Technology Plan 1

Running Head: Project 2

Project 2
Topaz D. Thompson
MEDT 8462
University of West Georgia
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General Information

The Gwinnett Intervention Education (G.I.V.E.) Center is a unique institution that

offers academic opportunity to students whose behaviors have precluded them from attending the

traditional school. In addition to awarding academic credit, the staff at GIVE Center West works

diligently to identify and address the individual deficiencies of each student. GIVE Center

West is located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The school serves roughly 300

students in grades 6–12 with a student-teacher ratio of approximately 18:1. Give Center West is a

Title I School that employees approximately 35 faculty members. Seventy-seven percent of

students are male while twenty-three percent are female.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are individuals who have a connection to the school district and a vested interest in

the educational outcome of its students. Teachers have direct responsibility for using technology

in instruction; students are the direct beneficiaries of that instruction; and administrators are both

the instructional leaders and are ultimately accountable for measurable progress in the

classrooms. Beyond that core group are parents plus community members (including the

business community and post-secondary programs) who all have expectations of prepared

graduates. Therefore, our stakeholders for the GIVE Center West are:

 Teachers-who use technology to ensure positive educational outcomes (technology skills,

academic performance, and digital citizenship)

 Students- who use the technology for educational purpose in order gain skills to become

competitive in the 21st century global economy

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 School Administration- who use the technology for accurate record keeping and greater

access to student records, expect students to be prepared to work in a global economy,

and are responsible for aiding teachers in technology skills by providing professional

developments and coaching

 Parents-who expect students will graduate with the necessary skills to compete in the

global economy.

 Community Members-who have an interest because they will interact with current and

former students of the district as employees, employers, customers, and fellow

citizens. It is important that students have fundamental technology skills.

 District IT Department-who are responsible for supporting the hardware and software

used by students and teachers

 Local Universities/Colleges/Trade Schools-who expect high school graduates prepared

for college or trade classes

 Business Community-who value graduates prepared with the technology, academic and

workplace readiness skills to be successful in the workplace

Current Status /Access to Technology

Computer Count 2018-2019

Workstations 40
Chromebooks 56(student)
Laptops 43
Totals 139
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Technology in School Current

Average student/computer ratio 3 students to 1 computer
per classroom

Projectors 1 in every classroom

Ceiling mounted projectors 35
Interactive Whiteboards 5
Mini Labs (15 laptops) 3
Document Cameras 25
CPS Clicker System 10
Camcorder 1
Digital Cameras 3
VHS/DVD Converter 1
Web Cam 5

All teachers and administrators have a laptop. Also, all administrative offices are equipped with

computers, laser printers (most via network), IP phones that allow connection between each

classroom/office in the district, as well as, local and long distance phone service and voice mail.

Each classroom and office has access to web and network resources to facilitate the collection

and management of student data. The schools lunchrooms are equipped with computerized cash

registers networked to the district food service coordinator’s office, allowing daily data to be

collected. The district utilizes the MyPaymentsPlus systems is the on-line e-Pay system to check

lunch account balances and make deposits.

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Technology Vision: Gwinnett County Public Schools

Our purpose is to provide the students in our schools with the tools and knowledge to enhance

success. It is our objective to continue implementing the State of Georgia’s Academic Standards

for Educational Technology in order to provide necessary skills to our student population. We

also will use our technological skills to stimulate curiosity and develop critical thinking skills in

all areas of the teaching and learning cycle. Ongoing technology professional development will

be critical in enabling teachers to enhance their classroom environments.

Technology is a vital source of information and communication linking school, home,

community, and the world. Gwinnett County Public Schools goals will:

 Increase students engagement in learning, both individually and in groups

 Develop active, constructive, inquiry based lessons and opportunities for students

 Enable students additional, varied access the curriculum

 Provide differentiated and individualized instruction

 Enable assistive technology

 Integrate technology within the community by sharing district, school, and student goals,

progress, projects and data

 Provide effective and efficient communication, sharing District and GCPS procedures,

policies and information with the community

 Collect and analyze data

 Manage assessment data

 Streamline administrative tasks

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Needs Discovered

Although schools have made progress in bringing computers and the Internet to students

and staff, greater access is still needed in order for technology to become a reliable tool for

teaching and learning. The survey and interviews I conducted has determined the needs to

improve academic achievement for all students through the integration of technology as follows:

• Provide more funding for professional development.• Offer educators technology

training that incorporates 21st century skills and themes and enhances instruction in

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) fields

• Provide educators training related to enhancing problem solving and critical thinking

skills.

• Enhance parental involvement by use of technology to promote communication

• Increasing the number of Chromebooks would make it easier to individualize learning

for students by use of apps such as Google Classroom, E-Class, etc.

Proposed Technology Goals

1. Achieve a ratio of 1:1 digital devices to students, as developmentally appropriate, in

order to meet identified standards.

2. Community Collaboration – Use technology tools to promote parental involvement,

enhance communication and foster collaboration with the community.

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3. Provide tools and training for all staff to establish a culture of effective integration of

technology and digital content into the curriculum.

4. Annually evaluate the effectiveness of the action steps in this plan.

Proposed Budget/ Proposed Plan Duration

Technology Goals Instructional Timeline Funding Source

Outcome

1. Achieve a ratio of Provide reliable and

1:1 digital devices to adequate network
students, as resources to 2 years Title 1
developmentally support classroom
appropriate, in order instruction.
to meet identified
standards.
2.Community Teachers, students
Collaboration – Use and parents will have
technology tools to access to
promote parental apps/programs Ongoing Title 1
involvement, needed foster
enhance communication
communication and
foster collaboration
with the community.
3. Provide tools and Title I
training for all staff Teachers will use
to establish a culture available technology to Professional
of effective implement instruction Ongoing Development Funds
integration of that facilitates student
learning.
technology and
digital content into
the curriculum.
5. Annually evaluate Maintain reliable and
the effectiveness of adequate network Ongoing No additional
the action steps in resources to funding required
this plan. support classroom
instruction.
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Internet Safety Plan

1. Training is provided for students and staff regarding the safe, ethical, legal, and responsible

use of the Internet and of the District's Internet system and their rights and responsibilities under

this plan.

2. The District protects against access to materials that are considered inappropriate for users to

access through the District Internet system in the following manner:

a. To the extent practical, technology protection measures (or “Internet filters”) shall be

used to block or filter Internet, or other forms of electronic communications, access to

inappropriate information

b. The District’s filtering software limits student internet access as defined by CIPA

(Children’s Internet Protection Act 2001). Specifically, as required by the Children’s

Internet Protection Act, blocking shall be applied to visual depictions of material deemed

obscene or child pornography, or to any material deemed harmful to minors. At the

discretion of the District or school, the filtering software may also be configured to

protect against access to other material considered inappropriate. The District recognizes

that internet filters are not perfect and some sites with questionable material may not be

filtered; however, the District will modify the material once it has been identified and

reported. GCPS does not rely on internet filters as a sole protection measure and students

and teachers are instructed on procedures to handle inappropriate access. Parents and

guardians should report any questionable access to their child’s campus.

c. Subject to staff supervision, technology protection measures may be disabled for adults

or, in the case of minors, minimized only for bona fide research or other lawful purposes.
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d. The District’s filtering software is configured tiered access, which allows staff

members access to more sites than students.

e. Requests for website unblocking will be approved through the Chief Technology

Officer or designee. The determination of whether material is appropriate or

inappropriate shall be based on the content of the material, intended use of the material,

and content of ads, not on the protection actions of the filtering software.

3. The school district will educate all students about appropriate online behavior,

including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat

rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.

4. Inappropriate Network Usage

a. Utilizing the digital citizenship curriculum, GCPS promotes the safety and security for

users of the computer network when using electronic mail, chat rooms, instant

messaging, and other forms of direct electronic communications.

b. Specifically, as required by the Children’s Internet Protection Act, prevention of

inappropriate network usage includes: (a) unauthorized access, including so-called

‘hacking,’ and other unlawful activities; and (b) unauthorized disclosure, use, and

dissemination of personal identification information regarding minors.

5. Education, Supervision and Monitoring

a. It shall be the responsibility of all members of the GCPS staff to educate, supervise and

monitor appropriate usage of the online computer network and access to the Internet in
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accordance with this policy, the Children’s Internet Protection Act, the Neighborhood

Children’s Internet Protection Act, and the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act.

6. The student Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) includes provisions that address the following safe

and responsible use issues:

a) Privacy and communication safety standards for self and others

b) Safety and security when using direct electronic communication

c) Unacceptable conduct including inappropriate language, bullying, access to

inappropriate material, plagiarism and copyright infringement, as well as actions that may

disrupt or jeopardize the security or effective performance of the District's network or the

Internet

d) Illegal activities, including computer security violations, actions taken to disrupt the

performance of a computer system, and the use of the Internet to engage in other criminal

acts

7. The employee AUP is provided electronically and posted on the District website. Employees

are held accountable for its contents. The employee AUP address information similar to the

student AUP and other acceptable use issues specific to employees.

8. The District follows guidelines for protecting student personal information when accounts are

established on third party web sites in accordance with CIPA.

9. The District has developed regulations addressing the disclosure of student information,

posting student-created material, and posting pictures of students on the District web site.
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10. Each school year, parents/guardians are provided information regarding agreements to allow

their child to access the Internet and have photos of their child or child’s schoolwork on the

District web site. Parents have the option to decline all or parts of the above agreement based on

need.

Proposed Process to Monitor/Evaluate the Technology Plan

The technology plan will be maintained by annually disaggregating student test scores,

correlating those scores with teacher proficiency and professional development as well as access

to equipment and software. This will be done by comparing the test scores of students in

classrooms whose teachers take advantage of professional development to those that do not.

Along with this analysis, we look to a cost-benefit analysis to justify current future equipment

and software purchases. Purchases that do not show evidence of increased student improvement

will be scaled back and those that do support student achievement will scaled up. In addition,

other evaluation data includes administrator observations of teacher and student technology use

as part of the classroom observation protocol, along with LSTS (Lead Support Technology

Strategist) observations of teacher technology integration in the classroom. Artifacts created by

teachers such as updated teacher web sites and other communication tools as well as posted

lesson plans incorporating technology tools and strategies will act as evaluation tools.

Finally, our school quality survey includes a section that captures student and staff technology

use and allows us to assess participants’ self-assessments of their technology skills, access to

equipment and software, and use of technology as part of teachers’ lesson planning and delivery.
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References

GCPS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2019, from

https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public/about/eclass

GCPS- Internet Safety. (n.d.). Retrieved March 12, 2019, from

http://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/home/public/parents/thinkbeforeyoupost