Demographics

Independence High School is situated in rural Ohio between two townships totaling approximately 5000 in population. The two townships had independent schools since the early 1900s, but merged to form Independence school district. The diversity is minimal comprising of 97% white students, and 3% of other minorities. Approximately 21% of students receive free or reduced lunches. http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/63820.

Administrative
For Policy I ranked behavioral in the Islands category and the resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. There is policy more to identify appropriate use for students. I am unaware of any official school policy For Planning I ranked behavioral in the Island category and the resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Some planning has to be taking place here, because there are some new initiatives being implemented. But I am unaware of a formal body that meets regularly to plan for technology use. For Budget I ranked behavioral in the Islands category and the resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Least expensive is usually what comes to mind. Many items are donated from other school districts, and will purchase other equipment based on grants, but there is not an official budget. For Administrative Information I ranked behavioral in the Islands category and the resource/infrastructure in the Intelligent category. The resources are available to all staff and teachers, but it is not required for teachers to use the systems. At times, the system can be unreliable and therefore teachers will again have to rely on pen and paper methods.

Curricular
For Electronic Information I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Islands category. Teachers do rely heavily on electronic media for information and content for their classes, but students do not have access provided by the school. Students will access some information from their personal devices, but is not regulated or enforced. For Assessment I ranked behavioral in the Islands category and the resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. There is no school policy in place for this category. Some teachers use online means for assessment, but is done by personal means only. For Curricular Integration I ranked behavioral in the Emergent category and the resource/infrastructure in the Islands category. There is no curricular integration provided by the school. Some teachers use this method, but only on their own.

For Teacher Use I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Islands category. There is no school system for this category. Some teachers will use what they provide for their students. For Student Use I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Limited student use based upon teacher, not as a school. Teachers dont rely on this as a primary means, only if computers are available, and if they work.

Support
For Stakeholder Involvement I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. There is little involvement of all members of the staff/faculty. Usually the way something is decided is if it is free, we quickly implement it in hopes that it will show that the school is advancing in the realm of technology. For Administrative Support I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Our administration is usually on board with anything that will help the school, but is not involved in the planning, and cannot budget any funds for new technology. For Training I ranked behavioral in the Island category and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Training is limited to those that is necessary. For Technical/Infrastructure Support ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Teachers usually dont use/implement something unless it is required, because they are aware that there is no support team to help troubleshoot with equipment. I personally do not use school equipment unless I have to, because I know that no one can help if there is a problem.

Connectivity
For Local Area Networking I ranked behavioral in the Intelligent category and resource/infrastructure in the Integrated category. Our local area network is usually up-to-date allowing teachers to save and share documents to a server. It also allows us to print to a main copier, and to save scanned documents to our personal folder. Many teachers do not use this technology to its full potential, because in the past it has been unreliable. For District Area Networking I ranked behavioral in the Intelligent category and resource/infrastructure in the Island category. We have only recently been connected as a district to the network, but have no reason to use this technology. For Internet Access I ranked behavioral in the Island category and resource/infrastructure in the Intelligent category. Internet access has also always been an issue. In the past, we have have been blocked from social media, YouTube, and other sites that are useful, but has been labeled as non educational Recently, our network has been unblocked, and now is only unblocked to

teachers and faculty. However, the machines we use are outdated and cannot keep up with streaming video and newer software. For Communication Systems I ranked behavioral in the Integrated category and resource/infrastructure in the Emergent category. Teachers and staff have email, but not all use this to its full potential. Some teachers still rely on pen and paper to communicate with others.

Innovation
For New Technologies I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Island category. We try to receive new technologies, but related back to the budget category, there are no funds available for new technologies. For Comprehensive Technologies I ranked behavioral and resource/infrastructure in the Island category. There is a diversity of technology, but the school district doesnt have the funds to keep them working/up-to-date. For instance, we have digital projectors, but some have burnt bulbs for them to work, or projector screens for them to project to. Most of our digital projectors are on carts, not mounted on the ceiling. Those that are mounted on the ceiling have cords hanging down, instead of connecting wirelessly or concealed wiring.

Conclusion
The school district has had many difficulties dealing with technology. There is a consistent decline in enrollment and school officials are always battling school finances, not to mention more priority is put into the politics of the school rather than the process of teaching. Independence Schools is currently in fiscal emergency and could potentially merge with another school district if the community does not pass a substantial school levy. Therefore, Independence High Schools technology facilities are undoubtedly inadequate. There is no real computer lab available to students. Three years ago, the school district received a number of used laptops that are the extent of the schools computer usage. There is, however, a computer lab specifically used for our VLA, or Virtual Learning Academy. This is primarily used for taking electives, but other courses are offered. However, this lab is but is not usable for classroom use. Just recently, our school is taking part in using Google Chromebooks, but this is at its beginning stages. But, there will only be one set of Chromebooks for the entire district. I cannot foresee many teachers using these to their full potential. Independence High School is trying to make strides to implement more technology into the school, but like many other school districts, is at the mercy of taxpayers. I believe that the financial depravity will likely take over and limit whatever chance Independence High School will have to join the digital age.