Alford SWOT Final

ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

SWOT Analysis Template for Technology Planning Needs Assessment

What is the current reality in Riverwood International Charter School?

ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: STUDENT-CENTERED LEARNING

ISTE Definition: Use of information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate engaging approaches to learning.

Guiding Questions:

How is technology being used in our school? How frequently is it being used? By whom? For what purposes?

To what extent is student technology use targeted toward student achievement of the Georgia Learning Standards (GPSs, QCCs)?

To what extent is student technology use aligned to research-based, best practices that are most likely to support student engagement, deep understanding of content, and transfer of knowledge? Is day-to-day instruction aligned to research-based best practices? (See Creighton Chapters 5, 7)

StrengthsWeaknessesOpportunitiesThreats

Every teacher is given a laptop to use for day to day tasks and responsibilities. Software used on laptop device are up to date

Some classrooms are equipped with Promethean Activ Boards to enhance delivery.

There two computer labs and 3 mobile laptop carts both with the purpose of student technology use. Many laptops are outdated and require regular maintenance. Some software packages installed on the older laptop require a huge portion of the RAM and limit teachers abilities to multitask.

Warranties have expired on all Activ Boards present as the school.

Teachers who have a better understanding of Promethean programs and hardware are not given preference when assigning rooms with the boards. Therefore many of the boards are underutilized. The school has adopted a BYOT policy which allows both students and teachers to access the school wireless network using personal laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices. School PTSA and Foundation have made funding available as Grant opportunities to increasetechnological resources The Wireless network has proven unreliable and at time spotty when people are accessing it from the same points.

Summary/Gap Analysis: While there is a seemingly wealth of technology within the school at the teachers disposal, the technology needs to be refreshed as many models of laptops are circa 2001 and therefore barely meet the required hardware capacities of the software programs being used.Student technology is often unavailable. This is primarily due to availability or network issues..

ESSENTIAL CONDITION TWO: Shared Vision

ISTE Definition: Proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among school personnel, students, parents, and the community.

Guiding Questions:

Is there an official vision for technology use in the district/school? Is it aligned to research-best practices? Is it aligned to state and national visions? Are teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members aware of the vision?

To what extent do teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members have a vision for how technology can be used to enhance student learning? What do they believe about technology and what types of technology uses we should encourage in the future? Are their visions similar or different? To what extent are their beliefs about these ideal, preferred technology uses in the future aligned to research and best practice?

To what extent do educators see technology as critical for improving student achievement of the GPS/QCCs? To preparing tomorrows workforce? For motivating digital-age learners?

What strategies have been deployed to date to create a research-based shared vision?

What needs to be done to achieve broad-scale adoption of a research-based vision for technology use that is likely to lead to improved student achievement?


The county is currently rolling a system wide technology refresh project. This will include improvements to wireless networks, teacher workstations, etc. The school has had 4 different principals in the last two years and is currently on its 5th. There has been no cohesive technology plan in place since 2011. There have been setbacks in county wide technology initiatives in year past that have left many teachers without confidence in the county IT Dept. The current principal has put in place several new policies such as BYOT to offset technological shortcomings. Principal has announced a school-wide technology plan is forthcoming and will be announced before the 2nd semester. There is no longer a school technology integration committee.

Summary/Gap Analysis: While the past several years have been filled with uncertainty and doubt, this school year seems to be full promise both on a school-wide and system side basis as there have been no setbacks announced this years technology initiatives. The majority of the school has a high morale. This is a welcome change for a school who lost 43 faculty members due resignations or transfers..

ESSENTIAL CONDITION THREE: Planning for Technology

ISTE Definition: A systematic plan aligned with a shared vision for school effectiveness and student learning through the infusion of ICT and digital learning resources.

Guiding Questions:

Is there an adequate plan to guide technology use in your school? (either at the district or school level? Integrated into SIP?) What should be done to strengthen planning?


There are pockets within the school who utilize various software and other forms of technology to support the planning and collaboration. The school has school wide licenses for Edmodo, Turnitin.com, and Camtasia. There is no school technology integration committee. What professional development that is offered is done so by teacher volunteers Recent Mini-grants have allotted funds for the creation stipends positions to help support technology integration, The school has not adopted or endorsed a particular software or method to use. This can create confusion with so many people using different programs that when one is adopted other may find the learning difficult.

Summary/Gap Analysis: The school gives teachers the autonomy to use various software programs to expand the classroom and to communicate with students and parents. While this is helpful for teachers, students find themselves going to Edmodo, Schoology, or Quora, to get assistance with their studies.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION FOUR: Equitable Access

ISTE Definition: Robust and reliable access to current and emerging technologies and digital resources

Guiding Questions:

To what extent do students, teachers, administrators, and parents have access to computers and digital resources necessary to support engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning?

To what extent is technology arrange/distributed to maximize access for engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning?

What tools are needed and why?

Do students/parents/community need/have beyond school access to support the vision for learning?


The school has adopted a BYOT policy which allows both students and teachers to access the school wireless network using personal laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices.

The school has several laptop carts, computer labs, and recently an iPad lab.

The Media Center and one of the Social Studies labs are available for student use afterschool until 5pm.

Despite the collection of technologies that do exist at the school teachers still vie for availability in the computer labs or to gain access to the laptop carts. The expansion of the school wireless network will allow students to bring laptops and tablets to school to assist with instruction There has been no announcement as to when our school will be receiving the update.

Summary/Gap Analysis: The school has a great deal of technological resources. However, the ratio of students to those resources is still high and therefore dramatically affects the schools equitable access. Policies such as BYOT are helping to alleviate the lack of access, but it is only a temporary solution.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION FIVE: Skilled Personnel

ISTE Definition: Educators and support staff skilled in the use of ICT appropriate for their job responsibilities.

Guiding Questions:

To what extent are educators and support staff skilled in the use of technology appropriate for their job responsibilities?

What do they currently know and are able to do?

What are knowledge and skills do they need to acquire?

(Note: No need to discuss professional learning here. Discuss knowledge and skills. This is your needs assessment for professional learning. The essential conditions focus on personnel, which includes administrators, staff, technology specialists, and teachers. However, in this limited project, you may be wise to focus primarily or even solely on teachers; although you may choose to address the proficiency of other educators/staff IF the need is critical. You must include an assessment of teacher proficiencies.


The school has an IT Specialist on site. The Media Center holds workshops about new digital resources.

The school has several teachers who are comfortable using technology to assist with their lessons and willing to help others do the same. There has previously been a technology integration committee, through several administrations the committee has dissipated. The administration has mentioned providing opportunities for professional growth by offering stipend positions on various committees. These teachers are underutilized by the staff as a whole.

Summary/Gap Analysis: There is a definite need to revive the technology community at Riverwood. There is a core of teachers who would be willing to assist others with their technology needs if they were tapped. Instead, this burden is left solely to the IT specialist who can become enthralled with too many tasks already.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SIX: Ongoing Professional Learning

ISTE Definition: Technology-related professional learning plans and opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas.

Guiding Questions:

What professional learning opportunities are available to educators? Are they well-attended? Why or why not?

Are the current professional learning opportunities matched to the knowledge and skills educators need to acquire? (see Skilled Personnel)

Do professional learning opportunities reflect the national standards for professional learning (NSDC)?

Do educators have both formal and informal opportunities to learn?

Is technology-related professional learning integrated into all professional learning opportunities or isolated as a separate topic?

How must professional learning improve/change in order to achieve the shared vision?


Teachers are allowed to seek opportunities for professional growth such as workshops and conferences. There is little technology training offered to teachers on site.

There has previously been a technology integration committee, through several administrations the committee has dissipated. The administration has mentioned providing opportunities for professional growth by offering stipend positions on various committees. Without those professional learning opportunities many teachers will become complacent teaching lessons without the incorporation of technology.

Summary/Gap Analysis: There does appear to a push to provide better opportunities for professional growth. This however, has yet to be announced and is unclear at this time what areas these opportunities will be in.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SEVEN: Technical Support

ISTE Definition: Consistent and reliable assistance for maintaining, renewing, and using ICT and digital resources.

Guiding Questions:

To what extent is available equipment operable and reliable for instruction?

Is there tech assistance available for technical issues when they arise? How responsive is tech support? Are current down time averages acceptable?

Is tech support knowledgeable? What training might they need?

In addition to break/fix issues, are support staff available to help with instructional issues when teachers try to use technology in the classroom?


The school has a IT Specialist on site. The specialist has a working knowledge of the hardware and software used by the school.

The county Tech Help Desk is easily accessible by phone or email. Because of the condition of hardware used within the school as well as network issues, the ITS is often spread thin. The county IT department does not seem knowledgeable and have on occasion replied to emails regarding troubleshooting with you should Google that. The county wide technology refresh should alleviate much of the burden of maintenance that has been placed on the ITS.

On both a school and system level I think communication is an issue in regard to the Help Desk and school ITS being able to trouble shoot and solve tech problems.

Summary/Gap Analysis: The school ITS and the county Help Desk are both easily assessable. However, there is an apparent problem with knowhow and communication. Once issues are fixed there need to be a feedback or followup system to insure what was done truly resolved the issue.

ESSENTIAL CONDITION EIGHT: Curriculum Framework

ISTE Definition: Content standards and related digital curriculum resources

Guiding Questions:

To what extent are educators, students, and parents aware of student technology standards? (QCCs/NET-S)

Are technology standards aligned to content standards to help teachers integrate technology skills into day-to-day instruction and not teach technology as a separate subject?

To what extent are there digital curriculum resources available to teachers so that they can integrate technology into the GPS/QCCs as appropriate?

How is student technology literacy assessed?


The necessity to use technology alongside instruction is felt by many teachers within the school. The fact that it is a battle to reserve a comp lab or laptop cart speaks to the fact that there is a fervor for technology integration. I do not think there is a wide awareness of the ITSE standards. There needs to be more technology integration within our ELL dept. as there is a clear divide in technological literacy amongst those students. Many teachers disregard that there is a technological pedagogy that must be utilized in order to successfully integrate technology. The creation of the aforementioned committees will help assist with the creating of a technology integration plan centered upon the ITSE standards. Student technology literacy is not assessed thoroughly. By the time students reach 11th or 12th grade they are assumed to have acquired certain technological skills that may not always be the case.

Summary/Gap Analysis: While there is not a wide awareness of the ITSE standards, there is a strong belief in the use and effectiveness of technology within the classroom. The later I think insures for the most part that at least a portion of the ITSE standards are being achieved even if they are being done unknowlingly.

Appendix

Technology Use Survey

This is a survey to gauge the variety of technological resources that are available and used at Riverwood International Charter School. This survey will be used to assess the overall state of technology use, access, and instructional integration. The questions in this survey look to address your overall level of comfort with technology use and your level of technology literacy. Please answer each question honestly and to the best of your knowledge and ability.StatementStrongly

Disagree

1Disagree

2Somewhat

3Agree

4Strongly agree

5

I am proficient using productivity tools (word processing, databases, spreadsheets, presentations, etc.)1 2 3 4 5

I am able to troubleshoot problems when they occur with these programs.1 2 3 4 5

I feel comfortable teaching my students and colleagues about using various software programs.1 2 3 4 5

I am proficient using Web 2.0 tools found online (Prezi, Diigo,etc).1 2 3 4 5

I am able to locate materials online to assist in my instruction of content.1 2 3 4 5

I currently have and maintain a class website or synchronous teaching platform (edomodo.com , schoology.com, etc) 1 2 3 4 5

I actively use a variety of technological resource alongside my instruction.1 2 3 4 5

I actively search for learning activities to increase my technology skills.1 2 3 4 5

There is adequate access to the technology provided to me at Riverwood.1 2 3 4 5

I use my laptop actively for instructional purposes.1 2 3 4 5

Any technological issues are resolved in a reasonable amount of time.1 2 3 4 5

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Riverwood International Charter School Mission/Goals

http://school.fultonschools.org/hs/riverwood/Pages/Mission.aspxMission and Vision

VisionThe vision of Riverwood International Charter School and the schools in the Riverwood International Cluster is to deliver a challenging curriculum that gives all students the tools needed to be successful, contributing members of our nation and the world. As the leader of our cluster, we embrace our role in this vision as an International Baccalaureate World School.Mission

Promote academic excellence for our diverse community by:Providing a progressive educational community, grades K-12, that includes parent, staff and community collaboration;Supporting seamless curriculum transitions between the elementary and middle school and between the middle and high school;Enriching the International Studies Magnet and International Baccalaureate programs offered at Riverwood High School;Promoting an international focus at the elementary and middle schoolsBeliefsEveryone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.A rigorous, challenging, integrated (K-12) academic program with high expectations is essential for students to succeed in a global society.Education is the responsibility of the entire community working collaboratively.All children can learn. They learn in different ways and at different rates.Students benefit from opportunities to serve the community, to enhance interpersonal skills, and to promote positive citizenship skills.Everyone is entitled to a safe, supportive, and secure learning environment.ValuesResponsibility and accountabilityRespect for oneself, others and the environmentCommitment to academic and behavioral excellenceTeamwork and collaborationRespect and understanding of the worlds cultures, ideas and diversity of peoplesTeaching that actively engages students and provides opportunities for them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a variety of waysInstruction that is modeled after best practices and focused on student learningLearning that is standards-based and driven by the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS)

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Alford SWOT Final