A Technology Plan: The Building Block

We are all aware of the importance of having a plan of action before completing any task. This does not change regarding technology initiatives. All technology initiatives should start with an established technology plan that will be used to monitor its effectiveness. According to Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2013), “An assessment of the technology plan should reveal the quality of change that occurred during the actual implementation process. Assessment indicators need to reveal the quality of change rather than just a snapshot of current conditions.” (pg. 230).  This simply means that administrators should focus their technology initiatives around their school’s shared vision, which focuses on student performance.

With a focus on student performance, educators must take a close look at teaching and learning and ask the following questions:

1.       How will this benefit my students?

2.       How will this fit within our goal(s)?

Revenaugh states, “Before you add one more computer or one more software license to your stockpile, ask yourself how it fits into the larger picture and meets your goals. "How will this help raise test scores in math? How will this improve students' reading levels?" If there's no good answer to the question at hand, skip the initiative or move it down the priority list.”

Additionally, professional development must be included in the technology plan and evaluated as well.  Whitehead et.al (2013) states, “Objectives of any quality professional development program involving the use of technology should be consistent with the school district shared vision” (pg. 231). For effective teaching and learning to take place, there must be continuous professional development for teachers and training for students.

A technology plan is the school’s foundation for any technology initiative. The plan allows leaders and educators to share their vision and goals with community and business partners, which could possibly lead to additional support. Also, educational leaders can use data from benchmarks to show the effects on student performance. Moreover, a technology plan is vital for an effective technology initiative to occur.

Reference

Impacting student achievement with 1:1 technology [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJStqV2JyRk.

Revenaugh, M. (2018). 10 tips for school technology planning. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=52.

Technology Integration Plan [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NukBIvNeao.

Whitehead, B.M., Jensen, D., Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for Technology: A guide for school administrators, technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Future Proofing Our Schools

Since technology is ever-changing, 21^st century teaching and learning continues to evolve into a melting pot of technological advances. These advances place school administrators in the hot seat regarding technology integration. They are given the task of future proofing their schools when integrating technology for 21^st century teaching and learning. According to Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee (2013), “Today’s school leaders have minimal guidance when facing harsh budgets. Decisions dealing with economic conditions are generally represented by two distinct lines of thought. First, there is the response to cutback leadership or management. Second, there is a move toward crisis management such as advocating slashing budgets, reducing programs, and eliminating teachers and staff. Given these two limited options, school leaders need to explore all possibilities if they are to accommodate tomorrow’s technology” (pg. 170).

As stated in my previous blog regarding technology integration, it is important to establish a shared vision and identify and nurture your teacher leaders in order to reap the benefits of effective professional development. Future proofing a school requires a shared vision with a technology plan. This plan outlines the technological needs of the school with goals, action steps, and benchmarks. This plan is an administrator’s/technology team’s blue print that can be used to leverage funds and support from businesses and the community.

This support can be used to make sure that the school’s infrastructure is interoperable for different devices. Bruce (2017) states, “Costly equipment could be virtually unusable if the students’ devices are incompatible, and schools don’t often have the budget to purchase new systems every few years—to future-proof the classroom for whatever technology students prefer to use, schools can’t afford to bet on predictions about the winner of the battle for the classroom and if it will be Windows, Google or Apple. An education technology system should be able to work with any device or platform so students and teachers aren’t limited to what and how they can share content now and in the future."

Additionally, future proofing a school requires teacher leaders who will not only provide professional development for other teachers but also provide training to students. Students are digital natives who come to our classes using different devices; however, most of them have not been exposed to using the devices in a manner needed to master the Student ISTE Standards. Bruce (2017) also states, “If students are unfamiliar with the user interface of a device, it can make classroom operations clunky, and dampen their enthusiasm with using the device. Teachers often go through training to learn to use devices that have their own interface, but students don’t receive that training; this creates a classroom environment centered on the teachers using technology, and students watching, which does little to solve the issue of classroom engagement, because while some digital content can be incorporated, students can’t have their own interaction with it”.
For educators to effectively prepare students, they must be taught using the Student ISTE Standards. This means educators must teach student how to use the devices, so they become independent learners. Individualized instruction will enable students to work at their own pace and education is no longer a one size fits all approach. The two videos below are examples of two future proofed schools where students are independent learners.

References

Bruce, B. (2017). The 5 components of a future-proofed technology initiative. Retrieved from https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/04/12/components-future-technology/.

Lincoln elementary future ready school [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1IvMu7mnG0.

What will schools look like in the future? [Video] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZlgYiXzu58.

Whitehead, B.M., Jensen, D., Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for Technology: A guide for school administrators, technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.