Annamaria Pisari Schrimpf

Annamaria Pisari Schrimpf aschrimpf@masscue.org President, 2007-2009 Winchester Public Schools

Annamaria Schrimpf, Winchester Public Schools

Annamaria Schrimpf, Director of Educational Technology, Winchester Public SchoolsTech Directors, Administration

"Evaluation shows the success of technology integration in our schools," says Annamaria Schrimpf, director of educational technology at Winchester Public Schools in Massachusetts. "It builds support and a following to continue the initiatives."

The technology initiatives should be evaluated by teachers and the technology leader, she says. Teachers should have an opportunity to reflect on the impact technology had on teaching and learning and to make changes as needed. The tech leader can gather data to support future initiatives.

Schrimpf says the evaluation should ask: How useful or practical was the deployment of the equipment? Was there adequate professional development for affected staff members? Was there ongoing and continued technical and educational support?

Be sure to identify the elements in the technology initiative that may not be progressing according to plan.

Schrimpf agrees: "If the steps have been tied to a clearly articulated vision for the school district, if all involved are well versed in the vision and the plan, and if predefined benchmarks and outcomes for evaluating success were set out in the original plan, then if some elements are not progressing well, you must articulate that to the key people immediately.