Technology Curriculum Plan Evaluation

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Technology Curriculum Plan Evaluation Evaluators
Josh Norman
Linda Norman
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About the Evaluators

• Josh Norman is a seventh and eighth grade social
  studies teacher at Edison Junior High in Pekin,
  IL. This is his third year of teaching. He is a
  CTER 3 student at the University of Illinois. He
  is marrying Jennifer Olomon on August 3rd of this
  year.
• Linda Norman is a seventh and eighth grade
  Learning Center teacher at Edison Junior High,
  too. She is in her 21st year of teaching. She is
  also a CTER 3 student. Her big news is her oldest
  son was married in April and her middle son will
  marry in August.

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Background Information for Technology Curriculum
Plan

• 1. Overview of Pekin District 108 Technology
  Curriculum. Online at http//www.pekin.net
  (written in 1999 with the intent to implement
  this by integrating it into the content
  curriculum.)
• Goal 1 Multimedia Presentations
• Goal 2 Internet
• Goal 3 Productivity
• Goal 4 Use and Troubleshoot a Variety of
  Technological Hardware
• 2. Questions to be evaluated
• What is the teachers general perception of the
  technology curriculum?
• Is the technology curriculum being used in the
  eighth grade classes with students, and how is it
  being used in that curriculum?
• What factors inhibit and/or facilitate effective
  curriculum implementation?
• What skills have students developed using the
  technology curriculum?
• Where are the students receiving the most
  exposure tot he technology while in junior high?
  Is this exposure effective and productive?
• What are the most effective means to develop
  students technology skills?

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Methodology...

• Current Plan
• --Deals with basic concepts and understandings of
  the use of technology.
• -- Incorporates technology productivity tools and
  technology research tools
• -- Incorporates implementation of technology
  curriculum into the academic areas, not teach
  them in isolation

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Methodology Continued...

• Obtain Facts
• Surveys
• Focus Groups
• Interviews
• Observations

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Methodology Continued...

• PowerPoint Presentation Reported To
• Client, Mrs. Angela Arnold
• Dr. Lizanne DeStefano and Merrill Chandler,
  University of Illinois
• Mr. Stan Fitzanko, Principal Edison Junior High

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Methodology Continued...

• Evaluation Timeline
• Three meetings with Client to determine
  questions, priorities, and evaluation procedure.
• The most important piece of information piece of
  information to help guide future direction is
  what factors inhibit and/or facilitate effective
  curriculum implementation.
• Surveys were given in March
• Focus groups were held to interview in March
• Observations were made in March and April
• Analyzed Data in April

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Involved
Stakeholders
Focus Groups
Teachers
Students
Surveys
Observations
Adminstrators
Interviews
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Benchmarks

• The client and evaluators determined that fifty
  percent in the agree
• and above categories on the Likert Scale shows
  that the goals were
• beginning to adapt to the approval and/or
  integration of the Technology
• Curriculum Plan.

• Eighty to one hundred percent indicates that this
  part of the
• plan is fully adapted into the curriculum.

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Analysis

• For the analysis of the surveys of students and
  staff we totaled the responses and then
  calculated the percentage of total surveys.
• For the analysis of the focus groups of students
  and teachers we tallied in the scoring boxes
  responses and recorded individual responses
• For the analysis of the observations we kept a
  log of what we saw and heard. The scoring of this
  was difficult, so it is in summative form
  throughout the evaluation.

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Student and Teacher Responses
Teachers
Students
The more they know the more sufficient they will
be. In history they need to analyze different
source material. Need these skills to compete
in todays job world. Every job today uses some
form of technology.
My parents both use technology in their jobs, so
I probably will too. Technology is everywhere
and in all we do. Technology makes learning
fun. Technology is complex and we need to be
taught it.
Technology Importance and Perception
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Teacher Surveys Analysis
Teachers report that they know the objectives.
Know the Objectives for the 8th Grade Technology
Curriculum
Percentages
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Teacher Surveys Analysis
Teachers report that they do not have sufficient
training for the Technology Curriculum.
Have Sufficient Training for the 8th Grade
Technology Curriculum
Percentages
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Teacher Surveys Analysis
Teachers report that they do like the Technology
Curriculum.
Do You Like the Current Curriculum?
Percentages
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Teacher Surveys Analysis
Teachers report that the Technology Curriculum
does fit their teaching style.
Does the Tech Curriculum Fit Your Teaching Style?
Percentages
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Teacher Surveys Analysis
Sixty percent of teachers stated that students
are mastering the Tech Curriculum goals.
Are Students Mastering the Tech Curriculum Goals ?
Percentages
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Student Surveys Analysis
Students report that they use computers either
once a week or at least once every two weeks.
Percentages
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Where the Majority Of Computer Usage Happens
Even though there are many choices of where to
use computers, the Learning Center (LC) is where
they are used the most. Second is in the Computer
Lab.
Student Analysis
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Student AnalysisIn Which Subject Area Areas Are
Computers Used Most
In both social studies and exploratory mastery of
computer usage has been achieved according to
this data.
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Teacher Focus Groups
Strengths

• Ninety percent of the teachers think students
  need to be able to use a variety of productivity
  tools.
• Seventy-five percent of the staff interviewed
  used productivity tools as it fit their
  curriculum.
• They perceive that administration supports the
  technology curriculum plan

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Teacher Focus Groups
Weaknesses

• Not all students have the same access
• Some students not high enough to master
  productivity tools.
• Their input into the creation of the plan was not
  solicited.
• Not all believe students need technology.
• Teachers feel students dont know the goals that
  they are to achieve.

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Student Focus Groups Analysis
Strengths

• Majority of students were most comfortable with
  Microsoft Office programs for productivity.
• All new how to save to a disk, the computers
  hard drive, or networked server.
• One hundred percent feel strong in using the
  Internet for research.
• All stated they were good using the graphic
  organizer software, Inspiration.

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Student Focus Groups Continued...
Weaknesses

• Majority do not feel comfortable using Excel,
  which is spreadsheet.
• Web Page authoring was another skill most do not
  feel they can do.
• Keyboarding was listed as a real weakness which
  affects their speed at typing projects/papers of
  any length.

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Student Recommendations for Improvement
Acquire new computers Add HTML to goals Add
Computer class that teaches the different aspects
of software More time devoted to technology
integrated into the curriculum. Add Keyboarding
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Teacher Recommendations for Improvement

• More training for staff
• Include Staff input when revising the plan
• Equity for all students
• More computers in Learning Center
• Keyboarding added

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Evaluators Findings

• Teacher perceptions are favorable.
• Data very positive
• More training needs to occur for total
  acceptance.
• Technology is mainly used in the Learning Center
  or Computer Lab.

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Future Recommendations

• Network the staff utilizing it with those who
  dont use it.
• Include the staff input of those not using it in
  revision of plan.
• Training on how to address the time factor.
• Students keep a portfolio to assess and track
  progress.

• Have teachers use Excel to track their progress
  to use it more.
• Explore scheduling for more usage of computers.
• Create network of peer teachers to instruct at
  the computers.
• Complete online surveys to track achieving
  benchmarks.