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Shared Vision and Rationale

Janice M. Belcher
Instructional Technology Leadership
Fall 2017
Dr. Julia Fuller
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Shared Vision and Rationale

Vision Statement

Technology influences nearly every aspect of our global society and plays a pivotal role

in educating todays youth. The dependence on technology increases day by day. It is imperative

that we prepare all students to compete in the ever changing world that they live in. Thus,

Dowell Elementary Schools vision is to: Prepare innovative learners for a dynamic world.

(Dowell Strategic Plan, p. 1-8) Specifically for the 2017-2018 school year, our school wide

school mission is to Invest, Inspire, and Innovate. In order to support our vision, it is Dowell

Elementary Schools belief that technology is the vehicle to further advance and ensure

innovative teaching and learning are taking place in order to enhance rigor and relevance in the

classroom. Therefore, technology will be used to create authentic learning experiences, thereby

increasing student engagement. Additionally, digital literacy and citizenship will be promoted in

order to enhance student creativity, innovation, collaboration, and critical thinking. In order to

prepare students to compete and succeed in the 21st Century, all stakeholders must unite to work

toward a common vision of technology usage in education.

Rationale
In order to create Dowell Elementarys shared vision, observations, surveys, and

interviews were conducted. Data was collected from stakeholders that included: teachers,

administrators, academic coaches, as well as myself. The data from the assessment tools helped

to guide the formulation of our schools technology vision and rationale statement. As a team,

we collaboratively addressed strengths and weaknesses as identified by our data. Within our

data, it evident that there were three reoccurring themes: equitable access, higher order
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technology task relevance, and student engagement. The data from this survey also concluded

that teachers need training to ensure they are effectively integrating technology within their

classrooms. Teachers portrayed themselves to be poorly equipped to incorporate technology in

their classrooms through project based learning. A possible response to these concerns has been

addressed in numerous articles and studies. According to Vanessa Vega, author of Project Based

Learning Research Review, students who engage in realistic problem based learning are found to

be more engaged in their learning, thus increasing performance on high stakes testing, attitudes

toward learning, and an inclusive improvement of attitude and collaboration with and toward

peers. (Project Based Learning, 2015) Vega also alludes to training that suggests Project-

Based Learning is a strong research-based strategy to integrate technology in a meaningful way

and have students using higher-order thinking skills to solve real-world problems. (Project

Based Learning, 2015) Through improved teacher training and beginning implementation in

Project-Based Learning schools could ensure that teachers are aware of how to effectively use

technology to have students show higher-order thinking skills when completing assignments

In order to address the ever evolving world that we live in, schools must be willing to

address their inadequacies. Schools must be willing to collect data, analyze teacher needs, as

well as student needs. According to the National Institute for Professional Practice, schools

must embrace new designs for learning based on emerging research on how people learn and

work in the 21st Century. They up hold that educational designs must address certain critical

skills, such as technology literacy, in order to successfully function in 21st century. Moreover,

critical skills that require students to master current and new technology to communicate and

collaborate with others, to effectively solve problems, and to accomplish tasks. (National

Institute for Professional Practices ,n.d)

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Schools must also consider the use of web-based projects to engage students and increase rigot.

Researchers have shown that use of technology in this way, supports a learning environment in

which students build their own knowledge structure(s) to promote independent, self-learning,

as opposed to having it all implanted by their teachers (Creighton, 2009, p. 44).

Diversity Considerations

Dowell Elementary School is a Title 1 school with 78% of our students qualifying for

free or reduced lunch. Most of our students do not have access to technology outside of school.

In order to ensure equitable access, our school has a Technology Lab, Innovations Lab, and a

Math Lab in which all students rotate through on a seven-day rotation. In addition, our Learning

Commons hosts late hours 2 days a week in order for students and parents to gain access to

technology resources. To meet the diverse needs of all learners, our Innovations/STEM lab used

differentiated methods to ensure students learn the basics of coding by using Bee-Bots, Spheros,

Dash & Dots, Ollies, and Ozbots. Moreover, beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, Dowell

Elementary started a Girls Who Code Club that targets minority girls in an effort to help close

the gender gap and get girls more excited about Math and Science. In addition to designated

labs, each classroom has three desktops, six iPads, and some teachers have opted to participate in

BYOD in their classroom this year. Every calendar year, Title I school funds are used to procure

various technology that is needed to help our students and teachers be successful. As new

devices are disseminated, the school is working to ensure that all students have equal access

including ELL, ESS, gifted, and regular education students. By providing devices for our

students, each child has equitable access regardless of their social economic status.
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Stakeholders Roles
Cobb County School District along with and local school administrators will clearly

articulate the districts shared vision and rationale for technology integration. The vision should

reflect each stakeholders commitment to encourage and promote a collaborative workforce that

encourages technology usage. In the text, The Principal as Technology Leader, author T.B.

Creighton explains that Principals must be open to participate in the development of

transformation of traditional leadership skills, playing a more proactive role in technology

implementation. (Creighton, 2013, p. 2). Creightons claim on technology implementation and

integration coming from the district and school administrators is essential to the success of the

shared vision. In order to support the vision, District leaders and school administrators must

commitment themselves to providing the necessary resources, technology training, and most

importantly provide adequate funding.

In addition to providing resources, leadership at the county and local level must monitor

progress through data collection and solicit feedback through surveys from all stakeholders. It

will be the responsibility of the Media Specialist and Technology specialist to support the main

structure of technology tools, and resources to teachers and students. They will effectively

communicate procedures and resources to support technology integration and will assist with

troubleshooting the network and other technology issues that arise. In addition, these staff will

co-chair the technology committee, which will be comprised of teachers experienced in using

instructional technologies, with its purpose to support the vision and promote the collaborative

communication of best practices school-wide. This committee will report their findings to the

administrative team who will make decisions regarding professional development and

purchasing additional technology.

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Teachers and Technology Coach

Teachers will use best-practices while integrating the use of technology to ensure student

engagement and to maximize the learning. All lessons will be planned to support mastery of

curriculum and ISTE technology standards. Thus, teaching strategies will be student-centered,

engaging, rigorous, and will support higher-order thinking skills. An example of a lesson taught

at the elementary level might include the teacher facilitating a lesson in which students are using

digital probing devices to collect data that they then upload to an iPad for display and then

having the student use technology to analyze the data. Teachers will also provide more

opportunities for student initiated learning and collaborative learning. For example, students

would work collaboratively online to research a topic, synthesize their findings in a Google

document, and build a webpage or blog to present and share their discoveries.

In order to ensure equitable usage of technology in their classroom, teachers will provide

all students with the opportunity to access iPads, desktops, laptops, and any other tools necessary

for carrying out student centered work. To differentiate learning, the teacher will first assess

differences among students and then plan lessons that address the unique needs of all students.

Lastly, teachers will participate in and support the delivery of meaningful professional

development to continuously develop their instructional and technology skills.

Technology coaches play a pivatol role in making sure that technology practices are

carried out effectively in classrooms. According to Instructional Coaching: A Partnership to

Improving Instruction, "It is the duty of the Technology Coach to collaborate with the teacher in

order to promote, encourage, model, observe and provide feedback on the use of technology in

classrooms." (Knight, 2007, p.18). Thus, illustrating that the Technology Coach a vital role in
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supporting the appropriate use of technology. For example, the technology coach could model

a lesson using a Web 2.0 tool to engage in a collaborative problem-solving activity or an

application such as Powtoons to assist and aid teachers and students in completing a digital

storytelling project. Through building a relationship of common trust and effective collaboration

between the teacher and the coach, this will foster an environment that allows teachers to engage

in reflective dialogue and meaningful conversations about their use of technology

(International Society for Technology in Education, p. 27).

Parents and Guardians

Parents and guardians must also be equitable partners in ensuring their students are

receiving. Parents and guardians will actively support the learning of their children at home.

When digital tools and resources are required for an assignment, they will also provide and

support to the best of their ability. Additionally, parents and guardians will practice digital

citizenship, and they will monitor the use of technology to ensure their childs safety.

Students

Students are an integral member of their education and must be involved in making

decisions regarding their learning. Students will actively engage in learning the curriculum as

they use digital tools and resources. They will play an active role in their own learning,

becoming increasingly self-directed in the learning. The students will use technology to locate

resources, analyze information gained, synthesize their learning, and will become problem-

solvers. Additionally, they will use technology to become innovative and creative in their

solutions and products. Finally, the students will use technology to make community and global
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connections with others outside of school for learning purposes or to assist others in a

constructive and meaningful way.

References
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Creighton, T. B. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Press.

Dinizio, C., Miller, M., & Hendrix, T. (n.d.). Dowell Elementary School 2017-2018 Cobb

Strategia Plan [Doc]. Marietta: Dowell Elementary

Florida Center for Instructional Technology, & College of Education, University of South

Florida (2011). Technology integration matrix. Retrieved September 19, 2017, from

http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/index.php

International Society for Technology in Education. (2011). ISTE Standards: Coaches.

Retrieved September 27, 2017, from http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-

14_ISTE_Standards-C_PDF.pdf

Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving instruction.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

National Institute for Professional Practices Wilkes University. (n.d.). Retrieved

September 20, 2017, from https://www.professionalpractice.org/about-

us/skills_for_success_2/

Vega, V. (2012, December 03). Project-Based Learning Research Review. Retrieved

September 21, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-learning-outcomes.

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Appendix
Essential Conditions Survey
1- Strongly Agree, 2- Agree, 3- Neutral, 4- Disagree 5- Strongly Disagree
1. Teachers are well informed of our schools vision and technology implantation plan.

2. Teacher have access to newest technology in order to support student needs.

3. Profession development is provided to support teachers specific needs for

implementation of technology.

4. Expectations about technology integration into daily lesson are clearly communicated.

5. Technology usage is meaningful, relevant, and student centered.

6. Teachers attitudes embrace technology implementation in order to support students

needs.

7. Do you use spreadsheets for analyzing, organizing and displaying numeric data
graphically? (i.e. student grade tracking)

8. Have you integrated digital video and/or digital images for use in classroom
presentations?

9. Do you work collaboratively with other colleagues, including library media specialists
and other school community resources in the planning and instructional delivery process?

10. Have you ever structured lessons and learning tasks/assignments that infuse technology
to reflect higher level thinking skills.