1. EDTECH 501‐4172 (SU09)
Susan Ferdon
Technology Use Needs Assessment ­ Justification
This needs assessment has been created for the school at which I teach, Kipling Elementary
School (K‐5) in Deerfield, Illinois. Deerfield is an affluent community with low mobility.
Detailed information about Kipling School can be accessed on the Interactive Illinois Report
Card website:
http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?source=School%20Profile&schoolID=340491090022003&
level=S
The school district places a strong emphasis on teaching and learning that is standards‐
based, data‐driven, and incorporates current best practice. With that in mind, the following
resources were used to guide the selection of survey topics and questions for this needs
assessment:
o NETS‐Student (1a,1c, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3d, 6a, 6b)
o NETS‐Teacher (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 2a, 3a, 3c, 5a)
o NETS for Students: Achievement Rubric, grade 5 (1a.1, 1a.3, 1b1, 3a, 3b, 6a, 6b)
http://www.ncrel.org/tech/nets/p‐12rubric.pdf
o No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title II, Part D – Enhancing Education Through
Technology. http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg34.html
o Technology in Schools: What the Research Says, by Metiri Group.
http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/TechnologyinSchoolsReport.
pdf
o An Educator's Guide to Evaluating The Use of Technology in Schools and Classrooms at
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/EdTechGuide/ , Appendix C.
o Wisconsin’s Model for Academic Standards for Information and Technology Literacy,
Standard A, 4th grade (p. 4‐5). http://dpi.wi.gov/imt/itlstfst.html
Metiri Group research shows that “in schools with sufficient access (e.g., 1:1 environments,
schools with laptops on carts, schools with low student‐to‐computer ratios), the barriers to
effective [technology] use are lack of: vision, access to research, leadership, teacher
proficiency in integrating technology in learning, professional development, school culture,
and/or resources.” Deerfield qualifies as a school with “sufficient access” so I chose to focus
this needs assessment on those two areas with the most direct and measureable
connections to teacher and student technology use: 1) teacher (and student) proficiency in
integrating technology, and 2) professional development.
Section 1: Demographics
Personal information was kept at a minimum for privacy as well as help limit survey length.
Job assignments, and student contacts per week, will greatly impact how technology is used
so that information was included. Standards and rubrics for 4th and 5th grade were used to
guide question development so only 4th and 5th grade students will be surveyed. I chose not

2. to include questions about equipment and Internet access because that data has already
been gathered for Kipling and is a matter of public record.
Section 2: Technology Integration – Teacher Use (Technology Use on Student Survey)
Survey questions related to school and home use of technology by faculty/staff and
students are included on the survey. For students, technology use at school is not within
their control since use is most often determined by tasks teachers have assigned. For
adults, technology use at school is impacted by the availability of resources and the nature
of their job duties. Including questions about home use will provide a clearer picture of
technology use, than would be possible with school‐related data only. For faculty/staff and
students, survey questions about to school‐related technology use are required; those
relating to personal technology use at home are optional.
While some survey questions would be applicable to any school or district, others are
tailored specifically to Deerfield, including:
o School Town (http://schooltown.net/) was piloted in two Kipling classrooms in the
2007‐08 school year. In 2008‐09 the pilot program was expanded to include all four
5th grade classrooms.
o Thin Client – District network services are outsourced to Net56 (www.net56.com). All
school computers have Thin Client (network access) installed and most 4th and 5th
grade students have Thin Client downloaded onto their home computers.
o The majority of district goals in the current Technology Integration Plan relate to the
use of blogs, wikis, podcasting, digital storytelling, and United Streaming to support
math and reading instruction, so those technologies were included.
o Kipling teachers have been strongly encouraged to use Audacity and PhotoStory to
address issues of reading fluency, comprehension and sequencing of events.
Section 3: Technology Integration – Student Use (Technology Use on Student Survey)
Questions about the quantity of time spent using computers and the Internet will not
provide data about the quality and nature of work students complete, but do provide a
starting point. Survey data will aid in the identification of gaps between what technologies
are currently being used and district goals for future technology use. The next step would
be to determine how effectively that technology is being used, which would not be
accurately measured using a self‐reporting instrument alone.
Section 4: Professional Development
In Deerfield, professional development for technology has been quite limited so data is
being collected for both in‐district and out‐of‐district professional development. NCLB, Part
D, Section 2402 (5) states: “To enhance the ongoing professional development of teachers,
principals, and administrators by providing constant access to training and updated
research in teaching and learning through electronic means.” Accordingly, questions
relating to faculty/staff attitudes towards a variety of instructional models have been
included.