As I have become more involved in the Technology Plan, I have come to understand that this plan ought to be developed by a broad body of people representing the administration, the staff and also the students. However, it is the job of the people in charge to establish some criteria that the plan must address. There is also the need to set a time line for its completion and arrange for appropriate review by the teachers that work in the school.
My opinion is that a technology plan is very important to the success of an effort to integrate technology in the school. However, the plan ought to be fluid, capable of revision as conditions change within the school and as new technology becomes available. The planning process of the technology plan is crucial. The technology plan provides a general blueprint for what the school wants to accomplish with technology, but it should not become a straitjacket.
At Easton Area School district, previous technology plannings have sometimes been limited to setting forth a schedule for the purchase, distribution, and payment of equipment and have been written mainly by those responsible for providing maintenance and support of technology. I truly question this approach. However, I do not discount the importance of including ideas about equipment purchase, distribution, and payment in the plan, but these may be the least important segments. I believe a good technology plan is an educational plan. The plan ought to indicate how the curriculum will be affected, how teachers will gain needed competencies, and what requirements are expected by students.
1 comment:
I agree with Miguel that a technology plan must set a time line for completion. If this is not set, then I believe many of the ideas that are put in the plan will never amount to anything. Also, this holds the school accountable for at least attempting to achieve the goals that they have set.
I think Miguel brings up a good point that we should focus more on the training of teachers on the new technologies that are given to them. The only thing though that I see is that we need to purchase, distribute, and plan before the district can actually start teaching us. I may be wrong, but I think the school wanted to get the structure stable and allow time for the teachers to explore the new technologies on their own. I am finding that we are having many more technology trainings starting this year. The teachers a becoming very engaged and excited to try out the new programs with their students.
Post a Comment