Technology+Vision

=Tom Hammond= =Planning for Technology= =January 17, 2013=

= Technology Vision =

When I think of technology vision, I envision the "big picture" of what technology integration should look like. Vision is not about application of particular technology, not about certain classes or teachers. Instead, technology vision provides a system that gives and, more importantly, maintains the //life// of technology integration. It is an organism that must be well-fed and supported in order for it to thrive, to effectively and continually improve teaching and learning.

Technology vision is about a new way of thinking, how an institution operates at the most fundamental level. Not only should teachers use chat programs with their students, for instance, but administration and should use it among themselves. This vision must be embraced by all constituents, by all personnel whether directly related to teaching or not. This changes one's way of thinking and promotes a culture of always looking to the future, trying something new and innovative. The ISTE's NETS for Administrators (NETS•A) provide standards for defining the major components of this vision. I attempt to explain my take on these standards as explained below.


 * 1. Visionary Leadership **

Technology vision should be championed by administration as well as faculty. This leadership recognizes how technology can be used in today's world to transform educational practices. They listen to the needs of faculty and staff, then devise solutions to address those needs. Leadership is needed within the school's surrounding community to agree upon educational goals, discover technology integration ideas, and gather feedback from the community as to its effectiveness. The administration seeks the council of local, state, and national educational governing bodies to learn of technology trends in education and how they can be applied to their own institutions.

**2. Digital Age Learning Culture**

It is one thing to introduce technology into learning, yet another to sustain it. Learning with technology needs to be as common as reading & writing, that students can come to expect that most aspects of their learning will involve current technologies that they can relate to. To form this culture, administrators must provide environments that are rich with technology, encourage faculty to integrate and apply technology to the fundamental aspects of their courses, and continually assess the effectiveness of its integration. The result is that students are engaged with the content in ways that are relevant to them, as technology is very much part of their culture.

**3. Excellence in Professional Practice**

Simply purchasing and installing technology is not enough for faculty and staff to integrate it into their pedagogy and content. They must be given time, training, incentives, and support to effectively be used in the classroom. The goal of technology integration is to change not only //how// content is delivered, but to uncover new content areas that were not possible before its integration. In this vision, administration must provide a supportive environment, such as learning communities among faculty to help each other. It is important that leaders continually research the latest trends in educational technology and provide mechanisms to adopt them on a continual basis.

**4. Systemic Improvement**

When teachers begin to adopt technology into their classrooms, mechanisms must be in place to evaluate its effectiveness from class-to-class and year-to-year. The administration set integration goals that faculty & staff should strive for, the efforts of which are assessed for effectiveness. Findings from this evaluative data should be used to improve the learning community so that everyone benefits from it. Personnel who demonstrate a high level of competency should be supported by the administration to support other faculty, furthering the advancement of defined administrative integration goals. This can also be done promoting technology use in many aspects of the institution, not just teaching.

**5. Digital Citizenship**

All constituents involved with technology integration should fully understand that respect its social, legal, and cultural aspects. Technology should be accessible by various classes of society; it cannot be assumed that students have technology access outside of the institution. Access should be safe in that students are protected from outside influences and can recognize when dangers are present. Technology use should be legal in that copyright is respected. And most importantly, effective technology integration and use should realize the diverse nature of students and how they interact with a diverse world. The digital culture that is formed by students, faculty, and staff must model a responsible attitude towards culture. This is especially important as classrooms extend far beyond its walls, opening to a wide world of possibilities not possible before.

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