Technology Maturity Benchmarks

John Cheddar Burger Family School is located in a big city. Cheddar Burger School
admits students in grades Pre-K through eighth grade. Keeping with Mr. Cheddar
Burgers philanthropic interests of providing youths with outside interests, John
Cheddar Burger Family School has an adjacent Youth Club as well as numerous after
school programs which academically and athletically enrich the students education.
The esteemed Principal of Cheddar Burger is African-American, mid-forties and a
former teacher. Our Vice-Principal is Latino, mid-fifties and also a former school
teacher. Both men have experience teaching in the district where they are leaders.
Therefore, they understand the environment, teaching obstacles and are confident
they can lead the students and staff to achieve greatness, which includes excelling
in the State Academic Assessment.
Instructional classrooms are equipped interactive Zippy Screens, IP phones and
enhanced audio systems. All classrooms have automatic senor lighting and lavatory
controls, along with computerized thermostat controls. John Cheddar Burger allows
all technology to connect wirelessly anywhere in the building. The school also
contains a state-of-the-art science lab, dedicated distance learning lab, media
center, large gymnasium, art room, research lab and courtyard.

ADMINISTRATIVE
Policy
The leadership at John Cheddar Burger Family School is outstanding. Built several
years ago, the school was the pilot school where each school thereafter would be
modeled. In its conception, John Cheddar Burger was created to be a technology
school with all administration supporting this core philosophy. The policies at John
Cheddar Burger encourage the integration of new technology. Most staff members
embrace this because it is part of the foundation of this school. Technology use is
woven through the fiber of the daily routine of the school. This includes
communication mostly through email, file sharing though the network drives and
distance learning for students and staff. For staff members who are uncomfortable
or require additional technology training the Tech Trainer holds Tech Day Trainings.
She loves technology and has personal goal of taking John Cheddar Burger to the
next level using technology. She also welcomes new ideas and encourages
technology pioneers who want to bring technology into their classrooms to enhance
learning.
Planning
Each school has its own budget. Effective budget planning is the key to providing
students with the highest quality education and staff with the necessary resources
to deliver outstanding instruction. Last year, the school updated a computer lab
with 29 new computers. There are 28 student machines and one for the instructor.
This year, the school is updating a PC Laptop lab with 25 new PC computers which
includes one for the instructor. With the availability of two different platforms in the
school, students have the opportunity of learning on both platforms with a variety of
software. Both computer labs are also equipped with webcams, green screen kits

and lighting to create video. With a move toward digital learning, this equipment
can also be used for micro distance learning from classroom to classroom.
Distance learning can be expanded throughout the district with John Cheddar Burger
the pilot school.
Budget
While true budgetary data is unavailable, each teacher has over one hundred
dollars to spend on classroom supplies. The Pre-K budget is provided by the Early
Learners Academy. The Technology Department is partially responsible for the
budget for the computer labs. Last year, I purchased green screen equipment, a
professional quality microphone and stand and 30 pairs of earphones. This
equipment will be used in the spring for a variety of projects including a Student
Channel including weather reports, travel information and other media segments
upon request. Every schools administration chooses how they want to spend their
allocated budget. At John Cheddar Burger, the administration wants each teacher
to receive the same budget so the teachers can purchase the materials they need
and each teacher feels equally valued.
CURRICULAR
Electronic Information
With advancements in technology and the need for data collection, companies are
developing tools that teach necessary skills and allow teachers to see the progress
the students have made, where their weaknesses lie and how classroom instruction
can close these gaps to ensure all students acquire the necessary knowledge to be
successfully progress throughout their academic careers.
All school employees and students have email accounts. While students in Pre-K
and kindergarten do not use email, their parents as well as parents of students in
upper grades can access student grade books online. Furthermore, our school
website provides staff, students and their families with information about school and
community events as well as information regarding websites that can enhance their
childs education. The website provides links to staff email and websites.
It is requested that staff check their email twice daily to ensure that all information
is being disseminated in a timely manner and that all staff is aware of pertinent
school and district information. Information disseminated electronically ensures
that it reaches the entire school and does not interrupt instruction throughout the
day.
Assessment / Curricular Integration
One assessment tool that has been integrated in grades two through eight is Mr.
Math. Designed and hosed by mathematics experts, Mr. Math is a web based
program that provides students practice in math skills at various levels. Students

log into the program and begin practicing drills in addition, subtraction,
multiplication, fractions and so on. When students achieve an acceptable level of
mastery at a particular skill level, the students can play games to enhance the new
skill. The program tracks the students progress and displays the results so
students are aware of their progress. This also contributes to building their
confidence to continue to use the program.
Read To Me is used at the elementary level to enhance literacy instruction.
Teachers are provided with kits which include reading materials that can be used in
small group instruction. Read To Me does not replace the literacy curriculum but
enhances skills taught in the classroom. There are also additional materials located
on the Read To Me website and an assessment to ensure students acquire the
necessary reading comprehension skills.
Literacy Squared is an intervention program which brings students who are reading
below grade level to an acceptable level. Literacy Squared provides reading,
writing, and vocabulary instruction based upon ongoing assessments conducted in
each program component. The program differentiates instruction in order to meet
specific student needs.
With the integration of Zippy Screens in each classroom, teachers can use the
resources found on the Zippy Screen website. On the website, teachers can create
a free user account to access lessons in all subject areas that can be used to
engage the students and reinforce content taught in the classroom.
SUPPORT
This is probably the only area where John Cheddar Burger is in the emergent stages.
I think that the stakeholders (teachers and students) should have a limited role.
The individuals who make the decisions are extremely competent and forward
thinking. If there were more staff members involved, I do not think that sound
technology decisions would be made because the decisions would be made based
on a personal comfort level rather than a forward thinking approach. For example,
the Tech Trainer spoke with me about the purchase of new computers for my
classroom. I was confident in her choices and therefore, did not feel the need to
discuss specific technology further. Also, when new furniture was chosen, we
discussed the choices and both agreed on the same tables. She and I see eye to
eye on many things and therefore, any purchase for my classroom is at the
integrated stage.
Administrative Support
The Administrative staff is extremely supportive of staff members who have
foresight and want to provide their students with an exceptional education beyond
the curriculum requirements. Department meetings are held weekly with
administration to convey information, answer questions and share teaching

strategies. These strategies may include successes, less than perfect lessons or
classroom management techniques. In the special area department which
encompasses Computer Literacy, Library Science, Physical Education and Health,
Art, Music and Spanish language, discussion topics include the tie in of these
special areas to literacy, math, science and social studies curriculum to ensure
that students are experiencing the curriculum in new ways. This will also enhance
the topics taught in the classroom in new and interesting ways.
Training
John Cheddar Burger continuously offers training each Tuesday with Tech Day
Training which specifically targets new technology initiatives and refreshment in
areas where teachers would like to revisit specific technology topics. Teachers are
also encouraged to use their two professional days each year to take training
classes which peak their interest. Every teacher has a Find Learning Fun account
which allows them to access audio, video, images, websites and printable materials
to enhance instruction.
A top rated best professional development website, its a place for educators to
connect across the globe. Here, all users can read the blogs and discussion boards.
Find Learning Fun Educators (any educator that has a Fun account) has the ability to
comment on the blogs, post to the discussion boards, and register for Find Learning
Fun Network events. During the school year, Fun participants are asked to share
their knowledge with the staff so we can all benefit from their newly acquired
technology knowledge.
Technical/Infrastructure Support
The Tech Trainer is not only a superb technology educator but is also extremely
competent when troubleshooting technology issues and diligent when placing
requests to fix technology issues that are beyond the scope of her position (Zippy
Screen repairs, hardware installations) as well as introducing new technology at
John Cheddar Burger. Part of her position involves arranging and facilitating
distance learning activities in our distance learning lab. The lab is equipped with
distance learning equipment which can be used to facilitate inter-district trainings
and those that are at a greater distance.
Each school is also assigned certified district technicians. Our school technical and
network technician have superb skills and are extremely competent. As soon as the
new PC lab arrived, our school technician came to the school to create an image of
one of the computers with the software specifications of my choice. I also wanted
to include a non-standard web browser, school favorites for math, literacy and my
homepage, and other websites used during my instruction periods. I also included
additional add-ons to ensure the Web 2.0 tools used in the classroom are able to
function with the new computers.

CONNECTIVITY
John Cheddar Burger is designed so staff and students can connect anywhere in the
building wirelessly. This allows students to use various devices easily. One example
of this utilization was a butterfly experiment in the school courtyard. This past fall,
teachers were able to digitally record the students interacting with butterflies in the
school courtyard using their tablets. While the courtyard is contained within the
parameter of the school, the wireless connectivity reaches this area which allowed
both teachers and students to capture this scientific interaction easily. Likewise, the
PC Lab is also a wireless classroom. Students can share what they are learning with
other students by disconnecting the power cords when necessary and turning their
laptop toward their classmates or me.
Throughout the District, every school generally as the same Internet connectivity
speed. While some schools have new wiring because they have been built within
the past seven years, all of the schools have newer computer labs and many have
wireless Internet connectivity. This is extremely helpful for lesson integration when
schools are using tablets, mini laptops or other wireless devices. When there are
bandwidth issues, they are addressed by the technology department.
Currently, the District is migrating all phones to an IP (Internet Protocol) phone
system. The newer schools in the district are also receiving the new technology.
With this integration, data transmission is faster. Voicemail can be accessed using
email and conference calls can be administered more easily.
For the New Year, several computer teachers would like to conduct a distance
learning lesson from their classrooms. The infrastructure is in place and a test
lesson can be conducted after school hours to ensure the outcome is successful.
Furthermore, the lesson will be used to achieve state proficiency standards and to
introduce the students to distance learning. In the past, the District has used their
voice, data and WAN resources for an all district webinar where staff interacted from
a general area in each school. With advancements in data speed, there will be push
to conduct the same types of seminars to a personal computer in the teachers
classroom (which can be displayed on a Zippy Board). These resources can also be
used to teach students particular material in a computer lab because each student
would have their own computer to view and interact with and the teacher can
answer questions (both academic and technical) if needed.
INNOVATION
John Cheddar Burger Family School prides itself on being on the cutting edge of
technology. The administration encourages staff members to integrate new
technology into their lessons to engage students and introduce them to technology
that they can use in upper level coursework or in class projects.

While some teachers pride themselves with introducing and utilizing new
technology in their classes, other teachers are resistant to change. In many cases
the school or the district insists that teacher use or integrate a particular technology
into their instruction to increase knowledge acquisition. Other uses of technology
are for book keeping purposes or data entry.
In some instances, an educator may find a website or Web 2.0 tool that has been
blocked by the school district and requires the site or tool to be unblocked. There
are several tools that are promoted by the Technology Department such as Talky
Talky or My Blog on a Wog. A district license has been purchased for My Blog on a
Wog and therefore, this tool should be utilized by technology teachers in their
classrooms. While Talky Talky is a free website, the use of this website helps
standardize the education throughout the district. In a school district where
students move continuously, it is important that their work follow them to build
confidence and consistency. In addition, some new tools which teachers would like
to use need to be justified and approved. While teachers are asked to be inventive
and forward thinking, all ideas need to be approved regardless of applicability.
CONCLUSION
Evaluating a school environment objectively without bias is challenging. Examining
the school environment with the purpose of providing both the staff and students
with a better academic environment makes this task a bit easier, but not
necessarily a stroll in the park.
An ongoing goal for John Cheddar Burger Family School is reaching an intelligent
level in every maturity benchmark. As the first new school in the District, the
individuals at John Cheddar Burger continuously strive for excellence. After
carefully reviewing the Maturity Benchmarks that were integrated and not
intelligent, there was one common thread that limits intelligent achievement at John
Cheddar Burger: control. The district technology leaders need to allow competent
school leaders to have more control over their technology choices.
Recognizing shortcomings can be positive when is it viewed as a vehicle for positive
improvement. One of the foundations of John Cheddar Burger Family School is that
is was the beginning of a new chapter in urban education. John Cheddar Burger
continues to strive toward creating success by continuously reevaluating its
academics, processes and leadership. Successes are always celebrated at John
Cheddar Burger. By recognizing success, additional success is an attainable goal
because it is part of the core of John Cheddar Burger Family School.
To reach the intelligent stage in the Maturity Benchmarks, the technology leaders
should recognize the intelligence and talent within the teaching staff of the District
and John Cheddar Burger Family School. Once the reigns are loosened, the creative
ideas will flow and true success will be achieved.