5 Tips To More Holistic K-12 Technology Planning

technology meeting

Excerpts from a blog post by Steven Anderson, an ex-Director of Instructional Technology turned education technology author, speaker, and blogger:

Typically the technology planning process can go wry in many ways:

Lack of True Planning: Sometimes a rush to make things happen can cause the entire planning process to come off the rails. For whatever reason (funding running out, keeping up with the district next door, or a general sense of urgency) the normal, rational process that many would take when it comes to undertaking major technology initiatives is lost in the desire to get things done and make them happen as quick as possible.

No Measurable Outcomes of Goals: When spending the amount of money that normal technology initiatives take it is critical to the success that there are MEASURABLE goals and outcomes. It’s all well and good to have those goals that make us feel good but we have to have something measurable that we can judge our successes and our failures against.

Focus On The Stuff: Stuff is fun. Stuff is flashy. Stuff is what we are sometimes judged against. If the focus off our initiative is on the stuff it will be easy to loose focus on what really matters; the learning.

 

The 5 tips to more holistic K-12 technology planning:

1. Form A Team: One of the most important aspects of the technology planning process is having many voices represented. Technology and technology systems touch so many different people, it’s important to ensure they all are consulted and have a voice in the initiative.

2. Examination Of Current Landscape: Before even thinking about a new initiative it’s important to look at where your class/school/district is currently. You have to get a sense of what is out there now before deciding to do anything new or different.

3. Putting In Place Measurable Goals And Outcomes: Remember, we talked about the need to look at measurable outcomes. I am a big fan of SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Based) Goals. This method helps to hone your focus and decide on what really matters.

4. Professional Development: When considering anything to do with technology, most often the PD is much, much more important than the stuff. Large amounts of dollars are spent on the stuff, but I argue an equal amount should be spent on the PD needed to integrate this stuff successfully.

5. Reflect and Examine: Through out this process, from visioning, planing and implementation there has to be time set aside to reflect and examine how things are going. Where are you as you progress towards your goals? What’s missing? Think of it like formative assessment for the planning process. It’s easier to catch things that could derail the project as they happen rather than waiting until the end and then looking back.

Comments are closed.