Running Head: TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 1

Technology Planning Paper

Emma Webster

Loyola University Maryland

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Current Situation

My proposed innovation for Vincent Farm Elementary School is the implementation of a

technology course at each grade level. In relation to the Perceived Attributes Theory, I found my

innovation to be conceivable. My innovation of a once a week technology class is easily able to

be piloted before being embedded and incorporated into our school weeks. I would likely select

one class from each grade level to start off our first year. If we see significant growth in our

students' knowledge of the tech available to them over the course of the year, we could then

move towards implementing the tech class school-wide. Results could be tracked and

documented through the use of pre- and post-assessments per lesson or unit and stakeholders’

surveys. In addition, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the tech through the

development of their own work and small projects. Over time this innovation offers teachers the

advantage of having students coming in already knowing how to use the technology available to

them on their devices. This means that teachers will get to spend more time teaching content and

less time teaching students how to use educational technology. This will also help to ensure

students are independent and confident in their ability to use their devices effortlessly. There is

little complexity to this innovation. The most complex part would be finding and then hiring

teachers to provide instruction for this course and then scheduling weekly classes at a time that

works best for all teachers within the school building. This would be more complex in larger

schools with 4 or more classes per grade level where additional instructors would be needed. My

innovation is compatible with my schools' values in developing learner-centered classrooms.

There is such a wide variety of tech tools available to teachers and students that can cater to each

child's individual strengths and weaknesses, so why not support our students in mastering those
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tech tools? The innovation is also highly flexible and can meet the needs of each individual class,

teacher and student.

Ely’s 8 Conditions of Change

I also analyzed my innovation relative to Ely's 8 Conditions of change and discovered the

following information. My innovation addresses' my school's dissatisfaction with the status quo,

which according to Ely is, “When things could be better. Others are moving ahead. We are

standing still. There must be something we can do to improve” (Conditions that facilitate the

implementation of educational technology innovations, 1990). Our teachers are frustrated by the

Baltimore County Public School curriculum's quick and forced integration of technology

programs and websites that students have little to no experience using. This leaves teachers

spending a significant amount of time teaching students how to use the programs before being

able to complete their assignments. Regarding the condition of Sufficient Knowledge and Skill,

most, if not all, of my fellow colleagues have the knowledge and skill necessary to support

students in the learning that will happen through this course. Our school also has an availability

of resources that we would need to make the tech course a success. This includes but is not

limited to 1:1 devices for all students and teachers, Office 365, Word, PowerPoint, Wixi, Active

Inspire and Interactive White Boards strengthen the course and its implementation. Teachers

who are not comfortable with their knowledge of our technology, will be able to attend

professional development courses to fine tune and develop a deeper understanding of the tools to

be utilized in this course. Availability of time at our school of 60 plus teachers is the most

difficult condition to meet. Keeping this in mind, I decided that it would be most effective to

offer PD opportunities both before and after school so that everyone might be able to attend at

one time or another. The reward for teachers participating in this work, would be that their
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students become tech experts who are able to complete their work at a more accelerated pace.

Teachers will also find that they are spending less and less time going over the technology and

how to use it with students leaving more room to teach content. If this is not yet enough to lure

teachers over to the benefits of participating in the new tech course pilot, we could offer a money

incentive for those who volunteer. Participation will be crucial. Ely states, “Participation is

expected and encouraged. This means shared decision-making communication among all parties

involved and representation where individual participation is difficult” (Conditions that facilitate

the implementation of educational technology innovations, 1990). For this reason, I will enlist

the following stakeholders to support and guide the decision making this innovation; at least one

member from our administrative team, both of our tech liaisons, the STAT teacher, two primary

teachers, two intermediate teachers, two parents, and four students. As a team we will be able to

navigate any issues that come our way while also being able to address the needs of our students

and staff to make this course successful. I feel as though I can muster a significant amount of

commitment on my end, but will need to ensure that all involved are highly motivated in

launching this course and staying committed to our goals. At Vincent Farm, every year we have

groups established at our school called “V-Teams”. These V-Teams are mandatory and every

teacher must select a team to work on throughout the entire year. To garner commitment from my

colleagues I believe that establishing my tech course innovation as a V-Team would be the way

to go. Teachers usually only select teams that they are interested, which means that they are very

likely to be intrinsically motivated to work hard and show up to make our innovation a success.

The V-Teams are only required to meet monthly; however, at the start of the year more meetings

will likely be required. The key leaders of this initiative would include our tech liaisons, STAT

teacher, myself and at least one if not two of our three administrators. Each is highly supportive
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of what is best for our students at Vincent Farm. They are dedicated to the improvement and

further development of more student-centered classrooms, which our tech course will help to

accomplish. Of Ely's 8 Conditions I feel that the one that would need the most work would be the

leadership piece. Initially, it could prove to be difficult to find teachers willing to sacrifice even

just 30 minutes of their instruction a week for an innovation that may or may not prove to be

successful. I also am unsure of how supportive my administration would be in backing up an

innovation that will a year to pilot and then implement.

ACOT Model

In determining which innovation, I wanted to launch at Vincent Farm I first had to

evaluate my school based on the ACOT model also known as the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow

Research Model. The stages include the following; entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation,

and invention. The entry stage is when teachers have little to no experience with the technology

that is available to them in the classroom. Due to this, many teachers find themselves, “facing

first-year teacher problems; discipline, resource management, and personal frustration” (Dwyer,

Ringstaff, & Sandholtz, n.d.) The second stage adoption, is where teachers “continue to lecture

and provide recitation and individualized seatwork; however, technology is now used to support

instruction” (Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Sandholtz, n.d.). The third stage adaptation is where teachers

and students are utilizing technology in a way that boosts productivity. Written assignments are

completed more quickly and with more confidence than before. Teachers see higher engagement

in their students want to progress further in their learning. The fourth stage appropriation, is

where teachers show mastery of the technology available to them in the classroom. “They

understand the technology and are able to use it effortlessly to enhance lessons and facilitate

collaboration among their students. Their classrooms become more student-centered encouraging
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their students to learn on their own” (Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Sandholtz, n.d.). The fifth and the final

stage of the ACOT model is the invention stage. At this stage teachers are ready and eager to

“implement more fundamental changes in teaching and learning. They are ready to invent

learning activities that engage students in gathering information, analyzing it, synthesizing it and

building new knowledge on what they already know” (Dwyer, Ringstaff, & Sandholtz, n.d.).

According to the ACOT model, Vincent Farm functions mainly at the Adaptation stage. While

there are a few teachers who are outliers at either the adoption or the appropriation stage, most of

my colleagues and their students are becoming more productive than previous years by use of

our 1:1 devices for all staff and students. This is one of the many reasons that I feel my

technology course will help my school excel and progress to the appropriation stage. The more

familiar students and staff become with the programs websites and devices at their fingertips the

more likely they are to achieve more and use the technology available to them with ease. This

will likely even propel some of the staff to function in the invention stage as well.

In addition to my school, I used the ACOT model to evaluate some of my colleagues as

well. This helped me tremendously in pinpointing the level at which our school functions.

Teacher A is a second grade, teacher at Vincent Farm, with 10 years of experience and who also

functions at the appropriation stage. She incorporates technology into her instruction and lessons

appropriately and with ease. Her students are confident in their knowledge of the programs and

websites that they use and are able to complete collaborative work and assignments at an

accelerated pace. The work completed in class is individualized to each student and allows them

to work on tasks that are appropriate for their skill level. They are also able to work at their own

pace and are independent in their rotations and choice of curricular activities. Some work online

and some hands-on.

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Teacher B is a fifth-grade teacher, who is in their first year of teaching, who as the year

has progressed, now functions at the adaptation stage of the ACOT model. She and her students

now complete work at a more accelerated pace. As she and her students have become more

familiar with the tools available to them on BCPSone, they have been able to complete units

quicker and lessons in more engaging and effective ways than previously in the year. Dreambox

has become a more frequently used tool and she has also been using the discussion tool on

BCPSone to have students answer multi-step math problems.

Teacher C is a first-grade teacher, who is in her fourth year of teaching. Since all four

years has been spent in first grade, she is extremely comfortable with the curriculum which has

allowed her to put more focus on how she can incorporate technology into her daily lessons and

corresponding activities. This year she has begun using PowerPoint and word more frequently in

the classroom. She has also started utilizing the quiz tool available on BCPSone to design and

assign quizzes and tests digitally to her students. She states that she has noticed an increase in

how quickly her students are completing their assignments in comparison with previous years.

I believe that the creation and implementation of a technology course, that we can offer to

our students, would help propel not just our school but my colleagues to the next levels of the

ACOT model. It will help build on our teachers and students confidence that is necessary to try

new things, allow students to complete work at a higher rate and quality and provide teachers

and their students with the knowledge required to utilize their devices to the fullest. This will

ultimately allow us as teachers, to provide students with the opportunity to explore and to learn

on their own.
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Stakeholders

To maximize the effectiveness of my innovation and to move my school forward with

technology, I need to enlist the support of a variety of individuals that play a key role in our

school building. The stakeholder groups that I want to be included in the planning process of my

initiative would be students, administrators, teachers, our tech liaisons, our STAT teacher,

parents, and at least one of our librarians. More specifically, the ideal members for my committee

would include one teacher from each grade level (or two primary teachers and two intermediate

teachers), at least one of our three administrators, our STAT teacher, one if not both of our tech

liaisons, one of our librarians, two PTA board members two primary students and two

intermediate students. In addition to those already named, I would like to get Baltimore County

and the DALY employees involved in this process as well. I would also want to include our new

PTA president and PTA board members in the development of this initiative. Teachers are an

important stakeholder in this initiative because it will ultimately provide them with more time to

teach content. Teachers will play a key role in reversing the dissatisfaction with the utilization of

student devices in the classroom. The course and its development will enhance students’

knowledge and understanding of their devices, so much so, that they will be able to complete

work more effectively and at a faster pace. It will also push students towards being more

independent with their devices and the programs included. Our tech team, STAT teacher,

librarians, and DALY employees will help supply the knowledge skills and resources to meet

conditions two and three of Ely’s conditions of change. They will be essential in developing the

professional development required to educate teachers so that they may support the students in

their new learning and in the sharing of resources to support teachers and students alike in

comprehending the new technology to be introduced in their tech courses. These members along
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with our administration team will also play an integral part in allowing and allotting teachers and

students the time needed to participate and prepare for the technology course. Administrators can

help by allowing us to hold voluntary and mandatory PD sessions the first week teachers return

to school. All others will be a part in selecting and choosing dates and times to meet either before

or after school, once students return. BCPS and our administrators will also play a key role in

creating incentives for teachers. Two incentive options could be to offer either a monetary

incentive or credit incentive for volunteering their time to help to establish and test run the tech

course. All stakeholders will help fulfil the condition of participation because each will be given

a voice in the process and development of the course. Surveys will be initiated prior to the start

of the course, at the course’s midpoint and at the conclusion, of the course. The committee that I

establish will be committed key leaders of the initiative of this team process. This will be met

through the incentives that are provided and in allowing teachers a choice in whether or not they

join our team. Administrators will be committed in helping because the course will help teachers

to foster a learner-centered environment in their classrooms, which is a key part of our school’s

SPP (School Progress Plan). Developing students who are more independent, take ownership of

their work and have the choice and control to learn on their own. Most importantly, students and

parents will also play a large role in the level of commitment acquired from our school PTA,

teachers and administrators. If students and parents find the course to be potentially beneficial to

their children, they will be able to advocate for its implementation. My list of stakeholders differs

from the ideal representatives listed in the guidebook because it leaves out business persons. My

school and I want what is best for our students. I do not want to include business men or women

in this process because they could potentially try to sell us on a product rather than helping us to
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further develop what will prove beneficial to our students’ understanding of their devices and

programs available.

To get all involved, I need to get them to buy into the tech initiative that I am proposing.

To do so I would want to find a time where all involved can get together. At that point, I can

present my focus and aimed outcome of the tech class innovation. I would then share my focused

vision so that committee members can see the educational benefits if it were to be imposed. At

that point we can develop a plan to pilot the initiative over the next year to gather and track data.

Are students becoming more successful and independent with their devices and the programs

available to them? Are they completing their work more efficiently and effectively? To keep all

involved, stakeholders can pop in for classroom visits to see the difference between classes. They

should observe classes without the opportunity for the tech class and compare them to those who

are receiving the weekly tech instruction. They can also stay involved by helping us to develop

stakeholder surveys to gather data through its pilot year. If all goes well and we see significant

improvements, I believe that all will advocate to incorporate this innovation school-wide.

After holding my interviews at school, what I discovered was that most of my colleagues

liked the idea of a weekly tech course for students, but many were worried about time. This holds

true especially for my 4th grade colleagues who already loose a weekly 30 minutes of class time

to the county Spanish program. One of my colleagues suggested that the class be implemented as

its own special area. Another felt that it could be better incorporated into the library curriculum.

Plan of Action

After careful consideration and review of our current situation and stakeholders, I have

slightly altered my innovation. Instead of having the course as a stand alone curriculum, with an

outside teacher, it will be implemented through the special area of library and media. The
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implementation of this class will enable students to effectively use computer based programs on

their 1:1 devices. This includes but is not limited to One Drive, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and

much more. Teachers would want this innovation because it would educate both students and

teachers alike, on how to use the technology available to them through BCPS and their county

devices. More importantly, students will become more familiar with using programs that they

will later need to be able to use in the real world. They will gain an understanding of Word and

it’s editing capabilities and they will learn how to use PowerPoint effectively to present

information. They will learn what programs function best for specific assignments and tasks.

Students will also become familiar with Microsoft OneDrive provided to all students through the

county. This will allow students the ability to edit work from home, complete work on an

alternate computer if theirs dies or becomes inoperable for a short period of time without having

to start over. Students will also become more proficient in the ways that they are able to

collaborate on documents and PowerPoints synchronously. In addition to these programs,

teachers will have an influence on what sites and programs are addressed during this course. If

they are in the habit of using a site such as “Kidblog” or “Edmodo” those sites can be

incorporated into curriculum as their own lessons. So often many teachers find themselves losing

out on instruction to teach students how to use the technology required of them for a specific

task. With the implementation of this innovation, it will be a thing of the past.

Vision & Mission

I developed the following vision statement for my innovation: My school’s stakeholders

will effectively develop and implement a technology course school-wide to better prepare our

students for a 21st century global society. By having a shared vision and mission, I will be able

to obtain a higher level of commitment from my stakeholders, increasing the likelihood of

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success. Ideally my vision for this innovation would be that it is a class that takes place once a

week where an instructor would come to the classroom and teach for 30 minutes. In 3-5 years

our school would be filled with students well versed in the utilization of all forms of computer

based technology. Teaching will be different because we will know that our students already

know how to use the technology they are required to utilize. Learning will be different because

students will feel more comfortable in their choice of technology when selecting how they want

to demonstrate their knowledge. Yes, I have access to all stakeholders and believe that my

innovation will be highly motivating because it will benefit all, but most importantly our

students. This will be a team effort but with a committed and knowledgeable team we can make

this tech course not only a reality but highly successful.

Critical Issues

The few pieces of my plan that are out of my control include a portion of my goal

specifically related to the acquisition of county tech teachers that I would want to come out to

classrooms and teach the course. It is what would be most ideal but would likely be the most

difficult part of my initiative, convincing the county. One change that I have made to my plan, as

stated previously in this section, is to instead delegate this new tech course and its curriculum to

the library media specialist. To ensure that this new course does not overly interfere with the

county mandated units of study, I propose that either this technology either takes place at the

start of the year via its own unit, or it could be a unit that is slowly taught over the course of the

year. One lesson each month could be dedicated to this course and its curriculum. This would

ultimately be a decision that I would involve my stakeholders in determining which course of

action would be most beneficial to both teachers and students. This would ensure that all classes
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will get what is needed to further develop their tech skills without needing the county to hire out

new teachers for these courses.

Action Steps

What I plan to accomplish is to establish a tech class to be implemented as a once a week,

45-minute school-wide program. This course would be taught by teachers from the county,

helping to increase and develop students' knowledge of the technology and programs available to

them on their devices. This will in turn provide teachers with more time to teach content and less

time teaching the technology itself. It would also mean that students are able to finish work at a

quicker pace. I plan to accomplish this by first surveying the stakeholders which includes;

teachers, parents, our tech liaisons, BCPS, administrators and most importantly, students. Then, I

would put together a team at my school to help kick-start the process and develop proper

timelines for getting a teacher volunteer from each grade level to pilot the new tech course. The

steps that I need to take to accomplish this goal are to first create a team to help lead this

innovation. Developing the survey for stakeholders. The analysis of the surveys completed by the

stakeholders. Creation of lessons to be implemented and selecting the websites and computer

programs to be taught. Team of teachers willing to test out the tech class in its first year. My hope

is to achieve this goal is about a year and a half to effectively plan and pilot the before it's full

school-wide integration. Myself along with a team that includes our school tech liaisons, a

library media teacher, an administrator, our stat teacher, two primary teachers and two

intermediate teachers will be majorly responsible for the completing these goals and objectives.

We will use formative assessments, summative assessments, surveys, and teacher observations to

evaluate and track our progress towards our objectives. We will know that our plan is working

when students are able to effectively demonstrate how to use the programs and websites utilized
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in their classrooms regularly. Work will be completed at a much quicker rate and teachers will

move through units of study at a more accelerated pace than those classrooms of students not

receiving the technology course. Students will consequently be more independent and effective

learners.

Example Plans

One example of a strong technology plan is the Deanna Davenport Technology Plan for

the Deanna Davenport Elementary school in Canutillo, Texas. Their vision is to establish and

support “an on-going educational process that integrates state-of-the-art technology with

standards based instruction as an integral part of the learning environment” (Campus Technology

Plan, 2014). Their vision goes on to state, “technology will be a catalyst for change to enable our

students to use higher-order thinking skills, to develop as humans in society and be prepared for

higher education or employment” (Campus Technology Plan, 2014). I feel as though my vision

also centers on their goal of promoting and developing life-long learners who we can set up to be

a successful and productive part of our ever-changing society where technology plays an integral

role in the way we accomplish work in the 21st century. In addition to a strong and clear vision

statement, DDES also has an effective way of evaluating and re-evaluating their current situation

each year. This makes it very easy to assess the progress that they have made and can help them

to establish what their next steps should be to keep their plan and students moving further

towards their goal of infusing technology in their daily instruction. I also hope to have my

finished plan just as thorough and detailed as DDES’s Technology Plan. In taking an inventory

of the technology available to them at their school, they are easily able to see what they already

have access to and can also see what they still need. This information is key in selecting the

proper next steps and offers reliable information as to whether or not the plan needs to be
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adjusted. For example, after completing their inventory the school found that they have a total of

425 students at their elementary school. They then found that they only have 354 devices. This

means that they have a student to device ratio of 1.2:1. This small data point would make it very

difficult to meet their vision and mission of incorporating state-of-the-art technology into regular

instruction. They would then likely consider which technologies should be acquired to meet their

mission with the most success. It could prove prudent to acquire 1:1 devices as a starting point

for their tech plan. They go on to place this as a top priority in their list of goals and objectives.

The timeline for each goal is extremely specific making it easy to follow and track over the

length of 3 school years.

In contrast, I felt that they St. Phillip Neri School had a technology plan with good

intentions but a more complicated vision. Their vision statement is simple; however, the key

bullet points detailing what they are looking to achieve is overwhelming. It’s potentially too

much all at once. Many of the bulleted points under their simple sounding vision statement

includes objectives that are not at all related to the technology that they are looking to

implement. One of the bullets states, “St. Philip Neri will actively nurture Catholic faith and

values through liturgy, prayer, worship, outreach and curriculum” (St. Phillip Neri School, 4).

These objectives, although important to the school’s goals, could easily move this technology off

of its intended track. This is something that I will not do when finalizing my vision for my

technology plan. In taking a further look at this particular plan, it seems as though there is no one

direct goal or outcome that the school is working towards reaching. The strategy in particular

seems very broad and seems to focus more on its teachers than students. It states, “Teachers set a

technology goal annually for their professional growth. They are encouraged to use the computer

lab with their students for word processing, Internet research, etc. Teachers are encouraged to
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use on-line subscriptions and educational sites to develop their lesson plans to include the use of

technology and explore other internet resources. Evaluations of teachers include a technology

component. The Local Administrator monitors and supports teachers in their use of

PowerSchool/PowerGrade” (St. Phillip Neri School, 2015). This seems to disconnect from a

main portion of their mission that centers on “fostering Catholic faith and academic excellence.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, students are provided the opportunity to develop their

gifts and talents while striving to become active members of their church. A foundation for

future success and life-long learning is provided in partnership with the family, parish and school

community” (St. Phillip Neri School, 2015). This makes it unclear as to what they would like to

accomplish technologically. It could be improved upon by selecting a more specific goal that can

be more easily measured and documented for effectiveness. The final critique that I have for this

technology plan is that it enlists the assistance of very few stakeholders. The committee consists

only of the Local Administrator, Principal, Assistant Principal, a business manager. It would be

most beneficial for those currently on the committee to engage the help of a wider variety of

stakeholders. Since their plan requires and focuses more around teachers professionally

developing their knowledge of technology and related programs that they be involved as one of

the additional groups of stakeholders. Teachers will likely not buy into a plan that they have no

voice in planning. If teachers don’t buy into the process the plan will not be successful. Another

stakeholder that should be an integral part of this plan would be parents and students. Similarly

to the point I made about teachers not buying into the plan, students and parents won’t either

unless they have a share in the process and selection of technology. Adding these stakeholders to

the committee will likely force the team to reevaluate and fine tune this plan to be more specific

than it is at the present.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that my innovation of a technology course would be beneficial to

not only our teachers, but most importantly to further the growth and development of our

students for real world skills that they will need to be college and career ready. Through its

implementation our students will become independent and classrooms more student-centered.
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References

Bowser, Jennifer (2015). Technology Internship. St. Phillip Neri School Technology Plan.

Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/jbowsertechnologyinternship/technology-

plan

Dwyer, D. C., Ringstaff, C., Sandholtz, J. H. (n.d.). The Evolution of Teachers’ Instructional

Beliefs and Practices in High-Access Technology Classrooms First-Fourth Year

Findings. Retrieved from https://www.apple.com/euro/pdfs/acotlibrary/rpt8.pdf

Ely, D. P. (1990). Conditions that facilitate the implementation of educational

technology innovations. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_oFkMl-

s85RRWhwTGQ0VFdnVzg/view

Galview, Dr. Pedro (2014). Campus Technology Plan 2014-2017. Retrieved from

http://www.canutilloisd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_52913/File/Departments/Technolog

y/Technology%20Plans/DDE%20Technology%20Plan.pdf.

Graduate Students at Mississippi State University. (1996). Guidebook for Developing and

Effective Instructional Technology Plan. Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_oFkMl-s85RbUFDdUhGZ0NFNDA/view