Bridgewater Middle School Technology Evaluation Jim Murtagh Introduction Bridgewater MIddle school is a public school for students in grades 5 and 6. The school is located in a Waterloo county in a mixed suburban/rural setting. The town has strong agricultural roots, but over the past two decades, there has been a large influx of new residents. The school is considered a high performing school within the State. Students at Bridgewater generally come from well educated, financially stable, white families. The school is well staffed, except for a noticeable absence of a technology specialist. Class sizes average 23 students. Technology expenditures are part of the annual town budget, and while it varies from year to year, approximately $500,000 is allotted for the entire district. All classrooms in the school have interactive whiteboards, desktops computers, and access to a cart of laptops. Document cameras, iPads, student response devices and other technology are present in varying amounts. All faculty are provided with laptops. Broadband Internet and wireless access is available throughout the building. The following tables provide a profile of the town and the school. Town Profile

Population (2011) 22, 383

Land Area 47 square miles

Median Age (2011) 37 years

Median Household Income (2011) $99,233

Educational Attainment (2011) 54% with Bachelors or more

Race/Ethnicity (2011) 91.2% White

Median House Price (2009) $400,000

Poverty Rate (2010) 2.8%

School Profile

Number of Schools in District 7 (including one high school)

Bridgewater MIddle School Grade Levels Grades 5 and 6

Bridgewater MIddle School Students (2009) 544

Number of School Days Per Year 180

Bridgewater’s Technology Budget $65,000 (annual, but varies with budget approval via town referendum, estimate for 2009)

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School Staff*

Full­Time Equivalent Count of School Staff (2009­10) Employees

General Education: Teachers and Instructors 41.05

Special Education: Teachers and Instructors 5.4

Special Education: Paraprofessional Instructional Assistants 16.0

Library/Media Specialists and/or Assistants 2.0

Administrators, Coordinators, and Department Chairs 2.5

Instructional Specialists Who Support Teachers (e.g., subject area specialists)

0.0

Counselors, Social Workers, and School Psychologists 3.5

School Nurses 1.0

Other Staff Providing Non­Instructional Services and Support 15.2

Student Race/Ethnicity*

Race/Ethnicity Number Percent

American Indian 0 0

Asian American 24 4.4

Black 4 0.7

Hispanic 32 5.9

White 484 89

Total Minority 60 11.0 Indicators of Educational Need*

Need Indicator Number in School Percent in School

Students Eligible for Free/Reduced­Price Meals

38 7.0

K­12 Students Who Are Not Fluent in English 4 0.7

Students with Disabilities 68 12

Students Identified as Gifted and/or Talented 4 .07

Kindergarten Students who Attended NA NA

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Preschool, Nursery School or Headstart

* This profile was produced by the State Department of Education in accordance with General Statutes 10­220(c) using data and narratives provided by the school district or testing services for the 2009­2010 academic year. Maturity Benchmarks The following material is an extract from Peter Sibley’s and Chip Kimball’s work “The Technology Use Plan Primer.” In this document, Sibley and Kimball describe the stages for adoption and use of technology by dividing the process into four discrete benchmark stages.

1. Emergent Stage 2. Islands Stage 3. Integrated Stage 4. Intelligent Stage

Two factors, resource availability and behavioral changes, are requirements for advancement within each stage. The benchmark is a tool that school districts can use to perform a self­assessment on how effectively they are integrating technology, and then to determine where additional support of resources are necessary.

Note: the following descriptions of the four stages are direct;y from Sibley & Kimball

The Emergent Systems Stage is characterized by:

Lack of formal support when using computing technology for instruction No formal plans, policies or procedures exist to ensure the efficient and appropriate acquisition or

use of technology throughout the Institution Computers are used sporadically throughout the Institution Institution wide coordination to ensure grade level and program level access is absent Formal support for teacher training is minimal

The Islands of Technology Stage is characterized by:

Regular use of computers at one or more grade levels and program levels at each school within the Institution on a regularly scheduled basis

Formal plans, policies and procedures exist to facilitate the optimal use of technology in both instructional and administrative areas throughout the Institution

Institution sponsored and school sponsored training is available Technology has budgetary visibility at the Institutional level and school/program level The instructional delivery system is somewhat dependent on technology

The Integrated Systems Stage is characterized by:

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Regular planned access for students to technology as a means of instruction and a focus of instruction

Teachers' systems also support administrative functions, such as grading, attendance and electronic mail

Technology has a high budgetary visibility at the Institutional and school/program level Comprehensive plans, policies and procedures for instructional and administrative use of technology

are reviewed and revised regularly The Institution is an advocate of technology training for all personnel The instructional delivery system is very dependent on technology

The Intelligent Systems Stage is characterized by:

Student access to technology as an indispensable component of instruction Every curriculum is augmented by intelligent learning systems Administrative functions are automated, integrated and paper less Student, teachers and stakeholders have access to appropriate systems from home Technology is one of the three highest expenditures of Institution funds Technology planning is an integral part of Institution planning The systematic adoption of new technologies is ongoing Technology advocates at each organizational unit assist in the introduction of the new technologies Instructional and administrative personnel are knowledgeable in the use of technology

Maturity Model The Maturity Model Benchmark Impact Table presents a tabular snapshot of your district’s technology integration stage. There are five categories which allow users to focus on particular objectives, such as curriculum or connectivity. By examining a single category, they can help you filter your organization’s technology needs. The five filters are: Administrative Filter

Policy, Planning, Budget and Administrative Information criteria Impacts Administrators and Staff the most

Curricular Filter

Curriculum Integration, Assessment, Teacher Use and Student Use criteria Impacts Teachers and Students the most

Support Filter

Stakeholder Involvement, Administrative Support, Training, and Technical; Infrastructure Support criteria Impacts Teachers and Support Staff the most.

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Connectivity Filter

Local Area Networking, District Area Networking, Internet Access and Communication Systems criteria Impacts all segments of the institution

Innovation Filter

New Technologies and Comprehensive Technologies criteria Impacts Teachers and Students the most

Bridgewater Analysis The following tables represent the maturity benchmarks for Bridgewater Middle School. Each organizational filter is examined separately. The first chart in each section employs different colors for the benchmark stages to give the reader a clear indication of where the school lies on that filter, from a quick glance. As the benchmarks advance from left to right, the technological maturity level increases. The second table provides the rational and includes details of why the school was identified as being at a specific benchmark.

Administrative Filter

Category Rating Summary

Policy: Integrated Technology is used by all admin

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Behavioral staff but there is no written policy. There is an understood policy of how work is to be done. Staff use it willingly, but have no choice.

Policy: Resource/Infrastructure

Islands Policy gets dictated by school principal or created independently by those most affected by decision.

Planning: Behavioral

Intelligent Yearly review of technology at budgeting time, and then again in summer when funds are to be spent. Decision made with principal, technology director and building network technician.

Planning: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent Planning is in line with district plans but school is given option to pursue their own course if feel necessary.

Budget: Behavioral

Islands Budget is based on a fixed dollar amount. After budget referendum, school plan is then built yearly based on money awarded to school. Multi­year projects are nearly impossible.

Budget: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated Technology budget is a line item in town budget.

Administrative Information: Behavioral

Intelligent Systems exist for communication, student records, attendance, and many other admin tasks. There are still paper outputs but few all paper systems.

Administrative Information: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated Most staff have access to systems directly or can get information readily from another staff who has access. Access availability is primarily based on privacy concerns.

Summary Bridgewater is on the upper end of the administrative filter. The district consistently invests in technology but needs to involve more stakeholders in the decision making process.

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Curricular Filter

Category Rating Summary

Electronic Information: Behavioral

Intelligent Students and staff use electronic information on a daily basis. Laptop carts are available on a 1:3 ratio.

Electronic Information: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated We have multiple tech resources such as iPads, response systems and laptops. Only laptops are widely available.

Assessment: Behavioral

Emergent Most student work is generated electronically, but nearly all of it is printed and then assessed by teachers.

Assessment: Resource/Infrastructure

Islands Teachers have access to an electronic gradebook but few electronic students take place on a regular basis.

Curriculum Integration: Behavioral

Islands Curriculum has broad references to technology and is not updated toreflect changes in technology.

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Curriculum Integration: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent If teachers choose, technology is widely available to support most needs of teachers and students.

Teacher Use: Behavioral

Intelligent Teachers have laptops, and all classrooms are technology rich with interactive whiteboards, document cameras, and assorted other devices,

Teacher Use: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent Teachers use technology in their classroom continuously throughout the day.

Student Use: Behavioral

Islands Students use technology for writing papers and doing online research. Sporadic other activities take place.

Student Use: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent Students have access to equipment in the classroom and in labs.

Summary Bridgewater is on the upper end of the curricular filter but lags in assessment and student use of cloud technologies. The district’s technology plan does identify cloud computing as a target for next year.

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Support Filter

Category Rating Summary

Stakeholder: Behavioral

Emergent Staff and faculty are informed of technology changes most often during implementation.

Stakeholder: Resource/Infrastructure

Emergent Planning is performed by 2­3 individuals.

Administrative Support: Behavioral

Integrated The building principal consults withthe building network technician to discuss strategy. The technician often solicits input from staff and teachers.

Administrative Support: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated Principal is readily available for consultation.

Training: Behavioral

Islands Since the State no longer requires continuing credits for technology work, staff and teacher training has dwindled.

Training: Resource/Infrastructure

Islands Training is primarily performed by the building network technician.

Technical & Infrastructure Support: Behavioral

Intelligent Building network technician available to all staff and faculty.

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Technical & Infrastructure Support: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent Building network technician available to all staff and faculty.

Summary Bridgewater struggles the most with the support filter. The district seems to deliver technology to users and then lets them figure it out on their own. Training is another area where the district provides too few opportunities for teachers and staff.

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Connectivity Filter

Category Rating Summary

Local Area Networking: Behavioral

Intelligent Building is fully wired with hi­speeddata cabling and wireless networking. High speed Internet access is available for everyone. Wireless equipment is aging but scheduled for replacement.

Local Area Networking: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated High speed networking is available to all but voice and video are not widely used or implemented.

District Area Networking: Behavioral

Integrated WAN use is primarily for data and email communication.

District Area Networking: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated Connections between school buildings is not as robust as school's access to Internet.

Internet Access: Behavioral

Intelligent Internet is widely used but content filtering exists and students do not have unsupervised to video access.

Internet Access: Resource/Infrastructure

Intelligent Internet access is widely available.

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Communication Systems: Behavioral

Intelligent Email is available to all staff and faculty and used for all business matters. Students have no access to email.

Communication Systems: Resource/Infrastructure

Islands All staff have email but few students do.

Summary Bridgewater has been investing in their infrastructure for five years and their benchmarks reflect this progress. They need to use their resources in more imaginative ways, and they need to address an aging wireless infrastructure.

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Innovation Filter

Category Rating Summary

New Technologies: Behavioral

Islands Majority of staff readily accept new technology but not everyone has the time or desire to implement them.

New Technologies: Resource/Infrastructure

Integrated Majority of staff welcome new technology that makes their jobs more productive or that enhance education for students.

Comprehensive Technologies: Behavioral

Integrated Technology is abundant but how it gets used is primarily up to individual teachers decide when and how to use it.

Comprehensive Technologies: Resource/Infrastructure

Islands Most technology use centers around Internet access, email and word processing.

Summary Bridgewater has a tremendous amount of technological resources, and staff and teachers willing to use it. Lack of time to experiment and explore the technology is frequently cited as the primary reason why the technology is not used to its full potential. Additional support from a integration specialist would benefit the district. Category Analysis The following graphs show that the behavioral versus resource/infrastructure keys of the maturity index are working in concert with each other. The behavioral measure is slightly further along in the intelligent grouping, but both are showing positive results. Bridgewater is clearly successful in their technology integration, though there is room for improvement.

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Conclusion Bridgewater Middle School is a high performing school with a well equipped infrastructure and a diverse and abundant amount of technology. The school is on the mid side and approaching the upper limits of the benchmark scale in many areas. Teachers, staff and students all use technology daily to perform their tasks. While there is no formal written technology guidelines in the school, the school has learned to adopt and manage their resources effectively. Bridgewater needs to advance student use beyond basic word processing and Internet searches. Teachers would benefit greatly from an integration specialist who could educate and support them on more challenging uses of technology. The school would benefit from more involvement from staff on the direction of future technology initiatives, and the curriculum should be examined to see where instruction could be improved by incorporating appropriate technology. Resources:

1. CERC Town Profile 2012. Downloaded from: www.cerc.com 2. CT State Dept. of Education,Strategic School Profile 2009­10. Downloaded from: www.sdeportal.ct.gov 3. Sibley, P. & Kimball, C., Technology Use Plan Primer. Teacher provided reference

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