Technology Plan 2014-2017

In analyzing data collected related to the Technology Plan during the 2013-2014 school year, the following conclusions were drawn:

• Expected differences in technology use exist between middle schools and elementary schools.
  Given that middle school students each have their own Chromebook, this conclusion was expected. Middle school students have access to a device all day, each day, and they use technology much more frequently as part of their learning.
• Student work and learning remains focused in the classroom rather than on connections beyond the classroom and school.
  The CCSD21 PLC “Authentic Learning” Area of Focus is based on two ideas: (1) access to the world via the Internet allows students to learn from and share with others beyond the traditional confines of the classroom and school; (2) when students learn curriculum by solving real problems for real purposes that impact real audiences, they are more motivated and learn more. At this time, most student work in CCSD21 schools remains focused on the teacher and classroom rather than connecting to the world beyond school.
• Students are hyper-connected but not like many adults may think.
  Of CCSD21 7th & 8th graders, only 56% maintain a current Facebook page. 61% are using Instagram, and 36% are using Twitter. A number of additional chat and social media services are additionally used by students on both computers and mobile devices.
• More families have access to the Internet, but a Digital Divide still exists in CCSD21.
  In 2008, approximately 70% of families in School District 21 had Internet access. During the last six years, this has grown to 82% of families that have Internet access at home. As the rate of Internet access at home has slowed over the years, like “losing those last five pounds” when dieting, it will likely prove increasingly difficult to continue closing this gap. At the same time, the rate of smartphone adoption among adults in School District 21 families has skyrocketed. In 2011, less than 50% of families included an adult with a smartphone. By 2014, that number had climbed to 84%. While adults are more connected, this does not necessarily mean that there are data tethering plans on these phones that allow students to connect their Chromebooks to the Internet via these devices.
• Students with Internet access at home perform better on standardized assessments.
  Using 2013 ISAT, NWEA, and Aprenda Reading and Math data, students with Internet access at home performed significantly better than their peers who did not have Internet access at home. This finding was also consistent with research conducted during 2008 and 2011.
• Technology use has become ubiquitous among staff members in their work. Technology enhances collaboration among staff.
  Showing changes that mirror those in other parts of daily life, in 2014, 98% of staff members use technology daily to complete their work. Even after less than one year of using Google Apps, 91% of staff members are using Google Drive each week, and 87% of staff members are using collaboration features in Google Apps at least once per week.
• While some staff members engage deeply in ongoing learning via online Professional Learning Networks, they constitute only a small percentage of staff members.
  There are a number of School District 21 staff members that are engaging in anytime, anywhere professional learning using social media, such as Twitter and Google+. At the same time, the overall percentage of staff members learning through these channels remains small. Nevertheless, with the district-wide adoption of Google Apps including the use of Google+, it has proven to be yield the highest percentage of users. In early 2014, over 28% of staff members were already using Google+ at least weekly for professional learning.
• Students state that they are more interested and learning more in a 1:1 environment.
  77% of middle school students state that they are finding learning more interesting since the adoption of Chromebooks for each student, and 65% of students state that they are learning more as a result of having a Chromebook.