ITEC 7410: SIP Plan/Technology Plan Analysis

Name: Stephen W. Rockwell Semester: Spring 2020

Directions: Locate and review your district- or school-level Strategic Improvement Plan
or other strategic planning document. Locate and review your district’s Technology Plan.
These documents are typically located online, but you may need to contact the Principal
or Technology Director for a copy. Then, reflect on each question below and type your
response below each question in this template. Provide a sufficient amount of detail (ie.
minimum of 2-5 sentences per question as appropriate).

Strategic Improvement Plan Analysis:

● What is your school’s or district’s mission/vision?

○ Regarding strategic improvement, Brookwood High School’s and
Gwinnett County Public Schools’ vision aims to maintain “a system of
world-class schools where students acquire the knowledge and skills to
be successful as they continue their education at the postsecondary
level and/or enter the workforce” (2010). This vision encompasses ten
priorities to maintain world-class schools: students; employees;
parents/guardians; governance and leadership; curriculum, instruction,
and assessment; facilities and operations; financial stewardship;
information management and technology; communication; and public
image and community pride.
● What are the targeted areas for improvement (ex. fourth-grade math, improved
LA scores for ESOL population, etc.) and the specific goals related to this
improvement area that are set forth in the SIP (ex. % gain in CRCT scores)?
○ Brookwood High School’s targeted areas are three-fold. The first target
area for improvement consists of various content areas, but mostly
those for 9th-grade students. Brookwood believes that a majority of
success in high school begins in the first year, so our goal is to increase
the academic performance of all 9th grade students as measured by
their performance on the Biology, Algebra I, Geometry, and 9th

Spring 2020
 Language Arts End of Course test. The second target area in
Brookwood’s LSPI is to increase the 4-year cohort graduation rate to
96% by 2020-2021. Increasing the graduation rate will ensure we
continue to meet the needs of all stakeholders in students’ education,
preparing them to succeed outside of Brookwood High School. The
third target area is to increase student performance on the SAT as
measured by local and national standards.
● How does your SIP address the needs of diverse populations regarding digital
technology equity for low SES and gender groups (ie. females) and assistive
technology for disabled learners? If it does not, what are your recommendations?
○ Brookwood’s LSPI does not explicitly address the needs of diverse
populations regarding digital technology equity and assistive
technology for learners with disabilities; however, technology is a key
element to Gwinnett County’s Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies, a
framework adopted by all district schools to help put all students into
the 21st-century classroom. Brookwood is also a BYOD school, and we
also have plenty of resources available for students that provides digital
equity among all learners.
● How is technology included in the SIP? In what ways is student technology literacy
included as a goal in your SIP? If it is not, what are your recommendations?
○ Technology is included by means of explanation of effective technology
integration, specifically vis transition to G-Suite for Education and
eCLASS/Safari Montage CQI. The plan also mentions a goal of teachers
integrating technology into instruction so students become more active
and involved in a more hands-on learning experience. The goal of
technology integration also involves staff development to provide
teachers opportunities to learn about various technological tools to be
used for instruction.

Spring 2020
● Why is technology addressed (or not addressed!) as it is? For example, does
school/district culture or history contribute to the way the SIP addresses
technology?
○ Technology is addressed as it is because it outlines how students and
teachers will use technology to help meet all three goals mentioned
above. It provides an opportunity for teachers to share their knowledge
and skills with specific technology and web tools, allowing collaboration
for effective lesson planning. I do believe school culture contributes to
the way the LSPI addresses technology, but I also believe it needs to be
updated to fit the current educational climate. Brookwood’s
demographics have changed at a faster rate than teachers’ educational
strategies, especially regarding technology.
● Are you pleased with the current treatment of technology-related issues in the
SIP? Why or why not?
○ I am fairly pleased with the current treatment of technology-related
issues in Brookwood’s LSPI, mainly because it places an emphasis on
staff development of technology and web tools. I think it’s important
for teachers to be accountable for sharing their best practices with
other stakeholders in student learning, especially since teachers are
trying to reach the same goals.
● Would you like to see technology issues represented differently in future SIPs?
Why?
○ I would like to see some technology issues represented differently in
future LSPIs of Brookwood High School, especially in regards to digital
citizenship and digital equity. I think teachers have a misconception
that students are more familiar with technology than they actually are.
I also believe Brookwood needs to address how important it is to know
how to be a responsible digital citizen, providing tools and strategies to

Spring 2020
 help students not only navigate the digital world responsibly but also
explore digital resources independently.
● How might technology be integrated more effectively into your SIP in the future?
○ I think a clearer description of expectations regarding technology in the
classroom would be effective in future LSPIs. Even though we are a
BYOD school, some students and teachers struggle with a way to use
the powerful technology (smartphones) effectively, instead, they
sometimes fall into the realm of classroom distractions.
● What are your first thoughts on how technology could contribute toward
achieving the mission/vision/goals set forth in the SIP?
○ My first thoughts on how technology could contribute toward achieving
the goals mentioned previously consists of how many resources are
available for students and teachers to help accomplish these goals. For
9th-grade success, teachers of 9th-graders need to be well aware of the
resources best equipped to help increase achievement across 9th-grade
content areas. Another thought involves the teacher buy-in of a more
cohesive blended learning environment so students have access to all
materials and resources covered in class. Brookwood does use eCLASS
(equivalent to KSU’s D2L), but I believe more teachers use it than
others.

District Technology Plan Analysis:

● What are the main curriculum goals in your district’s technology plan?
o The main curriculum goals for the district’s technology plan involves
transforming the classroom and using technology to assist the
transformation. The district provides eCLASS C&I, the learning
management system for all courses. eCLASS C&I promotes teachers to
extend the classroom, while also using some of the features for

Spring 2020
 differentiating instruction (class groups, personalized assessments). The
district also advises teachers to create a more blended learning
experience so students have access to content in a variety of formats and
can access content in a variety of places. The district has also recently
adopted G-Suite for Education (Google school). Teachers and students
have access to all of Google’s apps through G-Suite, aiding in developing
skills and learning that are essential for 21st-century learners.
● What strategies are outlined for achieving these goals?
o Strategies outlines for achieving these goals involve ongoing continuous
learning at the local school level and the district level. Every year, the
district host the Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference, a conference for
teachers to showcase their preferred tools and strategies, sharing their
expertise with other teachers in the district.
● Does the plan seem achievable over the designated timeline? Why?
o The technology plan does seem achievable over the time frame because
of the steps that have occurred along the way. Multiple opportunities
exist to help teachers learn more about using eCLASS Assessments and
the G-Suite apps for education that help students collaborate with each
other. The district also provides a list of third-part vendors that align with
the technology aspect of the Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies, the
district’s framework adopted to prepare out digital learners for their
future.
● In what ways would you like to see the plan improved?
o I would like to see the plan improved in way of helping parents learn
more about some the digital resources and web tools used in the
classroom. I would also like the district to improve the message and
outreach for digital citizenship, incorporating appropriate goals to help
parents have a larger role in their children’s use of technology devices
and their navigation of the digital world.

Spring 2020
● What could you, in your current or a future position, do to help support
implementation of the plan?
o As a classroom teacher, I can continue to utilize my experience with
eCLASS and G-Suite to continue to assess student understanding and
allow them to work collaboratively on assignments. Specifically, regarding
eCLASS, I can continue to upload various media files to help students
understand the content and prepare them for some of the higher stakes
testing they will take at the end of the semesters. I can also provide
feedback to students and parents, along with giving parents a list of
resources that we use in the classroom so they may be able to experience
some of these resources themselves.
● How does the plan address the needs of diverse populations regarding digital
technology equity for low SES and gender groups (ie. females) and assistive
technology for disabled learners? If it does not, what are your
recommendations?
o Again, the plan addresses the needs of all learners through the
incorporation of eCLASS in all aspects of instruction, whether it’s putting
a PowerPoint lecture within the content section or providing a formative
assessment within the assessment section. To meet the needs of
students who may not have access to technology at home, the school has
plenty of resources to be checked out (interdisciplinary computer labs,
mobile laptop carts, etc.).
● In what ways does the plan tie-in to the SIP?
o The district technology plan and the school’s LSPI tie-in aspects of staff
development. As mentioned earlier, there are several levels of
professional development for teachers looking to learn about more
technology in the classroom. For instance, Brookwood offers staff
development sessions during teacher lunches (Lunch’n’Learns). The 30-
minute lessons allow teachers to share their knowledge of technology

Spring 2020
 tools and how they use them in their classes. At a larger level, the district
hosts the Gwinnett Digital Learning Conference, a conference in the
summer that allows employees from across the district to learn more
about digital tools to enhance teaching and learning.
● Do stakeholders know about the Tech Plan?
o I do not believe all stakeholders know about the district plan. The
stakeholders who know more about the plan are employees in the
district, and possibly parents who are a little more in tune with the
policies within the district and the direction we are currently headed. I
believe students are least familiar with the plan because it’s not anything
that I believe students pay too much attention to.
● Is it being implemented effectively? Why or why not?
o I believe the plan is being implemented effectively. The district and local
schools are providing plenty of resources and training to allow teachers
to experiment in transforming their classrooms. Some teachers take
more initiative than others when making this leap, but that does not
mean the district or local schools are implementing the plan ineffectively.
● What strategies could be implemented to help accelerate adoption of the plan?
o I think more professional learning in a blended learning format would
accelerate more implementation of the plan. Since most teachers have to
go to a physical space to receive the staff development, participation is
limited, as many teachers may not want to forgo their lunch period they
may also be using to grade papers or stay on top of their planning.
Allowing a more blended learning format for professional learning will
provide teachers training on their own time, while also modeling how
blended learning could be used for their own classroom instruction.

Spring 2020
 References

StrategicDirections_FINAL.Pdf. (2010)
https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/wcm/myconnect/fbf7eb2d-62c1-4fce-
ac21-9d64afe69a29/StrategicDirections_FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES. Accessed 20
Jan. 2020.

Spring 2020