Running head: NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 1

Report of Needs Assessment for Technology

Mallory Berry, Alysa Johnson, Karen Parker

University of West Georgia

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 2

Report of Needs Assessment for Technology

Overview

Name and Organization

Our group members are Mallory Berry, Alysa Johnson, and Karen Parker. The school we

selected for our Technology Needs Assessment is McIntosh High School in Peachtree City, GA.

Alysa is an English teacher at McIntosh High as well as the 1:1 Tech Rollout Chair.

General Characteristics of the Organization

McIntosh High School opened in the 1981-1982 school year and serves grades 9-12. The

school is located in Peachtree City, Georgia and is part of the Fayette County School System.

Fayette County is a large suburban community located south of Atlanta, Georgia. According to

The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, McIntosh High School has an enrollment of

1726 students. The school’s 4 year graduation rate is 91.7% which is higher than most of the

high schools in the state as well as in its district. Four percent of the student population are

economically disadvantaged (“GeorgiaGov: The Governor’s Office” n.d). The minority

enrollment is 39% which includes, 11% Asian/Pacific Islander, 11% African-American, and 11%

Hispanic. The school employs 97 full-time teachers and has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1 (“U.S.

News Education” n.d.)

Available Technology Resources

For the 2018-2019 school year McIntosh High School became a 1:1 school with all

students receiving Chromebooks. The students use the Chromebooks in school on a daily basis
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 3

and are allowed to take them home. Students are also allowed to use their Smartphones and

wireless internet is available for all students to access information on both devices.

The school district provides newer technologies as they are needed. Currently, all

classrooms are equipped with Promethean Boards and at least two computers. Most teachers use

this technology for their classroom but do not regularly use online modules, simulations, or other

similar, newer technologies. Technical support is readily available and includes a tech support

paraprofessional, a Media Specialist, and a county-assigned Digital Learning Specialist.

McIntosh High School also has a technology committee consisting of one teacher from every

department, the media specialist, and an assistant principal.

Description of Needs Assessment Process

Methods

The methods used in order to assess the needs of this organization were done by initially

using a Google form survey. The group of participants were willing and gracious enough to give

time to answer ten quick survey questions and also five additional open-ended interview

questions. Both of the tools used were comprised of questions that qualitatively assessed the

needs of teachers for technology in their high school. First, the survey was pushed out with

open-ended interview questions included at the end. The link for our Google form was sent via

work email and some of the participants were gently notified via text messaging to ensure we

had maximum input. This was decidedly the best method of operation for the summer break and

different participants in and out of town. We wanted participation without burdening our sample

group that was going to provide the data we needed. This allowed us to go through the results of

the survey questions and then use the interview questions to further evaluate the needs for this
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 4

particular school. The design and intention of our methods was to have our data within five to

seven days in order to write our report.

Participants

This survey was pushed out to McIntosh High School’s English/Language Arts

department. This was the group chosen due to the summer break timing and the connections of a

group member to these individuals. The entire group was made up of teachers, including a

department chair and one media specialist. The participants consisted of eight female high

school teachers. The teachers had a variety of years of teaching experience with two having zero

to five years, two having six to ten years, and the rest ranging in five year increasing increments.

Out of the eight participants, six taught English/Language Arts, one taught Social Studies, and

one is a school librarian. Three of the participants have a bachelor’s degree, half of the group

have received their master’s degree, and one participant has earned their specialist degree. While

this was not a greatly varied group it was a variety of different responders for technology needs

in the classroom. These eight teacher participants answered survey questions as well as five

interview questions at the end of their google form.

Data Collection Instruments

The data collection instrument combined survey questions and interview questions. This

was due to the nature of the timing of summer break for this assessment. The first ten questions

on the Google form are short multiple choice answer or check boxes for all that apply. There are

even a few options for write-in answers if needed. The last five questions of the Google form are

open-ended and leave enough room for participants to answer as much and however they choose.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 5

This allowed for more participation in our assessment and allowed us as researchers to have

ample responses to read over and consider.

Sources of Data

Our sources of data are teachers that work at McIntosh High School. These are internal

stakeholders of the school and learning community. Their needs and willingness play a major

impact on the use and request for acquiring new technology in their school.

Data Analysis

The first five questions of the survey were described when providing the demographics of

the participant group. The last five questions are a part of the data that will be discussed in this

portion of the report, along with the five interview questions. Almost all of the participants

stated having twenty-five to thirty students at a time, this is an important factor to remember

when discussing implementation and use of technology in the classroom. When asked what

needs for technology were desired in the classroom the majority of teachers wanted an online

platform for communication with students, video capabilities, and/or a smartboard for their

classroom. Three participants would like virtual reality glasses and three other teachers

requested one to one technology for students. Other needs listed were robotics, coding

programming, and audio visual assistance for hearing impaired students.

Participants were asked to pick the biggest benefits that result from technology in the

classroom, and eight participants claimed that it allowed for better opportunities of achieving

student-centered learning. Six participants said technology creates more opportunities for

remediation and/or enrichment. Five teachers claimed it could create more communication

between the student and teacher, while five also said it could result in students being more
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 6

actively engaged. One teacher said that technology could result in less paper being used in the

classroom which they saw as a major benefit.

The last two questions of the survey were more limited in their answers. When asked

how confident teachers were in trying new things with technology in their classrooms six out of

eight teachers said they were very comfortable and love doing new things, while two of the

teachers said they were willing but would need support. The participants were also asked what

barriers existed in their school preventing more technology integration. Two claimed that

barriers were instructional and they would need more electronic resources. Three respondents

claimed barriers had to do more with administration and that they needed stronger models and/or

leadership from administration in their school. Seven out of eight participants listed professional

development needs as a barrier and claimed that they need more on-going support.

There were a total of five interview questions. When teachers were asked to describe

technology implementation at their school a common theme was that they had ample resources,

with little guidance. Some answers also claimed that there was a great range in how much and

how often teachers actually used the technology provided. When asked how students could

benefit from technology use by teachers, there was an overwhelming response of creating more

differentiation, personalized learning, or creating more ways for students to receive and have

access to information. Other responses worth noting were having more engagement with

students, more chances to master standards, and faster teacher feedback for students. Changes

that teachers see across their district with the use of more technology are: more time to submit

work and receive feedback (outside of school hours), more electronic resources and

communication are being utilized, and a negative effect is having too many tools without having

an understanding of why and how to use them.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 7

The last two questions of the interview allowed for participants to respond more

elaborately with their thoughts and feelings. The first asked how technology has changed the

teaching profession. Answers varied, but were generally positive in nature, discussing how

students could design more with technology, their learning was more student-centered and at

their pace, teachers assignments could encourage students to emerge as leaders in projects,

grading is easier, and overall technology created more student engagement. Negative answers

were fewer and centered around students being potentially distracted/bored, or teachers having

too little training for the technology provided. The last interview question asked about the

collaboration between school and home with the introduction of more technology in the

classroom. The common theme of all answers was that there was an overwhelming increase in

the communication and information provided for students and parents. The technology has made

teachers easier to reach, but at the same time has little boundaries for teachers’ time and requires

an extensive amount of direction and instruction when assigning student work.

Desired and Current State

Desired State

When analyzing the data collected from the Google Forms survey, a mixed method

approach was used to determine the desired state. Four out of eight teachers expressed the need

for a variety of learning management systems, smartboards, and video capabilities. Seven out of

eight teachers believed that technology provides more control for student centered learning.

While 75% of the teachers surveyed held a positive outlook on the use of technology in the

classroom, 87.5% of teachers expressed the need for professional development on instructional

technology. Teachers like having access to the technology, but many of them feel overwhelmed
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 8

with how to start using them effectively in the classroom. The teachers that do feel confident,

would also like to have professional development, but they would like to have access to

differentiated professional development such as beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes.

Current State

McIntosh High School currently has access to a plethora of technology resources such as,

1:1 Chromebook technology, Promethean boards, document cameras, and learning management

systems, such as Blackboard and Google Classroom. Professional development is provided at the

beginning of the year during pre-planning week. New teachers have a technology on-boarding

training session at the county office and school site. However, most of the new teachers have

little to no experience using the learning management system Blackboard. Furthermore, veteran

teachers have a one-hour Blackboard training session each year during pre-planning, but no

extensive training is provided for the Promethean board. Instructional technology policies vary

across the county. McIntosh’s instructional technology policies include: the use of Blackboard to

house all online class contact, digital lesson plans, the use of technology integrated within

lessons during TKES observations, etc. All teachers must meet the minimum instructional

technology policies as a requirement for a passing score of a 3 on TKES observations.

Rationale for Desired State

While teachers have access to a number of technology resources, 87.5% of teachers

surveyed stated that the major barrier that was keeping them from success is operational. In

particular, teachers would like on-going professional development and support for integration.

The integration support does not need to be limited to the beginning of the school year, but

rather, a continuous opportunity that is available to teachers at any point during the school year.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 9

As a result, our team would like to train one or two teacher leaders to serve as instructional

technology support specialists. These teachers would be trained on the various programs and

software available at McIntosh High School, and they would work directly with the county

Digital Learning Specialist. The county Digital Learning Specialist for McIntosh’s feeder pattern

would meet monthly with these teacher leaders to determine the instructional technology needs

of the staff. Thus, there would be one or two teacher leaders available each day to help support

the faculty with their technology needs, instead of relying on the county Digital Learning

Specialist once a week.

Priority Needs

Statement of Need

Overwhelmingly, 87.5% of the participants surveyed stated that more professional

learning opportunities were needed with 25% stating they did not feel confident implementing

new technology in the classroom without additional support. Their preference would be having

multiple learning opportunities throughout the school year with time to practice and integrate the

new technologies into their lessons. The first priority to reach the desired state will be conducting

mini-PL sessions prior to the start of school. Second, the digital learning support specialists will

determine the staff’s technology proficiency level to assist them with creating differentiated PL

learning opportunities. Finally, to achieve the desired state, funding will be provided for

substitute teachers to allow teachers to attend half-day collaboration technology training days.

These collaboration days will provide differentiated levels of instruction, being offered in small

group settings as well as digitally to allow for the individual learning needs. There will also be

opportunities for the staff to practice and create examples for the classroom during this time.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 10

Causes of Deficiencies

In the current state the main cause of technology deficiency is lack of time. Professional

learning is generally only provided during pre-planning with the main focus being on Blackboard

and Google Classroom. Teachers are required to use Blackboard, provide digital lesson plans,

and integrate technology into their lessons but are not given the tools or time to implement.

Instructional technology policies also vary from school to school within the county. One survey

participant summarized the problem by stating that technology implementation is piecemeal.

Technology instruction focuses on a new idea briefly, then jumps to another idea without follow-

up on the original training.

Consequences of Deficiencies

Pre-planning is generally extremely busy and is not an ideal time to conduct professional

learning. Teachers may have new ideas from their professional learning, but oftentimes, these

ideas are easily forgotten. If McIntosh High School continues with the current state of little or no

technology training, teachers will still be frustrated with the lack of technology support. This

frustration is shown in the comments of our participants in the interview. Some teachers use

technology, but not well and several felt that they had great access to new technologies but little

assistance, support, or follow-up. Students may also suffer with a lack of student-centered

instruction that results from using technology.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 11

Action Plan

Goals

In order to address the desired needs stated above, our team has proposed an action plan

to provide sustainable long term support for faculty and staff. First, we want to effectively train

teacher leaders who can help facilitate year-round instructional technology support. The second

would be to provide an IT Help Center where the instructional technology support team could be

available to teachers during school hours. Third, we want to provide teachers with ½ day digital

professional learnings, where they can access both face to face and asynchronous modules to

help aid them in better understanding the instructional technology in their classrooms.

Strategies

In order to address and meet the goals we have stated above, we would like to implement

the following strategies to effectively meet each goal. For the first goal, we want to identify and

select two or three teacher leaders who can serve as instructional technology support for the

school. These teachers could be selected by the administration team and the county digital

learning specialist. Ideally, these teachers would already be teacher leaders in their department

and or the school, and they would have appropriate leadership experience, certifications, and

degrees.

Once these teacher leaders are selected, we want to effectively train them to be support

specialists, who can help facilitate year-round instructional technology support. Ideally, these

support specialist would run an IT support center housed in the media center. Faculty and staff

could sign up for help sessions throughout the year. The administration could consider funding

for these support specialists, or have them split the role and still be able to teach classes. For
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 12

example, one support specialist could work the IT support center in the morning and teach

classes in the afternoon and vice versa for the other support specialist.

Third, we want to open the lines of communication between the teacher leaders and the

digital support specialists year round in order to continuously assess the needs of faculty and

staff. These two support specialists would be required to meet with the county assigned digital

learning specialist at least once a month. At these meetings, they would discuss concerns and

needs of teachers, review support center user data, and determine goals and tactics to better meet

the needs of faculty and staff.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 13

Timeline

In order to meet the desired needs of McIntosh High School’s teachers, our team has

planned to implement the following timeline:

June 2019 Meet with school administrators and county

digital learning specialist and present needs
assessment report. We will discuss the
concerns of the teachers and pitch the idea for
two digital learning support specialists.

Early July 2019 Conduct selection process for two digital

learning support specialists. Begin training
with county digital learning specialist.

Mid July 2019 Set up IT support center housed in the media

center. Develop mini PL sessions for new
teachers and veteran teachers. These classes
will range from beginner to advanced learner.

Late July 2019 Conduct mini PL sessions for new teachers,

veteran teachers, and open IT support center.

August 2019 Digital learning support specialists begin

meeting with the county digital learning
specialist to determine goals and strategies to
meet the needs of faculty and staff throughout
the school year.
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 14

Appendix

Interview Protocol

Interview Questions (listed at the end of survey questions on google form)

1. How would you describe technology implementation in your environment?

2. What can teachers who use technology achieve that they could not in the traditional pre-
technology environment?
3. What changes are you seeing in your district so far as a result of the implementation of
technology?
4. In what ways do you think teaching practice has changed with the use of technology? (if
changed at all)
5. Do you see any changes in the nature of collaboration between home and school (as a
result of technology)? If so, how?

Summary of Interview Data

The interview data showed that teachers believe that technology is valuable and enhances

their effect on student learning. Technology embedding in content lessons can create more

individualized learning for students. It can also provide more opportunities for students to be

successful while teaching them to think in real world problems by participating in more project

oriented learning. Electronic resources can explain and remediate for learners while allowing

them to learn and complete tasks at their own pace. They can preview and review as much as

they need to, and these ideas were strongly appreciated by the participants of this survey. A

common need expressed by many answers across the survey questions was the need for more

training and programs to assist teachers utilizing technology in their content areas. Teachers

expressed the need for more follow up by leaders introducing and integrating technology into the

schools, as well as having more opportunities, simply, to educate themselves and collaborate

with peers. Overall, teachers want to use technology and feel confident doing so, but see the

need for continued growth and knowledge in their skills of implementing different electronic
NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 15

resources with their classes. This is a positive response, but the need still remains that teachers

want more support to keep learning and using best practices when creating a digital environment

in the classroom.

Survey Instrument

Google form used for the assessment

This google form includes 10 choice selection survey questions and 5 open-ended

interview questions.

Summary of Survey Data

The survey data supported the idea of using more technology in the classroom. The

participants seemed to have a positive attitude towards technology in general. However, they

did, across the board, which highlighted the need for on-going professional development needs

that could be tailored to their teaching standards and content. Many responses described a

scenario other school districts may also face where technology and devices are introduced into

schools, with little training or technical support to assist with implementation. On a positive

note, the participants felt that implementing technology more in their class lessons would

increase student well-being. Most answers supported the idea that more technology leads to

student engagement, more student-centered learning, opportunities for all level learners to

improve whether gifted or remedial, and better communication between parent-teacher-student

relationships along with more access to information.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR TECHNOLOGY 16

References

GeorgiaGov: The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement Georgia School Grades Reports

(n.d.). McIntosh High School. Retrieved from

https://schoolgrades.georgia.gov/mcintosh-high-school

U.S. News Education (n.d.). Best High Schools U.S. News Rankings McIntosh High School.

Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-

schools/georgia/districts/fayette-county/mcintosh-high-school-5892