Needs+Assessment+and+Identification+of+Focus+Area

Image from Googleimages.com Students are actively engaged as the teacher facilitates with a Smart Board! My proposal for this technology initiative is to implement the use of Smart Boards in all of the instructional classrooms at my elementary school. By using Smart Boards teachers will be able to engage students with hands on activities, the students will be able to problem solve, and they can work collaboratively to improve their academic achievement levels.
 * Proposal: **

The following survey was given to students in my EDT 6040 class, and due to lack of participants I had a few teachers from my home school take the survey as well to provide more meaningful results. The survey was composed of 11 questions pertaining to technology/Smart Board use in the classroom. The goal was to determine the need for technology (mainly Smart Interactive White Boards) in the classroom.

[|Smart Board Survey]

//**Below you will find the results of the survey along with each question. **//






 * What type of technology do you have in your classroom? **
 * 1. || laptop, 2 very old computers that work on ocassion, 1 old computer that does not work ||  ||   ||
 * 2. || Smart Board, 3 old working computers, and 1 teacher laptop. ||  ||   ||
 * 3. || computers with internet ||  ||   ||
 * 4. || Interwrite board, elmo, LCD Projector, graphing calculators, 3 student computers, teacher computer, interwrite wireless pad ||  ||   ||
 * 5. || laptop, desktops, handhelds, LCD, document camera ||  ||   ||
 * 6. || LCD; ELMO; IntelliBoard; Personal Laptop; Graphing Calculators ||  ||   ||
 * 7. || Computers, overhead video projection unit, student response system. ||  ||   ||
 * 8. || Last year, lcd projector and overhead. One class computer that worked. ||  ||   ||
 * 9. || LCD projector, mimio, computers, document presenters ||  ||   ||
 * 10. || projector, computer, laptop, VCR/DVD player ||












 * How will the use of technology in the classroom support academic achievement? **
 * 1. || Students will be actively engaged in what they are doing,instead of falling asleep or playing with pencils while the teacher is lecturing . ||  ||   ||
 * 2. || Students will be more engaged therefore they will be learning and retaining information. ||  ||   ||
 * 3. || I think the students are more interested in what is being taught when technology is used. ||  ||   ||
 * 4. || Technology will increase student engagement and excited them to learn. ||  ||   ||
 * 5. || Not sure ||  ||   ||
 * 6. || Engagement and broadening the variety of educational opportunities are the two most apparent. ||  ||   ||
 * 7. || It will allow students to complete virtual hands-on assignments ||  ||   ||
 * 8. || Reinforcement ||  ||   ||
 * 9. || I would use it to engage my students in order to get them excited about learning. ||  ||   ||
 * 10. || I will use it for research, projects, etc. ||
 * Do you feel the use of technology in schols will enable students to be better prepared for their future after school? **


 * 1. || T he younger a child is when they are exposed to technology the more likely they will become successful adults. It has been proven with academics why not technology. ||  ||   ||
 * 2. || Yes, Technology is our future if students are not exposed in schools even at the elementary level, Employers will look elsewhere for workers to hire . ||  ||   ||
 * 3. || Sure. There are so many types of technology the students are exposed to outside of school. Having a general knowledge will prepare them to use and learn more about technology. ||  ||   ||
 * 4. || Yes, because technology is leading society and our students should be prepared to compete in the real world and with other countries through the use of technology. ||  ||   ||
 * 5. || probably ||  ||   ||
 * 6. || Students are entering an increasingly technological world out there. Any experiences they have with technology now, structured properly, can only assist them in the future. ||  ||   ||
 * 7. || Yes, it will allow students to be better accustomed to working on all types of vehicles in a virtual setting. ||  ||   ||
 * 8. || I t may take them away from them learning their basic skills. ||  ||   ||
 * 9. || Yes, we live in a digital age, student need to feel comfortable when using technology. ||  ||   ||
 * 10. || Yes, students will be prepared better for the future and it will help them compete with other countries. ||


 * Should there be different types of technology used for different grade levels? **


 * 1. || No, all students should be exposed to every type of technology, teachers can modify and adpat to meet the needs of a certain grade level. ||  ||   ||
 * 2. || I think that all technology can be adapted to each grade level. Yes I think all students should be exposed to all technology. ||  ||   ||
 * 3. || I think different types work better or serve more of a purpose in different grades. For example...kindergarten doesn't need to use scientific calculators. ||  ||   ||
 * 4. || Yes, however most technology for the classroom can be adapted for all grade levels and subject areas. ||  ||   ||
 * 5. || not sure ||  ||   ||
 * 6. || Technology and its uses should be geared toward the age and dispositions of the students it will be used by. Beyond that, it is a decision for the teachers and administrators working with those students. ||  ||   ||
 * 7. || Yes, Not all grade levels can grasp the type of training that I teach. It would be suited more for the secondary level of teaching. ||  ||   ||
 * 8. || The higher in grades you get, the more difficult the technology should be. Change with their skills. ||  ||   ||
 * 9. || No, I think that every type of technology can be modified to meet the needs of the grade level and of the learners. ||  ||   ||
 * 10. || I think the same kinds of technology can be used for each grade, but adapted for grade level. ||

Image from Googleimages.com

Survey Analysis:

The majority (60%) of the teachers who took the survey taught at the elementary level with only 40 % being at the middle and high school levels. 30% of those teachers are in regular education classrooms, 10% are in special education classrooms, while 20% of them have inclusion classrooms. Surprisingly, most teachers surveyed have quite a bit of technology in their classrooms, such as LCD projectors, document cameras, mimeos, intelli Board, Graphing calculators, a student response system, several desktops in each class, and laptops for teacher use. I do know that 80% of the teachers surveyed teach in the Delaware school district and 30% are in the Maryland school district. Because I am in Maryland Caroline County I can draw the conclusion that Delaware schools are leaps and bounds ahead of Maryland schools when it comes to integrating technology into their classrooms. 30% of the teachers said that they had a maximum of 2 old working computers in their classrooms. If we want our students to succeed then all states need to climb on board with technology integration. Most everyone surveyed has heard of or has even used one. 100% of the teachers say they would use the Smart Board in their class, yet only 40% would use them every day and only 30% would like to receive training. Most teachers feel that Math would be the target area for using their Smart Board with 70% usage, with Science receiving 50% of the usage, and Social Studies and Reading receiving 40% of the usage. The two main reasons teachers shy away from using technology in their classroom is because of a lack of training, and time constraints.

Nearly 100% of the teachers surveyed feel that using technology in the classroom will support academic achievement. They all agree that students will be actively engaged and excited about learning. 90% of the teachers feel that the use of technology will prepare students to compete with other countries because technology is leading society and we don't want our students to fall behind. Only 1% feels that technology may take students away from learning their basic skills. I feel that a good teacher can integrate the basic learning skills into their technology lessons. There is a divided consensus among the teachers that there should be different types of technology uses for different grade levels. For example, half of the teachers think that students should be exposed to all technology while the teacher modifies or adapts it to meet the needs of a certain age group. While the other half think that not all grade levels will be able to grasp certain types of technology because their minds may not be mature enough. Well both sides make a good point, but I think I am leaning towards technology being adapted to meet the needs of all students.

Because of the lack of technology in Caroline County my team and I intend to integrate Smart Boards and the accompanying hardware and software into our school building. The survey results showed that lack of training and time constraints were the main reasons that teachers shy away from using technology in their classroom. So we will need to develop a proposal to share with our administration to show them how we can use the Smart Boards and still meet the required standards by incorporating this technology into the scheduled time frames. As for the lack of training, the survey stated that teachers would be willing to obtain the training needed to use this type of technology, however planning time is limited and not conducive for cross grade level meetings. Therefore, we will propose a list of in-service days to schedule the training needed.
 * Focus Area: **

Initiatives to Address Needs Technology Plan and Research Report