Technology Needs Assessment



Running Head: HIGHLAND ELEMENTARY

Highland Elementary Kindergarten

Technology Plan

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Highland Elementary’s Vision 3

Highland Demographics 3

Technology Need 4

Product Reviews 5

Funding 6

Professional Development 7

Conclusion 7

Appendix 1 8

Appendix 2 9

Appendix 3 10

References 11

Highland Elementary Kindergarten Technology Plan

Technology plays a significant role in all aspects of life today, and this role will only increase in the future. The potential benefits of technology for young children’s learning and development are well documented in research. As technology becomes easier to use and early childhood software and hardware proliferates, young children’s use of technology becomes more widespread (NAEYC, 1996). Therefore, it is our responsibility as early childhood educators to examine the impact of technology on children and be prepared to use technology to benefit children. This technology plan is designed for implementation of the Jumbo Keyboard that is designed especially for young children.

Highlands Vision

Highland Elementary School strives to develop a positive climate that fosters academic, social, emotional, and physical growth of children; provide appropriate professional and personal staff development; promote parental and community involvement. Highland Elementary together with our students and parents work to successfully achieve our school Improvement Goals:

1. Improved achievement in the area of Language Arts

2. Continued implementation of a Dual Language program, and

3. Increased music instruction opportunities for Pre-Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Highland Demographics

There are 586 students currently enrolled at Highland Elementary. Of these students 46 participate in Title I and 93 are ESL learners. The percentage of children on free and reduced meals is 58.4% and our attendance rate is 95.7%. The following is a breakdown of school ethnicity.

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Kindergarten has 102 students dispersed through 5 full-day Kindergarten classrooms. Of the 102 students, 15 are receiving bilingual education services as classified by oral language proficiency screenings and 23 receive some type of special education services.

The building currently has 183 computers housed in classrooms and computer labs. We have 32 printers that are dispersed throughout the building. Each computer lab houses 25 computers; one lab is specified as a music tech lab. Each of the five kindergarten classrooms have 2 computers that are for student use and are on the building Novell network. Kindergarten also has access to the basic computer lab for 40 minutes once a week.

Technology Need

The Kindergarten team, consisting of 5 teachers and 6 instructional assistants, felt that there is a need for more user-friendly technology for our students. One of our biggest concerns was the keyboards and mice and the difficulty kindergartners have when manipulating them. In order to identify specific needs and to prioritize desired hardware all kindergarten teachers and educational assistants were given a technology needs assessment survey (Appendix 1). In analyzing the survey results it was found that kindergartners were utilizing all of the computers in their classrooms along with various types of software and programs. The highest priority for need was 90% for more child-friendly hardware such as keyboards and mice designed for young children for the computers utilized in the classroom.

The State Department of education mandates that schools send home the Quality of Education Survey to the parents of all children. In the 2002-2003 school year 625 surveys were sent to parents of Highland Elementary of which 570 (91.2%) were returned. In the technology portion, 55.8 agreed that the school is providing opportunities for their child to use technology, 24.4 strongly agreed, 5.8 disagreed, 1.4 strongly disagreed, and 12.6 no not know.

To inform kindergarten parents’ 102 technology updates were sent home (Appendix 2). The parents were informed about the available software and hardware available to their children in each of the kindergarten classrooms. They were also informed on the proposed keyboards and mice for their child’s classroom.

Product Reviews

In researching keyboards and mice for young children we found many products for keyboards and mice. In accordance with price and availability we looked at three products for keyboards and two for mice.

The Jumbo Keyboard was offered by Kid-Computers and Li’l Hands Gadgets and Gizmos. This jumbo-sized keyboard has big colorful keys that identify vowels, consonants, and grammatics. It has enlarged white lettering for easy reading.

The BigKeys LX keyboard from the company Askergoworks has 1inch square keys available in QWERTY alpha key layout or in ABC Layout. It has function keys and allows only one character not matter how long the key is held down.

Lastly for keyboards was the Little Fingers Keyboard with trackball. This keyboard is reduced in size for children to reach all of the computer keys without having to stretch their hands and fingers. It also includes on the keyboard a rugged 3-button trackball that eliminates the need for a separate mouse.

As for the mouse we found two distinct products that were compatible with the keyboards. The first was the KidzMouse Optical from Askergoworks and Kids-Computers. This is a kid-friendly computer mouse that was tested by kids between the ages of 2 to 10. It functions with a squeeze of the hand rather than a tap of the finger.

The second product was the Tiny Mouse-USB. This mouse is about 50% the size of a normal mouse. It is color coded with blue and red dots to distinguish right and left click.

Through a product review based on various elements of the product (Appendix 3) we have determined that the Jumbo Keyboard from Kid Computers and the Tiny Mouse also from Kid Computers would be the best products for our technology plan.

Funding

Highland Elementary has received funding for technology through school bonds. Our technology team for our school writes a technology needs assessment plan in order to identify needs and request funding. The kindergartens request for keyboards and mice will be a part of the Highland technology plan for the 2004-2005 school. Multi-year funding should only be necessary for repair or replacement after the one-year warranty on the products. Should the need arrive; our parent teacher organization has graciously agreed to fund these costs.

The total cost for 10 keyboards, 10 mice with mouse pads, and shipping and handling through the Kids-Computers Company is $1,030.00.

Professional Development

Kindergarten teachers and educational assistants are required to met twice a month as a grade level. A hands-on presentation from the building technology technician on usage of the keyboards and mouse will be held prior to installation. If any additional technical help is needed on the equipment teachers can e-mail for technical support at techhelp@ddi-.

Conclusion

Research has shown that young children who use computers with supporting activities that reinforce the major objectives of the programs have significantly greater developmental gains when compared to children without computer experiences in similar classrooms (Haugland, 2000). The goal of this technology plan is to provide children the best age appropriate equipment to allow them access to all programs through the most productive means. Keyboards and mouse that are size appropriate, yet compatible with standard keyboards, will enhance our student’s self-concept, motor skills, and develop positive attitudes towards technology learning.

Appendix 1

Kindergarten Technology Needs Assessment Survey

Please take a few moments to answer the following questions and return it.

Thank You!

Name____________________ Room________

Position__________________

Years in classroom_______

1. How many computers are in your classroom? _______

2. Of these computers how many are utilized by students?_____

3. Of these computers how many are utilized by teachers?________

4. Do you attend computer lab ______once a week _______twice a week?

5. Are your computers connected to the Internet?_____yes _____no

6. Are your children able to use the Internet? ______yes ______no

7. How many hours does your average student spend on the computer at school in an average week? _____1 _____2 _____3 _____4 _____5

8. How do your students us computers in your classroom?

○ paint program

○ word processing

○ typing programs

○ internet

○ educational software

○ games

○ other________________(please specify)

9. In relation to computer technology, list preference in order of highest priority need for our kindergarten classrooms.

___more software__________________(specify type)

___child friendly hardware (keyboards, mice)

___printers

___teacher software (such as electronic grade books, etc.)

10. How much professional development do you feel you need in these areas of

computer technology? (Time)

○ implementation of software _________

○ software and curriculum integration _________

○ hardware usage and technical support _________

○ internet usage _________

Additional Comments:

Appendix 2

Dear Parents,

We are assessing technology needs for our Kindergarten classrooms. Part of our assessment is to inform you of the computer technology available to your children in their classrooms. The following is a list of computer technology available for Highland kindergartners.

Each classroom has:

-2 computers networked for internet and printing, standard issued

keyboards and mice

Software: Word Processing

Kidspiration

Typing for Children

Paint Program

Reader Rabbit Kindergarten

Reader Rabbit Math

Jumpstart Kindergarten

Computer Lab: 40 minutes once a week

Our plan is to implement keyboards and mice that are child friendly. These products will ease the manipulation of the keyboard and mouse so that they are better able to utilize our software programs. The keyboards we are looking at have enlarged keys and do not contain the distracting number pad and function keys. The keys are color coded for vowels, consonants, and grammar. The mice are 50 % smaller than standard mice and utilize optical technology (no mouse ball).

If you have any questions, comments, advice please contact your child’s teacher. Stop in anytime and your child will show you how fabulous our new equipment is!

Highland Kindergarten Staff

Appendix 3

|Keyboard Product Preferences | |

| | | |Jumbo | |Big Keys |Little Fingers |

|Cost | | |$64.00 | |$133.20 |$65.00 |

| | | | | | | |

|Size | | |19" x 7" | |18" x 7 |12.5" x 7" |

| | | | | | | |

|Compatibility | | |PC | |PC |PC & Mac |

| | | | | | | |

|Warranty | | |1 year | |1 year |1year |

| | | | | | | |

|Available | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Shipping | | |15% | |15% |15% |

| | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Mouse Product Preferences | |

| | | |Tiny Mouse | |KidzMouse | |

|Cost | | |$24.99 | |$26.95 | |

| | | | | | | |

|Size | | |3.5" x 2.125" | |3.5" x 2.125" | |

| | | | | | | |

|Compatibility | | |USB | |PS/2, USB | |

| | | | | | | |

|Warranty | | |1 year | |1 year | |

| | | | | | | |

|Available | | | | | | |

| | | | | | | |

|Shipping | | |15% | |15% | |

References



Haugland, S. W. (2000). What role should technology play in young children’s learning?

Young Children, 54. (6), 26-31.





NAEYC (1996). Technology and Young Children Position Statement. Retrieved

March 9, 2004 from,



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