Planning

into

Practice

Planning

into

Practice
Planning

into

Practice

Resources for planning, 

implementing, and integrating

instructional technology

Jeff Sun

with 

Marilyn Heath,

Elizabeth Byrom, 

Janet Phlegar, and

K. Victoria Dimock

The document was developed and published by SEIR◆TEC partners 

Learning Innovations at WestEd, Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), and SERVE
©2000. This document was developed by the SouthEast and

Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium and is

based on work sponsored wholly or in part by the Office of

Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), under grant

number R302A980001, CFDA 84.302A. Its contents do not 

necessarily reflect the views or policies of OERI, the US

Department of Education, or any other agency of the 

United States government.

Titles or names of specific software discussed or described in

this document are registered trademarks, trademarks, or copyrighted as property of the companies that produce the software.

Please note that the World Wide Web is volatile and constantly

changing. The URLs provided in the following references were

accurate as of the date of this report, but we can make no 

guarantees for their permanence.

Design: Jane Thurmond, Austin, TX

Production: Barbara Karwhite, Austin, TX

Photo: Comstock Stock Photography
SouthEast and Islands Regional Technology in 

Education Consortium (SEIR◆TEC)

Elizabeth Byrom, Ed.D., Director

Margaret Bingham, Co-Director

3333 Chapel Hill Blvd. C-102

Durham, NC 27707

(800) 755-3277, (919) 402-1060

Fax: (919) 402-1676

URL: http://www.seirtec.org

E-mail: seirtec@serve.org

SERVE

PO Box 5367

Greensboro, NC 27437

(800) 755-3277

URL: http://serve.org

Learning Innovations at WestEd

91 Montvale Avenue

Stoneham, MA 02180-3616

(781) 481-1100

E-mail: jthomps@wested.org

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)

211 East Seventh Street

Austin, Texas 78701

(512) 476-6861

(800) 201-7435

Fax: (512) 476-2286

URL: http://www.sedl.org/

Planning into Practice

Foreword

he SouthEast and Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium

(SEIR◆TEC) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education to support the

use of technology for teaching and learning. As part of our program, we have

been working with a group of schools across the region for several years, providing substantial levels of professional development and technical assistance.

We refer to these schools as intensive sites. Over the course of the project, we

have developed effective strategies, tools, instruments, and other resources aimed

at helping the intensive sites build their technology programs. In the process, we

have learned much from the teachers and administrators at those schools about

what it takes to integrate technology into teaching and learning, and especially

about the great challenges posed in resource-poor schools and districts.

In the belief that other schools across the nation might find these strategies

and tools useful, we have created Planning into Practice: Resources for

Planning, Implementing, and Integrating Instructional Technology. The book is

designed for teachers, administrators, and all those interested in strategic educational technology planning and the implementation of those plans. 

Jeff Sun, director of Sun Associates and partner consultant to SEIR◆TEC, is the

primary author of Planning into Practice. Jeff has worked with SEIR◆TEC’s intensive sites and hundreds of other schools and teachers at all levels of expertise

across the nation. He has contributed thoughtful effort to capture tools, devices,

and checklists that could help schools move ahead in their efforts to integrate

technology. Contributors Vicki Dimock and Marilyn Heath from the Southwest

Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) and Jan Phlegar from Learning

Innovations at WestEd, draw upon extensive personal and organizational experience working with new technology innovations and helping teachers integrate

technology into their curriculum. And, as the project director, I felt compelled to

add my two cents’ worth.

We want to thank the teachers and administrators at SEIR◆TEC’s intensive

sites, especially all the teachers with whom Jeff Sun and the other SEIR◆TEC staff

have worked, for sharing their skills, concerns, and frustrations related to the use

of instructional technology. In turn, we would like to thank the SEIR◆TEC staff

for sharing their ideas, strategies, and materials and for providing valuable suggestions on how Planning into Practice might be improved. 

Thanks also go to Sun Associates staff members Jeanne Clark and Gail

Doherty, who developed and field-tested early drafts of some materials; Margaret

Bingham and members of the SEIR◆TEC staff, who returned thoughtful comments on drafts; and especially Beth Thrift and Beth Hartness, research assistants

for SERVE, who coordinated the development process. 

All of us on the SEIR◆TEC staff hope you find Planning into Practice useful

and that you learn as much from using it as we did in developing it. Please

check our web site from time to time for updates of the materials at

http://www.seirtec.org.

Elizabeth Byrom, Ed.D. 

Director, SEIR◆TEC

T
Planning into Practice

Table of Contents

As a result of our work at various school sites over the past few years, we have

found several valuable tools that are particularly useful in helping districts and

schools create strategic educational technology plans. We have included those

tools along with some firsthand examples and stories from schools that 

used them. 

Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Introduction

Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Technology Planning

Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Professional Development Planning

Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Community Engagement

Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157

Managing Hardware and Software

Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .181

Evaluation

Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

Funding Your Technology Plan

Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .229
SouthEast and Islands Regional Technology in 

Education Consortium (SEIRuTEC)

3333 Chapel Hill Blvd. C-102

Durham, NC 27707

(800) 755-3277, (919) 402-1060

Fax: (919) 402-1676

URL: http://www.seirtec.org

E-mail: seirtec@serve.org
Introduction

1

Chapter

1
Table of Contents

Purposes of Planning into Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

How this Publication Came About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

About SEIR◆TEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

The SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Factors Influencing the Effective Use of Technology for 

Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned from the SEIR◆TEC 

Intensive Site Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

This Guidebook and SEIR◆TEC’s Intensive Site Work . . . . . . . . . .15

Organization of this Guidebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Chapter 1

2
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 3

A vision without a task is only a dream.

A task without a vision is mere drudgery.

A vision with a task can change the world.

Attributed to Black Elk

s in any other profession, schoolteachers, principals, and administrators

need a vision to help them toward their goals. This is the context and

underlying principle of Planning into Practice: Resources for Planning,

Implementing, and Integrating Instructional Technology. The intent of this book

is to support schools as they move along a continuum that connects the vision

they have for technology and student learning with the tasks they need to

accomplish in order to achieve their vision, in a way that makes a difference.

Technology is a tool that can promote greater learning, but only if its use is

planned and carried out with that goal in mind. Success of technology implementation depends not only on how well technical components are planned but,

more importantly, on how well the school community goes beyond technical

requirements. The whole endeavor of teaching must be supported and carried

through in a way that demonstrates the benefits of teaching and learning with

technology, addresses an individual’s fears as well as hopes, and helps all

involved learn how and when these tools might best be used. 

If implementing strategies for using technology to improve student learning

is the overarching goal, educators need the how to’s of creating effective technology plans, and steps for implementing them. The questions are many: How

do we begin? We’ve had equipment for years, but how can we use it more 

efficiently and effectively? What do we do about the resources we’ll need? What

equipment do we really need? What can I do to integrate technology to

enhance learning in social studies (or science, or art, or . . .) and how do I

manage that specific task? 

Some communities may have a wealth of assistance in initializing their technology programs. Other communities may have the benefit of a visionary

leader who supports the changes necessary for successful technology integration. Still others may only be in the initial stages of planning, or they may not

have strategically examined where they want to go in a way that builds a large

school community movement. Wherever a school or district is now, there is

progress to be made in using technology to promote greater student learning

and in understanding more about how to go about achieving this goal.

This guidebook is for use by all the teachers, administrators, and policymakers

who work to integrate and implement instructional technology. While we hope

it may serve as a guide to technology planning and provide a useful set of

Purposes of Planning

into Practice

A

Introduction
4 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

processes for implementing the plan, it is not a compendium of all you need to

know about instructional technology. Rather, it should be considered more as a

set of tools and information to help with the tasks that can lead to something

greater—improving teaching and learning for all students.

How this Publication Came About

It’s one thing to have a technology plan, and another to have a truly effective

strategic plan that has been developed with the big picture of educational

improvement in mind. Furthermore, even the best plan needs to be supported by

an assortment of individual strategies, actions, and (dare we say?) tricks, to make

it come together and work for students. 

Having said that, we have two purposes for creating this publication. First,

we want to assist readers—be they teachers, administrators, or community members—in making their district or school technology plan a strategic educational

plan. Second, we want to offer a variety of actions that can be taken to begin to

implement the goals and objectives of the technology plan. For practical use, we

have included checklists, tip sheets, and worksheets that you can adapt for your

own needs.

About SEIR◆TEC

Before we go further, we’d like the reader to know more about the context in

which this book evolved. SEIR◆TEC is one of six regional technology in education consortia (R◆TEC) funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of

Educational Research and Improvement. SEIR◆TEC is composed of educational

organizations committed to providing information, professional development,

and technical assistance for educators in the southeastern states, Puerto Rico and

the US Virgin Islands, in order to support and promote improvement in teaching and learning. Seven organizations make up SEIR◆TEC: SERVE (lead agency);

AEL, Inc.; the Instructional Technology Resource Center at the University of

Central Florida; Learning Innovations at WestEd; the National Center on Adult

Literacy; Southwest Educational Development Laboratory; and the Southern

Regional Education Board. The following mission statement guides the work of

the consortium:

SEIR◆TEC promotes the use of technology to improve teaching

and learning by providing leadership through technical assistance and professional development in the areas of curriculum

and instruction, policy, planning, and evaluation, with emphasis

on benefiting traditionally underserved populations, such as

low-income, urban, rural, and racial- and language-minority

populations.

Introduction
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

5

The authors of this publication are affiliated with the SEIR◆TEC organizations

and have had extensive firsthand experience helping schools with their technology planning and integration efforts. Our work is grounded in research, effective

practices, and an understanding of the factors and processes that promote and

support systemic change, as well as our collective wisdom and experience. We

make available a program of consortium services to a variety of audiences and service providers in order to address our mission of improving teaching and learning

through the use of technology. While our direct services are to our region, we also

work with the other R◆TECs to create a national system of support. For more 

information, please consult the R◆TEC web page at http://www.rtec.org/.

The SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Initiative

One of SEIR◆TEC’s flagship initiatives is our work in partnership with intensive

sites. These are schools and districts that have the goal of incorporating technology in ways that promote better teaching and learning for their students. Most

of these sites are economically disadvantaged schools and districts with high

numbers of traditionally underserved populations, each of which is struggling to

achieve technology integration and use in the face of many obstacles. Each has

its own unique student population, teacher corps, and learning environment.

For each intensive site, SEIR◆TEC has provided on-site technical assistance,

resources, and professional development. Typically, that means each school is

assigned a staff member who meets with teachers at regular intervals.

Sometimes, it means bringing in someone with special expertise, such as web

site design, program budgeting, or program evaluation. Intensive sites may also

participate in SEIR◆TEC Academies and other professional development opportunities. Our partnership with the intensive sites as they attempt to move through

the stages of planning into practice has allowed us to understand more fully the

many factors that affect their success. 

As we began providing the technical assistance and capacity-building that

these schools could not otherwise obtain, we also began documenting the

process of technology adoption and the factors that affect success. There is a

solid body of research on the factors that affect the use of technology, such as

those supported by the technology-rich Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow studies.1

However, there is a dearth of information about effective strategies for technology adoption and integration in technology-poor environments, such as the

majority of the SEIR◆TEC intensive sites. 

So, part of the evolving design of the intensive site initiative, and what puts

it in the category of high-impact technical assistance, is that we are learning

lessons through this partnership that can inform practices to support technology adoption and integration in similar schools and districts. While the tools and

Introduction

1David C. Dwyer, Changes in Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices in Technology-Rich Classrooms,

Educational Leadership, vol. 48, no. 5 (1991), pp. 45–52.
6 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

advice contained in this guide can be equally useful in resource-rich and

resource-poor environments, it is clear that the barriers faced in the more disadvantaged sites cannot be overcome by providing a set of materials, tools, guidelines, or even money—alone! Continuing to deepen our understanding of the

issues is essential if we are to help the schools succeed.

After three years of working in the intensive site schools and districts, we

documented observations about how technology may be successfully integrated

into teaching and learning. We offer these learnings here; the booklet can also

be downloaded from our web site at http://www.seirtec.org. As Planning into

Practice goes to press, we are updating the lessons learned, which will also be

available on our web site.

Factors Influencing the Effective Use of Technology

for Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned from

the SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Schools

Over the past three years, SEIR◆TEC has been providing substantial levels of

technical assistance and professional development to fourteen resource-poor

schools across the Southeast and Islands. Typically, the on-site work entails a

member of the SEIR◆TEC staff spending three or four days per month in a school,

working on various aspects of technology integration. The nature and extent of

the staff development and technical assistance are determined in large measure

by local teachers’ and administrators’ needs and exigencies, such as technology

planning, teaching with technology, and program evaluation.

Our work in the intensive site schools has served as a rich opportunity to

study the way technology is, or is not, successfully integrated into teaching and

learning. The following narrative represents some of our observations and

lessons learned thus far.

1. Leadership is the key ingredient. 

Our experiences in working with the intensive sites confirm what the research literature says, that leadership is the single most important factor affecting the successful integration of technology. This is true at all levels—state, district, and school.

For example, the states with the most successful technology programs are those that

have had visionary governors, legislators, and department of education staff who

are committed to the use of technology as a tool for teaching and learning. Similarly,

the schools who have made the most progress, including our intensive sites, are

those with energetic and committed leaders. Here are some more specifics.

The Vision Thing

It is especially important at the school level for the principal to have a vision of

what is possible through the use of technology and be able to work with others

to achieve the vision. Without this vision, and the translation of the vision into

action, lasting school improvement is almost impossible. We notice time and time

again that the schools in which we have had the greatest impact are the ones

Introduction
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

7

with the strongest leaders—leaders who are committed to helping their teachers

and students use technology effectively.

Leading by Example 

Effective principals lead by example. They have a clear idea about how technology

can support best practices in instruction and assessment, they use technology 

fluently, and they participate actively in professional development opportunities.

The leader who expects to see technology used in the classroom but does not

know how to use e-mail sends, at best, a mixed message.

Leadership + That First Success = Vision Accomplished

(from Booneville, Mississippi)

“One of the most important lessons by far is the fact that it takes supportive leadership to ensure an intensive site is successful. Supportive leadership can be in the

form of allowing teachers to have substitutes while they attend a workshop,

encouraging teachers to work in teams or participating in training sessions themselves. These [leadership] attributes provide a positive, workable environment for

the teachers. . .” according to Jeanne Clarke, SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator

for Booneville Middle School. Who was this leader? The school principal, Linda

Clifton. Ms. Clifton had such a strong vision of how technology could benefit the

students of Booneville Middle School that she began to seek help from many 

different sources. With her first grant proposal funded and with ongoing training

and technical assistance from SEIR◆TEC, she leveraged this initial support to obtain

additional resources. All the while, she urged, supported, and energized the teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom activities. From a couple of Apple

IIe computers to a fully networked school and a new, technology-rich science

wing, Ms. Clifton led the Booneville Middle School staff to use technology to 

benefit student learning. In 1998, the school was one of 50 schools from across the

nation to be recognized at the SchoolTech Expo Showcase of Model Schools, a

program to honor schools who have used up-to-date technology to dramatically

improve classroom learning.

Supporting the Faculty 

In addition to modeling the use of technology, supportive school principals highlight the efforts of teachers who attempt to use technology to improve teaching

and learning. Effective leaders also attend professional development sessions

with their teaching staff.

No Reform-of-the-Month Clubs 

Real reform takes a lot of time and energy. Faculty who are bombarded with a constant stream of new initiatives to be implemented quickly become overwhelmed

and resentful. Effective school leaders focus on reform initiatives that offer the most

promise for improving teaching and learning, and they ensure that faculty have the

resources, skills, and time necessary for turning the promise into reality.

Introduction
8 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

Shared Leadership 

School technology committees can serve an important role in making decisions

that reflect the needs of a total school community. School leaders help this happen by showing both interest and trust in decisions that the group makes.

Committee members should be those who are representative of the total faculty

and staff and selected by a method other than principal-appointed. Committee

meetings should not begin with the principal or technology coordinator

announcing his or her software decision and who will get the new computers

that just arrived. Shared input and decisions are critical for committee members

to feel that they serve a real role and to reduce the chances that decisions will

be sabotaged. 

2. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else. 

Each organization, whether it be a district or an individual school, needs to

spend time developing and updating a comprehensive plan—starting with its

vision, mission, and goals. Every decision made should be one that supports the

organization’s vision. The degree of success that a school has in implementing

technology will depend, in part, on the quality and maturity of its technology

plan. A technology plan that reads like a shopping list cannot guide a school in

making its hardest decisions. A useful plan reflects the ideas of an entire school

community and is connected to overall school goals. It focuses on the use of

technology to support teaching and learning. When we first began working with

the intensive site schools, many needed assistance not only in writing a plan, but

also in creating a process for developing, implementing, and updating the plan.

After all, there’s not much point in spending time and energy on a plan that’s

going to sit on a shelf and not be used. 

We have noticed that the plans and processes created at some of the intensive site schools share some of the same problems as school technology plans

everywhere. The first is a tendency for one individual or a few people to write

the plan, a practice that flies in the face of the notion of stakeholder buy-in and

community involvement. A second is that many plans lack a detailed component

or plan for professional development that covers the broad range of skills teachers and administrators need. The third common problem is that most plans lack

a component for evaluating the success and effectiveness of the program. The

omission of components usually stems not from a lack of interest but perhaps

from a lack of expertise in how to set up an effective professional development

program in technology or how to conduct an evaluation that will yield 

meaningful and useful results. 

Implementing the plans also requires working together in groups, devising

new patterns for staffing, and many other organizational changes that are

brought on by the use of technology. However, many plans never go beyond

the early stages of implementation, because no one is assigned responsibility for

the implementation activities. Someone must be in charge for technology plans

to be implemented.

Introduction
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

9

3. Technology integration is a s-l-o-w process.

Truly integrating technology into teaching and learning is a slow, time-consuming

process that requires substantial levels of support and encouragement for educators. The Apple Classroom of Tomorrow studies (Dwyer et al., 1991) of what 

happens in technology-rich environments have shown that teachers go through

predictable stages in their use of technology and that this process takes from three

to five years. We have found that in technology-poor schools, the process takes

even longer. In our intensive sites, we have also started to notice that there seems

to be a correlation between the amount and level of technical assistance we 

provide and movement along the continuum of technology integration, i.e., the

schools that receive the most attention are making the most progress.

Unfortunately, in most of the resource-poor schools in our region, teachers

have only had access to the basic types of training in which they learned to use a

single application. Follow-up and support are the exception rather than the rule.

4. No matter how many computers are available or how much training

teachers have had, there are still substantial numbers who are 

“talking the talk” but not “walking the walk.”

When you consider the fact that microcomputers have been in schools for almost

twenty years, and considering that most teachers have participated in some type

of professional development, it is still surprising to see how many teachers there

are who do not use technology at all. We know and appreciate that there are a

variety of reasons, some of which we cannot do anything about and others that

we can do something about. For example, there are a few research studies that

indicate that some teachers have a natural proclivity toward using technologies

in general and computers in particular, while others do not. And, like the general

population, there are some teachers who embrace change, while others resist it.

On the other hand, there are some research-based practices and common-sense

strategies we can implement that enhance the likelihood that teachers will begin

using technology. 

a. Begin with teaching and learning, not with hardware and software. As technology-oriented professionals, we have a tendency to frame professional

development and echnical assistance around technology tools, such as word

processing and databases. We tell teachers, “Now what you need to do is integrate word processing into your lesson plans,” which can work with motivated teachers, but not those who need a lot of support (or a gentle shove). In

short, teachers have a difficult time applying technology skills in the classroom

unless there is a direct linkage with the curriculum, teaching strategies, or

improvements in achievement. Professional development tends to have a

stronger impact when we frame it like this: “Let’s look at what students are

learning this year and then see how technology can make it more effective.”

b. The training-of-trainers model means more than providing a workshop to

a few people, and professional development might just be the most 

misunderstood or misrepresented model in education. Quite often it is

Introduction
10 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

interpreted as one or two people delivering a workshop in which the participants are supposed to acquire the content knowledge and training skills

needed for conducting turnaround training. Unfortunately, this seldom

works because (a) the content is too complex to be mastered in a one-shot

workshop, and there is no follow-up accommodation for the would-be

trainers to become proficient; (b) there is no support for turnaround training; or (c) the would-be trainers are inexperienced trainers. For the model

to work, all three barriers must be overcome. 

c. It’s a waste of time and energy to provide technology training when teachers don’t have the resources, opportunity, and support needed to apply their

new knowledge and skills. It should go without saying that it makes

absolutely no sense to provide training on technology applications when

teachers don’t have access to appropriate hardware and software.

Unfortunately, however, some school leaders continue to follow the tradition

of sending teachers to workshops when it’s convenient rather than when it’s

logical. All too many districts hold training during the summer even though

teachers won’t have the technology or support materials until January. On

the other hand, districts with effective programs tend to use more thoughtful approaches, such as one in Georgia that gives their teachers software two

weeks before training events, so they will have time to get a sense of what

it will do and how it works.

5. Effective use of technology requires changes in teaching; in turn, the

adoption of a new teaching strategy can be a catalyst for technology

integration.

While legislators often expect to see a direct correlation between the amount

of money spent on computers and improvement in students’ scores on standardized achievement tests, we have observed that there are several intervening variables, such as the amount and quality of technology use by the teacher

and the student. Effective use of technology often requires changes in the way

teachers teach. In many cases, this means that teachers embrace strategies for

Introduction

Technology: A Partner in Creating Success

(from Pocahontas, Arkansas) 

Arkansas media specialist Lin Hatch has seen the positive effects of using technology to tailor instruction to students' needs. One particular young student at

Pocahontas High School was a very low achiever, in spite of his efforts. His home

life was even more distressing after the death of the one parent with whom he lived.

Lin, however, witnessed a difference, as this young boy began to use the

Accelerated Reader program and its computer assessment tool, STAR. The program

analyzes a student's reading level and suggests appropriate, high-interest materials.

As his reading improved, so too did his motivation and self-esteem. 
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

11

student-focused learning, such as tailoring instruction to meet individual students’ learning needs, helping students develop problem solving and criticalthinking skills, and providing opportunities for project-based learning. It’s the

combined effect of effective teaching and pedagogically sound technologies that

lead to improvements in learning.

We have found that when professional development and technical assistance start with a particular teaching or learning strategy that the teachers

believe will benefit their students, such as cross-curricular thematic units, and

then help teachers discover ways technology is a tool that supports the strategy, teachers are usually eager to try both the new instructional strategy and the

technology.

Training in a Void

(from Whiteville, North Carolina)

The days at Central Middle School are busy ones, as teachers and students strive

to increase student achievement. Technology resources are available and, in the

past few years, have continued to increase in quantity and type. Yet, a major difference in the use of technology for teaching and for student projects is just now

beginning to occur. Students are developing multimedia reports and searching the

Internet; teachers are teaching with computer teaching stations and incorporating

web sites in their lesson plans. 

What has made the difference? A combination of curriculum-focused training

by SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator Donna Ashmus and the availability of an

instructional technology coordinator funded by a TLCF grant. The combined

efforts, under the direction of the district technology director, Patricia Medlin,

have provided technology training when teachers have the resources, opportunity, and support needed to apply their new knowledge and skills.

6. Each school needs easy access to professionals with expertise in

technology and pedagogy. 

Our experiences in the field confirm the notion that teachers need on-site and 

on-demand technical assistance with both the technology and the integration of

technology into teaching and learning. Finding professionals who have expertise

in both areas is difficult, and few schools have professionals with both. Many 

districts hire curriculum specialists and technology specialists and hope they work

together. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don’t. Resource-poor schools might

have a curriculum specialist, but they seldom have access to anyone, in-house 

or out, with the skills to assess their hardware requirements or troubleshoot 

problems as they start using new hardware and software.

Introduction
12 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

A Place to Call Home

(from Brownsville, Tennessee) 

Three years ago the view from the hallway of East Side Elementary School was

quite different: Piles of books, old TVs on carts, broken sofas and chairs, empty

boxes. Now, a glance inside is enough to cause a double take! There are two

computer stations—soon to be three—with printers and Internet connections,

neatly organized shelves of software and teacher materials, a rack of technology

magazines, and a center work/meeting table.

Yet, it is not the “stuff” in the staff technology room that causes the double

take, but the people engaged in conversation at the table, the users at the computer stations, and the staff member breezing through to pick up a piece of software. The room is being used. Members of the school staff are comfortable using

the room and its contents, because this is where part of their training occurs. This

is where the school tech team meets to explore and learn new software programs

to later teach others, as well as where the vice-principal, Rhonda Thompson, and

the tech team discuss next steps to connecting every classroom to the Internet.

What brought about this change? Donna Ashmus, SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site

Coordinator, remembers meeting with the school staff to outline technology 

initiatives necessary for teaching and learning to benefit from technology. One

need was a place for staff to learn about and work with technology on an ongoing basis. A workshop or two was not enough, and training without resources

and support was a waste of time. The staff technology room was born: a comfortable, user-friendly, ongoing place for just-in-time learning. Teacher-to-teacher

training, resources, opportunity, and support must all exist for technology training to bring about change.

7. While many of the barriers to using technology to support learning

are the same for all poor communities, some populations have some

additional issues.

The SEIR◆TEC consortium tries to address the needs of four constituent groups

concerned with the effective use of technology in support of teaching and learning: K–12 educators, adult literacy programs and communities, state departments

of education, and college teacher-education programs. As we strive to make

resources available to the widest number and variety of programs, we try to

enable constituent groups to build on each other’s work rather than continuously reinventing the wheel. In particular, adult educators benefit from opportunities

to work with and/or learn from experienced, thoughtful K–12 educators.

However, the adult literacy learners and settings are different enough from K–12

that the adult educators find that they also need to take these learnings and

resources and then rethink and repurpose them to create methods and materials

that can be effective in their own instructional settings.

Another group that merits special consideration are the thousands of

Spanish-speaking educators and students in Puerto Rico. Throughout much of

Introduction
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

13

the Spanish-speaking world, educational software in that language is relatively

abundant. In Puerto Rico, however, it is just beginning to appear. Until recently,

technology appeared for many teachers to be destined for the English teachers

only, and not for teachers of other subject matter, which is all taught in Spanish.

8. In some schools, infrastructure remains a serious barrier to technology

adoption.

It is very difficult to focus on integrating technology to support learning if you

cannot overcome basic technological equipment and facilities issues. Schools

that serve students in economically disadvantaged areas typically have greater

barriers than schools in affluent communities in getting the basics in place. Many

of the schools in our region are cases in point. In some instances, the buildings

are so old that establishing an infrastructure is very difficult. For example, there

are no T1 lines to the Virgin Islands, and some schools do not have access to

telephone lines. In other places, the lack of security is a problem. Some of our

schools cannot put computers in classrooms unless the windows are secured,

which usually means installation of iron bars. And, living in the Southeast, we

are occasionally reminded of the impact that the weather has on schools, such

as hurricanes that wipe out microwave communication towers or destroy entire

school facilities.

Many schools also have access issues, in part because basic electricity is not

sufficient; the electrical infrastructure of many schools is unable to handle the

additional load required by computer networks. In Puerto Rico, for example,

there is a long list of schools that need major upgrades, which require major

infrastructure investments.

9. Educators can benefit from tools that help them gauge the progress

of technology integration over time.

One of our most recent observations originated not with the intensive sites, but

with some technical assistance SEIR◆TEC staff provided to the North Carolina

Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). The Department had asked for help

in developing a way of collecting comparable evaluation data from 44 diverse

Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) grants. Working with DPI staff, we

developed an instrument that has been adopted across the state as well as in

other states. We have observed that the instrument not only serves its original

purpose but also provides a non-threatening framework for gauging a school’s

or district’s progress toward technology implementation. Administrators report

that it is a tool that helps educators reflect on where they are and where they

need to go with their technology initiatives. 

In the belief that helping educators reflect on their progress could potentially

accelerate the rate of progress, we adapted the original instrument for use in the

intensive sites. Basically, the adaptation involved the identification of five

domains of technology integration, principles of good practice for each domain,

and indicators of progress for each principle. Staff also compared the domains

Introduction
14 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

and principles with other instruments such as the CEO Forum’s STaR Chart and

the Milken Exchange’s Frameworks for Technology Integration to ensure that

ours covered all the bases. We just completed the first round of implementing

the instrument in most intensive sites, and so far, the teachers and administrators

have reported that in addition to being a useful gauge for progress in general,

the instrument is a good basis for discussing specific technology initiatives across

the district. It also helps them see the bigger picture of technology integration by

showing principles of practice that they have not yet addressed. We will monitor the use of the instrument over the next several months and see whether it

does indeed make a difference in program planning and implementation. For

more information about the instruments, go to http://www.seirtec.org.

Nine Lessons Learned:

1. Leadership is the key ingredient.

2. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.

3. Technology integration is a s-l-o-w process.

4. No matter how many computers are available or how much training teachers

have had, there are still substantial numbers who are “talking the talk,” but

not “walking the walk.”

5. Effective use of technology requires changes in teaching; in turn, the adoption of a new teaching strategy can be a catalyst for technology integration.

6. Each school needs easy access to professionals with expertise in technology

and pedagogy.

7. While many of the barriers to using technology to support learning are the

same for all poor communities, some populations have some additional

issues.

8. In some schools, infrastructure remains a serious barrier to technology adoption.

9. Educators can benefit from tools that help them gauge the progress of 

technology integration over time.

Introduction
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 1: Introduction

15

This Guidebook and SEIR◆TEC’s Intensive Site Work

Some of the templates and tools included here have been used with the intensive sites as they engaged in various phases of making their technology plans

more comprehensive, inclusive, and strategic. But, like most complex systems,

schools do not have just one thing happening at a time. In fact, moving something forward in a school is always a difficult task, even in the best of situations

when everyone wants to see progress. It is important to realize that many 

different things are happening at each site, with different people at different

times; so, although this guide may appear to be laid out in a logical and linear

manner, keep in mind things seldom happen that neatly! 

Organization of this Guidebook

Planning into Practice is organized so that it can be used in a variety of ways.

Some readers may choose to start at the front and work their way through the

book. Others will find that it is possible to skip around, using the resources as

they need them. Throughout the text, we included many URLs to online

resources and other materials we believe the reader will find useful. Also, since

much of this material originated in workshops and other staff development 

sessions, we have included a set of Microsoft PowerPoint Presentations that 

summarize and present the key points in each chapter. These are also available

online at the SEIR◆TEC web site at http://www.seirtec.org.

The chapters of this book are organized as follows:

• Chapter 1 provides an understanding of the origins of Planning into

Practice and lays the groundwork for how to use the materials.

• Chapter 2 focuses on Technology Planning and the processes involved in

creating a strategic technology plan. This chapter is also useful for those

involved in revising an existing technology plan.

• Chapter 3 provides strategies and tools for Integrating Technology into 

the Curriculum.

• Chapter 4 is an overall orientation to Professional Development as a process

of design, not just a series of workshops. It also addresses technology competencies for teachers and presents ideas for professional development that

will help educators acquire those competencies and reach their larger goals.

• Chapter 5 features Community Engagement, one of the key ingredients to a

successful school community approach to technology use as a tool to 

promote learning.

• Chapter 6 is on Managing Hardware and Software. We provide a 

discussion on various computer configurations for educators, how to make

the most of a few computers, methods for evaluating software, and a list of

software resources.

Introduction
16 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 1: Introduction

• Chapter 7 presents a model and instruments for evaluating your technology

program.

• Chapter 8 provides resources and recommendations for funding technology

initiatives. 

• The Appendix includes a series of blank forms used in the text that you may

reproduce for your own use. We have also included a few additional

resources and printouts of the PowerPoint overview presentations that are

available online at the SEIR◆TEC web site.

• Early in each chapter, we list the tools provided in that chapter. Readers may

find it useful to refer back to these sections to locate a particular resource

that they can use in their own environment. In addition, at the end of each

chapter we provide a Putting It All Together section, which is a dialogue

between the editors of Planning into Practice and the primary author, Jeff

Sun. Jeff offers advice and ideas for troubleshooting in these exchanges. For

more advice directly from Jeff and to find additional tools and resources, you

can visit his web site at http://www.sun-associates.com.

Introduction
Technology

Planning

2

Chapter

17
Table of Contents

Why Plan? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Desired Outcomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

The Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Building a Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

The Big Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Planning to Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Components of the Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Forming Your Technology Planning Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Planning a Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Components of a Good Technology Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Sample Technology Plan Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Technology Needs Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Technology Inventory Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Identifying Core Values and Creating a Vision Statement . . . . . . . . .36

Sample Vision Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Creating Goal Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Sample Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Taking Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Creating an Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Defining Activities for your Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Aligning Your Technology Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Technology Planning Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Chapter 2

18
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 19

Why Plan?

s we meet with teachers and administrators across the country and in our

service area, it becomes very clear that while most educators understand

that they need a plan, it is the rare district that appreciates the necessity

of a strategic plan. A strategic plan contains a vision for technology’s place in the

classroom and is accompanied by a series of goals and objectives, an action plan,

and a timeline. Within this strategic framework, there are broad outlines and

details for all of the steps involved in technology implementation—the building

of the infrastructure (hardware and software), adoption of student and teacher

technology competencies, professional development strategies, purchasing,

funding, scheduling, support, and evaluation. The value of a strategic plan is that

it creates the big picture and also provides the framework for the myriad 

individual strategies and actions that must take place to bring everything 

together successfully. 

While planning is a key to successful technology implementation and integration, planning for technology is not an end in itself. It is a process that strategically

moves from vision to reality—from planning into practice.

With multiple technology funding opportunities available from state departments of education, the federal government, and many private sources, school

districts are usually required to submit their technology plans in order to access

the funds. Even if a school or school district doesn’t search out external funding

for its technology program, having a well-designed technology plan is quickly

becoming an integral part of comprehensive educational planning. It is not 

surprising that funders have established such a requirement or that districts

require a plan for technology integration. However, we often wonder whether

the words in these plans connect with teachers and students and result in 

generating strategies with a positive impact on teaching and learning.

With this in mind, we have two goals to accomplish in this publication. First,

we want to assist readers in making their district or school technology plan a

strategic educational plan. Second, we want to describe the variety of actions that

teachers and others involved in the process can take to implement the goals and

objectives of the plan. 

Desired Outcomes

In addition to the aforementioned motivators for planning, making things turn out

right is also a powerful motivator. But what do we mean by “right”? Our experience indicates that “right” is the desired outcome for an individual, group, or

institution. Following are some desired outcomes that planners strive to achieve: 

Technology Planning

A

Planning
20 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

• Technology is an integral part of a comprehensive plan for improving 

student learning.

• Teachers are sufficiently comfortable with learning and using technology

tools, and they use these tools as a natural and welcome extension of 

their teaching.

• Teachers use technology fluidly and almost transparently to accomplish 

curriculum goals.

• Technology is well-supported both in terms of fiscal resources (money 

allocated to buy materials and equipment) and human resources (people

allocated to support users and equipment).

• The school community is confident that funds (and other resources) they

allocate for technology are responsibly used to the maximum benefit 

of students.

• Parents and others in the school community are satisfied that students are

learning information-age skills but do not believe that technology is the

focus of instruction.

• The school community is confident that a path has been set which accounts

for constantly changing technology as well as student needs.

The Planning Process

You may have previous experience in project planning and implementation that

you can use for technology planning. Your experience might come from planning

and carrying out educational programs, sports events, family vacations, parties, art

exhibits, and so on. Maybe you have even built a house or boat! While the scale

of the project and the results of those activities might have been different, the

processes for accomplishing them are basically the same as those applied to 

technology planning. 

For comparison, let’s use the analogy of building a new house and compare

it to the technology-planning process. While you may not have had either of

these experiences, just imagine along with us. Keep in mind that these are not

necessarily sequential steps, and they may occur in any order. Furthermore,

while carrying out the process you may find that some of these components

need to be reviewed when new information emerges and takes on new importance. The chart on page 22 shows an example of such steps.

Just like building a house, technology planning and integration are both

complex processes that require time and take place over time. This point is often

lost on technology planners who would like to believe that they can simply write

a plan and then implement it quickly and easily. You cannot build a house without taking the time to plan and taking the time to build properly. It doesn’t just

happen as you go along! Furthermore, in the same way that building a house

Planning
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

21

Planning

requires more than just a lot of materials, technology planning is not simply

about hardware, software, cables, and connections. It’s also about managing

people and resources for accomplishing what you have set out to do.

In essence, there are two key points of technology planning—time and

strategic action:

• Time. Describing what you want to accomplish in your technology plan is

not enough. You must also indicate when you need to perform specific

tasks. In short, a strategic plan is about taking certain actions according to a

time schedule to accomplish or achieve your ultimate vision of technology’s

place in your teaching and learning environment.

• Strategic Action. In practice, strategic planning is a series of linked and

interwoven action steps. These actions include planning to plan, gathering

information, identifying resources, managing resources, providing professional development, purchasing materials, writing curriculum, and evaluating progress, as well as many others. All of these actions are designed to

achieve particular goals, and each goal is designed to support the overall

vision of the plan. In general, you need to plan with your results in mind.
22 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

A New House Technology Planning

Guiding 

Structure

Stakeholders

Preparation

Time

Vision

Goals

Activities

Ongoing

• Be aware of deed restrictions in the

area where you want to build your

house. 

• Identify all those who will be living

or staying in your house.

• Plan to plan. 

• Gather information: look at other

houses and house plans. 

• Consult with a builder or architect.

• Research the features you want to

include in your house.

• Draw upon your own experiences.

• Talk to others who have built a

house.

• Identify resources available and how

much they will cost.

• Start with the end in mind and work

backwards. If that is not practical,

readjust your expectations and 

timeline accordingly.

• Your dream home

• Beauty

• Comfort

• Location 

• Resource efficiency

• Deciding on the final plan and

design 

• Hiring a builder

• Acquiring the financing

• Selecting interior and exterior materials

• Designing special features

• Building the house

• Approval and final walk through

• Repairs and improvements

• Be cognizant of state and district

guidelines. 

• Identify all those who will be using

your technology (students, teachers,

parents, businesses, community). 

• Plan to plan.

• Start to accumulate information on

the pieces of the plan. 

• Solicit the help of outside experts.

• Research the ways that technology

enhances teaching and learning.

• Draw upon your own experiences.

• Consult with others who have experience with technology integration.

• Visit other schools and school 

districts.

• Identify resources and how much

they will cost.

• Start with the end in mind and work

backwards. If that is not practical,

readjust your expectations and 

timeline accordingly. 

• Your school or district’s concept of

how technology can successfully

support teaching and learning

• Technology is adequately supported

as a tool for teaching and learning.

• There is a continuing flow of

resources to support technology 

integration.

• Planning to plan

• Creating the committee

• Gathering planning resources

• Writing the plan

• Implementing the plan

• Evaluating

• Repairs and improvements
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

23

Planning

Tools in this Chapter

As a result of our work at various school sites over the past few years, we have

found several valuable tools that are particularly useful in helping districts and

schools create strategic educational technology plans. We have included those

tools along with some firsthand examples and stories from schools that used them. 

The Big Picture. The Big Picture is a tool that demonstrates the relationship

between vision, goals, activities, and the technology infrastructure.

Components of the Planning Process. To get you started, we’ve provided

Components of the Planning Process. This will help you identify the various roles

and responsibilities of planning team members and suggest materials you might

find useful. 

Forming Your Technology Planning Committee. The Forming Your Technology

Planning Committee worksheet can be used to identify the most important roles

that committee members must fulfill (i.e., have expertise in). It also reminds you of

the various constituencies that you can draw upon when creating the committee.

Planning a Timeline. A timeline for planning will help you map out the time

required for the various phases of the planning process. The timeline suggests

allowing eighteen weeks for creating a strategic technology plan.

Components of a Good Technology Plan. The list suggests areas to be 

considered and included in your technology plan.

Sample Technology Plan Outline. The outline is a distillation of a common technology plan structure and includes the components of a good technology plan. 

Technology Needs Survey. The survey is a model for a comprehensive technology needs assessment, but it is more than an inventory of computers and software.

This will help you know what you have, how it is being used, and where it is

located in the school or district. 

Technology Inventory Worksheet. If you haven’t already done so, use the

Technology Inventory Worksheet to collect this type of information. These tools

are also useful in collecting evaluation data for those who already have a technology plan. If your district is thinking about teacher and student competencies

as a goal, or is mandated to adopt or create competencies, we’ve included 

information on technology competencies in Chapters 3 and 4.

Core Values Worksheet. Since we strongly believe that the vision is the cornerstone of any good plan, we have provided some pointers and activities, including

a Core Values Worksheet, for Creating the Vision Statement. Your committee of

stakeholders can use these for developing a comprehensive vision statement that

motivates and guides your plan.
24 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Sample Vision Statements. We have provided a range of Sample Vision

Statements to show you where other schools have taken the vision-setting

process.

Creating Goal Statements. Once you have a vision and you know where

things currently stand, it’s time to articulate goals. Creating Goal Statements

offers a brief guide as to what should be included in an educational technology

plan goal statement.

Sample Goals. We’ve included some Sample Goals that can guide you in creating your own goal statements.

Action Plan Worksheet. Creating an action plan helps you relate the planned

activities to specific planning goals. We have included the Action Plan Worksheet

to help you complete this process successfully.

Defining Activities for Your Action Plan. We have included a simple set of

guidelines that will assist you and your various planning subcommittees in 

creating practical and realistic action plans.

Aligning Your Technology Plan. The framework will help you to check your

strategic plan for consistency and completeness.

Technology Planning Resources. Finally, we offer a list of those online and

print resources we have found particularly useful for technology planning. The

Technology Planning Resources list is not designed to be one hundred percent

inclusive of everything available online or in print, but it’s a good place to start.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

25

Planning

Building a Framework

The Big Picture 

This picture of your overall plan is a helpful tool for reminding your committee

members and other stakeholders that every action must relate to your vision. It

also serves to remind you that it is the vision, not the technology infrastructure,

that guides your plan.

The diagram below represents the interrelationship of the three key elements

of a strategic educational technology plan. The goal groups shown in the diagram—Curriculum Integration, Professional Development, and Community

Engagement—are the broad areas that your plan should include. Your plan may

have some variation, and you may choose to have more or different major areas.

Having a framework enables you to maintain a direct relationship of goals to

your overall vision. 

Every activity—regardless of exactly how many you might have—must link

to a goal. Furthermore, each goal has to link directly to your plan’s vision.

Technology Infrastructure—wires, software, hardware—is subordinate to vision,

goals, and activities. In other words, your plan is not about infrastructure. Rather,

your plan should focus on vision, goals, and the activities that will support them.

VISION

Curriculum Integration Professional Development 

Goal Goal Goal Goal

Activity Activity Activity Activity

Community Engagement

Goal Goal

Activity Activity

TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
26 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning to Plan

Components of the Planning Process

As you begin the planning process, think about three important components: the

technology planning committee, research and information that will be resources

for the committee, and time. 

The Committee

• Teachers. The committee should include teachers from a range of grade

levels and subjects representative of your school or district composition.

Include non-teaching staff as well.

• Administrators. The presence of a few administrators on your committee

helps to establish accountability and ensure that your efforts are on track with

school, district, and state guidelines/objectives. To help keep the big picture, try

to include district-level curriculum and professional development coordinators.

• Parents. Parents can be your most valuable allies.

• Board members. These are particularly important if your plan will need to

be approved or funded by the local school board.

• Students. After all, they are the ultimate stakeholders!

• Community representatives. Remember your community consists of more

than school staff, parents, and students. 

• Process People. People who understand the planning process and 

are organized.

• Committee chairperson. Someone to keep everyone on track and on task.

• Writer/editor. Someone to polish your finished product and to ensure 

readability.

• Administrative assistant. There’s a lot of paperwork to attend to, and

someone needs to be responsible for taking meeting notes.

Research and Information

• Planning guidebooks and toolkits

• State and/or district guidelines

• Copies of state/district curriculum frameworks

• Sample plans from other districts—preferably from within your own state

• Visits to other schools/districts to see how they have implemented 

technology as a tool for teaching and learning

• Examples of lesson plans/units demonstrating how technology can be 

integrated within the existing curriculum

Planning
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

27

Planning

• Workshops, courses, institutes, and other staff development that relates to

technology integration, strategic planning, and/or state guidelines for technology plans

Time

A minimum of four months from start to finish, with a clear understanding that

the process is quite likely to take longer. Based on our experience, most districts

may need closer to half a school year to complete the plan.

Forming Your Technology Planning Committee

Stakeholders are people who have a keen interest in technology planning

because it will impact their work or interests. Stakeholders are also those who

have expertise that is important for the planning, implementation, and integration processes. To write your school technology plan, you need a committee

composed of educational-technology stakeholders who will actively work to help

write the school’s plan. Keep in mind:

• Your committee members should represent all aspects of your school community. This means teachers (from a variety of grades and/or subject areas),

administrators, parents, community members (e.g., business people), and

perhaps students. Refer to Chapter 5, Community Engagement, for possible

community members who can contribute to your planning committee.

• While working by committee may be burdensome, resist the temptation to

form a committee of only one or two people. On the other hand, avoid 

committees that are too large and unmanageable. 

• Since the planning process contains many different tasks, you will need

members with a variety of skills: curriculum design, professional development, technology infrastructure expertise, and experience with budgetary

matters, administrative policy, and process tasks.

• Committee members need to understand that planning, implementation, 

and integration are ongoing processes, not short-term commitments. The 

committee members should be willing to assist in your school’s technology

implementation efforts long after the actual plan is written. 

• You can use the following worksheet when forming your planning committee. A blank, reproducible copy is included in the Appendix.
28 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Forming Your Technology

Planning Committee

Expertise Technology Planning Committee

Teachers Administrators Parents Others

Curriculum 

Design

Professional 

Development

Technology 

Infrastructure

Fiscal and 

Budgetary

Policy

Process Tasks

(Writing, calling

meetings, etc.)

Appendix

Mary Burns 

(11th SS) 

Rob Lester 

(3rd)

Kathy Quinn

(6th Language

Arts)

Roger Harte

(10th Science)

Julie Jones

(4th)

Ed Martin

(HS principal)

Diane Tabor

Herman Jahn

Tom Burton

Martha White

(Supt.)

Ted Wallace

(Asst. Supt.)

Sue Tucker

(MS 

principal)

Charlie Parker

Dee Smith

Andy Caroll

Will Fence

Lois Simpson

Donna 

Michaels

(accountant)

Stephanie Lee

(owner,

CompuMart)

Claire

Stanford

(Board 

member)

Joe Cavazos

(editor)

Appendix

page 231
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

29

Planning

Appendix

page 232

Planning a Timeline

Following is a broad timeline of what you will need to do for planning, when,

and how long it will take. A blank, reproducible, copy of the worksheet is

included in the Appendix. We have to note that this eighteen-week timeline is

considerably more optimistic than what most districts are able to accomplish. 

Weeks in which there are no named activities allow time for completing the

work necessary to move the plan to the next step. While it is highly likely that

certain steps will take longer to complete, it is very unlikely that steps can be

completed in less time than is shown.

Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Technology Planning Timeline

Choose and notify committee members.

Finalize committee appointments, and announce first meeting.

Hold first committee meeting to orient members to process, overview

process, and begin to set vision.

Second committee meeting to finalize vision. Create subcommittees by goal

group.

Subcommittees meet to fix goals.

Entire committee meets to review/revise goals.

Subcommittees create action plans/items within goal groups.

Entire committee meets to review progress and subcommittee work.

Subcommittees finish their work and turn products over to writers/editors

to compile into a final draft.

Writers/editors compile sections, write unifying pieces, work on graphics. 

Distribute final draft to entire committee for review.

Hold final committee meeting to approve the draft for distribution.
30 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Components of a Good Technology Plan

There is no single best model for an effective technology plan. You will find a

number of templates, checklists, and frameworks to help guide your work. Our

experience indicates the best plan is one that suits local priorities, is closely

linked to its district’s instructional goals, and is developed by a broadly representative planning group. As with any educational innovation, it can take as

long as five years for improvements (including technology implementation) to

impact student achievement measures. Therefore, most technology plans are

designed with goals and objectives that extend over a five-year period.

Included are the activities that will take place within that time and the sources

of funding that will support that plan. 

We have selected several key items that you will want to include in your technology plan, along with applicable goals and objectives. We direct you to the

sections in this book where you can get more information regarding these 

various items. 

A vision statement. An effective technology plan begins with a vision statement

that focuses on learning goals and outcomes. This chapter includes steps and

activities that you and your planning team can use to create that vision statement. 

An assessment of current technology use in your district. Where you are

and where you want to be. This information provides a baseline for planning

and implementation. We have included some survey forms in this chapter for 

carrying out this assessment.

Curriculum integration. Curriculum integration involves curriculum goalsetting, infrastructure planning, and professional development planning. These

may be stated broadly, or you may prefer to list specific outcomes by grade level.

(See tools later in this chapter for creating vision, goals, and action plans.) 

An evaluation plan. Once you start to implement the technology, how will you

evaluate its effectiveness? You will want to assess all elements of your technology

initiative—from teachers’ instructional use to the effectiveness of local policies

regarding access, training, and support. 

Equitable—and practical—access for teachers and students. What is your

strategy for providing technology access to teachers and students? Do you have

provisions for an Acceptable Use Policy, especially for the Internet? Chapter 6

presents various classroom models for creating student and teacher access. 

Professional development. Teacher training is one of the most important elements in a successful technology effort. If teachers do not have the understanding

or the skills to use technology, then technology integration will have little impact.

Chapter 4 describes the pros and cons of various strategies that address not only

basic technology skills, but also changing instruction and integrating technology

into daily classroom activities. How do you plan to deliver the necessary professional development? Suggestions for developing a staff development curriculum are

also included.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

31

Planning

Community engagement. Community engagement should not be an afterthought

to technology planning. In fact, it is a crucial component to success. You should

recognize that your community includes everyone in your school district—board

members, administrators, teachers, support personnel, and students, as well as 

parents, business leaders, and others who are directly or indirectly associated with

your schools. Chapter 5 discusses ways to communicate your technology plan to

the community and to secure community support and participation. 

Infrastructure. Infrastructure is a complex area of technology planning; here

we break it into four main categories.

1. Specifications for hardware and software acquisitions. The software

(instructional materials and applications) that best suits your school or district’s

instructional needs should determine hardware (equipment) purchases.

Compatibility and ease of use are also important considerations. Focusing on

cutting-edge or specialty items can be a waste of resources, unless they address

a specific need. This is an area in which an external consultant can be invaluable. Chapter 6 will help you create a set of realistic goals and objectives. 

• Networking and multimedia access. Items in this category may include

wiring and cabling, provisions for a local area network, Internet services,

and access to cable or satellite television. This is another area where an

external consultant can be of great help. 

• Facilities modification and other infrastructure supports. If you are building a

new facility, plan to include access to telecommunications and networks. Or,

if you have older facilities, consider the need to add electrical outlets or telephone lines, or to adapt heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. You may

also need to add or remove carpeting, alter acoustics, or repair a leaky roof.

• Safety and security measures. This may include not only concerns about

physical safety and protecting equipment and supplies, but also provisions

for assuring the security of student records, teachers’ files, and so forth.

• System maintenance, troubleshooting, and technical support. This is another

critical but often-neglected topic. 

2. Assessment of your infrastructure. Technology systems and software will

become outdated and equipment will wear out. While you don’t need to

keep up with every technological innovation, your technology planning

process should include provisions for regular review. 

3. Budget summary and funding strategies. Funding your technology plan

is an important piece of your total plan. Chapter 7 provides many resources

for external funding as well as tips on how you can maximize your local 

revenue streams. 

4. Timeline. You will need to develop several timelines for carrying out different parts of your technology plan. Don’t forget to include those timelines in

your technology plan, too. We have incorporated timelines in this chapter

and in various other survey and assessment forms throughout this book.
32 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Sample Technology Plan Outline

The following sample outline of an educational technology plan is intended to

show the various sections and flow of a typical plan. You need first to check with

your state or district technology administration to determine if there is a particular format that your plan must follow. Often it is acceptable to have more than

the state requires, but it is never acceptable to leave out a state-required section.

As long as your planning committee follows state and local guidelines, they

might decide to vary the actual order of sections, or even add sections. 

Sample Technology Plan Outline

I. Executive summary/Introduction

II. Our school’s vision for educational technology

A. Why are we interested in using technology? 

B. How will technology impact teaching and learning in our school? 

III. Current status of educational technology in our school

IV. Planning focus areas 

A. Curriculum integration

1. Overview of our curriculum integration strategy

2. Goals and objectives

B. Staff development

1. Overview of our staff development strategy

2. Goals and objectives

C. Community engagement

1. Overview of our community engagement strategy

2. Goals and objectives

D.Infrastructure

1. Overview of our infrastructure strategy

2. Goals and objectives

V. Technology infrastructure design

VI. Equitable and practical access for teachers and students

VII. Action plan by year (for five years)

A. Curriculum integration

B. Staff development

C. Community engagement

D.Infrastructure

VIII. Roles and responsibilities

IX. Budget summary/Funding strategies

X. Evaluation 

XI. Appendices—Committee membership, Inventories, Survey data, 

Glossary, Bibliography
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

33

Planning

Technology Needs Survey 

The Technology Needs Survey, developed for the SEIR◆TEC intensive site schools

is designed to determine teacher needs and attitudes related to instructional 

technology. You may find that some of these questions do not apply to your 

situation; in that case, you would want to customize it for your own needs before

administering it to your district’s staff. You will find a reproducible instrument in

the Appendix.

Administering this survey early in your planning process can help you 

accumulate valuable data on the current status of technology implementation

and integration in your school or district. You will need a comprehensive picture

of how teachers currently think about and use technology in their teaching. After

you gather this information, you can use it as valuable baseline data to measure

your progress in future planning years. Administering this survey again after a

year or two will inform you of changes or additional activities you need to undertake. If you have already begun implementing technology in your school or 

district, this survey may be useful for measuring the progress you’ve made.

Whether you use the SEIR◆TEC survey, or create your own, these are the areas

of information that should prove useful:

• What types of activities do teachers use with educational technologies and

how often do they use those activities? 

• Do teachers have access to a computer for their own use, or do they 

routinely use a personally owned computer to prepare materials for use in

their classrooms?

• What ideas does the staff have about what is needed to make technology

more useful?

• What student benefits have the staff members observed in relation to the use

of technology in the school/classroom?

• What new software or hardware do teachers frequently request for use in

classrooms? 

• What are examples of special work or projects teachers and students have

done with technology?

• Which courses or subjects most often use technology? 

• Who supervises and assists students in the use of computers?

• Who assists and supports technology problems within schools on a daily

basis? 

• Who handles major technology problems that have come up regarding the

use of technology in the school/classroom? 

• What is the type and frequency of participation in educational technology

professional development in the previous two years? What effect has it had

on instructional practices?

Appendix

page 233
34 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

• What hardware and software are available in the school or classroom? Don’t

overlook existing networks, TVs, VCRs, Channel 1, laser-disc players, 

scanners, digital cameras, access to the Internet, and so on. 

• What are the levels of technology experience of teachers and other staff?

• What new professional development do teachers and staff members 

frequently request?

Technology Inventory Worksheet 

Before you create a want list, be sure to inventory what you already have on

hand. You might be surprised at what currently exists in your district. Often

Planning

Appendix

page 234

© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 1 of 2)

Operating systems

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Computers: include manufacturer, processor type and speed, capacity of ROM, capacity of

RAM, CD drive, networked, standalone. See district property and inventory report for details.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Peripherals

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Mac OS 7.5 on all elementary school machines.

Mix of Windows 3.X, 95, and 97 in middle and high school.

Bridge Elem—2 Mac 5200 labs (10 machines each)

Misc. Apple IIe machines around building

Hastings Elem—1 Mac 5200 in each classroom

Misc Apple IIe machines around building

JF K Middle School—PC Lab (20 486 machines) 

PC workstations (386 and 486) in principal’s office and LMC

Central High—English /Writing Lab (15 PCs)

Library (10 PCs, Internet-connected) 

Science/Math Lab (20 PCs) 

Business Lab (20 PCs) 

Scanner

Zip drive

External CD-ROM

Printers

See district property and inventory report for details.

One laser printer in each lab (across district), misc. inkjet printers 

throughout buildings. 

Scanner in Bridge Elem school lab.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

35

Planning

Appendix

page 235

Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Other

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Networks: Local or Wide Area

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone access

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Internet access

________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail provider

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Software applications

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 2 of 2)

Digital cameras

TV monitors

Display devices

Video projector (??) at High School

Digital camera at Hastings Elem. (ask Ms. Stewart—LMC specialist)

Dedicated Internet connection in HS LMC. 

One dial-up connection (using modem) in all other buildings.

Computers in HS labs are "ethernetted" (??) 

Computers in elem labs are local-talk networked

BellSouth

Provider: Free HokeyNet connection for HS. Dialin to AOL at other buildings.

Browser: Netscape in elem schools. MS Internet Explorer at middle and high.

AOL, HotMail, Yahoo mail, etc. No district-wide e-mail service. Each teacher 

responsible for his/her own account. No e-mail for students.

AppleWorks 4.0 on each Mac.

MS Works on each PC. Some PCs have MS Office ’98 (but we don’t know 

where this came from!!)

All other software is owned by individual teachers. Not registered to district!

teachers or principals have gained access to some computer technology through

special projects or other funding. Sometimes a teacher or administrator who is

no longer with the district may have purchased technology that now sits unused

and forgotten. A reproducible worksheet for this technology inventory is

included in the Appendix. You may want to modify it for your own use.
36 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Identifying Core Values and Creating 

a Vision Statement

A well-defined vision statement is the cornerstone of any good plan. Before the

planning committee starts drafting goals and objectives, it should first define or

describe its vision for technology. This vision should reflect your district’s core

values as they relate to educational improvement and the role that technology

will play in helping support those values. We suggest that you conduct 

brainstorming sessions such as those described below to develop your vision

statement and identify your core values. 

Activity 1 Brainstorm to develop a vision.

Introduce the activity with the following:

The overall goal of a strategic educational technology plan is to lay out an

operational plan for using technology to enhance teaching and learning.

It is expected that the process for implementing technology will not be

instantaneous or finite. Rather, technology integration is an ongoing

process, throughout which we should be able to look back and see definite

changes and growth. If the plan has been successful, the changes and

growth will have followed the basic structure—the goals, objectives, and

timelines—of the technology plan. As a technology planning committee,

your task is to write that plan.

To help us develop a picture of what our district will look like as this

technology plan is implemented, imagine one of our schools five years

from now. Specifically, think about a student who is attending that school.

As you imagine a day in that student’s life, identify the ways that 

technology touches the student’s experience in the school. 

Brainstorm images that help you see technology being used to:

• Support new ways of teaching and learning

• Expand learning beyond the walls of the traditional classroom

• Support teachers in their instructional tasks and professional learning

• Bring the school closer to its parent community

• Make more efficient use of teacher and administrator time and resources

Write these ideas on a flip chart and refer to them later when you create your

vision statement.
Chapter 2: Technology Planning

37

Activity 2 Identify core values.

The Core Values Worksheet activity is useful for helping your committee identify

core values that support your common vision. A reproducible version of the

Core Values Worksheet is included in the Appendix.

In the Core Values Worksheet you are asked to describe why you believe that

technology is a necessary tool for teaching and learning in this district. The worksheet also asks you to describe in broad terms your core educational values and

the ways in which technology will impact student learning and to discuss your

commitment to making sure that students, teachers, administrators, and your entire

educational community have access to technology tools.

Planning

Appendix

page 236

© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Instructions: Use the spaces below to list five reasons why technology is important to the students

and teachers in your school. Start by thinking about how technology can impact and improve 

student learning. 

Technology is important to students and teachers because:

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Core Values Worksheet

Technology gives all students greater access to knowledge and information.

Technology provides students with more ways to manipulate, interpret, and present

information.

Technology is a catalyst for creativity, collaboration, and cooperation. 

It enhances creativity.

Technology provides students with "real life" tools to solve "real life" problems. 

Technology allows our teachers to spend more time teaching and less time record-keeping.

Appendix

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice
Use this tool to catalog the core values of your district or school—paying 

particular attention to how these values relate to technology’s role within the

teaching and learning environment. Make sure that your vision statement reflects

these core values.

Each person on your planning team should complete the worksheet individually, and then a facilitator should work with the entire group to reach consensus

on the core values for your campus or district. Once expanded upon, these 

reasons can form the basis of the vision statement of your technology plan. 

Activity 3 Create the vision statement.

Once you have completed the brainstorming activity and have identified core

values, your school technology planning committee can begin to work on your

vision statement. You may use the statements from the brainstorming and core

values activities to stimulate conversation and spur additional thoughts about

why your school needs to integrate technology in its teaching and learning 

environments.

The vision statement should result in a single, concise paragraph that 

summarizes your answers to the questions “Why is technology important to the

students and teachers in our school?” and “Why do you believe that technology

is a necessary tool for teaching and learning in this district?”

As you start work on your vision statement, it may be useful to examine

vision statements of other schools and districts. As you will see, there are many

different interpretations of what constitutes an appropriate vision statement. One

thing that is consistent across all of these statements is that their bottom line is

an expression of how technology will be used to impact student learning 

and achievement. 

We have included portions of the vision statements from plans of several of

the SEIR◆TEC intensive sites and other schools with which we have worked. You

may wonder why you cannot just adopt a vision statement that someone else has

generated. The point is that the vision statement should reflect your own 

situation, values, and context. For many it may be the process of jointly creating

the vision that makes it a useful guiding light to your own plan. The visionsetting process can help get your committee all on the same page, which will 

certainly be invaluable in fulfilling that vision down the line.

We suggest that you postpone reading the examples that follow until the 

latter part of your vision-creation process, and do so as a reality check. You will

notice that some of these schools have lengthy vision statements; be aware,

however, that the value of a vision statement is not determined by its length.

And, most importantly, remember that your vision statement will be unique to

your own school or district. 

38 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

39

Planning

Sample Vision Statements

Lakeside School District

Our Vision for Educational Technology

It is the vision of the Lakeside School District that all students and faculty be provided with the latest technology tools and training so that they can function in

society and be competitive in the global market. We envision that students will

develop the necessary skills to be productive members of society. Technology

will support this development by refining their critical thinking skills, enabling

effective communication, and fostering creativity.

Lakeside School District is committed to providing ongoing and continuous

training to all of its teachers in the use of and integration of technology tools.

To ensure equity of learning, these tools will be made available to all students

in support of their varied learning styles and needs by providing faculty access

to state of the art information and resources. 

To achieve our vision, the Lakeside School District will enlist the active

engagement of our parents and community and offer the technological resources

of the schools.

Lincoln High School

Vision for Educational Technology

Technology offers students an avenue to succeed as citizens in a global society

in which information is growing at an incredible rate. Technology can improve

communication, enhance thinking skills, make instruction more efficient and

effective, and develop life skills critical to success. Lincoln High School will incorporate technology as a means of integrating curriculum across subject areas.

Students and educators will be guaranteed opportunities to use technology as an

integral part of education. In support of this vision, Lincoln High School offers its

Strategic Educational Technology Plan. 

Ricardo Richards Elementary School

Vision

As an educational institution, Ricardo Richards School is committed to ensuring

that all students and staff acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary

to be lifelong learners.
40 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Rosemary Middle School

Our Vision for Technology Integration

Students, parents, and educators will use communication and information technologies to enhance and expand the traditional role of education in the Andrews

community. We believe the basic goal of education has not changed, that is, to

prepare our students for life-long learning and success in a changing society.

However, the tools and instructional methods to achieve these goals have

advanced dramatically. Technologies such as computers, networks, and widearea communications offer tremendous opportunities to students and educators

as a way to improve life within our community and a link to the world outside

of Andrews. Rosemary Middle School has the responsibility for developing 

curriculum and applying instructional methods enriched with technology 

and in ensuring that our students and teachers are proficient users of these new

technologies. This technology integration plan will outline our strategies for 

turning this vision into reality.

Groton Public Schools

A Vision for Technology 

We envision using technology to further a learning community where: 

• Students are engaged in a challenging curriculum that is focused on inquirybased, hands-on learning. Students are comfortable using technology.

Students take responsibility for their own educational success. 

• Teachers use technology to support all learning across the curriculum. They

function as coaches, mentors, advocates, and managers of information.

Through ongoing, comprehensive professional development, all teachers

acquire the knowledge and skills to integrate technology into a challenging

and interdisciplinary curriculum that addresses students’ specific needs,

developmental levels, and learning styles. 

• Administrative functions, including those performed by instructional staff, are

fully automated, thereby allowing more of the school system’s energy and

resources to be focused on student education. 

The schools become an environment where all students and staff have ready

access to a full range of current technology, software tools, and applications. The

schools have knowledgeable staff and external resources (such as parents, community members, business, higher education, and network resources) to further

the curriculum goals.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

41

Planning

Whiteville City Schools

Vision

The vision of Whiteville City Schools is to provide all students with access to

state-of-the-art information technology that will assist them in:

• becoming proficient in reading, writing, mathematics, and critical thinking,

• being prepared for the next level of education, and

• successfully attaining the skills and proficiencies required of today’s work force. 

In addition, all administrators, teachers, and district/school staff will use 

technology daily to effectively help students attain high standards and prepare

for tomorrow’s world of work. 

Why Technology?

In the twenty-first century, understanding and using technology will be an 

integral part of virtually every aspect of daily life. It is the school system’s

responsibility to prepare students for this future. The classroom is the primary

place where this preparation will occur; therefore, every classroom must be

equipped with diverse technologies to support teaching and learning. Every

teacher must be knowledgeable and skilled in the use of these technologies in

daily instruction. When integrated into instruction, technology will support new

strategies for teaching and learning by:

• addressing diverse learning styles, 

• accommodating individual learning rates, 

• encouraging cooperative learning, 

• helping students accept responsibility for their learning, 

• providing the means to communicate globally, and 

• improving academic achievement in all areas. 

The use of technology in instruction changes the structure of the classroom.

No longer will the teacher rely solely on the traditional lecture/seatwork

method of instruction. In a technology-rich, learner-centered classroom, the

teacher serves as a facilitator of instruction, mentor, and coach. Technology will

provide a record of the student’s academic history and ways to manage learning progress and activities. Teachers have the data and information needed to

individualize instruction and assessment as well as make other important

instructional management decisions. Through technology, teachers and 

students will access a wealth of materials, services, and networks throughout

the state, nation, and world. Technology does not replace the teacher, but

rather supports and enhances the educational process.
SEIR◆TEC

Creating Goal Statements

Once you have created your vision statement and your planning team has a

focus for its direction, it’s time to create goal statements. 

What Is a Goal Statement? 

Goal statements are the specific pieces of the plan that support your vision. For

technology planning, appropriate goal statements should be created for these

three broad areas:

• Curriculum integration

• Professional development

• Community engagement

Other areas are possible if they fit your situation. Also, remember that you must

abide by the structure set for technology plans by your state department of 

education. If this structure requests a particular focus area, then you must create

goals for that area.

Goal statements describe what you want to accomplish. While your vision

statement might not change over a period of time, your goals might change.

School districts may have similar vision statements but the goals that support

their vision may be quite different. 

Goal statements, however, do not describe how a goal will be reached. How

things will get done is described in an action plan. Tools and formats for 

creating action plans follow the sample goals.

Sample Goals

Curriculum Integration 

In general, most technology plans have three basic goals related to technology

integration:

• A goal that describes technology as supporting the core curriculum

and/or state curriculum frameworks. Most districts choose to support

this goal with one sample activity illustrating how technology would be used

within each core curriculum area.

• A goal that describes technology as supporting learning and thinking

skills for all students, such as inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, and

creativity. Most districts support this goal with three activities, that is, one

activity illustrating how technology would be used at elementary-, middle-,

and high-school levels to support these skills. Plans might also specify 

technology and learning activities for special populations, such as students with 

disabilities or those who speak English as a second language.

• A goal that describes technology expertise as a critical skill that prepares

students for a technological future. This goal touches on how and why 

42 Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

43

students become effective and efficient users of technology. Most districts

develop several activities that support this goal.

You may find it useful to review some of the materials and resources in

Chapter 3 for examples of how technology supports learning. Following are

some sample goals:

• Our students will learn to solve problems cooperatively through teamwork,

assisted by appropriate technologies.

• Our students will develop an appreciation for and the ability to use 

technology in problem-solving situations.

• Our students will have opportunities to work with voice, video, and data

technology in an atmosphere conducive to their varied learning styles.

• Our students will have equitable access to computers and other technology

tools where instructional needs are best served. 

• Our students will be provided with a range of experiences designed to

develop the technological skills necessary to function responsibly in life 

situations marked by rapid technological change.

Professional Development 

Professional development is the training and development needed by teachers

and administrators to use technology tools within teaching and learning environments. Be sure to include goals that relate to learning new, technologysupported pedagogical approaches as well as the mechanics of hardware, 

software, and network operations. As we detail in Chapter 4, teachers not only

need to know how to use technology effectively, they also need to understand

reasons for using technology. Your professional development goals should

address both the how and the why of teaching and learning with technology.

Some examples follow:

• Our teachers, administrators, and staff will participate in professional

development as necessary to make them proficient technical users of the

district-wide network, its resources (such as e-mail and online information

collections), and other technology devices and resources.

• Our teachers will participate in professional development as necessary to

develop pedagogical techniques and strategies to facilitate learner-centered,

project-based curricula that integrate the use of technology tools.

• Our teachers and staff will be provided with adequate time to take advantage

of professional development opportunities related to learning technology

skills and strategies.

• Our teachers will be provided with time, incentives, and opportunities to

share their individual technology skills and expertise with other teachers in

their schools and around the district.

Planning
SEIR◆TEC

Community Engagement 

Schools and their communities are mutually dependent. All too often, schools

forget that they can both obtain tremendous resources from their communities

and put back as much as they gain. 

As we detail in Chapter 5, your plan’s community engagement goals should

express this give-and-take. These goals are designed to address the many ways

that your schools can draw support from your community of stakeholders and

at the same time serve as rich resources to a diverse community. 

Here are some examples:

• Our ongoing technology planning process will address the needs and 

concerns of a wide range of school and community stakeholders, including

teachers, administrators, school staff, parents, students, local business and

industry, and community service providers.

• We will operate and maintain our technology infrastructure in partnership

with the local community.

• We will create information on our wide area network that is useful and 

relevant to a diverse range of users, both within and outside the schoolsystem network.

• We will provide opportunities for teachers, students, administrators, and

community members to use technology resources at school and in other

locations throughout our community.

Taking Action

Creating an Action Plan 

Once you have stated your goals, the next step is to determine how you are

going to achieve them. For that purpose, you need to have an action plan.

Creating individual action plans for each goal can become quite complicated,

since you need to determine what it is exactly that you need to do to support

that goal, who will be responsible for carrying it out, when an activity needs to

be completed, what resources are required, and where the activity will take place.

Furthermore, some activities will depend on the completion of another 

activity. It may be helpful to create a flowchart or diagram to show how all of the

action plans relate to each other, to each of the goals, and to the vision statement. 

Many tools are available for accomplishing this task. Check the Technology

Planning Resources section in this chapter for different templates, rubrics, or

matrices that you can use for this process. 

A reproducible form of the following worksheet is included in the Appendix.

You will need to create a different template for each goal and the activities related

to it. The sample that follows shows how this template can be used. 

44 Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

45

Planning

Appendix

page 237

Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Goal Group: Statement of Goal: Activities Responsible Begins Hardware/ Other resources Professional Budget

person /ends software required development allowed for 

required required this activity

Evaluation

• Participants in seminars and workshops will complete evaluation forms.• Participants in summer seminar will keep a journal of their thoughts and impressions during the series.• After the "One Computer Classroom" workshop, participants will submit lesson plans showing technology-supported 

curriculum units to Principal and Elementary Curriculum Coordinator.

Professional development (Grades K–5; 2000-2001 school year)

Our teachers will participate in professional development as necessary to develop pedagogical techniques and strategies to facilitate learner-centered, project-based curricula that integrate the use of technology tools.

Cooperative learning strate- gies seminar series (K–5) Elem. Curriculum Coordinator & Consultants 6/99 —8/99 none Need to coordinate with district prof. dev. plan! Participants need familiarity with K–5 curriculum frameworks. Stipends and consult- ant fee; pay from PD

grant.

“One Computer Classroom”

workshop (K–5)

Elem. Instructional Tech Specialist

10/99 —2weeks Elem School Mac Lab, 

AppleWorks, LCD projector,

Make sure par- ticipants actually have a classroom computer!!

Participants must have taken coop learning workshop during previoussummer.

Tech budget for IT specialist’s salary. No stipends.

Appendix

Action Plan Worksheet
SEIR◆TEC

Defining Activities for Your Action Plan

Appropriate activities within your action plan should allow you to answer YES

to each of the following questions:

• Does this activity directly relate to at least one of your goals?

Remember that you should not have goals that do not support your vision,

and you should not have activities that do not support goals. 

• Is this activity critically important to accomplish or fulfill the goal it

supports?

If you do not perform this activity, would you be unable to accomplish your

goal? It is important to choose activities which have a clear relationship to the

goal and which create sustained and measurable impact in terms of the goal.

• Is the activity do-able? 

Do you have the resources—financial, human, and time—to accomplish this

activity by the end of the time period you have specified? Have you accounted

for all of the resources—time, hardware/software, staff development, 

funding—that you need to accomplish this activity?

• What impact will the activity have on related activities in years to

come?

Is there anything about this activity that would prevent you from performing other related activities beyond year one of your plan? For example, is this

activity so expensive that you would deplete all of the funds that might be

designated for such activities? Is it an activity that needs to be ongoing?

• Does this activity build upon other activities and initiatives undertaken

within the district?

Certain activities—particularly those related to professional development,

curriculum revision, and infrastructure development—should be linked to

district initiatives much broader than those discussed directly in this technology plan. Examples might include building renovations, district reform plans,

and professional development plans. It is to your benefit to be aware of and

to build upon those other district initiatives.

• Is this a measurable activity?

How will you evaluate this activity? Are there data you can identify and 

collect which will allow you to document your progress and/or success in

accomplishing the activity?

A handy way of summing up these rules is to apply the SMART test. That is,

are your activities:

Specific?

Measurable?

Attainable?

Relevant?

Time-Bound? 

46 Planning into Practice

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Chapter 2: Technology Planning

47

Aligning Your Technology Plan

The framework introduced on page 25 is useful for checking the alignment of

the various sections of your plan. For example, does your vision talk about 

curriculum? If so (and it should), what plan goals relate to that part of your vision

and what action plan steps relate to fulfilling those goals? Is there overlap or

duplication between efforts? Can some areas be consolidated or linked together? What efforts depend on other efforts? Have you forgotten something? By

using such a tool, you can often spot inconsistencies between various elements

of your plan and know where the plan needs more work. This framework is also

useful for updating your plan periodically. 

Planning

VISION

Curriculum Integration Professional Development 

Goal Goal Goal Goal

Activity Activity Activity Activity

Community Engagement

Goal Goal

Activity Activity

TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
48 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Technology Planning Resources

There are many resources available for technology planning that can be found

online (on the Internet) or in print. If you have not checked for resources yet,

you might want to start with these.

Online Resources 

http://www.seirtec.org/techplan.html

This SEIR◆TEC web site has a number of resources to assist you with your 

technology planning. We offer links to sample plans from schools across our

region and to readings and tools offered by other institutions.

http://www.wested.org/tie/techplan/

TechPlan is a technology planning toolkit created by WestEd. This resource contains a number of reproducible tools (in PDF format) as well as text describing

how each tool might be used as part of an overall strategic educational 

technology planning process. Of particular note are the many excellent matrices

and templates that take a slightly different, yet complementary, approach to the

tools we’ve provided in Planning into Practice.

http://www.swcouncil.org/switch2.stm 

The Switched-On Classroom technology planning guide, produced by the

Massachusetts Software Council, was one of the first comprehensive educational

technology planning guides. Recently formatted for the WWW, the Switched-On

Classroom guide offers a good, basic picture of the issues and processes

involved in the creation of a school technology plan.

http://www.ncrel.org/tandl/homepg.htm

Learning through Technology is an online planning guide produced by NCREL

(North Central Regional Educational Laboratory).

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/edtalk/toc.htm

The online version of Plugging In is a readily available version of NCREL’s 

excellent think piece for educational technology planners. Plugging In helps 

planners organize their thoughts according to the kind of technology they wish to

introduce into their schools.

http://www.nctp.com

The National Center for Technology Planning represents the largest collection of

online technology plans in a single location. This is a great place to see what

other schools and districts have done.

Resources
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

49

Planning

http://www.wws.princeton.edu/~ota/disk1/1995/9541.html

Teachers and Technology: Making the Connection is an excellent report that

details many of the issues confronting schools as they examine how to best 

integrate technology in their teaching and learning environments.

Print Resources 

These print resources are particularly useful for introducing technology planning

committee members to the issues, uses, and impacts of technology in education.

Bingham, Margaret H. 1999. Stories with Data and Data with Stories. T.H.E.

Journal (Technological Horizons in Education) 26 (April): 20.

Boethel, Martha; Dimock, K. Victoria; and Hatch, Lin. 1998. Putting Technology

into the Classroom: A Guide for Rural Decision Makers. Austin, TX:

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Ordering information and

an online copy can be found at http://www.sedl.org/tap/puttech.pdf.

Casson, Lucinda, et. al. 1997. Making Technology Happen: Best Practices and

Policies from Exemplary K–12 Schools for Teachers, Principals, Parents,

Policymakers and Industry. Research Triangle Park, NC: Southern

Technology Council. An online version or ordering information for personal

copies can be found at http://www.southern.org/makingte.htm.

Collins, Allan. 1991. The Role Of Computer Technology In Restructuring Schools.

Phi Delta Kappan 73 (September): 28–37. 

Means, Barbara. 1995. Technology’s Role In Education Reform: Findings From A

National Study Of Innovating Schools. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

Ocasio, Linda; Gray, Frances; and Palazzo, Anthony. 1995. Five Great

Technology Plans. Electronic Learning 14 (April): 31.

Sandholtz, Judith H.; Ringstaff, C.; and Dwyer, David C. 1997. Teaching With

Technology: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms. NY: Teachers College,

Columbia University.

Uebbing, Stephen J. 1995. Planning for Technology. Executive Educator 17

(November): 21–23. 
50 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning

Putting It All Together

A conversation on strategic technology planning

In this section, we answer some common questions about this topic by drawing

upon our own experiences working with schools and school districts.

All things being equal, what’s the most important thing a school 

district needs for creating an effective technology plan?

Great question! We think that there really are several most important things for

creating an effective technology plan, but we’ll choose what we think is the 

most important.

The most important ingredient for creating effective technology plans is good

school leadership. Note that we said “school” and that we didn’t say “district.”

While district leadership may be what’s required to kick off a planning effort and

to actually implement a plan once created, it’s school leadership that provides

teachers with the supports necessary to take the time to write the plan.

We’ve seen this in our previous work in the field. There are some sites where

teachers are not provided with encouragement to participate in planning work

other than minimal release time necessary to attend a monthly planning meeting. This is probably rooted in financial concerns—such as the inability to hire

substitutes to provide teacher committee members with more meeting time.

However, the result is that teachers begin to feel that their work is not valued

and may focus on the negative reasons for planning, such as “we have to.” On

the other hand, in schools where committee membership is valued, members are

positive about performing this task.

The important thing is that planning must be supported from the school level

and administrators must honor and value the input from teacher peer groups.

So, what’s the biggest challenge faced by technology planners? 

Leadership is necessary to create a committee, and as we mentioned before, to

simply get the members to meet. Beyond that critical initial step, good leadership means stepping back and letting the committee take on the responsibility

for leading the process. Strong leadership is important for the visioning stage. At

some point into the visioning, leaders need to step back and let the committee

move forward on its own.

Another challenge to the planning committee is knowing that it will have its

district’s full support over the time that it will take to plan and implement 

technology. It is easy to let other priorities take over during the process with the

result that momentum and interest are lost. 

Leaders who simply demand that the plan get done and do not take an active

interest in the progress of the work are likely to get an uninspired and not-sogreat plan. So, once again we’re back to the role of leadership and how it’s

essential to supporting effective planning.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

51

Imagine teaching someone how to ride a bike. Training wheels and a supporting hand are usually necessary to get things moving. Often support is needed

just to overcome the initial fear. This is the role of leadership in technology planning. But once the rider begins to get the hang of it—even if it’s a wobbly and

shaky ride—the leader needs to let go and let the rider take over. 

Once the committee is on its own, the challenge in moving forward is really

one of knowledge. Many committees stall out when it comes to writing goals,

mostly because they have absolutely no idea what goals they should target in

terms of technology use and integration. Finding this target is like finding your

balance when riding that bike. Without the balance, you topple over. Without

knowledge of technology’s possibilities, a planning committee quickly runs out

of steam and collapses.

You mention that the committee needs knowledge about technology use

and integration. How does a planning committee get this knowledge?

There are lots of ways. Unfortunately, none of them is particularly easy. Based

on our field experience, here are some observations and suggestions. 

Often knowledge is provided by a core group of technology experts on the

planning committee. While these members may not have in-depth expertise

about hardware and software, they understand how technology can be 

configured and used in the classroom and within a school. 

The rest of the committee should be careful not to rely wholly upon those

experts, who can easily end up being the only functioning members of a committee and therefore writing the plan by themselves. Also, experts sometimes

end up dominating a committee and alienating other members, even other

experts who have different views. These are major problems!

So, we would have to say that tapping into the experts on your committee

can require a delicate balance. While you need their knowledge, you don’t want

it to have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the planning process.

Instead, you want to build the capacity of the committee as a whole. 

Our suggestion is to develop everyone on the committee into an expert,

instead of letting a few committee members assume that role. This is possible if

you consider that work on the technology planning committee is a professional

development experience. There is no reason why we should expect committee

members to have extensive foreknowledge about technology. They need to take

time to learn about a number of things ranging from planning to technology infrastructure to effective teaching strategies and curriculum integration. Opportunities

should be scattered throughout the planning process for members to develop

their knowledge and skills in both the process and products of technology planning. Developing an entire committee’s knowledge base takes time and effort;

and this time and effort need to be supported by school and district leadership.

Professional development for committee members can take a number of

forms. Making site visits to other districts within their states and elsewhere in 

the region where technology is in use is a very effective way to learn how 

technology is being used in schools.

Planning
SEIR◆TEC

You should visit different types of sites. By this we mean that sites chosen

for visiting don’t have to be high-end or leading-edge in terms of technology and

its use. In fact, if you visit such a place and come from a very disadvantaged,

low technology-using district, you are probably just going to end up feeling discouraged about your own situation, and that isn’t helpful. Instead, find a district

with similar demographics but with a high use of technology. The point is, if the

experience is different in every single respect, you may find it difficult to 

transfer any of the learnings back home.

If you can’t visit another site in person, try a virtual online visit with an

opportunity to ask questions of those at the site. There are also a number of

videotaped experiences, often available from your Regional Technology in

Education Consortium (R◆TEC), Regional Educational Laboratory, or a national

organization such ASCD. These videotapes can help committee members get a

picture of what’s possible via educational technology. Finally, obtain and read

as much information as you can from both print and online materials. Ask 

questions and try to attend educational technology conferences.

OK, the committee has the leadership support and the knowledge

base; what else do they need? 

The committee members need to understand why they are doing this work. Of

course this goes for anything that you want to do well; you need to have the

proper motivation. Technology planning committees need to understand that

their work goes well beyond the creation of the plan. Technology innovations

require time to be accepted and so the committee needs to revisit and revise its

plan accordingly. 

In a way, this leads to the ironic conclusion that the product of planning is

not really the plan, but the experience of planning. There’s a great quote from

Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” We agree.

This really is the goal of technology planning. If the committee members ultimately come to understand this, then they can move into the future always ready

to make the most of whatever benefits and challenges may be presented. On the

other hand, if they believe that there is magic in the plan itself and that the plan

will be implemented as written, then they’re in for continual disappointment.

We have seen the energizing effect that a successful technology planning

effort can have. We can think of two cases in which the planning work served

to motivate the participants to really engage with the processes of technology

integration. Frankly, in both of these cases it has been a struggle to bring the

actual technology plan documents to completion. But, in a larger sense, the

accomplishments of planning have been realized even without a final document.

There are other instances where planning documents were rushed to 

completion, but nothing happened subsequently. It may be simplistic, but it’s

also true: it’s not the plan—it’s the process. 

52 Planning into Practice

Chapter 2: Technology Planning

Planning
Integrating

Technology

into the

Curriculum

3

Chapter

53
Table of Contents

What Do We Mean by Integration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Putting the Tools to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Managing One or More Computers in the Classroom without 

Losing Your Hair or Your Sanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

Technology Standards for Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Integrating Technology into the Curriculum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

Software Applications Commonly Used in Curriculum Units . . . .70

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Steps Towards Infusing Technology into an Existing 

Curriculum Unit/Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Classroom Activity Planning Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Classroom Observation Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

Technology Integration Progress Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Resources for Integrating Technology into the Curriculum . . . . . .94

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Chapter 3

54
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 55

What Do We Mean by Integration? 

ne thing that we have found to be consistent as we work in schools

around the nation and in the SEIR◆TEC region is that there are many 

different definitions of the term technology integration. So, to begin this

chapter on the integration of technology, we offer our definition of the term. 

To us, integration is the use of technology by students and teachers to enhance

teaching and learning and to support existing curricular goals and objectives.

In other words, we are not talking about computer classes or some other sort

of stand-alone technology curriculum that focuses on teaching students about

technology. By and large, we are thinking about regular classroom teachers using

the different technologies to support the learning of all students within and

across curriculum areas. We are always careful to remember that technology is

not a cure-all, and sometimes the best teaching tool is not a technology tool.

Technology benefits skilled teachers and engaged students but does not by itself

create either. As with any teaching tool, technology must be understood within

the broad context of curriculum and pedagogy.

At the same time, technology tools come with their own particular challenges and benefits. We work toward a vision in which all teachers use technology fluently and seamlessly to support student-focused learning rather than

teacher-driven instruction. At present, however, teacher use is typically neither

fluent nor seamless. Indeed, the attention paid to technology planning and use

often serves to highlight other educational problems such as teachers with weak

pedagogical skills and insufficient understanding of the curriculum; a lack of

staff development and other support for teachers; and conflicts between educational expectations and the effort required to meet those expectations. The

bottom line is that many teachers find it difficult to integrate technology because

it usually means changing the way they teach. And, it doesn’t help matters when

policymakers measure the success of technology initiatives in terms of student

scores on standardized tests. 

Fortunately, there are a number of research studies that give evidence that

effective teaching and learning with technology can improve student outcomes.

For example, research conducted through the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow

(ACOT) indicates that students who use technology extensively as part of their

daily school experience exhibit the following behaviors and characteristics:

• Explore and represent information dynamically and in many forms.

• Become socially aware and more confident.

Integrating Technology

into the Curriculum

O

Integration
56 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

• Communicate effectively about complex processes.

• Use technology routinely and appropriately.

• Become independent learners and self-starters.

• Know their areas of expertise and share that expertise spontaneously.

• Work well collaboratively.

• Develop a positive orientation to the future.

Our experience suggests that when teachers realize that technology can

improve student learning, they are willing and eager to begin integrating it into

the ongoing educational program. For more information about research on the

impact of technology on learning, look on the Internet at the following sites:

http://www.apple-imac.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TechConf/1999/confsun.html

http://www.mcrel.org/products/tech/technology/impact.asp

Once teachers realize the potential for improving learning through the effective use of technology, and as they strive to become competent or even proficient

technology users, they begin to change the way they teach. The ACOT studies

revealed that teachers go through stages as they learn to infuse technology into

teaching and learning (Sandholtz, Ringstaff, and Dwyer, 1997). As teachers move

through the phases and learn to fluidly integrate technology into the curriculum,

they usually find it hard to understand how they could have taught without it. 

ACOT Stages of Technology Integration

Stage Example of What Teachers Do

Entry Learn the basics of using the new technology.

Adoption Use new technology to support traditional instruction.

Adaptation Integrate new technology into traditional classroom practice. Here

they often focus on increased student productivity and engagement

by using word processors, spreadsheets, and graphics tools.

Appropriation Focus on cooperative, project-based, and interdisciplinary work—

incorporating the technology as needed and as one of many tools.

Invention Discover new uses for technology tools (for example, developing

spreadsheet macros for teaching algebra or designing projects that

combine multiple technologies).

As teachers integrate technology into teaching and learning, shifts occur in

classrooms. In essence, traditional teacher-focused instruction changes to studentoriented knowledge construction, as the following chart from ACOT's research

shows:

Integration
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Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

57

Traditional Extended 

Instruction (Knowledge Construction)

Activity Teacher-centered and didactic Learner-centered and interactive

Teacher role Fact teller and expert Collaborator and sometimes learner

Student role Listener and learner Collaborator and sometimes expert

Learning Facts and replication Relationships and inquiry

Emphasis

Concept Accumulation Transformation

of knowledge

Demonstration Quantity Quality

of success

Assessment Norm-referenced and multiple Criterion-referenced and 

guess performance portfolios

Technology use Seat work Communication, collaboration, 

information access, and expression

Technology allows students to become active learners and to develop their

problem solving, critical-thinking, and creativity skills. Technology offers 

students and teachers rapid and broad access to information and resources. Tools

such as the Internet provide the means for students and teachers to engage in

inquiry-based learning and to interact with a world of collaborators, information

providers, and fellow learners. Computer-based simulations can engage students

in open-ended explorations of what if? scenarios that would be impossible to

recreate in the physical (as opposed to virtual) universe.

Common information-technology tools, such as spreadsheets and databases,

allow the rapid and flexible manipulation of information, enabling students (and

teachers) to analyze data and to form insights from a number of different perspectives and in sync with an individual’s own particular patterns of mind. Also,

the use of technology tools such as word processors and multimedia presentation managers help students improve communication skills and assume responsibility for the quality of their products of learning. True, all of this could be done

without technology, but if the tools are there, and are undeniably used in the

world outside of school, why wouldn’t teachers and students want to use them?

Integration
58 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

Tools in this Chapter

Information technology such as computers, software applications, video,

audio/visual multimedia, and telecommunications can be integrated into virtually

any classroom situation. The key is to start with your curriculum goals and then

to match them with the appropriate technology tools. Another is to examine state

or national standards for learning, both for technology and in the content areas,

and then to identify ways teachers may use technology to help students meet 

the standards. 

Thus, it is with technology’s particular challenges as well as its benefits in

mind that we provide the following tools for integrating technology within 

the curriculum.

Managing One or More Computers in the Classroom without Losing Your

Hair or Your Sanity. Written by SEIR◆TEC members Jeanne Guerrero and

Donna Ashmus, Managing One or More Computers in the Classroom without

Losing Your Hair or Your Sanity will give you some down-to-earth suggestions

for how to think about technology in the classroom.

Technology Standards for Students. Technology Standards for Students

provides information about national standards for technology proficiency.

Integrating Technology into the Curriculum. Integrating Technology into 

the Curriculum gives you a conceptual framework for understanding four 

basic types of instructional technology. We have also included in each type a

description of the software applications used in many educational settings. 

Software Applications Commonly Used in Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Units. The material details, and provides some guidance in the use of, the different types of productivity applications—such as word processors, spreadsheets,

databases, and presentation managers. In our experience, these applications are

among those most commonly used by teachers.

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet. The worksheet is a tool you can

use before starting to create a technology-infused lesson or curriculum unit. It

often helps to take stock of what technology you have and how it is arranged.

Steps Toward Infusing Technology into an Existing Curriculum Unit/

Activity. This guide includes some tips for taking your existing lessons or units

and enriching them with the integration of a few technology tools and resources.

Classroom Activity Planning Template. This template is designed to assist

you in identifying the key issues, outcomes, resources, and processes necessary

to create a technology-infused classroom activity, regardless of whether you are

starting from scratch or are diagramming and documenting an existing activity. 

Classroom Observation Worksheet. If you have an opportunity to observe

teachers’ use of technology in the classroom, our Classroom Observation

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Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

59

Worksheet can help you document what you see. We have used a similar tool

when conducting research on teachers’ technology use.

Technology Integration Progress Gauge. To get you started on assessing 

technology’s impact across your entire school or district, we have included the

Technology Integration Progress Gauge and some information on how this sort

of tool—and similar tools—can be used to monitor technology integration.

Online Resources and Instructional Ideas. Rather than attempting to provide

an exhaustive list of lesson plans and web sites, we have compiled the Online

Resources and Instructional Ideas section with the goal of offering one or two

ideas that illustrate what we mean by technology integration. We also list several

sites (out of the hundreds in existence) that comprehensively catalog lesson

plans and curriculum materials. These should form a good starting point for your

search for online materials.

Integration
60 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

Putting the Tools to Work

Managing One or More Computers in the Classroom

without Losing your Hair or Your Sanity 

To begin the discussion about technology integration, you may enjoy some tips

and strategies from an article reprinted from a SEIR◆TEC newsletter. The article

was written by SEIR◆TEC staff members Donna Ashmus and Jeanne Guerrero.

Imagine Steven Spielberg walks into your classroom with a horde of cameramen, soundmen, and technicians. They set up all kinds of moviemaking

equipment around your students. Then, Mr. Spielberg looks up and gives

you the signal, “Lights, camera, action!”

Although not everyone gets to be in the movies, many teachers feel that

they are on camera each time they walk into their classrooms. Teachers 

perform not only for students, but also for principals, administrators, and 

parents. It can be daunting, even for the most well-trained teacher.

The progression of technology in the classroom, however, is changing

the role of the teacher from one of a performer who supplies all knowledge

to the role of a facilitator who collaborates with students in learning and

achieving. When appropriate techniques and teaching methods are 

combined with technology, difficult concepts can be understandable and

even exciting to the otherwise unmotivated students.

Since its inception in 1995, SEIR◆TEC has been working to promote educational change through the use of technology. In the Consortium’s intensive site

schools, SEIR◆TEC staff have witnessed educators changing from instructors

afraid to touch computers to proficient technology users. These teachers are

developing bold and innovative lessons for their students and community 

members. While many of the experiences are unique to a particular setting,

there are some insights and ideas that will help teachers struggling to keep their

sanity and still find ways to help their students use technology.

Relevant Questions

Teachers have long recognized that textbooks do a good job of presenting

information in logical formats, but not quite as good a job in making material

relevant to the students in the real world. Technology has given instructors

another way to apply school knowledge to authentic events. Teachers should

consider these relevant questions when beginning to infuse technology into

the curriculum.

How can I use technology in the classroom? Instructors can respond to this

question by using the Internet, CD-ROM-based encyclopedias, and instructional CD-ROMs to create authentic tasks. For example, one teacher uses the

Internet to research an author’s bibliographical and contact information. The

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author responds and the class is able to ask timely and relevant questions

about the book they are reading. Another teacher performs potentially 

dangerous chemistry experiments by using computer simulations.

How do I introduce my students to technology? Introducing students to

technology is an important part of integrating technology into the curriculum.

A language arts teacher uses a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to introduce

herself to the class at the beginning of the year. Using a large-screen monitor,

she then creates another presentation in front of the class while directing 

student volunteers to actually create the slides. The students are then divided

into groups and create their own presentations using the teacher’s template.

How do I organize my classroom? Managing technology in the classroom is

one of the greatest challenges for a teacher. A technique one teacher uses with

a limited number of computers is to assign students into groups and assign each

group a curriculum-related topic. The groups rotate through stations that offer

a variety of books, magazines, the Internet, instructional CDs, and hands-on

manipulatives. There are additional activities for groups that finish early. The

teacher reviews the assigned and additional tasks at the beginning of class. A

timer keeps track of how long students are at each station. When the timer

rings, the group members save their work and rotate to another station.

Is technology beneficial to the learning objectives? Technology for technology’s sake is not a wise strategy in the classroom. Educators need to make

sure that the technology matches and enhances learning objectives. Technology

can motivate students and provide a fresh and different perspective to different learning styles. As a teacher in the classroom, knowing the capability of

your students is the best indicator of what can and cannot work well.

Hardware Issues

Instructors must make a variety of hardware-related decisions when managing classroom technology. For example, display and accessibility—with only

one or two computers available to an entire classroom, how can all the 

students participate in a computerized activity during their allotted classroom

time? A sixth-grade teacher in South Carolina addresses this problem by

using a scan converter to project the monitor image to a large-screen TV and

places the classroom’s two computers on portable carts so they can be easily moved. Computers on portable carts can also be moved from one classroom to another, decreasing the computer/student ratio. When portability is

an issue, so is security. What about security? Several schools secure portable

carts in closets or chain the carts to an eyelet screw in the wall.

Software Issues

Many teachers and technology coordinators think that they need to purchase

a plethora of specialized software packages. Although there is excellent 

content-specific software, most recently purchased computers are already

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loaded with word processors such as Microsoft Word or AppleWorks that can

be used for writing reports, tests, and quizzes, letters to parents, and recording student grades. Other programs on the computer might include software

such as PowerPoint or KidPix that can generate multimedia student presentations. Spreadsheet and graphing software can aid in keeping student grades

and records. Additionally, reference works, e.g., Encarta and Grolier’s, as well

as the World Wide Web, are excellent sources for research. Before planning

any lesson, however, a teacher should keep in mind the computer software

available in the classroom. 

The development of many activities related to technology can be severely

restricted if students don’t have access to necessary software packages. 

The instructor must be aware of the resources or limitations they have in

accordance to the software that is available to them.

Curriculum-Based Lesson Plans

When considering what kind of technology, the instructor should focus on

the educational goals of the lesson. Technology cannot aid a teacher if there

are no instructional goals in mind. Additionally, technology is useless 

without appropriate planning. Each lesson plan should be based on the 

curriculum and include the following points:

• Overview—a brief description of the subject and lesson plan

• Objectives—a list of what learning objectives will be achieved

• Prerequisite skills—the skills a learner should have mastered in order to

begin the assignment

• Learning activities—what the teacher and students will do in order to

achieve the learning objectives and how technology is an integral part of

the activities

• Assessment—the evidence or products designed to indicate the extent to

which students met the learning objectives

• Time allotted—length of time a lesson will last, which can span from a

classroom period, a week, a month, or an entire school year

• Resources—what technologies and other materials will be used

• How to begin—the way the teacher will introduce the lesson to the students

Other Tips and Tricks

Think about these suggestions when planning technology-infused instruction:

Use cooperative learning groups or teams. Working together, students have

a greater opportunity to learn to use a computer when the student/computer

ratio is high. Groups also help students learn to work together amicably.

Use mentors, volunteers, and/or parents. The more individuals you

have in the class to answer questions and provide guidance, the easier the

task for the teacher.

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Create “trained experts” in class. Students love to be the teacher. Designate

one (or two) student(s) to be the class expert on word processing, presentation software, and any other commonly used software package. This student

is then responsible for teaching other students how to use the software and

for answering any questions a student may have. This frees the teacher from

having to run to the computer every time a student has a technical question.

Preplan! Make sure that students use their time on the computer wisely.

For some assignments, a teacher may want students to have a rough draft 

of their work before they go to the computer. This increases the students’ 

productive time with the computer. There may be other situations in which

students are allowed to compose their work at the computer.

Provide a template or sample of available graphics and fonts. Students

can spend far too much time trying out graphics and fonts. While they need

time to experiment with different looks and style options, some limits are

needed to be sure they complete the work in a reasonable amount of time.

Create a project rubric. Students are more successful when they know

what is expected of them. Direct the students in deciding what kind of 

presentation, what kinds of multimedia, and how many slides or stacks are

required. When students are involved in creating their own assessment tool,

they will be more likely to fulfill and surpass those requirements.

Break the project into small parts. Students can lose interest if a project

lasts too long. Allowing them to work on parts of an assignment instead of

the entire enterprise helps maintain enthusiasm.

Team with other teachers to create more meaningful lessons.

Collaboration with other teachers can reinforce learning objectives as well as

make lessons more interesting. A teacher in a science class might expand composition skills by having students write about a chemical experiment. A mathematics teacher might broaden art skills by having students draw figures that

emphasize geographic relationships between shapes and objects. Teachers do

not have to work in isolation. When they share their work and gain insights

from others—students and teachers—learning is enhanced for everyone.

Conclusion

Throughout the work SEIR◆TEC has done in the field with teachers in different classrooms and different settings, the common denominator is that the

technology must be usable. No matter how cute, colorful, or nicely packaged a computer is, it will stay wrapped in bubble foam until the teacher

can actually find a way to use it. Having only one computer should not be

an obstacle to meaningful activities for students, although once teachers

understand technology’s potential, they quickly want more computers for

their students. This article has provided ideas for using technology in the

classroom. Remember, start small and simple. Integrate activities into 

existing units. Be creative. And most of all, have fun.

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Technology Standards for Students

Many districts struggle with the issue of teacher and student technology competencies or standards. Overall, competencies or standards mean those things that

teachers and students should know about technology and be able to do with

technology. In many cases, a district may need or want to adopt standards that

have been established at the state or national level. Some states, such as Florida,

have standards for academic subjects and indicate specific technology uses that

help students reach the standards. The standards from Florida can be found at

http://www.firn.edu/doe/menu/sss.htm. Many are adapting or adopting the

National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) developed by the

International Society for Technology in Education, which can be viewed online

at http://cnets.iste.org/.

Since we live in a time when standards, frameworks, and benchmarks are

becoming increasingly prominent, it makes sense that some sort of competency or

standard would be desirable for teacher and student technology use. The bottom

line on adopting technology standards is that it must be done as part of the district

technology-planning process. Teacher competencies are intimately related to the

professional development goals and are in turn tied to the curriculum integration

goals. Likewise, the student standards are parallel to the curriculum integration

goals and are highly dependent upon the teacher professional development goals

and, therefore, teacher competencies. Competencies, goals, and standards are

linked in a cycle. And as we know, this cycle is driven by your district’s vision

for how technology will be used to support teachers, students, and the entire 

educational community. With this cycle in mind, it is clear that you cannot adopt

or develop competencies and standards without the context of the other elements.

As a committee of stakeholders develops your plan, they need to review and

consider competencies for teachers and standards for students. If your standards

are ever going to be met by your teachers and students, then they must be rooted

in your reality. We suggest the following process steps for developing teacher

competencies and student technology standards:

• Engage your committee of stakeholders in a discussion about the need for

competencies and standards and how these relate to other elements of the

technology plan.

• Be sure that your committee has a common definition of key concepts such

as technology integration. This ensures that your entire committee can have

a common goal. Review your plan’s vision statement to refresh your 

committee’s understanding of the big picture for technology in your district

• Begin work on the curriculum integration portion of your plan. This helps

ensure that the curriculum will drive your process of determining what students

should be able to do with technology (the student standards) and what teachers need to know in order to support student use (the teacher competencies).

• Review your state’s requirements regarding student standards and teacher

competencies, the professional literature on standards and competencies,

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and examples of other districts’ work in this area. Note that we suggest 

taking this step later in the process rather than at the beginning. This helps

avert the natural desire simply to appropriate existing work without first

grounding it in your school’s reality.

• As you adopt or develop competencies and standards, ask yourself if what

you are developing is (1) do-able by teachers and students with the existing

or projected resources; (2) flexible enough to account for changing technology; and (3) exemplary rather than mandatory. That is, do you provide

examples of what you expect to observe, or do you just give orders with 

little guidance?

Establishing student standards is a bit more complex than establishing

teacher standards. Part of this complexity comes from the issues surrounding any

standards for student learning. Unfortunately, much of the discussion we hear in

the districts struggling with this issue relates to defining what sorts of mechanical skills students are expected to have in order to operate various devices.

What is often lost in this discussion is any reflection about why students might

use computers, software, the Internet, and so on. Once again, educators need to

think about the more important issue of helping students learn which tools are

best used for a particular learning task.

The best student-technology standards—and we believe that the term

standard is more appropriate here than competency—focus on ensuring that

students be exposed to a wide range of situations in which technology is used

as a part of an active, engaged learning experience. Naturally, this can be

achieved only when technology use is thoroughly integrated throughout the

curriculum rather than allowed to stand as a single curriculum subject.

Students are not in school to learn technology, particularly at the elementaryand middle-school levels. Just as with teachers, total mastery of a particular

software package or hardware device is only really instructive as a pathway

to understanding the broader place of information technology as a tool for

exploration and learning. 

When viewed this way, student technology standards are very closely related

to the curriculum integration goals of the district’s strategic educational technology plan. If students are in school to master the curriculum, then the goals

for their use of technology should be to help them do the same. 

One thing to be very wary of is the urge to teach the standard, a practice that

some districts fall into after they adopt student-technology standards. This seems

to happen most often when standards are construed to be very specific skills or

technology-related facts that students are expected to master by particular grade

levels. Often, districts with these types of student standards feel that they have

to involve their students in specific technology classes where particular applications and operation skills (e.g., keyboarding) are taught. While this may lead to

mastery of the skills specified in the standards, it also has the effect of pulling

technology use entirely out of the regular classroom and its learning activities.

For many students, this diminishes technology to the level of any other class and

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thereby negates many or most of its educational advantages related to inspiration, creativity, and engagement.

There are several ways to avoid isolating technology as a subject matter in itself.

The first consideration is to create student technology standards that relate entirely

to using technology within the curriculum. Therefore, your standards will connect

technology use to actual curriculum-related projects or activities. Rather than the

simple requirement “Use the World Wide Web,” an appropriately focused standard

would be to require that students use the World Wide Web as part of a research

project that is part of an integrated language arts and social studies unit. Use your

district’s curriculum and its objectives for creating student technology standards.

A major weakness in the writing of student standards is the fact that few technology planners are sufficiently familiar with their district’s curriculum goals and

objectives. As a result, technology specialists write the technology plan and tie student standards to what they themselves know best—technology. We cannot

overemphasize the importance of this issue. Student technology competencies

cannot and should not be separated from curriculum goals and objectives. They

are also woven into teachers’ professional development, and specifically into 

professional development that helps teachers understand the role of technology

within their classrooms and curriculum. 

With all of this in mind, we offer the following guidelines for adopting 

student technology standards for your district. Teacher-technology standards and

competencies are addressed in the next chapter, which focuses on professional

development.

• Make sure that the same people who are writing your plan’s curriculum 

integration goals are also working on student standards. Student standards

are about how students will use technology within the curriculum. This

should be consistent with integration goals.

• Avoid the urge to focus narrowly on using specific technology tools. Instead,

think categorically about technology use. For example, it is better to talk

about the fact that students will need to learn how to use word processors

within the writing process than it is to talk about mastering a specific word

processing program on a specific machine in a specific class. Keep in mind

that your plan should last a number of years. If you upgrade your software

or hardware, will this negate your standard?

• Think about who will be responsible for ensuring that students meet the 

standards. If the answer to this is the classroom teacher—as we advise—then

make sure that you have given adequate thought and resources to how teachers will be prepared to assist all of their students in meeting the standard.

• Ask yourself, “Is the standard reasonable and achievable?” Is it reasonable to

expect that classroom teachers with no technology training can provide 

students with opportunities to use technology tools in their learning 

activities? Is it reasonable to expect that a single computer teacher in the

school will be able to train every student in a particular software application

described in a particular student standard? 

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• Create student standards that evolve and escalate over time. This strategy

allows you to correlate student standards to professional development for

teachers and the growing technology infrastructure.

Examples of Student Competencies

• The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Students project

is a collaborative national effort to set student technology standards. Several

nationally known nonprofits and technology manufacturers sponsor this

work. The NETS standards can be viewed online at http://cnets.iste.org/.

• A related approach to developing student standards involves assessing 

student technology skills and assigning various levels to the skill groupings.

This is the approach taken by the Bellingham (Washington) school district.

The various assessments Bellingham uses form the basis for determining

what skills training a given student requires. View the Bellingham assessment

instruments online at http://www.bham.wednet.edu/assess2.htm.

Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

Finding the Right Tool for the Task—Four Categories of Technology Use

Information technology such as computers, software applications, video,

audio/visual multimedia, and telecommunications can be integrated into virtually

any classroom situation. The key is to focus on what you are trying to accomplish within your curriculum (i.e., your learning goals and objectives), and then

to identify an appropriate technology tool that will help you accomplish your

goal. This is not as simple as it sounds.

We believe that one path towards simplification lies in the identification of

different categories of technology that can be broadly said to support different

classroom strategies. Educational researchers, and in particular Barbara Means

(1994) in her landmark work on technology’s role in school reform, have identified four categories of software applications. While by no means exclusive, this

categorical identification helps illustrate the point that not every strategy can be

supported by any or every technology. More specifically, you need a variety of

tools to accomplish the variety of objectives associated with a given curriculum.

No single piece of software or hardware can be expected to address all of your

classroom needs. Sorting educational technology by category of use is a step

towards learning how to apply the right technology tool towards a given task.

We don’t maintain that this is the only way to separate the types, but it is 

comprehensive and one which we have found to work with many teachers.

Finally, please note that the software examples cited here are just that, examples. In fact there are many titles which would be equally valid examples for

most of these categories, and our citations below do not imply recommendations

or endorsements.

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Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

Tutorial Uses of Technology

Tutorial technologies are those that support the transmission of information from

source to student. The technology itself might be a software application that 

presents questions, allows time for answer, and offers corrections or rewards for

the right or wrong response. Often, tutorial technologies present their lessons

accompanied by a variety of multimedia. Tutorial technologies are useful for the

development and reinforcement of basic skills. Thus, it is not surprising that 

tutorial technologies are often found in lower grades (and in remedial programs at

higher grades) and are used to support skills such as spelling, grammar, 

vocabulary development, and basic-function mathematics.

Examples

• Drill and practice games such as the MathBlaster series, Grammar Games,

and SpellIt

• Integrated Learning Systems (in their most common use, one student 

per computer)

• Computer-based training and testing

Application Uses of Technology

Application technologies include such tools as word processors, spreadsheet

programs, databases, and other data collection/manipulation/analysis programs.

The operative term is tool, since applications such as those above have no 

content in and of themselves. For example, a word processor may be used at all

grade levels and in every subject. The application use of technology is an interim,

or process, step towards achieving an instructional goal. 

Examples

• Integrated packages such as AppleWorks and Microsoft Office and their 

word processors

• Excel and other spreadsheet programs

• TimeLiner (as an information organization and presentation tool)

• HyperStudio, KidPix Studio Deluxe, PowerPoint, and other multimedia 

packages

• Multimedia encyclopedias such as Microsoft Encarta and Grolier’s

• World Wide Web and student research

Exploratory Uses of Technology

Exploratory technology combines some content with a particular delivery strategy

to encourage students to explore a subject and construct their own knowledge.

The majority of exploratory technology applications are open-ended and can 

produce a variety of narrative outcomes. The primary goal when using an

exploratory technology is not to get the right answer but rather to use the technology to engage with a subject and derive meaning from that engagement.

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Exploratory technologies are often used to facilitate student cooperation, critical

thinking, and group problem-solving.

Examples

• Simulations such as SimCity and Sim Earth

• Life and physical science simulations 

• Simulated journeys, such as Oregon Trail

• Role-playing, group problem solving packages, such as The Great Ocean

Rescue, Decisions Decisions, and Rainforest Researchers

• Multimedia encyclopedias, such as Encarta and Grolier’s

• World Wide Web searching and student research 

Communication Uses of Technology

Communications technology describes those uses of telecommunications that

support teaching and learning. Communications technology can be used in any

of the three modes/categories discussed above (tutorial, application, and

exploratory). Often, communications technology is used in an exploratory mode

to facilitate student collaboration and research across great distance. As with the

application category, communications technology is a tool which in itself is content-neutral. On the other hand, the use of this tool can enable the teaching of

certain content and the fulfillment of certain learning goals that would otherwise

be more difficult if not impossible.

Examples

• E-mail (student-to-student, student-to-professional, etc.)

• Collaborative, online projects, such as The Journey North or those found 

at EnviroNet

• Teleconferencing (CUSeeMe, satellite, compressed video, etc.)

• World Wide Web searching and student research

• Student publishing on the World Wide Web

A list of software publishers that includes the resources mentioned above is

provided in Chapter 6. For more information on these four categories and 

technology’s role in school reform, see Barbara Means’s seminal works: 

Jossey-Bass Education Series. 1994. Technology and education reform: 

The Reality Behind the Promise. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Means, Barbara; Olson, Kerry. 1994. The Link Between Technology and

Authentic Learning. Educational Leadership 51 (April): 15–19.

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Software Applications Commonly Used in

Curriculum Units

Applications technology describes software programs that in themselves have no

subject-matter content. These programs are tools in the classic sense. Therefore,

not surprisingly, the software application tools used in education are the same

tools used in other settings such as business. Spreadsheets, database programs,

word processors, and presentation authoring tools are commonly used by all personal computer users and are readily available for many teachers and students.

Applications tools are often bundled together by a manufacturer or distributor and arrive as part of a new computer purchase. These bundles are often

referred to as integrated software or application suites and are sold under brand

names such as Microsoft Office, Microsoft Works, or AppleWorks. The programs

that comprise the bundle are determined by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, the

basic idea behind bundled applications is the same. Central to the concept of

integrated-software bundles is the idea of a menu interface that is common

among the elements of a bundle (i.e., the word processor, spreadsheet, and

other programs have the same menus and icons). This simplifies learning the 

different commands that work across the programs, and it allows the user to

move data easily among different application tools.

Please note that the following software applications are just examples. In fact

there are a number of titles that would be equally valid examples for most of

these categories, and our citations below do not imply recommendations or

endorsements.

Spreadsheets 

Examples: Microsoft Excel, AppleWorks

A spreadsheet is a program that organizes cells of numerical data into tables of

rows and columns much as one would find in an accounting ledger. Through the

use of equations (written in a simple programming language unique to the particular spreadsheet program in use), the spreadsheet program is able to perform

basic mathematical functions across the rows and columns. For example, it is possible to total a column of numbers, divide that total by cells within the column,

and report the resulting average elsewhere on the spreadsheet. Most spreadsheet

programs provide a capacity for graphing data. Graphs can range from simple 

X-Y line graphs to more complex three-dimensional representations.

Spreadsheets are excellent tools for collecting and analyzing data and thus

work well in curriculum units that call for students to address both interdisciplinary

content and process/information analysis tasks. Students can design spreadsheet

layouts, collect the data to fill in the various rows and columns, and then write

equations to analyze the data they have collected. In this way, a spreadsheet

becomes a vehicle for learning about and representing both simple and complex

relationships between numbers and pieces of information.

While the use of spreadsheets is common in mathematics and science 

curricula, they can be used whenever data collection and analysis are required.

70 Planning into Practice

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Many teachers use spreadsheets in social studies curricula where students might

collect numerical information and organize it chronologically. Projects on

genealogy and immigration make particularly good use of spreadsheets.

Database Management Programs

Examples: Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro

A database-management program is used to create, organize, and manipulate

information in databases. Databases work much like spreadsheets, although

they are often used where textual information is more important than numerical data. Databases are primarily used for creating records of collected 

information. Most database-management programs allow for some degree of

numerical analysis of the collected information (e.g., counting, grouping, 

sorting by rank order, etc.).

Databases are often used in interdisciplinary curriculum units. They become

a vehicle for information collection and organization. The manipulation of information within a database calls for mathematics and critical-thinking skills. These

skills are further enhanced when a student designs a database using a databasemanagement program.

Word Processing Programs

Examples: Microsoft Word, AppleWorks

Most teachers are familiar with word processing programs as tools for producing lesson plans, student/parent communications, and personal correspondence.

Students make use of word processors in similar ways. Certainly, research

papers, projects, and other written communications can be accomplished with

the use of a word processor.

Aside from simply making student work appear neater, word processors

have pedagogical importance in that they have been found to encourage 

students to write more, with greater ease in editing and revising their work.

Thus, word processors are powerful tools in developing writing, critical-thinking, and research skills. Furthermore, the word processor as a technologybased tool encourages and motivates certain students who have difficulty with

the manual task of handwriting. Finally, many students take greater pride in

work that has been produced with a word processor, and this motivates them

to continue writing and performing the other learning tasks associated with

their writing.

Word processors are not just used within language arts curricula. Students

often use these tools to produce work related to any subject area, and this work

often becomes the source document for importing data into databases, spreadsheets, and presentation programs. In this way, the word processor is often the

cornerstone application within integrated application suites such as Microsoft

Office, Microsoft Works, or AppleWorks.

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Presentation Tools

Examples: Microsoft PowerPoint, Hyperstudio

Presentation tools allow students and teachers to take text, numerical data,

graphs, sounds, and visual images and organize this information into multimedia presentations. While it is possible to use multiple media (e.g., sounds and

images) within a presentation, it is also possible to create a text-only presentation. It is important to remember that although most presentation tools support

the creation of very sophisticated products, the degree of sophistication and

complexity is very much under the control of the author.

Almost any student project can result in a presentation. Presentations can be

made before an entire class or be designed for individual viewing. Multimedia

presentation tools can be integrated into any lesson or unit that would otherwise

result in a paper-and-paste-project product. 

While a presentation tool such as PowerPoint is simply software, this software

usually requires the use of particular hardware to acquire digital images/sound,

including digital cameras or scanners, and to display the resulting multimedia 

presentations. Quite often, the material that makes its way into presentations is

imported from other software applications such as word processors and spreadsheets that create tables and graphs.

Additional Information

Previously in this section, we presented software tools teachers can use to 

support learning in different content areas. The next question that many teachers would have relates to finding specific curriculum-unit ideas for teaching and

learning in the one-computer classroom. In fact, this is where the real fun lies.

Fortunately for those who want to see what other teachers have done, many

informational resources are available that provide lesson and unit ideas.

Following are just a few to get you started:

Great teaching in the one computer classroom, David Dockterman. Tom Snyder

Productions, 800-342-0236, http://www.teach.tsp

Productivity in the classroom, Microsoft and Scholastic,

http://www.microsoft.com/education. 

More classroom tips can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/education/

lesson/productivity/acknow.asp.

72 Planning into Practice

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Available Technology Inventory Worksheet

Do you have technology resources such as those listed here to use in curriculum-based projects? When considering the way in which technology can enrich

your curriculum, it is first necessary to inventory your available technology so

that you will know what is possible in terms of access for you and your students.

In other words, "available" refers to a particular device or software program that

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Appendix

page 238

Available Technology

Inventory Worksheet (page 1 of 3)

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Remember that you might have access to technology that is not physically located in your classroom. Check with your librarian, school technology coordinator, and/or other teachers to find out

if resources exist that you might borrow or share with other teachers. 

Computers

• Computers for teacher use (where and how many?) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Computers for student use (portables, AlphaSmarts, lab computers, classroom computers, etc.;

where and how many?)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Presentation and output devices

• Projection devices (e.g., scan converter, LCD, video projector)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Printers

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Input Devices

• Scanners 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Digital cameras

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Digital video cameras

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Classroom computers—one per class

Four Computers in LMC. Computer in staff workroom

Classroom computers—one in each classroom 

Macintosh Lab—20 computers.

Scan converter—TV-view—to use with large-screen TV on cart

Video projector can be checked out from district office—Media Dept.

Inkjet printer in classroom. Laser printer on LAN in Mac lab

Scanner in LMC

No

No (What is a digital video camera??!!)
Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Internet

• Teacher access 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Student access (Existence of Internet acceptable use policy)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Software and applications (Note: identify what is available for teacher, students, or both)

Applications technology

• Basic productivity (word processor, spreadsheet, database)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Presentation manager (e.g., PowerPoint) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Multimedia production (e.g., HyperStudio) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Reference materials (e.g., multimedia encyclopedia such as Encarta)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Subject area—specific technology (Note that many applications are multidisciplinary.) 

• Math software applications 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 2 of 3)

Internet available in Mac Lab and on machine in LMC. First-come, first-served access.

District tech. coord. says that the Board will vote on this next meeting! Until then, be 

careful about controlling student access.

ClarisWorks on every machine. MS Office on the machines in the LMC and teacher 

workroom. ClarisWorks on every machine. MS Office on the machines in the LMC 

and teacher workroom.

ClarisWorks Slide Show???

No.

World Book, Encarta, Grolier’s CD-ROMs. "The Animals" CD-ROM.

Math Blaster, Number Munchers

is actually accessible to you. This is differentiated from existing technology to

which you have no ready access. A reproducible version of the worksheet is

found in the Appendix.

74 Planning into Practice

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Appendix

page 239
Planning into Practice

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75

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Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 3 of 3)

• Science software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Language arts software applications 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Social studies software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Visual Arts (e.g., drawing) software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Music software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Communications technology

• World Wide Web/Internet

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• E-mail

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Internet-based videoconferencing 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Carmen San Diego

KidPix Studio, clipart CD-ROMs, Banner-Maker Deluxe

Can get to WWW on two machines. Netscape is loaded on all machines, but only works on

the Internet-connected ones.

Teachers have personal accounts. District tech. coord. says not to allow students to have

/access e-mail (??)

Huh? What is this?

Appendix

page 240
Steps Toward Infusing Technology into an Existing

Curriculum Unit/Activity 

Many teachers find it useful to explore the process of technology integration by

modifying an existing curriculum unit to make use of technology tools. In this

way, the teacher is not so much creating new curriculum activities as using 

technology to improve the delivery of the current curriculum.

1. Examine the unit/activity. Think about how technology can be added

to this unit to support and improve student learning. 

• Combine technology with traditional resources: Use electronic resources

along with traditional print-based materials.

Example: Use CD-ROM encyclopedias, atlases, or web sites for research.

• Substitute or add a technology element to an existing project.

Example: Instead of creating graphs using pen and pencil, use a graphing

program to display information.

• Adjust or expand a project to reach higher student expectations.

Example: Have students use multimedia presentations to get across ideas

and increase enthusiasm.

• Use the appropriate tool at the appropriate time.

Example: Use e-mail when introducing the concept of friendly letters.

Introduce presentation software when needed for public

speaking.

• Critically evaluate the quality and quantity of your instructional materials.

Recognize essential activities that support critical learning objectives and

eliminate the nonessential.

Example: Eliminate an assignment on a topic already presented.

• Recognize that technology use takes time. Rearrange and prioritize unit

activities and assign a time frame that reflect changes in the time it takes

to perform certain activities.

Example: Shorten, eliminate, or rearrange tasks.

76 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

77

2. Rewrite the lesson unit. If necessary, revise your goals to reflect

changes due to technology infusion.

• A lesson planning template, such as the one that follows, helps you

focus on what changes are brought to your activity through the infusion

of technology.

Example: What technology tools and resources will you use in the unit?

• In what ways does technology add value to the curriculum activity? Think

about why the use of technology improves student learning in this

redesigned unit.

Example: Use of a technology tool (e.g., a spreadsheet program) allows

students to manipulate data and produce graphs more easily.

3. Prepare your unit/activity materials. Develop instructional materials,

handouts, and assessments. Create a schedule that allows students

maximum use of technology.

• You will need instructional materials that take into account the new tools

used by students. 

Example: Create step-by-step instructions for using technology with which

students may not already be familiar.

• Create new assessment materials, such as rubrics, that assess both content

learning and technology skills.

Example: When students create an electronic presentation (e.g., Hyperstudio stack) for a research project, the assessment should be on

the quality of their research and the quality of their presentation.

Integration

SEIR◆TEC
Classroom Activity Planning Template

Teachers can use this format to develop technology-enhanced lessons. 

A reproductible version of the worksheet is found in the Appendix.

78 Planning into Practice

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Integration

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Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Classroom Activity Planning

Template (page 1 of 3)

Description of the proposed classroom activity

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Student learning objectives

What is the purpose of this activity? What sorts of student dispositions and/or attitudes will this

activity support? How does this activity impact student interactions with others?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Specific curriculum objectives

How does this activity support particular curriculum objectives, framework elements, and so

forth?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Grade 7, Earth Science

Rock identification—classifying rocks as either igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic based on 

physical characteristics and then entering that information into a ClarisWorks database.

This activity will help students organize data that they are collecting. Students will observe rock

samples and enter the data into the database. By sorting according to various characteristics they

can see that different types of rocks have certain common characteristics. They will be able to 

draw their own conclusions about how a rock’s classification is determined. Students will work in 

cooperative groups when observing the rock samples and entering the data.

State and District Science Benchmark ES7.5—Identify the differences between sedimentary,

metamorphic, and igneous rocks, and describe the formation of each.

Appendix

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79

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Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Classroom Activity Planning Template (page 2 of 3)

Assessment 

How do you plan to assess student achievement of learning objectives? Rubrics, indicators, and

so forth?)

____________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology to be used in this activity 

State why this particular technology will be used.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Nontechnology resources or materials to be used in this activity 

e.g., books, original sources, manipulatives, etc.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Time necessary to complete this activity 

Class days required, start to finish

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

As the students enter their observations into the database, I will be able to assess their observation

skills (are they seeing what they say they are seeing?)

ClarisWorks database. Maybe a digital camera or scanner to insert pictures of their rocks into 

the database.

Students will need background information about the 3 different types of rocks. This can be 

through their text book, or through discussion, or through a slide show. Rock samples will also be 

required for them to classify.

This actual activity will take 3 class periods, although it comes at the culmination of a 

month-long geology/earth science unit where students learn the principles they demonstrate 

knowledge of in this activity.

Appendix

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80 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Activity timeline/procedure

As specifically as possible, please describe this activity on a day-by-day, step-by-step basis. Be

sure to include student directions, expectations, and teacher instructions. Please use additional

sheets as necessary.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Ideas for extended activities

How might this particular activity be extended to cover other curriculum units? If time were

available, how might you expand this activity?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Assessment/evaluation

What are your criteria for success? How will you know that this unit has had the student

impacts related to the identified learning objectives?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Start with an activity that has the students identify various physical characteristics of rocks.

Give groups of students several rock samples and ask them to make observations and define

some ways to tell them apart. This will lead to a discussion of characteristics and properties.

We will generate a list of characteristics that are useful (e.g., size is not a useful 

characteristic because two pieces of the same rock can be different sizes).

2. The students will take that list of characteristics and use it to make observations and then enter

their data into the database.

3. Students can then sort their data by various characteristics. They will be asked to look for 

patterns—is there a relationship between certain characteristics and the type of rock that it is? 

Can you determine the type of rock by looking at the characteristics? Can you say 

something about the characteristics if you know the type of rock?

4. Students will be asked to write a conclusion based on what they did. 

Classifying is an important science skill and is included in many of the curriculum frameworks

(classifying living things into kingdoms, phyla, and classes, etc.) This type of activity could be

adapted for use in many other areas.

As the students enter their observations into the database, I will be able to assess their observation

skills (are they seeing what they say they are seeing?). By assessing their conclusions I can 

determine whether or not they know the characteristics of each rock type, and whether they 

understand the differences between them. 

Classroom Activity Planning Template (page 3 of 3)

Appendix

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81

Classroom Observation Worksheet 

As a technology planner you will want to know what kind of technology teachers are using and how they are using it in their classrooms. If teachers in your

school or district do not yet use technology, we recommend that you locate a

school that does and plan a visit to that school. Take time to observe teachers

and students interacting with the technology during an actual classroom session.

Follow up that observation with an interview with the teacher you observed.

Also, interview other educational professionals in various schools to gather their

thoughts and recommendations regarding technology use in the classroom. A

reproducible version of the worksheet is included in the Appendix.

Integration

SEIR◆TEC

Classroom Observation Worksheet

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

School ________________________________ Teacher ___________________________________

Grade Level ____________________________ Subject __________________________________

Describe the types of computer applications the students are using in the classroom

(tutorials, applications, exploration, or communication).

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

What is the instructional purpose of the activity? 

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how technology is contributing to learning.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology was combined with traditional resources; the students were using electronic resources

along with traditional print-based materials.

CD-ROM encyclopedias, atlases, and the WWW for research.

They were also using email to communicate with pen pals.

Using electronic presentations to present ideas and information and to practice speaking skills.

Using e-mail to introduce letter writing and perhaps some social studies objectives as well.

Students were able to express their ideas with visual aids that looked professional! 

Other students were writing to children in other parts of the world—I need to remember to ask 

some of them what they are learning about other countries. I've never seen such long letters 

from children this young.

Appendix

page 244
Technology Integration Progress Gauge

SEIR◆TEC developed another useful tool for planners to determine a school’s or

district's current status in five areas or domains impacting technology integration.

The five domains are (1) Student Engagement, (2) Teacher Engagement, 

82 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration

Progress Gauge (page 1 of 12)

State ____________________________________________

School System __________________________________

School __________________________________________

Completed By 

(Circle all that apply)

a. District Staff School Staff

b. Administrator(s) Coordinator(s)

Teacher(s) Media Staff

Other: ______________________________________

c. Entire Faculty Tech Team

School Improvement Team

Other: ______________________________________

School Contact

Person: __________________________________________

Phone: __________________________________________

E-mail: __________________________________________

Reporting For (circle) 

Fall 1999 Spring 2000

SEIR◆TEC Coordinator

_________________________________________________

Completion Date

_________________________________________________

SEIR◆TEC

Technology Integration Progress Gauge

Intensive Site Project—Site Profile

The intent of this instrument is to provide a simple tool to help school leaders (a) reflect on activities to date vis-à-vis effective practices in technology integration, (b) think about what needs to

be done in order to impact teaching and learning through the use of technology resources, and

(c) consider strategies for maximizing the impact of technology. The instrument is not to be used

as an evaluation tool or an instrument to determine a grade. SEIR◆TEC will not attempt to collapse

individual intensive site profiles into a single figure, such as an average or grade. Similarly, there

will be no attempt to rank intensive site schools according to the profile data. Instead this instrument is to be used as a tool to develop a school profile of technology integration and impact at

periodic times during the intensive site project.

The instrument consists of the five domains presented in a table format. The domains (labeled

I, II, etc.) are described by two or more indicators. Each indicator has four levels of implementation. The four levels are:

• Minimal: Little or no evidence of implementation.

• Beginning: Implementation is occurring and evidence exists of capacity-building strategies

in place.

• Intermediate: Plans exist and activities have begun for scaling up to a higher or sustainable

level.

• Advanced: Strategies and activities are institutionalized and evidence exists that changes

made will be sustained.

Appendix

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(3) Availability and Accessibility of Appropriate Resources, (4) Organizational

Support, and (5) Community Involvement. A reproducible copy of the

Technology Integration Progress Gauge is included in the Appendix. The one

that follows is an example of how the tool might be completed for one district.

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 2 of 12)

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

Instructions to SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator and District and/or School Contacts

Preparation:

1. Discuss the purpose of the instrument with district and/or school contacts.

2. Determine which school team or school staff will complete this instrument. Those selected

should have responsibility for technology integration at the school.

3. Provide the group an overview of the instrument and the instructions for completing the

form. Emphasize that this is a tool for reflection and marking current status of technology

integration.

4. Establish a process for completing the instrument (e.g., individually first, then as a group; as

a total group; parts by individuals, then consensus by the group).

5. Retain one copy of the instrument for final reporting.

Instructions to Intensive Site Staff

Completion: 

1. Read the indicators for each domain and determine which of the four levels of implementation of each indicator best describes your school at this point in time. 

2. Circle the number corresponding to that level of implementation. Do not circle more than

one number or mark a halfway point. Select the level that best represents your current

level. Interpret “few,” “some,” “many,” and “most” as follows:

a. few = less than 25% of the indicated group

b. some = 25% to 75% of the indicated group

c. many = more than 75% of the indicated group

d. most = almost all of the indicated group

3. In the Comments/Supporting Information block, add information to describe the status of

your project and list the sources for your decision. The responses in the Comments/

Supporting Information block will be useful on subsequent completions of the Gauge in

order to establish progress. 

4. Use the three empty tables at the end of this instrument to add indicators that help describe

other technology-related activities at your school. Completion of these empty tables is optional

but may be necessary to provide a complete profile of technology integration and impact at

your intensive site school.

Appendix

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 3 of 12)

Instructions to Intensive Site Staff and SEIR◆TEC Coordinator

Reporting:

1. Prepare a final copy based on the decisions by the group.

2. Verify the contact and completion information at the top of page 1.

3. Make copies and distribute as follows:

a. Original to SEIR◆TEC Director

b. Copy to intensive site school contact and/or district contact

c. Copy for SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Partner 

d. Copy for SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator

Glossary

Community—Group including school members as well as public and private individuals,

businesses, and /or agencies in the area served by the school.

Higher-level learning—Student activities involving one or more of the following: peer 

collaboration, integration of higher-order thinking skills, self-directed tasks, multidisciplinary

assignments, authentic learning opportunities (based on real-world events or tasks).

Appendix

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85

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SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 4 of 12)

Domains and Indicators

1 Level of Student Engagement

There is evidence that:

A. Students are involved in higher-order thinking skills activities supported by technology. 

12 34

B. Students are meeting the school’s expectations for levels of technology use. 

12 34

Few, if any, students

are involved in learning activities requiring

peer collaboration and

interaction, technology

applications, or higherorder thinking skills.

Some students are participating in technologybased learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills. A few

students are sharing

their technology skills

in collaborative groups.

Many students are

involved in authentic,

technology-based

learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills to solve

real problems.

Most students are

involved in self-directed,

authentic, technologybased learning activities

that are multidisciplinary

and require peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills to solve

real problems. New

products and understandings are evolving.

Comments/Supporting Information:

A few students are

achieving levels of

appropriate, initial technology use in learning

activities, as defined by

the school or school/

district technology plan

for their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the plan. Some 

students are exploring

more advanced uses of

technology.

Some students are

engaged in activities to

build the technology

use skills expected for

their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the school/district

plan. Many students are

achieving the expected

levels and some students are developing

skills in more advanced

uses of technology.

Many students are

applying the technology

use skills and have 

documented mastery of

the school expectations

for their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the school/district

plan. Many students 

are exploring more

advanced uses of technology and some are

demonstrating mastery.

Most students have 

met the school’s 

expectations for technology use for their

grade and for the stage

of implementation of

the school/district plan.

Most are using regularly

the skills mastered and

are continuing to 

develop skills in more

advanced uses of 

technology.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0

Appendix

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 5 of 12)

2 Environment for Teacher Engagement

There is evidence that:

A. Teachers design and implement technology-based learning experiences that promote higherlevel learning for students and authentic assessment. 

12 34

B. Teachers demonstrate the expected level of technology use. (Levels from ACOT Study.)

Entry: Teachers are inexperienced and, possibly, inefficient in the use of technology. Many have misgivings regarding technology innovation, and

frustration is common.

Adoption: Teachers begin to incorporate technology into existing teaching practice,

primarily to teach about technology and as a means of delivering 

traditional instruction.

Adaptation: Teachers are integrating technology into the traditional teaching day.

Classroom practices are still primarily traditional, but use of the computer

as a tool is pervasive. Productivity and increased performance on traditional measurements are used as indicators of success.

Appropriation: Teachers use technology in everything they do, to the point that the 

use of the technology in the lives of teachers and students is almost

transparent.

Few or no teachers

design and implement

student activities that

require peer collaboration or integration or

use of higher-order

thinking skills. They

are using technology

mainly for demonstrations with minimum

adaptations and little

integration into their

ongoing program. Most

teachers plan and

teach in isolation.

Some teachers design

and implement student

learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction as

well as use of higherorder thinking skills.

Groups of teachers are

collaborating on use 

of specific technologies

and resources and

some are implementing

the ideas individually 

or as a team. Some 

teachers are using technology for assessment.

Many teachers design

and implement authentic learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as use of higher-order thinking skills

to solve real problems.

Many teachers are

planning and teaching

collaboratively, using

specific technologies

and resources. Some

teachers are designing

authentic assessment

tools using technology

resources.

Most teachers design

and implement 

technology-based, selfdirected, multidisciplinary, authentic learning

opportunities requiring

peer collaboration and

interaction as well as

use of higher-order

thinking skills. Many use

technology resources to

plan and teach collaboratively and to design

authentic assessment

tools.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

Appendix

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87

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Appendix

page 250

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 6 of 12)

Invention: Teachers are experimenting with new roles and new instructional 

strategies. The entire classroom is transformed and students are more

engaged in learning and more self-directed.

12 34

C. Teachers integrate technology into all subject areas, using resources that map technology

to curriculum. 

12 34

Almost all of the 

teachers are engaged

in activities typical of

the entry stage. A few,

if any, are beginning to

model actions typical

of the adoption stage.

A majority of the

teachers has reached

the adoption stage.

Some teachers are

beginning to discuss

how to adapt the technology to teaching and

learning with a few

beginning to try customized versions of

existing resources.

A majority of the

teachers is engaged in

the activities typical of

the adaptation stage.

Some of the teachers

are beginning to 

combine technology

resources and instructional strategies using

technology in all 

learning activities.

A majority of the 

teachers is engaged in

activities typical of the

appropriation stage. 

A few teachers have

begun exploring areas

associated with the

invention stage.

Comments/Supporting Information:

Few teachers are aware

of technology resources

that support specific

topics or lessons. 

There is no correlation

or mapping of the

existing resources to

the curriculum. Few 

or no teachers are integrating technology into

subject areas.

Teachers have access

to a school inventory

of available technology

tools and resources.

Mapping the technology resources to the

curriculum has begun.

Some teachers are

piloting technology

integration strategies

and lessons.

Mapping the technology resources to the 

curriculum has been

completed. Many

teachers have been

introduced to the

guides that map technology to all subject

areas. Some teachers

have begun using them

in their day-to-day

instruction. Many

teachers have begun

limited technology 

integration lessons.

Most teachers are 

integrating technology

into all subject areas,

using the guides that

map existing technology

resources to the 

curriculum. 

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0
88 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

3 Availability and Accessibility of Appropriate Resources

There is evidence that:

A. Technology resources are available and are being used to support a variety of student and

teacher experiences.

12 34

B. Technology has been allocated in such a way as to support its constructive use in the

teaching and learning environment.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 7 of 12)

Few teachers and staff

know what technology

resources are available

and how to operate

them. Few technology

resources exist. They

have not been 

inventoried recently

nor checked for 

operational status. 

Some teachers and

staff are learning to

operate specific

technology equipment.

Some technology

resources have been

checked and inventoried by location and

primary use. 

Many teachers have

received information

on the technology

resources available.

Some teachers have

used selected resources

for instructional 

activities.

Most teachers are using

a wide variety of the

available technology

resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:

No plan exists to 

allocate technology

resources to maximize

the impact on teaching

and learning. Location

of existing technology

resources is based on

past use, initial program

purchase, or personal

request. Few, if any,

teachers have expressed

an interest in a change

in the allocation of the

technology resources.

Some discussions have

occurred to design an

allocation and replacement schedule to 

support constructive

use of technology in

the classroom, labs,

and media center. For

example, a school

technology team is

studying the current

allocation of technology

resources and the related allocation policies.

A plan is being implemented to allocate the

existing technology

resources for maximum

use and impact on 

student learning. Work

is in progress to design

an allocation schedule

for future purchases

and routine upgrades.

Individuals are identified to be responsible

for maintaining this

allocation process.

The technology

resources in the school

are available for 

just-in-time learning

experiences, whether

through a checkout

standalone mode or by

a networking environment. School staff has

input on allocation of

existing and new 

technology resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0

Appendix

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89

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Appendix

page 252

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 8 of 12)

C. School individuals have equitable access to technology.

12 34

Limited access to the

technology resources is

available to the school

staff during school

hours and from school

locations. Discussions

may be occurring on

extending access, from

off-school sites and

beyond the school day.

A group of school staff

is testing access to

school technology by

checkout and by

telecommunications

after school hours and

from homes. The

school is developing

policies on access to

school technology by

staff and students.

A policy exists for use

of school technology

by staff and students

and has been shared.

Guidelines on equitable use are being

developed. As a result

of the pilot testing, an

expanded number of

staff and students are

now using school technology resources. 

Technology resources

are accessible to the

school staff and students on an equitable

basis and from off-site

locations and beyond

school hours. Access is

based on policies in

the school technology

plan. Staff members are

making routine use of

the resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0
90 Planning into Practice

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

4 Organizational Support

There is evidence that:

A. Organizational structure exists for support of all aspects of technology integration.

12 34

B. Organizational capacity fosters transformations in school leadership to support technology and the

changes it brings to teaching roles and methodologies.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 9 of 12)

Within the school and

the district, there is little to no organizational

structure to support

technology use or set

direction for technology

integration.

The need for support

of technology integration has been recognized and school staff

members have been

assigned to provide

minimal support. A

group has formed to

identify what type of

support is needed for

technology integration.

Individuals are identified to provide hardware and instructional

support to staff. The

school is addressing

reports on or requests

for support needed for

successful technology

integration. 

School and district leaders have designated personnel and approved a

process for supporting

technology integration 

via training, maintenance,

technical assistance, purchasing consultation, 

and instructional modeling. Periodic input on 

the support needed is

gathered.

Comments/Supporting Information:

No policies exist at the

school or district level

that encourage school

leaders to use technology. Few opportunities occur for school

leaders to gain technology skills or to witness

use of technology in

the instructional program at model schools

or conferences.

School leaders are

beginning to use technology for work and to

participate in meetings

and sessions on technology use in changing

teaching and learning

in the classroom.

Discussions have

occurred about developing policies on the

use of and support for

technology by school

leaders. 

Many school leaders

are using technology

routinely for their work

and are supporting

requests from teachers

to gain technology

skills or participate in

events focusing on

technology integration.

The school is developing policies that will

foster use by and 

support from school

leaders for technology

and change.

Policies exist and

opportunities occur 

regularly from the 

district and/or regional

level that encourage

school leaders to be

users of technology and

to support technology

in the instructional program. As a result, most

school leaders routinely

use technology themselves, initiate reviews

of technology use, and

encourage use by staff. 

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0

Appendix

page 253
Planning into Practice

Chapter 3: Integrating Technology into the Curriculum

91

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Appendix

page 254

School and/or district

policies have been

developed for equitable availability and

use of existing technology. Random

strategies are being

implemented to ensure

equity.

Neither school nor district policies exist on

equitable availability

and use of technology.

A school plan for

implementing technology to ensure equitable availability and

use for teaching and

learning is in place.

Successful strategies for

equity are being identified.

Schools are following

district policies on 

equitable availability

and use of technology.

Technology activities

based on equitable

availability and use 

are incorporated into

school improvement

plans and staff professional development

plans.

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

C. Policies exist that support the equitable availability and use of technology.

12 34

D. Effective and ongoing staff-development opportunities exist to support capacity building

for using technology to improve teaching and learning. 

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 10 of 12)

Comments/Supporting Information:

Although technologybased staff-development topics have been

identified, only a few,

unrelated technologybased staff-development activities have

occurred.

Some technologybased staff-development sessions have

occurred and initial

activities resulting from

the sessions have been

tried in classrooms.

Teachers have begun

seeking ways to integrate technology.

A staff-development

plan, including evaluation of student and

staff needs, exists for

using technology to

improve teaching and

learning. Some teachers are collaborating

on best practices in

using technology in

teaching and learning.

Teachers are being

evaluated on their

effective use of technology as a result of

training sessions

attended.

School and district

administrators support

continuous staff-development opportunities

for improving teaching

and learning, with

seamless technology

uses. A committee

exists to provide longrange planning on

technology-based staff

development and sharing of best practices.

Use of technology

effectively is an integral

part of the teacher

evaluation process.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0
92 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

E. Teachers and administrators use technology as an information management tool.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 11 of 12)

Although teachers and

administrators are

aware of information

management tools,

few, if any, staff members are using such

tools.

Some school staff

members have access

to and have received

training to use information management

tools. 

Many school staff 

members use information management tools

for daily classroom

tasks and for submitting

reports and documents.

Some staff members are

seeking new tools and

additional uses for

existing tools. 

Most school staff

members prepare and

submit reports and

documents using

information management tools as required

by administrators.

Many school staff

members provide 

regular input on new

tools needed.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

Appendix

page 255
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Appendix

page 256

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

5 Community Involvement 

There is evidence that:

A. Community supports the school’s integration of technology in teaching and learning.

12 34

B. Community shares in the use of the school’s technology.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 12 of 12)

Plans may have been

developed but not

implemented to inform

the community of the

school’s efforts to 

integrate technology.

Some segments of 

the community are

knowledgeable of the

school’s efforts to 

integrate technology

into teaching and

learning. 

Many community

groups have plans in

place and have begun

activities to enhance

the current technology

integration activities of

the school. Community

members are meeting

with school groups to

plan technology integration activities.

Most community

groups support technology integration into

the school’s teaching

and learning environment by maintaining a

consistent presence 

in school activities.

Ongoing school committees are required to

include community

members.

Comments/Supporting Information:

Few or no plans exist

for the community 

to use the school’s

technology. 

Some school and community members are

developing policies

and strategies for community members to use

the school’s technology;

e.g., for after-hours

adult literacy training

or e-mailing with

teachers.

Several community

groups are beginning

to use the school’s

technology according

to approved policies

and guidelines.

The school and community members actively

promote community

groups’ use of the

school’s technology.

Comments/Supporting Information:

0

0
94 Planning into Practice

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Integration

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Resources for Integrating Technology into the

Curriculum

To help you further understand how technology is being integrated into the

classroom, you can see what teachers have written about their work by going

to the Internet. Online resources do not always have to incorporate telecommunications technology. Often, it is possible to find places where teachers have

posted information about projects that in and of themselves use only 

stand-alone, non-networked hardware and software.

The following URLs are locations on the Internet where you can view entire

lesson plans that make use primarily of applications technology such as spreadsheets, word processors, database management programs, and presentation

tools. You may want to use many of these sites for ideas, and then proceed to

adapt these ideas for your own classroom needs.

Online Resources with Specific Project/Lesson Ideas

http://www.schoollife.net/schools/ggl

What do you eat in your country? This site is an interdisciplinary project in which

students can learn about other countries. Students go to a grocery store and

compile a list of items, then put these items on a spreadsheet. Through e-mail

and the Internet, students are able to compare the prices in different countries

to their own. A variety of technology tools can be integrated within the 

project’s activities.

http://www.microsoft.com/education/lesson/productivity/aknow.asp

The activity guide is organized first by major subject area (social studies, 

language arts skills), then into more specific categories (history, mathematics,

and creative writing). The links will take you to a list of lessons organized by 

primary and secondary activity focus. Here you may choose to view individual

lessons online or download a file containing all lessons related to the subject.

The lessons make use of basic Microsoft productivity applications (word

processors, spreadsheets, etc.). Most lessons would be adaptable to using any

publisher’s software, not just Microsoft’s.

Resources
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Sites that Compile Project Ideas and Resources

http://henson.austin.apple.com/edres/ccenter/curriccenter.shtml

Apple Computer’s Curriculum Center is an excellent resource. It is organized by

grade level and subject area.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

Blue Webb’n is a site that links to several hundred curriculum projects, lesson

plans, and general-curriculum resources that make use of Internet technology.

The resources are organized by subject, grade level, and type and are ranked by

a panel of reviewers. An excellent resource!

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OERI/ORAD/KAD/expert_panel/index.html

The US Department of Education has established its Expert Panels program to

identify promising and exemplary educational practices. One panel has been

devoted to identifying programs related to educational technology. 

http://www.enc.org

The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse is a federally funded resource that links

to resources for K–12 math and science teachers.

http://www.solutions.ibm.com/k12/teacher/activity.html

IBM has a well-organized site that supports K–12 teachers. Many of the activities

are related to the Internet but can be adapted to nontelecommunications technology as well.

http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/

Kathy Schrock’s Guide for Educators is one of the most comprehensive, bestorganized guides to online resources available to K–12 teachers. This site is

actually a subject guide to resources organized by curriculum area.

Print Resources

Sandholtz, Judith H.; Ringstaff, C.; and Dwyer, David C. 1997. Teaching With

Technology: Creating Student-Centered Classrooms. NY: Teachers College,

Columbia University.
96 Planning into Practice

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Putting It All Together

A conversation about curriculum integration

What are most teachers actually doing with technology in the curriculum?

This is very interesting, and it would be great if more teachers could see what

their peers were actually doing versus what the technology industry hopes that

they are doing. Based on our observations in schools, we find that most 

technology-using teachers are using tutorial software applications. 

I see this starting to change as more staff-development sessions focus more

on curriculum development and technology integration, instead of technology

training. It’s not news, but it’s hard work to figure out a valuable use of a spreadsheet or a World Wide Web resource that really warrants the use of that resource.

Most teachers just have not had the time or been motivated to do that work. On

the other hand, they’ve been told to use technology as a sort of blank directive.

Without some serious work and reflection on curriculum and the value of technology in teaching and learning, most will go for the easiest known approach,

which is to use prepackaged software targeting single curriculum objectives. So

it’s not surprising to see a lot of drill and practice, low-level technology projects,

and electronic recess (playing games).

Fortunately, technology such as the Internet and productivity applications

(word processors, presentation managers, etc.) are becoming so prevalent in

both schools and the community that students are beginning to lead teachers in

terms of suggesting ways that technology can be used in processes and procedures of learning. So we are beginning to see more use of World Wide Web

resources, word processing, and electronic presentations by both students and

teachers. When a student suggests that technology might be used as a tool for

collecting, analyzing, or reporting some information, that student is demonstrating a keen understanding of the value of technology. I have met many teachers

who are picking up on this trend and thus beginning to encourage a tool

approach to technology. Of course, the problem is that not all students have

access outside of school and thus are not making these suggestions. This is 

certainly the case in many of the disadvantaged communities that SEIR◆TEC

serves. In these cases, the teacher truly must lead the way. Therefore, improving the skills of these teachers becomes our biggest challenge.

What kinds of issues do you see confronting teachers working to 

integrate technology?

We’ll talk about infrastructure—that is, hardware, networking, equipment, and

that sort of thing—later. So putting aside infrastructure issues for a moment, let’s

turn directly to issues of curriculum.

We firmly believe that any exploration of technology integration absolutely

must start with an examination of curriculum. In other words, what do we want

students to know, and when do we want them to know it? If you don’t have
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definitive answers to that question, then you really have no basis for deciding

what, if any, technology should be integrated. The curriculum and its alignment

with either district or state standards is the key issue. 

Teachers who are not masters of their curriculum often end up teaching

technology for technology’s sake. So often, in fact, that I’ve concluded that some

teachers simply do not realize that they are teaching technology versus integrating technology. Simply stated, technology in itself is not a substitute for a

well-designed curriculum. Furthermore, technology will not improve weak

instruction or poor planning. As we have stated previously, the goal of technology integration is to support instruction with tools that bring new meaning

to learning and discovery.

Since you mentioned it, what about managing the hardware as part of

technology integration? I guess that’s what you mean by infrastructure.

Well, this is actually the subject of Chapter 6, and that’s probably the best place

to fully discuss the issue. But, yes, managing hardware (infrastructure) represents

a major problem to many teachers. This is why one of the first steps we recommend toward implementing technology is an inventory of available technology,

including hardware and software. Many teachers assume that they have nothing.

While this may be true in some cases, an inventory of available technology often

brings some surprises. A good example of this is the belief by one of our school

districts that they didn't have any good hardware, or software. Because of a strict

policy limiting network access, teachers didn't know how to use what they had.

However, after we spent some time with them, the teachers found that some of

the technologies they already had could be used for instructional purposes. 

First you talk about curriculum integration in a classroom context and

then you talk about integration in the school or district. Is there 

a difference? 

Good observation! Technology integration has both a broad meaning and a

more specific meaning. In the broadest way, it means the use of technology

every day by everyone to support work, leisure, or learning. Curriculum 

integration is more specific to classroom settings. For some schools, curriculum

integration is synonymous with the broader definition of integration. However,

you can choose to apply it to your situation as you see fit. But keep in mind

that successful integration depends on a lot of things happening to support it—

appropriate staff development, appropriate hardware and software, adequate

funding, and communication. Our experience shows that integration is mostly

about people and attitudes and has less to do with buying and installing 

hardware. After all, everyone in a school or district will be affected, one way or

another, when technology is introduced. 
98 Planning into Practice

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Professional

Development

Planning

4

Chapter

99
Table of Contents

Professional Development and Technology Integration . . . . . . . . . .101

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Putting the Tools to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Steps for Planning Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Technology Competencies for Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Guidelines for Adopting Teacher Technology Competencies . . .107

Professional Development Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Professional Development Ideas and Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117

Professional Development Idea Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

A Framework for Designing Professional Development . . . . . . . .124

Checklist of Professional Development Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . .126

Making the Most of Professional Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Professional Development Planning Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134

Chapter 4

100
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SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 101

Professional Development and

Technology Integration

rofessional development underlies all successful technology integration

efforts. Research shows, and our experiences in SEIR◆TEC confirm, that

professional development must be substantial (approximately 30 percent

of the overall technology budget), ongoing throughout the year, on-site, and 

just-in-time. To make this happen, professional development must be a major

component of your technology plan.

We have found that most teachers are aware of the value of professional

development for integrating technology into their professional practice.

Nevertheless, the professional development we all too often observe is limited 

to very basic, and redundant, workshops on the mechanics of technology 

operation. Comprehensive professional development for technology includes not

only the development of technical skills and knowledge, but also strategies for

technology-enhanced teaching and learning, and for classroom management.

Professional

Development Planning

P
Professional

Development

102 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 4: Professional Development Planning

Tools in this Chapter

The following sections will serve as a starting point for making decisions as you

develop a plan for professional development. 

Steps for Planning Professional Development. From ascertaining staff needs

to developing professional development offerings, Steps for Planning Professional

Development addresses every important aspect of the planning process.

Technology Competencies for Teachers. A concise introduction to the

process of adopting teacher technology competencies, the tool presents valuable

information about criteria for creating teacher technology standards.

Guidelines for Adopting Teacher Technology Competencies. The guidelines provide direction for setting teacher technology standards that support both 

curricular and pedagogical goals.

Professional Development Models. Detailed descriptions of eight Professional

Development Models are provided to assist in making informed choices about

which instructional strategies to follow.

Professional Development Ideas and Strategies. The ideas and strategies

comprise a set of relatively simple techniques to help put professional development plans into action.

Professional Development Idea Worksheet. Used in conjunction with the

ideas and strategies in the preceding item, the Professional Development Idea

Worksheet is designed to help make technology implementation a reality.

A Framework for Designing Professional Development. Adapted from a

landmark text on designing professional development, A Framework for Designing

Professional Development illustrates a four-step process for putting together a

successful program.

Checklist of Professional Development Strategies. The checklist comprises

fifteen professional development strategies as they apply to different stages of

teacher development.

Making the Most of Professional Development. A collection of strategies for

professional development implementation, Making the Most of Professional

Development can help move the process beyond the planning and design stages.

Resources. There are a number of references throughout this chapter to valuable

online resources. For your convenience, we have included a summary of these

in the Resources section.
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Putting the Tools to Work

Steps for Planning Professional Development

1. Survey your staff to determine their needs.

In most cases, professional development planners will find that teachers and

administrators need training in a number of different subjects delivered in a variety

of different ways. The best way to design professional development that meets

different needs and accommodates different levels of expertise is to find out

what people do and do not know and what they need to know, and then to

develop offerings accordingly. Assessing needs and skills can be done by administering a survey. We have included a sample survey in the Appendix that you

can modify for your own use. We suggest that you give respondents an opportunity to describe in their own words how they would like to use technology in

their classrooms. Use this survey to help plan current and future professional

development sessions. 

Even if you determine that everyone on your staff needs to acquire the same

basic information, some people will do just fine with a one-hour workshop,

whereas others will need more time with one-on-one support. The point is, if

your goals are to assist in developing the capabilities of your entire staff and

being adaptable in how you facilitate that development, you will need to 

consider a variety of delivery mechanisms. 

2. Determine where your staff lies along the continuum of various stages of

concerns ranging from awakening awareness of technology and its potential impact to an advanced refocusing of existing skills and practice. 

Technology is a remarkable innovation in many educational environments.

However, bringing innovation to your staff may raise anxiety about how it will

affect them as individuals and the way that they work. 

When designing professional development, acquaint yourself with literature

about the change process and how it relates to the adoption of an innovation.

Even if you only have a little time to consider these underlying factors, it’s well

worth the effort. Understanding how to address individuals’ concerns related to

change and innovation will give you new insight into how to design effective

professional development. 

One model for understanding change is the Concerns Based Adoption Model

(CBAM) (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, and Hall, 1987). The CBAM model

was developed out of years of research on innovation and change, such as

Everett Rogers’ seminal Diffusion of Innovations originally published in 1973.

Interestingly, Rogers’ initial work, which focused on farmers and how they

adopted new agricultural procedures, has formed the conceptual underpinning

of many professional development efforts, including the SEIR◆TEC academies.

The CBAM model (and other developmental models of its type) holds that 

people normally move along a continuum as a change is being introduced and
Professional

Development

104 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 4: Professional Development Planning

implemented. Those who are considering or experiencing change will ask questions of themselves regarding the change. In early stages of the change process,

questions are more self-oriented: What is it? How will it affect me? When these

questions are resolved, questions emerge that are more task-oriented: How do I

do it? How can I use these materials efficiently? How can I organize myself? Why

is it taking so much time? Finally, when self- and task concerns are largely

resolved, the individual focuses on impact. Educators will then ask: Is this change

working for students? Is there something that will work even better? You can find

a more detailed account of CBAM at the National Academy of Science web site

at http://www.nas.edu/rise/backg4a.htm or obtain CBAM tools from Southwest

Educational Development Laboratory at http://www.sedl.org/catalog/items/cha22.html.

Professional development aligned with CBAM takes into account the range

of concerns—and hence patterns of adoption—present in any school or district

staff. Also, through awareness of these concerns, you as a professional development planner can be more sensitive in searching out staff needs for different

types of professional development.

Once you are aware of the range of stages of concerns (from the CBAM model),

you can begin to find out where your staff lies on its continuum. This determination is best done through a variety of information-gathering strategies. As the 

literature on change tells us, no single communications mechanism will reach everyone; therefore, don’t expect to gather all of your information via a standardized 

survey administered to everyone. Frankly, a survey may not be the most productive way for you to gather information on personal concerns. Think about how

often you have heard someone say that they couldn’t fill in the survey because they

had no idea what the questions were about? This is indicative of someone at a low

stage of concern and a low level of adoption. A much better way to accumulate this

information is to spend time talking to staff and other informed participants. 

Another way of obtaining information is to solicit feedback continually from

participants once professional development sessions are underway. At the beginning of a new initiative, participants may not know what they need in terms of

professional development, but as they become more experienced, they begin to

have a clearer understanding of their needs. 

After you have analyzed your information about staff members in terms of

awareness, skills, and needs, you will be better informed when designing your

professional development plan. 

3. Create technology professional development offerings that address

staff needs in both content and process.

After you have completed the necessary data gathering and analysis—for example,

interviewing, surveying, investigation, reflecting—it’s time to develop the professional development plan. This plan might be incorporated into your strategic

technology plan or your district is comprehensive plan. Perhaps it might exist as

a separate technology professional development plan (definitely the least preferable of all options). The point is that it should be a plan that takes into account

a range of needs and circumstances, not just a list of workshops to be held.
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105

Furthermore, if your district plans to incorporate technology-competency 

measures, you will need to design the professional development curriculum with

those competencies in mind.

It is important to note that the distinctive difference about technology professional development, compared with other sorts of professional development, is

the technology component and its requirements (hardware and software), as

well as the qualifications of the person or persons who will be delivering it. 

4. Determine where, when, and how professional development sessions

will take place. 

There are several issues to be considered regarding this item. Will a special technology training room or training rooms be needed? If so, how should it be

equipped? Will there be such a room in each school, or will it be a district training room? Who will be responsible for delivering these sessions? Will someone

new be hired? Or, will it be a teacher with a new assignment? And, most importantly, when will teachers be asked to attend these sessions? On the weekends

or after regular school hours? Will substitutes be available for release time so

teachers can attend during regular school hours?

Finally, and not least in importance, is strategic pacing. This means, who will

receive computers first, and how will that be decided? How soon afterwards will

they receive appropriate training? Will everyone across the school or district

receive computers at the same time? Or will it take place in waves? One school

at a time or one grade level at a time? Elementary first, then middle school, and

then high school? Or will teachers have to write proposals requesting the 

technology they want to use in their classrooms? 

5. Create a plan for strategic pacing that will coordinate installation and

delivery of hardware and software with your professional development sessions.

From time to time, we hear administrators talk about the distribution of technology resources as an example of the chicken-and-egg problem. If you have limited

funds (and who doesn't?), should you spend it first on hardware and software or

on professional development? If you spend it first on hardware and software, the

technology will probably be underutilized unless teachers and administrators are

already technology-proficient. On the other hand, it’s pointless to offer training

before educators have the technology, because they will have forgotten what they

learned before they have a chance to apply it. When having to make a difficult

decision like this, we have found that it’s a good idea do a phased implementation, i.e., to roll out the technology and the professional development about the

same time, but to do it in stages. You might start with a particular subject area in

which students stand to gain the most from technology-enhanced learning. Or,

you could start with the grade level where the teachers are most ready and eager

to get started. In some of the SEIR◆TEC intensive site schools, the teachers who

participate in professional development and implement what they use in their

classrooms are the first to receive new technology. The point is to strategically

plan the pacing for both the short term and long term.
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Development

106 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 4: Professional Development Planning

Technology Competencies for Teachers

When adopting teacher technology competencies, first consider the teacher’s

most basic priority, which is to help students learn. Therefore, the tools that

teachers use—whether these tools are based in modern information technology

(e.g., computers) or traditional technologies (e.g., books)—must first and foremost be the most appropriate to support their primary goal: effective teaching

for effective learning.

There is a generally valid assumption that certain information-technology

devices are very powerful teaching tools. Elsewhere in this book, we offer a

number of resources detailing the instructional advantages offered by integrating technology within the instructional environment. In addition, just as with 

any other information-age profession, teaching can benefit from the many laborand time-saving advantages that technology can bring to the processing 

of administrative information. Thus it is indeed important that teachers be 

able to use a variety of basic technology tools in both their instructional and

administrative roles. 

At the same time, it is also important to remember that access to all of the

tools in the world will not automatically make a mediocre teacher a good

teacher. Effective use of technology allows a teacher to adopt better instructional

practices. However, technology alone will not help a teacher who does not have

a sound understanding of how students learn and how best to address students’

needs and learning styles. Understanding this basic sequence—first the learning,

then the teaching, then the technology—is essential to the process of creating

teacher technology standards (not to mention the entire process of technology

planning!). Underlying the various statements about what sorts of tools teachers

should know how to use should be a requirement that teachers understand what

tools are most appropriate for a given teaching task. This implies that the teacher

have an underlying understanding of learning theory (such as constructivism),

pedagogy, and the curriculum. 
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Guidelines for Adopting Teacher Technology

Competencies 

Technology competencies ought to be about setting the standards for the use of

technology tools that support both the curriculum and good pedagogical practices.

• Teacher technology competencies must be linked to pedagogical competencies. For example, it does not make sense to expect a teacher to use

communications technology (e.g., the Internet) to support cooperative learning if the teacher has not developed an understanding of what cooperative

learning is or how to manage a cooperative-learning environment. Technology

is just a tool and not an end in itself. When teachers are mandated to master

tools for tasks they do not understand, they will do their best to avoid the 

situation. Don’t offer technology training without including strategies and ideas

for applying new knowledge and skills in the classroom. 

• Teacher technology competencies are really part of the professional

development component of your strategic technology plan. If you

adopt competencies as part of your professional development plan, your

training and support will help teachers attain these competencies. When

viewed this way, acquiring competencies becomes a goal of the professional

development section of your technology plan.

• Teacher technology competencies must be linked to the availability of

technology infrastructure. Often, we see standards that require teachers to

use technologies to which they have insufficient access. Remember that access

must be defined practically and not just politically. For example, a single

Internet-connected computer in a school media center does not constitute

access to the Internet for all of the teachers in that school. It is perfectly 

reasonable—and quite desirable—to create competencies that escalate over

time and are in sync with the growth of your district’s technology infrastructure. What might be science fiction with today’s infrastructure might be 

perfectly ordinary with your infrastructure three years from now. Once again,

technology plans are about strategy, and strategy unfolds over time. Therefore,

competencies can be developed over time.

• Teacher technology competencies should be related to basic applications and systems. Here again, the goal is to cover the broadest range of

possible situations. Teachers should be held accountable for using basic

tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, the Internet, an integrated

learning system, multimedia, and administrative systems. Equally important,

they should know how to select and use instructional software that will help

students develop cognitive skills, learn academic content, and meet state

standards. In most cases, professional development should not focus on

teaching teachers about a specific brand of software, curriculum package, or

type of computer, because these quickly become irrelevant as technology

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• Teacher technology competencies should be described in understandable terms. At a minimum, a competency statement should clearly

define the expectation for what a teacher should be able to do. Consider,

however, how much more helpful it would be to have an example of what

a teacher would actually do to fulfill the expectation. This places the 

competency in real-world terms and helps the teacher understand what is

required to meet the expectation. Furthermore, through the process of 

creating examples, you as a planner or policymaker will be able to gauge

just how reasonable your expectations are within the limitations of 

your situation.

Teacher Competency Examples

The following examples from state departments of education, research groups,

and individual school districts represent the wide range of thought related to

teacher technology competencies. As with all aspects of technology planning, it

is important to check with your state department of education first to determine

if there are specific guidelines or frameworks to which you must adhere. 

• ISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education, has developed

a set of standards that can be applied to all professional education programs.

By design, these competencies are to be a part of preservice education (and

have been adopted by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher

Education), but often we find that states and school districts are setting them

as competencies for in-service teachers. The ISTE standards can be viewed

online at the ISTE web site at http://www.iste.org/Standards/index.html.

• The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (the state department

of education) has developed an exhaustive set of beginning and advanced

teacher technology competencies. These can be found online at

http://www.ofps.dpi.state.nc.us/OFPS/hm/te/techcomp.htm. 

• The Lexington (Massachusetts) Public Schools have approached the issue of

teacher technology competencies by defining a set of basic skills that all

teachers must master as a way of attaining integration of technology within

the district’s curriculum (and state curriculum frameworks). Lexington has

taken an interesting approach to the process of offering the professional

development and support necessary to attain these skills. For more information on Lexington’s standards, skills, methods, and resources, visit them

online at http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Tech/Kansas/index.html.

• Bellingham (Washington) Public Schools have developed the Staff Use of

Technology—Self-Evaluation Rubric based upon the Mankato Scale originally

developed by the Mankato (Minnesota) Public Schools. See it online at

http://www.bham.wednet.edu/tcomp.htm.
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Professional Development Models

There are many strategies—and pitfalls—when designing a professional development program. Some districts may use a single approach, while others may implement a variety of approaches. Just as classroom teachers have found that they

need to use a variety of instructional strategies to accommodate different learning

styles, staff developers have found that they need to accommodate the various

ways teachers approach the materials they present. We have found that singlesession attempts without any relationship to classroom application or follow-up

are the least effective approach. They are also the least cost-effective in terms of

what teachers learn and what they take back and implement in their teaching. 

In order to address the deficiencies of a workshop-only approach to professional development, some school districts have developed models that combine

baseline data for teacher technology use, principles of constructivist learning,

strategies for collaboration, and opportunities for exploration and practice. These

forward-thinking districts are modeling a variety of strategies for technology 

professional development. These professional development models focus on

achieving meaningful outcomes instead of focusing only on learning skills. Skills

are learned in context and are therefore more meaningful, and greater control is

placed in the hands of the learner. In this section, we describe these innovative

models as well as the traditional workshop and hands-on lab models.

Workshops

Workshops are a commonly used vehicle for delivery of professional development. While we have experienced—and conducted—hundreds of workshops,

we feel that this approach tends to be overused. Planners often find workshops

to be expedient and so do not consider more effective ways to deliver professional development. Just as with any teaching method, a workshop is helpful for

some but not for all. Frequently, workshops become professional development

events and do not have the follow-through necessary to create impact over time.

To make the most out of workshops, we suggest that you refrain from offering

the one-shot “everyone come today and learn all about it” kind of session.

Sometimes these tend to be too long, creating information overload and failing

to engage the attention of participators. Rather, we recommend formulating

workshops as a series of related topics that build upon each other, have followup activities, and involve some problem solving and collaborative activities. In

effect, this means that you will need to carefully design a technology professional

development curriculum that flows out of your professional development and

technology plan.

Hands-on Labs

Conducting technology training in a laboratory setting where all participants have

access to a computer is another common practice. This approach can be very

effective if the learning activities are planned carefully and the trainer is skilled in

this approach. Sometimes this approach becomes a lengthy technology showcase

with the participants learning very few applicable skills or concepts and going
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away with information overload. When you use a laboratory setting, we recommend that brief demonstrations be followed by opportunities for individual

exploration and practice. The lab approach is most effective if the training is

offered in short sessions spread over a period of time. This gives participants an

opportunity to practice between sessions and explore what they have learned.

Train the Trainer 

The Train the Trainer model is used more frequently in schools and school 

districts where there is a need to scale up or disseminate a professional development effort quickly. The main idea is to train a small number of people who

are then expected to share what they have learned with others. The distinct

advantage of this model is that it empowers more individuals by spreading the

control of professional development over a larger group. Also, it provides the

opportunity for creating a better match between the professional development

topics, the trainers, and the participants, which, in some cases, creates a peermentoring situation. As we said in the Lessons Learned section of Chapter 1,

however, the Train the Trainer model is often seen as a relatively inexpensive

way of training lots of teachers. When implemented with this goal in mind, we

have noticed that the model seldom works, because the cost savings come about

by eliminating some of the model’s most critical elements. In particular, the key

trainers (those who receive the initial training and are expected to conduct turnaround training) are seldom allotted the time and resources necessary to develop

their own knowledge and skills before they have to lead training. There are also

concerns about the quality of training that key trainers receive and their experience as trainers. If someone is a good teacher, it does not necessarily 

follow that they will be a good trainer. In a similar vein, we have found that

expertise in technology does not automatically translate into effectiveness as a

trainer. When all is said and done, the Train the Trainer model can work well,

but it has to be thoughtfully planned and implemented.

Learning Teams 

Based on the assumptions that teachers learn best when they can construct their

own knowledge and that the best resources for teachers are often other teachers,

some districts have created collaborative learning groups or teams for technology

professional development. Lexington (Massachusetts) Public Schools, for example,

call their groups learning teams. These teams are the focal point of the district’s

professional development efforts for both technology and a wide variety of other

topics. During their first year of working with learning teams (1997–1998),

Lexington schools organized 300 elementary- and middle-school teachers into

eight-person teams. Learning teams were organized by grade level, building level,

and/or curriculum focus (e.g., foreign language, math, science, social studies,

etc.). There were actually quite a number of different team configurations, but all

of the groups had a common reason for being.

The goal for the elementary- and middle-school teams during the first year

was to master a set of basic information-technology competencies. Therefore,
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the initial team function was to learn basic how-to technology skills. During the

second year, the teams were expected to begin integrating technology into their

curriculum. Each team focused on developing its members’ technology competencies in a way that the group as a whole found useful. That meant that 

different groups dealt with different issues and topics as they saw fit. When the

group members felt that they had had enough of a particular subject, they

moved on and focused on the development of another skill or competency. By

the end of the 1997–1998 school year, all elementary- and middle-school 

teachers had mastered the basic skills; but the paths they had used to attain that

mastery differed from one group to the next.

Each of Lexington’s learning teams had a team leader who received training

(by out-of-district trainers) on the basic tools and facilitation/team leadership

skills. This training was offered during professional development release days

early in the school year and spread over several months. It could have been

offered as a summer professional development institute, and this would have

accelerated the district’s efforts. After their initial training, team leaders began to

meet with their teams. These team meetings were also held during designated

district professional development days as well as after school on a schedule

determined by each team.

Perhaps equally important to skill mastery was that the learning teams 

fostered an environment of cooperation and collaboration. Team members were

encouraged to meet outside of designated team time and to use each other as

their first-line technology support. In this regard, it became even more important that teams be constructed around commonalties among team members.

Success was realized when teams were based in existing grade/building/subject

area designations.

Not surprisingly, the district found that having learning teams is a viable strategy. End-of-the-year evaluation showed that the vast majority (over 90%) of all

elementary- and middle-school teachers had achieved the district’s desired level

of competency in using basic technologies. Furthermore, the approach was

deemed worthy to be continued as the professional development model for the

integration of technology into the curriculum.

The following are key elements of the learning-team approach:

• Team leaders are trained in technology and team facilitation skills.

This takes the form of Train the Trainer sessions that can occur in a workshop or academy setting. The duration of team-leader training depends on

the existing skill level of the designated team leaders as well as the curriculum in which they are being trained. Team leaders should be selected for

their leadership abilities and should be rewarded, if possible, for the time

they have spent.

• Learning teams are assembled. Each team has a team leader, and its

members should all have a common interest beyond their need to learn to

use technology. Teams can be grouped in various ways, but it is critical that

the team is able to communicate freely and work collaboratively.
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• Learning teams meet to work on their chosen topics, as well as the

overall professional development agenda suggested by the team leader.

Teams should be asked to chart their anticipated progress, set milestones, and

define criteria for their anticipated success. It is critical that teams be given

time to meet! The learning-team approach is not a time-saver compared to 

traditional workshop-based professional development. Rather, it is simply a

different approach, and one that is more promising in terms of its success rate.

• The structure, content, and outcomes of the approach must be formatively evaluated. Not all teams are successful, and sometimes unsuccessful

teams need to be restructured. Also, in a constructivist approach such as this,

it is important to keep overall learning goals and objectives in mind (i.e., left

entirely to themselves, teams can easily go off task). Therefore, it is important for the district to keep a close watch on progress of the overall effort and

individual teams. The creation of a formative assessment procedure, i.e.,

evaluating events and strategies while they are still going on, is very helpful.

The results of this evaluation should be reviewed with an eye towards 

making continuous, ongoing improvements in the approach. 

One final note: The overall effect of the team approach is that the district

technology coordinator moves away from a role focused entirely on delivering

technology professional development and instead becomes a planner and implementer. The logistics of training delivery for teams is more complex than simply

delivering workshops. Planning, evaluation, and support are imperative. While

learning teams cause a shift in priorities for some individuals (e.g., the district

technology coordinator and the district professional development coordinator),

they do result in each teacher receiving much more professional development

experience than would be possible otherwise. In Lexington, 300 teachers

received over 30 hours of technology professional development in a single

school year; it would have been impossible to give 300 teachers 30 hours of

workshop time. 

For more information about Lexington Public Schools’ learning-team

approach to technology professional development, visit their web site at

http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Tech/Kansas/.

Mentoring 

Mentoring is another model for professional development. This strategy came to

the nation’s attention through the 21st Century Teachers Network. This program

was founded by a consortium of educational-service and professional organizations to support teacher technology leaders and is currently primarily operated

by the McGuffie Project. The network offers support—in the form of workshops,

online resources, and peer discussion groups—to teachers who can in turn

become teacher leaders within their schools. In previous years, the network has

offered teacher training on a variety of technology-skills and leadership issues.

Participants are asked to form and lead a cadre of technology-using teachers

back in their schools. In essence, the network provides a sort of team leader

training (see above) to its participants.
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One key aspect of the 21st Century Teachers Network is that it promotes and

supports mentoring. Just as with learning teams, the idea is that effective 

professional development is personal, available when you need it, and offered

by peers. Mentoring fits all of these requirements. 21st Century Teachers Network

mentors are asked to mentor five individuals in their home schools. For more

information on the 21st Century Teachers Network, visit them online at

http://www.21ct.org/sit08_pub/owa/main.

By no means is it necessary to join an organization such as the 21st Century

Teachers Network in order to begin incorporating strategies such as mentoring

in your school. You may consider the creation of mentoring relationships as a

follow-up strategy to all technology professional development. It is important,

though, that you provide training to mentors in both leadership and mentoring

skills. Some good online resources for mentoring are the Telementoring Web at

http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/mentor/, which deals with telementoring (using

technology tools to facilitate the mentoring relationship) and contains a number

of links to mentoring resources and other telementoring sites. Yes, You Can, at

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/YesYouCan/, is a guidebook for establishing mentoring

programs. While this guide is specifically about creating programs to support 

college-bound students, it has a range of resources and ideas applicable to other

types of mentoring. 

The Authentic Task Approach to Professional Development 

The Authentic Task Approach (ATA) was developed by SEIR◆TEC partner

Learning Innovations at WestEd and has been adapted for use in a number of

SEIR◆TEC professional development activities. The ATA is a professional development design that capitalizes on our need to learn continuously while tackling

our real-world work. It is the ultimate version of “learn while you earn” and can

be applied in virtually any content area. On one level, the ATA is a structured

approach to doing a task, and therefore could be easily mistaken for a simple

eight-step approach to problem-solving. This first dimension is extremely efficient in and of itself, and it is appealing to busy, task-oriented people who feel

they never have the time they need to accomplish their work. The more powerful dimension, and what makes the ATA a true learning design, revolves around

the way the approach is used. Several key features, such as presence of a trained

facilitator, protected time, a resource-rich environment, collaborative work, and

opportunities to reflect, produce the greater likelihood that deep learning will

occur as the approach is used. The tension and balance between simultaneous

learning and doing is what makes the ATA such a powerful strategy to promote

learning and change. 

The ATA is a design for professional development that provides participants,

usually in teams, with an opportunity to identify a real task that needs to be done

in the context of achieving a larger goal. The participants engage with eight 

elements as a structure to doing their work. As they pursue their task, they capitalize on resources, and they work toward the completion of their task in a way

that promotes deeper learning composed of knowledge, skill, and understanding. 
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The eight elements of this structured approach can be thought of as steps;

however, they are not really sequential. In fact, you can enter into the process at

any point and move to any other point; therefore, they are best represented in

a circle, as shown in the following diagram.

While the process is very flexible, participants usually are most effective if

they begin by clarifying their task and coming to a common understanding about

what it is, what the product will be, why this work is important, and what success will look like. While you can start anywhere and move anywhere, exactly

how you move through the approach depends on whether you are doing so as

an individual or as a team, whether you have a facilitator who is not pat of the

team but is fully available to work with the team, and, most importantly, what

you are learning. Capitalizing on the learning may take the team in a different

direction from that originally planned, an that may be the most productive path.

Context in Which the ATA Can Be Used

While the most common format for the use of the ATA is with a team at an 

institute, we have learned that the approach can be used equally powerfully with

any team in any location as the team members work over time. In addition, the

basic approach can be used by an individual tackling a task and can evolve into

an approach to working and learning in any environment.

Past uses of the ATA have included: working with large institutes in which

multiple school- or community-based teams participate and work on their

improvement initiatives; working over time with schools planning to adopt a

school-wide Title One model; and the adoption of the approach by a large state

teachers’ union which is using the model to promote high-quality professional

development.

The Authentic Task Approach

Develop a plan to Clarify your 

implement your task task

Schedule Identify criteria 

activities for success

Take time to Identify relevant

reflect resources

Establish group ground Use data to make

rules and contract decisions and track 

facilitator role your work
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The research base on which the ATA has been developed includes research

that shows that learning is a strategic act most efficiently employed when the

learner senses the need for it. The ATA design models effective professional development in that it is grounded in the principles of results-driven education, is 

connected to systems thinking, and takes a constructivist approach (Sparks, 1994). 

The ATA lends itself to professional development focused on any number of

different topics and can yield any number of kinds of products, such as plans,

proposals for funding, policy documents, curriculum units, or a mapping or

alignment process. Because it is suited to teams of people working at different

stages of any given process, the eight elements can be used in a basic operation

such as helping a team ground itself in student-achievement data as a means of

deciding where to focus improvement efforts, or more complex processes such

as revising a technology plan with input from stakeholders or designing an 

evaluation of some current initiative.

Experience with the ATA and the SEIR◆TEC Academies

SEIR◆TEC has developed a program for professional development that is based

on the ATA model. Starting in the summer of 1998, the Summer Academy was

piloted with eight cross-role teams from around the southeastern region. Each

team came with its own problem and worked with facilitators to produce a

design for implementing a technology-integration program back home. A team

from Pinellas County, Florida, for example, developed an evaluation plan for its

technology program. Another from Jordan Hill Elementary School, in Griffin,

Georgia, developed a school-wide plan for using technology in ways that build

on existing curriculum and sound instructional practices. In 1999, SEIR◆TEC

increased its offerings to serve the needs of teams from schools and state 

education agencies. We also use the SEIR◆TEC academy model as the basis for

academies for higher-education faculty through SERVE’s SUNRAY project, a PT3

catalyst grant. Most recently, we have been collaborating with state technology

directors and their staffs to implement the model throughout several states in the

region. Each four-day academy is tailored to provide for the needs of the 

participating teams, with a special emphasis on leadership development.

Informal Professional Development 

Not all professional development takes place in group settings. In fact, teachers’

most meaningful experiences tend to be those in which they learn from their

colleagues, especially when it comes to translating what is learned in a workshop into everyday classroom practices.

• One-on-one and Just-in-time training. We have found that one of the

biggest concerns of teachers after they finish their formal technology training is “Whom do I call for help when I’m back in my classroom?” The key

element to this approach is having an on-site support person in each school

who is available to answer both software and hardware questions. The ideal

person for this job is someone who knows both curriculum and technology;

however, finding a person with those qualifications may be difficult.

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Therefore, some schools have both a technology support specialist and a

curriculum/technology specialist. Furthermore, we have found that planning

for, and keeping, an on-site technology support person is one of the key

strategies for successful technology integration.

• Peer coaching frequently takes place on-site between teachers who teach

similar subjects, teach the same age group, are located in rooms close to

each other, or are professional colleagues. This form of training is perhaps

the most beneficial because it is the most personal. Some schools have gone

so far as to assign a buddy system to create a peer coaching network. 

• Self-study can occur through peer coaching, one-on-one, or mentoring

opportunities. Frequently teachers will take college classes or other outside

training courses as part of their personal improvement plan. Teachers who

use this approach are usually very self-motivated.

Online Professional Development

As more teachers and administrators gain access to the Internet, we are seeing

a growing interest in online professional development. To some extent, the 

formats are electronic versions of traditional models, such as college degrees and

certification programs, courses, workshops, and learning communities.

• Degree and certification programs. Teacher-education programs across the

country are offering a plethora of degree and certification programs online. For

example, Lesley College at http://www.lesley.edu and Pepperdine University

at http://gsep.pepperdine.edu offer courses focusing on educational technology. The teachers we know who have taken online courses say that they like

being able to work on the courses at home, but they miss the collegiality that

is often created when they meet face-to-face for several weeks. With the

advent of the US Department of Education’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers

to Use Technology program at http://www.pt3.org, which supports technology integration in pre-service teacher education programs, we can expect the

growth in online courses and programs to continue.

• Online courses and workshops. A growing number of companies offer

online courses and workshops on a variety of subjects. For example, Apple

Staff Development Online at http://ali.apple.com/nshelp/welcome.shtml;

T.H.E. Institute at http://www.thejournal.com/institute; and WebWorkshops

at http://www.webworkshops.com offer courses and workshops focusing

on integrating technology into teaching and learning.

• Learning communities. There are also numerous web sites offering informal

professional development in the form of discussion groups, chat rooms, and

message boards. Some have a particular focus, but most cover a variety of

topics. The 21st Century Teachers Network at http://www.21ct.org focuses on

the development of teacher leaders who mentor others as they collaborate and

share teaching practices. TechLEARNING.com at www.techlearning.com offers

threaded discussions and databases to help educators locate resources such as

software, web sites, and conferences.

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While the notion of learning online can be exciting, technology planners

should know that it isn’t for everyone. Some people simply don’t have the stickto-it drive necessary to complete a course or workshop that goes for several

weeks. This applies especially for those who get frustrated when they encounter

technical glitches in working online. Another thing to consider is that if you are

thinking about online professional development as a means to save money, you

ought to read the research on distance education, which suggests that online

professional development might not be a cost savings at all. Finally, look before

you leap. As with any professional development, you should look beyond the

novelty aspects of online learning and consider the instructional design and 

content of what is being offered. The bottom line is, will this kind of activity help

teachers learn the skills and acquire the knowledge they need in order to use

technology to enhance teaching and learning?

Professional Development Ideas and Strategies

There are no easy answers for how to inspire and develop widespread technology integration in your school. Nevertheless, we have found that there are some

relatively simple techniques that teachers and administrators can use to advance

from the just-getting-started stage to one wherein a larger number of teachers

are users and integrators of technology. Some of these ideas follow.

Mostly for convenience, we’ve separated the list into actions that are more

teacher-centered and activities that are more administrator-centered.

Nevertheless, most ideas involve the work of both teachers and administrators

for successful implementation. Read both lists if possible.

Following the lists, we’ve included a Professional Development Idea Worksheet

you can use to chart and more fully develop one of these ideas in your school.

For Teachers

• Develop a common vocabulary. Not everyone has the same definition for

the term technology integration. For some, it means teaching kids about

computers. For others, it means teachers using technology to support learning within the curriculum. We’ve found that most people are somewhere in

between. A common vocabulary will help everyone keep his or her sights

on the same goals. We offered our definition of this term in Chapter 3.

• People learn through example. You can talk all day about how you use

technology with your students, but what does this actually look like? Rather

than trying in vain to explain what you’re doing, why not invite other teachers into your classroom or laboratory to see what you’re doing?

• Offer to model a lesson or unit. Some schools and districts have established

a regular program in which teachers work with students to model promising

and best practices for their peers. Even in a less structured way, this would

work in most schools. Offer to teach a lesson—using technology—to a teammate’s class. Make sure that your teammate stays in the room to watch what

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you are doing and to observe his or her students’ response. If possible, ask

your administrator if there is a small budget for substitute teachers to take over

your class while you are teaching someone else’s class. Many grants fund 

substitutes for this purpose.

• Encourage student advocates. If you are using technology successfully

with your students, make sure that your students are aware of what you are

doing. Have a discussion about how technology has impacted their work

and learning. Remember that students often take for granted the tools that

teachers consider so novel. Encourage your students to think and talk about

how technology could benefit the work that they do in other classes, and

then encourage them to share these observations with their parents and

other teachers.

• Share your work with parents. Parents want to know how technology

benefits their children’s learning. Rather than waiting for a parent to come to

you asking if technology has made a difference, you should go to the 

parent first. Talk about why you believe technology has positively impacted

their child’s learning and what you need from them to continue this impact.

Be realistic; technology doesn’t solve all learning problems or reach all 

students equally well, but make sure you point out successes where you find

them. If you are a technology-using teacher, a discussion of technology

should be woven into all regular parent conferences.

• Contact community and business members. Be prepared to talk to

members of your community who want to know about what you are doing

that helps students learn. 

For Administrators

• Make sure that technology is interwoven into all professional development. When hiring staff developers (particularly outside consultants),

make sure that they touch upon the subject of technology and can speak 

fluently about how technology impacts the subject they are discussing. In

fact, beyond the initial “how to use an application” type of teacher workshop, this is how all technology professional development should ideally be

delivered—that is, as part of some other broader topic. At an even more

basic level, we note that in this day and age no trainer should work solely

from typed overhead transparencies and poster board. Your trainers should

at the very least be able to model the type of technology you wish your

teachers to use with their students.

• Retain your district technology committee. Some schools and districts

make the mistake of disbanding the technology committee, or allowing it to

drift apart after the initial creation of the technology plan. The committee has

several important, ongoing roles, such as overseeing the implementation of

the plan, updating the plan annually, and conducting or reviewing evaluation activities and findings work.

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• Sponsor and encourage teachers to visit other districts. These visits do

not have to be limited to showcase technology sites! Rather, teachers can

benefit from seeing how other typical schools integrate and support 

technology. Likewise, you should return the favor and offer your schools as

places to visit to teachers from other districts.

• Personally model the use of technology. We’ve all heard about the superintendent who started to send out memos only via e-mail. That may be a bit

drastic for some administrators, but the point is well-taken. Teachers will see

no reason to use technology that administrators do not take the time to use

and master. Suggestions for modeling include using e-mail, sharing information from e-mail and the web with staff at district meetings, taking an active

interest in the development of district and school web sites, and participating

in teacher technology training and professional development. Remember that

the idea is to actually use technology, not simply to direct its use by others.

• Encourage the development of student technology showcases.

Encourage teachers and students to display work that demonstrates technology integration at school open houses and other events where parents and

community members come into the schools. After all, these people have

paid (in one way or another) a lot of money for this technology; show them

how it’s being used!

• Hold a community meeting to discuss your district’s technology plan.

You spent months writing the plan, so isn’t it important to share your plan

with the community? Have teachers and other technology committee members present key parts of the plan. Lead discussions about how it will be

implemented and how it will impact students. Don’t just present, but lead

discussions and encourage a community dialog. Make sure that these discussions are recorded in some fashion for all teachers to review afterwards.

• Be prepared to talk with business and community leaders regarding

what’s working to benefit students’ learning. Where are you with your

efforts, and what more do you need? Can community collaboration help you

achieve your goals?

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Professional Development Idea Worksheet

Taking an idea for professional development from the previous pages, work out

how you could implement it in your school or district. To assist in this process,

we have provided this worksheet which reminds you of the various supports,

materials, and hooks you might need to make technology implementation a 

reality. A blank version of this worksheet is included in the Appendix.

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Appendix

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Integration Idea

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

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Impact 

(It’s not necessarily true that every idea will impact each of the following populations, but if your

integration is truly systemic, there’s a good chance that it will. In a sentence or two try to describe

how your idea for technology implementation will impact each of the following.)

Impact on Teachers

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Impact on Students

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Impact on Administrators

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Impact on Community and Others

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Professional Development Idea

Worksheet (page 1 of 4)

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Appendix

Hook to your District (or School) Technology Plan 

(All aspects of technology integration should be reflected in the vision and goals of your strategic technology plan. Describe below how your idea for integration supports one or more goals

in your technology plan. )

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Who’s Responsible? 

(Who will take the lead responsibility on various aspects of your professional-development

idea? Once again, not every idea will have all of these aspects, but most will.)

Professional Development

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Technology Infrastructure (hardware, software, and network installation, maintenance, 

support, etc.)

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Communication/Documentation of Success (Who’s going to tell your community about the 

outcomes from implementing this idea?)

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Other

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Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 2 of 4)

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Appendix

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Appendix

259

Timeline

Use this space (or another sheet) to create a step-by-step procedure for implementing your

idea. 

Who? Does what? When?

Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 3 of 4)

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Appendix

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Appendix

Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 4 of 4)

Evaluation and Reflection

Nothing fancy here, but just take a moment to describe how you will know whether you were

successful in the implementation of your idea. Will there be interim project benchmarks? Will

there be something that you can qualitatively describe or quantitatively count as outcomes from

your idea? 

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A Framework for Designing Professional Development

In their landmark text, Designing Professional Development for Teachers of

Science and Mathematics,1 Susan Loucks-Horsley and her colleagues provide

guidance for those who have responsibility for designing or conducting professional development programs or initiatives. While the publication is targeted to

professional developers for teachers of science and mathematics, others at

Learning Innovations at WestEd, a SEIR◆TEC partner, have adapted the design

framework to support professional development for teachers in other content

areas. Based on a set of principles that apply to a variety of content and process

areas, this design framework can help those responsible for professional development go from fragmented and limited professional development offerings to a

more systematic and systemic approach. 

The accompanying figure illustrates a design framework that organizes these

elements to suggest both how to design a new program and how to analyze the

design of an existing program. The four boxes through the middle of the framework represent a typical process of planning and action. This process helps

designers of professional development—which should include teachers, 

administrators, community and other resource people—to think about several

important features of good programs:

1. There needs to be a set of goals—a set of clear and shared outcomes for the

program. These goals must drive all other elements of the design.

2. There needs to be planning—careful consideration of how the pieces fit

together and how to proceed over time.

3. The plan needs to be implemented.

4. There needs to be continuous reflection on and evaluation of progress that

feeds back into adjustment of plans and subsequent actions, as well as 

adjustment of goals.

This four-step cycle is meant to repeat itself, taking place over months as 

a program proceeds, or in the minutes it takes to monitor and adjust an 

ongoing event to increase its effectiveness.

In addition to the four central steps of the cycle, the design framework considers four inputs important to the design process. Designers of professional

development need to draw upon:

1. The existing base of knowledge and beliefs about learning, teaching, the

nature of particular content and process areas, professional development,

and the process of change.

2. An analysis of the context in which teachers teach and their students learn.

3. A set of critical issues that can make the difference between success 

and failure.

1The above text has been adapted from Ideas That Work: Mathematics Professional Development

by Eisenhower National Clearing House (ENC), The Ohio State University, 1998.
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4. A repertoire of strategies for professional learning that can be combined in

different ways at different times to maximize different learning goals. 

Those looking for a single, definitive model of professional development will

be disappointed that none exists. Every situation and initiative requires its own

unique model. But this does not mean that each program needs to start from

scratch. As explanation of this design model indicates, there is a broad and deep

base of information, research, and, indeed, wisdom that can be drawn upon to

build unique and successful professional development opportunities for teachers. 

Context 

Knowledge 

& Beliefs

15

Strategies

Critical Issues

Set Goals Plan Do Reflect

Professional Development Design Framework
Professional

Development

Checklist of Professional Development Strategies

In the table that follows, we list fifteen professional development strategies and

assess their applicability to different stages of teacher awareness and development. 

Those strategies which have a primary relationship are given an “●”symbol

whereas secondary strategies have an “❍” symbol. 

A Strategies that focus on developing awareness are usually used during the

beginning phases of a change. The strategies are designed to elicit thoughtful questioning on the part of the teachers concerning new information.

B Strategies that focus on building knowledge provide opportunities for

teachers to deepen their understanding of mathematics content and teaching practices.

C Strategies that help teachers translate new knowledge into practice engage

teachers in drawing on their knowledge base to plan instruction and

improve their teaching.

D Strategies that focus on practicing technology help teachers learn through the

process of using a new approach with their students. As teachers practice

new moves in their classrooms, they deepen their understanding.

E Strategies that provide opportunities to reflect deeply on teaching and learning engage teachers in assessing the impact of the changes on their students

and thinking about ways to improve. These strategies also encourage teachers

to reflect on others’ practice, adapting ideas for their own use.

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Strategies for Professional Development

The following checklist is adapted from Designing Professional Development for

Teachers of Science and Mathematics by Susan Loucks-Horsley, Peter Hewson,

Nancy Love, and Katherine Stiles. 1998, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 

Purposes:

A = Developing Awareness, B = Building Knowledge, 

C = Translating Into Practice, D = Practicing Teaching, E = Reflection

Strategies A B C D E

Immersion

1. Immersion in solving problems

Engaging in the kinds of learning that teachers are ❍● ●

expected to practice with their students, such as 

inquiry-based mathematics investigations. 

2. Immersion in real-world, authentic activities

Intensive experience in the day-to-day work of a ❍ ●

professional, often in a laboratory, industry, or museum, 

with full engagement in research activities.

Curriculum

3. Curriculum implementation

Learning, using, and refining use of a particular set of ❍❍●

instructional materials in the classroom. 

4. Curriculum replacement units

Implementing a unit of instruction that addresses one ❍❍●

topic in a way that illustrates effective teaching techniques.

5. Curriculum development and adaptation

Creating new instructional materials and strategies or ❍ ●

tailoring existing ones to better meet the learning needs

of students.

Examining Practice

6. Action Research

Examining teachers’ own teaching and their students’ ❍ ●

learning by engaging in a research project in the classroom.

7. Case Discussions

Examining written narratives or videotapes of classroom ❍❍ ●

events and discussing the problems and issues illustrated. 

8. Examining Student Work and Thinking, and 

ScoringAssessments

Carefully examining students’ work to understand their ❍❍❍ ●

thinking so that appropriate instructional strategies and 

materials can be identified.
Purposes:

A = Developing Awareness, B = Building Knowledge, 

C = Translating Into Practice, D = Practicing Teaching, E = Reflection

Strategies A B C D E

Collaborative

9. Study groups

Engaging in regular collaborative interactions ❍❍●

around topics identified by the group, with 

opportunities to examine new information, reflect 

on classroom practice, and analyze outcome data

10. Coaching and mentoring

Working one-on-one with another teacher to ❍❍●❍

improve teaching and learning through a variety 

of activities, including classroom observation and 

feedback, problem solving and co-planning. 

11. Partnerships with experts in business, industry,

and universities

Working collaboratively with practicing experts with ❍ ●

the focus on improving teacher content, knowledge, 

instructional materials, and access to facilities. 

12. Professional networks

Linking in person or through electronic means with ❍●❍ ❍

other teachers to explore topics of interest, pursue 

shared goals, and address common problems.

Vehicles and Mechanisms

13. Workshops, institutes, courses, and seminars

Using structured opportunities outside the classroom ❍●❍

to focus intensely on topics of interest, including 

mathematics content, and learn from others with 

more expertise. 

14. Technology for professional development

Using various kinds of technology, including ❍●❍ ❍

computers, telecommunications, video, and 

CD-ROMs, to learn content and pedagogy. 

15. Developing professional developers

Building the skills and deep understanding 

of content and pedagogy needed to create ❍❍●❍

learning experiences.

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Making the Most of Professional Development

Strategies for Successful Professional Development Implementation

The design of your professional development plan is just the first step. The next

step is to implement it, and that means motivating the staff to participate.

Following are several strategies that you might consider when implementing

your plan.

• Have the technology that the staff is being trained on available 

immediately. Nothing will cause a program to lose its credibility quicker

than teachers not having immediate access to the same technology in their

classroom. Why should they spend valuable time (and get their hopes up)

with training if the classrooms don’t have the equipment or software? While

unforeseen delays and scheduling can disrupt careful planning for coordinating hardware/software delivery and professional development, it always

helps to have workable alternatives to manage a situation like this. 

• Offer incentives for participation. The best incentive for participation in

technology professional development is access to technology. That means

that teachers will be given computers or other hardware and software incentives for their classrooms if they attend professional development sessions.

We have seen great successes when districts tie workshop attendance to the

opportunity to use technology. In effect, this makes technology a privilege

rather than a right. The privilege is earned through participation in professional development and a willingness to collaborate with staff developers in

future efforts. Other incentives such as stipends or recertification requirements can also help motivate people to come to training, but they do not

guarantee that the attendees are really interested.

• Require participants to engage in follow-up activities. Teachers should

not be allowed merely to attend planned activities, receive their training, and

then return to their classrooms without sharing their knowledge. Rather, 

participants need to agree to engage in such activities as mentoring, model

teaching, and/or serving as trainers in upcoming workshops. This extra effort

might be rewarded through stipends, more technology rewards, release time,

or salary credits.

• Offer more than keyboard sessions. Be sure to include sessions that are

about writing and planning curriculum and other topics—not just sitting and

working at a keyboard. Remember that the keyboard is intimidating to some

teachers, and they will not be inclined to sit in workshop after workshop

where they are performing uncomfortable and alien tasks. Rather, make your

professional development sessions a combination of reinforcing what we

know and learning new things. Our experience is that the non-hands-on technology workshop will be jarring at first to some teachers, as it runs counter to

their expectations of what a technology workshop should be. Nevertheless,

you need to take the time—non-keyboard time—to contextualize technology
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use, such as learning ways of changing from teacher-focused instruction to

student-focused learning (see ACOT research discussed in Chapter 3).

• Provide time for out-of-class practice and always provide handouts.

Once again, many teachers learn best when they can practice new skills on

their own, perhaps even at home on their personal computers. You cannot

expect learners to master technology solely within the computer lab, and the

best learning often occurs in private on the classroom computer just after

class dismissal or during a planning period. To support this independent

learning, be sure to provide step-by-step instructions and handouts for every

new application or topic you cover. Always provide actual examples of ways

in which the technology can be used within the curriculum. Even if time does

not allow a thorough exploration of the examples during workshop time,

make sure that every participant leaves with additional reading.

• Use experienced trainers. Just as good teachers serve as facilitators of

knowledge development for their students, teachers themselves need good

facilitators for their own development. Workshop facilitators should have a

classroom background or at least have experience with teachers and the

teaching environment. The appropriate trainer/facilitator will be able to communicate with teacher participants about how the technology in question is

actually used in the classroom. In our experience, this contextual experience

is just as important as technical knowledge. The trainer who might do an

excellent job teaching insurance agents to use spreadsheets might be

absolutely worthless trying to teach teachers to use spreadsheets.

• When grouping workshop participants, make sure that the group has

a common interest other than technology. Training that takes place in

one large workshop is both difficult to manage and ineffective. When you

have a large group, it’s a good idea to break participants into groups.

Different groups will attend different sessions at different times. When

grouping participants, it is important to give some thought as to how the

groups are constructed. We have found that the key to successful teacher

groups is that the individuals in the groups have a common purpose. When

that purpose is just to learn the technology tools, we rarely find that any

strong group bonding results. Identifying a common curriculum concern,

curriculum subject area, or grade level will create a stronger bond. When

this common purpose is established within a group of participants in a technology professional development event, the group can have a focus that

transcends learning about technology. 

• Develop several professional development strands and offer them to

different groups of participants. It can be very frustrating for teachers (or

anyone) to feel placed in a one-track, lock-step curriculum. Even more frustrating can be working with individuals well above or below your current

technical ability. Once again, grouping everyone into the same workshop

setting is seldom good for anyone. Effective professional development does

not work with the least common denominator. An alternative is a professional
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development series with sessions that address different needs, interests, and

classes for different ability levels. This does not mean that you need to exponentially increase your total number of professional development offerings.

While you may need to offer a few more sessions on basics (just to get

everyone started), later sessions can be offered on a first-come, first-served

basis. Everyone will eventually be able to take all courses. By allowing some

choices, you create an environment where people have the opportunity to

take professional development at their own schedule and pace. The primary

benefit will be improved relevance to participants’ own needs.
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Professional Development Planning Resources

The following is a summary of the online resources for professional development

planning described in this chapter.

Online Resources

http://www.nas.edu/rise/backg4a.htm

The National Academy of Science web site includes a detailed account of the

Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM), a model for understanding how the

change process affects professional development.

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/cha22.html

SEDL offers CBAM information, tools, and training. Visit this site to learn more.

http://www.iste.org/Standards/index.html

Professional-education standards developed by the International Society for

Technology in Education (ISTE) are presented on the ISTE web site.

http://www.ofps.dpi.state.nc.us/OFPS/hm/te/techcomp.htm

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which is the state department of education, has developed a set of technology competencies which are

featured on the department’s web site.

http://lps.lexingtonma.org/Tech/Kansas/index.html

The web site for the Lexington (Massachusetts) Public Schools provides 

information on the required standards and skills established by the schools.

http://www.bham.wednet.edu/tcomp.htm 

The Bellingham (Washington) Public Schools web site includes information on

staff use of the Technology–Self-Evaluation Rubric developed by the schools.

http://www.21ct.org/sit08_pub/owa/main

Go to the 21st Century Teachers Network site for information on its mentoring

program.

http://mbhs/bergtraum.k12.ny.us/mentor/

The Telementoring Web deals with using technology tools to facilitate mentoring

relationships.

http://ed.gov/pubs/YesYouCan/

Yes, You Can is a guidebook for establishing mentoring programs.

Resources
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http://www.lesley.edu

http://gsep.pepperdine.edu

Web sites sponsored by Lesley College and Pepperdine University include 

information about courses focusing on educational technology.

http://www.pt3.org

The US Department of Education’s Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to Use

Technology program supports technology integration in teacher education programs.

http://ali.apple.com/nshelp/welcome.shtml

Apple Staff Development Online offers online courses and workshops on a 

variety of subjects.

http://thejournal.com/institute

See the web site sponsored by T.H.E. Institute for information about courses

online.

http://webworkshops.com

WebWorkshops are courses and workshops focusing on integrating technology

into teaching and learning.

http://www.techlearning.com

The TechLEARNING site includes threaded discussions and databases to help educators locate technology resources such as software, web sites, and conferences.

Print Resources

Hord, S.M.; Rutherford, W.L.; Huling-Austin, L.; and Hall, G. 1987. Taking Charge

of Change. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
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Putting It All Together

A conversation about technology professional 

development

So, it seems that professional development is a really important part

of technology integration. 

Yes, it is. Since we presented several ideas in this chapter, we would like to take

this opportunity to summarize some of the most important things to remember. 

First, there is the need to plan. We think that professional development has

a place very early on in the planning and certainly for the implementation

process. The key, of course, is to create goals related to the types of technology

professional development your school or district needs and then to set about 

acting on those goals. 

The benefit to the planning team is that the planning work itself becomes a

form of professional development. The planners become considerably wellversed in the substance of what they are planning and in the process itself. To

ensure this type of learning, it’s necessary to incorporate time for reflection, questions, clarification, and other aspects of a good learning experience. In a very

general way, the technology planning experience can be a constructivist learning experience. No one comes into the process knowing all of the answers, but

when planning is done well, most leave with a very clear idea of what the plan

is and what it will take to implement that plan. The point is that professional

development occurs almost from day one, and it’s good to be aware of all of the

different ways that it can (and does) occur. 

When should we begin to offer professional development sessions? 

This is a coordination and planning issue that depends on when the hardware

and software will be available to teachers in their classrooms. It doesn’t make

sense to offer sessions when hardware and software availability is months away.

If technology will be available at the beginning of the school year, most schools

will offer professional development prior to the opening of the school year and

then follow up with sessions throughout the school year. 

Should the computers be in teachers’ classrooms before starting 

professional development? 

The best situation is to have computers in classrooms before teachers participate

in professional development. If this isn’t possible, the computers should be there

when they come back from professional development. Remember that there is no

quicker way for your professional development plan to lose credibility than to

fail to make computers available to staff immediately after their training. Another

problem that we see is professional development sessions that teach the use of

a technology, such as the Internet, that will not be available within the school or

school district for a long time. The district or school should provide appropriate
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professional development based on the technology resources that are available

to teachers and students.

What professional development topics are most commonly offered?

We see a lot of offerings for AppleWorks and Microsoft Office basics. It seems

that most people have some basic knowledge of word processing, but there is a

need for more spreadsheet training. Curiously, I don’t see many offerings for the

database applications in AppleWorks or Microsoft Office. After basic application

training, there is a big demand for Internet training. After Internet training, the

perennial favorite is PowerPoint. It is a program that can be easily learned and

produces dramatic-looking results. 

What would you like to see more of?

It’s a mistake to say what a district should be doing without being in touch with

information regarding their actual situation. As a basic rule, no one should try to

prescribe someone else’s professional development. But having said that, our

experience shows that there is a continuous need for basic training workshops in

applications software along with efforts that focus more on curriculum integration.

One thing I find lacking is support for those who have entry-level skills, that

is, people who are totally new to using computers. Most districts do little for staff

at this level. I suggest offering entry-level workshops or one-on-one support for

those who need assistance of this type.

The greatest need I see is for technology professional development that

addresses real needs related to teacher understanding of how technology impacts

teaching and learning. In particular, teachers need to understand how technology

can be a vehicle for changing from teacher-driven instruction to student-focused

learning. They also need to learn and try out new ways of organizing the classroom and learning activities, such as project-based learning of the research and

theory behind constuctivist learning. And they need opportunities to learn how

technology can help students learn constructs mandated by state and national

standards. 

How many districts have a technology professional development plan?

Unfortunately, too few. Still, it’s important to note that the technology professional

development plan need not exist as a separate document from the overall technology plan. We think it is better to have the technology professional development

plan incorporated into the district’s overall professional development plan. 

Of course, the problem is that many districts have absolutely nothing that

even resembles a plan for general professional development, let alone technology professional development. We also find districts that commit to spending

tens of thousands of dollars on professional development without taking time to

see what their staff really needs.

Whether a district is introducing new technology or updating technology,

professional development planning should be addressed as part of technology

planning. This is where you will see that planning into practice is a recursive

process that uses current practice to inform further planning.
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How can we design an evaluation plan while we are so busy planning

everything else? When will we ever finish planning and get to the

implementation process?

Time and timeliness are a concern for all. When you do your timeline, you will

see that you cannot accomplish everything at once, or even in one year.

Therefore, you will need to do it in phases or stages. Create a three- or five-year

time line, and show how these phases and stages will be spread across that time.

It is far more prudent to go slowly and do things well than to go too fast and do

things poorly. And consistently revisit what you have implemented, because you

will probably be repeating the activity at a later date. 

And finally, what do you think is the biggest challenge in professional

development planning and implementation?

Making it appropriate, timely, and meaningful.
Community

Engagement

5

Chapter

137
Table of Contents

What Is Community Engagement? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Putting the Tools to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Community Resources Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Key Questions for Community Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

Examples of Successful Community Programs Across 

the Nation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Community Engagement Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Chapter 5

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SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 139

What Is Community Engagement?

eachers and other school employees, people who live and work in your

area, government agencies, and anyone else who has an interest in your

school district can be considered part of your community. The members

of your community may have different needs, desires, and expectations from

your needs and interests. Some community members may want to become

involved in any effort that improves education and may see technology as a way

to bring about that improvement. On the other hand, some community members

will be indifferent or will say they don’t have time to be involved. In fact, they’ll

allow you to make the decisions because that’s what you are hired to do.

However, technology planners should not go about this important work without

extending the opportunity for involvement to the broader community, in either the

planning stage or the integration stage. 

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform expands the term community

engagement to public engagement. Educators, parents, and community members

engage each other in “a purposeful effort, starting in either the school system or

the community, to build a collaborative constituency for change and improvement in the schools.” The key word in this definition is collaboration. Community

engagement, therefore, is a reciprocal and collaborative relationship that draws

in and includes members from the whole community.

Community engagement during technology planning is an essential part of

building a sustainable system that benefits the entire community. Finding a way for

school-based technology resources to be shared and used by the entire community is particularly critical in traditionally underserved areas where the technology

available in schools may be the only technology available to the community.

Therefore, if schools are to be of the greatest and broadest service to their community, the technology in schools should provide benefits to both students and

community members.

Community engagement can extend to collaborations and consortia in which

different organizations join together to undertake a larger cooperative effort. Often,

for example, a school district and local university collaborate to provide staff development for the schools and practical experience for the university’s teachers and

students. The university gains by being involved directly with in-service teachers.

The school district gains by receiving professional development without hiring a

staff of trainers. In another school district, members of a local men’s organization

donate community time to help students repair computers and computer networks.

In another collaborative example, several school districts across a state join with

federal and state agencies to develop an educational curriculum supported by 

technology. By pooling resources, each of the different groups receives benefits

that they could not attain alone. 

Community Engagement 

T
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140 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 5: Community Engagement

The federal government provides Technology Innovation Challenge Grants

(TICG) to support collaborative efforts of schools, communities, and businesses

to bring technology into the community and the schools. Louisiana’s Challenge

Grant, Louisiana’s Challenge—Integration of Technology and Learning—A

Pathway to the Future, is an example of such a collaborative effort. Through this

grant, state and district technology coordinators profit from the expertise and

resources of university personnel, library staffs, local telephone and cable companies, museums, and others from the governmental and private sectors. The

five school systems across the state that are involved in the Louisiana Challenge

Grant have formed strong partnerships with participating groups and serve as a

resource for other systems developing local technology plans. Each of the five

systems, guided by a district technology committee, is developing, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive district plan for using educational technology to raise the level of student achievement and attain educational goals.

For example, the Jefferson Elementary School of the Jefferson Parish has an

array of educational technology that includes an IBM Computer Learning Center,

a local area network, and a school-wide television broadcast channel, WJES, with

daily student broadcasts. As a pilot site for the Greater New Orleans Free-Net,

faculty and students have e-mail accounts and global electronic access to exciting places and unlimited sources of information. Jefferson hosts many business

partners who help in developing the Vision of Tomorrow’s Schools, the basis of

the school-wide technology. These business partners include Shell Oil Products

Company, Lockheed Martin IMS, and Kippers Communication.

For some, technology planning and implementation are part of a larger initiative to improve teaching and learning. In this scenario, community and school

leaders want to introduce new curriculum ideas and teaching methods and to formulate new standards for student achievement. They see technology as a catalyst

for this change. For others, technology planning and implementation are part of

a general school- and community-wide improvement effort. If your school is considering embarking on these broader reform initiatives or wanting to create more

opportunities for dialogue across a community, we have included some contacts

and materials in the Resources section to help you initiate these efforts.

There are many ways to involve community members in school technology

planning and integration. Community members may have expertise and skills

that they can contribute or they may have access to resources that you are not

aware of. Perhaps you need a building to house offices for a training room,

and a member of your community is willing to donate that building. Also,

members in your community can be connected to other community organizations that can also benefit from technology. If a high-speed data line is going

to be brought to the local school district, perhaps the library, hospital, or community organizations can also benefit. Community members joining together

can bring extra funding to help support the effort at a higher level. Local 

parent organizations and news media can raise the level of awareness through

open houses, special computer events, or fundraising activities. Some community members may be policymakers or may have contacts with policymakers at
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141

the local, state, or national level which can be used to further initiatives that

impact your planning. 

Since community involvement takes on many different forms at different times

in your technology planning process, you will need to be alert to opportunities as

they present themselves. Assess what human, financial, and technology resources

already exist in the community to support your plan. Can they be included in, and

benefit from, your technology planning? 

Tools in this Chapter

Community Resources Worksheet. The Community Resources Worksheet is

designed for compiling data about potential resources in your community. Your

planning committee can use it to brainstorm additions based on members’

knowledge of the local scene. 

Key Questions. A list of detailed questions serves as a starting point for developing your own questions regarding key community engagement issues. You

will probably have many of your own questions to add. 

Examples of Successful Community Programs Across the Nation. The examples can help generate ideas by showing how other schools and communities have

successfully become involved with technology.

Resources. The Resources section provides you with a list of local potential

resources and a list of national organizations that promote community technology

programs. Most of these organizations have web sites that you can visit for ideas

or support in your community projects. 
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142 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

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Putting the Tools to Work

Community Resources Worksheet

Your technology planning committee can use the worksheet to identify potential

community partners and resources. Be sure to include contact information 

on key people within each organization who are in a position to support the 

district’s technology program.

Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Community Resources Worksheet

Type and name Potential contribution Contact Who will

of organization or collaboration person contact them?

Colleges/

universities

Libraries/

museums

Business 

organizations

Local 

businesses

Religious 

organizations

Community 

organizations

Local media

Telecommunications

or technology 

organizations

Training for teachers

Virtual field trips

Build support for acquisition of resources for technology/student interns

Field trips to demonstrate

business needs to teachers

Build support for new

teaching practices

Build support for new

teaching practices

Highlight student work

for community members

Dr. Sheldon

@ State U.

Ms. Terrell

@ City library

Mr. Wallace

@ Chamber of

Commerce

Ms. Kopalski,

Widgets, Inc.

Rev. Nixon

Ms. Nelson

Tech. coor. and

curr. director

Curr. Director

Supt.

Supt. and teachers

Curr. Director

and teachers

Appendix

page 261
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143

Key Questions for Community Engagement

Community engagement requires careful consideration, because schools are

composed of individuals with differing interests and backgrounds. Bringing a

representative group together is an important first step in successful decisionmaking and planning for technology. Public support is essential to ensure the

success and support of your technology efforts. 

A number of organizations have produced resources to help educators make

effective decisions related to community engagement and technology planning.

Some of the following key questions come from the community engagement section of the North Central R◆TEC’s publication Guiding Questions for Technology

Planning, which can be found on their web site at http://www.ncrtec.org. We

believe that addressing these questions is a good place for educators to start

when developing strategies to garner public support. Remember that you must

look within your community to find solutions that fit your needs.

• At what point in your technology planning do you need to have 

community members involved? 

If you are beginning a large technology initiative in your district, you will definitely want public involvement early on. In fact, your school board will be

key in approving the funding for such an effort. The more you encourage

public ownership and understanding of the importance of what you are

attempting to do, the more supportive of your efforts the public will be. 

• What kinds and levels of public support are necessary to make the

implementation of your technology plan successful and sustainable? 

The answer to this question depends on your goals. Are you going to place

computers in teachers’ classrooms, or are you going to create a community

center in the school for technology users? Or will you go so far as to 

create an electronic community such as the Blacksburg Electronic Village in

Blacksburg, Virginia (http://www.bev.net/)? In this community-wide effort, in

a rural Appalachian county, citizens in homes, schools, public libraries, and

places of work are connected to Virginia Tech with online access to training,

user support, government information, social services, education, and business

information. Or, do you want to target a more specific, limited community as

was done in Lake Village, Arkansas, where the local hospital used the

schools’ computer labs to teach hospital staff basic computer skills?

• How will you utilize parents and community members in the planning

process? 

Research has found that strong relationships and trust among participants are

vital to the collaborative process. When bringing together groups of people

with diverse interests and backgrounds, however, you need to have strategies

and goals to maximize their participation. Do you have strategies for communicating effectively with parents and community members of linguistically,

racially, and culturally diverse backgrounds? Have you considered how to

arrive at a consensus with so many different value systems and points of
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view? There are several other issues that you may need to keep in mind. Do

the same few parents and other community members serve on all the school

committees? How can you get more representation so that you have different points of view? Do community members come for the first meeting and

then not attend again?

• How will you garner support from your teachers to ensure that technology implementation and integration are successful?

Are teachers’ opinions, concerns, and ideas recognized? Have you conducted

a needs assessment or focus groups to gain their input and identify the current

state of technology integration? Do teachers have an opportunity to communicate and participate in the decision-making process? 

• How will you garner support from community and business leaders

for long-term partnerships? 

Many local businesses are interested in what schools are doing because they

have children who are attending the local schools. Furthermore, it is possible

that their future customers or employees will come from the local schools. It

is in their long-term interest to participate in your technology efforts. Assess

what they can contribute and include them in your planning.

• How will you connect and interact with museums, libraries, adult literacy programs, higher education, community-based organizations, and

other community-based organizations to improve student learning?

These organizations have educational goals that extend beyond the classroom door. They attempt to reach the general community in less formal

ways. Technology has proven to be an excellent tool to support their efforts

to reach a wider and more varied audience, and they make natural partners

with the schools for seeking funding or carrying out projects. Following are

examples of two such projects, both located in Austin, Texas.

Austin Free-Net (AFN)

Austin Free-Net (AFN) (http://www.austinfree.net/) is a nonprofit corporation

providing public access to the Internet and emerging technologies for all Austin

residents, especially those who don’t have computers in their homes. Austin FreeNet is a community-driven project, and its services are available only in public

locations. The AFN is a cooperative effort involving Austin educational, civic, and

corporate entities including the University of Texas, Austin Public Library, Literacy

Austin, Austin Learning Academy, Austin police and fire departments, Austin

Independent School District, and other community organizations, private companies, and communications providers. Austin Free-Net focuses on addressing the

needs of children and youth in low-income families. Many introductory computer

and Internet classes are offered in both Spanish and English at local libraries and

other community locations. AFN also teams up with local technology firms and

other community organizations to deliver workforce training in technology and

other technology-related service projects. 
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East Austin Media Lab (EAML)

East Austin Media Lab (EAML) is a multimedia development center for disadvantaged youth. A project of Our Lady’s Family Center, SER Jobs for Progress, and

Austin Free-Net, EAML is one of three training labs which AFN and its partners

have created for teens. It is a public access site offering high-speed (ISDN) connections to the Internet. The lab focuses on specific development tools which fit

together to form a framework for community-based access and content development. You can find more details on the web at http://www.austinfree.net/EAML.

• Are parents and community members informed regarding proposed

technology integration? Do they understand its features, benefits, and

drawbacks? How will their concerns be addressed? 

It is easy to overlook the fact that some parents and community members are

fearful and anxious about computer use and access to the information superhighway. How have you planned to introduce the features, benefits, and

drawbacks of proposed uses of technology? Could computer technology such

as e-mail, bulletin boards, or Internet access be used to improve communication between parents, schools, and other members of the community? Can

you provide training and support for parents and community members so as

to bring technology access and service to the wider community?

• When thinking about your technology plan and implementation

efforts, do you have both a long-term and a short-term communication plan?

Keeping your stakeholders, interested parties, and others aware of what you

are doing requires considerable internal and external communication and

public relations activities. Have you thought of ways to do this so that you

can promote an effective long-term implementation of your technology plan?

Do you have strategic messages for specific audiences? How will you create

opportunities for school staff and the community to share information in

order to foster positive relationships? How and when will you report results

to internal and external stakeholders? Solicit the help of the local news media

in this area. Most radio stations and television stations have public-interest air

time available at no cost to educational institutions. Seek out editors who can

create special features regarding your technology efforts. You should also

consider some type of newsletter that is mailed directly to all your teachers

and community members. If your school board already has such a vehicle in

place, consider making regular contributions to that newsletter. 

We often start work with a technology planning committee by telling them

that the plan they are creating is, in fact, a public document. This establishes

the idea that one of the key purposes of the technology plan is communication. In the area of community engagement, this becomes especially important. The technology plan should effectively communicate your school’s

vision, goals, and intended actions for technology implementation. Naturally,

then, this is something that you will want to make available to all members
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of your community to garner their support. An example follows of how this

was done in one community.

Carteret County School System

When the Carteret County School System (Beaufort, NC) and the county commissioners decided to offer the voters a $6.2 million local bond for technology,

they developed a communication plan for the community. Using everything

from public service announcements on TV and radio, to cable-TV programs, to

fliers and posters, bond sponsors from the two groups worked to alert and

inform the community of the benefits of the funding. As a result of the efforts to

communicate with the various stakeholders, the bond was passed. Not only did

it pass with a comfortable margin, but many community members continued to

be involved on district planning committees, on school volunteer teams, and in

publicizing successful school technology uses in the local media. 

Examples of Successful Community Programs

Across the Nation

Indian Creek’s Electronic Bulletin Board: A Community Link 

This project helped the school and community learn more about technology. It

started with $18,000 of district and state funds from a Kansas State Board of

Education Excellence Grant in 1993. The motive for seeking those funds was to

improve K–6 students’ state and national reading achievement scores by getting

them to use their reading and writing skills. The bulletin-board system provided

a practical reason for students to do just that. The grant allowed the purchase of

bulletin-board software, a computer to use as the server, and 80 videotext 

terminals for students to use from home. The Community Link Bulletin Board

system started operation in November 1993 with four phone lines. The current

list of users includes 211 students, 153 parents and family members, 11 key pals

from a Topeka retirement home, and 29 Indian Creek staff. The Indian Creek

Community Link Bulletin Board has been a unique experience for an entire community. Its members have enjoyed a sense of accomplishment as they became

acquainted with the technology and its functions. The bulletin board has been

a safe first step for families to gain understanding of networks and experience

with electronic communication. The school and its staff have earned the 

reputation of being technologically progressive. And the dollar cost has been

minimal when compared to the benefits to entire families and a whole school.

The bulletin board continues to grow and mature each year as the community

learns together.
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Onaway High School Black River Design: An Experience in Technology

This is a story of how a local high school met its community’s needs through its

technology efforts. In return, the community supported the students’ work

through job opportunities.

Onaway High School’s art department is unique. It includes one of the most

advanced high school computer graphics labs in the state of Michigan, and it has

developed in—and is now serving—a low-income, high-unemployment area of

northern Michigan. OHS Black River Design has added a dimension of a studentrun technology business that also provides the community’s link to desktop publishing, the Internet, and the World Wide Web. The goal of the program is to

expose the community, through the students, to technologies such as the

Internet and desktop publishing, and to encourage the students to become local

entrepreneurs, adding to the employment possibilities in the area. Through computer classes at the high school, OHS Black River Design produces a variety of

products, including calendars, T-shirts, posters, business cards, signs, flyers, and

web pages for local businesses. The clientele has grown enormously. 

Equally significant, OHS Black River Design is not in competition with hardpressed local businesses, as the nearest similar operation is forty-five minutes away

and the program’s goal is to do much of its business via the Internet. Many other

OHS classes benefit from this program. The high school band, the junior high 

journalism course, and the high school yearbook make use of the art department’s

computer lab and have been helped by students in the computer graphics classes.

Likewise, students in the computer graphics program are gaining skills other than

computer literacy. They improve their writing skills by writing blurbs for the local

newspaper. They learn about advertising by designing advertising materials for

local businesses and by doing the program’s own promotions. Students also learn

accounting skills as they themselves do the bookkeeping and write proposals for

new equipment. 

Community interest in the program has been very favorable, and the community-elected board of education has been supportive. Parents have also

become very excited about the program, and more of them attend open houses

than ever before. There has been a great increase in parental interest in what the

students are learning, and the students seem to enjoy showing their parents what

they’ve learned.
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Net Day

One of the largest collaborative community efforts has been Net Day, a grassroots

volunteer effort to wire K–12 schools across the US. Even though the effort varied

across states and across the nation, community involvement was the core ingredient to success. On the first Net Day, held in October of 1996, businesspeople,

telecommunications trade workers, parents, students, and educators pulled wire

and punched connections to create classroom Internet access. Net Day has become

an annual event which has enabled thousands of schools to be connected to the

Internet. By bringing together these diverse elements, Net Day establishes a framework for lasting partnerships among the business, governmental, educational, and

other local communities that provide ongoing support for our schools. 

The CyberEd Tour: Taking the Internet on the Road 

In the fall of 1995, President Clinton challenged corporate America to join him in

an effort to bring educational technology into every classroom in America. Bert

Roberts, CEO and chairman of MCI Communications, responded quickly. His offer?

CyberEd! CyberEd was an eighteen-wheel, big-rig truck, a state-of-the-art, fully

functional cyber classroom on wheels, providing both videoconferencing and

Internet access. CyberEd’s five-month, fifteen-city national tour during the spring

and summer of 1996 pursued a two-fold mission: to provide hands-on Internet

experiences to teachers, administrators, community leaders, parents, and students;

and to serve as a catalyst for local commitment to educational technology. The

CyberEd journey was fueled by a coalition of nonprofit corporate and private foundation partners, including MCI Foundation, the Milken Family Foundation,

Microsoft Corporation, the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund, Corning

Incorporated, and DSC Communications Corporation. TECH CORPS, a national

nonprofit organization, joined the effort and served as project manager, providing

logistical coordination, program content, and instructors for the truck. TECH CORPS

supports K–12 schools across the country by bringing in both people and resources

to enhance educational technology efforts locally. CyberEd gave TECH CORPS a

valuable training tool to offer schools; TECH CORPS, meanwhile, provided

CyberEd with hands-on volunteer expertise that would remain behind after the

truck left. In April, Bert Roberts, Education Secretary Richard Riley, and FCC

Chairman Reed Hundt joined Vice President Al Gore in front of the White House

to launch the truck officially. From there, it began a 25,000-mile odyssey, crisscrossing the United States and, along the way, bringing a rich educational-technology resource to the country’s Empowerment Zones, federally defined areas of our

country which most need an infusion of economic resources. CyberEd needs to be

replicated in communities across the country—not necessarily as an eighteenwheeler or as a national initiative. What must be reproduced is that which brings

communities together to support technology in the schools; that which empowers

educators, parents, and students to learn more and to learn better; and that which

gives all of us the tools to compete in the workplace of today and tomorrow.
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Mini-Libraries in Underserved Communities

In San Juan, Puerto Rico, there is a recently grown program that shows promise

in a number of large cities both within and outside the US. The idea is to have

mini-libraries with videos, a few computers, and Internet access to make technology much more available to poor communities. These resources—configured

as a mini-library—can be placed in community centers, public housing complexes, or other areas where city services have not traditionally gone.

Internationally, the government of Argentina has announced a similar program

to provide access to the poor. Overall, this is an idea that is quickly taking hold

in many places as a way to engage communities with technology and, in some

cases, to create communities in areas where residents are very isolated.

Starting at the Beginning: Linking Early Childhood Educators

The Sharing Place is a child-care center located in the community building of

Talmar Wood, a low- to middle-income housing development in Orono, Maine.

It provides care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children. An

important need is to use computer networking to exchange and manage information to help the children the center serves—and all young children—to reach

their full potential. The center believes that networking can promote collaboration with adults in education and in the community to support lifelong learning.

Two key events have taken place to realize these technology needs of the

Sharing Place and the housing development. A listserv, Child-MEET (Maine Early

Education Tele-collaborative), started in November 1996 as a first step toward

creating an early-childhood education-information infrastructure in the state of

Maine. Child-MEET aspires to be an online meeting place for thoughtful discussion and collaboration toward a common goal—quality early care and education

for all of Maine’s children. In 1996, Talmar Wood applied for and received HUD

funding to create a “Neighborhood Network” technology center—the first in the

state of Maine—to bring Internet access to the residents of Talmar Wood and the

surrounding community. The Sharing Place will benefit from the new center,

which opened across the street in August 1997. The computer learning center

also provides access to senior citizens living in other low-income housing developments operated by The Housing Foundation, and new opportunities for intergenerational community building. Adult education, job-skills training, and senior

and youth computer literacy programs are all in the plans for the new center.

Partnerships with businesses, the University of Maine, public schools, adulteducation providers, and others in the community will help the center to develop

and the Talmar Wood housing development to connect with the community in

new ways.
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CyberSmart!

CyberSmart! is a community-involvement project that helps parents teach their

children Internet safety, especially if the school provides dial-up access. The

CyberSmart! program focuses on five key topics to ensure that children’s Internet

experiences are safe and rewarding. Its web site (http://www.cybersmart.org) is

the first to provide teachers with key resources to guide their students online.

The CyberSmart! School Program was founded as a nonprofit organization in

1998 by online industry veterans and parents with the cooperation of the

Somerset Hills School District, New Jersey, and the input of a preeminent group

of advisors. Their vision is to provide children with the tools necessary to

become safe, responsible, and powerful cybercitizens. Advisors to the program

include, among others, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D: California), Congressman

Bob Franks (R: New Jersey), B. Keith Fulton (National Urban League), The

Somerset Hills School District, Jonathan Carson (Family Education Network), and

Lori Fena (Electronic Frontier Foundation).
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Community Engagement Resources

There are many local and national organizations that promote community technology projects. Check the following resources that might be in your community.

While we believe, in the spirit of community engagement, that your committee

should seek primary support from your own community, there may be tremendous benefits to contacting national groups. Many national programs have state

and local affiliates, and may be able to tell you how to bring some of their 

programs into your community.

Local Organizations

The following list of local organizations was developed by NASA’s Center for

Technology Commercialization and is available online at http://www.ctc.org.

• Post-secondary institutions, including technical, junior, and community 

colleges, extension services, and/or university departments

• Fraternities and sororities or outreach programs associated with colleges and

universities 

• Libraries and museums

• Local business organizations such as the Chambers of Commerce, Kiwanis,

Rotary, BPOE, VFW, professional women’s organizations, local unions 

• Major manufacturers, businesses, government agencies in or near your 

neighborhood, restaurants, travel agencies, data services, police

• Religious institutions and associated special interest groups

• Community-based organizations: YMCA and/or YWCA, Boys and Girls Clubs,

4-H, senior centers, credit unions, clinics, homeless shelters, community

action agencies, literacy programs, cultural or ethnic clubs or associations,

arts councils 

• Press and media: local newspapers, local-access cable stations, magazines,

circulators of advertising, billboard companies

• Local or regional free-nets or other telecommunications providers

National Organizations

http://www.ctcnet.org

The Community Technology Centers’ Network (CTCNet) is a network of more than

400 community technology centers where people can gain access to computers.

The sites are enormously diverse in program areas and participating populations.

Some are stand-alone centers; others operate as part of a larger organization such

as a multi-service agency or museum, job training center, shelter, cable publicaccess center, and so on. The web site provides links to some of the community

Resources
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152 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

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centers’ web sites and other related links. All centers support equitable access 

to computers.

http://www.100blackmen.org 

The service organization 100 Black Men of America, Inc., founded in 1963, is a

national alliance of leading African-American men of business, industry, public

affairs, and government who devote their combined skills and resources to 

confronting the challenges facing African-American youth. This organization is

very active in sponsoring a variety of community programs using technology,

including computer clinics, the Community Computer Bus, a computer recycling

program, and a youth development program.

http://www.ustc.org 

TECH CORPS is a national nonprofit organization, funded through corporate

contributions and implemented through state chapters. TECH CORPS’s philosophy is to draw on the expertise and enthusiasm of technology-literate members

of the local community. The mission of TECH CORPS is to (1) recruit, place, and

support volunteers from the technology community who provide advice and

assistance to schools in the introduction and integration of new technologies; 

(2) bring additional technology resources to schools through local and national 

projects; and (3) build partnerships in support of educational technology 

among educators, businesses, and community members at the local, state, and

national levels.

http://www.til.org 

Technology-in-Learning (TiL) is a computer-literacy program dedicated to 

providing technology-based learning activities for all members of underserved

communities. Its goal is to produce positive change in the economic and social

conditions that divide our society, through progressive training programs and

community-building activities. Its programs and activities assist individuals and

organizations in their use of technology to access information and services, while

providing valuable educational experiences and employment skills to residents

in the community. Technology-in-Learning collaborates with community organizations desirous of employing computer technology. In all of its projects,

Technology-in-Learning focuses on the problem of computer illiteracy to 

facilitate stronger bonds between technology and low-income communities.

http://www.compumentor.org 

CompuMentor is the largest nonprofit computer-assistance organization in the

US. Since 1987, CompuMentor has utilized its consulting staff and volunteer mentors to provide training and support services and low-cost software to more than

6,000 nonprofits and schools. Recent major CompuMentor projects include Year

2000 support for nonprofits, development of community technology centers,

acquisition of donated software (CompuMentor is one of two organizations 

designated by Microsoft to implement its national software donation program),

development of an inexpensive-hardware web resource, and various forms of
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153

circuit riding, consulting, and mentoring, including remote mentoring and

matching of mentors with low-income youth trying to enter the high-technology

job market.

Other Resources

http://www.sedl.org/sedl/community.html

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), a regional educational laboratory, works with members of the community at large through

Collaborative Action Teams to help them identify education-related issues and

plan strategies for addressing them. Using SEDL’s research-based tools, members

of a school community can join with members of the broader community to 

support positive student outcomes. 

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge/

Visit the Department of Education’s web site for more information regarding

Technology Innovation Challenge Grants from the federal government.

http://www.aisr.brown.edu

A report of the Annenberg Institute on Public Engagement for Public Education,

Reasons for hope: Voices for change is based on an eighteen-month effort to identify, map, and describe a variety of public-engagement projects across America.

It offers a look at how local, civic, business, and school initiatives across the

country are developing the skills necessary to involve their communities in the

work of improving public education.

http://www.nsba.org

Visit this web site sponsored by the National School Boards Association to gather

more tools and resources for your community efforts.

Community

SEIR◆TEC
Putting It All Together

A conversation about community engagement

Our district and region include some of the most underserved 

populations and areas in the country. Just how realistic is it to 

expect that they can support our technology efforts? 

You’re right, in many underserved areas across the country, the community has

nothing but its schools. In these areas, the schools often have much more to

offer in terms of hardware and technical expertise than does the general community. If this describes your community, you should try to seek out support

that money can’t buy—time, willingness to learn, and long-term commitment. 

Technology can benefit an entire community because it gives focus to that

community. It’s surprising how many people in a community want to help their

schools but do not know how to go about doing so. It’s important for the school

to communicate with the community, which you can do by using your technology plan as a vehicle for communication. Break down the specific tasks in ways

that school outsiders can see where their efforts can be best used. In this way,

the technology plan becomes a framework for community support. 

So, for the most part, do you think that community support should 

be defined as nonphysical resources?

You can get computer hardware and software from many places across the

country, but you can’t get local community support from anywhere else. So, be

realistic about what your community can provide. Of course, you will need

funding to carry out your projects. However, a substantial amount of state and

federal funding is currently available that can supplement your local funding.

Less-endowed districts are frequently the first to qualify for this money. A wholecommunity effort is more likely to appeal to these funders. You need to keep

up to date on deadlines for submitting proposals, write good proposals, and

keep your technology plan updated. 

One thing you haven’t addressed: How can schools deal with various

kinds of technology donations that may come from the community,

such as older computers from businesses?

If the gifts aren’t usable, they become a burden. This is not to say that all secondhand equipment is worthless. We have seen a number of schools benefit

tremendously from donations of recently retired computers. But in order to

make these donations work, the businesses doing the donating need to be

aware of the school’s existing infrastructure and support mechanisms. For example, donating machines without hard drives to a school is generally not helpful.

Before you say “yes” to any of these donations, do a preliminary investigation.

We are finding that some larger businesses update their computers every three

years or so. In this situation, the old computers are adequate for classroom use.

However, you need to find out whether you have compatible software for these

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computers. If you can’t use the donation, keep in mind that one facet of good

community relations is knowing when and how to say “no thanks.” However,

you can use a direct approach to solicit donations for things you do need. First

inventory your current needs, and then contact a potential donor with a “thanks

for your donation” letter that describes what you need. This will help that donor

in making useful and appropriate choices.

What about support from businesses that includes some commercial

advertising, endorsement, or other commercial messages? 

We assume you mean things such as telecommunications services or computers

that are provided free to schools but also carry some sort of advertising or commercial message. Your school or school district needs to evaluate this situation,

and some schools already have policies regarding the matter. Clearly, most business donations carry some sort of commercial content, even if it’s just a sign or

plaque that gets posted near the donated equipment. What many schools object

to is continuous commercial messages such as advertising banners that are

woven into the Windows desktop or messages that appear on a school web

page. We think that many schools find this latter type of commercialization

annoying. But on the other hand, if you want to maintain a positive, ongoing

relationship with businesses, it is important to acknowledge their contributions.

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Chapter

157
Table of Contents

Managing Your Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

Selecting Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Computer Configurations for Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161

Making the Most of a One- or Few-Computer Classroom . . . . . .164

Selecting Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

Choosing Educational Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167

Evaluation Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169

Software Selection Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171

Educational Software Evaluation Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Keeping It Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Creating a Base for Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .174

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .175

Hardware and Software Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178

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Managing Your Infrastructure

key piece of your technology implementation plan is the one composed

of hardware—computers, printers, software, wires, cables, and connections—and software. While we have emphasized in previous chapters the

importance of understanding technology in relationship to curriculum and staff

development, the types of software and hardware you select will clearly impact

the precise details of your staff development and, to a certain extent, just how

your curriculum is supported by the technology. Therefore, making the appropriate choices here is just as important as making the right choices in other areas. 

In this chapter, we offer some insight into key issues surrounding your hardware, software, networks, and connections, which make up the technology

infrastructure. In general, the tools we offer are designed to help you think

about the most important issues that you need to consider in order to make 

technology a useful part of your teaching and learning environment.

As you plan for infrastructure, we strongly advise you to assess the physical

environment of the various facilities where you plan to add technology components. The condition of these facilities will have a major impact on your decisions.

If you are building a new facility, you can design it to suit your own telecommunications, network, and computer needs. But if you have older facilities, will you

need to add electrical outlets or telephone lines? Will you need to adapt heating,

cooling, or ventilation systems? Or will you need to add or remove carpeting, alter

acoustics, or repair a leaky roof? Do you have adequate storage and a plan to 

protect equipment, supplies, records, files, and such? 

Before making any decisions regarding the hardware and software we describe

in this chapter, you should have a reasonably well-formed notion of how you plan

to use the technology you select. Have you thought about your curriculum and

how technology can be used to enrich teaching and learning? How will you design

your staff development so teachers can effectively learn new tools and techniques?

Be cautious of planning for and spending money on technology that has little

instructional use. This is a warning that we can’t give too often.

Remember first to inventory your current hardware and software. You

shouldn’t assume that you know what already exists in your classrooms. Even

though your school or district may not have widespread technology use, it is

possible that some teachers or principals have already taken the initiative to

obtain computer technology through grants, donations, or other funding sources.

As a result, you may find a variety of existing hardware and software across your

school or district. Most importantly, don’t ignore the expertise of those teachers

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who are already using computers in their classrooms. Find out what they are

using, how they are using it, and how well it is working for them. This is 

valuable knowledge you can use in planning.

Be sure to consider how you will provide ongoing support for your infrastructure after the hardware or software has been installed. One detail that

schools often overlook is including the cost of diskettes, printer cartridges, and

printer paper in their annual supplies budget. One of our schools forgot to allow

for the purchase of these items and was scrambling around at the last minute

reallocating funds. 

Finally, technology systems and software will become outdated, and equipment

will wear out. While you don’t need to keep up with every single technological

innovation, your technology planning process should also include provisions for

regular assessment and updating of your infrastructure.

Tools in this Chapter

We have included several resources in this chapter to help you plan and 

manage your infrastructure.

Computer Configurations for Educators. The configuration information 

presents some of the possible ways to organize or configure computers within

your school. You will find ideas, costs, and pros and cons for computer labs,

classrooms, media centers, and combination configurations. 

Making the Most of a One- or Few-Computer Classroom. The material suggests scenarios for using and managing the one- or few-computer classroom.

While it is beneficial to place computers in the classroom, many schools begin

technology implementation with only one or two computers for each classroom.

In this scenario, teachers are faced with new classroom-management issues. We

have observed that teachers who are not able to overcome these issues simply

don’t use the computers at all. Or worse yet, they allow students to use computers for electronic recess. We hope this section provides you with some ideas

and strategies for maximizing computer use in a classroom with a limited 

number of computers. 

Choosing Educational Software. The guidelines address such issues as basic

software packages every teacher should have and questions to consider when

choosing content-specific applications.

Evaluation Practices. A step-by-step guide to evaluating software for your

school or district is included to help in your decision-making process.

Software Selection Framework. The rubric is designed to assist you in 

converting your conceptual framework for educational software into a practical

selection tool. You can share this rubric with colleagues and refer to it as you

begin to preview various software packages. 
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Educational Software Evaluation Form. You can use the template to record

your observations while previewing and reviewing educational software. 

Creating a Base for Support. The information on support will give you some

practical ideas on how to create a base of support from which to manage 

hardware and software throughout future months and years.

Hardware and Software Resources. The section includes lists of educational

software publishers, titles, evaluation sites, and online distributors, as well as

online resources for student technology support. 

Selecting Hardware

Computer Configurations for Educators

When selecting computers, printers, and associated equipment, you will be faced

with an additional set of questions: How many computers do we need? How will

the computers be arranged in the classroom? How much computing power is

necessary? Are multimedia stations necessary? Again, consider the educational

use of the computers to guide your decisions. We have seen the following 

configurations used successfully.

Computer Lab

Although this is perhaps the most common arrangement found in schools today,

the trend is towards more computers in classrooms rather than in labs. The lab

arrangement allows for centralization and convenient administration of hardware

resources and the ability for a large number of students to use a particular software program simultaneously. A computer-lab teacher remains in the lab while

groups of students rotate through the room. 

The computer-lab configuration supports an instructor-led teaching strategy

with group learning. While it may be appropriate for some basic skills training, this

arrangement tends to limit the time that the individual student can spend using

technology. A problem with the lab configuration is that it flies in the face of the

recently increased emphasis on integration of technology into the curriculum; it

separates technology from the classroom where learning usually takes place.

Furthermore, many technology uses within the curriculum are not well-suited for

large group work. Labs sometimes don’t allow the classroom teacher to provide

individual attention to students while they use technology. Instead, the lab teacher

is expected to provide that support. The focal point of the student experience in

a lab setting tends to be the technology itself, rather than collaborative interaction

with the teacher or other students. 

However, labs do provide a valuable resource that supplements classroombased computers. Teachers can use labs for those subjects where a large group is

appropriate (e.g., writing laboratories or integrated learning systems). They may

also use classroom computers for experiences such as technology-facilitated
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cooperative learning experiences, student and teacher presentations, or Internet

access and research. In addition, many schools open their labs to individual 

student use before and after school.

Single Classroom Computer with Large-Screen TV 

The single classroom computer with large-screen TV is the next most common

configuration. A single multimedia workstation might be attached to a large TV

with a device known as a scan converter. The scan converter is a simple and 

relatively inexpensive device—between $100 and $200—that converts the output

from a computer (Macintosh or PC) to a signal that can be displayed on the 

television screen. A suitable large-screen TV would be one measuring at least 

29 inches diagonally. Smaller TVs are sometimes used, but these cannot be 

adequately seen from a distance. When not being used to display computer output, the TV can serve traditional classroom purposes, such as use with a VCR or

cable television. Following are some web sites for researching scan converters:

• AVerMedia Technologies: http://www.aver.com/aver/

• Focus Enhancements: http://www.focusinfo.com/

• Zenith Electronics: http://www.zenith.com/index_flash.html

One factor to consider when employing the single-computer arrangement is

the physical placement of the classroom computer. The computer should be

placed close to the TV monitor (assuming that the TV is fixed in a permanent

position, such as at the front of the class on the wall), and it should be easily

accessible to students. The ideal situation is to have both the computer and the

TV movable, so that the teacher can position the equipment differently according to different and changing classroom layouts. This configuration can support

teacher-led or student-led demonstrations or presentations. When the TV is

turned off, the computer functions as a workstation for individual or group work. 

Presentation devices such as video projectors or LCD panels are sometimes

used in classrooms, but they can be very expensive. Since they are projection

devices, they require a large blank wall or screen. They are more commonly

used for large group presentations in large rooms. Following are some web sites

for researching presentation devices:

• Proxima Corporation: http://www.prxm.com/

• Sharp Electronics: http://www.sharp-usa.com/

• Infocus: http://store.infocus.com

Multiple Computers Per Classroom

The key factor in adopting this configuration may be access to electrical power

supply, especially for older buildings. A desirable arrangement would be one

computer attached to a scan converter and large-screen TV and one or more

additional computers distributed around the classroom. These additional computers need not be attached to a scan converter. Ideally, the additional computers

will be placed in different locations around the room (not all lined up against
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one wall). The optimum arrangement is for all of the computers in the classroom

to be networked in order to share a common printer. Network connections

beyond the immediate classroom are highly desirable as well (see the following

information on Networks).

Shared Computer on a Cart with Large-Screen TV

When it is not possible to have at least one computer per classroom, many

schools make one or more computers available to teachers on a sign-up basis.

These shared computers are placed on large rolling carts and are moved from

room to room on an as-needed/as-available basis. If a large-screen TV is not available in each classroom, the rolling cart may include a TV with scan converter as

well. In this way, an entire multimedia system is made available to each teacher. 

Some schools have school-wide network connections in each classroom,

even though there may not be computers in each classroom. In this case, the

rolling computer can be plugged into the network from the room where it 

currently resides. When the machine moves, it is unplugged from the network

and plugged back in at its new location.

Aside from the computer (and perhaps TV and scan converter), the rolling

cart might include other devices such as a printer, scanner, or laserdisc player.

Large-Screen TV on a Cart

Sometimes it is the large-screen TV that is more rare than the classroom 

computer. Perhaps all classrooms have computers, but there are only a few TVs

with scan converters available in a building. In these cases, schools place the TV

and scan converter on a cart and move it around to different classrooms when 

teachers want to display output from their classroom computer for an entire class

(or large group) to view.

Portable Computers on a Cart

Some schools have found an alternative to purchasing several expensive computers for each classroom. This configuration utilizes a simple portable computer about

the size of a keyboard. Several of these computers are kept on a cart and shared

among teachers. Or, one teacher could have several of these in the classroom. To

supplement the portable computers, a classroom might have only one or two multimedia computers. AlphaSmart at http://www.alphasmart.com/ is one of the wellknown commercial brands for this type of computer. These computers cost much

less than a regular workstation—$200-$300 per unit versus $1,000 per workstation. 

Computers in the Library/Media Center

Most school library/media centers have one or more computers available for student use within that facility. Often, these computers are attached (directly or via

modem) to the Internet, as well as to the school’s online library catalog. Computers

in the library/media center are invaluable tools for student research and are also

often used before and after school by students desiring extra time on a computer.

Nevertheless, we don’t recommend placing all of your computers in the library.
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The library is not a suitable place to send groups of students to do computer work,

as they tend to disturb those students using the library’s nontechnology resources.

This creates an access problem that can result in most students having little access

to technology. If a school has only a few computers, it would be well-advised to

try the computers-on-carts arrangement.

Networks

Local Area Networks (LANs) allow the sharing of resources among the machines

located in a given school, classroom, or lab. These resources might include

printers, CD-ROM towers, and other data storage devices on which reside shared 

programs and software. Wide Area Networks (WANs) connect LANs to resources

located outside of the school. A prime example of a WAN resource is the Internet

or, more specifically, the World Wide Web. WAN connections can be full-time

(using leased data lines/circuits) or part-time (using modems and dial-up connections to resources such as the Internet). You should consult with network

professionals to determine how, and whether, you want to create a network.

They can best advise you on cost and support issues. 

Making the Most of a One- or Few-Computer

Classroom

How well teachers are able to make use of the single computer in the classroom

has much to do with their instructional strategies and how they organize to teach

the curriculum. As is often noted, integration of technology requires teachers to

rethink how they teach. 

In the one-computer classroom, the teacher often sets up a schedule by which

students take turns using the computer, or each student may have a special

weekly time on the computer. This is a kind of pullout model in which the student on the computer is excused from the work the rest of the class is doing. In

setting up a schedule, teachers may give consideration to students’ academic

strengths. For example, if Nancy is especially strong in math, math time would be

a good time to schedule her Internet time. Other teachers may choose to set up a

computer station through which students rotate one at a time, using a posted list.

With practice, most teachers find that the benefits of technology integration—such as increased student motivation, improved interaction with content,

and development of cooperative learning skills, just to name a few—are worth

the time it takes to modify existing curriculum activities.

A single computer can be used effectively in the classroom as a presentation

tool, a tool for the generation or production of student work, a cooperative

learning tool, and an in-class information resource. While many teachers are

very familiar with how the computer can be used to present audio-visual information to an entire class (see the following information on Display Issues), other

uses may require a bit more investigation. 
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Computer Placement and Portability

Where is the best place to locate a classroom computer? If it is on the teacher’s

desk, how easy will it be for students to access it? If it is securely fastened to 

a table in the back of the classroom, then how could it be used to display something (e.g., images from a CD-ROM) to the entire class? What if it is necessary

to borrow a computer from the teacher next door in order to have two 

computers available for a particular activity? Clearly, computer placement and

portability have a practical impact on how teachers are able to use computers

in their classrooms.

In most schools, portability and security are equally important, yet sometimes

competing, issues. Computers that are not permanently affixed to tables or desks

often disappear during nights, weekends, and holidays. On the other hand,

locked-down computers often result in computers that cannot be used in a wide

variety of ways. The solution that many schools have found is to affix classroom

computers to small media carts. The same sort of device that can lock a 

computer to a table can also lock it to a media cart. This cart can be moved

around the room (or into the room next door, up the hall, etc.) where needed.

If you have a network in your school, remember to get a long cable so that the

computer cart can be located fairly close to the network jack. The same thing

goes for a phone cable if you are using a modem on your classroom computer.

Since a media cart is not altogether immobile, it is important to have a way

to lock down the cart to an immobile object such as the building wall. We have

seen some schools do this with a bicycle chain and a large eyelet affixed to the

wall. Some particularly security-conscious schools require that the media carts

be wheeled into a lockable closet or very secure room in the evenings (and

especially during school vacations). A media cart that is just big enough for the

computer, monitor, and maybe a small printer costs only $100 to $200, which is

well worth the added flexibility it brings.

Display Issues

It doesn’t take much to realize that thirty children cannot easily view a single nineinch computer monitor. So, how is it possible to turn that little display into something a whole class can see? Teachers address this issue by using various devices

to take the video output from the computer and either project it or display it on

their classroom TVs. In the chart that follows, we summarize the features of some

of the more common display devices and give the pros and cons of each.
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Selecting a Display Device

Device Advantages Disadvantages

Existing computer 

monitor

Video Projector

Scan Converter

Our recommendation for educators with limited funds? Go with the scan

converter. The video projector is technically the best choice, but until the cost

comes down on these units, it is unlikely that your school could afford to buy

even one, much less two or three to circulate around the school. The LCD panel

is a good concept, but in practice it is worthless in most schools. They are 

fragile and difficult to set up, and most classrooms cannot be made dark enough

to allow anyone to see the projected image. If you have the money to buy an

LCD panel, you ought to spend it on a video projector instead. 

The scan converter is inexpensive and works with all of those big TVs (nineteen-inch or larger) you already have. You do not need to buy a new or special

TV. If the TV works with a VCR (i.e., you can plug the VCR into the TV and the

picture is good enough for a class or large group to view), it will work with the

scan converter. You can buy several converters and schedule their use along

• Too small for more 

than a few people to 

view at once

• Unless you have a 

notebook computer, 

the monitor is probably

not portable.

• Costly

• Image not as clear as

video projector (especially

with the inexpensive ones)

• Not all are cross-platform

(i.e., may need one for

Macintoshes and another

for PCs).

• No additional cost

• No additional set-up

time/skills required

• Single device, no overhead

required

• Can be used in virtually 

normal room light

• Very clear and sharp image

• Easy to set up

• Very portable

• Will work with Macintosh,

PC, laser disc player, VCR

• Most also have speakers 

for sound

• Single device, no overhead

required

• Connects to any existing TV

• Very cost-effective
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with the TVs. True, the image quality is not up to monitor or video-projector 

standards, but the combination accomplishes the primary task of allowing an

entire class to see the output of a single computer.

Selecting Software

Choosing Educational Software

Before purchasing new computers for your school, ask the vendors what software

is included on the machines. When an individual buys a personal computer, software applications are commonly preinstalled. This is not generally the case for

computers sold to schools. Therefore, software purchases must be included in your

technology planning. Many schools purchase computers but don’t properly plan

to purchase the software tools necessary to make those computers useful.

In the course of our work with schools and districts around the country, we

are often asked to recommend the one or two best software packages for teaching particular subjects. Our usual responses are unfortunately not what many

teachers want to hear. When confronted with the best-software question, we

respond by asking what software they are currently using and what they want to

accomplish with the software. The responses are quite interesting, because it is

common for the questioner to report that they haven’t used any educational software. The only software that they might have is a word processor or spreadsheet

application. What the questioner is really asking is what curriculum-specific 

software can be used to teach a particular subject. 

There are many excellent educational software packages that can serve as

valuable curriculum resources in the hands of creative and innovative teachers.

All too often, teachers seem to be looking for the technologic equivalent of the

magic bullet; that is, the piece of software that will make learning come alive and

solve a host of educational problems. Sometimes this magic bullet is thought to

be the World Wide Web or an integrated learning system that can raise 

standardized test scores and have students reading well beyond grade level. 

As we discussed in Chapter 3 on integration, what does make a difference is

teacher skill in using technology tools intelligently within the context of the curriculum. And when it comes to software tools, a teacher’s skill is manifest in his or

her ability to select the appropriate tool for the particular student learning style and

task. Often, the appropriate tool is a basic application such as a word processor or

spreadsheet. Other times, a communications tool such as e-mail or the World Wide

Web might be in order. Yet again, learning might best occur through the use of a

technology-based simulation. Finally, when there is a need for basic-skills development or reinforcement, a technology-based tutorial tool might be an excellent

choice. All of this needs to be balanced with the fact that sometimes good old

paper-and-pencil technology works as well as a computer for a particular task.

So, what basic software do we recommend for classroom computers? What

software do teachers across the country most frequently use in their classrooms?

The following summarizes our observations and conclusions.
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Word Processor

The word processing applications in either AppleWorks or Microsoft Office are

the most popular among educators. Microsoft Works features another word processing application that is popular with teachers. Beware of word processors that

are unique, because they might not allow you to transfer or share files with other

word processors.

Spreadsheet

The Microsoft Excel application that is included with most versions of Microsoft

Office and the spreadsheet functions within AppleWorks and Microsoft Works

are the most popular spreadsheets used by educators. In this case, most 

teachers find that simple programs work best for them.

CD-ROM Encyclopedias

Microsoft Encarta, Grolier’s, and Compton’s are the most common electronic 

encyclopedias.

Presentation Manager

Microsoft PowerPoint is especially popular, and it comes with most versions of

Microsoft Office. The slide-show function in AppleWorks is similar to PowerPoint.

Hyperstudio is a popular multimedia software application that incorporates

sound and graphics.

Web Browser

Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer are the most popular browsers available.

You need an Internet connection on your classroom computer to use this software.

E-mail

There are several e-mail software applications in use. Many people use the 

e-mail program that comes with the web browser on their computer. However,

you must be connected to the Internet through a modem or through the school’s

network to access e-mail.

Beyond the Basics

Most teachers would add to the preceding list of basic software a number of content-specific programs. Included in this type of software would be those programs

that focus on simulations, drill and practice, critical thinking, and cooperative

learning (see the Chapter 3 tool Integrating Technology into the Curriculum for

examples of titles). The software application that you choose has everything to do

with content area, grade level, instructional strategy, and a whole host of teaching

and learning issues. To make informed decisions regarding selection of other 

software applications, you first need to answer the following questions:

• What software do you currently have? Be sure to remember and consider

basic applications software that might have been bundled with your 

computers when they were purchased.
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• How are you using your existing software (either basic applications or 

subject-area-specific packages)? Have you received training in the use of 

that software?

• What are your curriculum objectives? Have you thought about the ways that

software or technology in general might improve your work with students?

How might you explore those ideas without just going out and buying 

technology largely sight unseen?

• Are you working with other teachers—such as a grade or subject-area team—

to develop software recommendations and units/lessons within which that

software will be used?

When you can answer these kinds of questions, then you are in a position

to begin to evaluate educational software packages. The focus of the questions

places software evaluation and selection into a contextual framework that helps

define the notion of best within a particular educational environment. As with

all tools and practices, best is a relative term.

Evaluation Practices

Once you have a conceptual framework for selecting software, there are a 

number of things you can do to actually begin previewing applications.

Accumulate information on available packages. To help you gather information to evaluate software, we have provided a Software Selection Framework

and an Educational Software Evaluation Form that you can reproduce and use

when reviewing potentially useful applications. Software catalogs, educational

technology conferences, and the web sites listed later in this chapter are starting

points for this.

Preview software at a preview center. It can be quite expensive to buy and

try new software. You should first try to locate a software preview center. Your

regional education center or local college or university might have a facility

where you can try out several packages and compare them side by side. Most

software preview centers will not allow you to check out or borrow materials,

but all have facilities to enable you to experiment with software on the center’s

own equipment.

Arrange to use software on a trial basis. When you have identified software

from catalogs, online directories, or preview center visits, you need to arrange for

trial use of packages that seem interesting. By trial use, we mean that you should

arrange to have the software sent to your school for a thirty-day (or longer) period

to use before you purchase the software. This is a common procedure. All 

educational software publishers expect that teachers will want to preview their

software before committing to purchase. Some publishers will agree to send you

trial software based solely on a phone call. Others will require that you send a

purchase order which will not be charged unless you decide to purchase, or fail

to return, the software by the end of the agreed-upon trial period. In most cases,
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you will need to pay return shipping for any software you decline to purchase

and instead return. While this is an expense, it is much less than spending 

hundreds of dollars on software that turns out to be unsuited to your needs.

Record your observations about the software you try. When evaluating

software, you will want to use tools such as the Educational Software Evaluation

Form found later in this chapter to record and keep track of your observations.

We also strongly recommend that you work with another educator or team of

educators to share impressions of the software that you are reviewing. If at all

possible, try the software out with students. You need to see if you will be able

to use the software in its real-life context to know if it is something that will really

benefit your students.

Thoroughly review the licensing parameters. Once you are sure that the

software is pedagogically sound—that is, that it fits your current curriculum and

student needs—make sure that it can be advantageously licensed. This means

that the manufacturer should price the software so that you are encouraged to

purchase a sufficient number of legal copies to fit your needs. Many software

publishers are sensitive to the particular circumstances found in schools, such as

multiple workstations, the need to share licenses, and machines located both in

labs and classrooms.

Check compatibility with existing hardware. Verify that the desired software

will run on your existing hardware. The majority of current educational software

is sold on hybrid disks that will run on either a Macintosh or PC platform.

However, you need to check to make sure that you order the proper type or that

the software will run on either system. Also, if you have older machines, do they

have the capacity to run the new software? Do they have the capability for

accepting new software that is now almost exclusively on CD-ROM? In general,

verify that your machines are fast enough, have sufficient disk space, have 

CD-ROM drives, and have appropriate multimedia devices (speakers, graphics

monitors, etc.) to run new software.

Find out about support. Make sure that the package you choose has a complete manual and reliable technical support, whether paid or free. Many times,

the educational versions of certain packages contain teachers’ manuals and

guides that are not sold with the home or commercial versions.

Maximize your purchasing power. Before purchasing your software, find out

what buying power your district already has. Some states have a list of approved

software that can be purchased at a considerable discount. 

Share with others in your school and district. Find time to share advocacy

for the software you locate, use, and enjoy. This will help raise the overall 

awareness of instructional technology.
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171

Software Selection Framework

Complete the following framework for software that you want to find. The framework is not intended to describe a particular software package. Rather, you should

use it to take note of the desired attributes of the software you are seeking. It’s a

good idea to share the framework with your colleagues to get their feedback and

comments before you begin to preview software; a reproducible version of the

form is included in the Appendix. For more information on ways of using 

software in the curriculum, see the discussion of integration in Chapter 3. 

Software Selection Framework

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Desired subject areas (e.g., mathematics, language arts, social studies, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Targeted grades

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Intended use (What curriculum objectives will it serve? When during the year will it be used?

How many students will use it?)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Type of software (i.e., tutorial, communications)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Teachers/departments using the software

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Special student considerations (primary language, special needs, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Infrastructure considerations (hardware platform, network requirements, multimedia, special

support, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Social Studies—Civics and Government

Grades 9-12 

Package should help students understand the processes involved in creating a government

and establishing the rule of law. To be integrated into the first week of US History (after the

Revolution) as a kick-off activity. Whole class should use (separately? simultaneously?).

Some sort of simulation would be good. 

Every US history teacher should try this and consider for adoption.

English. Software must not overly emphasize computer skills in order to use. Must be 

very user-friendly and primarily driven by rich content!

Must be able to run on the single Mac in each history teacher’s classroom.

Appendix

page 262
Hardware and

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172 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 6: Managing Hardware and Software

Educational Software Evaluation Form 

Once you have decided on the instructional needs for a piece of software, you

will need to evaluate some specific applications. The following form can help

you organize the information gathered during that process. A reproducible copy

of the form is included in the Appendix. 

Appendix

page 263

Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Educational-Software Evaluation (page 1 of 2)

Evaluator ________________________________

Today’s Date _____________________________

Software Title _____________________________

__________________________________________

Cost _____________________________________

Publisher ________________________________

Subject Area(s) ___________________________

Date Published ___________________________

Age/Grade Range _________________________

Platform _________________________________

__________________________________________

Network Version? __________________________

System Requirements ______________________

__________________________________________

To help students understand the processes involved in developing government and 

establishing the rule of law in a new society.

Very sound. Unusual product in that it focuses on postcolonial Africa. Good use of cultural

diversity in this subject area (govt.) Good interface. Definitely req. some practice and review

first. Read the manual? Good manuals. 

Use either to introduce US History at the Revolution unit or as culminating activity to

this unit. Also could be used in Lester’s African History course! 

Andy Carroll

5/25/99

Decisions, Decisions 5.0—

Building a Nation

$380

Tom Snyder 

Social Studies etc.

?

7-12

Mac or Win95

No, but available

CD-ROM drive, 

sound card

1. What is the overall purpose or use of this software application? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. How would you best classify the use of this software? 

a. Tutorial (including drill and practice) d. Reference

b. Exploration e. Entertainment

c. Application or productivity tool f. Other_____________________________

3. Does the content appear educationally sound and well-researched, e.g., does it mesh with

national standards and curriculum frameworks, is the information current and free of bias and

stereotype?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Is the program sufficiently easy to maneuver through, e.g., does it allow you to save your

work at any point, can you easily return to a main menu or orienting point, are the graphics

and icons clear?) 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

O
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Hardware and

Software

SEIR◆TEC

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

EducationalSoftware Evaluation (page 2 of 2)

5. Describe how you envision your students using this software, e.g., would they be working

alone or in cooperative groups, in the classroom, laboratory, or library, as part of regular

classroom work or as an add-on, reward? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

6. What do you most like about this software? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

7. What do you like least? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

8. What are your impressions of the supporting documentation, e.g., installation and troubleshooting instructions, teacher’s guide, lesson plans, extension activities?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

9. Does the cost of the software seem appropriate? Is there enough flexibility to allow students

to use the program multiple times, can the difficulty level grow with the student, are you 

paying a premium for fancy graphics that don’t necessarily impact the learning experience?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

10. Does the publisher offer technical and educational support for its products? How accessible

is this support, how quickly do they respond, are they sensitive to the needs of teachers using

the program in a classroom setting?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Requires full class. Not a stand-alone software package. Built on coop lrn./problem-solving

model. Ideal for use on single classroom computer!! 

Great simulation. Unique subject focus (postcolonial Africa) on this curriculum area (basic

US govt./civics). Love the coop learning model. Great that it can be done with just one

computer!! 

Kind of expensive for a package that just focuses on one curriculum area. Really does

require teacher to interact with the students while this activity is taking place. 

Terrific teachers’ guide! Manual looks pretty good. Nice graphics. 

A little expensive, but cheaper than comparable laserdisc products. I think it’s worth getting

for the 45-day preview to try it with actual students this fall. If it works, then it’s 

probably not too expensive. 

There’s an 800 number for tech support. This publisher is at all of the ed tech conferences,

so they seem reputable. Good reputation! Many of these packages are on the state bid list.

Try and see? 

Appendix

page 264
Keeping It Together

Creating a Base for Support

Keeping everything running smoothly will require some type of coordinated

support plan that is adequately funded and staffed. As more and more people

begin using computers, more and more demands will be made for support. 

Most schools report that one key strategy in addressing the support issue is

to have an on-site support person taking care of the everyday problems within

a school. There is nothing more frustrating for a teacher than to have to wait

several days or weeks for a district support person to arrive. On the other hand,

it is a waste of resources to send a district support person out to a school to fix

a jammed printer or, worse, to find that a student already fixed the problem. 

Some districts are selecting and training capable students to become TechnoPals who can help teachers and students with small problems. Some teachers

are adding hardware and software troubleshooting courses to the curriculum.

Another strategy is to use community volunteers who can devote a few hours

per week.

Certainly, students cannot be the only source of technology maintenance and

support. In a similar vein, many districts are trying to develop classroom teachers’

skills so that they can take care of all but the most time-consuming technicalsupport issues. This can be effective—and we discuss some of these efforts in

Chapter 4—but the fact remains that dedicated technical support is still required

at some level. In short, we highly recommend that your district engage professional technology support either on a full-time or a contract basis. One way or

another, you will need this support. Each district will have to assess its resources

to determine what kind of hardware and software support they will be able to 

provide and how they will be able to manage.

174 Planning into Practice

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175

Hardware and Software Resources

Educational Software

Educational software companies provide web sites with much to offer teachers.

You can download software for preview, add your name to the mailing list to

receive catalogs and new-product announcements, purchase products online,

and get technical support. Many educational software companies also offer

worthwhile curriculum resources. Not all educational software publishers have

previews available for download from their web sites. On the other hand, most

publishers have free CD-ROM-based previews that they are happy to send you

via regular mail. See their web sites for details. Following are some of the larger

educational publishers and major software titles.

Educational Software Publishers

http://www.broderbund.com

Broderbund Software

http://www.donjohnston.com

Don Johnston, Inc.

http://www.edmark.com

EdMark

http://www.foresttech.com/index.html

Forest Technologies

http://www.knowledgeadventure.com

Knowledge Adventure

http://www.tlc.com

The Learning Company

http://www.microsoft.com

Microsoft

http://www.mindscape.com

Mindscape

http://www.scholastic.com/

Scholastic

http://www.simcity.com/index.shtml

SimCity

http://www.sunburst.com

Sunburst

http://www.teachtsp.com

Tom Snyder Productions

Hardware and

Software

SEIR◆TEC

Resources
Title Publisher World Wide Web Address

Appleworks Apple Computer www.apple.com/appleworks.shtml

Decisions, Decisions Tom Snyder Productions www.teachtsp.com

Encarta Microsoft www.microsoft.com/Encarta

EnviroNet Simmons College http://earth.simmons.edu

Excel Microsoft www.microsoft.com/excel/

default.htm

Grammar Games Knowledge Adventure www.knowledgeadventure.com

Great Ocean Rescue Tom Snyder Productions www.teachtsp.com

Grolier’s Multimedia Grolier www.gigrolier.com

Encyclopedia

HyperStudio Roger Wagner Publishing www.hyperstudio.com

Journey North Annenberg/CPB www.learner.org/jnorth

KidPix Studio Broderbund Publishing www.broderbund.com

Deluxe

MathBlaster Knowledge Adventure www.knowledgeadventure.com

Microsoft Office Microsoft www.microsoft.com/office

Oregon Trail The Learning Company www.tlc.com

PowerPoint Microsoft www.microsoft.com/powerpoint/

default.htm

Rainforest Tom Snyder Productions www.teachtsp.com

Researchers

SimCity Maxis www.simcity.com/home.shtml

Sim Earth Maxis www.simcity.com/home.shtml

Spell It Deluxe Knowledge Adventure www.knowledgeadventure.com

TimeLiner Tom Snyder Productions www.teachtsp.com

176 Planning into Practice

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Software Titles
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Software Evaluation Sites/Clearinghouses

http://clearinghouse.k12.ca.us/

California Instructional Technology Clearinghouse

http://www.enc.org

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse

http://www.evalutech.sreb.org/

EvaluTech

http://www.siia.net

Software and Information Industry Association

Online Software Distributors

http://www.edresources.com/

Educational Resources

http://www.edsoft.com/q/index.html

Educational Software Institute

http://www.queueinc.com/queueinc/product.html

Queue, Inc.

Student Technology-Support Resources

http://www.kde.state.ky.us/oet/customer/stlp/default.asp

The Kentucky Student Technology Leadership program is a very successful 

program for developing student leaders in the area of technology support. The

Kentucky Department of Education organizes training and support for these 

students at the district and regional levels, and students work in their own

schools to support their teachers and fellow students.

http://genwhy.wednet.edu/

Generation www.Y (WorldWide Horizons for Youth) is a national project that

helps students in grades 6-12 become technology leaders, supporters, and 

mentors within their schools. Originally funded as a US Department of Education

Technology Innovation Challenge Grant, Generation www.Y has partner schools

across the country and serves as a very replicable model. 

Hardware and

Software

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Putting It All Together

A conversation about technology infrastructure

Let’s get right to the point. How can a school district best address its

problems related to too few computers and too many students?

That’s a concern for a majority of schools across the nation. The schools we 

primarily work with are traditionally underserved populations who struggle with

the issue of resources every day. Support from the federal government through

such programs as the E-Rate (available through the Universal Service Fund) and

Technology Literacy Challenge Grants are making significant headway in terms

of getting more technology into schools. Nevertheless, there is still a tremendous

way to go before children and teachers in many of our states have equitable

access to tools.

Gaining access to technology is an issue that is being addressed by most

schools; however, we are also finding more and more that schools and teachers

who already have access to technology are not fully utilizing what they have. We

feel that this problem can be remedied by implementing better staff-development

sessions, promoting more teacher collaboration, providing more release time, and

giving recognition for use of technology, not by buying more technology. 

Here is a story that illustrates my point. A number of years ago, a friend

bought his father a simple computer to use for word processing. Dad was retired

and he wanted to write his memoirs. My friend figured that the computer might

be a good way to get his dad to both exercise his creativity and learn a new

skill. Well, after about a month, when my friend asked him how it was going,

his dad said that using the computer was okay, but that he really didn’t see any

advantage to it over his old manual typewriter. He went on to say that the computer was actually lots more work and if it was okay with his son, his response

was: “thanks, but no thanks.” Finally, he added that the biggest problem with

the computer was the huge number of files (and disks) that resulted from this

one writing project. This really piqued my friend’s interest, and he asked his Dad

how many files he had. Dad said “Oh, I don’t know . . . a couple hundred.” It

turns out that my friend’s dad was starting a new disk file for every page of his

book! His frame of reference was the typewriter, and he therefore assumed that

when you typed to the bottom of the page you needed to start a new sheet of

paper. On the computer, he did this by starting a new file. Two hundred pages

equal two hundred files!

What can we learn from Dad? What I learned is that you can’t simply apply

new technology to old paradigms. You can use a computer as a typewriter, but

when you do this without modifying your underlying understanding of the

process, you actually manage to make your life much harder than before 

the innovation. 

Teachers who assume that instructional-technology tools must be used in a

one-student-one-computer model haven’t modified their paradigm to make best

178 Planning into Practice

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Planning into Practice

Chapter 6: Managing Hardware and Software

179

use of the innovation. For the vast majority of learning activities, it is quite unnecessary to have one computer per student. This doesn’t mean that it’s wrong to

have more than one computer per classroom. On the other hand, we often see

teachers who assume that technology has not been integrated if every student

doesn’t touch the computer at least once at some point in the unit or lesson.

Technology is a tool that can assist the processes of teaching and learning and

can be introduced in many ways and at many different points during a unit. 

So, when we hear that a school has a shortage of technology, we first ask

exactly what that means. And then we try to find out whether the teachers in

that school have explored the technology thoroughly and whether they have

received appropriate staff development to facilitate that exploration. It is a 

mistake to assume automatically that teachers need more technology. 

What basic infrastructure is required for teaching?

I think that each classroom should have at least one Internet-ready, networked,

multimedia workstation with a suite of basic software. This configuration should

be connected to a printer either directly or via the local area network. Also very

important is that the classroom workstation be configured so that its output can

be displayed either by projection or on a large television screen. This latter

method—the large TV screen—is definitely preferable from the standpoint of

cost, and we find it to work quite well in terms of visibility.

After a school has acquired the basics, what peripherals can you 

recommend?

In terms of hardware, I’ve found that equipment for digital imaging is gaining

popularity in schools. By this, I mean scanners, digital cameras, and video input

devices. The price on decent-quality digital cameras is still a bit high, but scanners have come down to the point where a perfectly good scanner can be had

for under $200. Many school computers (particularly Macintoshes) already have

the hardware to accept video input. The newer multimedia PCs frequently have

these features.

What trends do you see?

First, the price of basic workstations is falling as smaller, more portable, and less

expensive units are being made available. The hardware industry has finally realized they can sell lots of less expensive, moderately powered machines instead

of continually developing faster and more powerful machines. I think that we

may be starting to reach a plateau in terms of marketable computer power, at

least for certain markets, as manufacturers begin to focus more on price than on

increased performance and to search out broader markets. As a result, schools

will benefit by being able to buy more computers. However, the software industry seems to be a bit behind the hardware industry. Each year they introduce

new software versions that need more power and memory, which contributes

to an escalating need for more powerful machines. 

I see the second major trend in technology infrastructure as related to the

Internet and, specifically, to bandwidth. Basically, I believe that the next several

Hardware and

Software

SEIR◆TEC
years will see a continuing growth in speed and reliability of network access. As

they become more common, cable television-based and wireless service will

drive up user expectations related to speed and bandwidth. As access improves,

more and more people will think of the Internet (or more accurately, the World

Wide Web) as their primary technology tool.

We think that in the future educators will be able to get more hardware for

their money, but where they will need to spend more money is in improving 

network access—getting more bandwidth. Fortunately for needy school districts,

the E-Rate made available through the Universal Service Fund will provide 

financial assistance in this area.

180 Planning into Practice

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Evaluation

7

Chapter

181
Table of Contents

How Do We Know It's Working? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .183

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185

Putting the Tools to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Some Important Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .186

Key Elements of a Technology Program Evaluation Plan . . . . . . . .188

An Evaluation Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .192

Evaluation Committee Composition Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Technology Evaluation Organizing Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Questions and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Developing Indicators Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Information Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Online Teacher Technology Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198

Classroom Observation Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

Using the Evaluation Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Evaluation Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Chapter 7

182
Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 183

How Do We Know It’s Working?

s we look at schools in the SEIR◆TEC region, as well as around the 

country, we find that increasingly parents, board members, teachers, and

the general public are asking “How do we know it’s working?” Is educational technology providing the benefit and impacts at the classroom level that

live up to the promise it holds in so many people’s minds? Everywhere we go,

the logic is the same. Districts have spent millions on technology infrastructure,

materials, and professional development, but all too often, these investments

have been made without any clearly framed way of assessing the impact that

technology has on student achievement. 

There are some who will say that information technology is simply another

educational fad, and that, just as so many things before it, technology will end up

gathering dust while schools continue to grapple with the real business of teaching and learning. Ultimately, schools will stop spending money on computers and

start buying something else. Well, if history can be a predictor, the pundits might

just be correct. But this does not have to be the case. If educators can establish

clear goals for technology’s use as a tool for teaching and learning, and measure

the performance towards meeting those goals, technology will not be funded

solely on faith. The challenge is to create realistic evaluations of instructional 

technology’s impact on students and their academic achievements.

In Chapter 1, we shared some of the lessons we have learned from working

with the SEIR◆TEC intensive site schools over the past few years. Perhaps the

most significant insight we have gained is that when we see improvements in

student achievement, it is the result of a combination of factors, not merely the

availability of technology. These factors include, but are not limited to: the vision

and support of school and district leaders; the usefulness of the technology plan;

teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors; the amount, availability, and quality 

of professional development and technical assistance; the teaching and 

learning environment; and the extent to which technology use is linked to the

curriculum, standards, and student assessment. 

Another important observation is that evaluation is usually the weakest 

component of technology plans. Not surprisingly, technology leaders at the US

Department of Education say that evaluation is often the weakest part of grant

proposals, too. We don’t know exactly why this happens, but we think there are

several factors involved: 

• There are not many school and district-level professionals who have the

expertise in both evaluation and instructional technology needed to design

and implement high-quality evaluations. This seems to be particularly true in

Evaluation

A
Evaluation

184 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

rural districts where there are no universities with graduate programs in 

technology and evaluation. 

• Traditional measures of student learning, such as standardized tests, seldom

measure the benefits students gain through the use of technology, such as

critical thinking, cooperation, research skills, independent learning, product

design, and task commitment.

• Policymakers and funding agencies often have unrealistic expectations

about the improvements in learning that will result from technology initiatives. One legislature in our region, for example, wanted to see gains in 

student achievement-test scores six months after funding was appropriated.

When you consider that it takes an average of four to five years for most

teachers to reach the state of technology proficiency where they use computers fluidly and effectively, and that an impact on students will not occur

any sooner, it’s no wonder that administrators can be more concerned about

potential political fallout from a negative evaluation than in learning how to

improve their programs. 

On the other hand, we have seen stellar examples of how technology leaders

have used evaluation data and progress reports to garner increased support from

policymakers and the community at large. When school boards have data indicating that the money that has been spent for the technology program is leading

to improvements in teaching and learning, they are usually willing to allocate

more money. In other words, success begets success. We have also observed that

schools and districts that monitor their progress toward technology integration see

evaluation results as input into planning their technology program, e.g., identifying needs, problems, and opportunities. The point is that evaluation is neither

easy nor inexpensive, but when it is an integral part of the ongoing technology

planning and infusion process, it is well worth the effort.
Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

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185

Tools in this Chapter

Some Important Terms. A list of evaluation-related terms and definitions is

included to ensure that everyone in the evaluation process is using the same

terms in the same ways. 

Evaluation Committee Composition Matrix. The matrix is designed to enable

you to select members for your evaluation committee who will be effective in

carrying out the evaluation process.

Technology Evaluation Organizing Questions. The list of questions serves as

a starting point for the evaluation process.

Developing Indicators Worksheet. The worksheet helps evaluators organize

information that will be useful in developing performance indicators.

Online Teacher Technology Survey. We have reproduced an online 

survey that can be used to gather teacher input for the technology program 

evaluation process.

Classroom Observation Template. The form can be used by administrators or

other teachers who are observing classroom use of technology as part of the

evaluation process.

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions. Conducting focus groups of teachers

who are using technology to teach can be a valuable part of the technology 

program evaluation process. An extensive list of Sample Teacher Focus Group

Questions is included to help you conduct your own focus groups.

Using the Evaluation Results. Using the Evaluation Results suggests the most

productive uses of the results of your technology program evaluation.

Evaluation Resources. A list of online and print resources is included at the end

of the chapter. 
Evaluation

186 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Putting the Tools to Work

Some Important Terms 

When we conduct workshops on evaluation, we sometimes notice that not

everyone uses the same terms in the same ways. We thought this would be a

good place to stop and talk about some important evaluation terms and 

concepts—just to be sure everyone is on the same wavelength. 

Assessment and Evaluation

In general parlance, assessment and evaluation are often used interchangeably. In

this chapter, however, each term has a specific meaning. When we talk about

assessment, we’re referring to the measurement of knowledge, skills, and performance—usually in terms of learning. For example, we talk about the assessment

of student learning in terms of portfolios of their work or scores on end-of-grade

tests. We might also refer to self-assessment measures that teachers can use as a

tool to reflect on their technology competencies. When we talk about evaluation,

we mean ways of examining the performance of the overall technology program

as well as specific aspects of the program, such as professional development,

technical assistance, and resources. Program evaluation usually addresses 

questions of accountability, quality, impact, sustainability, and lessons learned:

• Accountability. Is the program doing what it is supposed to do, i.e., what

was laid out in the technology plan? Is the money being well-spent?

• Quality. How well are we implementing program activities and strategies?

How good (useful, effective, well-received) are the program’s services and

products, such as professional development, technical assistance, resources,

and infrastructure?

• Impact. Is the program making a difference? What effects are services and

products having on teachers? students? administrators? the school 

climate? the community? 

• Sustainability. What elements are, or need to be, in place for sustained 

levels of improvement in teaching and learning with technology to occur?

• Lessons learned. What lessons are we learning about the processes and 

factors that support or inhibit the accomplishment of objectives?

Answers to these questions should lead to an understanding of the extent to

which the program is meeting its goals and objectives. 

Proximal and Distal Effects

Evaluators sometimes use the terms proximal (near) and distal (distant) to talk

about the relative strength of effects or outcomes. Let’s say, for example, that a

district wants to evaluate the impact of a series of workshops on ways to use
Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

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187

technology to enhance writing. (See the following chart.) The proximal effects

of the workshops would be that teachers learn new skills and acquire new

knowledge about how to use technology effectively as they help students learn

to write. Typically this kind of effect is measured by a questionnaire administered

at the end of each workshop. That’s fine, because you need to know how well

the workshops went, but wouldn’t it be much more important to find out

whether teachers are actually applying what they learned in the workshops (the

intermediate effect)? Until you determine whether teachers are using technology

as intended, you cannot say for certain that any changes in students’ writing are

the result (distal effect) of the teachers’ professional development. If you look at

proximal, intermediate, and distal effects, you should be able to identify 

breakdowns in the system as well as unexpected benefits. Then you can use the

information to decide whether to continue or revise program activities.

Strategy Proximal Intermediate Distal 

Effects Effects Effects

Teachers participate Teachers learn new Teachers apply new Student 

in workshops on skills and acquire knowledge and skills performance

using technology to new knowledge. as they teach. improves.

support students’ 

writing. Students use 

technology for 

learning.

Formative and Summative Evaluation

Let’s say your district is conducting a series of six workshops on integrating technology into the curriculum. At the end of each day, or at the end of each workshop, participants complete a questionnaire where they indicate their level of 

satisfaction with the workshop content, format, presenter, materials, and so forth.

The workshop leaders review the questionnaires and use the data to make decisions about which aspects of the workshop they should retain, revise, or eliminate

in delivering subsequent workshops. This is formative evaluation, or taking a look

at what is or isn’t working and making adjustments while the activities are still fluid.

After the final workshop, the workshop leaders compile the data and review the

results of the questionnaires from all the workshops in order to make decisions

about the value of the entire initiative. This is summative evaluation. Many people

think that summative evaluation is what happens at the end of each year, but it is

important to realize that it the nature and duration of the activity, not the calendar,

that should determine when summative evaluation occurs. The point is that your

evaluation component should include both formative and summative strategies.
Evaluation

188 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Quantitative and Qualitative Data

Evaluation is a data-driven process. The basic evaluative process is to collect and

analyze data that will help you make decisions about which elements of your

program are working and which need to be improved. Evaluation also helps

schools and districts tell their story (Bingham, 1999) in order to garner support

from the community. The framework—or plot—of this story is determined by

the evaluation questions created, but the story itself comes from data. Therefore,

in educational-technology evaluation, the evaluator’s task is to gather data that

tell the stories of how technology has impacted teaching and learning. Data can

be quantitative (counts of things) or qualitative (narration of things). We tend

to think of quantitative data as coming from surveys, questionnaires, and standardized tests. Qualitative data usually come from interviews, classroom observations, focus groups, and archival documents, such as minutes of meetings and

newspaper articles. A well-rounded evaluation will make use of both types of

data by including broad-based indicators that are measured using quantitative

and qualitative data (Sun, 2000). It is no more possible to tell the story of technology’s impact solely through reporting test scores and computer counts than

it is by simply laying out a string of anecdotal stories. Rather, data should be

deeply descriptive and logically supportive of the questions to which 

it responds. 

Key Elements of a Technology Program 

Evaluation Plan

There are several good evaluation models that you can adopt or adapt for your

technology program. If you’ve had a graduate course in the subject, you might

go back through your textbooks to look at some of the classic models developed by experts in the field, such as Robert E. Stake, Daniel Stufflebeam, or 

W. James Popham. Or, you could search the ERIC database, which you can

access through www.serve.org/disc, to find technology plans that include 

comprehensive evaluation components. 

For the SEIR◆TEC project, we use a model that was originally developed at

Western Michigan University by Brinkerhoff, Brethower, Hluchyj, and

Nowakoski (1983). While the complete model would probably be overkill for

most district technology plans (the SEIR◆TEC evaluation plan is about an inch

thick), there are key elements that can serve as a framework for any program.

These elements are evaluation questions, indicators of success, information

sources, and criteria and benchmarks. The following chart is an excerpt from a

district technology evaluation plan that is based on this model. 
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189

Objective: Help teachers and administrators acquire the knowledge 

and develop the skills necessary for effective technology integration 

by providing ongoing professional development

Evaluation Indicators Information Criteria and 

Questions of Success Sources Benchmarks

How effective 

are professional 

development 

services? 

What lessons have 

been learned from 

professional 

development?

Teachers and

administrators 

consider the district’s professional

development 

services to be

effective, useful,

and worthwhile.

Teachers effectively

use technology 

in teaching and

for professional 

productivity.

Administrators

support, promote,

and effectively use

technology for

teaching and

learning.

Promising practices

and materials 

for professional

development are

identified, documented, and 

disseminated.

Barriers and 

solutions to 

professional 

development are

described in terms

useful to program

planners.

Questionnaires

Classroom 

observations

Self-assessments

based on ISTE

standards

Formative and

summative 

questionnaires for

each professional

development

event

Formal and 

informal interviews with teacher

teams and mentors

Journals

All teachers and

administrators

demonstrate 

mastery of ISTE

standards.

Teachers are 

satisfied with

administrators’

support for technology integration.

Technology is

infused into the

majority of the

schools’ courses.

The technology

committee is in

agreement about

the positive and

negative aspects 

of the lessons

learned.
Evaluation

190 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Evaluation Questions

As a rule of thumb, we suggest that there be at least one evaluation question per

program objective. And, depending on the nature of the objective, you might

want to ask different kinds of questions to get at accountability, quality, impact,

sustainability, and lessons learned. You probably do not need to ask questions

about each of these for every objective, however.

Indicators of Success

Indicators provide the contexts for each question and describe the desired conditions against which success is measured. Typically, indicators focus our attention on issues of quality, effectiveness, efficacy, usefulness, client satisfaction,

and impact. Using the above example, indicators of success might be: professional development services are meeting the needs of target audiences; teachers

and administrators consider the district’s professional development services to be

effective, useful, and worthwhile; educators are effectively using technology in

their teaching; or barriers and solutions to professional development are

described in terms useful to other projects and programs. For more information,

check out The National Study of School Evaluation’s compendium of quality

indicators for technology programs in K–12 schools (see the Resources list at the

end of this chapter).

Information Sources

Information sources are methods or strategies for collecting data related to evaluation questions. Recognizing the importance of understanding not only the

who, what, and when of your work, but also the why and how, we suggest that

your evaluation plan encompass a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods, such as surveys, questionnaires, interviews, and observations. For example,

if you want to know whether teachers are applying what they learned through

professional development, you might learn more from going into classrooms

and observing what teachers do, what students do, and the general classroom

environment, rather than (or in addition to) conducting a survey.

You might also consider less traditional ways of collecting data. Focus groups

and advisory committees can be very effective ways of finding out how the 

program is perceived across the district and the community. Archives, such as

minutes of meetings and newspaper articles, are fairly easy ways of documenting events. They might tell you much about quality or effectiveness—and they

do give evidence of accountability.

Criteria and Benchmarks

As you collect and analyze evaluation data about the various components of

your technology program, you’ll want a way of determining just how well things

are going and how much progress has been made. Criteria and benchmarks will

help you do this.

Earlier in the chapter, we talked about criteria for making decisions about the

effectiveness of a workshop or judging the impact of technology on student
Evaluation

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Chapter 7: Evaluation

191

achievement. You can also develop criteria and benchmarks for instruments that

use Likkert-type scales or rubrics, e.g., the CEO Forum STaR chart or the

SEIR◆TEC Progress Gauge. As you implement these instruments over time—at

the beginning and again at the end of the school year—you’ll be looking for

movement forward, i.e., moving from 1s to 2s or from 2s to 3s on rubrics. In

determining just how much movement is desirable or required, it would be helpful to have criteria or benchmarks. There are no set rules about how strong the

criteria or how rigid the benchmarks should be; just keep in mind that they need

to be realistic, and they need to support the integrity of the evaluation. If you

have 40 sets of rubrics, on how many could you realistically and reliably expect

to see improvement? Half? 30? This would be a good topic for discussion for the

planning committee.

As we saw in the evaluation plan sample earlier in the chapter, you can use

criteria and benchmarks that involve notions of consensus or majority. For example, if your district is providing professional development designed to help teachers create technology-enhanced lesson plans, it is not unrealistic to expect that

all of the teachers will implement the lessons and/or develop additional lessons.

It would also be perfectly reasonable to have a criterion saying something like,

“After reviewing the results of the workshop questionnaires, all members of the

technology committee agree that the professional development program is meeting teachers’ needs.”

As our colleague Margaret Bingham says, “You need to stick a stake in the

ground and say ‘Today we are here.’ Then later, you can stick another stake in

the ground and say ‘Now we are here.’ The distance between the stakes shows

you how much progress has been made.”
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192 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

An Evaluation Process

Evaluating technology initiatives is an ongoing process that involves eight 

basic steps: 

• Create an evaluation committee.

• Identify evaluation priorities and develop related evaluation questions.

• Create performance indicators for each evaluation question.

• Identify or develop data collection methods and instruments.

• Collect data.

• Study the results.

• Create an evaluation report on the results of the evaluation, findings, lessons

learned, and directions for future efforts.

• Use the evaluation results to update your technology plan.

Committee Composition

A district-wide evaluation committee is the organizing structure of the technology

evaluations we have facilitated in most districts. As an initial step, districts create a

technology evaluation committee composed of stakeholders from throughout the

district and local community. This committee closely parallels the structure of the

district’s technology planning committee in that in order for the committee to be

effective, it must be representative of the interests and concerns of the broad district community. It is also important that the committee not be composed entirely

of individuals who are considered the technology power users in the district.

Remember, the evaluation is designed to answer basic questions about technology’s impact on teaching and learning. Therefore, experience in teaching and

learning is considerably more important than being well-versed in technology

itself. In general, the committees we work with number about 12 to 15 members

and include district-level staff, a board member, and principals, as well as 

classroom teachers and technology specialists from all grade levels.
Evaluation

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193

Evaluation Committee Composition Matrix

A worksheet similar to the following can be useful in assigning and delineating

committee membership. A reproducible copy of the worksheet may be found in

the Appendix. 

Appendix

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Appendix

265

Evaluation Committee Composition

Matrix

To create and conduct your technology evaluation, you need a committee composed of educational stakeholders who will actively work to help create the evaluation. Remember:

• You will need committee members who represent all aspects of your school community. This

means teachers (from a variety of grades and/or subject areas), administrators, parents, community members (e.g., businesspeople), and perhaps students.

• Do not load your committee with figureheads who are not willing to actually work on the

plan.

• The evaluation process contains many different tasks. You need writers, curriculum people,

infrastructure people, people who are good with budgets, and policy people.

• The commitment to be a part of the technology-evaluation committee is not a short-term commitment. A formative evaluation by definition is ongoing and iterative. The committee members should be willing to assist in your school’s technology-evaluation efforts long after the

data are collected and reports are written. 

Teachers Administrators Parents Others

Curriculum

Professional 

Development

Infrastructure

Process Tasks

(editing, calling 

meetings, etc.)
Evaluation

194 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Technology Evaluation Organizing Questions

Once assembled, the evaluation committee should meet for the first time to

review its task and to receive a general introduction to the district’s goals and

objectives for instructional technology. At this meeting, it is also useful for the

committee members to receive an orientation to the technology evaluation

process and to begin the work of identifying evaluation questions and indicators

266 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

When thinking about program evaluation, it is useful to consider some organizing questions.

Working in groups, please answer the following questions. Be prepared to report out your

answers at the conclusion of the group work.

1. This evaluation will evaluate various aspects of how well technology has been integrated in

your schools and district. What does integration mean to you? Provide some examples.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. All programs must have a driving purpose. What is the best reason your district has implemented and integrated technology as a part of its teaching and learning environment?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. Evaluation is about measuring change. When evaluating how well your schools and district

have integrated technology, what sort of changes do you expect to see as a result of this 

integration? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Changes related to teachers?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Changes related to students?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Other changes?

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Change produces results. Evaluation measures those results against expectations. Identify three

aspects of technology integration that can be measured in order to evaluate the change that has

occurred in your schools and district as a result of technology integration.

a. ________________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Evaluation Organizing

Questions

Appendix

page 266
Evaluation

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Chapter 7: Evaluation

195

of achievement that are specific to those questions. 

Before you begin working on the evaluation plan, you might find it useful for

the committee to consider a set of organizing questions. These are summarized in

the following worksheet. A reproducible copy is provided in the Appendix. 

Questions and Indicators

Most often, we have found that a committee may base evaluation questions on

the goals and objectives laid out in the technology plan. This method of developing questions rooted in planning goals addresses the district’s basic need to

know if it is meeting goals for instructional technology and the various implementation process steps. The process is also likely to yield information that can

be used for a strategic-plan update.

Example Questions

The following are some sample evaluation questions developed by districts with

which we have worked:

• To what extent are our teachers utilizing technology to increase the depth of

student understanding and learning engagement?

• How have students been impacted by technology integration? Has technology

improved student achievement, had no impact, or perhaps negatively impacted

achievement?

• Are our teachers using technology in ways that match both our district goals

for technology use and the potential that exists for technology as an instructional aid?

• Have we adequately allocated district technology resources so that students

and teachers can realize the resources’ potential?

• How effective has our professional development model been in helping

teachers attain basic technology proficiency?

• How effective have basic technology skills been in helping teachers do things

that they could not have done otherwise?

Developing Indicators

After developing evaluation questions, the committee’s work should turn toward

creating performance indicators for each question. This work is often accomplished by dividing the full committee into subcommittees—one for each evaluation question. Each subcommittee can then work to develop indicators.

Ultimately, the subcommittees will use the indicators to identify sources of information (data collection methods and instruments) and criteria for making decisions, such as rubrics. Each subcommittee will review the work of each of the

other two subcommittees. The product of this review is subsequently fed back

into each group’s development process. In this way every committee member is
Evaluation

196 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 7: Evaluation

able to review each of the questions/indicators/methods/criteria, and this review

benefits the work of the whole committee.

Developing Indicators Worksheet

The following worksheet can help subcommittees develop their indicators. The

categories we have used on the worksheet represent the most common types of

evaluation questions. A reproducible copy may be found in the Appendix.

Appendix

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267

Developing Indicators Worksheet

Working with a small group of stakeholders, identify 3 (or more) indicators for each of the 

following categories.

An indicator is a simple statement of what you would expect to find or see that demonstrates

a particular attribute. For example, one indicator of the season known as summer might be:

“Warm temperatures inspire people to wear lighter clothing.” Inversely, if we see people wearing light clothing, one possible conclusion (applying our indicator) is that the season is summer.

Effective Use of Technology

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Technology’s Impact on Students 

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Technology’s Impact on Teachers

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation

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SEIR◆TEC 197

Information Sources 

A variety of tools and techniques can provide useful information for your evaluation, including surveys, observations, interviews, focus groups, reviews of

teacher/student work, and public meetings. The point is to collect data that are

directly related to the evaluation questions and indicators. 

For example, if an indicator of high achievement in teacher use of technology

is that teachers will use e-mail to communicate with peers outside the district,

then data should show the number as well as substance of teacher e-mail communications. This might include technical logs (e.g., how often do teachers

access their e-mail accounts); teacher surveys to determine how often e-mail is

used and for what; and teacher interviews to determine the value placed upon

e-mail communication. 

It is worth mentioning that while data collection might take place at the 

individual level of performance, individual data should never be reported. The

mission of a district-wide evaluation is to determine the progress of the district

as a group of individuals in meeting its goals and objectives. Nothing will undermine an evaluation project faster than the perception that it is measuring or ranking individuals. If individual assessments are important, these should be developed

and administered separately from your district technology evaluation. 

There are a variety of tools useful for data collection. The following pages

contain a variety of sample data collection tools such as:

• Online Teacher Technology Survey

• Classroom Observation Template

• Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions

Other good sources of evaluation tools and instruments are available from the

High Plains & North Central Regional Technology in Education Consortia:

www.hprtec.org or www.ncrtec.org
Online Teacher Technology Survey

Note—an online version of this survey, as well as a link to a site 

with code for producing your own online survey, can be found at 

www.sun-associates.com/eval/sample.

198 Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC

The following brief survey is part of our effort to evaluate the effectiveness of 

instructional technology and its implementation across the district.

Teacher Technology Survey

Choose your school’s name.

Each teacher has been assigned a unique identification number for completing this 

survey. You should not use someone else’s identification number. Survey responses 

with duplicate numbers will be considered invalid. 

How has technology impacted your students’ achievement?

Choose a school

Please check all of the following statements with which you agree.

Please check all of the technologies which you employ with your students.

Word Processors

Integrated Learning System (e.g., Jostens, Writing to Read, etc.)

Spreadsheets

Tutorial and basic skills development programs

Special Applications for Reading, Math, etc. (e.g., Accelerated Reader)

E-mail

World Wide Web/Internet

Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint)

Hyperstudio

CD-ROM Encyclopedias

Graphing Calculators

Probes for data acquisition (temperature, mass, etc.)

My students use technology primarily in singular settings. Choose one.

Technology increases my students’ motivation 

My students use technology to acquire basic skills 

My students use technology to become more critical thinkers 

My students use technology to help them construct new knowledge 

My students use technology to solve relevant, real-life, problems 

My students use technology to discover concepts and prove relationships 

My students use technology to communicate knowledge and information
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199

Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC

The following questions deal with your own use of technology. 

several times a day

Please check all of the statements with which you agree.

I use technology applications such as word processors and 

spreadsheets to produce materials for use with my students 

I use online (WWW) resources to find materials relevant to 

my curriculum

I use e-mail to communicate with parents and students 

I use presentation software and hardware within my classroom

I use e-mail to contact peers and experts both inside and outside 

of the district

I use technology to monitor student performance 

(e.g., electronic portfolios) 

I believe that I can recognize the ethical use of technology 

I model the ethical use of technology with my students 

I use technology to maintain student records 

(e.g., electronic grade book, etc.) 

My building technology coordinator has helped me implement the

district technology standards

My building technology coordinator has assisted me in finding ways to 

integrate technology within my curriculum

District-level technology resource teachers have assisted me in 

implementing standards and integrating technology

I use a variety of teaching strategies that incorporate technology use (choose one):

The learning activities I develop (choose one) seldom

require students to use technology.

Please estimate the percentage of your written communication (to all individuals in the 

course of your professional work) that takes place electronically 100%
Evaluation

200 Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC

Finally, we are interested in your opinion on the following:

Submit

The technology plan for my school is frequently monitored 

When you are finished with this survey, click on this button to

the survey for processing.

If you want to delete all of your answers and start again, click here

Yes

No

The administrator in my school is involved in technology professional development 

Yes

No

If you have additional comments you would like to add, you can use the 

following area to enter them.

Reset

Survey Form Updated 9/9/99
Planning into Practice

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201

Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC

Classroom Observation Template

In the effort to find out what is happening in classrooms, direct observations can

be revealing. A template such as this one may be used by administrators or by

other teachers to observe classroom use of technology. A reproducible copy of

this template may be found in the Appendix.

Appendix

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Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Classroom Observation Template

West Side High

Ms. Burns Latin

25

Ms. Dimock

Project-based learning, cooperative groups

The students are preparing for a trial of Julius Caesar. They are writing briefs and rehearsing

as witnesses.

Some students are working in small groups while others are working alone.

Students are using a variety of resources including the textbook, electronic encyclopedia, and 

the Internet to find information that will help them prepare for the trial.

four computers

I need to ask Ms. Burns if I can come back when the trial happens—I wonder who she has in

mind for the judge.

Teaching—Learning Methods (e.g., direct instruction, project-based learning)

Brief Description of Classroom Activity/Lesson

Student Groupings (single, small, large, etc.) and Interactions

Technology (hardware and software) and/or Instructional Materials In Use

Number of Computers in this Classroom

Other Notes

School

Teacher Grade/Subject

Class Size (est.) 

Observer Date
Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions

You may find the following sample questions helpful in conducting your own

focus groups of teachers.

202 Planning into Practice

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Evaluation

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Appendix

page 269

Sample Teacher Focus Group

Questions (page 1 of 5)

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Student Access and Use Questions

1. Describe how your students typically use lab or classroom computers.

2. What kind of software is available for student use in the classroom or lab?

3. How do students typically use the computers...and why? (i.e., probe for the reasons why they

favor a particular pattern of use...e.g., “You can’t do anything with one computer; each 

student needs to work individually;” class management issues; etc.)

4. Could you give me an estimate of the percentage of students who have access to a computer

at home?

writing, drawing, reading, presenting

e-mail/communication

skill reinforcement

programs related to curriculum (simulations, topical adventures)

research (CD-ROM, Internet, other)

word processors

graphics packages

databases, spreadsheets

simulations

e-mail

reference (CD-ROMs, dictionaries)

Internet/World Wide Web

science probes

drill & practice

electronic books

presentation tools (timeline maker, multimedia-maker)

individually

in pairs or small groups

as a whole class
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Evaluation

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Appendix

5. We’re interested in your impressions of how the information technology you have just

described has impacted your students’ learning. Overall, how have students been impacted

by the use of technology in your school? (probe for examples, evidence)

Special or specific assessments? 

Nothing in addition to nontechnology-specific assessments. 

Other?

6. How do you evaluate your students in terms of their technology use?

7. What does technology allow your students to do now—either physically or intellectually—

that would have been impossible (or at least more difficult) before technology was widely

available in your school? (allow for the fact that they may not think that technology is 

currently widely available)

8. What changes could be made to technology in your school that would allow your students

to benefit more from technology?

Most students are more motivated, more engaged, and better cooperative learners

Computers are a more effective reward for completing work

Some students are more distracted

more hardware

placement of computers in the classrooms instead of labs

more software titles

additional technical support

policies

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 2 of 5)
204 Planning into Practice

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Evaluation

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Appendix

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Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 3 of 5)

Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Teacher Fluency Questions

9. Please describe how you most frequently make use of school computers. We don’t want to

know all of what you do...just what you most often do. (probe for uses directly related to

instruction, administrative uses/record keeping, personal productivity, etc.)

10. OK, that’s what you most frequently do. Now tell us some of the other things...regardless of

how often you might do them.

11. If not on your desk or in your classroom, where do you use computers most often?

12. Do you have access to a computer at home? (yes or no answer)

13. How accessible are the classroom or lab computers to teachers throughout the day?

teacher’s lounge

home

school computer lab

library/media center

available all day

available only during off-hours

available with sign up
Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 4 of 5)

14. What, if any, impact has the use of information technology had on your teaching? (probe for

the following list without reading it)

15. In what ways has your professional practice (i.e., teaching) improved through the use of technology? (designed to be pretty open-ended. Allow for the fact that the improvement may

have been mostly negative)

16. What barriers have you encountered in trying to use technology in the classroom?

Teacher Vision/Strategy Questions

17. How do you get your ideas for integrating technology in the classroom?

more efficient

easier record keeping

more collaboration with peers/reduced isolation

more fun teaching

changed role from expert to facilitator

more creative/adventuresome with curriculum

more individualized instruction

access to better resources

more 

better parent contact

too little time to learn

inadequate professional development

periods too short

finding software

Other_____________

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Evaluation

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Appendix

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206 Planning into Practice

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Appendix

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Used with the permission of Sun Associates Planning into Practice

Appendix

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 5 of 5)

18. What is the most interesting or intriguing use of technology in education that you have ever

heard about? It doesn’t matter to us whether you can actually DO this yet...we just want to

know what you find interesting. 

Teacher Access and Professional Development Questions

19. What changes would you like to see made in your school with regard to how technology is

allocated or structured? (note that they may comment on both physical infrastructure as well

as support issues)

20. How often is technology staff development offered at your school and/or in the district...and

who is responsible for conducting this training?

21. What barriers have you encountered in terms of getting the technology training you want

and/or need?

22. What has been the most useful use technology workshop you have attended, and why?

23. Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thank You for Your Time!!
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Using the Evaluation Results

What are you going to do with the evaluation results? Typically, evaluation results

are summarized in end-of-year or end-of-project reports that help technology

leaders determine how successful the district has been in meeting program goals

and objectives. Specifically, the data should help them make data-informed 

decisions about whether to continue, terminate, refocus, or modify activities and

strategies included in the technology plan. 

While reports are useful, think how much more impact a PowerPoint presentation or school portfolio would be when you’re trying to convince the school

board to increase funding for technology. In addition to telling stories and presenting data, you could include products of learning and other kinds of evidence

that make the program more real to those who have not been actively involved.

The Link Between Technology and Student Achievement

When considering the findings from an evaluation of a technology integration

initiative, it is reasonable to ask if there isn’t another bottom line issue; that is,

what is the connection—if any—between student and teacher technology use

and traditional student assessments such as standardized test scores? Given the

amount of attention provided to traditional assessments, it is certainly expected

that one should attempt to tie all important educational initiatives, such as 

technology, to performance gains or losses on these scores.

We believe that there is a link between technology and student performance

as measured by traditional assessments; but this link is not direct. In other words,

technology alone is not responsible for increases in student achievement. Rather,

improvements in learning result from a combination of factors, including the

way the teacher teaches, ready access to technology, administrative support, and

the classroom environment. More and more, we are realizing that another 

crucial factor is the linkage among technology use, the curriculum, standards,

and assessments. 

Educational research tells us that student achievement increases when learning activities are engaging and student-centered. Learning needs to be standards

based, relevant, attuned to the individual student’s style of learning, and holistic—

that is, tied to a student’s prior knowledge, experience, and interests. Another way

of saying all of this is to shorthand these descriptions and state that high-performing student learning is engaged and constructivist in nature and guided by

strong and meaningful curriculum frameworks. Students who are able to work in

environments that encourage this type of learning will achieve. While existing

standardized tests do at best only an adequate job of measuring student achievement and knowledge, students who are engaged in supportive learning environments and reformed teaching practices will generally score higher than students

who are not.

It all comes back to the same basic point, that technology is only a useful—

and in this case, we can say, impactful—tool when used in the hands of a skilled

teacher. The issue is pedagogy, not computer skills. Schools where teachers are

Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC
employing student-focused instructional practices, where administrators support

and expect such practices, where students are actively and excitedly involved in

the process of learning—these will be high-performing schools. The role of 

evaluation is to provide a systematic way of examining the systems, structures, and

practices that support good teaching with technology, and ultimately, the practices

that promote effective learning. 

208 Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Evaluation

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Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

209

Evaluation Resources

Online Resources

www.hprtec.org

Profiler–a collection of on-line tools & instruments for collecting and analyzing

data that can be helpful for planning evaluation.

http://www.apple.com/education/k12/leadership/acot/library.html 

Changing the Conversation about Teaching, Learning & Technology—A Report

on 10 Years of ACOT Research. 1996. Apple Computer Corporation.

http://www.crito.uci.edu/lc/findings/ComputerUse/html/startpage.htm

Becker, Henry J.; Ravitz, J.L.; and Wong, Y. 1999. Teacher and Teacher-Directed

Student Use of Computers and Software. Teaching, Learning, and Computing:

1998 National Survey. Report #3. Center for Research on Information Technology

and Organizations. University of California, Irvine and University of Minnesota.

http://serve-line.serve.org/seirtec/publications/storiesdata.html

Bingham, Margaret H. 1999. Stories with Data and Data with Stories. T.H.E.

Journal (Technological Horizons in Education) 26 (April): 20 

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec27/nonflash.html

Boethel, Martha and Dimock, K.Victoria. 1999. Constructing Knowledge with

Technology: A Review of the Literature. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational

Development Laboratory. 

http://www.sedl.org/tap/newsletters/welcome.html

Burns, Mary; Adams, Sharon; Burniske, Jackie; and Dimock, K. Victoria.

1999–2000. TAP into Learning: Briefing Papers on Constructivism and

Technology. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. 

http://ra.terc.edu/alliance/TEMPLATE/alliance_resources/reform/

tech-infusion/index.html

Fulton, K. and Feldman, A., et al. 1995. Technology Infusion and School Change.

Perspectives and Practices. Cambridge, MA: TERC. 

www.milkenexchange.org/projects.taf?_function=detail&Content_uid1=152

Technology in American Schools: Seven Dimensions for Gauging Progress—A

Policymaker’s Guide. 1998. Santa Monica, CA. Milken Exchange on Education

Technology.

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Resources
www.milkenexchange.org/publication.taf?_detail&Content_uid1=161

Schacter, J. 2000.The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement:

What the Most Current Research Has to Say. Santa Monica, CA: Milken Exchange

on Education Technology.

Print Resources

Brinkerhoff, R.O.; Brethower, D.M.; Hluchyj, T.; and Nowakoski, J.R. 1983.

Program Evaluation: A Practitioner’s Guide For Trainers And Educators.

Boston: Kluwer Nijhoff Publishing. 

Sheingold, K. and Hadley, M. 1990. Accomplished Teachers: Integrating computers

into Classroom Practice New York, NY: Bank Street College of Education.

Sun, Jeff. 2000. How Do We Know It’s Working? Designing an Authentic

Technology Evaluation and Assessment Plan. Learning & Leading with

Technology 27:7.

Technology: Indicators of quality information technology systems in K–12

schools. 1996. Schaumburg, IL: National Study of School Evaluation.

US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. 1995. Teachers and Technology:

Making the Connection. OTA-EHR-616. Washington, DC: US Government

Printing Office.

US Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

September, 1995. Technology’s Role in Education Reform. Findings from a

National Survey of Innovating Schools.

Wiggins, G. and McTighe, J. 1998. Understanding by Design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

210 Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

Evaluation

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Planning into Practice

Chapter 7: Evaluation

211

Putting It All Together

A conversation about evaluating technology programs

What do you think about external evaluators for technology projects?

There is a growing trend toward involving evaluation experts outside the district

in designing and implementing the evaluation plan. The US Department of

Education, in particular, tends to favor grant proposals that include external evaluators instead of relying solely on internal expertise. The thinking is that someone from outside the system can provide a more objective point of view than

those who are immersed in the situation. An external evaluator can also provide

additional expertise in evaluation design and methods. The down side of having an external evaluator is that it can be expensive. If you’re writing a grant

proposal where the whole evaluation will be conducted externally, you should

set aside about ten percent of the budget for that purpose. An alternative might

be to have someone from outside the district help design the evaluation 

component of the technology plan, but have educators within the district collect

and analyze the data. The external evaluator could review the results from time

to time to make sure you’re on track. 

Evaluation can be somewhat intimidating, especially if you’re worried

that the results might be used to reduce the district’s level of commitment to technology integration. What tips would you offer that might

ease teachers and administrators’ worries?

The main thing is to think positively. If you’re conducting formative evaluation

as you implement the technology plan, and you make adjustments in activities

and strategies according to the results, it’s difficult to imagine that the overall

evaluation will turn out badly. Even if you do have some negative findings, there

will be plenty of things to be happy about. And, no matter what, you will

undoubtedly learn a few valuable lessons about what works, what doesn’t work,

and the factors that affect success. 

Another tip is to brag on your successes. If you focus on negative findings

from the evaluation, you can just bet that everyone else will, too. But if you

focus on the positive, while being objective about the negative, you’ll build 

support for technology integration in your district.

What should we do if test scores don’t go up?

As we said before, improvements in learning result from a combination of factors,

including the way teachers teach, access to technology, the classroom environment, and administrative support. Another big factor is the extent to which technology use supports the curriculum and assessments measure what’s included in

the curriculum. If test scores don’t improve as you (and the school board) hope,

you might start by taking a look at these factors. Are teachers using technology in

meaningful ways? Are they using it to support traditional instruction, or are 

students engaged in constructivist learning? How easy or difficult is it for teachers

Evaluation

SEIR◆TEC
and students to access technology? Do administrators support teachers by finding

ways for them to participate in professional development, finding funding for

technology, and providing an environment conducive to experimentation? Take

a good look at the curriculum and state standards. Have teachers developed or

adopted technology-enhanced lessons that help students master the concepts and

skills covered in the curriculum and standards? Do the assessments measure what 

students have learned? 

Don’t forget that traditional methods of assessment seldom measure the

things that technology supports best, such as critical thinking, problem solving,

creativity, design, productivity, and communication. We have found that one of

the best ways to measure different kinds of achievement is through authentic

assessments, such as products of learning and portfolios of students’ work. In

addition to providing real examples of what students are capable of doing, portfolios help students learn how to judge their own work and identify potential

areas for growth. We realize that in this era of high-stakes testing, test scores are

often the bottom line, but we have found that many policymakers and funding

agencies are willing to take a broader view of achievement as long as there is

solid evidence that students are learning what they’re supposed to learn.

212 Planning into Practice

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Evaluation

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Funding

Your

Technology

Plan

8

Chapter

213
Table of Contents

The Challenges of Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Tools in this Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216

Putting the Tools to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Funding Your Technology Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Strategies for Finding Financial Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

Ten Tips for Educational Technology Proposal Writers . . . . . . . .220

Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Resources for Proposal Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Putting It All Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .226

Chapter 8

214
Funding

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice 215

The Challenges of Funding

aving a well-conceived and descriptive technology plan is a critical factor

for success when seeking technology funding. To reprise our analogy comparing technology planning to building a house (Chapter 2), obtaining

money to pay for materials and services is an integral part of both processes. A

financial lender will not give you money for your house unless you have a comprehensive plan for how you will spend it. A lender wants assurance that you will

spend the money as your plan specifies. The same principle applies to technology

planning. Your local school board and other funding sources such as federal and

state grants or business donations and other local funding also require that you

have a definite plan for using the resources that you are seeking from them.

Preparing the documentation for seeking external funding can be a complicated and time-consuming process; however, the more planning and preparation

that you do, the more successful you will be in acquiring the funding. And if you

already have a well-developed technology plan, you’re halfway there. 

If you are not able to find funding for all of the elements in your technology

plan, don’t give up. Most districts develop a three- to five-year plan and implement the various phases as they can afford it. Prioritizing your goals is an essential part of this process. You would not give up building your house if you could

not finance everything you wanted at once. Instead, you would decide to scale

back or add the currently unaffordable things at a later date. 

When prioritizing your technology choices, it is critical to understand the cost

of each of the components. You also need to understand the value, purpose, and

impact of the various components. To return to our analogy, if you need to 

cut back your house construction budget, it’s not a good idea to cut out the 

foundation or roof; this is just common sense. Unfortunately, common sense

sometimes takes a back seat in technology purchasing.

It would be highly unusual if one source funded your entire plan. Therefore,

you should look for various sources of funds that can be applied to various parts

of your plan. Which funds you seek, when you seek them, and how you 

articulate your requests should all be tied to your technology plan.

.

Funding Your

Technology Plan

H
Funding

216 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

Tools in this Chapter

This chapter includes recommendations and resources for you to use in the

funding process. 

Funding Your Technology Plan. Presented in graphical form, Funding Your

Technology Plan shows how your strategic technology plan acts as an organizing engine for taking funds from a variety of different sources and applying them

to the goals and activities that comprise your technology implementation effort.

Consider this before determining where you will seek technology funding.

Strategies for Finding Financial Resources. Strategies for Finding Financial

Resources is a discussion of the various themes we have discovered when 

examining how districts around our region have acquired technology funding.

Ten Tips for Educational Technology Proposal Writers. The list of tips covers

key concepts and strategies to consider when creating technology proposals. 

Resources for Proposal Writers. The resources listed will help you locate

funding sources, develop proposal ideas, and fine-tune your technology 

funding proposal.
Inputs— Outputs—

Resources ($) Implementation

State Grants

Technology Literacy 

Challenge Fund (TLCF)

Federal Grants

Education Department

National Science 

Foundation (NSF)

Federal Entitlements

Title I

Title VI

Perkins

Foundation Grants

Corporate Grants

Business Partners

Parent Supporters

District Funds

Professional 

Development

Curriculum

Technology

Funding

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

217

Putting the Tools to Work

Funding Your Technology Plan

As discussed in the opening section to this chapter, it is possible to understand

your technology plan as an organizing engine that takes various funding inputs

and creates outputs that relate to the bigger picture of teaching and learning in

your district. In this diagram, we have listed some sample inputs that might be

used to fund a technology plan or engine. The object is to help you see that technology funding actually comes from many different sources and is not always

related simply to buying computer hardware and software.

Technology Plan

Curriculum

Professional

Development

Technology

Infrastructure
Funding

218 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

Strategies for Finding Financial Resources

Using our experiences with school districts, we have put together the following list

of important things that you should keep in mind when seeking financial

resources. Several of these suggestions are drawn from Putting technology into the

classroom: A guide for rural decision makers (Boethel, Dimock, and Hatch, 1998).

• Funding comes from many sources. No one grant or funding source will

fund everything you need as specified in your plan. The plan is designed to

show you how all of the pieces of technology integration fit together, and to

set priorities for when you need to do certain things. Funding requests need

to be made according to this big picture and the priorities set within. 

• Don’t rely on grants and donations to cover your ongoing costs. The

initial purchase of hardware and software represents the bulk of your startup

expenses; however, you need to allocate a significant portion of your

school’s technology budget for ongoing costs. According to research funded

by the US Department of Education, you should allocate thirty percent of the

overall technology budget for professional development. For every dollar

you allocate to hardware purchases, you need to budget fifty cents for staff

development, software, and maintenance. If you are writing a grant proposal,

you should plan to spend about ten percent of the budget on evaluation.

You’ll need to find ways of supporting these continuing costs.

• Look for ways to reallocate your current resources. It will be necessary

to reexamine your district’s current resources and find areas that can be reallocated to cover your technology budget. If your district is like most small

districts, however, you are probably stretched to your limit. Some states allow

schools to use a portion of their textbook allocations for technology-related

purchases. If you receive Title I funds, you may be able to reallocate some

of those expenditures to support technology costs. It may be the opportunity

to streamline functions and costs. And you might consider nontraditional

sources, such as vending-machine revenues and revenues from renting the

computer lab to community organizations. 

• Collaborate and share resources. Many small districts are setting up partnerships with other schools or area businesses and universities to share—or trade—

technology resources. A little collaborative creativity can result in substantial 

savings. For example, one Florida school district allows cellular-telephone 

companies in the area to build transmission towers at the edge of the district’s

football fields. In exchange, the district receives free wireless access to the

Internet. Large grants from both public and private sources often require that

several agencies partner in the effort. So, look at ways that several schools might

collaborate with a university or another community organization. Chapter 4,

Professional Development Planning, describes how a district might collaborate

with a university to create a professional development program.

• Explore cost-saving options, but beware of bargains. Be sure your planning committee does its homework in investigating low-cost technology
Funding

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Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

219

options. Look into alternative purchasing methods such as leasing equipment

or financing your purchases through low-interest loans. Find out if your state

department of education has negotiated prices for hardware and software 

purchases. While searching for the lowest-cost alternatives for achieving your

technology goals, however, beware of bargains. Saving a few hundred dollars

on a computer purchase can be expensive in the long run if that purchase

proves to be outdated in a year or two, requires special support, or is incompatible with the rest of your system. What seemed to be a more expensive

purchase may end up as the real bargain.

• Seek out and use federal and state resources that support technology

use. There is ever-growing federal and state support for technology use. For

example, schools and libraries can get substantial discounts on their monthly

Internet, telephone, and other telecommunications bills, as well as discounts

on some other networking costs, through the Telecommunications Act of

1996. The biggest discounts go to rural schools and those with the highest

proportions of low-income students. More information about this act and how

to take advantage of the benefits of the E-Rate can be found on the School

and Libraries Corporation home page at http://www.sl.universalservice.org.

Many states provide a per-student technology allocation that you can include

in your budget planning. Later in this chapter we have included a list of

resources that you can review for ideas for new funding sources. 

• Technology funding should cover professional development. We can’t

overemphasize the importance of making adequate provision for professional

development and technology support. No matter how tight your budget, you

cannot afford to cut corners on these two items. Technology that sits unused

because of inadequate training or inadequate technical support is a big waste.

Improving teaching through increased professional development opportunities

is now a federal priority, so you are likely to find some external funding 

for supporting the professional development and curriculum development 

sections of your plan.

Evaluation is quickly becoming a priority. When you write a proposal for this

type of funding, be sure to indicate how the professional development or 

curriculum work is integrated with technology and how you are going to 

evaluate the project's impact on teaching and learning.
Funding

220 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

Ten Tips for Educational Technology Proposal Writers

1. Read the Request for Proposal (RFP) carefully. 

The first rule for writing a successful grant is to read the RFP (Request for Proposal)

and then follow the RFP’s rules and guidelines when writing your proposal. Not

surprisingly, most unsuccessful proposals violate this basic rule. The RFP is written for the specific purpose of providing prospective grantees with all of the information that they need to write a successful proposal. Most grant makers invest a

lot of time writing their RFP. They expect you to read it and follow it carefully.

2. Write appropriate proposals. 

This follows from reading (and understanding) the RFP. Don’t waste your time,

or the reviewers’ time, by submitting proposals that don’t meet the guidelines of

the RFP. If the RFP says that it will not fund proposals for specific items, expenditure categories, or specific populations, then do not write a proposal asking

for these things. For example, if a grant maker states that it will not provide

funds for hardware and software, do not write a proposal asking for funds for

hardware and software. Grant makers follow their own rules to the letter, and

exceptions are not made. Inappropriate proposals are rejected. 

3. Follow the structure provided by the RFP. 

RFPs usually provide a suggested proposal structure or format. If your RFP provides such a structure, follow it! Most of the time, the suggested structure is the

basis of the checklist that reviewers will use when reading your proposal.

Reviewers use a checklist to determine if each proposal has all of the required

elements, sections, and so on. You can greatly improve the chances that your

proposal will be approved if you organize it to their specifications.

4. Clearly state your proposal’s goals and objectives. 

All reviewers expect to see your proposed project’s goals. If you do not clearly

state them, then the assumption will be that you have none. Proposals without

goals are generally not funded. Furthermore, it is important that your goals be

aligned with the purposes of the grant program (as stated in the RFP) and that

they be reasonable within the scope of your proposed project and resources.

Good goals are at the core of all good proposals. Good objectives are measurable and can be attained within the life of the project.

5. Align your proposal with your technology-planning goals. 

Good goals are also at the core of good educational technology plans.

Therefore, when writing technology proposals, you should reference your planning goals. Show how your proposal supports your broader goals and how it

completes some element (albeit a possibly small element) of your technology

plan. Alignment with planning goals gives your proposal a big picture that

demonstrates that the funds you are requesting will accomplish additional goals

beyond the specific, anticipated outcomes from the proposed project. 
Funding

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Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

221

It is worth mentioning here that technology proposals that come from districts

that do not have technology plans are usually not funded. Funding agencies

expect a proposal to be grounded in the long-term vision and strategies

expressed in a technology plan. While it is sometimes not necessary to include

your technology plan with your proposal, it is always a good idea to reference it

in your proposal and/or include it as an appendix.

6. Specifically state your project’s impact on teaching and learning. 

What impact will your proposal have on teaching and learning? This is the bottom line of any successful technology proposal. If you cannot clearly describe

the anticipated impact, it is unlikely that your proposal will receive funding. Do

not make reviewers search for your anticipated impact. Do not assume that they

will understand your impact unless you specify how your plan will positively

impact students and their educational environment.

7. Include evaluation and dissemination components.

In many cases, the RFP will require that your proposal include evaluation and/or

dissemination components. Funders are interested in projects that can measure

success, document challenges, identify potential problems, and ask questions for

future research. They want the projects they support to be learning experiences

for a larger educational constituency and guides for future funding initiatives

they might make. Therefore, they ask you to submit a study showing how the

funded project has made a difference. In addition, funders want to know how

you will share the outcome and learning described in your proposal through a

dissemination plan. 

Some proposal writers often consider evaluation and dissemination as a

waste of project funds. Do not fall into this trap. Evaluation and dissemination

components are critical to successful projects. Conscientious proposal writers

who can visualize the big picture know they must devote sufficient project time

and resources to evaluation and dissemination. Even when the RFP does not

specifically ask for these components, their inclusion very much strengthens 

a proposal.

8. Realize that not all technology-related RFPs fund hardware. 

In fact, most grant programs do not fund basic hardware, software, network access,

and other infrastructure needs. At the present time, the majority of technologyrelated grant programs fund staff development and curriculum development.

Writing a proposal for one of these programs requires a thorough understanding

not only of what you will use, but how and why you will use it, and how it will

have a positive impact on learning. 

9. Collaborate! 

Successful proposals are collaboratively written. Collaboration not only helps in

terms of editing and reviewing drafts but, more importantly, it expands the ideas in

your proposal. Furthermore, proposals that involve several collaborating partners

are always more successful than those which are limited to a single organization,
Funding

222 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

school, or individual. A collaboration agreement shows that others share your

vision and will work to make it a reality. 

10. Write, modify, resubmit. 

It is not unusual to have your proposal rejected the first time. Don’t be discouraged, try again. Try with a different funder and, if possible, resubmit the 

proposal to the original grant maker. Before you resubmit an idea, however, it

is wise to incorporate any feedback you received on your rejected proposal.

Remember, when resubmitting a proposal it is necessary to redraft the proposal

document to the new RFP (in terms of organization, components, budget

requirements, etc.). Do not simply photocopy your old proposal for the new

submission, and do not submit proposals that do not fully fulfill the current RFP. 
Funding

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Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

223

Resources for Proposal Writers

The following resources should prove helpful to you in your search for funding

for your district’s technology plan. Programs and grants are available from many

sources that range from large, complex funding efforts from the federal government to small grants from local business or parent groups. Remember, too, that

there might well be sources of funding within your community, such as civic

organizations and businesses.

Before you go to the following sites, however, you might want to check out

the SEIR◆TEC web site at http://www.seirtec.org. There you’ll find links to web

sites of funding agencies (some of which are listed among the following

resources) as well as materials from a proposal-writing workshop that SEIR◆TEC

staff members conduct for districts applying for Technology Literacy Challenge

Fund grants. The materials include tips for proposal writing, strategies for managing the proposal-writing process, and suggestions for what to include in each

section of a proposal, e.g., needs or problem statement, management plan, 

evaluation plan, and so forth. 

Federal Opportunities

http://www.ed.gov/pubs/KnowAbtGrants

“What Should I Know About ED Grants?” from the US Department of Education

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/inititiv.html

US Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge/

US Department of Education, Technology Innovation Challenge Grant

http://www.ed.gov/Technology/TLCF/

US Department of Education, Technology Literacy Challenge Fund

http://www.ed.gov/prog info/StarSchools/index.html

US Department of Education, Star Schools Program

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/ehr/esie/TE.htm

National Science Foundation, Teacher Enhancement Program

http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/ehr/esie/ISE.htm

National Science Foundation, Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education

http://www.neh.fed.us

National Endowment for the Humanities

http://198.3.128.64/edugate/

US Department of Defense

Resources
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224 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/ptfp/index.html

US Department of Commerce, Public Telecommunications Facilities Program

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/index.html

US Department of Commerce, Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure

Assistance Program

http://www.reeusda.gov/programs/distanced/dist.htm

US Department of Agriculture, distance learning projects

Private Entities

http://www.att.com/foundation/programs/education.html

AT&T—Educational programs

http://www.cisco.com/edu/

Cisco Systems—Virtual Schoolhouse Grant Program, Networking Academies,

International Schools CyberFair, Educational Archive 

http://www.microsoft.com/education/k12/

Microsoft Corporation

http://www.gatesfoundation.org

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Other Resources 

http://www.computers.fed.gov/school/user.asp

The Computers for Learning project works to place surplus federal computer

equipment in schools and educational nonprofits.

http://www.aspeninst.org/rural/ foundres.html 

“Foundation Resources, Community Networks, Telecenters, and Televillages,” an

article on private-foundation sources for rural communities, is available through

the Aspen Institute Rural Economic Policy Program. More information is available through the web site listed or by contacting Aspen Institute Rural Economic

Policy Program, 1333 New Hampshire Ave. NW #1070, Washington, DC 20036,

(202) 736-5834.

http://www. nsba.org/itte/index.html 

The National School Board Association’s Institute for the Transfer of Technology

to Education offers an array of print and online publications targeted for school

leaders. Visit the web site listed or contact NSBA, 1680 Duke Street, Alexandria,

VA 22314, (703) 838-6214.

http://www.electronic-school.com/

Electronic School

http://www.mcrel.org/products/tech/technology/funding.asp

Mid-continent Regional Educational Laboratory’s (McREL) Funding for
Funding

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Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

225

Technology page provides access to a number of reports, articles, strategies, and

sources for funding.

General Resources

American Association of School Administrators. 1995. From here to technology:

How to fund hardware, software, and more. Arlington, VA.

http://www.ed.gov/funding.html

This web site lists all of the different grants or contracts available through the US

Department of Education. 

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/tec24.html

Boethel, M.; Dimock, K.V.; and Hatch, L. 1998. Putting technology into the classroom: A guide for rural decision makers (pp. 24–29). Austin, TX: Southwest

Educational Development Laboratory. This publication is available online in

both Spanish and English.

http://www.ed.gov/funding.html

The US Department of Education’s web site has detailed information on all of

the department’s grant opportunities, as well as some general information for

those interested in applying for federal grants. 

http://www.fdncenter.org

The Foundation Center is a nonprofit organization serving grant-making private

foundations and those grant-seekers wishing to locate foundations. This site contains a wealth of information on the grant-seeking/writing process as well as

links to many foundations and their web sites.

http://www.ascd.org/readingroom/books/orlich96book.html

A summary of the book Designing Successful Grant Proposals by Donald C. Orlich

is provided by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

online.

http://www.learner.org/sami/view-category.php3?category=fund

Created by the Colorado-based Science and Math Initiative, this site contains lists

of current grant opportunities for science, math, and technology-based projects.

http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants.htm

The National Science Foundation web site provides current information on

grant opportunities.

http://www.magicnet.net/~gwest/grant.htm

Organized by the director of University of Central Florida’s Instructional

Technology Center, this page contains a wealth of information on proposal 

writing and current sources of grant funding for educators.

http://www.sun-associates.com/grantwriting.html

The Sun Associates site contains links to several successful proposals and an 

up-to-date list of online grant resources.
Funding

226 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

Putting It All Together

A conversation about funding instructional technology

What seems to be the biggest challenge faced by schools and districts

when it comes to technology funding?

We see many schools struggling as they begin trying to locate funding for their

technology plans. This struggle takes place because they lack a useful technology

plan created by a motivated, broad-based planning team. As a result, they lack

ideas or strategies for seeking the funding they need.

In many states, schools are expected to submit strategic technology plans

when they apply to their state department of education for technology funding.

Prior to this, schools either did not receive any technology funding or had to find

funding within their existing revenue streams. The advent of programs such as

the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF), which provides funding to

states which then pass it on to schools, has changed much of this. Schools can

access these funds, but they have to justify their expenditures through a school

technology plan.

In theory, this should be pretty simple. It should be just a matter of creating

a grant proposal that draws from the plan and the energies of the committee. In

practice, however, we have found that it doesn’t always happen that way.

We are finding that most technology plans and the proposals that grow out of

them are lacking in specifics as to how technology will impact teaching and learning. The vision statement may spell out the connection between technology and

learning, but the plan’s subsequent goals, objectives, and actions relate mostly to

buying hardware and software and perhaps offering some basic how-to workshops for teachers. Therefore, when a school goes to that plan to find the fundable ideas, they wind up with no ideas. In other words, most technology plans do

not support the generation of proposals.

Furthermore, we often find that the committee of stakeholders is really a

handful of teachers and administrators who are either dedicated to the cause or

who have been drafted into the plan-writing task. We find that when the technology plan is a useful document and where the committee is truly motivated

and broad-based, there is a plethora of good ideas turning into proposals that

get funded! This is the reason why some schools (or districts) keep getting more

and more funding while others don’t receive any. We constantly observe that in

the area of proposal-writing, success breeds more success. Basically, that success

exemplifies a quality technology plan. 

If this is a common situation, what’s the solution?

Leadership is required to create a meaningful technology plan, and it is also

required to secure funding for that plan. Essentially, leadership provides the safe

space within which these efforts can occur. This space is defined by setting 

priorities that encourage and support particular types of effort and recognizing
Funding

SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

227

the benefits of those efforts. Schools that have this sort of leadership are most

likely to be successful in many ways—technology included. 

Many educators don’t realize the amount of change that the introduction of

technology brings. They may set their expectations too high at the beginning or

may become discouraged if the implementation process is lengthy and difficult.

Sometimes, administrative support wanes after one or two grants have been won.

We have also seen districts that don’t place technology high on their list of

priorities. Even worse, grant funds may come in and end up being spent on other

projects because key administrators do not truly honor guidelines in a proposal.

No amount of modeling or how-to lists for proposal writing will fix district or

school leadership that lacks vision, priorities, or willingness to dedicate itself to making technology happen. These underlying issues need to be remedied first, so that

a good foundation can be created for technology planning and implementation. 

So, let’s suppose that a school does have supportive leadership; the 

bottom line still seems to be that there is never enough funding to fully

support technology implementation. How does one address that issue?

You’re right, grants and proposals seldom provide full funding. The real bottom

line is that schools need to redirect existing funding to support the integration of

technology into the curriculum. Yes, making existing funds pay for some technology requires reallocation of funding, and this requires strong leadership.

Finally, everyone needs to realize that no plan will be 100% funded or 100%

implemented. Changes and compromises will (and must) be made. The ultimate

goal is to achieve the vision, and this cannot come without some degree of 

compromise. 

This may be redundant, but could you sum up what your experience 

has shown to be the basic recipe for success for schools to secure 

technology funding? 

Sure, based on our experience and in order of importance, the factors for 

success are:

• Strong leadership on the part of school officials 

• A technology plan with concrete goals that support a sound vision of 

technology’s role in improving teaching and learning

• Clear understanding of the relationship between curriculum and technology

tools

• An energetic and skilled group of staff members who are willing to invest 

the time—often to some extent at their own expense—to write a compelling 

proposal out of that plan

• An understanding of your school’s, district’s, and community’s needs
228 Planning into Practice

Chapter 8: Funding Your Technology Plan

Funding

SEIR◆TEC
Appendix

Appendix
Table of Contents

Chapter 2

Forming Your Technology Planning Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231

Technology Planning Timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232

Technology Needs Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233

Technology Inventory Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234

Core Values Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236

Action Plan Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237

Chapter 3 

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238

Classroom Activity Planning Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241

Classroom Observation Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244

Technology Integration Progress Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245

Chapter 4

Professional Development Idea Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .257

Chapter 5

Community Resources Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261

Chapter 6 

Software Selection Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .262

Educational Software Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .263

Chapter 7 

Evaluation Committee Composition Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265

Technology Evaluation Organizing Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266

Developing Indicators Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

Classroom Observation Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

Appendix
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice 231

Forming Your Technology

Planning Committee

Expertise Technology Planning Committee

Teachers Administrators Parents Others

Curriculum 

Design

Professional 

Development

Technology 

Infrastructure

Fiscal and 

Budgetary

Policy

Process Tasks

(Writing, calling

meetings, etc.)

Appendix
232 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

Week 17

Week 18

Technology Planning Timeline
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

233

1. What types of activities do teachers use with educational technologies and how often do they use

those activities? 

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

2. Do teachers have access to a computer for their own use, or do they routinely use a personally

owned computer to prepare materials for use in their classrooms?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

3. What ideas does the staff have about what is needed to make technology more useful?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

4. What student benefits has the staff observed in relation to the use of technology in the school/

classroom?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

5. What new software or hardware do teachers frequently request for use in classrooms? 

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

6. What are examples of special work or projects teachers and students have done with technology?

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

7. Which courses or subjects most often use technology? 

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Needs Survey
234 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 1 of 2)

Operating systems

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Computers: include manufacturer, processor type and speed, capacity of ROM, capacity of

RAM, CD drive, networked, standalone. See district property and inventory report for details.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Peripherals

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

235

Other

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Networks: Local or Wide Area

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Telephone access

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Internet access

________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

E-mail provider

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Software applications

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 2 of 2)
236 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Instructions: Use the spaces below to list five reasons why technology is important to the students

and teachers in your school. Start by thinking about how technology can impact and improve 

student learning. 

Technology is important to students and teachers because:

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Core Values Worksheet
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

237

Goal Group: Statement of Goal: Activities Responsible Begins Hardware/ Other resources Professional Budget

person /ends software required development allowed for 

required required this activity

Evaluation

Action Plan Worksheet
238 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Available Technology

Inventory Worksheet (page 1 of 3)

Remember that you might have access to technology that is not physically located in your classroom. Check with your librarian, school technology coordinator, and/or other teachers to find out

if resources exist that you might borrow or share with other teachers. 

Computers

• Computers for teacher use (where and how many?) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Computers for student use (portables, AlphaSmarts, lab computers, classroom computers, etc.;

where and how many?)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Presentation and output devices

• Projection devices (e.g., scan converter, LCD, video projector)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Printers

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Input Devices

• Scanners 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Digital cameras

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Digital video cameras

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

239

Internet

• Teacher access 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Student access (Existence of Internet acceptable use policy)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Software and applications (Note: identify what is available for teacher, students, or both)

Applications technology

• Basic productivity (word processor, spreadsheet, database)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Presentation manager (e.g., PowerPoint) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Multimedia production (e.g., HyperStudio) 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Reference materials (e.g., multimedia encyclopedia such as Encarta)

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Subject area—specific technology (Note that many applications are multidisciplinary.) 

• Math software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 2 of 3)
Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission 240

Appendix

Available Technology Inventory Worksheet (page 3 of 3)

• Science software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Language arts software applications 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Social studies software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Visual Arts (e.g., drawing) software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Music software applications

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

Communications technology

• World Wide Web/Internet

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• E-mail

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

• Internet-based videoconferencing 

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

241

Classroom Activity Planning

Template (page 1 of 3)

Description of the proposed classroom activity

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Student learning objectives

What is the purpose of this activity? What sorts of student dispositions and/or attitudes will this

activity support? How does this activity impact student interactions with others?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Specific curriculum objectives

How does this activity support particular curriculum objectives, framework elements, and so

forth?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
242 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Classroom Activity Planning Template (page 2 of 3)

Assessment

How do you plan to assess student achievement of learning objectives? Rubrics, indicators, and

so forth?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Technology to be used in this activity

State why this particular technology will be used.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Nontechnology resources or materials to be used in this activity

e.g., books, original sources, manipulatives, etc.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Time necessary to complete this activity

Class days required, start to finish

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

243

Activity timeline/procedure

As specifically as possible, please describe this activity on a day-by-day, step-by-step basis. Be

sure to include student directions, expectations, and teacher instructions. Please use additional

sheets as necessary.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Ideas for extended activities

How might this particular activity be extended to cover other curriculum units? If time were

available, how might you expand this activity?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Assessment/evaluation

What are your criteria for success? How will you know that this unit has had the student

impacts related to the identified learning objectives?

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Classroom Activity Planning Template (page 3 of 3)
244 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Classroom Observation Worksheet

School ________________________________ Teacher ___________________________________

Grade Level ____________________________ Subject ___________________________________

Describe the types of computer applications the students are using in the classroom

(tutorials, applications, exploration, or communication).

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

What is the instructional purpose of the activity? 

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Describe how technology is contributing to learning.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

245

Technology Integration

Progress Gauge (page 1 of 12)

State ____________________________________________

School System __________________________________

School __________________________________________

Completed By 

(Circle all that apply)

a. District Staff School Staff

b. Administrator(s) Coordinator(s)

Teacher(s) Media Staff

Other: ______________________________________

c. Entire Faculty Tech Team

School Improvement Team

Other: ______________________________________

School Contact

Person: __________________________________________

Phone: __________________________________________

E-mail: __________________________________________

Reporting For (circle) 

Fall 1999 Spring 2000

SEIR◆TEC Coordinator

_________________________________________________

Completion Date

_________________________________________________

SEIR◆TEC

Technology Integration Progress Gauge

Intensive Site Project—Site Profile

The intent of this instrument is to provide a simple tool to help school leaders (a) reflect on activities to date vis-à-vis effective practices in technology integration, (b) think about what needs to

be done in order to impact teaching and learning through the use of technology resources, and

(c) consider strategies for maximizing the impact of technology. The instrument is not to be used

as an evaluation tool or an instrument to determine a grade. SEIR◆TEC will not attempt to collapse

individual intensive site profiles into a single figure, such as an average or grade. Similarly, there

will be no attempt to rank intensive site schools according to the profile data. Instead this instrument is to be used as a tool to develop a school profile of technology integration and impact at

periodic times during the intensive site project.

The instrument consists of the five domains presented in a table format. The domains (labeled

I, II, etc.) are described by two or more indicators. Each indicator has four levels of implementation. The four levels are:

• Minimal: Little or no evidence of implementation.

• Beginning: Implementation is occurring and evidence exists of capacity-building strategies

in place.

• Intermediate: Plans exist and activities have begun for scaling up to a higher or sustainable

level.

• Advanced: Strategies and activities are institutionalized and evidence exists that changes

made will be sustained.
246 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 2 of 12)

Instructions to SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator and District and/or School Contacts

Preparation:

1. Discuss the purpose of the instrument with district and/or school contacts.

2. Determine which school team or school staff will complete this instrument. Those selected

should have responsibility for technology integration at the school.

3. Provide the group an overview of the instrument and the instructions for completing the

form. Emphasize that this is a tool for reflection and marking current status of technology

integration.

4. Establish a process for completing the instrument (e.g., individually first, then as a group; as

a total group; parts by individuals, then consensus by the group).

5. Retain one copy of the instrument for final reporting.

Instructions to Intensive Site Staff

Completion: 

1. Read the indicators for each domain and determine which of the four levels of implementation of each indicator best describes your school at this point in time. 

2. Circle the number corresponding to that level of implementation. Do not circle more than

one number or mark a halfway point. Select the level that best represents your current

level. Interpret “few,” “some,” “many,” and “most” as follows:

a. few = less than 25% of the indicated group

b. some = 25% to 75% of the indicated group

c. many = more than 75% of the indicated group

d. most = almost all of the indicated group

3. In the Comments/Supporting Information block, add information to describe the status of

your project and list the sources for your decision. The responses in the Comments/

Supporting Information block will be useful on subsequent completions of the Gauge in

order to establish progress. 

4. Use the three empty tables at the end of this instrument to add indicators that help describe

other technology-related activities at your school. Completion of these empty tables is optional

but may be necessary to provide a complete profile of technology integration and impact at

your intensive site school.
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

247

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 3 of 12)

Instructions to Intensive Site Staff and SEIR◆TEC Coordinator

Reporting:

1. Prepare a final copy based on the decisions by the group.

2. Verify the contact and completion information at the top of page 1.

3. Make copies and distribute as follows:

a. Original to SEIR◆TEC Director

b. Copy to intensive site school contact and/or district contact

c. Copy for SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Partner 

d. Copy for SEIR◆TEC Intensive Site Coordinator

Glossary

Community—Group including school members as well as public and private individuals, 

businesses, and /or agencies in the area served by the school.

Higher-level learning—Student activities involving one or more of the following: peer 

collaboration, integration of higher-order thinking skills, self-directed tasks, multidisciplinary

assignments, authentic learning opportunities (based on real-world events or tasks).
248 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 4 of 12)

Domains and Indicators

1 Level of Student Engagement

There is evidence that:

A. Students are involved in higher-order thinking skills activities supported by technology. 

12 34

B. Students are meeting the school’s expectations for levels of technology use. 

12 34

Few, if any, students

are involved in learning activities requiring

peer collaboration and

interaction, technology

applications, or higherorder thinking skills.

Some students are participating in technologybased learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills. A few

students are sharing

their technology skills

in collaborative groups.

Many students are

involved in authentic,

technology-based

learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills to solve

real problems.

Most students are

involved in self-directed,

authentic, technologybased learning activities

that are multidisciplinary

and require peer collaboration and interaction

as well as higher-order

thinking skills to solve

real problems. New

products and understandings are evolving.

Comments/Supporting Information:

A few students are

achieving levels of

appropriate, initial technology use in learning

activities, as defined by

the school or school/

district technology plan

for their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the plan. Some 

students are exploring

more advanced uses of

technology.

Some students are

engaged in activities to

build the technology

use skills expected for

their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the school/district

plan. Many students are

achieving the expected

levels and some students are developing

skills in more advanced

uses of technology.

Many students are

applying the technology

use skills and have 

documented mastery of

the school expectations

for their grade and the

stage of implementation

of the school/district

plan. Many students 

are exploring more

advanced uses of technology and some are

demonstrating mastery.

Most students have 

met the school’s 

expectations for technology use for their

grade and for the stage

of implementation of

the school/district plan.

Most are using regularly

the skills mastered and

are continuing to 

develop skills in more

advanced uses of 

technology.

Comments/Supporting Information:
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

249

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 5 of 12)

2 Environment for Teacher Engagement

There is evidence that:

A. Teachers design and implement technology-based learning experiences that promote higherlevel learning for students and authentic assessment. 

12 34

B. Teachers demonstrate the expected level of technology use. (Levels from ACOT Study.)

Entry: Teachers are inexperienced and, possibly, inefficient in the use of technology. Many have misgivings regarding technology innovation, and

frustration is common.

Adoption: Teachers begin to incorporate technology into existing teaching practice,

primarily to teach about technology and as a means of delivering 

traditional instruction.

Adaptation: Teachers are integrating technology into the traditional teaching day.

Classroom practices are still primarily traditional, but use of the computer

as a tool is pervasive. Productivity and increased performance on traditional measurements are used as indicators of success.

Appropriation: Teachers use technology in everything they do, to the point that the 

use of the technology in the lives of teachers and students is almost

transparent.

Few or no teachers

design and implement

student activities that

require peer collaboration or integration or

use of higher-order

thinking skills. They

are using technology

mainly for demonstrations with minimum

adaptations and little

integration into their

ongoing program. Most

teachers plan and

teach in isolation.

Some teachers design

and implement student

learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction as

well as use of higherorder thinking skills.

Groups of teachers are

collaborating on use 

of specific technologies

and resources and

some are implementing

the ideas individually 

or as a team. Some 

teachers are using technology for assessment.

Many teachers design

and implement authentic learning activities

requiring peer collaboration and interaction

as well as use of higher-order thinking skills

to solve real problems.

Many teachers are

planning and teaching

collaboratively, using

specific technologies

and resources. Some

teachers are designing

authentic assessment

tools using technology

resources.

Most teachers design

and implement 

technology-based, selfdirected, multidisciplinary, authentic learning

opportunities requiring

peer collaboration and

interaction as well as

use of higher-order

thinking skills. Many use

technology resources to

plan and teach collaboratively and to design

authentic assessment

tools.

Comments/Supporting Information:
250 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 6 of 12)

Invention: Teachers are experimenting with new roles and new instructional 

strategies. The entire classroom is transformed and students are more

engaged in learning and more self-directed.

12 34

C. Teachers integrate technology into all subject areas, using resources that map technology

to curriculum. 

12 34

Almost all of the 

teachers are engaged

in activities typical of

the entry stage. A few,

if any, are beginning to

model actions typical

of the adoption stage.

A majority of the

teachers has reached

the adoption stage.

Some teachers are

beginning to discuss

how to adapt the technology to teaching and

learning with a few

beginning to try customized versions of

existing resources.

A majority of the

teachers is engaged in

the activities typical of

the adaptation stage.

Some of the teachers

are beginning to 

combine technology

resources and instructional strategies using

technology in all 

learning activities.

A majority of the 

teachers is engaged in

activities typical of the

appropriation stage. 

A few teachers have

begun exploring areas

associated with the

invention stage.

Comments/Supporting Information:

Few teachers are aware

of technology resources

that support specific

topics or lessons. 

There is no correlation

or mapping of the

existing resources to

the curriculum. Few 

or no teachers are integrating technology into

subject areas.

Teachers have access

to a school inventory

of available technology

tools and resources.

Mapping the technology resources to the

curriculum has begun.

Some teachers are

piloting technology

integration strategies

and lessons.

Mapping the technology resources to the 

curriculum has been

completed. Many

teachers have been

introduced to the

guides that map technology to all subject

areas. Some teachers

have begun using them

in their day-to-day

instruction. Many

teachers have begun

limited technology 

integration lessons.

Most teachers are 

integrating technology

into all subject areas,

using the guides that

map existing technology

resources to the 

curriculum. 

Comments/Supporting Information:
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

251

3 Availability and Accessibility of Appropriate Resources

There is evidence that:

A. Technology resources are available and are being used to support a variety of student and

teacher experiences.

12 34

B. Technology has been allocated in such a way as to support its constructive use in the

teaching and learning environment.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 7 of 12)

Few teachers and staff

know what technology

resources are available

and how to operate

them. Few technology

resources exist. They

have not been 

inventoried recently

nor checked for 

operational status. 

Some teachers and

staff are learning to

operate specific

technology equipment.

Some technology

resources have been

checked and inventoried by location and

primary use. 

Many teachers have

received information

on the technology

resources available.

Some teachers have

used selected resources

for instructional 

activities.

Most teachers are using

a wide variety of the

available technology

resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:

No plan exists to 

allocate technology

resources to maximize

the impact on teaching

and learning. Location

of existing technology

resources is based on

past use, initial program

purchase, or personal

request. Few, if any,

teachers have expressed

an interest in a change

in the allocation of the

technology resources.

Some discussions have

occurred to design an

allocation and replacement schedule to 

support constructive

use of technology in

the classroom, labs,

and media center. For

example, a school

technology team is

studying the current

allocation of technology

resources and the related allocation policies.

A plan is being implemented to allocate the

existing technology

resources for maximum

use and impact on 

student learning. Work

is in progress to design

an allocation schedule

for future purchases

and routine upgrades.

Individuals are identified to be responsible

for maintaining this

allocation process.

The technology

resources in the school

are available for 

just-in-time learning

experiences, whether

through a checkout

standalone mode or by

a networking environment. School staff has

input on allocation of

existing and new 

technology resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:
252 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 8 of 12)

C. School individuals have equitable access to technology.

12 34

Limited access to the

technology resources is

available to the school

staff during school

hours and from school

locations. Discussions

may be occurring on

extending access, from

off-school sites and

beyond the school day.

A group of school staff

is testing access to

school technology by

checkout and by

telecommunications

after school hours and

from homes. The

school is developing

policies on access to

school technology by

staff and students.

A policy exists for use

of school technology

by staff and students

and has been shared.

Guidelines on equitable use are being

developed. As a result

of the pilot testing, an

expanded number of

staff and students are

now using school technology resources. 

Technology resources

are accessible to the

school staff and students on an equitable

basis and from off-site

locations and beyond

school hours. Access is

based on policies in

the school technology

plan. Staff members are

making routine use of

the resources.

Comments/Supporting Information:
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

253

4 Organizational Support

There is evidence that:

A. Organizational structure exists for support of all aspects of technology integration.

12 34

B. Organizational capacity fosters transformations in school leadership to support technology and the

changes it brings to teaching roles and methodologies.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 9 of 12)

Within the school and

the district, there is little to no organizational

structure to support

technology use or set

direction for technology

integration.

The need for support

of technology integration has been recognized and school staff

members have been

assigned to provide

minimal support. A

group has formed to

identify what type of

support is needed for

technology integration.

Individuals are identified to provide hardware and instructional

support to staff. The

school is addressing

reports on or requests

for support needed for

successful technology

integration. 

School and district leaders have designated personnel and approved a

process for supporting

technology integration 

via training, maintenance,

technical assistance, purchasing consultation, 

and instructional modeling. Periodic input on 

the support needed is

gathered.

Comments/Supporting Information:

No policies exist at the

school or district level

that encourage school

leaders to use technology. Few opportunities occur for school

leaders to gain technology skills or to witness

use of technology in

the instructional program at model schools

or conferences.

School leaders are

beginning to use technology for work and to

participate in meetings

and sessions on technology use in changing

teaching and learning

in the classroom.

Discussions have

occurred about developing policies on the

use of and support for

technology by school

leaders. 

Many school leaders

are using technology

routinely for their work

and are supporting

requests from teachers

to gain technology

skills or participate in

events focusing on

technology integration.

The school is developing policies that will

foster use by and 

support from school

leaders for technology

and change.

Policies exist and

opportunities occur 

regularly from the 

district and/or regional

level that encourage

school leaders to be

users of technology and

to support technology

in the instructional program. As a result, most

school leaders routinely

use technology themselves, initiate reviews

of technology use, and

encourage use by staff. 

Comments/Supporting Information:
254 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

School and/or district

policies have been

developed for equitable availability and

use of existing technology. Random

strategies are being

implemented to ensure

equity.

Neither school nor district policies exist on

equitable availability

and use of technology.

A school plan for

implementing technology to ensure equitable availability and

use for teaching and

learning is in place.

Successful strategies for

equity are being identified.

Schools are following

district policies on 

equitable availability

and use of technology.

Technology activities

based on equitable

availability and use 

are incorporated into

school improvement

plans and staff professional development

plans.

C. Policies exist that support the equitable availability and use of technology.

12 34

D. Effective and ongoing staff-development opportunities exist to support capacity building

for using technology to improve teaching and learning. 

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 10 of 12)

Comments/Supporting Information:

Although technologybased staff-development topics have been

identified, only a few,

unrelated technologybased staff-development activities have

occurred.

Some technologybased staff-development sessions have

occurred and initial

activities resulting from

the sessions have been

tried in classrooms.

Teachers have begun

seeking ways to integrate technology.

A staff-development

plan, including evaluation of student and

staff needs, exists for

using technology to

improve teaching and

learning. Some teachers are collaborating

on best practices in

using technology in

teaching and learning.

Teachers are being

evaluated on their

effective use of technology as a result of

training sessions

attended.

School and district

administrators support

continuous staff-development opportunities

for improving teaching

and learning, with

seamless technology

uses. A committee

exists to provide longrange planning on

technology-based staff

development and sharing of best practices.

Use of technology

effectively is an integral

part of the teacher

evaluation process.

Comments/Supporting Information:
SEIR◆TEC Planning into Practice

Appendix

255

E. Teachers and administrators use technology as an information management tool.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 11 of 12)

Although teachers and

administrators are

aware of information

management tools,

few, if any, staff members are using such

tools.

Some school staff

members have access

to and have received

training to use information management

tools. 

Many school staff 

members use information management tools

for daily classroom

tasks and for submitting

reports and documents.

Some staff members are

seeking new tools and

additional uses for

existing tools. 

Most school staff

members prepare and

submit reports and

documents using

information management tools as required

by administrators.

Many school staff

members provide 

regular input on new

tools needed.

Comments/Supporting Information:
256 Planning into Practice SEIR◆TEC

Appendix

5 Community Involvement 

There is evidence that:

A. Community supports the school’s integration of technology in teaching and learning.

12 34

B. Community shares in the use of the school’s technology.

12 34

Technology Integration Progress Gauge (page 12 of 12)

Plans may have been

developed but not

implemented to inform

the community of the

school’s efforts to 

integrate technology.

Some segments of 

the community are

knowledgeable of the

school’s efforts to 

integrate technology

into teaching and

learning. 

Many community

groups have plans in

place and have begun

activities to enhance

the current technology

integration activities of

the school. Community

members are meeting

with school groups to

plan technology integration activities.

Most community

groups support technology integration into

the school’s teaching

and learning environment by maintaining a

consistent presence 

in school activities.

Ongoing school committees are required to

include community

members.

Comments/Supporting Information:

Few or no plans exist

for the community 

to use the school’s

technology. 

Some school and community members are

developing policies

and strategies for community members to use

the school’s technology;

e.g., for after-hours

adult literacy training

or e-mailing with

teachers.

Several community

groups are beginning

to use the school’s

technology according

to approved policies

and guidelines.

The school and community members actively

promote community

groups’ use of the

school’s technology.

Comments/Supporting Information:
© Sun Associates, used by permission Planning into Practice

Appendix

257

Integration Idea

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Impact 

(It’s not necessarily true that every idea will impact each of the following populations, but if your

integration is truly systemic, there’s a good chance that it will. In a sentence or two try to describe

how your idea for technology implementation will impact each of the following.)

Impact on Teachers

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Impact on Students

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Impact on Administrators

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Impact on Community and Others

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Professional Development Idea

Worksheet (page 1 of 4)
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Appendix

Hook to your District (or School) Technology Plan 

(All aspects of technology integration should be reflected in the vision and goals of your strategic technology plan. Describe below how your idea for integration supports one or more goals

in your technology plan. )

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Who’s Responsible? 

(Who will take the lead responsibility on various aspects of your professional-development

idea? Once again, not every idea will have all of these aspects, but most will.)

Professional Development

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Infrastructure (hardware, software, and network installation, maintenance, 

support, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Communication/Documentation of Success (Who’s going to tell your community about the 

outcomes from implementing this idea?)

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Other

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 2 of 4)
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259

Timeline

Use this space (or another sheet) to create a step-by-step procedure for implementing your

idea. 

Who? Does what? When?

Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 3 of 4)
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Appendix

Professional Development Idea Worksheet (page 4 of 4)

Evaluation and Reflection

Nothing fancy here, but just take a moment to describe how you will know whether you were

successful in the implementation of your idea. Will there be interim project benchmarks? Will

there be something that you can qualitatively describe or quantitatively count as outcomes from

your idea? 

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
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261

Type and name Potential contribution Contact Who will

of organization or collaboration person contact them?

Colleges/

universities

Libraries/

museums

Business 

organizations

Local 

businesses

Religious 

organizations

Community 

organizations

Local media

Telecommunications

or technology 

organizations

Community Resources Worksheet
262 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Software Selection Framework

Desired subject areas (e.g., mathematics, language arts, social studies, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Targeted grades

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Intended use (What curriculum objectives will it serve? When during the year will it be used?

How many students will use it?)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Type of software (i.e., tutorial, communications)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Teachers/departments using the software

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Special student considerations (primary language, special needs, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

Infrastructure considerations (hardware platform, network requirements, multimedia, special

support, etc.)

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________
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263

Educational Software Evaluation (page 1 of 2)

Evaluator ________________________________

Today’s Date _____________________________

Software Title _____________________________

__________________________________________

Cost _____________________________________

Publisher ________________________________

Subject Area(s) ___________________________

Date Published ___________________________

Age/Grade Range _________________________

Platform _________________________________

__________________________________________

Network Version? __________________________

System Requirements _____________________

__________________________________________

1. What is the overall purpose or use of this software application? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. How would you best classify the use of this software? 

a. Tutorial (including drill and practice) d. Reference

b. Exploration e. Entertainment

c. Application or productivity tool f. Other_____________________________

3. Does the content appear educationally sound and well-researched, e.g., does it mesh with

national standards and curriculum frameworks, is the information current and free of bias and

stereotype?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Is the program sufficiently easy to maneuver through, e.g., does it allow you to save your

work at any point, can you easily return to a main menu or orienting point, are the graphics

and icons clear?) 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
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Appendix

Educational Software Evaluation (page 2 of 2)

5. Describe how you envision your students using this software, e.g., would they be working

alone or in cooperative groups, in the classroom, laboratory, or library, as part of regular

classroom work or as an add-on, reward? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

6. What do you most like about this software? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

7. What do you like least? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

8. What are your impressions of the supporting documentation, e.g., installation and troubleshooting instructions, teacher’s guide, lesson plans, extension activities?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

9. Does the cost of the software seem appropriate? Is there enough flexibility to allow students

to use the program multiple times, can the difficulty level grow with the student, are you 

paying a premium for fancy graphics that don’t necessarily impact the learning experience?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

10. Does the publisher offer technical and educational support for its products? How accessible

is this support, how quickly do they respond, are they sensitive to the needs of teachers using

the program in a classroom setting?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
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265

Evaluation Committee Composition

Matrix

To create and conduct your technology evaluation, you need a committee composed of educational stakeholders who will actively work to help create the evaluation. Remember:

• You will need committee members who represent all aspects of your school community. This

means teachers (from a variety of grades and/or subject areas), administrators, parents, community members (e.g., businesspeople), and perhaps students.

• Do not load your committee with figureheads who are not willing to actually work on the

plan.

• The evaluation process contains many different tasks. You need writers, curriculum people,

infrastructure people, people who are good with budgets, and policy people.

• The commitment to be a part of the technology-evaluation committee is not a short-term commitment. A formative evaluation by definition is ongoing and iterative. The committee members should be willing to assist in your school’s technology-evaluation efforts long after the

data are collected and reports are written. 

Teachers Administrators Parents Others

Curriculum

Professional 

Development

Infrastructure

Process Tasks

(editing, calling 

meetings, etc.)
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Appendix

When thinking about program evaluation, it is useful to consider some organizing questions.

Working in groups, please answer the following questions. Be prepared to report out your

answers at the conclusion of the group work.

1. This evaluation will evaluate various aspects of how well technology has been integrated in

your schools and district. What does integration mean to you? Provide some examples.

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. All programs must have a driving purpose. What is the best reason your district has implemented and integrated technology as a part of its teaching and learning environment?

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. Evaluation is about measuring change. When evaluating how well your schools and district

have integrated technology, what sort of changes do you expect to see as a result of this 

integration? 

__________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Changes related to teachers?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Changes related to students?

__________________________________________________________________________________

Other changes?

__________________________________________________________________________________

4. Change produces results. Evaluation measures those results against expectations. Identify three

aspects of technology integration that can be measured in order to evaluate the change that has

occurred in your schools and district as a result of technology integration.

a. ________________________________________________________________________________

b. ________________________________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________________________________

Technology Evaluation Organizing

Questions
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267

Developing Indicators Worksheet

Working with a small group of stakeholders, identify 3 (or more) indicators for each of the 

following categories.

An indicator is a simple statement of what you would expect to find or see that demonstrates

a particular attribute. For example, one indicator of the season known as summer might be:

“Warm temperatures inspire people to wear lighter clothing.” Inversely, if we see people wearing light clothing, one possible conclusion (applying our indicator) is that the season is summer.

Effective Use of Technology

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Technology’s Impact on Students 

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

Technology’s Impact on Teachers

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________
268 Planning into Practice © Sun Associates, used by permission

Appendix

Classroom Observation Template

Teaching—Learning Methods (e.g., direct instruction, project-based learning)

Brief Description of Classroom Activity/Lesson

Student Groupings (single, small, large, etc.) and Interactions

Technology (hardware and software) and/or Instructional Materials In Use

Number of Computers in this Classroom

Other Notes

School

Teacher Grade/Subject

Class Size (est.) 

Observer Date
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269

Sample Teacher Focus Group

Questions (page 1 of 5)

Student Access and Use Questions

1. Describe how your students typically use lab or classroom computers.

2. What kind of software is available for student use in the classroom or lab?

3. How do students typically use the computers...and why? (i.e., probe for the reasons why they

favor a particular pattern of use...e.g., “You can’t do anything with one computer; each 

student needs to work individually;” class management issues; etc.)

4. Could you give me an estimate of the percentage of students who have access to a computer

at home?
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Appendix

5. We’re interested in your impressions of how the information technology you have just

described has impacted your students’ learning. Overall, how have students been impacted

by the use of technology in your school? (probe for examples, evidence)

Special or specific assessments? 

Nothing in addition to nontechnology-specific assessments. 

Other?

6. How do you evaluate your students in terms of their technology use?

7. What does technology allow your students to do now—either physically or intellectually—

that would have been impossible (or at least more difficult) before technology was widely

available in your school? (allow for the fact that they may not think that technology is 

currently widely available)

8. What changes could be made to technology in your school that would allow your students

to benefit more from technology?

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 2 of 5)
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271

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 3 of 5)

Teacher Fluency Questions

9. Please describe how you most frequently make use of school computers. We don’t want to

know all of what you do...just what you most often do. (probe for uses directly related to

instruction, administrative uses/record keeping, personal productivity, etc.)

10. OK, that’s what you most frequently do. Now tell us some of the other things...regardless of

how often you might do them.

11. If not on your desk or in your classroom, where do you use computers most often?

12. Do you have access to a computer at home? (yes or no answer)

13. How accessible are the classroom or lab computers to teachers throughout the day?
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Appendix

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 4 of 5)

14. What, if any, impact has the use of information technology had on your teaching? (probe for

the following list without reading it)

15. In what ways has your professional practice (i.e., teaching) improved through the use of technology? (designed to be pretty open-ended. Allow for the fact that the improvement may

have been mostly negative)

16. What barriers have you encountered in trying to use technology in the classroom?

Teacher Vision/Strategy Questions

17. How do you get your ideas for integrating technology in the classroom?
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273

Sample Teacher Focus Group Questions (page 5 of 5)

18. What is the most interesting or intriguing use of technology in education that you have ever

heard about? It doesn’t matter to us whether you can actually DO this yet...we just want to

know what you find interesting. 

Teacher Access and Professional Development Questions

19. What changes would you like to see made in your school with regard to how technology is

allocated or structured? (note that they may comment on both physical infrastructure as well

as support issues)

20. How often is technology staff development offered at your school and/or in the district...and

who is responsible for conducting this training?

21. What barriers have you encountered in terms of getting the technology training you want

and/or need?

22. What has been the most useful use technology workshop you have attended, and why?

23. Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

Thank You for Your Time!!