I am a member of the Technology Committee at my school so I have ready access to our most recent inventory of hardware, software, and services from our Technology Plan. Our school serves about 110 students. We have approximately 20 teachers who are either classroom or special area teachers, plus other non-teaching staff. I think that for a small school, we have quite a lot of technology available. However, many of the computers are now very old and need to be replaced.
(Note: I have deleted the Network Hardware from this list.)
Current Inventory of Hardware, Software, and Services including the
Computer Lab, Classrooms, Library Media Center, Administrative Offices, and Other Locations.
Computers (list by type)
A. Imacs
36
B. Mac pros
4
C. Pc’s
38
D. Laptops (fujitsu)
36
E. Laptops (hp’s)
16
F. Laptops (macbooks)
20
Number of computers listed above that are Internet ready
all
Number of computers listed above equipped for multimedia
all
Peripheral Devices
A. Printers
17
B. Scanners
9
C. Microphones
24
D. Digital Cameras
18
E. TV Monitors
10
F. VCRs/Laser Disk Players
9
G. Intelliboards
17
H. FLIP Cameras
5
I. Video Cameras
3
J. Broadcast system
1
K. Heads for broadcast system
10
L. Turning Point response cards (sets)
7
M. Drawing Tablets
6
N. Microscopes
7
O. Midi Keyboards
12
P. Mobile presenter
13
Q. Mobile Intelliboard
2
R. Ipad Tablets
10
S. Polycom VSX7000 (videoconferencing)
1
Software (list by type)
A. adobe suite
photoshop,illustrator
30
B. Microsoft office mac
44
C. Microsoft office pc
81
D. Piano wizard
12
E. Mac applications
Garageband, iphoto,comiclife,itunes
44
F. Glencoe keyboarding
16
G. Read 180
60
Type to Learn
20
Typeto Learn Junior
10
Every Child a Reader
20
Clicker4
1
Penfriend
1
Text Aloud MP3
1
PrecisionScan LT Software
1
Adobe Acrobat 5.0
1
In addition, our teachers have access to a number of high quality online reference sources that the District pays for. BASCOM Global Chalkboard provides a K-12 web library of links to selected resources. These can be sorted by grade level and subject. Our OPALS (OPen-source Automated Library System) allows staff to search the holdings of our library. They may also access CERF (Curriculum & Education Resource Finder) which provides many excellent online resources. The Virtual Reference Collection that we get from ESBOCES School Library System includes about 65 databases in the high school collection. And the Digital Media Library provides a large assortment of educational videos. I always remind staff and students that they should first search the high quality resources that we are paying for before they turn to Google.
This summer I am using an online site entitled “Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do?” taught by Michael Sandel from Harvard University. It is an excellent resource that includes the readings he gives to his students and an online forum where students can answer the questions that have been posed. My Assistant Superintendent has already mentioned that I should share this resource with our teacher who teaches 12th grade social studies. Twelfth grade social studies is “Participation in Government” and while this “Justice” course is actually a freshman philosophy course at Harvard, it focuses on how these issues impact us as citizens in the United States. So it would be appropriate to use in 12th grade social studies.
As I share this course with my students, I do a lot of pausing to summarize and explain what is being said. Professor Sandel uses a lot of stories to challenge the students’ thinking on these moral questions. I always pause the video after he has told a story and ask my students what they think the just or right course of action would be and why. Then we listen to what the students at Harvard had to say.
Some of the students are hesitant to give their point of view. Even though I have assured them that there is no right or wrong answer, they seem to think that there must be. It occurred to me that using the Turning Point Clickers might help these students to answer the questions. It would also give me a good idea of whether or not the kids are following the topics or if they need more explaining. (Formative Assessment) Once the students have given an initial response, I would encourage them to share why they gave the answer that they did. I think that they would enjoy using the clickers and it would help them to stay more focused on the video and the stories being shared.
As an Educational Technology Specialist who is pushing-in to a social studies teacher’s class to help him to use the Turning Point Clickers, I would begin by meeting with the teacher and talking about the online resource and how he might best present it to his class. I would show him the Turning Point program and explain how questions can easily be created. On the day of the push-in I would be sure to set up the class as participants in advance. I would have created the first lesson as a sample in advance using the Turning Point Power Point feature. I would give the students a brief explanation as to how to use the clickers to answer the questions. However, they seem to be pretty straight forward and easy to use. As I am pausing the video after the stories, I would show the questions and encourage the students to vote. I would then encourage discussion and debate asking them why they selected the answer that they did.
I would use Edmodo.com to pose further questions to the students for them to answer and discuss with each other online, rather than to have them use the forum feature of the “Justice” website. Edmodo would be safer for our students to use.
After the class, I would answer any questions the teacher has and encourage him to create the next set of questions on Turning Point and on Edmodo for the next class. I would make myself available to answer any questions that might occur either through face-to-face meetings or email. I could use Jing to capture screen shots if necessary. I would visit the class a second time and I would observe how the teacher is doing with the technology and the websites. I would be available to help if there are problems or questions.
Sara,
This is a great Needs Assessment. Not only does it inventory all the technology potential in the district, but you provide good examples of how to use the technology. Both the VRC and DML are great resources, that are often overlooked - I’m glad that you’ve included them. I also love that you are using the Harvard class in conjunction with Edmodo to be the backbone of your summer class. I think it’s great that the students can see what a college course is like when compared to a high school class. You have a good chunk of your outline completed here as well. Phases of the push-in model are discussed: Consultation phase, 1:1 Overview, Logistics, Lesson Push-in and then reflection/follow-up. These are all important parts of this model. Excellent job.
Don