Technology Program Administrator

Damon Smith
FRIT 7739
Spring 2018
Executive Summary

Richmond Hill High School, located in south Bryan County, Georgia, is a grade 9 – 12
high school with roughly 2,300 students and 160 faculty and staff members. Due to its proximity
to Savannah and the Fort Stewart military base, RHHS has experienced unprecedented student
enrollment growth over the last 20 years. In 1998, RHHS had a graduating class of 78. In 2014,
RHHS had a graduating class of 378. This growth has caused unique challenges to the school’s
technology department as they work to keep up the necessary resources to accommodate today’s
21st century learners. In 2012, RHHS expanded to include a second building, and the discussions
about how to handle the school’s media center responsibilities and resources led to the creation
of a new forward-thinking digital learning lab known as the “LINK”.
In the Bryan County School System, instructional technology specialists serve as a
connection between classroom teachers and higher-levels of the county’s technology and
teaching and learning departments. Data for this report was gathered through a variety of
methods and indicated that the LINK successfully provides a variety of services to its
stakeholders. The LINK’s stated mission and goals clearly drive all decisions made about student
instruction, resource planning, and day-to-day operations.
The LINK is staffed by an instructional technology specialist and provides a wide variety
of instructional and non-instructional services. One most influential services offered by the
LINK is an opportunity for internet connectivity for stakeholders before and after school hours
through a large resource pool of Chromebooks and iPads as well as a free guest WIFI network.
This resource pool also allows for a wide-variety of instructional activities to take place in the
LINK during the school day. The LINK also serves as a meeting place for faculty meetings,
professional development opportunities, and community events.
Overall, the LINK goes above and beyond in meeting the needs of all RHHS
stakeholders. Suggestions for improvements include implementing a digital citizenship program,
rethinking the physical layout of the room, and utilizing certain pieces of technology that are
currently being underutilized. As upgrades in physical space and a growing budget allow for the
LINK to continue to grow and advance, it will continue to be an example to others in the
educational community.
Organizational Chart

Methods

A variety of methods were used to gather information about the LINK. One-on-one and
email interviews were conducted with the instructional technology specialist (Appendix A) and a
teacher from Richmond Hill High School (Appendix B). The instructional technology specialist
provided a link to her blog that was extremely useful in tracing the history and development of
the LINK. The instructional technology specialist also provided data from the LINK scheduler
that teachers use to sign-up for instructional time in the LINK. This scheduler provided
information on teachers and classes that used the LINK as well as the lesson/activity being
taught. Data from the school master-schedule was also reviewed to get an understanding of the
uses of the LINK before and after school hours. A number of firsthand observations were also
conducted throughout the month of March (Appendix C).

Center Context and Goals

Richmond Hill High School moved to its current building in 1994. At the time, it shared a
location with Richmond Hill Middle School, and the two schools were connected by a series of
sidewalks. In 2012, due to major overcrowding issues, Richmond Hill Middle School moved to a
newly built facility and Richmond Hill High School expanded to now include the vacated RHMS
building, which came to be known as the “West Campus”. Now having two buildings on
campus, RHHS had a decision to make about how to best handle their media center logistical
operation. While RHHS was interested in expanding their media center space, it was decided that
space left behind by the old RHMS media center would not be adequate enough to expand in the
desired manner. Additionally, a plan and budget of how to split resources between two separate
media centers was never able to completely come together. One of the instructional technology
specialists at RHHS had an idea of making the old RHMS media center space into a cutting-edge
technology resource center for teachers and students at RHHS. Her plan was to gather the
necessary tools and resources needed to “link” education and technology together for the 21st
century learner, and thus, the LINK was born.
The mission of the LINK is to “link” technology with education. The goals for the LINK
include promoting a positive learning environment, empowering students to create, tinker, and
explore personal interests, promoting digital resources and tools for all stakeholders, and
implementing a digital citizenship program to educate stakeholders. Stakeholders are identified
as students, faculty, and staff of Richmond Hill High School and all community members.
The LINK is staffed by one of RHHS’s two instructional technology specialists. In this
role, she provides resources, support, and professional development to help educators integrate
technology into teaching and learning practices. She facilitates technology initiatives through
departmental, school, and district-based committees. She helps to improve Bryan County
Schools technological environment through innovation, enhancement, and creativity. The LINK
also houses RHHS’s Military Family Counselor and Transition Specialist.
The current status of the LINK is described as “very active”. Each day begins with
anywhere from 50-70 students coming to the LINK to work. Once the school day officially
begins, the LINK is usually occupied by classes during all four instructional blocks. After
school, a wide-variety of activities place, ranging from students working on homework, to
faculty meetings and professional learning activities, to guest speakers and college signings for
RHHS student-athletes.

Center Activities

The LINK provides a space for a wide variety of programs and activities to be conducted.

1. Chromebooks and IPads are available to RHHS students before and after school for
homework use. Guest WIFI access is also available in the LINK. This provides students
 technology and internet connectivity options that they may not have outside of the school
setting.
2. The LINK’s technology options are available to teachers during the instructional day.
Teachers may bring their classes to the LINK to complete research, work on projects, use
online resources such as GALILEO, or simply have access to Chromebooks that they do
not have in their own classrooms.
3. The LINK serves as the main filming location for the video broadcasting class’s “Wildcat
News”. Wildcat News is filmed 4th block, two days a week, by third-level broadcasting
students. Wildcat News is shown to the student body during Thursday advisement
meetings.
4. The LINK hosts a wide variety of guest speakers for RHHS classes and clubs. This month,
RHHS’s HOSA club had a guest speaker after school.
5. The LINK serves as a hosting site for a wide-variety of non-instructional events. This
month, RHHS hosted a breakfast for several SPED students, teachers, and parents. Also,
this month, the LINK hosted several college signings for RHHS student athletes after
school. Students, friends, and family of the student-athletes gathered in the LINK to
witness the signings. Local news stations also attended to record the event.
6. Faculty meetings and professional development activities for faculty and staff are hosted
in the LINK due to its large seating and presentation area.
7. The Military Family Counselor serving RHHS is located in the LINK. This was chosen
because of the LINKs location next to the counseling suite and the quick, easy access to
technology resources, if needed.
8. The Transition Specialist serving RHHS is located in the LINK. This was chosen because
of the LINKs location next to the counseling suite and the quick, easy access to
technology resources, if needed.

Evaluation

The LINK is a large and comfortable space for RHHS teachers and students to work and
accomplish a wide-variety of tasks. It provides a large inventory of technology equipment (28
Chromebook lab seats, Chromebooks, iPads, interactive flat-screen computer, presentation
equipment) that is easily accessible. Based on usage data (21 teachers for instructional time, 12
different classes, 4 different non-instructional activities), the LINK certainly meets its goal of
providing digital resources for all stakeholders. It also meets its goal of empowering students to
explore their academic and personal interests through research and project activities (a variety of
research and project assignments were observed).

Based on observation data and interviews conducted I make the following recommendations to
improve the operations of the center:
1. Continue to work towards implementing a digital citizenship program to educate
stakeholders. While this was stated as a goal of the LINK, no digital citizenship lessons or
materials were observed or reported for the month.
2. Rearrange certain furniture and equipment spaces to allow for better traffic flow through
the LINK. For example, at peak operating times, students would get jammed up where the
seating area, presentation area, and exit of the Chromebook lab intersected with each
other.
3. Continue to grow the instructional technology budget at a rate proportional to the growth
of the overall school budget.
4. Utilize the interactive flat-screen computer with more frequency. Right now, this area is
mostly being used as just another seating area.
5. Provide the instructional technology specialist with an assistant to help with some of the
day-to-day operations. The instructional technology specialist was often pulled away from
working with classes to answer questions or emails from faculty members. By taking care
of basic day-to-day tasks, an assistant could provide the instructional technology specialist
the ability to continue to work with classes during instructional time.
Appendix A
 What is the mission of the LINK?
 What are the goals of the LINK?
 Who are the LINK’s stakeholders?
 What is your official job title?
 What is a “normal” day look like for you in the LINK?
 Can you tell me about the history of the LINK? Where did the idea come from?
 How do you envision the LINK looking and operating in 5-10 years?
 How many teachers use the LINK? What kinds of activities do they do in the LINK?
 Are there any other faculty and/or staff members in the LINK?
 How do you teach digital citizenship?
 What barriers does the LINK have to overcome?
 Is there anything else you would like to say about the LINK?
Appendix B
 What are your primary uses of the LINK?
 How often do you take your class(s) to the LINK?
 What kinds of activities have you done in the LINK?
 What activities have you participated in, outside of instructional time, that have taken
place in the LINK?
 Which of the LINK’s technology resources do you find the most beneficial?
 Overall, how well does the LINK support instruction and student engagement at RHHS?
Appendix C
 Observation Check List

Description Observed/Not Observed

A wide variety of technology devices are
present
Technology is up-to-date and working
properly
There is enough technology to support a large
class (32 students)
Layout of furniture/equipment allows for easy
traffic flow patterns
All available technology is being adequately
used
The LINK is used for a variety of
instructional/non-instructional activities
Classes are engaged and working for most of
the block period

Inventory Check List

Resource Use/Purpose Quantity