Mike Hoyt
EDET 632
AnthroTech Assignment
Understanding Your School’s Technology Culture
I. Technological Capacity and Capabilities
1.What kind of technology is available to you?
a.6 computer Labs- Two of which are fully integrated digital arts lab with higher-functioning GIS mapping and arts related functions. There are 4 mac labs and two PC labs. The library has a dell cart available for use in library and a few researching computers. The Social Studies department has a chrome cart, as does the English department. Each cart has 32 computers. 5 years ago there was 1 to 1 program: all incoming Freshmen could have access to a mac laptop, this program has been replaced by chrome carts. Other departments have access to a google chrome cart and a dell cart available on order. There are printer/scanner’s available to each of the four wings, as well as library, counseling office and main office, digital arts room & Plato labs & computer labs. There is a handful of digital still and video cameras available through the library, though now over 7 years old. 5 SRL cameras are in Digital Arts and Yearbook. Each classroom has a digital projector, and each t staff member receives a macbook or Dell which is used for all in school/interdistrict communication and reporting.
2.What internet capability is available?
a.TMHS has a 150mbs login secured wifi access. The labs have direct ethernet connectivity, but they are limited to the 150mbs as well to ensure the bandwidth is not entirely allocated to the labs. Wifi connectivity covers the entire building with both a secured and guest access.
3.How is computer and internet access provided? Dispersed computers? 1 to 1? Labs? Can students use their own equipment?
a.Access is provided via chrome or dell carts which teachers may sign up for in their rooms, or move the class to a computer lab. Most students have personal access on phone and devices-and often assigned research time in groups in class to collaborate and research together.
4.What kinds of filters are in place, and how do they restrict what you might want to do?
a.The JSD has firewall in place that is up to the federal code, CIPA-Child internet Protection Act—guidelines. The only site blocked is facebook.and few others (Youtube was locked for long time, now it is not as some educational videos are used).
5.If resources like social media are blocked, are there “intranet” options? Are there ways to get special permission to use blocked resources?
a.There are educational analog sites that are left unblocked for students to use. In place of Facebook students have access to Edmodo. The restrictions are limited however at this school. When Youtube was blocked the students had to use Schooltube, however Youtube is no longer blocked so the analog site is rarely used.
6.Who has the specialty gear (cameras, scanners, etc.) and can you use most it?
a.There is an assortment of specialty gear offered at TMHS. There are a few variants in the types of gear available. The library has a few older cameras for students to check out and use on projects. The teachers of the Digital Arts and Yearbook classes have two high resolution top quality cameras on hand for students to use. These ones are strictly protected on most occasions. We have two school GoPro’s these ones are hard to keep track of. They trade hands between the Digital Arts, Yearbook, and science department teachers. There is a drone that can be used by the students. The current person in charge of this technology is Kristen Wells. We also have a 3D printer (Athena) here at TMHS, but I was not able to get a clear answer on who can use it. As for printing a majority of student printing takes place in the library. They have a printer in both the main floor and in the library computer lab. There are also shared computer labs between each wing with computer and printer access. Each wing has its own staff printer, but students are restricted due to confidential IEP documents that can be left unattended. Some student TA’s use them, but it is a hot issue here.
7.What is your best sense of the technology that your students have at home? To what extent can you expect them to have access to technology and internet access outside school to work on school projects?
a.The last survey that went out asked the students who had access to the internet at home. This included students with smartphones. The survey showed that ~85% of students are able to access the internet at home. From asking students however I found that only ~50-60% of the students have a home computer with internet access and a printer. From this I would conclude that project work at home is still limited.
II. Leadership and Policies
8.Does your school have a mission statement and an educational technology plan? If so, when were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.Yes. TMHS Mission: “Through connections, inquiry, and community, students will succeed academically, socially, emotionally and physically.”
b.TMHS Vision: “TMHS is a welcoming and equitable community where caring and respectful learners work to be successful and contributing citizens.”
c.TMHS is a part of district technology committee, but does not have its own technology mission statement. The school has two tech champs. Our school follows District’s technology plan. According to this plan, computers in our school get updated once a year, every summer.
d.http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/Juneau_School_District/Board/Policies_and_Regulations/1000_-_Program/1530_-_Use_of_Electronic_Techn
9.Are missions and plans used and generally valued at school? Do you use them.
a.Yes. Copies of the mission and vision are in every classroom.
10.Do the missions and plans address the issues of digital citizenship, or of developing a balanced view of technology adoption?
a.IST standards are part of the advisory curriculum. Plato blended community.
11.Is technology well-funded at your school? Do you see signs of technology rotation, professional development and on-going maintenance of existing equipment?
a.Yes. The only thing, which needs to be improved is professional development: not all the teachers are proficient in technology usage.
12.Does your school have Internet use and parent permission policies? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.Yes. Parents need to sign the permission every year. It is showed in students’ pages in Power school.
13.Has your school adopted or established competencies for students? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.No. There are currently no established competencies for students in regards to a technology standpoint. There are computer science courses offered, but they are more in regards to program use. During the first few freshman advisory classes the students are introduced to Powerschool but that is about as far as a competency program we have. Parents are also introduced to Powerschool and it seems to be a widely used program, with a lot of students and parents checking it regularly.
14.Who are the ed tech leaders within your school? Does your school have an ed tech committee? Is it active? What are its responsibilities?
a.Janna Lelchuk and Kristen Wells
15.Who are the student leaders in technology? Are there programs that allow them to use their expertise to help teachers and other students? Are there special programs that allow them to pursue their interests?
a.Students leaders in technology: Sonny Mauricio, Ian McAndrews
b.Programs: Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
16.Are community members involved in regards to using technology in your school?
a.Yes, they reserve and use labs.
17.If something breaks, who fixes it? How do you contact them? Are corrective and on-going maintenance well supported?
a.IT department from JSD headquarters, and staff TMHS
AnthroTech Reflection
My impression of the technology culture of the school thus far is that it is generally positive and growing, though could use some help. The positive outlook generally stems from the attitude and openness I’ve seen from most teachers and administrators. They want to use technology and understand that it is vital to education, but there have been occasionally issues throughout the school year so far.
Of the things that the school is doing well, what stands out most to me is the amount of resources dedicated towards technology. As a student I never really realized the difficulty in trying to balance the needs of technology with an entire school, but even with as many resources as Thunder Mountain High School has there isn’t always enough to go around. Especially as it is early in the year, it is common for the computer carts to be in constant motion from one class to another and sometimes lost in the shuffle. When available, the carts seem to be successful in their purpose, and my understanding is that the school has planned to continue investing in more carts and computers.
Two things stand out to me as areas of possible improvement. The first have more technology assistance available locally. When I’ve had technological needs at the start of the year, such as setting up email and getting access to the school internet, I had to call a centralized Juneau School District technician. Though it generally worked fine, other than taking a few days, I could foresee that being a problem as well. The second is providing more professional development to the teachers themselves. I’m sure part of technology use comes from a teachers personality and experience, but I’ve seen some teachers use it constantly and effectively, while others use it very rarely. I’ve heard a few teachers complain about “losing periods” because they were struggling with technology needs, or couldn’t access the digital copies of curriculum or text books.
If I had the budget and authority, I would focus on providing the teachers with the professional development opportunities so that they can become more familiar and functional with all of the technology options. Another area I would wish to explore is opening up the dialogue to students about how to integrate their own interests and experiences into the classroom technology better. There is a lot of potential to at least try and use the type of apps and programs that students are consumed with. It is very common to look around during class and see students pause and take a picture for Snapchat or Instagram. As someone who uses my phone in classes myself, though hopefully only occasionally, I know it’s possible to pay attention while sending off a few texts here and there. The key is finding the balance and the activities or strategies that would successfully engage students in the lesson without giving them free access to disengage into the world of social media.
EDET 632
AnthroTech Assignment
Understanding Your School’s Technology Culture
I. Technological Capacity and Capabilities
1.What kind of technology is available to you?
a.6 computer Labs- Two of which are fully integrated digital arts lab with higher-functioning GIS mapping and arts related functions. There are 4 mac labs and two PC labs. The library has a dell cart available for use in library and a few researching computers. The Social Studies department has a chrome cart, as does the English department. Each cart has 32 computers. 5 years ago there was 1 to 1 program: all incoming Freshmen could have access to a mac laptop, this program has been replaced by chrome carts. Other departments have access to a google chrome cart and a dell cart available on order. There are printer/scanner’s available to each of the four wings, as well as library, counseling office and main office, digital arts room & Plato labs & computer labs. There is a handful of digital still and video cameras available through the library, though now over 7 years old. 5 SRL cameras are in Digital Arts and Yearbook. Each classroom has a digital projector, and each t staff member receives a macbook or Dell which is used for all in school/interdistrict communication and reporting.
2.What internet capability is available?
a.TMHS has a 150mbs login secured wifi access. The labs have direct ethernet connectivity, but they are limited to the 150mbs as well to ensure the bandwidth is not entirely allocated to the labs. Wifi connectivity covers the entire building with both a secured and guest access.
3.How is computer and internet access provided? Dispersed computers? 1 to 1? Labs? Can students use their own equipment?
a.Access is provided via chrome or dell carts which teachers may sign up for in their rooms, or move the class to a computer lab. Most students have personal access on phone and devices-and often assigned research time in groups in class to collaborate and research together.
4.What kinds of filters are in place, and how do they restrict what you might want to do?
a.The JSD has firewall in place that is up to the federal code, CIPA-Child internet Protection Act—guidelines. The only site blocked is facebook.and few others (Youtube was locked for long time, now it is not as some educational videos are used).
5.If resources like social media are blocked, are there “intranet” options? Are there ways to get special permission to use blocked resources?
a.There are educational analog sites that are left unblocked for students to use. In place of Facebook students have access to Edmodo. The restrictions are limited however at this school. When Youtube was blocked the students had to use Schooltube, however Youtube is no longer blocked so the analog site is rarely used.
6.Who has the specialty gear (cameras, scanners, etc.) and can you use most it?
a.There is an assortment of specialty gear offered at TMHS. There are a few variants in the types of gear available. The library has a few older cameras for students to check out and use on projects. The teachers of the Digital Arts and Yearbook classes have two high resolution top quality cameras on hand for students to use. These ones are strictly protected on most occasions. We have two school GoPro’s these ones are hard to keep track of. They trade hands between the Digital Arts, Yearbook, and science department teachers. There is a drone that can be used by the students. The current person in charge of this technology is Kristen Wells. We also have a 3D printer (Athena) here at TMHS, but I was not able to get a clear answer on who can use it. As for printing a majority of student printing takes place in the library. They have a printer in both the main floor and in the library computer lab. There are also shared computer labs between each wing with computer and printer access. Each wing has its own staff printer, but students are restricted due to confidential IEP documents that can be left unattended. Some student TA’s use them, but it is a hot issue here.
7.What is your best sense of the technology that your students have at home? To what extent can you expect them to have access to technology and internet access outside school to work on school projects?
a.The last survey that went out asked the students who had access to the internet at home. This included students with smartphones. The survey showed that ~85% of students are able to access the internet at home. From asking students however I found that only ~50-60% of the students have a home computer with internet access and a printer. From this I would conclude that project work at home is still limited.
II. Leadership and Policies
8.Does your school have a mission statement and an educational technology plan? If so, when were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.Yes. TMHS Mission: “Through connections, inquiry, and community, students will succeed academically, socially, emotionally and physically.”
b.TMHS Vision: “TMHS is a welcoming and equitable community where caring and respectful learners work to be successful and contributing citizens.”
c.TMHS is a part of district technology committee, but does not have its own technology mission statement. The school has two tech champs. Our school follows District’s technology plan. According to this plan, computers in our school get updated once a year, every summer.
d.http://www.edlinesites.net/pages/Juneau_School_District/Board/Policies_and_Regulations/1000_-_Program/1530_-_Use_of_Electronic_Techn
9.Are missions and plans used and generally valued at school? Do you use them.
a.Yes. Copies of the mission and vision are in every classroom.
10.Do the missions and plans address the issues of digital citizenship, or of developing a balanced view of technology adoption?
a.IST standards are part of the advisory curriculum. Plato blended community.
11.Is technology well-funded at your school? Do you see signs of technology rotation, professional development and on-going maintenance of existing equipment?
a.Yes. The only thing, which needs to be improved is professional development: not all the teachers are proficient in technology usage.
12.Does your school have Internet use and parent permission policies? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.Yes. Parents need to sign the permission every year. It is showed in students’ pages in Power school.
13.Has your school adopted or established competencies for students? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.
a.No. There are currently no established competencies for students in regards to a technology standpoint. There are computer science courses offered, but they are more in regards to program use. During the first few freshman advisory classes the students are introduced to Powerschool but that is about as far as a competency program we have. Parents are also introduced to Powerschool and it seems to be a widely used program, with a lot of students and parents checking it regularly.
14.Who are the ed tech leaders within your school? Does your school have an ed tech committee? Is it active? What are its responsibilities?
a.Janna Lelchuk and Kristen Wells
15.Who are the student leaders in technology? Are there programs that allow them to use their expertise to help teachers and other students? Are there special programs that allow them to pursue their interests?
a.Students leaders in technology: Sonny Mauricio, Ian McAndrews
b.Programs: Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
16.Are community members involved in regards to using technology in your school?
a.Yes, they reserve and use labs.
17.If something breaks, who fixes it? How do you contact them? Are corrective and on-going maintenance well supported?
a.IT department from JSD headquarters, and staff TMHS
AnthroTech Reflection
My impression of the technology culture of the school thus far is that it is generally positive and growing, though could use some help. The positive outlook generally stems from the attitude and openness I’ve seen from most teachers and administrators. They want to use technology and understand that it is vital to education, but there have been occasionally issues throughout the school year so far.
Of the things that the school is doing well, what stands out most to me is the amount of resources dedicated towards technology. As a student I never really realized the difficulty in trying to balance the needs of technology with an entire school, but even with as many resources as Thunder Mountain High School has there isn’t always enough to go around. Especially as it is early in the year, it is common for the computer carts to be in constant motion from one class to another and sometimes lost in the shuffle. When available, the carts seem to be successful in their purpose, and my understanding is that the school has planned to continue investing in more carts and computers.
Two things stand out to me as areas of possible improvement. The first have more technology assistance available locally. When I’ve had technological needs at the start of the year, such as setting up email and getting access to the school internet, I had to call a centralized Juneau School District technician. Though it generally worked fine, other than taking a few days, I could foresee that being a problem as well. The second is providing more professional development to the teachers themselves. I’m sure part of technology use comes from a teachers personality and experience, but I’ve seen some teachers use it constantly and effectively, while others use it very rarely. I’ve heard a few teachers complain about “losing periods” because they were struggling with technology needs, or couldn’t access the digital copies of curriculum or text books.
If I had the budget and authority, I would focus on providing the teachers with the professional development opportunities so that they can become more familiar and functional with all of the technology options. Another area I would wish to explore is opening up the dialogue to students about how to integrate their own interests and experiences into the classroom technology better. There is a lot of potential to at least try and use the type of apps and programs that students are consumed with. It is very common to look around during class and see students pause and take a picture for Snapchat or Instagram. As someone who uses my phone in classes myself, though hopefully only occasionally, I know it’s possible to pay attention while sending off a few texts here and there. The key is finding the balance and the activities or strategies that would successfully engage students in the lesson without giving them free access to disengage into the world of social media.