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**Case Study – District Technology Planning ** **P David Hartman ** **Introduction **
 * Planning For Technology **

The intent of this case study is to examine and evaluate the current District Technology Plan for Stow-Munroe Falls City School District. The study will also make recommendations for revision or replacement of the current plan in keeping in line with Federal and State guidelines for technology integration in public school systems. The study will seek input from members of Stow-Munroe Falls City School District in the form of surveys and face to face interviews to measure the effectiveness and implementation of the current plan as well as recommendations for changes. Key points will include the following:


 * 1) 1. Does the plan meet the requirements of the Federal and State plans?
 * 2) 2. Is the current plan being implemented? What are the barriers to implementation of the plan?
 * 3) 3. What are the goals of the current plan?
 * 4) 4. What are the goals of the future plan or revisions?
 * 5) 5. Are the requirements of the plan financially viable?

**Committee Members **


 * Superintendent
 * District Technology Coordinator
 * Business Manager
 * Curriculum Specialist
 * High School Building Principal
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Middle School Building Principal
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">K-6 Building Principal
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Library / Media Specialist
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">High School Teacher (2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Middle School Teacher (2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">K-6 Teacher (2)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Inclusion / Special Needs Teacher K-12 (2)

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">2013 – 2014 Stow-Munroe Falls Technology Plan Document (Current Plan) ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">In evaluation of the current plan, it is the opinion of the committee that although the plan in place has been somewhat effective in its implementation and contains many positive features designed to educate the students, implementation is inconsistent. Students at Stow-Munroe Falls City School District are being exposed to technology and it is being integrated into the classroom, however, the plan has weaknesses. Complete implementation at all levels K-12 is lacking.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Hardware and Software Availability <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Modern Media Center <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">6-12 Technology Focus
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Plan Strengths **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Implementation – Based on interviews and surveys, the current plan is not being used regularly. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Teacher Training – Regularly scheduled and planned teacher training and support is insufficient for implementation of the plan. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">District Communication – Many staff members are unaware of the plan or the specific requirements for staff. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">K-6 Technology Focus – The current plan is primarily focused at the upper grade levels. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Special Education Focus – This aspect is completely absent in the current plan. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Evaluation – No evaluation or accountability is evident in the current plan.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Plan Weaknesses **

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Planning Team ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The current plan sought input from a broad range of personnel within the district. The committee believes that the planning team was lacking some key components. The inclusion of special education teachers, more representation from K-6 teachers and the inclusion of members of the treasurer’s office would benefit the team. These additional members would give a better picture of how effective the current plan is to their specific grade levels and the feasibility of a plan that comes with increased costs.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Curriculum Alignment and Instructional Integration ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Our purpose is to inspire and assist our staff and students as they utilize technology in the educational process. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Stow-Munroe Falls Technology Purpose Statement <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The committees main issue with this category was the lack of planning and training for technology use to support the academic needs of the students. In addition, there is no specific plan language directing the use of technology by the students to align with the curriculum. Another issue is access to the technology tools necessary to help facilitate the learning process in the classroom. Technology is available in the library / learning center but most computer carts available for classroom use are outdated, inadequate, and don’t work. Exactly how the technology department seeks to assist and inspire as per the purpose statement is unclear. Staff training scheduled regularly to keep staff updated on the procedures in the policy would be a critical component to the plans effectiveness.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Policy, Leadership, and Integration ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The technology plan is dated. The goals are not clearly stated or organized, nor do they align with Federal and State plans. Technology has clearly passed this plan by as the procedures for incorporating new advancements in technology are absent. The leadership goals and responsibilities as well as accountability are not specific or assigned. The integration of the plan is clearly the responsibility of the district teachers however clear training, planning, and again accountability is lacking. Clearly stated goals and procedures would be helpful to the staff as they put the plan in use. A clear chain of command and leadership responsibility assignments would help with accountability and problem solving should the need arise. The staff needs to know where to turn and whom to contact regarding issues that arise.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Management and Support ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">While it is clear the district technology director has been given the responsibility to maintain the technology and the technology system, it is unclear who is responsible for implementation of the plan. Although the superintendent and building principles are named as support personal, goals and duties are not clearly defined or defined at all. Teacher and student training are lacking as are accountability. Decisions about upgrading systems and equipment past a nominal building principle fund are left to the board upon recommendations from the principal. Clearly defined goals and duties are an integral part of the success of any program. These roles must be clearly defined and duties clearly understood by the staff expected to fulfill them.

**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Budget and Planning for Sustainability ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">The current plan contains no specific plans for budgeting related to the technology program. The cost of equipment and upgrades as well as emergency repairs or maintenance are not specifically stated. The district uses normal operating funds most technology needs and repairs. Upgrades and equipment are also budgeted not in the plan but in the district budget. New monies for costly upgrades to equipment or replacement of systems and hardware must be approved by the board. Although the money to upgrade and maintain the systems has been available when needed (to the credit of the administration), these monies need to be specifically planned and allocated on paper to ensure an understanding of the policy. The financial plan needs to contain details of where monies to maintain the plan will specifically come from and who is authorized to allocate funds for the plan. **<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Recommendations **

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">After evaluating the current plans strengths and weaknesses, the committee recommends the plan be replaced with a new plan that is designed to be more in line with Federal and State requirements and specifically addresses the following.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Federal Plan Requirements <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">State Plan Requirements <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Teacher Training <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">K-12 Focus <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Special Education <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Implementation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Evaluation <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt;">Cost