Running Head: TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 1

Technology Planning Paper

Sarah Jacobs

Loyola University Maryland

ET680
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Current Situation

Perceived Attributes

It is important to think about how perceived attributes could impact the diffusion of an

innovation so as to think about how one might overcome them. After each attribute is analyzed,

you can then begin to plan appropriate action steps. In my journey to implement Virtual Reality

goggles into my school, I took into consideration the five different perceived attributes and how

they might play out in my school setting.

The first attribute is “Trialability: Can it be tested?” Some of my colleagues and myself

had the opportunity to try out Virtual Reality goggles while attending ISTE 2016 in Colorado.

The goggles that we used were Google Cardboard, and they required use of a smart phone and a

downloaded application. We brought the samples back to our school, and during a professional

development, gave other staff the opportunity to test them out. Unfortunately, no one took

advantage of this at that time. In order to overcome this perceived attribute a second time, I plan

to hold another professional development based solely on Virtual Reality goggles and allow staff

another opportunity to try out the goggles, see them in action, and ask questions.

The next attribute is “Observability: What does it look like?” Staff might be hesitant to

use this new technology in the classroom just based on how enthusiastic I am about it, without

actually knowing how it looks in a classroom setting. Some staff might automatically be

opposed to it based on their preconceived notions of Virtual Reality, as well as from their limited

view of them from the first professional development on their use. In order to combat this, I plan

to implement them in my own classroom and allowing staff to observe how they are used. In

this setting, they will be able to see the engagement and excitement of students, as well as hear

the discussions taking place and the new learning and connections happening. Seeing the use of
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the goggles in action may ease their worries and help them to overcome any preconceived

notions. It will also make staff feel more comfortable in implementing the goggles in their own

classrooms.

The third attribute is “Relative Advantage: Is it better?” In choosing a new innovation to

implement at my school, I first had to think about what we already had and what areas we could

improve upon. I know that an area that has been a particular struggle for me over the past 3

years has been planning and implementing field trips. Baltimore County has changed the

process of applying for field trips, and it now includes a lot of time consuming paperwork. After

filling the paperwork out, you could still be denied the trip, or be unable to get busses for the

intended date. Other issues you run into in planning field trips are lack of funding. I chose

Virtual Reality goggles on this thought because they could eliminate some of these issues. Being

able to take a trip around the world from the comfort of the classroom without all the hassle of

planning a field trip is a definite bonus for teachers. Another advantage would be allowing

students in a low socio-economic area to see the world around them that they may not otherwise

be able to see. This is a great advantage for teachers because we can, in turn, make learning

more meaningful by connecting what we are learning to the real world, being able to see and

explore what we are reading and learning about. At first, staff may not see the relative advantage

of utilizing Virtual Reality goggles in their classroom. However, after being able to see how

they are being used in other classrooms through learning walks, they will start to see the

advantage of them. I also plan to hold monthly technology meetings in order to brainstorm uses

for the goggles and discuss advantages and disadvantages of their use. Being able to discuss the

uses and troubleshoot problems will be a great help to staff in seeing how the goggles will be a

positive addition to their teaching.

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The fourth attribute is “Complexity/Simplicity: Is it difficult to understand or use?”

Some staff might view implementation of the goggles as difficult because of their current

knowledge of technology based on where they lie on the ACOT model. Others might view the

implementation difficult based on the group of students they have. The school I work at can be

very difficult, behaviorally speaking. Other difficulties might be the lack of smart phones or not

having enough of the goggles for the entire class to use at once. In order to ease staff’s minds

about the difficulty of use, I plan to demonstrate use at that first professional development

meeting, as well as let staff try the goggles out for themselves. Allowing for learning walks will

help staff to see how students react to them in a classroom setting, and can give staff ideas as to

how to easily implement them in their own classroom, as well as to give them an idea as to

follow-up activities to make sure that these activities are worthwhile for students. Also, the

continued meetings to troubleshoot and brainstorm can alleviate any other worries that may arise.

As far as the complexity of not having enough supplies (smart phones or enough goggles), there

are types of Virtual Reality goggles that connect to a computer instead. Also, the goggles will be

issued on a sign-out basis and can be implemented small group style as a center rotation.

The last attribute is “Compatibility: Is it consistent with existing values, past experiences,

and needs?” Based on some of the interviews I conducted, some staff admittedly do not see how

Virtual Reality goggles are compatible with the classroom. To quote one of my interviewees, “I

don’t know if I could see Virtual Reality being appropriate for the classroom” (J. Baber, personal

communication, February 12, 2018). To overcome these perceived notions of compatibility, I

plan to provide a starting point for staff to begin using the goggles. After some time for trial and

error, as well as observation, I plan to hold a meeting to discuss findings. Monthly meetings to
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look at curriculum and brainstorm new ideas for use will also be a powerful way to overcome the

notion that the goggles are not compatible with the classroom.

Ely’s Conditions of Change

Ely proposed eight conditions of change, stating that these are the conditions that would

need to be met or overcome to allow for the innovation to be successful. To gauge where staff at

my school are based on these conditions, I interviewed staff members in 4 different positions: the

STAT teacher, a special educator, a first grade teacher, and a second grade teacher. Their

answers were varied and gave me a lot of information to determine where staff are in terms of

these eight conditions and which conditions I would need to work on in order to foster change.

The first condition is “Dissatisfaction with Status Quo”, meaning is there a need for

change based on the view that something is missing or needs to be fixed. Based on the

interviews, staff agree that we have access to a lot of technology and support, but that the lack of

training and the background of students are dissatisfying and often hold students back.

Introducing Virtual Reality into classrooms would help with this dissatisfaction because using it

would allow students a broader view of the world, giving them more schema and experiences to

connect their learning. Also, I would be providing several professional development

opportunities for staff to help them by offering support and giving them time and training needed

to be successful in implementing Virtual Reality. I will also be holding monthly technology

meetings to allow for further discussion about dissatisfaction and how we can improve upon it.

Providing students with experiences and staff with proper training, as well as monthly

technology meetings will support this new innovation, as well as the continued use of technology

in our school.
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The second condition is “Sufficient Knowledge and Skills Exist”, meaning that the skills

to implement the innovation exist, allowing change to occur. As my school is a Title 1 school,

we have access to a lot of materials and support. Therefore, we have a wide range of knowledge

and skills when it comes to innovation and technology. However, the specific skills to

implement Virtual Reality goggles doesn’t exist among staff based on my interviews. Many of

the staff has heard about Virtual Reality in some aspect, and one has even had the opportunity to

try out the Google Cardboard goggles while attending ISTE 2016. An important step to

overcome this hindrance would be to develop a technology committee to compound knowledge

and skills, providing the leadership my school needs to move forward with the innovation. The

next important step would be holding several professional developments, both whole staff and

individualized, to pass on the knowledge and skills to staff in order to make them feel more

comfortable and successful.

The third condition is “Availability of Resources”. Again, as my school is a Title 1

school, we have very many resources at our fingertips. We have one-to-one devices, Promethean

boards, and several different websites and apps available to staff and students, to name a few.

These resources will make the roll-out of Virtual Reality easier, but more resources will be

needed. In order to purchase the equipment for Virtual Reality, I would have to talk with

administration to see what kinds of funding is available. Unfortunately, this is an area that isn’t

within my power to change and can be a hindrance. I could talk with my administration on

applying for a grant to cover the costs, but without funding, this innovation could be stopped in

its tracks.

The fourth condition is “Availability of Time”, meaning is there time to learn, adapt,

integrate, and reflect on the innovation. According to Mrs. Ondish, the first grade teacher I
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interviewed, “I do not. I think a lot of teachers and staff have a lot of information and great ideas

and resources, and also BCPS has provided us with a lot, but we receive limited explanation or a

one-time explanation” (K. Ondish, personal communication, February 12, 2018). I agree with

Mrs. Ondish on this matter. It seems as if we are constantly being bombarded with new,

“improved” ways to do things, or innovations, and expected to apply these innovations.

However, we often are introduced to them in one meeting, and that is usually the last we hear or

discuss it, unless we are being asked about our progressed or observed. It makes it very difficult

to become proficient, or even comfortable with the change when we are not provided with the

opportunity to try, and possibly fail, and reflect on these changes together. Staff often then

become discouraged and limited in their use of the innovation. In order to combat this limitation,

I would provide multiple professional developments, learning walk-throughs, and technology

committee meetings to allow discussion and reflection opportunities, as well as the opportunity

to try and fail, and try again. I think collaboration is important when it comes to implementing

something new, and in my interview, I asked staff what they would need in order to become

fluent with Virtual Reality goggles. A common consensus was multiple exposures, as well as

being able to come back together and talk with other staff and reflect. Mrs. Clark, the staff

teacher, felt that she would need, “perhaps a few professional development sessions, watching or

video-taping a model lesson” (L. Clark, personal communication, February 13, 2018).

The fifth condition is “Rewards or Incentives” – motivation for adopters, either intrinsic

or extrinsic, to make the innovation be successful. Currently, I think there isn’t much in the way

of rewards or incentives from administration to continue using technology in the classroom. The

motivation is intrinsic and based on the individual. Some staff use the technology because they

feel comfortable with it and because they can directly see how it affects student learning.
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However, other staff aren’t using the technology and have no motivation to do so, unless they are

told to do so. Every once in a while, there might be an incentive, like being paid for attending a

professional development, or earning extra planning while another staff member watches your

class. In order to provide rewards or incentives for participating in meetings and utilizing Virtual

Reality, I would have to talk to administration to see what resources are available. Again, this

could be out of my ability to control based on funds and what administration is willing to allow.

However, I would like to see payment for staff who attend professional developments and

provide meaningful feedback. As for staff who are utilizing Virtual Reality and allowing others

to come and observe, I would like to work with administration to see if this could count for one

of their yearly observations/evaluations. For those teachers who already have the intrinsic

motivation to try new things, utilizing Virtual Reality will be its own motivation. Also, once

student engagement and progress is observed, that will serve as a reward as well.

The sixth condition is “Participation”. It is the general feeling of staff, based on my

interviews, that most participation is expected and enforced by higher up without always

accounting for the opinions and feelings of staff. In implementing professional developments for

Virtual Reality, staff would most likely be expected to participate in the whole group meetings.

However, I would provide opportunities for small group and one-on-one trainings. Also, the

technology committee, as well as the meetings, would be voluntary. This would allow for staff

to feel as though their participation is encouraged and their opinions and feelings are valued.

The benefits of this would be that staff would still get the most important information at whole

staff meetings, which would hopefully encourage them to seek more knowledge and come to

other trainings and meetings.

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The seventh condition is “Commitment”, meaning that staff “buy into” the process and

express continuing support. Before choosing the innovation of Virtual Reality, I talked with my

principal to see which innovations he would see as beneficial for our learners. After speaking

with him, I know that he would be committed to seeing Virtual Reality be implemented

successfully at our school. Currently, I think that most staff are committed to seeing success

within our students based on the resources we have and the motivation and passion we share as

educators. However, some staff still aren’t committed to the continual development of

innovation and the use of technology daily in the classroom. The technology committee would

be vital in helping to overcome this notion. Technology committee members would be available

to offer continual support of staff, both through meetings and one-on-one trainings. We would

also offer tech-tips in the form of meetings and self-paced presentations to allow staff to learn

and explore at their own time and pace. Allowing staff the advantage of being paid extra to

participate in professional developments, or being able to use learning walks as an opportunity

for an observation write-up would also help in solidifying staff commitment to continual

improvement of technology use and implementation of new innovations.

The final condition is “Leadership” – key leaders must provide encouragement, support,

and inspiration. Overall, staff feel as though they mostly don’t have a voice, although we are

often asked our opinions about programs or things currently implemented at the school.

However, staff feel as though these opinions don’t change the policies or the way things happen,

and that oftentimes these policies are handed down from higher up and have to be done. Staff do

feel that they can communicate easily with administration, especially when it comes to new

ideas. They currently feel supported in their roles, but that there is definitely room for growth.

According to my interviews, staff feel that there are strong leaders throughout our building,
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including administration, the Data Coach, and the STAT teacher, who often take on additional

responsibilities at the school. In order to further solidify this feeling of leadership at my school, I

plan to develop a technology committee. This committee will be comprised of several members

of the school with strong technology skills to help support and train staff. With continued

leadership and trainings, staff will continue to learn and grow as educational leaders as well.

The ACOT Model

The ACOT Model is a model created by Apple to identify stages of the use of technology

in the classroom. Staff move through the stages as they become more proficient in a technology

or innovation. It is important to identify what stage you are on as an educator so that you can

take steps to move yourself further along the model. Through my experiences at my school, as

well as the current interviews I gave based on Ely’s Eight Conditions, I was able to gain a sense

of what stages staff members are on in the model. This has allowed me to begin thinking of how

I could help them move up a level (or more).

The first stage in the ACOT Model is the Entry State. In this stage, technology is just

being implemented, and therefore, staff has little to no knowledge of its uses. No one in my

school is currently on this stage. We have had one-to-one devices for a little over 2 years now,

and both staff and students use these devices daily. Even in Kindergarten, where they do not

have one-to-one devices, but a cart to share, the devices are being utilized daily, on a rotational

schedule, during their student centers. Introducing Virtual Reality into my school will have

some staff starting out on this stage, as some have heard of it but never seen it. Moving staff out

of this stage would involve providing multiple occasions to use Virtual Reality, as well as time to

reflect upon its use.

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The second stage of the ACOT Model is Adoption. In this stage, staff has adopted the

use of the technology, but are still struggling to accommodate and troubleshoot the technology.

Staff in this stage are using technology to replace paper and pencil activities on a basic level.

The technology isn’t being utilized fully, but for some aspects in the classroom. It is my belief

that the Kindergarten team would lie on this level. Currently, they are using the devices during

center instruction, but only as a means to having students practice math. In Baltimore County,

we are using a program called Dreambox. The Kindergarten team has students use this program

during centers time, only five students at a time. The teachers are logging on the devices and

setting up the program for students to use. In order to move them past this stage with limited

resources, I would work with Kindergarten to brainstorm other ways that the computers could be

used at centers. For example, we could work together to come up with a Wixie project that

students could work on either collaboratively or independently. Students could practice writing

and illustrating a sentence to respond to a story.

The next stage of the ACOT Model is Adaptation. In this stage, productivity is increased

because students and staff become more comfortable with the daily use of technology. Some

teachers in grades 1-5 would fall in this stage. One-to-one devices are being used daily for

different assignments, and students are becoming faster with using the computers. Staff in this

stage are still adapting to using the devices, and may only use them to substitute paper and pencil

assignments, or online text for regular text. In order to get staff passed this stage, I would

continue to support them in their use, but provide trainings on other programs that can be used to

further learning. One example could be to provide training on a program such as Padlet or

Edmodo, allowing staff to see the benefits of getting students involved in learning discussions

that they can come back to over and over again.

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The fourth stage in the ACOT Model is the Appropriation Stage. In this stage, teachers

are moving to mastery of the technology. This means they are using it “effortlessly as a tool to

accomplish real work” (D. Dwyer, C. Ringstaff, J. Sandholtz, J., n.d.). Most staff members in

grades 2-5 fall in this stage of the model. With continued daily use of one-to-one devices, staff

and students are more comfortable with technology and are using it as a tool to learn. Staff

utilize the technology in several different ways to further student learning, not just through

substitution but also through modification. This stage is where most staff become stuck, due to

not knowing what else to do with the technology and limited trainings on different aspects of the

technology. In order to move staff to the next stage, it will be important to offer trainings on

different programs that can be utilized with the devices and allowing staff time to try out these

new programs and reflect on them. I will also provide support to staff who are implementing

programs in different ways by brainstorming uses and offering opportunities for co-teaching.

Invention is the last stage of the ACOT Model. In this stage, teachers are creating new

learning environments. Teachers in this stage have a new view of teaching, where learning is

active and interactive, creative, and social. I don’t think that anyone in my school is at this stage

permanently, but I think that depending on the assignment, some staff hit this stage. Recently,

we have had a training on using the program Class Flow. This is a great tool to use in the

classroom to allow for a flipped learning environment. Class Flow allows students to collaborate

on learning, allowing for learning to become interactive and social. One of my colleagues has

taken this training and has begun working hard on transforming some of her lessons using Class

Flow. She has converted some of our ActivInspire lessons onto the program, and added

interactive polls to really get students engaged and collaborating on the lesson. Other programs

that we have access to allow for this as well, such as Wixie. In order to help staff get to this
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stage of the ACOT Model more often, I would continue to have tech-tip meetings in which I

show how these types of programs can be implemented, as well as allow time for brainstorming.

I would have staff go back and utilize these ideas and then reflect with me on how they went and

what we could do to improve them.

Stakeholders

Stakeholders are an integral part of the success of any innovation or change.

Stakeholders are the people who will help support and bring about the change, as well as get

others on board with the change. The first of the stakeholders in my school are the students.

Specifically, my classroom of students, as well as the students of fellow staff members who are

also stakeholders or on the technology committee. Students are key stakeholders because they

are directly affected by the technology and can give immediate feedback. Students would be

involved in brainstorming different ideas to utilize the technology, as well as providing feedback

in regards to what went well and what might need to be improved upon. Students can provide

this feedback during class meetings, and the feedback would then be brought to any technology

meetings for further discussion among members. This would help to address many of Ely’s

Conditions, such as showing that knowledge and skills exist, participation, commitment, and the

internal incentive of using the technology and having fun with it.

Another group of stakeholders are the parents in the community. Parents would be

invited to attend after school meetings to discuss dissatisfaction with the status quo, as well as

brainstorming ways to improve it. Parents are key because they are invested in their child’s

future and parent support is important in the path to student growth and learning. Also, I would

invite the PTA president to be a part of the technology committee. At our school, the PTA

president works during the day and would be able to attend professional developments, as well as
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help others with any questions or concerns they have related to technology. This connection

would help involve the parent community, and encourage participation in after school meetings.

Although all staff would be invited to participate, I would encourage one staff member

from each grade level to be involved so that they can give input specific to that grade level, as

well as take back any new learning or information to the rest of their team. This would help

show leadership among staff, as well as help to move staff up in the ACOT Model.

Administration is another key stakeholder and would play the role of leadership in helping to

organize meetings and provide incentives for attending meetings and applying new learning.

Administration would also be vital in looking at funding for any new technology, such as the

Virtual Reality goggles. Two other specific staff members that would be important stakeholders

are the STAT teacher and the Library/Media specialist. These two staff members already have a

plethora of knowledge and skills that are technology related, and would be key in helping other

staff move along the ACOT Model. I would also collaborate with these two staff members to

help me run tech. tip meetings and professional developments. The STAT teacher and the

Library/Media specialist are two staff members that would be part of the technology committee.

Business or Technology companies may also play a role in bringing a change in my

school. Currently, Baltimore County Public Schools are affiliated with many technology

companies, such as Microsoft, Engrade, and Class Flow to name a few. These relationships are

important because they help establish funding through grants, but also they help us gain the

resources we need to move forward. To keep these stakeholders involved in what is happening

in my school, I often use Twitter or email to communicate. I would also consider inviting

companies to attend meetings and host professional developments to pass along their knowledge

and skills to school staff.

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This list of stakeholders in comparison to the “ideal” list in the Guidebook for

Developing an Effective Technology Plan is almost exact. On both lists lie students, parents,

faculty members, administrators, business and technology professionals, laypersons, and

librarians. However, different from this “ideal” list, I do not have specific community members

or administrative support personnel. Although I do not list specific community members as

stakeholders for my project, parents of students who live in the immediate community are

stakeholders for my vision and could be considered in both the parent and community member

group. Specifically, it is more difficult to attract community members to a project whom do not

have a tie to the school system and would not see benefits from attending meetings or giving

input. The second category on the “ideal” list that I do not specifically name are administrative

support personnel. However, several faculty members could be identified in this category as

well as the faculty member category. Specifically the STAT teacher and data coach, who work

very closely with administration and often take on leadership roles in the school building.

Plan

Vision and Mission

According to the Guidebook for Developing an Effective Technology plan, “a vision

statement expresses your thoughts about what you want to happen in the future.” Technology

takes our large world and makes it smaller and more accessible. Therefore, it is a mandatory tool

in learning. In the classroom, technology is utilized by each teacher, student, and administrator.

Students are able to explore their interests without boundaries, helping them grow as learners and

as future citizens of our world. Technology allows students, teachers, and administrators to work

collaboratively and creatively in order to advance understanding and knowledge in a way that is

beyond paper and pencil methods. Currently, I agree with most of my staff that we are very
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lucky in receiving the resources and support to be a technologically advanced school. However,

I also feel there is always room for growth and change. Going forward, I hope that my school

continues to utilize technology as a means to alter education and create future leaders and

productive society members. In order to achieve this, I think that we need to continue on our

path of innovation and using technology in new ways. I also hope that in the future, we can

provide an “open world” for students, in which they can go outside the walls of a traditional

classroom. Incorporating Virtual Reality into the classroom could achieve this vision of opening

up the classroom. After 3-5 years of implementation, Virtual Reality would change the way

students learn. Students would be able to simultaneously explore the world around them and

connect to what they are learning. This would result in deeper understanding of concepts.

Students would naturally be more inquisitive and engaged in learning, and even have

opportunities to branch out and focus on things of interest to them. This could lead to more

project-based learning and collaborative opportunities, helping to develop 21st century skills. In

addition to this, allowing more time for professional development and more opportunities to see

and discuss technology use are vital to continuing the change I would like to see in my school.

The mission statement, according to the Guidebook, is intended to “describe your

purpose and your plans for fulfilling your vision for technology in education.” My purpose is to

continue the trajectory of technology use in my school, as well as to improve the uses of

technology to further the achievement of our students. In order to achieve this, I will continue to

provide trainings to staff, as well as time to discuss new learnings and troubleshoot problems.

Currently, we have a variety of technologies at our fingertips with more on the way, such as 3D

printers. In order to keep staff from feeling overwhelmed, I will establish a technology

committee to help with integrating technology into the classroom appropriately. It is my mission
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to help staff move up one or more stages of the ACOT model and use technology as a means to

further education instead of just a supplement to other materials provided in the curriculum. I

hope to help staff see that learning with technology is a means to extend learning beyond the four

walls of a traditional classroom and build stronger bridges between the student and the world

around them.

Issues

It is expected that several issues will arise during the planning process. Assigning certain

issues to certain committee members will help to alleviate the issues and continue on a path to

change. The first issue to address is public relations. Several committee members could help

with this issue, including the STAT teacher, administration, and PTA president. The STAT

teacher could work with other STAT teachers in the county to discuss our vision and mission and

find out what other schools are doing. The STAT teacher could also work to get us media

attention via the school Twitter account, as well as the Baltimore County Public School’s

website. Administration would continue to reach out to other administrators and higher ups to

discuss funding and equipment, as well as discuss how other schools are advancing or any

programs they are working on. Administration would also be a link to business and technology

companies. Finally, the PTA president would be a link to the community and parents, keeping

them involved and informed.

The second issue is choosing the correct equipment and making sure it is affordable. The

budget is handled by administration, but I would also attempt to alleviate this burden by helping

apply for a grant. As previously stated, we have a lot of equipment already available, so we

would, at this time, only be adding on the purchase of the Virtual Reality goggles and the
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software to utilize them. After this new equipment is obtained, staff and students will need to be

introduced to the new technology and instructed on how to use it.

Another issue is implementation. I would take the leadership role in coming up with a

projected timeline and making sure to take the necessary steps to see it through. I would work

with the technology committee and administration to plan and carry out several professional

developments throughout the school year to discuss the use of technology and brainstorm ways

we can further our use to increase students learning and engagement. I would work with

administration to come up with different incentives for participation. I would like to discuss

using learning walks as observations and providing stipends for staff who attend trainings. Other

possible rewards could include a spotlight in the weekly newsletter or on the announcements. I

would also discuss with administration the possibility of sending staff to different technology

conferences in order to help keep our school up to date on technology advancements. I would

also send out periodical surveys to gauge staff and student learning and opinions to see how to

proceed further and provide Tech. Tip sessions after school and one-on-one trainings to help

staff feel comfortable with implementation. I know that an important issue to my staff is

allowing time to implement new technologies and time to reflect upon them. In these

professional development meetings, I plan to give time for reflection, and several meeting dates

will give staff the opportunity to utilize the technology appropriately before meeting.

Timeline: Action and Assessment

In order to implement a change in my school, a timeline of appropriate goals and

assessments will be carried out. First, I will talk with administration and work to get funding for

the purchase of Virtual Reality goggles and the software that goes with it. This will have to

happen early on so that the goggles arrive before the beginning of the next school year. During
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teacher week back, which is the last week of August, I will provide a whole staff professional

development to introduce Virtual Reality goggles and discuss how they can be implemented

successfully in the classroom. Following this professional development, staff will be provided

with a survey to assess their feelings about the information presented at the meeting and to see

what stage they are on in the ACOT Model. I will also ask staff at the meeting to try out the

Virtual Reality goggles between then and the next whole group staff meeting, which will be in

November. In the meantime, I will start to provide Tech. Tip trainings after school once a week

that are differentiated to meet the needs of different staff and help them move up on the ACOT

scale. I will also meet with staff individually at their request to help them plan and implement

lessons that incorporate technology and troubleshoot any problems that arise. My goal is to

make staff feel comfortable in coming to either myself or a member of the technology committee

to help them in turn feel more comfortable with implementing technology successfully in their

classrooms. These Tech. Tip trainings and meetings will continue for the remainder of the

school year. I will periodically check in with teachers to get feedback as to how the

implementation went and how they are feeling about using the technology on a daily basis with

students. In November, I will hold another whole staff professional development to discuss how

their use of Virtual Reality in the classroom went and brainstorm ideas of how else it can be

utilized in the classroom. Staff will work together to develop a list that will be posted on the

shared drive for future reference. Following this meeting, I will work with staff and

administration to set up learning walks that will help staff directly see how Virtual Reality and

other technologies are being implemented in classrooms around the school. These learning

walks will also allow staff to gain ideas for how they can continue to utilize technology with

their students. Staff will complete a note sheet to list new learnings and ideas, as well as any
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 20

obstacles they feel may arise in their own classroom. This will help guide me in future

professional developments or meetings with staff. For the remainder of the year, I will continue

to check in with staff during whole group staff meetings to gauge their progress with both the

Virtual Reality goggles and other technologies. I will continue to provide Tech. Tip sessions and

individual differentiated sessions as needed. At the end of the year, I will provide staff with a

final survey to collect data about how they feel their school year went with the new technology,

as well as how they are feeling about implementing technology in general. I will have staff

grade their technology ability and rate themselves as to where they think they fall in the ACOT

Model. This will help me to see how far staff has grown and where we will need to continue to

go for the next school year.

Example Plans

The first example plan I looked at was the Bill Childress Elementary Technology Plan for

2014-2017. To start with, I like that the technology plan encompasses three years. I think that

this is a good amount of time to implement change and see the progress being made. I also like

how after the title page, they listed the members of the technology committee, as well as other

acknowledgements. This is a good way to recognize the stakeholders and the members who will

be helping to make the plan a success. I also like the way they incorporated a table of contents to

make their plan easily accessible. The Bill Childress plan also includes a paragraph about the

parameters of the plan, noting what it is driven by and how it supports the curriculum. I think

this is important because it ties in the learning and shows how the plan is connected to what is

already happening in the classroom. An improvement I might make upon this plan is to list the

vision statement and mission statement of the plan before giving an introduction that lists the

goals, and the parameters that the plan follows. I think that it is important to provide a vision as
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 21

an opening so that the people viewing the plan know where you are going and why. I also

would’ve liked them to explain their current situation in more detail. In the paper, they listed

bullet points as to the current technologies they have in the school, but they did not talk about

perceived attributes or where their staff lie on either the ACOT or SAMR models, which makes

it hard to see the knowledge and skills that currently exist in the school, as well as how the

technologies that already exist are being utilized.

The second example plan that I looked at was the Campus Technology Plan for Deanna

Davenport Elementary School in Canutillo, Texas. Again, this school provided a three year

window for staff to be able to implement the plan. I think that this is a fair amount of time for

the start of implementation of change. In this paper, many of the components are bulleted as

opposed to written in paragraph form. I think that this makes the information more pleasing to

the eye and more accessible rather than reading through paragraphs to find the information you

are looking for. The layout of this paper is very similar to the first paper that I critiqued, and I

find a lot of similarities in the things I liked and disliked from that first paper. I also really like

the layout of their goals. In this paper, they have the goals listed in a way that draws the eye.

They explain the goal and then have 3-5 objectives underneath each goal to show how they will

attain that goal. Underneath of this, they have a table to lay out the strategy they will use, whose

responsibility it will be, a timeline, the budget, and how the goal will be evaluated. This is a nice

breakdown to see exactly how their plan will go into effect and who will be involved. I also

really like how they broke down their budget to show exactly what they need for each of the

three years, how much it will cost, and the available and potential funding for each item. One

improvement that could be made is a better breakdown of the timeline. In the goal table, it lists

the timeline in years and has a check under each to show that the objective will take place during
TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 22

all three years. However, it would be beneficial to see the breakdown of each year and

approximately when and how each objective will be met.

TECHNOLOGY PLANNING PAPER 23

References

Baber, J. (2018, February 12). Personal Interview.

Clark, L. (2018, February 13). Personal Interview.

Canutillo Independent School District (2014). Bill Childress Elementary Technology Plan.

Retrieved from: http://www.canutillo-

isd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_52913/File/Departments/Technology/Technology%20P

lans/BCE%20Technology%20Plan.pdf

Deanna Davenport Elementary School (2014). Campus Technology Plan. Retrieved from:

http://www.canutillo-

isd.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_52913/File/Departments/Technology/Technology%20P

lans/DDE%20Technology%20Plan.pdf

Dwyer, D., Ringstaff, C., Sandholtz, J. (n.d.). Teacher Beliefs and Practices Part I: Patterns of

Change (Report No. 8). Retrieved from Apple Computer Website:

https://www.apple.com/euro/pdfs/acotlibrary/rpt8.pdf

Mississippi State University Graduate Students (1996). Guidebook for Developing an Effective

Instructional Technology Plan (Version 2.0). Retrieved from Moodle Website:

https://moodle.loyola.edu/pluginfile.php/1268337/mod_tab/content/403/Guidebook.pdf

Ondish, K. (2018, February 12). Personal Interview.

Overview – Ely’s Conditions of Change. (n.d.). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from

https://sites.google.com/site/elysconditionsofchange/history