This issue we wanted to discuss and explore the concept of having an edtech vision and plan for your school. I know when I was first in the role of ICT/DT, with one day per week allocated, it was just a matter of going term to term and week to week!
Whether you are implementing a new 1:1 program or more broadly raising the profile of all things digital in your school, having a vision and plan is going to be a crucial element to your success. Attributed to a few different people (Benjamin Franklin & Winston Churchill included) is the saying:
"Failing to plan is planning to fail"
As this is such a big topic, we bring you insights from three experienced educational leaders in Australian and New Zealand to share their perspectives on creating an edtech vision and plan.
Elevator pitch?
In a recent episode of The Edtech Chat Podcast, host and educator Craig Kemp explores this very
topic of having an edtech vision and plan. Craig outlines some key considerations that are well worth jotting down as you embark on refining your own school's plan of attack.
1. A big mistake is not to include edtech into the school strategic plan or housing it somewhere different to a schoolwide plan.
2. What is your elevator pitch (30 sec overview) for your school's edtech strategy? How would you explain it to a visitor, parent or new staff member? If you and your staff can't answer this (with a similar answer!) then it provides a good starting point for a roundtable discussion with the leadership team.
3. Get early wins! Highlight existing hotspots within your school as well as share timesaving tools to get teachers on board.
4. What is your why? As Simon Sineck puts it, "people don't buy what you do but why you do it". In creating your school's edtech vision and plan, ensure you crytalise why tech is being used in your school. Last issue we wrote about the importance of teachers understanding the 'why' and what exactly that could be.
5. Teacher professional learning must be prioritised.