Demographics PA Cyber School is a K-12 cyber school serving 2,300 students.

The school is made up of 84% white, 11% black, 5% hispanic, and all other categories are less than 1%. Approximately 75% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Administrative Filter Policy: (Behavior: Integrated, Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated) Technology is used and embraced by many in the school, but some do not embrace new ways of doing things or new technologies offered by the school. A formal policy on technology exists, but the wording is very generalized and policy is not closely followed. Planning: (Behavior: Island, Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated) Planning does take place, but it is not connected to other pieces of the school. Often technology plans are made to suit specific cases that do not apply to the entire school, but they are still given to the whole school. Teachers and staff are asked to review most technologies before they are brought on board school-wide. Budget: (Behavior: Island, Resource/Infrastructure: Island) Budgeting is an issue for technology. The needs of the school and the expected growth are not taken into account when budgeting. Often when money arrives, the first to spend it gets what they want with little outside information. As it is a cyber school, there is a justified place for technology in the budget, but it is not utilized correctly. Administrative Information: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated) Administrative systems are used daily in order to accomplish teaching tasks. Our school runs a modified version of Moodle to has a heavy integration with a student tracking software that is linked to student and teacher actions.

Curricular Filter Electronic Information:(Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) The school is entirely cyber based thus students and staff are heavily depend on information resources that are needed to function daily. Students and teachers have 24 hour access to all school systems. Assessment: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) All assessment is done through Moodle and/or Moodle plugins. Students can see feedback and monitor grades and assignments through a Moodle based system. Curricular Integration: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) All resources and curriculum is teacher generated and online. There are offline resources sent to students as well, but all lessons exist online for student use. Teacher Use: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) Teachers cannot complete their jobs without the use of technology. Access to a desktop with multiple screens as well as a laptop are provided to all teachers. Student Use: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) Students are sent a desktop or laptop depending on their needs and interest is paid for by the school. Students must use technology in order to complete their school work and the necessary technology is provided 24/7 for them.

Support Stakeholder Involvement: (Behavior: Emergent, Resource/Infrastructure: Emergent) Small groups take place in the planning and implementation procedure but there is little room for input from people outside of the group. Only a handful of people represent numerous areas and those involved in planning are not always qualified for the task. Administrative Support: (Behavior: Island, Resource/Infrastructure: Island) Administration does not participate in the formal planning of technology needs, but listens to the final proposal. There is no real feedback from administration on the planning process other than at the final proposal where they ask few questions. Training: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated) Training is provided to teachers on a monthly basis. Participation is required but experts do not exist at all levels or buildings. Generally there are a handful of experts at the main building without as much support for other buildings. Tech/Infrastructure Support: (Behavior: Integrated, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) Onsite IT support solves any problems that arise. Teachers and students have their own help desk connections and IT staff are constantly checking with teachers to make sure that their technology is working properly.

Connectivity Local Area Networking: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) Staff has connection to all networking devices necessary for teaching. There is LAN, wifi, recording studios, and many other areas to allow staff to complete their jobs properly. District Area Networking: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) The school is not a district in the traditional sense as it is entirely online. All building have access to the same tools and resources as the main building. Internet Access: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) All students and staff use the internet to achieve their desired results. As a cyber school, everything needed to do school depends on internet access. The school also reimburses families for internet access. Communication Systems: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) Students and staff have access to email with their Moodle account. Students can communicate with teachers through email or messages. Staff also have an internal email and messaging service to facilitate teaching.

Innovations New Technologies: (Behavior: Island, Resource/Infrastructure: Integrated) Many new technologies are limited due to lack of budget or development/testing time it takes to make sure technologies clear filters and integrate with Moodle. When new technologies are presented, most staff implement them quickly.

Comprehensive Technologies: (Behavior: Intelligent, Resource/Infrastructure: Intelligent) School has access to video conferencing, chat rooms, studios, and other tools to make sure that students and staff can communicate effectively. Teachers are encouraged to use these technologies for content development as well as for meetings.

Summary I would place my school in the integrated ranking of the Technology Maturity Model. While the school uses technology on a daily basis and students and staff have outstanding access to technology, the lack of planning, budgeting, and total implementation leads the school away from an intelligent ranking. Being a cyber school, the access to technology is necessary in order for students and teachers to complete their respective jobs properly. Students have 24/7 access to lessons, materials, resources, books, and recorded chats to allow them to do their schoolwork at their own pace. Teachers have access to all of the same things students do, but they also are provided with additional tools to allow for lesson creation and implementation. The only area the school is lacking is in the planning and budgeting process as these areas are not properly addressed. Part of the reason for these issues is the amount of student turnover, about 700 a year, as well as funding issues. The school is dependant on other school districts to pay for their students to attend the school, but the school district is not forced to pay for several months which leads to planning problems. A better method of planning could be created in order to make sure that the needs and future needs of the school can be more easily met.