Case Study Analysis 

                  by Guadalupe Marin, Jennifer Haden,

                 Kimberly Davis, and Thomas Robinson

Implementing a Chromebook initiative in a high school: a case study of a 1:1 technology program- Greg Cottre

This case study reviews the results of the 1:1 chromebook implementation in North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District in Annandale, NJ.
 
The district came up with the following strategies to successfully initiate the technology into their district: 
1- Time is an important investment, along with money.
2- Identify and support technology leaders in the district
3- Embrace change
4- Create a culture of learning technology
5- Celebrate progress
(Cottrell, 2015)
 

Learning Goals:​

Personalized Learning Opportunities

• Edgenuity

• i-Ready

• Khan Academy

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Digital Citizenship and Literacy

• Microsoft Office

• Google Workspace

• Digital Citizenship Modules

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Collaboration

• Email

• Microsoft Teams

• Slack

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Multimedia Experiences

• Blogs

• Podcasts

• Videos

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College and Career Readiness

• Apply Texas

• Fafsa

• Cover Letter and Resume Writing

 

Needs Assessment

• General Demographic Information

• Current Technology Usage

• Device Preferences and Functionality

• Digital Infrastructure and Support

• Professional Development

• Student Equity and Needs

• Family and Community Input
   

Once the Needs Assessment is completed by all stakeholders in the district, the data will be taken and uploaded into Notebook LM and analyzed for trends.
 

Learning and Instruction Enhancement- Identifying Possibilities with a 1:1 Implementation

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Real Time Assessment and Feedback

• Canvas Quizzes

• Google Forms

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Creative Expression

• Adobe

• Canva

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Collaboration

• Email

• Microsoft Teams

• Slack

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Skill Development

• Digital Citizenship

• Digital Literacy

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Increased Student Engagement

• Khan Academy

• Canvas

• Blackboard

• Edgenuity

• Microsoft Office

• Google Workspace

• STAAR Test

• NWEA Maps Assessment

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Think, Make, Share

• Padlet

• Blookit

• Adobe

• Microsoft Teams

• Goosechase EDU

• Makemusic Cloud

• Podcasts

• Quizlet, ComThink, Make, Share

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Communication Plan

• Teachers- -Online Trainings for Flex Hours and Professional Development Hours that align to T-Tess Domain 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.4, 3.1, 3.2 and 4.3

• Parents- -Email and messaging via Parentsquare, Responsible Usage Policy, Online Contract, Students-Responsible Usage Policy, Digital Citizenship Modules, Online Video​​

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INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY

 

Bandwidth

Before anything can move forward with the 1:1 the bandwidth must be able to handle all 10,000 plus all other devices throughout the school, printers, teachers devices, administrators devices, cameras, or anything else that may need use of the network.  Also, considerations for future growth must be thought about as well. For example, if the school is expected to grow 100-200 students per year, the bandwidth must be able to handle the growth for a minimum of 5-10 years of anticipated growth.

 

Finally, coverage must be throughout the entire building, no dead spots. Perhaps using the newer 6 ghz wifi that provides better coverage and faster speeds, even though more expensive this will provide better coverage for the future not just the present.

Technology

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The first thing that has to be in place is security and a firewall that will protect the school and students.  This will prevent unwanted access to the school network from the outside and prevent students from using sites that may bring malware, spyware or viruses into the school.  Each classroom must also have an extender, to be able to handle 40 students per class, for wifi and direct network connection to teachers computers, TV’s, or other school related devices in the classroom.

 

Cloud integration is also important, the use of Google products, or Microsoft products should be determined by the school district(the committee that was created).  This is important for the teachers to be able to administer classwork, grade, and give feedback to each student. This will also allow students to be able to receive work,  complete work, allow work to be saved on the cloud, and receive real time feedback from the teachers.

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Implementation

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Planning

• Plan put in place by the School District/ Technology Committee 

• Funding for all devices and personal must be in place

• Hiring of Important people to oversee the new network

• Purchase devices

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Policies and Procedures

• PD’s in place for Teachers and Administration 

• Communicate with Parents about expectations about network and devices

• Network expectations understood by students and agreement signed by students before device usage.

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Implementation Throughout High School

• Devices put into school 

• Time to test and fix any issues in the infrastructure

• Firewalls and Security in place to protect new infrastructure.

• Technology team continues to monitor and implement fixes as needed

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Financial Funding

 A Committee will be Created 

• School District will create a committee 

• Committee must also obtain feedback from teachers and parents and use information when creating and implementing a plan.

• The committee will do the research needed to create a well structured plan for implementing 1:1 devices for every student.

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Identify How Much Money is Needed to Implement 1:1 Devices

• Network Team, 7 to 8 IT personnel ($520,000 per year)

• Equipment for infrastructure throughout the entire school district ($1,490,000) 

• Chromebooks for the entire district

  • Approximately 2,000 for the highschool at $149.00 a piece ($298,000)

  • Approximately 8,000 for Elementary and Middle Schools ($1,192,000)

•  GoGuardian for 10,000 Students ($550,000)

• Programs such as the Google suite or Microsoft suite (Google 43,800-Microsoft Free)

• NWEA MAP to be incorporated $13.50 per student ($135,000)

• Professional Developments 3-4 per year.($850,000)

• Unexpected expenses such as parents who can not afford the issuance plan or replacement of equipment, such as chromebooks or network infrastructure.($250,000)

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How the Committee will Obtain the Funds Needed to Implement 1:1 Devices ($5,500,000)

• Part of the funds must be provided from the school district

• Grants can be provided by Greater Texas Foundation and/or Hoblitzelle Foundation (The committee must apply for these grants) 

•  TEA also provides a website that can be used for Grants(TEA Grant Webpage)

• A bond could also be created by committee and voted on by the people in the school district.

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Professional Development:

 

How will teachers be trained?

Teachers will be offered an initial onboarding professional development on their home campus provided by the district technology team and curriculum and instruction coaches. Topics to be discussed are: classroom management, device and software basics, and digital citizenship. Classroom management focus will be based on age levels and will include district responsible use policy. Classroom management training will also be determined by proficiency level.  Device and software basics will be covered by edpuzzle. Digital Citizenship training will be given through 1:World Digital Citizenship Course. 

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Provide ongoing teacher training

Ongoing training will focus on moving content and  curriculum into a learning management system such as canvas, google classroom, or blackboard.  Focus will also be given to integrating google workspace, and other formative assessment apps as needed by grade level. Online professional development modules will be created by the curriculum and instruction team for flexible and self-paced learning. 

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Frequent workshops and peer mentoring

All staff will receive weekly emails from the district technology team and instructional coaches to inform teachers of new apps and programs available for use. The technology team and instructional coaches will also provide professional development opportunities on flex days and teacher inservice days. Instructional coaches and technology team members will be available by appointment for in-class guidance in real time. 

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Support for tech integration

Instructional coaches will be available to model digital lessons, on campus coaching, and co-planning. The technology team will provide support via the district help desk for hardware and software issues. The technology team will also create a database of on-demand videos and self-paced learning modules. The team will also provide access to resources and tools for teachers that will help integrate technology into the classroom. 

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Monitor, Evaluate, and Improve Over Time

 

How will the program be monitored and evaluated? 

This will be a three step process. The first step is to have quarterly review meetings with district technology leaders, campus administrators, teachers, and instructional coaches to discuss the plan’s implementation and successes in the classroom. Components that need to be restructured will also be discussed at this time. The second step will be to administer teacher, student, and caretaker surveys that gauge usability and instructional impact. The final step will be instructional walkthroughs with positive intent. Spotlight will be shown on teachers who are doing great things with technology in their classrooms. 

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How will you track device performance?

Student devices will be managed by the district technology team during class and student lunches to track updates to the software. This will also make sure that all software updates that are pushed out remotely will be installed. Students will also have an ID assigned to their device to track the physical device itself, as well as student activity on the device. Inventory will be done quarterly to make sure there is no damage to the hardware. 

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How will you schedule regular maintenance?

Technology staff will be responsible for scheduling a rotating maintenance schedule by feeder pattern. Regular maintenance can be completed during class time or during student lunches. The technology team will conduct a physical inspection and update software on the device. If there is damage done to the device, the caretakers of the student will be notified and charged for the damage if not included in the insurance policy. Students can also submit work orders via the help desk. If a student needs to have extensive work done on their device, the district will have devices on standby ready to loan out to students. 

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Policies and Management Strategies

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What are some good policies in managing all these assets?

 Important policies to manage these assets are the following:

• device care 

• managing user access and permissions 

•  configuring device 

• user verification

•  management tools 

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How do I deploy all of these devices? 

Before deploying the devices to students we must ensure that ChromeOS is configured in order for the device to be virus-proof,  get automatic updates, have lasting battery life, and for it to run fast. Whenever ready to deploy the Chromebooks , we must assure that we have a trained deployment team which can help with configuration and troubleshooting. Then, we will have our deployment stations ready to distribute the Chromebooks. We will have support handouts for the students to familiarize with their new Chromebook.  To meet the students' needs they will  also be in languages other than English. 

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How do I keep track of all these devices?  

Using the Incident IQ Tool, we can track the location and status of the Chromebook. The barcode scanner facilitates the process of tasks like checking in devices or checking out. 

Incident IQ can also help with the following:

• Asset Inventory

• Location Tracking

• Lifecycle Management

• Data-Rich Reports

• Smart Audit

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Do you have a comprehensive technology policy? 

We will include a comprehensive technology policy that will cover device care, security and technical support, acceptable use, and responsibilities for our students including charging and reporting damage. This policy will also cover appropriate behavior and restrictions regarding online access.

 

Consequences for misuses of technology? 

Our policy will include the following consequences for Chromebook misuse: 

• First offense: You will be sent to the Assistant Principals office to talk about the incident and parents will be notified. 

• Second offense: You will lose technology privileges for a set period of time depending on the damage/misuse. Parents will also be notified and informed of your consequences. 

• Third offense: You will lose Chromebook privileges for the rest of the school year. 

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 How will devices be managed and supported?

Primarily Google Admin console  will be used to encourage our policies and settings.  It will be used to add or remove users, implement security policies to protect data and user accounts, track usage and activity, etc. Additionally, students will Incident IQ to provide incident tickets organized  and keep all assets manageable. 

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References

Cottrell, G. (2015). Implementing a Chromebook initiative in a high school: A case study of a 1:1 technology program. Principal Leadership, 16(1), 22+. https://link-gale-com.libproxy.lamar.edu/apps/doc/A432894648/PROF?u=txshracd2519&sid=bookmark-PROF&xid=f3c4bfe2

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My Personality Test. (n.d.). True colours personality test. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://my-personality-test.com/true-colours

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Ogle, T. (2002). Technology in schools. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home

Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/tech_schools/chapter2.asp 

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Stevenmsinger. (2022, August 27). The map test – selling schools unnecessary junk at student

expense. Gadflyonthewallblog.

https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2022/08/27/the-map-test-selling-schools-unnecessary-j

nk-at-student-expense/ 

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The Leadership Circle. (n.d.). The Leadership Circle: Leadership assessment and development. Retrieved April 18, 2025, from https://leadershipcircle.com/

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Torgerson, D. (2022, November 9). What’s the average cost of professional development for

K-12 teachers? Alludo Blog.

https://blog.alludolearning.com/average-cost-of-professional-development-for-teachers 

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