SUSTAINABLE, INTEGRATED PROGRESS
Schools across the country face modernization efforts to teach STEM and 21st Century Skills, and often incorporating a mishmash of new devices, upgraded infrastructure and technological investments. With vendors such as Google and Apple producing new devices every year for students, how can we ensure that districts implement technology that is sustainable and accurately addresses learning goals?
Many schools and districts create a technology plan to map the implementation process. These mammoth-sized documents can cover all aspects of technology integration from hardware to software, privacy to security, teacher development to curriculum support. It is essential that these documents facilitate and support the existing educational and learning goals of the institution. Otherwise, it's almost like throwing technology at a group and walking away (which, as we've seen time and time again, does not work.)
See below are some model plans:
As a technology specialist, I had the pleasure of drafting my own technology plan for an imagined school incorporating project-based learning and 1:1 laptops. The challenges of deciphering a comprehensive, long-term plan without concrete evidence was difficult, but allowed for a deeper understanding of the purpose of such plans. A comprehensive and cohesive technology plan is necessary for scaffolding the future and creating a sustainable, meaningful integration of technology in any environment.
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