Technology Plan

Assessing Technology Needs at Ralph J. Bunche Middle School

Sanchetta Ferguson

University of West Georgia

MEDT 8462

Dr. Kane

10/2/2024

Assessing Technology Needs at Ralph J. Bunche Middle School

General Information

My name is Sanchetta Ferguson, and I work at Ralph J. Bunche Middle School in Atlanta, Georgia. I am the Broadcast/Audio Visual teacher. I work with approximately 400 students between 6th and 8th grade, mostly from low-income backgrounds. Roughly 75% of our student population is African American, 15% Hispanic, and about 10% are other ethnic groups. I am responsible for delivering engaging and comprehensive instruction in the broadcast and audio-visual production course. My role equips students with the skills necessary to excel in the mass communications field, fostering creativity, technical proficiency, and teamwork. My other responsibilities include guiding students in using digital resources in research work and in-class projects and ensuring that the morning news station runs properly.

Results of the Needs Assessment

The process for conducting the needs assessment commenced with collecting data from key stakeholders within the school. I had to design a survey instrument that would be used to collect quantitative data from the school's teachers and administrators. The survey consisted of 10 questions that addressed issues about the availability, reliability, and usage of technology in the school. The sample, consisting of 10 teachers and administrators drawn from different departments, namely Science, Math, English, and Social Studies, was used in this study. The results of the survey were collected and compiled for one week.

Following the survey, I interviewed five stakeholders, including the head of the media center, the school's principal, and three teachers from different departments. The interview questions targeted the problems faced concerning technology use in the classroom and what exactly their suggestions for improvement were. This is done by analyzing data from both qualitative and quantitative sources, ensuring test subjects take their time to contribute to this study.

After gathering the information, I summarized it into charts to better view and interpret it and, therefore, an excellent report. All in all, it took two weeks to get everything done right, considering all perspectives.

Available Technology

Ralph J. Bunche Middle School integrates some old and new technology within the school. In every classroom, teachers use a smartboard and projector to show lessons and videos for their classes. Personal devices include Chromebooks, with only 60% of the students having them; the rest, 40%, still share computers with others in the media center and computer labs.

The school Wi-Fi works reliably in every teacher's room, but 40% of classrooms report slow Internet speeds, especially during points of the day when a large number of devices access the network. This interferes with lesson plans that rely on cloud-based educational resources. Secondly, there are only 20 Chromebooks for students at the media center, which is not always enough, given the number of students needing to access them for research and completing assignments. The school does use instruction aids such as Google Classroom, Kahoot, and Quizlet; however, their integration within the departments is not clear. Teachers of the Science and Math Departments use them more frequently than others due to the difficulty posed for some by a lack of enough training and means.

Stakeholders

Participants in the needs assessment included teachers, administrators, and the media center director. Their roles and input in determining the key gaps in technology at the school were quite vital.

Principal

The school principal gave a presentation on how the budgeting and allocation of resources are performed. She further shared that getting funds for improving technology is difficult amidst other priorities in the district's and school’s budget. Her input was significant in showing the administrative challenges in technology implementation.

Media Center Director

The director of the media center serves to facilitate the use of technological resources within the school setting. She stipulated, "The demand for Chromebooks exceeds supply to such an over/requesting amount that we need additional devices to ensure equal access for all students."

Teachers

I interviewed three teachers from the Science, Math, and English departments. They gave useful feedback on the daily obstacles they faced in integrating technology into their classroom interactions. The science teacher mentioned how she could not conduct virtual labs as the speed of their network connection was too slow. The English teacher complained about a shortage of computers, which hampered her intention to assign digital writing projects to her students.

These stakeholders were selected because they were involved in both working with students and technology. Their diverse roles then created a wide-ranging look at the technology needs within the school.

Major Outcomes (Identified Needs)

From the data collected through this needs assessment, two great needs on which attention should focus are network connectivity and hardware availability.

Network Connectivity

This survey demonstrated that 40% of classrooms experience slow speeds during peak usage. A network connection of this nature hinders teachers from carrying out those lessons that require access to the internet in real time-for example, online quizzes, research activities, or even virtual labs. This is an acute problem in computer and science labs, where high-speed connectivity is a prerequisite for accessing interactive education software.

Hardware Availability

This means that only 60% of the students use personal devices, while the rest depend on shared computers in the media center or labs. Thus, the current stock of 20 Chromebooks is inadequate to handle the delays and problems of keeping assignments current. This gap becomes especially substantial in classes requiring extended research or specialized project software.

These needs are also directly related to learning outcomes. Without access to reliable internet, students cannot experience full engagement in interactive lessons; neither will a lack of hardware create inequity, whereby some students lag behind because they are not provided with the necessary tools.

Priority Needs and Criteria

Based on the magnitude of the problem, risk assessment, and impact on learning, priority needs identified include network connectivity and hardware availability.

Need	Causes	Consequences	Difficulty to Correct
Network Connectivity	Insufficient bandwidth, old infrastructure	Inability to conduct online-based lessons, loss of instructional time	Medium
Hardware Availability	Lack of funding for additional devices	Students unable to complete assignments, unequal access to resources	High

Network Connectivity

The problem rates a medium difficulty since upgrading the present infrastructure and increasing bandwidth are required. The cost rates are medium against other technological upgrades.

Hardware Availability

The difficulty in solving this problem is high, as a lot of cost will be involved in purchasing more devices. Without good funding, one-to-one access to Chromebooks or tablets for all students will be difficult to provide.

Action Plan

To address the identified needs, the following action plan has been developed:

Upgrade Network Bandwidth

Deadline

By the end of the current academic year (June 2025).

Strategy

Work with the IT department of the school district to determine what cost this will incur, increasing the internet bandwidth. Send in a proposal for a budget increase to fund this cost. The plan is to replace routers and add access points to ensure all classrooms have fast, reliable internet during peak usage.

Resources

IT department, district funding, vendor quotes for bandwidth upgrades.

Increase Hardware Availability

Deadline

Within the next six months.

Strategy

The school administration applies for technology grants from educational foundations. It also looks for partnerships with local businesses in pursuit of funding for new Chromebooks. It will further look for leasing options, where the school can lower initial costs yet provide the students with renewed machines.

Resources

Grant writing team; potential partnerships with local businesses, such as technology companies; district funding.

Appendix

Surveys

Technology Needs at Ralph J. Bunche Middle School Survey

Administered to 10 teachers and administrators

Survey Questions and Responses:

1. In my school: A vision for technology has been developed through an effective collaboration among stakeholders (administrators, specialists, teachers, students, community members).

· Strongly agree: 20%

· Agree: 40%

· Neither agree nor disagree: 20%

· Disagree: 20%

· Strongly disagree: 0%

2. In my school: The vision for technology use has been effectively communicated to the community.

· Strongly agree: 10%

· Agree: 30%

· Neither agree nor disagree: 40%

· Disagree: 20%

· Strongly disagree: 0%

3. In my school: I am able to use my own device provided by the school.

· True: 60%

· False: 40%

4. In my school: My students can use their own devices provided by the school in each class.

· True: 60%

· False: 40%

5. In my school: Multiple sources of technology are available for all students.

· True: 40%

· False: 60%

6. In my school: The media center can be flexibly scheduled to provide equitable access to resources and instruction.

· Strongly agree: 30%

· Agree: 50%

· Neither agree nor disagree: 10%

· Disagree: 10%

· Strongly disagree: 0%

7. In my school: Computer labs are available for student usage throughout the day.

· True: 50%

· False: 50%

8. I have the technology needed at school to ensure that I excel academically.

· True: 50%

· False: 50%

9. In my school: Teachers and students have sufficient computer hardware available for their use (e.g., computers, digital cameras, projection devices, scanners, printers).

· True: 60%

· False: 40%

10. In my school: The reliability and speed of external connections (e.g., internet) are sufficient.

· Very likely: 10%

· Likely: 30%

· Neither likely nor unlikely: 20%

· Unlikely: 30%

· Very unlikely: 10%