It's unfortunate that technology planning has become a rather ambiguous process in education. From an educational perspective the primary purpose of a technology plan should be to serve as a planning tool for the integration of technology in support of teaching and learning. To this end, the technology plan articulates the vision for the use of technology in support of teaching and learning while ensuring that there is adequate professional development, infrastructure and support. In addition, the plan lays out the fiscal roadmap for implementation of technology and provides a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating performance.
From a more holistic, systems-driven perspective, the technology plan should also address the administrative and back-office processes of the educational enterprise. Such an approach can help ensure that vital services in support of educational goals are adequately addressed in terms of technology and also aligned to the overarching vision and mission of the organization. Furthermore, technology plans can serve a wide variety of ancillary purposes. Among these are securing funding sources, meeting compliance requirements, and informing the community about the use of technology in schools.
Beyond the qualification for funding (statutory and grant-based) and meeting regulatory (Ed Code and E-rate) compliance, the benefits afforded by the presence of a technology plan are largely dependent upon what an organization does with the plan. Organization’s must ask themselves if the plan is meant to be a fluid strategic planning document or simply something to post on a website until a revision is required for funding purposes. For those organizations wise enough to choose the former, the following benefits can be realized:
- Awareness and alignment of the current state of technology throughout the organization in relation to the curricular goals and objectives;
- Awareness of the impact of technology on teaching and learning;
- Help ensure that issues such as equitable access for all students are addressed;
- Identification of gaps in technology infrastructure, especially as they relate to the organization’s mission;
- Where to focus technology efforts over the following three to five years;
- Identification of professional development needs in relation to the current technological landscape and a roadmap for the future;
- Determine future staffing requirements for technology and educational technology positions;
- Improved future efficiencies as a result of the advanced work done in creating a plan;
- Budgets can be developed more rationally and accurately;
- Serve as the source documentation for policies concerning technology use; and
- Monitoring and evaluation of the plan can provide a useful feedback loop.
Of special note is the fact that as of July 1, 2008 all new technology plans are required to provide goals and implementation steps for ensuring there is a process to,
“. . . educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, avoiding plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils can distinguish between lawful and unlawful online downloading, and the implications of illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing” (CA State Assembly (Chavez), 2008).
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At K12TW we feel this relatively new requirement is significant because it requires an organization to move beyond an acceptable use policy toward what we term an “acceptable use culture”. If properly adhered to this culture shift may help accelerate the effective use of technology in support of teaching and learning as a result of the mindfulness such an effort creates. Rather than view this as yet another regulatory requirement, educational agencies must embrace this as an opportunity to create dialogue and hopefully effect positive, meaningful change.
Next Steps
The K12TW technology planning team can assist you in all aspects of the technology planning process. Whether you need assistance in getting stakeholder input, aligning technology services to organizational goals and objectives, writing or reviewing the plan, or monitoring and evaluating its execution, we are here to help you with an experienced, impartial, and results-driven approach.
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