Google Workspace for Education has become many schools' key Learning Management System (LMS). The context of this needs assessment was to target educators at Old Town Elementary School in Round Rock ISD. Currently, Round Rock ISD requires Google Educator Level 1 certification for all teachers. Given the prior two years with COVID, we have many educators who have not been trained, whose certifications have lapsed, or may be struggling with specific technological skills. Therefore we created a needs assessment to determine and better understand these gaps in our school. We will utilize this data to determine which professional development and technology tools are needed, including which Google certifications are necessary to further teach online skills and improve student learning. This report will analyze the data from this needs assessment, interpret the results, and provide recommendations for what training should be provided and the goals we should work towards in the 2022-2023 school year.

Below, Old Town Elementary Schools needs assessment data gathered from 15 participants. First, there is a question-by-question breakdown. The data was then categorized into four main categories - Digital Citizenship, Distance Learning, Google Level 1, and Google Level 2. While our questions were randomized on our survey, we were able to analyze the data by each category to determine the needs of the campus.

The responses were given a numerical value to determine how likely the training is needed.

Question 1: I understand the importance and benefits of teaching students online safety skills.

Question 2: I can incorporate best practices to help my students critically evaluate online sources of information.

Question 3: I am confident in assisting students in identifying and reporting inappropriate behavior online.

Question 4: Social-Emotional Learning (developing self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills) can be incorporated during distance learning.

Question 5: I regularly assign students to work through a Learning Management System like Google Classroom.

Question 6: I can go paperless by bringing students' work online.

Question 7: I can use online communication tools with students and professional learning networks.

Question 8: I can teach online skills.

Question 9: I can use student data to personalize learning.

Question 10: I can use digital tools to personalize parent/guardian communication.

Question 11: I can design interactive learning experiences such as online field trips or online presentations with student feedback.

Question 12: How was your experience teaching remotely during the pandemic?

Below are the questions organized by the four categories. The questions are given a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means less likely training is needed and 5 more likely.

Taking the four topics above, we determined the number of teachers who need, may need, or do not need the following training.

After analyzing the data, there were some surprises and confirmations. First, we were surprised by how many teachers agreed or completely agreed with various questions. The school has strengths in recognizing the importance of digital citizenship and skills involved with Google Level 1 and Google Level 2 Certification. We found that teachers understand the importance and benefits of teaching online safety skills, feel comfortable using communication tools with students and professional learning communities, and use digital tools to personalize parent/guardian communication. Overall, our school has many teachers who feel comfortable using technology in these ways and understand the importance of digital citizenship and safety. Based on the training needed by percent, although there is a significant comfort level for three categories, special consideration needs to be given to the small percentage of educators who need help in those areas.

The areas that could use some improvement would be Distance Learning skills. Although we were virtual for the end of the 2019-2020 school year, teachers were not prepared for these changes. As our district gave students the options, many teachers returned to teaching in person for the 2020-2021 school year. Therefore, it is not surprising that this category was the most in-need topic. The three skills teachers felt the least comfortable with were going paperless and bringing student work online, regularly assigning schoolwork through a Learning Management System, and overall stress levels while teaching remotely during the pandemic.

Based on the data received from the needs assessment, the following is recommended:

1. Create training to help teachers go paperless and bring student work online.

2. Provide Distance Learning Google Training for all staff and encourage teachers to become certified.

3. Given the number of teachers who agree/completely agree with multiple questions, we recommend a follow-up survey within the next school year to determine any changes and gather more specific information on technology knowledge and usage.

4. Start an awareness campaign for letting teachers and staff know that Distance Learning is a tool that has to be handy in case of any emergency such as hurricanes, pandemics, or endemics, as well as other unforeseen situations.

Creating a Needs Assessment for Old Town Elementary School empowered us to determine our school's strengths and future goals. The assessment was designed to determine and better understand current gaps in our school. This will allow us to determine which professional development and technology tools are needed, including which Google certifications are necessary to further teach online skills and improve student learning. After administering the survey and organizing the data, we determined that our goals for 2022-2023 include finding ways to go paperless and bring student work online. We have also determined that many teachers are not utilizing the current Learning Management System (LMS) to assign schoolwork. Finally, we arranged that out of the four Google Certifications, teachers will be provided the Distance Learning Google Training in the 2022-2023 school year and encouraged to become certified by May 2023.