Karla Lopez

Professor Flowers
EDU 214
26 September 2016
Integrating Technology into the Classroom
Part A: Teacher Interview
For this assignment, I choose to interview Ms. Maribel, who has been with CCSD for

nine years and who became a part of Tom Williams Elementary School three years ago. Ms.

Maribel began her education at CSN in 2007 and continued furthering her education at UNLV

where she graduated from, with a masters degree in special education in 2012.

Interviewing Ms. Maribel was a great pleasure, she is a young teacher who has achieved

her dream while working towards her career goals. She mentioned that the biggest challenge

through her educational adventure was finding the right balance between work and school while

maintaining a healthy relationship with her family. Ms. Maribels dream was to become a

kindergarten teacher; however, that dream changed when her younger brother was diagnosed

with Autism. Ms. Maribel said, It was a hard time for my family and me, but we pulled

through. Her dream changed from being a kindergarten teacher to wanting to become a special

education pre-school teacher. Which I believe is amazingly brave since there is a great need for

special education teachers and not many educators willing to commit.

I started the technology questions by asking Ms. Maribel about the kind of educational

software she uses. She said that because in pre-school they dont use report cards instead they

use progress reports; she uses Teaching Strategies Gold to create those. She also relies on Infinite

Campus to create the childrens individualized education program (IEP), which she mentions is

extremely important to keep track of childrens needs and measure their progress. Using Infinite

Campus allows her to see what she needs to work on and what is working for each of her
students. As far as software for her students she uses the many educational games available

through her Smart Board and students IPad applications. Ms. Maribels past students use to

work a lot with Imagine Learning; she found it to be an effective program due to how engaging

the games are. However, she recently became acquainted with an application called Proloquo

that she finds extremely effective with the current students in her classroom. Proloquo is an

application downloaded to the IPad of her non-verbal students; the application allows those

students to communicate with her by simply looking at images and pressing on those images. It

was very exciting to listen to her explain the importance of this application and just how much

this application has changed her students day in school. To learn about the uses of the software

used in her class Ms. Maribel did not have to attend any trainings. Although she has attended

many trainings provided by the school on how to integrate technology into the classroom. She

dedicates 25-30 minutes daily in a child guided environment to teach her students about the

software uses. During this time some children are able to explore and learn from the software on

their own and are helped as needed.

Ms. Maribel is well aware of the divide that exists in the school system and believes it

goes far beyond a technology gap. She believes that this gap is due to funding; while some high-

income schools get more other schools like Tom Williams continue to get a much lower funding.

In her opinion, the communitys involvement can greatly impact all education gaps especially

when decisions on education are being made by federal, state and district officials. Ms. Maribel

does not view technology as an interference to teaching and learning. She said, I make sure that

in my classroom technology is used properly so that it never interferes with my students

education. Ms. Maribel continued by explaining that she has seen how technology becomes an

interference to education when not used properly or is abused by teachers. To improve the use of
technology in the classroom Ms. Maribel suggested that teachers attend all available technology

trainings as well as using all technology appropriately. She emphasized that if teachers are

uncertain on how to implement technology its best not to. Until the necessary training has been

acquired since incorrectly implementing technology can drastically affect students and overall

school work. I asked about behavioral problems due to the use of technology. To which she

mentions that behavior is one problem that is very consistent with younger children. Once

children get too involved with technology certain children have a hard time giving up their

technology. She says it is not only due to the use of technology in school, but sometimes it is due

to the miss use at home.

Speaking with Ms. Maribel about technology provided me with a new understanding on

the uses and benefits of technology. When I was in elementary school, I was introduced to

technology as an intimidating subject that could only be learned through the once a week slot in

the computer lab. Due to my experience, when I began my career journey I thought of

technology as just another subject that needed to be implemented on a weekly bases. However,

as I learned about the uses of technology in education and gain more knowledge on curriculum

implementation my view of technology evolved. I see technology as an educational tool that if

used appropriately it can become a great asset to curriculum implementation. Thanks to the

interview with Ms. Maribel, my current view of technology has been reaffirmed. I have also

gained a new perspective and understanding of technology. I have a new found respect for the

people who are involved with technology advances that benefit children in education and in their

daily lives.
Additional Interview Questions: Teacher Interview
1) Question: What encouraged you to choose this career?

Answer: I always wanted to be a teacher, it had always been my dream to become a

kindergarten teacher. When my brother was diagnosed with Autism that dreamed somewhat

changed to me wanting to become a special education pre-school teacher. It was a hard time for

my family and me, but we pulled through.

2) Question: What is the biggest challenge youve had to overcome to achieve your dream?

Answer: Long pause. Balance, finding the balance between work and school plus maintaining a

good relationship with my family. They are very, very important to me.

3) Question: What can you offer your students that technology cant?

Answer: Besides academic learning my classroom offers the students life skills. So it is very

important to implement many hands on activities as well as gross and fine motor skills.

4) Question: Have you encountered any behavioral problems due to the use of technology?

Answer: Very consistent with younger children. With certain children who are too involved

with technology they can have develop behavioral problems when having to give up their

technology equipment. Sometimes this has to do with the parents allowing the miss use of

technology at home.
Part B: Administrator Interview

For my administrator interview, I choose to interview an education computer strategist at

Tom Williams Elementary School. The interview with Mr. Minkler did not go as initially

planned; I had set up an appointment to interview him, but due to some sudden changes in school

meetings the time I had to interview him was cut very short. Since he preferred a face to face

interview rather than an e-mail or over the phone interview; I had the opportunity to go in the

following day to finish my interview.

Due to the lack of time, I started my technology questions immediately. Mr. Minkler said

that the district does have a technology plan which is a five-year project mainly focused on the

implementation of technology. He advised me to go online and take a look at the CCSD

technology plan myself since he did not have all the details. I did go online to the CCSD website

where I located a detailed 84-page technology plan. Just like Mr. Minkler mentioned the plan is a

five-year project that includes goals, vision statements, tools, resources, policy changes,

implementation plan, budget table and much more extensive information. As far as whether the

school had a technology plan he answered a little in between of a yes and a no. Since he says that

there is a technology plan that was developed based on the schools needs, budget and the

technology plan provided by CCSD. Unfortunately, he says that plan is not implemented and that

one of the goals for this year was to make a few changes to the technology plan and actually

implemented it. The new plan changes include: obtaining new IPads and educational software,

provide teachers with more technology training, give parents the opportunity of technology

involvement, and continuously do follow ups on how the plan is being implemented.

When it comes to technology decisions in the school the principal, two assistant

principals and the two education computer strategists get together and create a plan. The plan is
based on the needs of the school, budget and school observations performedfir. Once the plan is

completed it is presented to all the teachers and a survey is conducted. After gathering the

information and taking into consideration the teachers comments the administration team

decides how the plan will be implemented and if any changes are necessary. If a teacher would

like a technology for their classroom they must follow a certain process. First, they must make a

request via e-mail to the education computer strategist and administration, this e-mail request is

to verify any additional equipment available in the school. In the case that there are no spares

then the teachers may use their classroom budget. However, if they have no budget or have an

extremely low budget the teachers can take advantage of the yearly school carnival to raise the

money they need or they can opt to do individual fundraisers. For teachers to get support when a

technology problem arises they must submit a ticket through Quick It where they input the

necessary information to address the problem. Quick It automatically sends an e-mail to the

administration and education computer specialists account. Mr. Minkler said that they are lucky

to have two education computer specialist on board because despite the 24-hour turn around the

issue usually gets resolved within less than 24-hours.

Mr. Minkler mentioned that the district provides technology classes that teachers can

attend during staff development days which are scheduled throughout the year as needed. These

classes are meant to guide teachers with the use of hardware, software and primarily technology

implementation. If a new software is going to be implemented one of the education computer

strategists provides a training in a team setting. For special software like IReady, Wida, and

Acuity which are used for testing, a special training is requested. The request is submitted to the

district by the principal so professionals on the software can attend the school premises and

provide a more profound training. If a teacher feels the need for additional help a special training
can also be schedule upon request. Tom Williams does not have an active committee; Mr.

Minkler said that all technology decisions are made as a team between the administration and the

teachers input. As far as technology events or activities for the community; Mr. Minkler said the

school does offer night functions to parents, but they are not always about technology. They do

however, work with the parents to assist them with their childrens registration.

The schools best feature related to technology in learning as expressed by Mr. Minkler is

that all classrooms have access to technology through Smart Boards, IPads and/or computers.

The school also has a special class focused on technology that is provided to all students every

six days. Mr. Minkler was happy to mention that they also provide all classrooms with a 35-

minute slot in the computer lab where they work on a diversity of subjects using all available

tools and that their library also has computers available for students use. For all students to have

an equal opportunity to learn how to use computers, schools and teachers must take advantage of

all the resources available to students. Which he mentions their school does a great job in this

matter. When I asked about the strengths of integrating technology Mr. Minkler said,

Depending on the piece of equipment or software being used, technology gives students the

opportunity to work at their own pace. He also mentioned that technology engages students that

they even become eager to learn and discover new things. Mr. Minkler advised that when

implementing educational software students should be the centered of the environment. He said

that teachers should allow students to guide them towards their needs and then take charge based

on those needs.

When I asked Mr. Minkler about his thoughts on the existence of a digital divide among

schools he abruptly answered, Any person who cant see the obvious digital divide among

schools must be blind. He compared the digital divide among schools to the rich-poor gap; and
continued to say that high achieving schools equal to high funding which means more

educational tools like technology. But he said to think about it and turn the equation around to

see how it worked out. Even with the little available time, I really enjoyed talking to him about

this last subject. Which seems to me as a true statement, if schools had better funding they would

be able to hire more staff and provide teachers with more tools to help in childrens education.

Even though the time I spend interviewing Mr. Minkler was not very long I did learn that

technology has always been of interest to him. He mentioned something that I had never thought

about which is that even though he tries to keep himself up to date and is very much interested in

technology he has not yet been able to reach all the technology advances. This is something that

spiked my interest because I always felt like I was running way behind technology and even

envied a little those who fully understood it. However, Mr. Minklers words shed some light into

my thoughts; it must be even more difficult for those who are one step behind technology and

still find it unreachable.

CCSD Technology Plan 2012-2017:

http://ccsd.net/resources/technology-information-systems-services/ccsd-tech-plan-2012.pdf
Additional Interview Questions: Administrator Interview

1) Question: Where you always inclined to working with technology?

Answer: Yes, technology is my passion. I try to keep myself updated with all technology

advances even though I might never reach them all. When youre interested in technology you

get into a race that you might never win.

2) Question: What is your recommendation to teachers in the use of educational software?

Answer: Use them properly, but besides that allow students to be the center of the environment

let them be the guide towards their needs and then take charge based on those needs. Many

students get scared by new technology so we must let them explore.

3) Question: What are some strengths you see with the integration of technology into the

classroom?

Answer: Depending on the piece of equipment and software being used, technology gives

students the opportunity to work at their own pace and it is amazing for visual learners. Overall

technology engages students in such a way that students become eager to learn and discover new

things.