Collinsp - Swot Analysis

ITEC 7410/EDL 7105 SWOT Analysis Template for Assessment of Eight ISTE Essential Conditions
Name: Patrick Collins Semester: Spring 2020
ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: Effective Instructional Uses of Technology Embedded in Standards-Based,

Student-Centered Learning
ISTE Definition: Use of information and communication technology (ICT) to facilitate engaging approaches to learning.
Guiding Questions:
• How is technology being used in our school? How frequently is it being used? By whom? For what purposes?
• To what extent is student technology use targeted toward student achievement of the Georgia Learning Standards (GPSs,
CCSs)?
• To what extent is student technology use aligned to research-based, best practices that are most likely to support student
engagement, deep understanding of content, and transfer of knowledge? Is day-to-day instruction aligned to research-based
best practices?
Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats
School faculty utilize Students utilize technology for The Georgia Department of District policy and firewall can
technology daily to increase activities that focus on lower- Education has an extensive limit access to new technology.
collaboration and share best order thinking skills. lesson plan repository online
practices. with many lessons including District policy can prevent
Technology use is not focused technology integration. students from communicating
School faculty utilize on student-centered or with external professionals.
technology to strategically individualized learning. Social media applications
increase student engagement could provide a means to
during instruction. create engaging and authentic
learning experiences.
School faculty meet weekly to
discuss pedagogy and best
practices, including technology
integration.
Summary of Results/Conclusions:
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Approaching” (54/100) in respect to teachers
using technology to effectively create student-centered learning experiences. So far, teachers actively collaborate with the other
members of their course team, and other course teams, to share actives and pedagogy that is working for their students. This
happens informally daily through cloud-based tools, such as GSuite, and formally each week through course team meetings.
Currently, the most commonly discussed technology is tools, such as Nearpod, which can be utilized to create interactive lessons to
increase student engagement. Unfortunately, this means that most of students are only utilizing technology to access lower-order
thinking skills. For many classes, tools like Nearpod and assessment tools, such as Quizlet, are the only opportunities students get to
work with technology. While this technology use does lead to technology literacy and can improve engagement, it falls short of
creating a truly student-centered experience. For teachers that are interested in creating these better experiences, there are a few
opportunities. Currently, the Georgia Department of Education (n.d.) has an online repository of lesson plans, called the Teacher
Resource Link, where numerous lessons include technology-infused activities that are student-centered. Another opportunity that
teachers have is to utilize social media applications to create engaging and authentic learning experiences. Social media can provide
a platform for students to publish their work, or it can be a way to connect with professionals in the appropriate field of study.
Unfortunately, there are some threats towards using technology to create student-centered learning experiences. The district has a
very strict firewall and policies for technology use. Many useful sites, such as YouTube are blocked for students, and new software
applications must go through and approval process prior to use and this approval process can take weeks. Additionally, the district
has strict policies on external communications. While reasonable in most cases, students are limited of contact professionals, such
as a professor at a local university, with their school-provided email address.
Recommendations from Analysis:
My first recommendation would be to adjust technology use to increase student participation and stimulate higher-order thinking
skills. Currently, technology is used as a supplement to instruction rather than a transformative tool. To do this, part of each course
team meeting should be designated as time to work with school instructional technology specialist to design a technology enhanced
lesson that will increase engagement and rigor. Knight (2018) makes note that one-sided conversations are boring and can be one of
the main causes of disengagement when coaching or teaching (p. 111). By using technology, teachers can encourage students to
participate by analyzing, evaluating, and creating their own lesson content. After the technology has been infused into the lessons,
these lessons could be shared to a central location and shared with all teachers in the school to modify as needed.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Educators challenges educators to seek authentic learning experiences for their students leveraging
technology. My second recommendation would be to have course teams reach out to local professionals to create a list of people
that would be willing to speak or work with students on class topics. Educators could utilize social media or local business
databases to find businesses in fields related to the subject being discussed. After administrative approval, these professionals could
serve as a resource for classes by coming into class, chatting through video message, and/or chatting through message boards.
Students would then be the focus of the learning while also learning from someone who uses the content they are learning within
their profession.
Supporting Sources:
Georgia Department of Education. (n.d.). Teacher Resource Link (TRL). Retrieved from https://www.gadoe.org/Technology-
Services/SLDS/Pages/Teacher-Resource-Link.aspx
ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators
ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: what instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
ESSENTIAL CONDITION TWO: Shared Vision
ISTE Definition: Proactive leadership in developing a shared vision for educational technology among school personnel, students,
parents, and the community.
Guiding Questions:
• Is there an official vision for technology use in the district/school? Is it aligned to research-best practices? Is it aligned to
state and national visions? Are teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members aware of the
vision?
• To what extent do teachers, administrators, parents, students, and other community members have a vision for how
technology can be used to enhance student learning? What do they believe about technology and what types of technology
uses we should encourage in the future? Are their visions similar or different? To what extent are their beliefs about these
ideal, preferred technology uses in the future aligned to research and best practice?
• To what extent do educators view technology as critical for improving student achievement of the GPS/CCSs? To preparing
tomorrow’s workforce? For motivating digital-age learners?
• What strategies have been deployed to date to create a research-based shared vision?
• What needs to be done to achieve broad-scale adoption of a research-based vision for technology use that is likely to lead to
improved student achievement?
School stakeholders believe The school improvement plan The district has a shared vision District-level administration
that technology can be used to does not include a shared for technology use that is may not know or see the value
enhance student learning. vision for technology use. in a shared vision for
research-based and aligned to technology use, and may

School technology leaders find School stakeholders are the ISTE standards. deprioritize it for local
ways to use technology to unaware of the district’s shared administrations.
create authentic and engaging vision for technology use.
learning experiences.
Most school teachers resort to
School teachers believe that using technology as
technology literacy is an supplement for traditional
important aspect of preparing teaching methods when
students for the workforce. unguided.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Beginning” (46/100) in respect to developing a
shared vision for educational technology. So far, the school stakeholders believe that technology can be used to enhance student
learning. Local administrators expect teachers and students to utilize the learning management system, eCLASS, to extend learning
beyond the classroom, to which is achieved at least to a basic level. School technology leaders go further to find ways to use
technology to create authentic and engaging learning experiences and share these experiences with colleagues. As an academy
school, there is a heavy emphasis on project-based learning, especially when it is cross curricular. These projects use technology to
encourage higher-order thinking by putting students into authentic situations. Teachers are willing to invest in these large-scale
projects because they see how much they benefit student learning in addition to developing their technology literacy, which is
important in the modern workforce. Unfortunately, instructional technology innovation is limited to technology leaders since the
school improvement plan does not included a shared vision. The lack of plan leaves many teachers having to guide themselves on
how they should use technology in their room. In turn, this frequently makes technology a second thought for these unguided
teachers leading it to become a supplement for traditional teaching rather than a transformative tool. There is an opportunity for the
school to improve the clarity and cohesiveness of its shared vision for technology use. The district has a shared vision for
technology use already that considers research-based best practices, such as flipped classroom, and is aligned with the ISTE
standards. The lack of shared vision, which is consistent across the district, could be threatened by district-level administration. It is
quite possible that district-level administration is more worried about results rather than the process. This could lead to a
deemphasis of technology use to local administrations.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Coaches and for Educators says that both groups should serve as technology leaders and help in creating
and implementing the shared vision for technology use. My recommendation would be to include the school instructional
technology coach, along with a few of the school’s technology leaders, in the development of a shared vision for technology to be
included in the school improvement plan. By including the instructional technology coach and technology leaders into the
development of the shared vision, it will provide a voice to more stakeholders that can speak to the needs of the teachers and
students in regards to instructional technology use. This will, in turn, make these leaders more invested in the shared vision, which
will make them more like to inform their colleagues and help progress the shared vision for technology use of the school.
Supporting Sources:
ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2019) Local School Plan for Improvement: Lanier High School.
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2019) Strategic Priorities: 2010-2020 Update to the Community. Retrieved from
https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/wcm/connect/6a3520be-e827-4c63-a7c9-7dc9cde74340/2019-Strategic-Priorities-
Report_FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=mFVjWSj
ESSENTIAL CONDITION THREE: Planning for Technology
ISTE Definition: A systematic plan aligned with a shared vision for school effectiveness and student learning through the infusion
of ICT and digital learning resources.
Guiding Questions:
• Is there an adequate plan to guide technology use in your school? (either at the district or school level? Integrated into
SIP?)
• What should be done to strengthen planning?
• In what ways does your school address the needs of diverse populations in the school or district to include how race,
gender, socio-economic, and geographic diversity giving consideration to how these factors commonly affect K-12
students’ access to school and beyond-school access to high-speed Internet, modern computing devices, software,
knowledgeable technology mentors, culturally-relevant digital content, and other affordances critical to technology literacy
acquisition.
The school improvement plan The school administration The district provides a website Socioeconomic disparity can
guides teachers to use the expectations for technology with common technology tools limit access out-of-class access
learning management system use are low, and feel many for various instructional to technology and limit
for student-centered learning. teachers already do a great job purposes. possible technology
with technology. instructional uses.
The school has no plan in

place to guide teachers on how
to use the learning
management system for
student-centered learning.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Beginning” (38/100) in respect to a plan for
technology use. The school improvement plan mentions that teachers will utilize the learning management system, eCLASS, to
extend learning beyond the walls of the classroom. The expectation from the administration is that all teachers use eCLASS to store
all classroom documents for students. Unfortunately, the combination of these low expectations from the administration, in
conjunction with the fact that they feel that many teachers are already doing a great job of integrating technology, leads to them
feeling as though a plan is unnecessary. This means that there is currently no plan in place to help guide teachers on how to set-up
their course pages to create student-centered learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom. This leaves teachers with one
of two options in regards to technology integration. They can choose to seek out assistance or additional information about the tools
on their own time, or they can simply use the technology enough to meet the minimum expectations. There are a few opportunities
that the school could take advantage of to begin developing a plan for technology use. Currently, the district maintains a website
that has research and examples of various teaching actives, such as compare and contrast, and common technology tools associated
with that activity. This could be utilized as a starting point for developing a detailed plan for technology use. A potential threat to
developing a plan for technology use is the socioeconomic disparity of students. This could limit potential uses of technology for
instruction, particularly if it involves out-of-class assignments, such as a flipped classroom.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Education Leaders notes that education leaders should be visionary planners and should take the shared
vision and work collaboratively to design a plan of action to carry out the vision. My recommendation would be for the
instructional technology specialist and the administration discuss the shared vision and where they see classroom technology use in
five years. As a collaborative team, the technology leaders of the school could design a plan that slowly increases the school’s
minimum expectations of technology integration. This plan would include what tools are expected in addition to what professional
development will be provided at each stage of integration.
Supporting Sources:
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (n.d.). Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies. Retrieved from
http://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/qpts/home
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2019) Local School Plan for Improvement: Lanier High School.
ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Education Leaders. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-education-leaders
ESSENTIAL CONDITION FOUR: Equitable Access (Specifically Low SES and gender groups)
ISTE Definition: Robust and reliable access to current and emerging technologies and digital resources.
Guiding Questions:
• To what extent do students, teachers, administrators, and parents have access to computers and digital resources necessary
to support engaging, standards-based, student-centered learning?
• To what extent is technology arrange/distributed to maximize access for engaging, standards-based, student-centered
learning?
• What tools are needed and why?
• To what extent are strategies needed to address equity issues among Low SES and gender groups? What are examples of
strategies that would benefit your school/district? (required)
• Do students/parents/community need/have beyond school access to support the shared vision for learning?
School teachers and School lacks enough devices to Local libraries could serve as Economic disparity in
administrators are provided provide full 1-to-1 instruction. hubs to provide additional students’ homes prevent out-
with laptops. access to school resources of-classroom learning.
outside of school hours.
School has multiple computer School technology investment Local female professionals Jobs in the professional world
labs and Chromebook carts is mostly focused on STEM could come talk to students stereotype women to non-
available for teachers to classes. about technology in their technology work.
checkout for students. career.
School has publicly accessible

Wi-Fi.
School teachers and students

have access to Office365 and
GSuite.
School STEM program is

approaching a 1:1 ratio of
males and females.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Meeting” (70/100) in respect to equitable
access of technology to all students, including low SES and gender groups. The school teachers and administrators are provided
with laptops so that they can work from any location at any time. These laptops are on a 4-year replacement cycle, which is plenty
for most applications. The school also has multiple computer labs and Chromebooks that are available for teachers and students to
utilize. Before and after school, the media center has over 30 computers is available for students to use if needed. Additionally, the
school has publicly accessible Wi-Fi. This is intended for students to bring their own device to school and connect, but is still
accessible from outside of the building. Anyone can connect ot this network for free. The school teachers and students also have
access to Office365 and GSuite applications. These are industry-level platforms that are provided for free. Finally, the school’s state
certified STEM program is quickly approaching a one-to-one ratio of male and female students. This is after a very focused effort
on trying to increase representation. Unfortunately, the school lacks enough devices to provide true one-to-one instruction without
students bringing their own devices. This can create a social disparity that emphasis the socioeconomic difference of various
students. Additionally, the school’s investment in technology is mostly focused on STEM classes. This leads to them having cutting
edge technology, but leads to disparity among other classes that could benefit as well. There are a few opportunities that could help
bridge the digital divide in the school. The school could partner with the local public libraries and have them serve as a hub of
school resources outside of school hours. Additionally, teachers could seek out local female professionals to talk to students about
how technology is used in their career. This could destigmatize technology use among female students. A treat towards equitable
access among students is the socioeconomic disparities at home. Students of a lower SES are less likely to have a computer at home
that they could use to complete assignments.
Steele (2019) tells us that wealthy families are ten times more likely to have a computer and high-speed internet. Additionally,
Steele (2019) notes that in low-income situations, men are 90% more likely to have a device versus women. Since Lanier High
School is a Title I school, it is likely that many of our students do not have technology outside of school. My first recommendation
would be for the school to invest in obtaining enough Chromebooks so that the school can be truly one-to-one. According to ISTE’s
(n.d.) Standards for Education Leaders, it is their duty to ensure that all students have equitable access to technology. By providing
each student with a device, the school would be helping reduce the digital divide between high and low-income families, as well as
between male and female students. Additionally, this would serve a couple other benefits for all stundents. First, this would ensure
that everyone had access to a device every day in every class. This would give teachers the freedom to integrate technology without
fear of students not being able to participate. Also, this would simplify technology instruction by mitigating any differences in the
student experience. Each student would have exactly the same device, so a teacher or another student could assist them.
Beede et. al (2011) note that women only make up 24% of STEM worker (with the vast majority being in health care related jobs)
versus 48% in the whole workforce. While this research explores getting women into STEM fields, it highlights that until the gap is
fixed, unequal investment into STEM programs versus other programs continues to widen the digital divide between men and
women. That being said, my second recommendation is for the school ensure that all programs have an equal share of technology
funding. This would service all students, but particularly females who are still underserved in our STEM program. Each course
would be able to purchase industry-standard technologies so that every student has equal chance to work with technology. For
example, healthcare classes could purchase equipment such as heartrate monitors, or art classes could purchase drawing tablets.
This would ensure that all students, regardless of gender or interest, are able to explore and use technology equally in a topic they
are interested in.
Supporting Sources:
Beede, D., Julian, T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., Doms, M., & Office of the Chief Economist. (2011, November 26).
Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523766.pdf
Steele, C. (2019, February 23). What is the Digital Divide? Retrieved from http://www.digitaldividecouncil.com/what-is-the-
digital-divide/
ESSENTIAL CONDITION FIVE: Skilled Personnel
ISTE Definition: Educators and support staff skilled in the use of ICT appropriate for their job responsibilities.
Guiding Questions:
• To what extent are educators and support staff skilled in the use of technology appropriate for their job responsibilities?
• What do they currently know and are able to do?
• What are knowledge and skills do they need to acquire?
(Note: No need to discuss professional learning here. Discuss knowledge and skills. This is your needs assessment for
professional learning. The essential conditions focus on “personnel,” which includes administrators, staff, technology specialists,
and teachers. However, in this limited project, you may be wise to focus primarily or even solely on teachers; although you may
choose to address the proficiency of other educators/staff IF the need is critical. You must include an assessment of teacher
proficiencies.)
School teachers know how to Teachers need to know how to Local industry professionals Undergraduate instructional
use technology to create use technology to increase could provide insight into what technology courses are basic or
engaging review activities. differentiation. technology is being used in the non-existent.
workforce.
School teachers know how to Teachers need to know how to Changing content standards
use technology to increase use technology to create reduce perceived value of
engagement during instruction authentic learning experiences. technology skills.
School teachers know how to Teachers need to know how to Changing district requirements
use technology to assess use technology to deepen reduce perceived value of
students learning. student understanding. technology skills
Teachers need to know how to

use technology to analyze data.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Approaching” (50/100) in respect to personnel
skills and knowledge required to effectively utilize technology in their classrooms. Teachers know how to use technology tools,
such as Nearpod, to create interactive lessons to increase student engagement throughout lessons. Teachers also know how to use
technology tools, such as Socrative, to quickly create review games that cover content, while also engaging all students to
participate. Additionally, teachers know how to use technology assessment tools, such as eCLASS and SchoolNet, to assess and
collect data on student learning. Unfortunately, teachers do not know how to use technology to analyze large data sets to find trends
related to their students’ learning. Additionally, teachers do not know how to take this data and then use technology to increase
differentiation for students based on their results. Teachers also do not know how to effectively use technology to deepen student
understanding. Lastly, teachers are uncertain of how or what technology to use to develop authentic learning experiences for the
students. There are opportunities for teachers to reach out to local professionals to better understand what the professional
workforce is using daily. These connections could also help teachers try to emulate the business environment in their classroom. A
threat to the advancement of personnel’s knowledge and skills is that many undergraduate education programs have little to no
instructional technology coursework. New teachers are not exposed to it during their training, so they are more ill-equipped to
integrate it into their classroom. Another threat is that changing content standards and pedagogy can pull teacher focus away from
technology skills in order to develop the knowledge and skills of the new standards. Additionally, as the district changes
requirements of teachers through standardized testing and content, teachers are less likely to begin developing technology
resources.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Educators says that educators should be using data to drive their instruction and support students. My
first recommendation would be for the school provide professional learning focused on how teachers can practically and effectively
analyze data trends in a meaningful way. Afterwards, techniques could be provided to teachers on how to use technology to better
differentiate instruction based on the data. Knight (2018) tells us that teachers tend to respond better and succeed more when
techniques have been modeled for them (p. 111). During this professional learning, the instructional technology coach could take a
real teacher’s assessment data, analyze it, and then begin developing differentiated instruction in the learning management system.
Teachers would be provided with a real example of how to increase the quality and effectiveness of their differentiation.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Educators also says that educators should be actively using collaborative tools to create authentic
experiences and connect with experts. My second recommendation would be to have teachers reach out to local professionals and
have discussions on what technology skills and knowledge is required in their current line of work. This information could then be
used to strategically pick technology tools that not only serve a classroom purpose, but create an authentic learning experience for
the students that emulates being in the professional world. The teacher could go even further by having the guest come in and talk
to the students about the particular technology they are using.
Supporting Sources:
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
ESSENTIAL CONDITION SIX: Ongoing Professional Learning
ISTE Definition: Technology-related professional learning plans and opportunities with dedicated time to practice and share ideas.
Guiding Questions:
• What professional learning opportunities are available to educators? Are they well-attended? Why or why not?
• Are the current professional learning opportunities matched to the knowledge and skills educators need to acquire? (see
Skilled Personnel)
• Do professional learning opportunities reflect the national standards for professional learning (NSDC/Learning Forward)?
• Do educators have both formal and informal opportunities to learn?
• Is technology-related professional learning integrated into all professional learning opportunities or isolated as a separate
topic?
• How must professional learning improve/change in order to achieve the shared vision?
School instructional School digital badge program District provides a professional District required professional
technology specialist has rewards do not entice teachers development day during the development takes time and
developed a badge program to to participate. summer geared towards prevents time for technology
award teachers for teachers and provides a professional development.
demonstrating mastery on School face-to-face stipend.
different tools. professional learning is limited
to pre-planning gradebook Many tools and companies
School instructional training. offer certifications on their
technology specialist sends instructional technologies.
weekly “tech tips” which are
compiled into an accessible School professional learning

repository. does not focus on instructional
skills teachers need or desire.
School technology
professional learning is
isolated as its own topic.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Approaching” (57/100) in respect to its
professional learning for instructional technology. The school instructional technology specialist has designed a digital badge
program that encourages teachers to learn about digital tools, and then rewards them from implementing into their classroom. The
site lists a variety of tools, from Canva to Twitter to Google Classroom, and ideas of how teachers can implement them in their
classroom. Each page also lists what evaluation standards are covered, in addition to SAMR and the 4 Cs. Additionally, the school
instructional technology specialist sends out a weekly technology tip every Tuesday. This is typically a screencast or short video
that talks about a simple task that technology can do. These technology tips are available for teachers to access at any time in the
technology tip repository. Unfortunately, the digital badge program does not provide enough incentive for teachers to participate.
Also, face-to-face professional learning at the school is typically limited to pre-planning gradebook training. Faculty meetings do
not allot time for instructional technology development, but does allow for pedagogy development. Teachers feel as though the
majority of professional learning provided by the school is not clearly applicable to their classroom, or it does not address their
needs or desires for continued education. Optional professional learning for instructional technology does exist, but is largely
unattended for the same reasons listed before. There are other opportunities for teachers to continue professional learning in relation
to instructional technology. The district hosts a professional learning day during the month of June that is focused on instructional
technology for teachers with presentations from instructional technology coaches and teachers alike. Attendees and presenters are
given a stipend by the district for attending. Additionally, many companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple, offer online
certifications for their instructional technology. These courses tend to be free or low-cost and show teachers all of the features
available within a certain tool. The main threat to instructional technology professional learning is the multitude of topics that the
district requires all teachers to attend each year. These sessions almost never include instructional technology and take up teachers’
valuable time, which leads them to not seek additional, optional learning that they might be interested in attending otherwise.
Knight (2018) tells us that it is important to get a clear picture of the current reality before coaching, otherwise we will waste
valuable time of those we are coaching on things that will have little long-term impact (p. 27). ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Coaches
says that coaches should be purposeful by making a needs assessment before developing professional learning opportunities. Since
there isn’t currently time allotted for instructional technology professional development, and there is already a negative opinion
about professional development in general, my first recommendation would be for the instructional technology coach begin by
collecting data on what is and isn’t working in classrooms. This would entail quick and simple surveys asking teachers what they
feel like their classes are missing and what they feel like they are wasting time on. Additionally, the coach would want to move
around to a variety of classrooms to just observe technology use. From this data, the coach could begin to design and implement
voluntarily monthly professional development focused on instructional technology that would help solve these real issues teachers
are having. Since the topics would be meaningful and specific to the teachers within the school, there would be a higher likelihood
of success, even on a voluntary basis. Depending on the success of these professional learning opportunities, there might be an
increased interested in one-on-one coaching as well for even more individualized professional learning. This would improve teacher
outlook on professional development, while also building the technology skills of the school.
Supporting Sources:
Gupta, P. (2018, October 14). List of EdTech Certifications That Are Helpful For Teachers. Retrieved from
https://edtechreview.in/news/3374-list-of-edtech-certifications-that-are-helpful-for-teachers
Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Stroud, R. (n.d.). LAKE Badges. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/gwinnett.k12.ga.us/lake-badges/
ESSENTIAL CONDITION SEVEN: Technical Support
ISTE Definition: Consistent and reliable assistance for maintaining, renewing, and using ICT and digital resources.
Guiding Questions:
• To what extent is available equipment operable and reliable for instruction?
• Is there tech assistance available for technical issues when they arise? How responsive is tech support? Are current “down
time” averages acceptable?
• Is tech support knowledgeable? What training might they need?

• In addition to break/fix issues, are support staff available to help with instructional issues when teachers try to use
technology in the classroom?
The school provides modern Local technical support lacks District technical support staff District does not provide
equipment for teacher and sufficient training on Apple are available if support tickets sufficient training for technical
student use to prevent computers. get backed up. support staff on new or
downtime. specialized technologies.
School troubleshooting District technical support staff
The school has a faculty documentation is nonexistent are available for issues that are District network still does not
member dedicated to technical or overly complicated and beyond the school technician’s adequately support school-
issues who responds to discourages teachers from knowledge. owned Apple computers.
requests in a reasonable simple troubleshooting tasks.
amount of time.
The school has two faculty

members for technology
support: one focused on
technical issues and one
focused on instructional issues.
School instructional
technology support is
consistently available for
teachers.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Meeting” (84/100) in respect to technical
support. The school has modern equipment for teachers and students to use. Since this equipment is relatively new and well
maintained, downtime is almost non-existent. The school has two faculty members who are dedicated to supporting technology use
in the building. One of these faculty members is a technical support technician. Since their sole job is to fix any technical issues that
may arise within the school, response times are quick, further reducing any downtime. The other faculty member is an instructional
technology specialist. Since their sole job is to aid teachers in implementing technology, they are almost always available for
whatever support a teacher may need. Both of these people are capable of doing both jobs, should that be needed. Unfortunately, the
school technical support technician does not have adequate training on Mac computers, which leads to higher downtimes on these
machines. Additionally, there are little to no troubleshooting documentation for common issues, or if there is documentation, it is
too complicated for the average teacher to utilize. This discourages teachers from trying to troubleshoot any issues themselves,
which leads to greater down time. There are a few opportunities for additional technical support. The district has its own technical
support staff which are available if there is a high-priority issue, or if a school has an influx of technology related issues.
Additionally, district technical support staff are available to solve issues that are beyond the school technician’s knowledge. There
are a few threats to the degree of technical support within the school. First, the district does not seem to provide sufficient training
for technical support staff on new or more specialized technologies. While the school technician is expected to be able to run a
sound system, they seem to lack the proper training to do so comfortably. Additionally, the district network infrastructure does not
adequately support Macs. As the district continues to invest in these computers for creative labs, there are still numerous technology
issues with these devices that are not present in any other devices.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Coaches says that coaches should be continually working to learn more and deepen their expertise of the
ISTE Standards, including being knowledge about as much technology as possible. ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Education Leaders
says that leaders should make it a point to empower others to peruse professional learning and encourage others to be innovative.
Since the few technical support issues remaining are related to knowledge gaps about Apple computers, my recommendation would
be for education leaders to advocate for or invest in having both technical support faculty members certified as Apple technicians
and educators. With a growing number of Apple computers within the school, and a district infrastructure that isn’t appropriate
configured for these computers, the number of technical issues is sure to increase. Additional, teachers will be more likely to have
instructional questions about these computers and their software. By having both support faculty trained, the downtime for these
machines would decrease and the effectiveness of instructional support would increase.
Supporting Sources:
ESSENTIAL CONDITION EIGHT: Curriculum Framework
ISTE Definition: Content standards and related digital curriculum resources.

Guiding Questions:
• To what extent are educators, students, and parents aware of student technology standards? (ISTE Standards for Students)
• Are technology standards aligned to content standards to help teachers integrate technology skills into day-to-day
instruction and not teach technology as a separate subject?
• To what extent are there digital curriculum resources available to teachers so that they can integrate technology into the
GPS/CCS as appropriate?
• How is student technology literacy assessed?
School instructional Stakeholders have little to no The district provides a Socioeconomic disparity can
technology specialist has awareness of the ISTE resource that connects teaching limit access out-of-class access
developed a badge program to Standards. strategies to technology tools. to technology and limit
award teachers for possible technology
demonstrating mastery on Student technology literacy is The state department of instructional uses.
different tools. not assessed. education has an extensive
lesson plan repository online Perception of student learning
STEM program includes ISTE Lack of devices. with many lessons including through technology has
Standards into lesson plans. technology integration. deteriorated with the growth of
social media and mobile uses.
School teachers and students
have access to online
textbooks.
Students have access to Virtual

Job Shadow.
According to the ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A), Lanier High School rates as “Approaching” (60/100) in respect to
curriculum framework that associates technology standards with content standards. The school instructional technology specialist
has developed a badge program that encourages teachers to learn and utilize new technology tools. On this site, there are example
uses of each technology and the technology standards associated with it. Additionally, our STEM program includes the ISTE
standards on all of their lesson places as a requirement for certification. This process was completed in January of 2020. School
teachers and students have access to online textbooks and any interactive/supplemental materials associated with them. Lastly,
teachers and students have access to Virtual Job Shadow, which has lesson plans and videos to relate classroom content to real jobs.
Unfortunately, the majority of the stakeholders have little to no awareness of the ISTE standards. This means that very few lesson
or resources are designed with these standards in mind. Additionally, there are not enough devices in each classroom, so it makes it
difficult for teachers to invest in integrating technology when they are unsure of how all students are going to participate. Finally,
the technology literacy of students is not formally assessed in any way. There are opportunities to aid teachers in integrating
technology skills into their daily instruction. The district provides a resource website that connects common educational technology
tools to common teaching activities. This could be a great starting point to linking technology standards with content standards.
Additionally, the state department of education has extensive lesson plans with many including technology. There are threats to
increase the level of integration of technology standards and the content standards. The socioeconomic disparity can limit out of
class access to technology, so many teachers may be apprehensive to create too technologically rich lessons. Additionally, there is a
growing negative perception of technology as it becomes more prevalent along with social media. Many people feel as though
technology is more of a distraction than a benefit, or if it is beneficial, it puts students into positions where they can get distracted.
ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Coaches says that coaches should support educators and help them in designing digital learning
experiences. ISTE’s (n.d.) Standards for Educators says that educators should use technology to design student-centered learning
experiences. Since there is currently little to no curriculum framework connecting technology to content standards, my
recommendation would be for course teams and the instructional technology coach to begin developing one. This would start by
having the instructional technology coach teach the teachers about the ISTE Standards for Students and provide examples of
activities that would fulfil each one. After this, each course team could discuss their current curriculum map and begin assigning
technology standards that would align with current activities. As teams develop these curriculum frameworks, the instructional
technology coach should be available to clarify the standards and assist with facilitating discussion on possible technology
integrations for each lesson. Once the framework is completed, the coach can work with the team to compile and design a course
page that implements the framework designed.
Supporting Sources:

References
Beede, D., Julian, T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B., Doms, M., & Office of the Chief Economist. (2011, November 26). Women in
STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED523766.pdf
Georgia Department of Education. (n.d.). Teacher Resource Link (TRL). Retrieved from https://www.gadoe.org/Technology-
Services/SLDS/Pages/Teacher-Resource-Link.aspx
Gupta, P. (2018, October 14). List of EdTech Certifications That Are Helpful For Teachers. Retrieved from
https://edtechreview.in/news/3374-list-of-edtech-certifications-that-are-helpful-for-teachers
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2019) Local School Plan for Improvement: Lanier High School. Retrieved from
http://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/wcm/connect/06aad949-bf8b-4154-95db-
682fdbd74d35/LSPI+Web+Report+%28528_LANIER_HIGH%29.PDF?MOD=AJPERES
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (2019) Strategic Priorities: 2010-2020 Update to the Community. Retrieved from
https://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps/wcm/connect/6a3520be-e827-4c63-a7c9-7dc9cde74340/2019-Strategic-Priorities-
Report_FINAL.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=mFVjWSj
Gwinnett County Public Schools. (n.d.). Quality-Plus Teaching Strategies. Retrieved from http://publish.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/qpts/home
Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: what instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin.
Steele, C. (2019, February 23). What is the Digital Divide? Retrieved from http://www.digitaldividecouncil.com/what-is-the-digital-divide/
Stroud, R. (n.d.). LAKE Badges. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/gwinnett.k12.ga.us/lake-badges/

Appendices
Appendix A: ISTE’s Lead and Transform Diagnostic Tool Results

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ITEC 7410/EDL 7105 SWOT Analysis Template for Assessment of Eight ISTE Essential Conditions

Name: Patrick Collins Semester: Spring 2020

ESSENTIAL CONDITION ONE: Effective Instructional Uses of Technology Embedded in Standards-Based,

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ESSENTIAL CONDITION TWO: Shared Vision

research-based and aligned to technology use, and may

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ESSENTIAL CONDITION THREE: Planning for Technology

The school has no plan in

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

School has publicly accessible

School teachers and students

School STEM program is

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ESSENTIAL CONDITION FIVE: Skilled Personnel

Teachers need to know how to

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SIX: Ongoing Professional Learning

compiled into an accessible School professional learning

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

Stroud, R. (n.d.). LAKE Badges. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/gwinnett.k12.ga.us/lake-badges/

ESSENTIAL CONDITION SEVEN: Technical Support

• Is tech support knowledgeable? What training might they need?

The school has two faculty

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ESSENTIAL CONDITION EIGHT: Curriculum Framework

ISTE Definition: Content standards and related digital curriculum resources.

Students have access to Virtual

Recommendations from Analysis:

ISTE Diagnostic Tool (Appendix A)

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Coaches. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches

ISTE. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

Stroud, R. (n.d.). LAKE Badges. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/gwinnett.k12.ga.us/lake-badges/

Appendix A: ISTE’s Lead and Transform Diagnostic Tool Results

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