Demographics Discovered Lake is a 7-12 junior and senior high school.

It has been apart of the school district since it opened in 1970. The school serves two small, rural communities of about 900 people each, and is apart of a school district that is home to five other high schools, two middle schools, and twelve elementaries. The student enrollment is 246 students. Of these students, 80% are eligible for free and reduced lunch. 11% of the student population speak English as a second language. 46% of the students consider their ethnic background to be white, while 51% of students are Hispanic. Native American was the third largest ethnic group at 1%. There are 13 full time teachers employed, and the student to teacher ratio is 19 to 1. 83% of teachers have a masters degree.

Administrative - Islands Policy Behavorial - Integrated Listed as Integrated, the technology policy at Discovered Lake offers a high amount of technology resources. It is integrated into the school, with several computer lab available for staff and administrators to put to use. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands This section is listed as islands, because a technology policy does exist through the district only. The policy is loosely written, and is not specific towards individual institutions. Therefore, it is not absent, but not necessarily applicable either. Planning Behavorial - Islands Planning seems to be at the island stage, but is overall on the rise. The district is attempting to implement larger amounts of technology through the school and district level. Most math classrooms have a SmartBoard, but their use is sporadic at best. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands The school districts technology plan is existent, but rarely used or referred to. It is also located within the Discovered Lake main office, but its over generalization of technology planning makes it a cover-all for the districts use of their resources. Budget Behavorial - Islands Most of the money that used to purchase technology is given to the district via grants. Since it is a poor, rural district, there is very money allocated to technology. However, over the past year, there has been a major push to integrate more SmartsBoards into classrooms. Also, the district is preparing for iPad integration into the schools, and ending dependence on school textbooks.

Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated The district is making a large push towards technology in the classrooms. As stated before, they would like every student in the district to (eventually) have an iPad. They are already in the beginning stages of supplying teachers with these iPads, so that they become experts on their use before theyre integrated. Again, the money for these iPads comes through grants. Administrative Information Behavorial - Islands Administrative staff are utilizing technology at a rapid pace. Because of the large geographic distance between the district office and the schools throughout the county, correspondence via technology has become the choice medium for contact. I believe that this is done out of necessity rather than innovation, but I expect this to reach the Integrated stage within the year. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands As stated before, the geographical strains put on the district made technology integration more important. Resources are available to administrative staff. Curricular - Islands Electronic Information Behavioral - Integrated Ive listed this as integrated because the school (and the district) are heavily dependent on electronic information. At least three of the classes at Discovered Lake require internet and computer use, including PASS, CAD, and Robotics. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands Because of a lack of funding for staff, many schools in the district have turned to distance education as the only possible way to educate students who are taking classes away from the required core. Also, students making up credits use this system as well. Assessment Behavioral - Islands This is a step above Emergent, because the availability of computer labs has allowed the staff to use the technology available to them, and allow these students to be assessed through it. Personally, I have used these resources on several occasions, and the student reaction to it is primarily positive. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands By making these computer labs available to the staff, it is an open invitation to implement them into their curriculum. However, it is still in the island stage because while it is available, traditional assessment methods are preferred, and there is little incentive or push towards using the technology. Curriculum Integration Behavioral - Islands Through some classes, such as Robotics and V-Tel Spanish and Chinese, the integration of technology has again come out of necessity. They are integrating these classes into the school curriculum because the district does not have the funds to hire teachers that can be present at the school. Instead, they rely on distance education and

classes. But on the everyday level, most teachers are at the Island level for integrating computer usage in their classes. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands There is very little in the way of documentation regarding the integration of technology into the classroom curriculum. It is more alluded to diversifying the classroom. Therefore, it is not emergent in nature, but on a positive path towards purposeful use. Teacher Use Behavioral - Integrated For me personally, I would not be able to operate on a daily basis without using the computer or internet. Likewise, many teachers in the building rely on the internet to enrich the material on any given day. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands At this point, the school and the district have opted towards putting technology into the hands of the schools and educators, but there is very little in training or backup towards fulling using them on a daily basis. Again, it is close to moving towards the Integrated category, but a generation gap between young and old teachers also hinders this process. Student Use Behavioral - Integrated Since many students in the school come from poverty-level homes, there only exposure to technology comes within the schools. Recognizing this, the school has opened its library computer resources to student use after school. This has allowed the students to come into contact with technology on a daily basis. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated As stated before, for many students, school is there only access to computer technology. Therefore, the websites that they are allowed to visit are heavily regulated and monitored. Therefore, the district has made it very clear that students must have regular access to technology, but it has to be heavily monitored. Support - Islands Stakeholder Involvement Behavioral - Islands For the most part, the parties involved with technological support are fairly well established. However, there is a noticeable generation gap between the younger teachers and their ability to integrate technology easily into the everyday classroom, and the older, more established teachers who rely on low-level technology. Both parties are after something different in their technological comfort zone. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands The implementation of technology support has, as stated before, gained significant more aware of the growing importance of technology in the classrooms, and that they are putting forth the resources needed to better instruct and support the schools in this ground over the past two years. It is becoming relevant that the parties involved are much endeavor. Administrative Support Behavioral - Integrated

Ive listed the Administrative Support as integrated because Ive found that this is an ongoing process, and that the administration at both the district and school levels are strongly pushing towards technological support. At least once a week at Discovered Lake the staff meets and discusses the future planning of this process. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated The planning process has been formal in nature when it comes to support and planning. I do suspect that this will be a continued process, however, I feel that is it well integrated into the district and the schools. Training Behavioral - Islands The deeper I delve into the technology sphere of the school, the more I realize that the generation gap is extremely significant. The new, younger teachers seem to be more involved with the training process, while the older generations have not fully embraced the changing nature of technology. Many staff members are engaged in this training, but not all. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated The school district offers many opportunities for support training in technology. For example, at least 3 times this year the district office has offered iPad training for teachers. This is offered free of charge, and includes a free iPad. Many of members of the staff have taken this opportunity. Technical and Infrastructure Support Behavioral - Islands Each school within the district has a technology coordinator that is responsible for any support regarding technology. Most of the issues are small and computer based, which leads to the fact that many of the staff members have no training in this field. The support is present, but there is little in the way of training. Resource/Infrastructure - Islands If any case is too severe for the school technology coordinator to handle, then the district office provides a technician. These technicians are in high demand throughout the district, and often times schools and teachers have to wait a few days before a technician can help them. Trained support is available, but a limited amount and high demand hinders this process. Connectivity - Integrated Local Area Networking Behavioral - Integrated As mentioned several times before, the inability of the district to provide an adequate number of teachers has resulted in the high demand for technology based classrooms and distance education. Schools are completely reliant on the internet and technology for providing their students with a learning opportunity that they otherwise would not have. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated Internet connection is very good at Discovered Lake. At least five classes are offered only through a decent internet connection; otherwise the students would not be able to

take the class. Therefore, the local area networking has to be at a high enough level to meet that demand. District Area Networking Behavioral - Integrated Staff use of the high speed internet is evident throughout the school and the district. The only major hurdle holding it back, is that several of the more established teachers have yet to embrace the fast changing technology services available to them. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated Again, because of the large geographic area of the school district that Discovery Lake is apart of, the entire district needs to have a high level internet connection. All of the schools within the district have high speed, quality internet. Internet Access Behavioral - Integrated Many of the students and staff use the internet on a regular basis, and the availability of it throughout the school makes this a much easier task to accomplish. While it is well integrated into the school curriculum, there are still those who have not made it a central, key role in their teaching. Students are well versed in internet usage, and many expect to use it in the classroom. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated Direct internet connections are available in every classroom at Discovered Lake. The school even has two mobile labs that have 20 laptop computers, with a wireless router. This allows teachers to use laptops within their own classrooms. Communication Systems Behavioral - Integrated Listed as integrated, communications systems rely solely on electronic correspondence. The district uses e-mail only when it is communicated with the staff, unless of emergency or after school contact. This is well integrated into the school system. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated While email is available to all staff and administrators, students are not given a district wide email address. This is partially due to the fact that most of the students at Discovery Lake do not have home internet access. Most students use the computers at the school for internet access, and most use G-mail if necessary. Innovation - Islands New Techologies Behavioral - Islands Experimentation with new technologies is a growing trend within the school district. Almost every math classroom in the district has a SmartBoard, but many staff members simply ignore the resource. I see this changing in the following years, as long as staff are willing to embrace the change. Resource/Infrastructure - Integrated The district is actively seeking out new technologies for the staff to adopt. Much of the funding comes from grant and poverty-funding resources, so the potential for technological growth is present. As the district continues to seek this out, the schools are slowly bringing them into the school.

Comprehensive Technologies Behavioral - Islands Almost every class within the school is fitted with a digital projector, and many use these projectors. As it has become a recurring theme, the more established staff members have not fully embraced these projectors, despite the fact that they have been present in the schools for over 8 years. Myself, I am completely reliant on its use.

Resource/Infrastructure - Islands While new technological innovations are being introduced, only one or two types seemed to be utilized by all staff. Whether it is DVD players, digital projectors, or a computer lab, most staff do not venture from these options. When more technology applications are available, I see this reaching an Integrated stage quickly.

Conclusion After implementing the Maturity Model Benchmarks, Ive come to the conclusion that the school is still in the islands stage. The growing availability of technology resources within the district make this an exciting time to be within this school district. This is because the school is making a strong, sudden push to implementing high levels of technology in the schools. Also, the low socio-economic situation of the entire district has allowed them to receive funding for great resources, such as iPads for the teachers, and even some for the students. The brand new computer lab at Discovered Lake is a great new resource for the staff, and I believe that in the next couple of years, the school will move much closer to the Integrated section on the Maturity Model. While my findings have helped to bring to light a severe technology gap between the well-established, more mature generations of teachers and the newer, less seasoned teachers, I do believe that more exposure to technological resources for all staff members will be beneficial for all involved. I believe that this is a positive assessment on the Maturity Model, and I see a bright future for this school, and district.