What+Do+We+Want+to+Know

What Do We Want to Know?

This page will serve as a sounding board for questions we may ask during school visits and or in researching schools.

Researching School Curriculum/Questions to Ask School Visit Questions
 * Computer Science (CS) Curriculum || Educational Technology (ET) Program || IT Program ||
 * What computer science courses (if any) are taught? What are the prerequisites for each course? How frequently are the courses offered? Does the school have a Computer Science graduation requirement? || How many students in the school and what grades are served? || Which operating systems does the school support? (Linux, Mac OS, Windows) ||
 * Do students take the remaining AP CS test? || Does the school have a 1:1 laptop program? || Does the school have a wireless network? ||
 * How many students take computer science courses? || Does the school have laptops for faculty? || Does the school support multiple web browsers?(Firefox, Safari, Opera, Explorer) ||
 * What is the formal training of the CS teachers (i.e. math, CS, physics) || What technologies are present in the classrooms? (SmartBoards, etc.) || How does the school evaluate the effectiveness of technological interventions? ||
 * Is CS part of another department, or a distinct one? If not distinct, in which department does CS reside? || Describe the educational technology staff positions and their duties. || How does the school evaluate faculty and student satisfaction with IT? ||
 * Do CS classrooms (or labs) make use of the regular school network, or use separate or customized networks? || Do the educational technology specialist teach separate pull out technology classes? || How does the school accommodate teacher requests for the installation of discipline-specific software in classrooms? ||
 * How satisfied are the CS faculty with the IT dept? || Is there a scope and sequence chart of technology skills for students available? || Who guides IT decisions? How are faculty and student voices heard by IT? ||
 * || Are students' technology skills assessed at any point? If so, how? || How is the effectiveness of IT measured? ||
 * || Are there technology requirements for teachers? If so, what are they? how are they assessed? || How large is the IT staff? ||
 * || How is professional development for technology handled? ||  ||
 * || Is Educational Technology generally "pushed out" to the classroom, or pulled into" the classroom? That is, do ETs generally find their way into classrooms by raising teacher awareness, or because teachers request them? ||  ||