Digital Learning Environment Inventory: Digital Harbor High School

A. Digital Learning Environment Inventory

1. What tools, software, operating systems, and equipment are available in your school and
classroom? (including but not limited to: videoconferencing, streaming, photos sharing sites,
video sharing sites, document sharing sites, podcasts, blogs, wikis, social networking sites, etc.)
1. My school is called Digital Harbor High School and we are designed to be a technology school.
We have technology pathways, which are a little bit like a students majorstudents take an
introductory overview class in 9
th
grade, and then choose/are placed into one of the pathways.
They then have this one technology area as one of their classes for the rest of three years of
high school. The pathways are: 1) Interactive Media Production 2) IT Networking Academy 3)
Information Support and Services. 4) Database Academy and 5) Homeland Security and
Emergency Preparedness. Each of these pathways has its students take industry level
certification exams. The different pathways have their own software or hardware that is utilized
in each of these different areas, but that information is constantly changing and the technology
programs do not really keep the other disciplines or teachers up to date as to their hardware or
softeware usage. Student take industry level exams on things such as Photoshop, Cisco systems,
C+ programming, DreamWeaver, as well as others.

One other aspect of my building is that almost every classroom is equipped with a ceiling
mounted projector and a full-wall-sized screen; there is something called a teacher station
which (originally) integrated computer projection, Internet access, cable tv, and DVD/VCR
capability. However, the building is now aging and things are wearing out and not getting
replaced. I myself was moved to a makeshift space that doesnt have that equipment. So I am
currently using an LCD projector and projecting onto a bedsheet.

Our district utilizes Blackboard and there are a variety of web tools embedded such as
podcasts. We had United Streaming for video content. We also have a variety of database
subscriptions.

Many teachers and departments are currently using Google docs and drive a lot to share
content. The district has just moved to using Office 365 as an online document creation and
storage service.

2. How does your school make use of school and/or teacher websites?
1. My school has a website, which is pretty much dependent on one of the technology teachers
updating. We use Blackboard fairly extensively. Teachers can add a class website to the school
website, but weve only received one 45 minute session training on how to do it, which wasnt
enough. We didnt get any dedicated time to work on it. Teachers who are very self-motivated
and tech-savvy figure out technology on their own.

3. How are you currently utilizing technology for learning?
1. I am almost totally dependent on my computer and ability to project on-screen for class. I do
almost all my class materials daily objective, warm-up, agenda, class instructions in
PowerPoint and it is projected for my students to see. Its great for my ELLs because it is easier
for them to read, it is easier for me to write down what people are saying so they can see it,
which makes it easier for them to understand what we are talking about. Also, I can save our
work so that I can easily go back to yesterdays or last weeks material and say, Remember
when we talked about this? Its not the same thing as a Smart Board but it does help. I show
my students websites. When we have time in a computer lab, they have web quests or other
research work and they email me their work and attach files to their email. I have a Facebook
page for my class where I share news, announcements, photos, and videos. I use YouTube and
TED talks a lot to illustrate content for students.

4. Which websites are blocked by your school's firewall?
1. Our firewall is a filter that blocks things like Facebook or Pandora or sites that seem commercial
or non-educational. If you go through a short online training you can get more access for
yourself as a teacher. YouTube is much easier to access in the last couple of years.

5. What websites and tools are colleagues in your building using?
1. As I described about our pathways, they are actually using much more than I am able to be
aware of. Thats an area Ill note for improvement, better communication among staff of our
technology use in the pathways.

6. Is there a system for evaluating student technology literacy in your school? If so, how effective or
helpful have you found the assessment?
1. We do not have a formal system established for a baseline evaluation of student technology
literacy. Our school is a lottery school, so there are no entrance requirements for students to
apply.

7. Gather suggestions from students on their ideas for integrating technology into their learning.
1. Students generally would like a lot more technology available to them. There should be more
computers in every classroom (although in the past year, more and more classrooms are being
converted to computer labs). Students would like to be able to print more easily. They would
also like to be able to use their personal technology more. Some say they would like to learn to
use the technology at a higher level.

8. What tools that are not presently available would help to achieve district objectives?
1. I have a hard time imagining this. But I think better training and a more comprehensive vision of
how to infuse technology uses into our current work, with LOTS of support, examples, and time
to be able to do so.

9. Does your school promote BYOD (bring your own device) policies for students?
1. The school district policy officially prohibits student possession of electronic devices.

B. Using your Digital Learning Environment Inventory, develop a solution or suggest an improvement
customized to your school/classroom circumstances. Include a paragraph describing:
1. The solution/suggestion
My reflection on completing this inventory basically leads me right into my suggestion for what
my school and classroom need to work on. It seems to me that while my school has been in
existence for 12 years as a technology school, we are still working toward realizing our original
vision. Great work is being done in the technology programs, and we could continue to infuse
the use of technology across all programs and disciplines in the school. It would help if the
technology pathways could inform, educate, and train the faculty from non-technology
departments as to the work they do. That way I could know, as an ESOL teacher, what the
programming students are doing.

Also, we could be partnering up more to create and implement interdisciplinary technology
projects. That was part of our original vision, but we dont do it as often as we could. Regarding
hardware, in the last year we have added computer labs, gotten more printers into classrooms,
and upgraded the wireless network. This all helps. It can still be difficult for a student to get on
a computer and access the Internet unless they are in either a technology class or a math class
(this year the math department adopted a new curriculum which requires that every math
room have a computer lab.

I also think that we need to come up with an articulated plan and vision as to how we can make
the most of students personal electronic devices, and find a way (and the money) to have
individual devices on a 1-to-1 ratio in the classroom.

2. Reflect on what you learned from this process
My reflections are really embedded in all of the above.