Tag Archives: survey

What our staff thinks of our district technology services… 2013 edition

Each year we conduct a satisfaction survey with our school district staff.  It’s a relatively short survey, and we’ve used many of the same questions multiple years in a row. Our goal is to track customer services.  For example, we don’t ask questions related to the latest gadget or gizmo… instead, we focus on fundamental customer service points –  as our belief is that quality customer service will always be needed regardless of the device.

View/Download the full staff survey results (pdf file)

Summary of the results…

Satisfied with response time and communications.

“The guys are great. They are helpful and in good spirits when they have to
come into my room. They never make me feel as though my questions are silly,
though they probably are. :)”

“Repairs are handled in a timely manner.”

“I also appreciate the new and innovative ideas presented at
professional development. I have worked in other districts before where the
technology department was somewhat a mystery – I very much appreciate the
transparency of the department in WDM and the efforts to move forward with
technology in a timely manner.”

Desire for more iPads at elementary level..

“Teachers should have more than 3 iPads.”

More training needed…

“We are way behind other districts. We need tech integrationists to help teachers
integrate tech. Jackie does a great job, but 1 person is not enough.”

“More WED collab day trainings. I think we are severely lacking those.”

“I would like to see more time given to the technology department during staff
development to share new ideas.”

NOTE FROM BRIAN:  In regards to Wed collaboration days, most collab. day topics are decided at your building level.  Talk to your building staff that oversee your Wed collab days, as we’d be glad to help you out!

Fair isn’t equal

“Bluntly, I don’t feel like access to technology is allocated in an appropriate
manner. However, I don’t feel like that is the technology dep’t’s fault. I really
think the board and TLS need to examine which schools are in the most need of
district contributed funds to purchase and update technology. We really need to
get out of this mindset that fair is equal.”

Access

“still not enough computers in our building. Much much better since we got a cart
for each team, but still hard to plan lessons if you don’t know if the devices will
be available”

More information about updates…

“Updating technology i.e. IC Revtrack, Paypal it would be nice to know what the updates are before we go in and find that something has changed.”

NOTE FROM BRIAN: We certainly agree that it would be great to have more knowledge of how the updates will impact, unfortunately, this isn’t always possible as we are reliant on what information is given by our vendors.  We also have a significant amount of our own customizations in things like Campus and RevTrak – that makes it hard for vendors to tell how their updates will impact our customizations.

Dedicated staff for K-6 technology integration

“Other surrounding districts have technology teachers for each building and are
implementing classes that teach technology skills to their young people. This
should not fall on the shoulders of regular classroom teachers.”

NOTES FROM BRIAN:  This concern has been raised over the past few years, however, it is significant to note that Waukee this past year moved away from this model and the elementary “tech teacher” is now dedicated towards training staff members how to integrate technology into the grade level classrooms.

How do the results compare to prior years?

1 treat

2communicate

3bigpicture

4timely

5status

6studentfocus

7access

How does the survey work?

All staff receive a short on-line survey. Each question is a positive statement such as, “When members of the district technology departments visit my building, they are courteous and treat the staff and students with respect.”   Users are asked to rate the statement as: Strongly Agree,   Agree,  Disagree,  Strongly Disagree, or  I don’t know.

For the summary charts below,  % Strongly Agree + % Agree =  Approval rating (which is the blue bars below).  In other words, we only count if they positively agree with a statement.  If we scored a 90% approval rating, that means 90% of the responses were Strongly Agree or Agree.
.
For the charts above….
Overall = How we did based on all survey responses
Teachers = How we did based on classroom teacher responses only
Support = How we did based on support staff responses only

What our parents think of 1:1

During the month of April, we released a short survey to parents, students, and staff inquiring about their interest in 1:1 (providing a mobile technology device to students for educational purposes).

We asked only three questions related to 1:1…

Q1. Are you interested in the district pursuing 1:1 for students? (Yes, No, or Not Sure)

Q2. What do you see as the advantages or benefits for why we should investigate 1:1? (a mobile device for students)

Q3. What do you see as the concerns or problems related to 1:1? (providing a mobile device for students)

Download/View the full survey responses from Parents 

parents

Below is a summary of the most frequent comments along with sample quotes….

It’s the real world, this is how students learn and play now.

“This is the way they will work in real world.”

“We will continue to see an increase in technology usages in the real world, why not get our gets used to it in the classroom?”

Desire to go “green”  

The survey contained many responses that expressed a desire for digital textbooks, reduce printing costs, and overall “green” movement.

“It will allow digital textbooks.”

‘”No longer a need for textbooks to be carried around”

“Reduce printing and consumable costs”

Others are doing it, why aren’t we?  

“I see lots of small communities that provide laptops to all students. How/why can they do it and not WDMCSD?”

“West Des Moines students are falling behind, and their lack of access to devices is part of the problem.”

Benefits: organization tool for students  

“One of the best uses…  learn planning skills, planning tools, keep track of homework assignments.”

Already too much technology…

“I don’t see an advantage… students already have access to appropriate technology”

Level the playing field.

“There are families that can’t afford computers for their children, so it’s only fair that each child has the same tools.”

“The demographics have changed, many families can’t afford technology for their children”

“There is a need to level the playing field. However, I don’t think the district has to foot the bill for every student.  My son doesn’t need one from the district.”

“The only advantage is to level the playing field.  The majority of WDM families have the means to provide devices.  Would a checkout system work for those who need access?”

“Some kids can’t afford the device and teachers almost assume and expect that they have one.”

It’s the parents choice, not the schools.

“it steps on parent rights, this isn’t the schools decision, it’s mine as a parent”

“I DO NOT want to be responsible for the added expense of lost/damaged devices”

Financial concerns

“The school district doesn’t need to spend resources on mobile devices for students when it continually is telling the legislature that it doesn’t have enough resources for basic needs.”

“School systems historically can not keep pace with the changing devices.  Providing outdated hardware will not be a benefit.  They (students) will leapfrog anything the WDM school system would give them.”

“Sounds great on the surface, major problems will occur.  The only way this works is each family pays for their own device.”

“The district can barely function on its current budget; how will it function on the added expenses of 1:1 devices”

Stick to the basics…

“I worry about sacrificing the basics”

“This is an unnecessary want and expense.  Focus on teaching the basics… like Iowa did in the 70’s and 80’s when our schools were #1 in the nation.”

“Our children are not lacking exposure to technology.  They need core curriculum”

Other quotes…

“The best thing you can do is to educate parents/public on what the intentions are…”

“There is no substantive reason why you are pursuing this.  You are either being pressured  by vendors… or are trying to pursue technology because its is cool to do so.”

“I do believe students should strive to get 1:1, however, I believe mobile devices should stay in the school.”