JANUARY 2013 Volume 2 St. Bernard Parish Making Progress LOUISIANA BELIEVES: Louisiana s Technology Footprint www.louisianabelives.com
Technology has changed the way educators teach, how students learn, and the way teachers and students communicate. Making the Commitment The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is committed to support its schools in their efforts to ensure technology is available for preparing students to be college and career ready, supporting accountability and more rigorous standards, supporting teaching effectiveness, and ensuring school improvement. As a result of this commitment, LDOE has created the Louisiana Believes: Louisiana s Technology Footprint to serve as a tool for LEAs and schools to analyze their current technology readiness status and to create, implement and evaluate their strategic efforts related to technology devices, infrastructure, bandwidth and support. This document is a living document that will continue to be updated and enhanced biannually as the state, districts and schools work toward achieving their educational and assessment technology goals. Seventy-seven (77) public school systems completed the fall 2012 submission of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) Technology Readiness Tool (TRT) survey. The fall data collection, expanded upon previous submissions by collecting additional data on testing environments, connectivity options, device specifications, and testing parameters. Based on this new information, many schools readiness statuses have changed. In addition to collecting more information, PARCC released new minimum device specifications in an effort to assist districts who are struggling to meet the recommended standards. Districts should not take this release as a notification that they can relax and not continue to strive toward ensuring all devices meet the recommended specifications. Instead districts and schools should consider these devices as a back-up plan that is hopefully not needed. PARCC also released new guidance relative to Internet access and network utilization for the testing window. The calculations provided do not take into account robust enhanced items; however LDOE has attempted to provide estimated usage for districts to use in their planning. As better guidance is developed, LDOE will include that information within its footprint documentation Future footprints will also provide districts with clear guidance relative to testing times and test scheduling. Each state is required to determine a subset of testing guidance for their schools and districts which fall within the larger broader windows that PARCC must provide to its 28 state consortium. Until this guidance is released, the state has provided estimated calculations for the LEAs to use for planning purposes. 2
Statewide Improvement Overall initial baseline data provided via the PARCC Technology Readiness Tool suggests that the state has over 232,692 computer devices with only 82,754 of these devices meeting recommended device readiness specifications as well as testing environment specifications. There are an additional 92,287 computers which meet PARCC minimum hardware specifications for testing in 2014-15. Of the 232,692, there are an additional 5,080 devices that met recommended hardware specifications but their availability for testing was unknown. These devices will be assessed in future footprint reports as more data is collected. Districts also have over 37,000 devices that could potentially be upgraded to meet testing specifications. If none of these devices can be upgraded, LEAs across the state would need to purchase a minimum of 14, 913 devices to meet PARCC minimum standards and 46,413 devices to meet recommended standards. We should note, the PARCC minimum specifications will only be valid for 2014-15 testing. Future testing administrations will require all devices meet the recommended device specification. In addition, once all of the parameters for administering the PARCC online tests are known, minimum device specifications could change. The state and its districts will continue to monitor and analyze device technology readiness to ensure all schools are prepared for testing. Survey results also showed that 100% of participating schools have Internet access, however 90% of these schools also reported Internet or network congestion, school-level network hardware that limits connectivity, nonexistent or limited wireless access within school sites and dwindling IT staff to support technology expansions. The surveys also sought to identify the levels of concern related to the staffing and training of personnel required for administering statewide online assessments. Although schools indicated various levels of concern in the four areas of questioning, 98% of districts had schools that indicated a need for additional information technology and/or testing administration staff as well as training for testing administration and support personnel. District and school concern levels varied on the need for training of test coordinators and IT staff. Additional information on both training and staffing needs will need to be collected in future technology readiness surveys in order for LDOE and districts to determine if their current capacity is adequate for testing. Districts and schools strongly reiterated throughout their surveys the concerns and challenges relative to the increased technology burden, insufficient numbers of computers, and lack of dedicated funding to support the expansion of online assessments. Statewide Testing Device Needs Across the state, 17 districts have enough devices to test in 2014-15 based on PARCC minimum standards and 10 districts have enough devices to test based on recommended standards. The chart below demonstrates the number of devices which districts will either need to purchase or upgrade to meet current recommended standards. In thousands Testing devices required Additional devices needed 1-to-1 1-to-3 1-to-5 1-to-7 3
Key points In preparing and planning for online testing, districts and schools should set milestone targets in the 3 key areas of readiness: device readiness, network readiness and staff readiness. Device Readiness Schools and districts should plan and implement efforts to upgrade and procure an adequate number of devices to meet, at a minimum, testing needs. All devices should meet the LDOE recommended device specifications. which only meet PARCC minimum specifications will not meet minimum testing specifications starting in 2015. Network Readiness Schools and districts should strategically plan any necessary network and Internet upgrades. As a cost saving option, districts can phase in new wireless infrastructures for testing by first creating a wireless network for their testing labs and then expanding that wireless network for classroom learning. Staff Readiness Schools and districts need to assess their ability to manage and monitor testing as well as to provide technology support during each testing window. Districts may want to consider short-term staff augmentation to assist in these areas. Districts should also assess if any of their full-time staff needs professional development or further training. PARCC Minimum Device Specifications Desktop, Laptop, Netbook, & Thin Client/VDI Operating Systems: Windows XP Service Pack 3 or newer Mac OS Mac OS 10.5 or newer Linux (Ubuntu 9-10, Fedora 6) Chrome OS 19 Memory: 512 MB of RAM LDOE Recommended Device Specifications Desktop, Laptop, Netbook, & Thin Client/VDI Operating Systems: Windows 7 or newer Mac OS 10.7 or newer Linux (Ubuntu 11:10, Fedora 16 or newer) Chrome OS 19 or newer Memory: 1 GB of RAM (preferably 2 GB of RAM) Tablets Operating Systems: Android 4.0, Apple ipad 2 running ios6, Windows 8 Pro Memory: 1 GB of RAM or greater ALL DEVICES Connectivity: Wired or wireless access to the Internet Screen Size: 9.5 inch screen size or larger Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 resolution or better Input Device Requirements*: Keyboard & Mouse/Touchpad Headphone/Earphone and Microphone Requirements: Headphones/earphones and microphones are required for all students taking the English Language Arts/Literacy Speaking and Listening Assessment. Headphones/earphones are required for students using text to speech or other auditory accommodations. Microphones are required for students using speech to text accommodations. Tablets Operating Systems: Android 4.0, Apple ipad 2 running ios6, Windows 8 Pro or newer Memory: 1 GB of RAM or greater ALL DEVICES Connectivity: Wired or wireless access to the Internet Screen Size: 9.5 inch screen size or larger Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 resolution or better Input Device Requirements*: Keyboard & Mouse/Touchpad Headphone/Earphone and Microphone Requirements: Headphones/earphones and microphones are required for all students taking the English Language Arts/Literacy Speaking and Listening Assessment. Headphones/earphones are required for students using text to speech or other auditory accommodations. Microphones are required for students using speech to text accommodations. * The input device must allow students to control an on-screen cursor to point, click, drag, and select an area. The input device must allow students to enter letters, numbers, and symbols and shift, tab, return, and backspace. Other assistive technologies may be needed for students requiring accommodations. PARCC and LDOE will release Accessibility and Accommodations Guidelines in June 2013. 4
Schools must evaluate and make concrete plans for both expanding and improving technology access for day-to-day instruction in the classroom and for testing. St. Bernard Parish Footprint DEVICE READINESS The Louisiana Department of Education recognizes that it is essential for all schools to have adequate technology resources to support online assessment and 21st century learning environments. Educational experts agree schools should meet a ratio of 4- to 5-students-per-instructional computer in order for technology to be effective in the classroom. Schools who meet this ratio should also meet technology readiness requirements as long as their classroom instructional computers can also be utilized in a secure testing environment as well. In St. Bernard Parish, 2 out of 11 schools have an adequate number of computers that meet current recommended computer hardware specifications and 2 out of 11 that meet minimum recommended computer hardware specifications for online testing in 2014-15 based on a 7:1 student-to-computer ratio and on devices which were either in or could be moved into a secure testing environment. The district also has 2031 devices that could potentially be used for testing; but a determination could not be made at this time due to missing information in St. Bernard Parish s TRT submission. St. Bernard Parish is encouraged to update and resubmit the district s TRT device survey including the missing device environment data element. Once resubmitted, a request can be made either through your Network Team or to the Education Technology Office to have a new footprint created. Currently, LDOE is estimating testing to require a minimum of a 7:1 studentto-computer ratio; however, this ratio will change as more concrete testing times, testing windows and testing guidelines are finalized. On the following page, is a detailed chart that provides a breakdown of devices and student-to-computer ratios that are meant to both inform and guide districts and schools in their device readiness efforts. Districts and schools should strongly consider creating or revising their technology plans to meet the more rigorous ratios of 5:1, 3:1 or 1:1 if they plan to fully embrace feature-rich technology-based instructional materials and resources for students both in and out of the classroom. St. Bernard Parish should not discard devices just because they do not meet minimum or recommended testing hardware specifications. These computers could still support daily instructional needs within the classroom or school setting and/or be upgraded to support testing. Schools are encouraged to reexamine their computer inventory and determine where best to allocate computer resources based on instructional and testing needs. A school-level device-bydevice assessment is being provided in conjunction with this report to assist in this effort. The device assessment report can be obtained through your LDOE District Network Team. An example Device Assessment Report is provided on the following page. 5
Device Needs by School Site Code SiteName Students Reported Student Testers devices meeting PARCC minimum specs devices meeting PARCC & Louisiana recommended specs available for testing meeting minimum specs meeting recommended specs Avai Dev mee mini sp 44001 Arabi Elementary School 567 278 244 244 0 0 0 44006 Chalmette High School 1634 1634 647 324 30 0 30 2 44008 J.F. Gauthier School 470 235 221 161 60 0 60 44010 0 0 260 0 260 0 0 44012 Joseph J. Davies Elementary School 555 275 227 227 0 0 0 2 44017 N.P. Trist Middle School 511 511 236 236 0 0 0 2 44019 C.F. Rowley Alternative School 158 158 197 165 0 15 0 1 44021 W. Smith Jr. Elementary School 332 180 192 192 0 0 0 1 44023 St. Bernard Middle School 262 262 218 218 0 0 0 2 44024 Chalmette Elementary School 588 280 265 265 0 0 0 2 44025 Andrew Jackson Middle School 443 443 335 190 0 0 0 1 5520 4256 3042 2222 350 15 90 17 Sample Device Assessment - an electronic copy of each district s school level device-by-device report will be p orgcode Device Count ABC 28 Optiplex 780-FP ABC 2 Optiplex 780-FP ABC 8 Optiplex 780-FP Name Location Operating System Library Lab Room 101 Home Ec PARCC OS LA OS Device Processor Device Memory PARCC Memory LA Memory Screen Resolution PARCC Resolution windows_7 PASS PASS 4100 1024 PASS PASS 30 PASS win 3.1 FAIL FAIL 1100 512 FAIL FAIL 50 PASS windows_7 PASS PASS 4100 1024 PASS PASS 50 PASS 6
lability for testing was not reported Additional Needed for Testing (Minimum and Recommended ) Additional Needed for Testing (Recommended Only) ices ting mum ecs meeting recommended specs needed for testing (7:1) needed for testing (5:1) needed for testing (3:1) 7:1 Ratio 5:1 Ratio 3:1 Ratio 7:1 Ratio 5:1 Ratio 3:1 Ratio 1:1 Educational Ratio (Recommended Specs only) 0 0 40 56 93 40 56 93 40 56 93 278 63 30 233 327 545 203 297 515 203 297 515 1604 0 0 34 47 78 0 0 18 0 0 18 175 0 260 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 0 39 55 92 39 55 92 39 55 92 275 36 0 73 102 170 73 102 170 73 102 170 511 50 0 23 32 53 8 17 38 23 32 53 158 92 0 26 36 60 26 36 60 26 36 60 180 18 0 37 52 87 37 52 87 37 52 87 262 65 0 40 56 93 40 56 93 40 56 93 280 90 0 63 89 148 63 89 148 63 89 148 443 41 290 608 852 1419 529 760 1314 544 775 1329 4166 rovided to each district through their LDOE network team. LA Resolution Display Size PARCC Display LA Display Browser Wireless Device Type Testing Environment PASS 17 PASS PASS 30 FALSE desktop acceptable PASS 15 PASS PASS 40 FALSE desktop acceptable PASS 17 PASS PASS 30 FALSE desktop acceptable PARCC Environment LA Environment Owner DEVICE -- PARCC PASS/ FAIL DEVICE -- LA PASS/ FAIL PASS PASS School PASS PASS PASS PASS School FAIL FAIL PASS PASS School PASS PASS 7
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Infrastructure: Broadband Internet, Network and Facilities Access to high-speed broadband and a reliable network backbone is now as vital a component of K-12 school infrastructure as electricity, air conditioning, and heating. Technology is transforming the learning environment from a closed prescribed static, paper-driven teaching model to a robust global anytime, anywhere rich platform. For students to experience and create engaging text, multimedia projects, conduct research, take online courses, and collaborate with students not only in their schools but in their district and the world, districts and schools must plan and implement sustainable and expandable technology infrastructures. Broadband Internet Readiness Minimum bandwidth requirements for PARCC online testing will be determined based on the final selection of the PARCC assessment delivery platform and the level of multimedia and technology enhanced items in the final assessment design. PARCC will provide minimum specifications by October 2013. Districts should plan for bandwidth needs to support both online testing and expanding instructional needs. Both PARCC and LDOE are modeling recommended specifications for Internet bandwidth based on those advanced by the State Educational Technology Directors Association in its May 2012 publication, The Broadband Imperative: Recommendations to Address K-12 Education Infrastructure Needs. St. Bernard Parish currently shares an average bandwidth of 100 Mbps of Internet amongst its 11 schools. Based on the 2014-15 targets, the district will need a minimum of 552 Gbps of Internet bandwidth to meet minimum broadband access targets. Additionally, 5.5 Gbps of Internet bandwidth will be needed by 2017-18. Please remember, these are just bandwidth estimates. More accurate estimates will be provided later this year. Network Readiness Minimum network requirements for PARCC online testing will be released by October 2013. Requirements will be dependent on the level of multimedia and technology enhanced items in the final assessment design. As districts plan for both testing and instructional needs, districts need to reassess their current local area networks (LAN) in the schools and their wide area network (WAN) connecting all of their schools to their central office and other campuses. Unlike past online End-of-Course tests, PARCC assessments can be conducted over a wireless network if the network has been designed to handle a large volume of traffic and large quantity of connections. Specific details Internet & Network Recommendations Broadband Access for Teaching, Learning, and School Operations An external Internet connection to the Internet service provider (ISP) 2014-15 School Year Target At least 100 Mbps per 1,000 students/ staff 2017-18 School Year Target* At least 1 Gbps per 1,000 students/staff surrounding high density wireless infrastructures will be provided to districts to assist them in assessing their current status and for planning future upgrades and replacements. Currently, St. Bernard Parish s schools connect to the district WAN at an average of 100 Mbps. Based on the recommended targets, the average school WAN connection should be a minimum 500 Mbps for 2014-15 and 5 Gbps for 2017-18 recommended targets. Facility Readiness Currently, PARCC states are not collecting data on facility readiness; however based on recent deliberations, future TRT collections may include questions relative to school facilities. In advance of this survey, districts should begin to assess their schools and note any concerns including, but not limited to space planning, furniture, wiring and power to accommodate testing. Districts should notify their LDOE network team support members if facility readiness issues are found. In addition to facility concerns, LDOE will be providing guidance in future footprints on secure testing environments. This guidance will provide best practices and practical solutions for districts to use when standard labs are not available. LDOE does not recommend that districts create new permanent labs that will be used solely for testing. Testing is just a small part of the school year; therefore, schools and the technology within schools should be designed and used for optimal learning. Internal wide area network (WAN) connections from the district to each school and among schools within the district At least 1 Gbps per 1,000 students/staff At least 10 Gbps per 1,000 students/staff 9
As a school moves forward with technology and technology projects, their staffing needs change. Planning properly for these changes is crucial to a school s success. Staff Readiness Districts who properly plan, train and staff their testing support team will be better prepared to ensure testing security and success. Staffing requirements for both test monitoring and technical support have not been defined by PARCC as of its latest guideline release. Even without these recommendations, LDOE realizes that districts need some basic guidance to assist in planning for online assessments. Districts and schools should plan on having adequate staff who can serve in the following roles: test monitor/ proctor, school test coordinator, school technology coordinator, district test coordinator, and district technology coordinator. In addition to these staff, key district technical resources such as your network administrator, Internet service provider contact and desktop support administrators should also be both known and prepared to provide your school(s) support during testing windows. All staff who are assigned to support testing should be properly trained and appropriately staffed. Based on data that was self-reported by the schools in St. Bernard Parish, a slight level of concern relative to technical assistance staffing levels and a high level of concern relative to information technology staffing levels. TRT data also report that schools have a high level of concern regarding current technical assistance staff s knowledge, slight level of concern regarding current technical assistance staff s training, negligible/no level of concern regarding current IT staff s knowledge, negligible/no level of concern regarding current IT staff s training. See the charts on this page for more information. As districts develop staffing and training plans, districts should not forget to create internal reporting protocols for escalating technical problems during the testing windows. Until further guidance is provided, it is recommended that districts use the same protocols set forth for End-of- Course testing for PARCC testing (see graphic below). This will provide both the district and your schools with a familiar proven process for handling, reporting and managing testing issues and technical problems that could potentially arise. EOC Reporting Protocol Average Level of Staffing Concern Reported by Parish Schools Sufficient Technical Assistance (TA) Staff Sufficient Information Technology (IT) Staff Negligible Concern (1-3) Slight Concern (4-5) Moderate Concern (6-7) High Concern (8-10) Average Level of Training and Support Concerns Reported by Parish Schools TA s have sufficient technical knowledge TA s have sufficient training IT staff have sufficient technical knowledge IT staff have sufficient training Negligible Concern (1-3) Slight Concern (4-5) Moderate Concern (6-7) High Concern (8-10) 10
LDOE Support Options The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is committed to supporting districts in achieving all of the technology readiness goals in all schools across the state. LDOE will continue to provide new and expanded technology support and services based on district needs and requests. Below is a list of the initial services and supports that the state would like to implement. Technology Assistance Teams (TAT) Technology Assistance Teams will be comprised of LEA staff members who are willing to serve in both an advisory and support capacity for developing and implementing technology policies and plans in both their district and across the state. This team will meet at a regular intervals to assist the state in determining its needs, direction and solutions for meeting technology procurement, training, planning and funding requirements in the classroom. Technology Planning LDOE will be working with LEAs to develop technology plans for meeting both the technology readiness goals and their district s educational goals. Through this process, LEAs will be able to properly budget and plan for new acquisitions, training, support, infrastructure, educational resources and platforms, distance learning networks, and other technology initiatives. In addition, to local LEA planning, the state will be working with LEAs to create, design and fund statewide technology initiatives in support of educational goals. State Contracts With information and guidance from TAT groups, the state will work to create statewide technology contracts and private partnerships which provide significant discounts and expanded services for LEAs and schools. The first contracts to be created have been laptop, desktop and tablet computers. As new products or services (e.g. computer software; computer peripherals, devices and support; network hardware and support; technology services; and telecommunication products and services) are created, LDOE will publish purchasing information and costs in the Connections Catalog. Infrastructure Design & Guidance Through LDOE s newly created TAT groups, the state will work to assist LEAs with additional resources for designing new or upgraded infrastructure designs to support technology goals. This will include, but is not limited to, bringing in private partners and other agencies to work collaboratively on creating the best design to meet the specific needs of a school and/or district based on its particular educational direction and services. This team will also provide training and support options that are tailored to the district needs. 11
LOUISIANA BELIEVES: Louisiana s Technology Footprint Louisiana Department of Education Email EdTech@la.gov www.louisianabelives.com