Running head: Personal Technology SWOT ANalysis 1

Personal Technology SWOT Analysis, Goals, and Plan

Clarice D. Brazas

University of West Georgia

Personal Technology SWOT ANalysis 2

Background

Currently, I am employed as an English teacher at Clarkston High School in the Dekalb

County School System. I teach two 12th grade British Literature classes and one class of

Journalism/Yearbook. Also, I am the webmaster for the school. When I took on the role of

webmaster three years ago, I assumed my job would be to build and maintain the school website;

I did not realize I would also be tasked with assisting the entire school with all things involving

the internet: email, grading system, teacher websites, and general questions. While teacher

questions can be tiring, I generally enjoy working with both teens and adults and spreading the

love of technology.

Strengths

My strengths lie in my ability to tinker and troubleshoot. The ability to tinker is what sets

those who are gifted at technology apart from those who struggle. In a typical day, numerous

people come and ask me questions about the technology we utilize on a daily basis. Less than 50

percent of the time do I have an immediate answer for them, as their needs often differ from my

own use of the programs and interfaces; however, I am usually able to provide them with an

answer by navigating the system, searching for answers, and trying a few different options.

Troubleshooting my own technology issues is very a similar process. Surprisingly, the ability to

search for an answer to a technological sticking point is not a skill everyone possesses. For

example, a few years ago it seemed my overhead projector was not working at the beginning of

the school year; the issue seemed to be that the remote would not power on the projector. The

classroom was new to me, so I was unsure of the state it had been left in by the last teacher. After

doing basic checks, like the battery, I still was unable to figure out the problem, so I contacted IT.

The local school technologist came, looked at the remote and projector and detected no

problems. The technologist left me with a malfunctioning remote and a suggestion to power on
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the projector manually. This was not something for which I was willing to settle. After the

business of the day died down, I set to work. The issue turned out to be a pairing code between

the remote and device. I felt very self-satisfied knowing the paid technologist was unable or

possible unwilling to discover the problem, but I had.

My second strength is my personality; I am generally extroverted, outgoing, and willing

to answer questions. Because of this, people are unafraid to come to me for help. On a daily

basis, I receive emails, texts, and in-person requests for assistance from teachers, administrators,

and students in my building. Sometimes the number of people can be overwhelming as I am also

teaching full time. Schools need to add a position of Instructional Technology Support.

Generally, teachers are more comfortable consulting someone who works on their level at the

school then an ITS person sent from the county office who is often dismissive of their questions

and needs.

Weaknesses

While I am sure my weakness are many, the one of the most concern to me is a lack of

formal training. My technological proficiency is self-taught. Growing up, my father often

worked on peoples computers as an additional means of income. Through witnessing his use, I

picked up numerous ideas and techniques, but until beginning this degree I have never taken a

class outside of basic computer usage in high school.

With this lack of training comes a general inability to code. As someone who enjoys

technology but is also creative, the ability to code would allow me to see a need and meet it. The

ability to build an app for my students would be both enjoyable and useful. Also, showing

students, especially my female students, ways to utilize code would give them another window

into their limited view of the outside world.

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Even though I have dabbled with websites for years, my HTML knowledge is limited. If

a website interface will not allow me to do something, I usually Google the necessary HTML to

make it possible. This is a slow and tedious process built on trial and error. I would like to have a

more concrete understanding of HTML which would offer me more freedom in the ways I

employ websites.

Opportunities

There are several opportunities which would allow me to positively extend my influence in

ways useful to myself, my students, and other teachers. The first way is for me to seek out

avenues to be more involved in the purchase of technology for my school. As mentioned in the

Cuban discussion, recently my school purchased a set of active digital cameras, similar to a

GoPro camera. These cameras have no view finder and thus will serve little use for most

classroom purposes. Setting up a teacher committee to discuss technological needs and offer

insight to what will be useful in the classroom is something that would add value to my school

community.

Likewise, bringing emphasis on 21st century skills to my school is a prospect I should pursue.

I am firm believer in 21st century skills. When I taught in New Hampshire, 21st century skills

were at the forefront of most content planning sessions. When Hidayat discusses these skills, the

author refers to them as, The latest trend that has spread across every corner of the globe

(2014, p. 6). This world-wide trend does not seem to affect my little corner of Metro-Atlanta.

The majority of teachers at my current school lack intentionality and possibly knowledge about

teaching 21st century skills. These skills are some of the most important we can give students; I

would argue more important than much of the content being taught. In the second semester, I

would like to propose a professional learning focusing on the 21st Century Skills Movement and

offering some practical applications for the classroom.

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Another current opportunity due to my involvement in Ed. S. in Instructional Technology and

my position as a webmaster for my school is to make useful contacts with other educators in a

similar position to me and utilize those connections. There are numerous insights I can gain from

people in both similar and different fields. Even the knowledge there are similar struggles and I

am not the only one who feels frustrated or stymied at times by the system would be helpful.

The final opportunity I would like engage in is making my fellow school staff members more

comfortable and independent in their use of technology. The staff members at my school often

think they are capable of permanently destroying a program. Because of this, staff members

often refuse to try new techniques or to remedy a situation themselves. If I can give them more

confidence and knowledge, they will be more successful in their use of technology.

Threats

The biggest threat to my successful use of technology in the work place is the inability to

control when, how, and what technology is being purchased. Due to working at a Title 1 school

there are usually enough funds for technology. As has been mentioned in many of our readings,

even at times a glut of technology. This technology is often not useful or usable to meet the

demands of the classroom setting. Another strain of this threat is how and when technology is

updated. The laptops, designated for student use, have a 45minute life span; our classes las 90

minutes. If there were more local control of what technology is purchased and more teacher

insight, this situation might be remedied.

Goals

The goals that would offer maximum benefit to my current technology situation are tied

to my weaknesses. Acquiring formal training in networking and coding is paramount. The ability

to build and create useful applications might be a dramatic shift in the way I function. This

would also be something new and exciting which would continue to make teaching interesting
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for me. In addition, I need to continue to increase my understanding of basic HTML. This is

something I find less enjoyable, which means it will be difficult not to put it aside. The final goal

is to find more technology/programs/etc. which can work with the technology I am already able

to access. I cannot shortchange my students learning or my productivity with excuses. It is

important to find ways to work with the tools available.

Plan

Utilizing what is already offered at UWG is the first step in achieving the goals I have laid

out. Enrolling in Designing Technology Enhanced Instruction and Digital Resources for

Teaching and Learning would be a positive step. While there do not seem to be any graduate

level classes available in computer science, I want to speak with my advisor about taking an

undergraduate level computer science course in programming. There seems to be room in the

program for some forms of independent study. The learning could also be supplemented with the

use of the many free online coding opportunities popping up on the internet.

Conclusion

This analysis has illustrated that while I have qualities useful to myself and others in the

realm of technology, there are several areas where I need to grow. Without focusing on both the

helpful and harmful aspects of this portion of my professional life, I could quickly become

stagnant. Nothing brings about worthlessness in the territory of technology like stagnancy. I must

continue to seek out innovative concepts and methods to utilize for both my classroom and the in

the rooms of teachers I assist.

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References

Hidayat, F. (2014). A STRENGTH-WEAKNESS-OPPORTUNITY (SWO) ANALYSIS. 61st

TEFLIN International Conference,, (p. 6). Sukarta. Retrieved September 12, 2015.