Planning into Practice for RESD Reviewers Helping Districts Create Effective Technology Plans

National Themes zTechnology alone doesn’t sell yRed Herring articleRed Herring article yCoSN responseCoSN response yUSA Today laptop editorialUSA Today laptop editorial zSearching for a link to student achievement yNCLB/ESEA funding

zTechnology submerged within other state education programs yTLCF was a stand-alone program yNew NCLB title funds are more integrated zReflected in state tech plans yTech plans are more integrated with district- wide reform plans

zThe tech plan document at the same time is both more and less important yThe goals need to be much the same as non-tech, reform, plans yThe annual reports are often little more than inventories of “things” done to support broad goals (e.g., staffing, ratios, etc.)

zBut the policy-makers have created an implied “so what” yYou are expected to show that the data you collect ultimately relates to the big goal… yStudent achievement!

zThere do not appear to be any answers to this impending train wreck yQuestionable expectations yInappropriate data

Basic Problem… z“Technology” and “Curriculum” continue to exist as separate camps in most districts zNew requirements are a top-down forced marriage zWithout an equal effort from the bottom-up to build consensus, someone’s going to lose z…my guess is that it’ll be technology!

What’s Out There? zIn your areas, what do you see as the “big problems”?

Observed Themes zLack of administrative support yEvidenced by who came to the sessions! zNo actual time to plan yVery much related to lack of admin support zNeed more up-to-date equipment yFrustrations related to purchasing z“Integration” message is rather well established with most technology planners yThe difficulty is in communicating this message to the larger school community

The Big Challenge zHow does this plan communicate to the broader school and district community? zWill technology continue to be an invisible, yet expensive, part of the background? z“Transparent” is not always such a good thing

zHow do we raise the profile of technology without creating unrealistic expectations?

Keys to Effective Planning zComprehensive committee of stakeholders with meaningful administrative support and good representation by rank-and-file teachers yBroad membership (pg. 27) zKeeping the vision focused on teaching and learning yVision answers “Why technology?” (pg. 38)

zData-based decision-making yNeeds survey (pg. 33) zUnderstanding the true definition of “strategic” yTime bound yAction plan templates (pg. 44)

Evaluation Plan zMost plans do not have a realistic evaluation component zBut it is exactly this component that offers the greatest hope for “saving” technology efforts!

How Do We Know… z…that technology is having a positive impact on student achievement? z…that teachers are using technology tools effectively?

zPage 181 in Planning into Practice zBenchmarks zIndicators zData collection zScoring and discussion zOften, this process leads to increased clarity on goals and visions…and thus, would ideally be a good place to start instead of end.

What to Look For zObviously, the required MI elements zBeyond this… yCommittee membership yGoals that relate to vision (and vice versa) -- use chart on pg. 47 yStatements of specific roles and responsibilities among more than a single person! yActual community engagement (pg. 137) zOne or two people cannot write a credible plan that encompasses these elements.

Providing Feedback zFind out what the author thinks of the plan yThey probably know how bad it is! yLet them explain their own problem and let that be the start of a solution. zAscertain the environmental conditions yIs this a one-person plan? Why? yIs there any hope of gathering additional input? yWhat’s the position of the author?

zProvide specific feedback yReference page and paragraph. yBut don’t let the feedback deteriorate to a simplistic tit-for-tat. yThe real problem is probably a lack of big picture vision, focusing on the “little picture” won’t cure that. zInvolve administrators

Jeff Sun Sun Associates ext