Technology Plan Evaluation The Muscogee County School District technology plan was used to complete this evaluation.

The plan was evaluated using the Technology Planning Analysis rubric created by Dr. Paul All of the niversity of Te!as. Prior to discussing the effectiveness of this plan" it is necessary to consider some #ey bac#ground information about the school district and the development of the current plan. The MCSD technology plan is designed to be one of several outgrowths of the $oard of Education%s Strategic Plan. The Strategic plan has five standards for improvement" and the development of the technology plan is designed to wor# towards achieving the goals of this strategic plan. The development of the plan is also connected to the Muscogee County &nformation Technology $lueprint. The Technology $lueprint was evaluated by the 'ollingsworth (roup during the )*++,)*+) school year. -eedbac# from this evaluation led to the current goals outlined in the current technology plan" allowing it to be .a subset of the Technology $lueprint/ 0p. 12. The current plan was published in 3uly )*+)" and this plan will last for three years. The technology plan is designed to focus on the technology needs of over 4)" *** students in 54 schools and appro!imately 4"*** employees. The 54 schools consist of 6 elementary" +4 middle" 6 high schools" and 7 seven centers and programs. At this time" these schools have been refreshed so that the classrooms meet )+st century standards" with interactive whiteboards" pro8ectors" document cameras" student response systems" ambient surround sound" and other modern technologies 0p. 92. -unding for these improvements are providing by a )**6 Special Purpose :ocal ;ption Sales Ta! 0SP:;ST2" and improvements have also resulted in

.ongoing upgrades to the infrastructure to support that technology/ 0p.92. These infrastructure upgrades are also included in the technology plan. Executive Summary The plan does contain the elements of an e!ecutive summary. 'owever" this information is bro#en into several labeled sections that appear before Section 7" which contains the current goals. This portion of the plan is rated as a ) for this reason. All of the information typically contained in an e!ecutive summary is provided in detail in the first )+ pages of the plan. 'aving a more succinct version of this information will be easier for any cursory readers of the technology plan. The assessment results reported from the 'ollingsworth (roup are provided in the appendices. This information can be used as an e!ecutive summary for the entire plan. The summary information should be provided closer to the beginning of the technology plan. Identifies Contributors and Stakeholder Groups Several participants were included in the development of the tech plan" and ade<uate descriptions are provided to identify these sta#eholders. This portion of the plan is evaluated as a 4. Community members" parents" students" teachers" principals" district level administrators" and member of the $oard of Education all participated in providing valuable input into the development of the plan. The plan provides a detailed list of these participants on page ). Also" there is a listing of the individuals who participated in personal interviews with the 'ollingsworth (roup as they completed evaluating the Technology $lueprint.

Vision Statement

The vision statement is scored at a 4. The vision encompasses learning outcomes and how technology will enhance learning. &t states that district technology will engage students .in learning for adulthood" for future leadership in technology innovation" and for contributing to the greater body of #nowledge 0p. +52. The vision also focuses on educational professionals by stating that they will be proficient in .integrating technology into the learning process/ 0p. +52. Also" district technology resources will e<uip every classroom to become a modern high, performance center. Mission Statement The mission statement needs refining" and" therefore" is rated at a +. The mission statement does not effectively articulate how the district will fulfill its vision for technology use. =ather" the statements provided are very general. &t includes statements li#e .Technology is an integral part of modern culture/ 0p. +52. Another statement in the mission is .Technology improves efficiency" organi>ation" productivity" and communication/ 0p.+52. Statements li#e these e!amples do not aptly convey what the district aims to accomplish through the use of technology. To improve upon the mission statement" further detail is needed. Statements need to be e!pounded on so the reader of the plan understands the why and the how behind the generalities made in the statements. These statements need to also connect with the overall mission for the district. Goals The plan outlines +* SMA=T 0Specific" Measurable" Attainable" =elevant" and Time, $ound2 goals. The goals section of the plan is scored with a 4. Each goal has a timeline" benchmar#" funding source" and identified parties responsible for completing the goal and

associated tas#s. These goals also describe the needed professional development associated with the goal and how assessment and the success of each goal will be evaluated. All of this information is organi>ed and labeled in manner that any reader could easily find and understand. Objectives The ob8ective section is scored at a 4. Each goal begins with an initiative for the goal. These initiatives fittingly define what measures will be implemented to achieve the goals. 'owever" & thin# it would be beneficial to readers to replace the initiative label with .;b8ectives/ so there will be a better understanding of why this section is included with each goal. eeds !ssessment ?eeds assessment details are included in the plan" and this area is scored at a 4. The 'ollingsworth (roup%s evaluation of the Technology y $lueprint has the needs assessment details used to formulate the technology plan. $ased upon data collect through surveys and interviews" the needs assessment area is summari>ed in assessment recommendations of their findings" which helps the Division of &nformation Services determine the ne!t steps. Although the Technology Maturity $lueprint Survey was not used for needs assessment" the methods used by the 'ollingsworth (roup do include the #ey components of that benchmar#. The needs assessment addresses the realignment of the Division of &nformation Services. &t mentions the level to which new technologies" li#e SMA=T boards are used by teachers and students. &t details the development of professional development and support as new technologies are installed. -inally" their assessment provides recommendations for professional development that is still needed based on identified gaps resulting from their data collection.

General Issues

(eneral issues are clearly addressed in the plan. &nformation on these general issues is provided in several sections of the technology plan. Therefore" this area of analysis is scored as a 4. Section @ is comprised of an action plan to address the area of staff development and e<uitable access. Each goal also includes the necessary information as it relates to the general issues of technical support and budgetary information. Technology standards are contained in the appendices" and they are aligned with the appropriate goals and benchmar#s. :astly" the plan includes details on how infrastructure upgrades will be necessary to support long term goals included in the plan. A good e!ample of this is the e!pansion of bandwidth with the AA?. Such e!pansion will prepare the infrastructure for meeting goal number 1" ma#ing it easy to collaborate internally and with sta#eholders. Conclusions and "ecommendations The plan lac#s a clear conclusion" although recommendations are provided. The technology plan is scored as a + for this section of evaluation. A conclusion needs to be drafted and inserted in the plan prior to the appendi!. This conclusion needs to articulate the broadest problems and how the plan addresses these problems bringing the district in line with its technology vision. !cceptable #se $olicy The district A P is discussed and a copy of it is a part of the technology plan. This area receives a rating of 4. Pages 9@,1) of the plan cover the A P. Details of the A P are bro#en into 5 #ey sections. These sections describes in detail the hardware and software to which users have access. &t provides terms and conditions that all users need to adhere to when using district computing devices and internet. &t e!plains what is meant by inappropriate uses and

conse<uences for failure to adhere to these re<uirements. A copy of the A P re<uiring parental consent is included. %echnolo&y and 'earnin& Statement The plan does not provide a strong description of how technology will be incorporated in learning. Details on this aspect are very general. More concrete descriptions are needed to e!plain how specific technologies can be used to advance students% learning of curriculum. My $ig Campus is a new technology that this plan covers. nder the current realities section" My $ig Campus is described as a .new collaborative environment that allows students and teachers to share digital wor# and conversations in a safe and monitored environment/ 0p. +62. This description can be more comprehensive if it gave a specified e!ample of how such collaboration wor#s to help students better meet the re<uired standards. %echnolo&y Standards( "e)uirements( and Models for %echnolo&y and 'earnin& Ahen evaluating this area of the plan" it is scored as 4. The mission and vision section of the plan" concisely define what a technology rich classroom loo#s li#e in the Muscogee County School District. The plan also describes district classrooms as matching the state definition of modern and )+st century classrooms by the e<uipment provided e<uitably in all schools. These types of classrooms are defined as the standard having basic e<uipment" such as a teacher laptop" interactive white board and associated peripherals" and ambient surround sound. The technology standard also includes giving users ubi<uitous access to the networ# through standard login procedures" which gives all district users networ# access in all locations in the district. Staff *evelopment The plan more than ade<uately describes staff development opportunities and e!plains how these opportunities will enhance district staff%s levels of technology competency and s#ills.

Evaluation of this core area receives a 4. Two types of staff development will be used to prepare staff for proficient use of the technology" system staff development and school based staff development. The plan mentions that school based staff development are designed to help building level staff use new software and e<uipment as it correlates with the ob8ectives of the schools% improvement plans. This training includes modeling and facilitating technology integration to show teachers what true integration loo#s li#e. As an incentive for such training opportunities" teachers are provided with technology P: s that count toward teacher recertification. %echnical Support The district offers several methods of strong technical support for all district users. The plan includes details on networ#" application" and technical support for users" and ran#s a 4 in this area. According to the plan" the district has well developed and ade<uately staff applications" customer and technical" and networ# support departments. All staff has the ability to manage their own support needs through a user directed wor# order system. This wor# order system provides a #nowledge base for users to troubleshoot their own problems" if they choose this method. sers also have access to a customer support call center to direct their support issue to the appropriate department. The technical support department has field technicians assigned to the same locations" and vendor support is provided for under warranty hardware. &nstructional support is provided for software troubleshooting through the instructional technology specialists. The 'ollingsworth (roups ran#s district technical support with an A as a result of their evaluation of the Technology $lueprint.

$rojects( +ud&ets( and %imelines &n the category of pro8ects" budgets" and timeliness" & score the plan with a ). The primary reason for this scoring is because the pro8ects" which are outlined in the goals" are not in a prioriti>ed list. &n fact" the beginning of this section e!plicitly states that the goals are not listed in priority order. This needs to be revised by ran#ing the pro8ects according to importance and timeliness for completion. The plan does do an e!cellent 8ob of detailing what each pro8ect re<uires" the money associated with the pro8ect" and a reasonable timeline for completing each pro8ect. This information is presented in table format ma#ing it easy to see all the associate components with each goal and pro8ect. Clarity of ,ritin& The writing of the plan is definitely scored a 4. The plan is written with clarity so that a non,technical person can follow the flow of its development and timeline for the e!ecution of its goals. The writing does not have grammatical errors that disrupt its readability. Terms that may be difficult to understand are e!plained in language that all district employees can understand. The plan uses verbiage li#e Aeb ).*" :A?" AA?" social media and collaboration. =eaders who are not current with such terminology have clear definitions of these terms in conte!t when such terms are initially introduced in the writing.

;verall" the Muscogee County School District%s plan ran#s 4s in +* areas out a total of +5. &n all" there are only 4 areas that score a +" which need considerable revisions. These 4 areas are the mission statement" ob8ectives" and conclusions and recommendations. The remaining 4 areas only need minor refinements to improve the comprehensiveness overall ma#ing an e!ceptional technology plan to model for other school districts.

After completing the Technology Maturity $enchmar#" the plan seems to fall right in line with the findings of that survey. The district as a whole views technology as an integral part of the )+st century learning process. The district is preparing to continue to implement innovative technology initiatives to support this learning need" and they are closing the gap with teacher self,efficacy towards these new technologies by planning and providing the proper amount of training and support. -inally" district leadership is forward thin#ing" and they are ma#ing plans in the present to prepare for the technology they see in the district%s future.

"eference Muscogee County School District. 0)*+)2. Three Bear Technology Plan. =etrieved April )" )*+4 from httpsCDDwww.muscogee.#+).ga.usDAbout SDPagesDMCSD,Technology,Plan.asp!