The school I currently work for is in a suburban area of Qingdao, China.

This suburban area has a high concentration of Koreans, who roughly number 100,000 and make up the majority of the student population. While technically an international school, policies are more familiar to Koreans and Chinese. For example, students generally leave to a special academy after school to continue their studies, and sports teams are virtually non-existent. Being a private school, the students are of means. The families tend to fall into upper-middle and upper class. This is reflected in the number of smartphones, computers, and tablets the students have outside of school. Also, students have the advantage of small class sizes, with no more than 15 students per class. They also enjoy a student-to-teacher ratio of 8-1. This is in stark contrast to a Chinese public school, where 50 students per class is common. The school is 75% Korean, 15% Chinese, and 10% other (Japanese, American, Taiwanese, or of mixed heritage)

Ethnic prevalence
80% 70% 60%

50%
40%

30%
20%

10%
0% Korean Chinese Other

The Chinese staff, who makes up the large majority of the school, are licensed by the Chinese Ministry of Education. Most Chinese teachers have a masters degree, although subjects such as art and PE are not required to have the same level of education. Foreign teachers are generally not licensed, with some exceptions. Their nationalities vary, as do their years of experience. The pool of experienced international teachers is relatively small, so less stringent requirements are used. In general, all staff has over 3 years of experience and is between the ages of 25 and 35.

The teachers are 60% Chinese, 20% American, 10% Canadian, and 10% other (Filipino, Nigerian, European)

Teacher ethnicity
70%

60%
50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Chinese American Canadian Other

Korean parents tend to be very involved in their childs education, and have created an unofficial PTA. The PTA meets with the administration roughly once a week, and discusses issues with the school and staff. Their concerns generally revolve around the foreign staff for multiple reasons. One is that they consider Chinese language an added bonus to their childs curriculum. This is because Korean parents place heavy importance on college acceptance, and Chinese language is not included in entrance exams. English is a critical component, and therefore are very interested in their students English progress. Further, foreign teachers in China tend to be relatively inexperienced, and watch the performance of the international staff relatively closely.

Emergent ADMINISTRATIVE Policy behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure behavioral

Planning

Emergent

While instructors have access to a grading system, it is only for report cards. No training or development policy/programs exist. There is no software available for the school in terms of tracking progress, grades, attendance. Instructors are expected to design and use their own systems. While an informal plan existed for the creation of the school, there

Emergent resource/infrastructure Emergent Budget behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure Administrative Information Emergent behavioral resource/infrastructure Emergent Island

has been no follow up policy for integrating new technology. Purchasing is not done on a plan basis, but by case-by-case needs Technology is not considered a budgeted item, and new resources are not planned or provided for. The school relies on its existing technology from the schools inception. Technology, while occasionally given important, is not on an equal basis with other items. More budgetary allowance is given to event planning, student performances, and marketing. Teachers can request access to paid sites, but it is reviewed on a caseby-case basis and is not included in any kind of budget. Instead, it is listed under miscellaneous needs. There is no administrative system to speak of.

CURRICULAR

Electronic Information

behavioral Emergent

resource/infrastructure Emergent Assessment behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure Emergent

Curricular Integration

behavioral Island resource/infrastructure

Students and staff are rarely required to use electronic information resources, and accordingly rarely use them. A few subscriptions to paid online resources are available, but are used by 25% or less of the staff Limitations with computer access mean teachers tend to rely on physical resources rather than electronic ones. There is no electronic system to track grades or records. However, there are website subscriptions for electronic content Few staff and no students use technology for assessment. All is done through grading books No electronic tools exist/are used at the school for student assessment. Anything related to assessment is based in excel, and uploaded to a central database 2x a term Projectors are frequently used in class and the curriculum depends on that usage. Smart boards are available in every class, but are used infrequently and are independent of the curriculum (the curriculum does not require their use) As stated, projectors and smart boards are widely available. However, computers are rarely used or required. They also exist in a distant part of the school, leaving many teachers unwilling to access them.

Emergent Teacher Use behavioral Integrated

resource/infrastructure Emergent Student Use behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure Emergent SUPPORT Stakeholder Involvement behavioral resource/infrastructure behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure Emergent

Teachers utilize the smart board and website resources on occasional basis, mostly for the enrichment of content. This use is not regular and not part of an overall plan for its use in the classroom Teachers generally have access to technology, including said projectors/smart boards, computers, video cameras, and school wide Wi-Fi. Curricular based resources are available in most areas, particularly languages, as this is a bilingual school. Student use of school technology is very infrequent. In fact, student use is generally of their own mobile devices such as iPads and smartphones. Few students have regular access to computers and internet through school resources. Computer access is roughly once a week. No special student resources exist (websites, remedial programs, etc.) As there is no technology plan, relevant groups are not included. There are no heads of departments, so all requests/considerations are made by the individual teacher. Support is given to purchasing subscriptions, but no support for planning, implementing, and training of resources. No formal time or support is given to planning and implementation. Teachers are expected to use technology when and where appropriate. There are no training activities offered. If assistance is needed, the IT technician can assist, but only in Chinese. Further, this training is limited to hardware functionality (using the smart board, accessing the network, etc.) No training available Staff has access to formal and informal support for IT issues. The IT technicians are Chinese and not fluent in English, so translators are often required. Formal technical assistance is available throughout the day. An extra technician can be called in for complicated issues. Staff and students have access to school-wide, high speed Wi-Fi and use it often. Student access is more limited due to lack of computers.

Emergent Emergent

Administrative Support

Training

behavioral resource/infrastructure

Emergent Integrated

Technical/Infrastructure Support behavioral Integrated resource/infrastructure CONNECTIVITY Local Area Networking (LAN) Emergent behavioral

resource/infrastructure District Area Networking (WAN) behavioral resource/infrastructure

Emergent Emergent Emergent Emergent

However, students have the password and are able to connect using their own mobile devices, which they frequently do. As stated, high speed access is available throughout the school. As the school is private, there are no district/high level services available. Staff frequently uses the internet, but curriculum integration is limited. Elementary and middle school use it the least for integration, while high school uses it significantly more. As mentioned earlier, there is high speed Wi-Fi in all areas on the building, both for teacher and student access. Email and instant messaging programs are used for communication throughout all levels of the school. Important issues are communicated through multiple means including cell phone messaging systems. However, this is generally unrelated to curriculum or learning content Email is available to all staff, but students must create their own email through a free online service. New technologies, such as the above mentioned smart board, are generally accepted by staff. Chances for experimentation are limited however, and training is non-existent New technologies have been limited to the founding of the school. Smart boards and projectors have been readily accepted by the staff, but their use is still infrequent Technology is generally limited to those mentioned above, with overhead projectors and laptops. Technology utilization revolves around computers and projectors, with little use available to use.

Internet Access

behavioral Emergent resource/infrastructure Emergent

Communication Systems

behavioral resource/infrastructure Island

INNOVATION

New Technologies

behavioral Island resource/infrastructure

Comprehensive Technologies

Behavioral Resource/infrastructure

Administrative - Emergent The school is only in its 2nd year of operation, and operated at a loss its first year. Because of this, relatively little planning has been given to technology purchasing and implementation, either short or long term. The school purchased smart boards for every classroom and laptops for easy access in classrooms during its initial construction. Since then, the budget has not included any new technology or support materials to maximize their effectiveness. Further, there is no implementation plan for new technology. Generally budgetary items and policies are geared towards attracting new students.

Curriculum - Emergent The Chinese staff grew up and were educated by more traditional methods, and tend to rely on their use rather than implementing electronic resources and audio-visual materials. While PowerPoint presentations may be frequently used, hypermedia and internet resources are very infrequent. The foreign staff generally integrates technology into their curriculum to enrich content as opposed to teaching technology related skills. Assessment is done through physical grade books, and not viewable save twice a term when report cards are issued. Students have access to a computer lab, but it is always locked and special permission is needed.

Support - Emergent The school currently has relatively little in the way of support and resources. Budgetary concerns limit the amount of support offered to teachers. Planning is done from a top down perspective, with little input from teachers concerned. Parents and the board of directors have the largest say in planning, but rarely include technology into consideration. Training is completely non-existent. Teachers either need to learn on their own or resort to traditional methods of teaching. IT support, is relatively plentiful. Experienced technicians are available to help throughout the day, with specialists on call. Technical problems are usually resolved quickly.

Connectivity - Island

While the school is generally weak across the board, in the connectivity section there is more positivity. High speed, school wide Wi-Fi is openly available to all students and staff. While there is occasional down time, on a whole the system is very reliable. The school is also in constant search of ways to speed up access. Communication between the staff and administrators is done in a variety of ways, including instant messaging, emails, and free messaging applications on smart phones. Because there is no district, there are no district related resources.

Innovation - Emergent While the school began with special emphasis on technology, it has not sustained that drive. Since the schools inception, there have been no significant purchases towards technological resources. It is hoped that as the school increases enrollment, a larger budget will be allocated to technology and its acquisition. Conclusion The school abysmally fails when it comes to technology integration. There are a few reasons for this however. As said before, the school was operating at a loss, and given that its a for-profit school, investors must be willing to invest and see returns. Secondly, 98% of the students are Asian, which have different priorities than we may be accustomed to. Knowledge that can be tested on paper, entrance exams, and relatively rigid discipline are all given high priority among Asian parents and teachers. This does not easily lead to a constructivist classroom where technology and its applications have a chance to flourish. Finally, the school is brand new, and is still adjusting to the needs of parents and students, which are often difficult to maintain in a very competitive market (education is huge business in Asia) With that said, the purchase of smart boards was a relatively unique step in the area. Further, the school is considering the purchase of more computers, faster internet access, and other measures to embrace technology. These are all informal and nothing has been fully discussed however. My goal over the year is to introduce content among the staff to encourage use of resources found along the internet. Much of the staff, Chinese and foreign, are astounded by what Ive already introduced over the past few months. Hopefully, as the year progressed, teachers and students will embrace these resources, while finding and sharing their own.