaged in.

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Proficient
 Needs Assessment 26

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 purchasing more technology for student use

 faster/more reliable networks

 teacher input on programs and technology

Response #3

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 professional development

 assessment

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Extremely useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

 Needs Assessment 27

I struggle to find already made materials to use in my classroom and I struggle with finding
enough time to make my own activities.

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A lot

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 projects

 practice

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Somewhat useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Respondent skipped this question

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Proficient

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 professional development/training

 access to classrooms that model how to integrate technology

 collaboration among teachers regarding technology

Response #4

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always
 Needs Assessment 28

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 record keeping

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 professional development

 assessment

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

Having enough available technology

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A great deal

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 summative assessment

 projects

 practice
 Needs Assessment 29

 studying

 creating

 reading

 problem solving

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Technology working correctly

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Expert

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 professional development/training

 purchasing more technology for student use

 more restrictive appropriate usage guidelines

Response #5

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 record keeping
 Needs Assessment 30

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons

 communication

 assessment

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

Faulty equipment, internet going in and out and not always available in all parts of the building

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A great deal

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 summative assessment

 projects

 practice

 games

 studying

 creating

 reading

 problem solving

 communicating

 Other (please specify):

 Needs Assessment 31

 social media, snap chat behind teachers' backs

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Extremely useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Most of our students have personal technology and if they do not, classroom has limited amounts
of shareable technology. The major problem is monitoring how students are using the
technology. They are easily distracted to other sites they prefer to be using

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Developing

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 purchasing more technology for student use

 more restrictive appropriate usage guidelines

 faster/more reliable networks

Response #6

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 record keeping

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons
 Needs Assessment 32

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 professional development

 assessment

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

It is challenging when the internet goes down during instruction.

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A great deal

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 summative assessment

 projects

 practice

 games

 studying

 creating

 reading

 problem solving

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?
 Needs Assessment 33

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Again, when the internet goes down during instruction time.

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Proficient

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 purchasing more technology for teacher use

 faster/more reliable networks

 better troubleshooting/repair processes

Response #7

How often do you use technology in your job?

 Always

Which of the following activities do you use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that

apply).

 data collection

 presenting information

 teacher-directed lessons

 student-centered lessons

 communication

 professional development

 assessment
 Needs Assessment 34

How useful is the technology available to you at school in performing the tasks you indicated in

question 3?

 Extremely useful

Explain what challenges, if any, you have with utilizing technology.

Being familiar with so many different sites and resources that are beneficial for our students and
as teachers

How often do your students use technology in school?

 A great deal

What types of activities do students use technology for in the classroom? (Check all that apply).

 formative assessment

 summative assessment

 projects

 practice

 games

 studying

 creating

 reading

 problem solving

 communicating

How useful is the technology available to students at school in performing the tasks in question

7?

 Very useful

Explain what challenges, if any, students have with utilizing technology.

Their knowledge base in using technology for academics

 Needs Assessment 35

How would you rate yourself on your overall use of technology at school?

 Proficient

Please indicate three ways you feel would be most helpful in improving technology use in your

school (select three responses).

 professional development/training

 collaboration among teachers regarding technology