Assume that you are responsible for initiating a 5-year administrative technology plan for a school district. For the first meeting of the new Administrative Systems Advisory Committee, you are to prepare a brief assessment of the school district's present level of administrative systems development. How would you outline such an assessment? Feel free to use bullets to list the steps of what you would do.
Administrative Systems Technology Creative Action Plan
Submitted by Amanda Simon, Penni Uribe, Rosanda Green
* Identify the district’s technology vision or mission
* Present final results from most recent district-wide technology needs assessment
* Identify parallels between technology goals and state curriculum standards. How do the revised technology goals align with current district/state standards?
* Present step by step technology implementation plan
* Adopt an evaluation plan
* Introduce staff development plans and objectives
* Adopt staff development evaluation plan
* Endorse creative action plan and run with it!
Editorial
To realize the benefits of technology, schools must develop an effective plan for integrating technology based on the shared vision of educators, parents, community members, and business leaders who have technological expertise.
In our district, new administrative programs seem to appear out of nowhere. At one time, we used InteGrade Pro as our electronic gradebook. Next, we switched to WebGrader but needed to take attendance using InteGrade Pro. At the end of last year, we were asked to ignore the InteGrade Pro icon on our desktops and now take attendance using Zangle! Zangle replaced the AS400, but teachers did not have access to the critical student information stored in this system, only secretaries, guidance counselors, and administrators. While one can access WebGrader from Zangle, be assured that certain capabilities and functions will be lost. To get the best function from WebGrader, access it from Internet Explorer. Remember, the two programs are connected, but not related! Special education faculty was required to use Oasys for completing IEPs. No hand written IEPs will be accepted, or will they? You can access Oasys from the icon on your desktop, but it will not print unless you access Oasys through the Citrix Server.
All of this transpired over the course of about three years. Change can be difficult, especially when major administrative technology changes occur, without warning, nearly every year (sometimes at the end of the year). We don’t remember anyone ever asking us how these programs were working for us as classroom teachers, nor are we aware of any student or parental input.
THUNDER SAYS:
- We need to identify and evaluate the capabilities of the current administrative software.
- Determine if the software has the ability to meet the needs of the district.
- If not, begin looking for an alternative program.
- If so begin looking at the skill levels of the staff.
- Determine the current skill level of the staff using the software, are the skills adequate to use the software to its potential.
- If not, what training is available for the staff
- Through in-service/professional development provide the appropriate technology training.
Mr. Dan Simonson, Jamie Beckman, Jim Nelson, Paul Pulvermacher
If APA were to head an administrative tech plan for a school district, we would begin by gathering data on the following items:
· The mission and vision statement of the school district
· An assessment of current technology owned by and used in the school district
· A review of curriculum integration goals
· An evaluation plan for the implementation process
· Plan for equitable and practical access for all teachers and students
· Plan for teacher training
Angela Jurisch, Anna Lardinois and Peg Meddaugh
Brian Yearling, Christopher See, Heather Slosarek
- Identify expectations/needs of the users (board, administration, staff, parents, students) of the administrative system.
- Typical needs:
- Parents: access to student progress and assignments; communication with teachers
- Students: access to student progress and assignments; communication with teachers
- Staff: Access to grade book from school and home; communication with parents and students; access to student demographic information
- Administration: Access to student demographic information; communication with teachers, parents and students; ability to compile reports for district info analysis and DPI reporting
- Board: communication with teachers, parents, students; abilty to compile reports
- Survey users on how the current system meets their needs/expectations.
- Indicate essential needs/expectations versus "would be nice to have"
- Identify essential needs/expectations that are not being met.
- Determine if training is sufficient to close gaps.
- If gaps cannot be closed through training, review alternatives to current system.
Melissa Schuett, Kristin Hubmann, Kristin Haefke, Janet Yunker
Initiating Administrative Technology Plan
- Current Status (based on surveys) of:
- Technology resources
- Teacher comfort level
- Teacher/Administrator usage level
- Teacher/Administrator willingness to implement
- Vision
- Where do we want to go?
- How are we going to get there?
- Timeline
- Research
- Data that supports vision
- Professional Development
- Technology leader training
- Technology committee
- Administrative level training
- Building level development
- Estimated Cost
- Resources
- Software/Hardware
- Training/Support
Carl Dehne, Lisa Chase, Bob Boyd, Kim Struve, Rob Grisar
The development of any plan requires that you first outline where you are. This is a process that is currently being undertaken in one of our districts as the starting point for a new five year district strategic plan, not just for technology but for the entire district. We discussed the process and the assessment method used by the Wisconsin Forward Award organization (based on the Baldridge criteria for Performance Excellence) and MNSD is a great point to start at. Category 4 of the Baldridge criteria outlines the area of Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management which encompasses the administrative software area of a school district. The following is an excerpt from that framework:
4.2 Management of Information, Information Technology, and Knowledge:
How do you manage your information, information technology, and organizational knowledge? (45 pts.)
Describe HOW your organization ensures the quality and availability of needed data, information, software, and hardware for your WORKFORCE, students and STAKEHOLDERS, suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS.
Describe HOW your organization builds and manages its KNOWLEDGE ASSETS.
Within your response, include answers to the following questions:
a. Management of Information Resources
(1) HOW do you make needed data and information available? HOW do you make them accessible to your WORKFORCE, students, STAKEHOLDERS, suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS, as appropriate?
(2) HOW do you ensure that hardware and software are reliable, secure, and user-friendly?
(3) In the event of an emergency, HOW do you ensure the continued availability of hardware and software systems and the continued availability of data and information?
(4) HOW do you keep your data and information availability mechanisms, including your software and hardware systems, current with educational service needs and directions and with technological changes in your operating environment?
b. Data, Information, and Knowledge Management
(1) HOW do you ensure the following properties of your organizational data, information, and knowledge:
• accuracy
• integrity and reliability
• timeliness
• security and confidentiality
(2) HOW do you manage organizational knowledge to accomplish the following:
• the collection and transfer of WORKFORCE knowledge
• the transfer of relevant knowledge from and to students, STAKEHOLDERS, suppliers, PARTNERS, and COLLABORATORS
• the rapid identification, sharing, and implementation of best practices
• the assembly and transfer of relevant knowledge for use in your strategic planning PROCESS
In creating an assessment of how the district is currently meeting the goals of a high performing organization, these are the items that we would use as the guide for doing our analysis and creating the presentation. http://baldrige.nist.gov/
(2007). In Baldridge Education Criteria for Performance Excellence (1st ed., Washington D.C.: Vol. 1).
National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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