Swot Template Revised 2017 Martin

ITEC 7410/EDL 7105 SWOT Analysis Template for Technology Planning Needs Assessment
What is the current reality in our school?

Name: Parker Martin Semester: Spring 2018
ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: Effective Instructional Uses of Technology Embedded in Standards-Based,

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,
CCSs)?
 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?
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
When student technology is Technology support and The new administration shares Other immediate issues, such
used, it is almost always used resources are available but not the same technology vision. as discipline, graduation rates,
to promote student always prompt. and testing may take away
achievement of the Georgia A new district-wide time and resources from the
Performance Standards. The participation in technology director was hired. promotion of technology
professional learning sessions
Some teachers are taking the isn’t always productive Our school just hired an
initiative to research and Instructional Coach this past
utilize the best instructional Therefore, most teachers do school year.
practices. Over the past two not know how to effectively
years, this number has use technology or can’t
increased. because they choose not to.
Summary of Results/Conclusions:
Technology is used frequently in our school as a form of content presentation (i.e. ActiveBoards) as well as within student
engagement in order to provide a deeper understanding of content with access to Chromebooks. It is suggested that day to day
instruction be supportive of technology but is not always followed by all teachers.
Recommendations from Gap Analysis:

In order to ensure student centered learning with technology integration lesson planning and involvement of ISTE standards could
be required in order to ensure teacher participation in technology use. According to the ISTE Standards for Teachers (2018),
educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that
leverage technology to improve student learning. By participating in planning with a center around these standards we ensure
technology growth. As you can see in the ISTE Lead and Transform Diagnostic Tool, we struggle to have student centered learning
at a rate of 33/100, and according to ISTE Essential Conditions (2018), Technology allows for an unprecedented level of
personalized learning, with valuable opportunities to monitor progress and engagement, follow student thinking, and digitally assess
competencies. When schools effectively leverage both technology and pedagogy, both students and teachers become empowered to
make decisions about their own learning and teaching. If we make the change to include these specifically into our day to day we
will see results in the area of student centered learning with technology.
Data Sources:
Appendix A ISTE Lead and Transform Diagnostic Tool
ISTE Essential Conditions
ISTE Teacher Standards
Teacher Interviews
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 view technology as critical for improving student achievement of the GPS/CCSs? To preparing
tomorrow’s 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?
There is a shared technology New administration both at the Parents and other community
Most teachers are willing and vision, but it is vague and even school and district level will members may not understand
eager to improve our vaguely listed within the hopefully begin leading the the importance or relevance of
technology strategies within School Improvement Plan. school towards a more in depth technology integration.
our school. shared technology vision this
Technology has been year. A past technology grant for
overshadowed by other issues individual Netbooks (5 years
for several years, and now ago) was a failure, resulting in
being tackled by our new a tremendous amount of
administration. negative feelings towards
technology use from the
community.
There is no official vision for technology use in either our district or school. Teachers, administrators, parents, students and
community members seem to view technology as important, but somewhat not all together vital. Thankfully, our new
administration and technology director are very adamant about the integration of standards-based technology for improving student
achievement, preparing students for the workforce, and motivating digital-age learners. I hope to see new strategies presented by
our new instructional coach this upcoming year to encourage teachers to adopt the same vision for research based technology.
Parental involvement needs to be a key in bringing us up to speed. Holding informational sessions and technology teaching
sessions for parents would be a great way to start. This would allow for our parents to advocate technology for our students at a
higher level by understanding the future expectations as well as the technology available for use. According to the ISTE Teacher
Standards (2018), it is the roll of educators to demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and
colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning. If we as educators understand the culture of the students
and parents that we are dealing with on a daily basis then it allows us to bridge the gap in communication as well as understanding
of one another in general, allowing for a partnership type relationship with parents and students alike instead of one of total control
by the educator. This shared vision development is also important as the ISTE Essential Conditions (2018), state the following:
Effective technology implementation requires a clear vision of where the organization is headed and what it will take to get there. A
shared vision becomes the paddle the organization uses to steer toward the future. When a system is guided by a clearly defined
vision and leaders actively collect, incorporate and share input from stakeholders at all levels, a community of understanding and
collaboration develops to propel the organization forward in its mission. If there is no vision, then there is no direction, leading us
on a path to nowhere.
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
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?
 In what ways does your school address the needs of diverse populations in the school or district to include how race,
gender, socio-economic, and geographic diversity giving consideration to how these factors commonly affect K-12
students’ access to school and beyond-school access to high-speed Internet, modern computing devices, software,
knowledgeable technology mentors, culturally-relevant digital content, and other affordances critical to technology literacy
acquisition.
New administration is aware Personnel have been limited New administration, a new The only major threat would
that there is not an adequate these past several years at our district wide technology be the time constraints and the
technology plan in place, and school, i.e. no instructional specialist, a new instructional other issues that will have
they are working on creating coach, technology coach, coach, and a handful of taken precedence over
and strengthening a plan. graduation coach. Therefore, innovation teachers, will technology for the
we have fallen behind in so hopefully all share the same instructional coach. Examples
many areas (especially technology vision next year would include new teacher
technology) because of the and will work to create and support, data assessments and
lack of personnel, time, and implement an adequate analysis, and testing
resources. technology plan. achievement.
There is no technology plan for our school standing alone from the SIP. Our school uses the advice and direction of the technology
director at central office, following the plan that he has for the district. There has not been an effective technology plan in place in
the school to my knowledge. Technology was rarely evident during my time as a student there (11 years ago) and during my first
stent teaching at ECCHS before moving (4 years ago). The level of technology and planning that is evident now is a great step
forward in our school and it is very apparent to all that we are putting technology at the forefront of everything that we do going
forward. I would anticipate that with the addition of new staff in regards to a technology coach, technology director at central
office, and support staff surrounding the technology at ECCHS we will see a technology plan in place very soon.
Teachers are also citizens within the education system of their school. According to ISTE Teacher standards (2018), it is the job of
a teacher to create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic
behavior online that build relationships and community. Through us not having an in depth plan in place currently we have failed
to complete this standard, especially for our students as far as a diversity aspect goes. We must center our plan going forward in
order to account for the students that have a lower SES, as well as our diverse learners, having the mind of a citizen with care for
others in order to provide a positive relationship for all with regards to technology
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
ESSENTIAL CONDITION FOUR: Equitable Access (Specifically Low SES and gender groups)
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?
 To what extent are strategies needed to address equity issues among Low SES and gender groups? What are examples of
strategies that would benefit your school/district? (required)
 Do students/parents/community need/have beyond school access to support the shared vision for learning?
Teachers ensure equitable Technology isn’t being Several restaurants now offer Our school is in a very low
access to all students during in maximized for engaging, free Wi-Fi, for example socioeconomic region-100%
school assignments. standards-based, student- McDonalds, and Zaxby’s. of our students receive free
centered learning. lunches as well as breakfast
Teachers are aware of the Students and parents have also.
circumstances outside of Students have devices, but not access to the public library
school and are careful to give all staff use those in order to within its operating hours Outside of their 1:1 device
fair assignments to all cover their standards/lessons most students do not have
students. on a daily basis. The students have their 1:1 access to a computer.
device, but the use of that
device depends on availability Homework or assignments that
and internet access. require a computer are
unrealistic for those students
not having internet access
readily available.
Some of our staff live in areas

of the county where internet
access is not provided as well.
Teachers have access to technology tools. Equitable access is available for all students however use is limited in the fact that a vast
majority of students do not have internet access at home. Special education and inclusion classes also have access to the same
amount of technology. Many teachers see problems with involving technology within their course due to the lack of student internet
access at home, therefore abandoning that part of their teaching.
Since our students do not all have internet access, our school and district need to be wary of the level of internet availability that
each set of students encounters. Proper education for parents and students on how to access free internet sources needs to be
provided as well as the possibility of having some sort of open access after school hours in order to allow for equitable access to
internet for those students not having availability as well. According to ISTE Standards for Teachers (2018), as educators we are
charged with the role of providing a model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or
connections. All educators could be a part of accomplishing this through having creative ideas of how we could ensure that all
students have internet access. No idea should be looked upon as too unreachable, allowing for us to venture out and explore
opportunities available to try and reach all students. As the ISTE Essential Conditions (2018), technology has proven particularly
effective for meeting the needs of students with special needs. To me this includes groups within special education, low SES,
multicultural status, and so on and so forth. Through being creative we have a chance to meet this condition.
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
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.)
There is a good amount of Many teachers do not possess New administration, Many teachers become
teachers taking it upon the skills to effectively use technology coach, technology frustrated when technology
themselves to learn about technology in the classroom director plan to bring doesn’t work properly,
technology on their own. Our technology to the focus of our abandoning it as a result.
administration is very In the past there has been very educators and give them the
supportive and encouraging in little professional learning in resources necessary to School funding as well as
this area. regards to personnel being implement technology other duties and assignments
given the tools to build their effectively for their job. limit teachers from attending
technology skills. conferences and work sessions
Technology and in order to grow in their own
implementation trends/tools education.
change at such a frequent rate
it is hard for staff to keep up
with the amount of changes.
Teachers as well as support staff have a hard time using the technology tools given to them in order to complete their jobs. An
example would be the access to data collecting services in Infinite Campus, but staff doesn’t always know how to use that data.
Staff are also not aware of the growing wide range of tools that are available for free and are very easy to use as well. Tools are
presented but not always explained or given time to be taught to staff.
Our teachers and support staff need to be given time to gain the knowledge necessary in order to use the tools that we have in place
as well as discovering new tools as well. With the hires of a technology director, instructional coach, and more support for the
implementation and usage of technology we will see the level of personnel education within technology go up across the board as
proper education is put into place and the goals of the system align with technology in the future. According to ISTE Teacher
Standards (2018), teachers should dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that
leverage technology. Through collaboration with each other teachers can grow, as well as help us to meet the ISTE Essential
Condition of having skilled personnel within our system. This is important because the success of any technology initiative
depends on seeing results. Increased student engagement, for example, can happen only if teachers and staff are also engaged and
invested in the transition to a standards-ready system according to ISTE Essential Conditions (2018).
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
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/Learning Forward)?
 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?
Professional learning is offered In depth professional learning With the additions of a We have been very focused on
as new implementation is sessions outside of common technology director, improvement of math and
rolled out, usually on a planning are not often instructional technology coach, ELA performance within our
monthly schedule at least once available. This can lead to a and refocused plans for school, therefore in the past
a week. disconnect at times in what is technology going forward that mainly those teachers tend to
expected from staff members professional learning be the ones given priority to
Content areas have common in regards to new technology. opportunities will be available attend conferences and PL due
planning, which is helpful in Technology professional at a higher rate, as well as to staying strict to our budget.
providing an atmosphere for learning sometimes can be strategies on how they can
professional learning. rapid, leaving behind teachers become more effective will be
that may need further readily available as well going
clarification or 1 on 1 forward. With the knowledge
instruction in order to provide that these staff members
full understanding. provide we hope to learn how
to better utilize common
planning times in order to
create a technology immersed
lesson.
In the past year, we only had three or four professional learning sessions and only two of those were technology related. Teachers
do not always enjoy these, because they have been ineffective at times and do not align directly with what is necessary for us to
implement current technology. A vast majority of our teachers are not remotely familiar with the national professional learning
standards, and one would assume that our sessions do not meet those. There are some teachers who take advantage of learning
from one another informally from a fellow teacher that may be more well versed in technology than others.
Going forward with the new hires of a technology director and instructional technology coach, in the upcoming years we need to
allow them to share their knowledge and foster growth within our staff members, as this is what they are trained professionally to
do as well as enjoy doing. I believe that with these new members of the technology team our vision can go only one way, which is
up, in that we did not have access to this in the past. Through their expertise and professional learning on their own they will give
our staff the ability to improve vastly going forward. We need simply to let them do their jobs, be patient, be courteous, and learn
from them in their area. Professional learning is important in order to help our teachers model and nurture creativity and creative
expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections according to ISTE Standards for teachers (2018). Professional learning
through our new hires will give our staff the ability to communicate and create efficiently in order for us to meet ISTE Essential
Conditions (2018) in regards to ongoing professional learning due to the importance that when educators have adequate time to
build their networks and collaborate with each other, their ability to effectively apply digital tools in the classroom grows
exponentially.
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
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?
Our media specialist as well as At times our staff can be With the hiring of an Teachers who have had
our new instructional overwhelmed with problems, instructional technology various problems in the past
technology specialist are due to the fact that they are the director and coach, the with the technology
usually very quick to respond only two people on campus technology specialist and department may not be so fast
to requests. with a high level of technology media specialist will now have to adjust and trust the new
trouble shooting experience, more support and ability to do process or advice put into
which can cause delays. their jobs more effectively. place.
Through having these new
hires, it is possible that they
The head district tech support have plans to implement a
personnel can sometimes be more efficient way for tackling
unresponsive or too busy to problems going forward.
attend to needs.
The procedure for filing

support requests takes some
time, and requests are met in
the order they are taken, so
depending on different days
we have different response
times.
In the past our equipment has been old and unreliable, but with the new rollouts we are becoming more efficient with our
equipment, as well as with our support system in having new staff with more knowledge and implementation experience. This will
allow our technology specialist and media specialist to focus their attention more to our problems. In the past our maintenance
requests were possibly ignored at times due to staff being overwhelmed and unavailable The technology support personnel are
knowledgeable about “technology” but not about educational strategies, collaboration, and communication between teachers. A new
technology director has been hired for the upcoming year.
A new technology director has been hired for the upcoming year as well as an instructional technology coach. A new system will
be put into place in regards to “help tickets” giving priority to larger issues as well as issues that hinder the ability to present content
to students as well. By placing a priority on educational flow to students our support department will revolve around student
learning, giving the instructional technology department a system of levels to technology needs from staff. By implementing this
priority system, we will improve the day to day support, as many issues can be tackled outside of instructional time when students
are off campus. Through the development of this system it will help us meet ISTE Teacher Standards/Essential Conditions (2018)
in the fact that teacher will be able provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning
using technology and the importance that we minimize the time and energy they spend on troubleshooting and problem solving.
Having a system to solve problems allows us to be more effective and meet both of those areas of requirement through simply
having equipment that is working.
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
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? (ISTE Standards for Students)
 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/CCS as appropriate?
 How is student technology literacy assessed?
When technology is used, Students, parents, and even Students and staff have been Teachers as well as
teachers make sure that it some teachers are not always surveyed in the past to administrators may feel
relates to the content aware of the student determine the level of overwhelmed in investing in
standards. technology standards. technology literacy on our more standards, due to the lack
campus. To my knowledge I of resources available and time
Digital curriculum is readily do not know if the results were required.
available for teachers, but not analyzed in depth, but they
required to be used unless they could be.
research and find it necessary
to do so themselves.
Administrators and teachers alike have a gap to shrink in regards to relating content standards with digital curriculum.
Administrators need to be sure that teachers are mindful of the standards and know their implications. Teachers then need to make
sure they align the standards together in order to allow for a high level of student success. Administration and teachers are also
responsible for making sure that parents and students alike are aware of both sets of standards and how they relate to one another.
Student technology literacy needs to become a focus of our school since we have the technology readily available and the new
resources incoming with new personnel hires that allow us to have a more technology centered focus. Administrators and teachers
need to make themselves as well as others aware of more digital curriculum that is readily available, and implement that curriculum
within their lesson plans. A great way to ensure this is for administrators to require both sets of standards be listed in lesson plans
in order to make sure teachers are following suit with the technology expectations. Through the requirement of the standards for
technology in lesson plans the ISTE Teacher Standard (2018) of teachers being able to explore and apply instructional design
principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning is met. We are ensuring that teachers
have the capability to provide an effective learning environment that is promoting digital learning at a higher level, as well as
helping us meet ISTE Essential Conditions (2018) in that content standards and related digital curriculum resources that are aligned
with and support digital age learning and work.
Data Sources:
Teacher Interviews
References
Chapter 3. Assessing Community Needs and Resources | Section 14. SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and
Threats | Main Section | Community Tool Box. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-
contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-and-resources/swot-analysis/main
ISTE | Standards Essential Conditions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions
ISTE | Standards For Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
Lead & Transform Diagnostic Tool Results. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/lead-transform/diagnostic-
tool/results
Appendices
Appendix A:
Appendix B:

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ITEC 7410/EDL 7105 SWOT Analysis Template for Technology Planning Needs Assessment

What is the current reality in our school?

ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: Effective Instructional Uses of Technology Embedded in Standards-Based,

Recommendations from Gap Analysis:

ESSENTIAL CONDITION TWO: Shared Vision

ESSENTIAL CONDITION THREE: Planning for Technology

Some of our staff live in areas

ESSENTIAL CONDITION FIVE: Skilled Personnel

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SIX: Ongoing Professional Learning

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SEVEN: Technical Support

The procedure for filing

ESSENTIAL CONDITION EIGHT: Curriculum Framework

ISTE Definition: Content standards and related digital curriculum resources.

ISTE | Standards Essential Conditions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions

ISTE | Standards For Educators. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

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