1) Describe the range of critical needs facing Spring Wells High School at this time.

Suzanne Garner is a technology coordinator for SWHS. Two years ago, she secured a $20,000 grant from the State Education Agency that was to be used for improving teacher skills and knowledge in providing new environments for learning (pg. 37). She wrote a grant that included the use of technology in this vision, showing ways that technology integration could transform student learning and meet state requirements. One of the main stipulations of this grant was that 100% of teachers must show a novice level of using a computer as a tool by the end of a three year period. If not, they lose their funding for technology. Currently, with only one year left, 1/4th of the teachers do not reach that level. Another main focus of the school right now is on student achievement. Students are not showing a proficient level of understanding on tests, which has made the school be placed on an in emergency level. The school has two more years to raise test scores to a proficient level, or the State Education Agency can take control of the school. 2) Identify the available resources and existing constraints that apply in this case. Resources: Currently, there are two computer labs filled with thirty internet ready computers in the high school. Additionally, each classroom is equipped with one computer for each teacher, and two computers for student use. The science department in general has extensive technological resources for their students. At the last professional development sessions that dealt with technology, 40% of teachers ended up exceeding the novice level for the grant standards. Constraints: Many teachers coach or have other commitments outside of school, so they are often not available for professional development sessions that take place at those times. Some teachers cannot find a use for technology in their classrooms, and are pretty stuck in their ways. Other teachers are about to retire and do not want to change what they have been doing for years. The administration is focused on the low test scores and lack of student achievement, and wants to spend the grant money on providing professional development that will help all students reach a proficient level. 3) Describe a plan for meeting the needs identified in question 1. I believe that there is a way to integrate student achievement and technology into one goal. Most teachers are probably not even familiar with different tools that are available with technology, and have no idea how these tools could transform student learning. Hearing about such tools is one thing, but actually getting to experience them is another. If you are able to get all of the teachers together for workshops that highlight different technological tools that anyone can use, whether experienced with computers or not, and give the teachers time to explore and use the tools, it will give them the background and confidence

to use the tools in the classroom, and the opportunity for teachers to reach the novice level for their grant. This way, you can help student achievement by giving yourself the best opportunity to secure money for much needed technology for the future! 4) Specify the steps required for implementing the plan you developed in question 3, keeping in mind the resources and constraints present in the case. First, the school must provide workshops at a time that all teachers can attend. The school should hire substitutes for a day, which will provide an opportunity for all teachers to meet for training in the computer labs. Teachers will rotate through so they do not need coverage for a whole day. Also, this will ensure enough there are enough computers for each teacher. Prior to the workshops, instructors must provide a short survey to each participant that will allow everyone to see a clear picture of the current use and opinion of technology in the classroom. Using that survey, instructors then design specific objectives that not only allow teachers to show a novice level of understanding regarding the computer, but also show a demonstration of tools that anyone can use in the classroom to enhance student performance. Instructors will guide participants through the use of technological tools for math, foreign language, language arts, history, and teacher organization to show how technology can be of use for each teacher and each student. Lastly, instructors will provide a short performance assessment of basic computer skills (based off of what School Tech Equity deems is a novice level of computer understanding). This will provide the school with an opportunity for all teachers to reach novice level to secure the grant for years to come.

5) What are the ethical issues related to the use of funding for assessment and curriculum alignment when the grant was originally written for technology professional development? When schools are given a grant, the committee for the grant specifically looks at the schools vision and picks one that they feel like fits what they would like their funding to go towards. By changing what the funding is going for after the grant is secured, a certain amount of deceit is involved, no matter what the intentions are. If the State Education Agency, which funded the grant, found out about this later, they would not be too quick to provide funds to this school again. Since technology was specifically included in the grant writing process, one must keep technology as a main component of what the money is used for.