1.3 Policies, Procedures, Programs & Funding
Candidates research, recommend, and implement policies, procedures, programs and funding strategies to support implementation of the shared vision represented in the school, district, state, and federal technology plans and guidelines. Funding strategies may include the development, submission, and evaluation of formal grant proposals. (PSC 1.3/ISTE 1c)
Artifact: Action/Evaluation Plan
Reflection:
The Action/Evaluation Plan was created as an assignment for the ITEC 7410: Instructional Technology Leadership course during the summer of 2015. After analyzing the current state of technology usage within Dalton Middle School, this action and evaluation plan was created to bridge the gap between our current state and the shared vision by providing the school specific goals to work for in the next few instructional school years. Each goal also was crafted with specific strategies, timeline, funding sources, people responsible for managing the goal and evaluation tools to see if it was implemented successfully. My contribution to this action/evaluation plan was to take all of the data and information and develop the goals and strategies to accomplish each goal. I worked with district and school technology specialists to be sure the timing and funding was realistic for the district, but the overall plan was created as an individual assignment.
In preparation for crafting this action and evaluation plan there was considerable research that took place in order to determine what policies, procedures, and programs were already taking place in the school through the completion of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis. In reviewing this information and the data collected during the research, I was able to recommend five goals with specific strategies for each to aid the school in moving forward in our usage of technology. These goals ranged from specific resources that needed to be provided to overall strategies that the staff as a whole needs to become more familiar with. To implement these strategies, discussion was held with the administrators and school technology specialist when school began in the fall. Many of the strategies mentioned in the plan did not require additional funding such as mentoring new teachers and interested teachers using the Learning Management System (LMS) used by the school. I was able to coordinate a small group of teachers with representation from each content area and begin this mentoring program. Another implementation strategy was using Survey Monkey to identify the interest of teachers who would be interested in being a part of the 1:1 initiative. I created this survey, administered it, and now am working with some who are interested to discuss what this would look like in their classrooms and the policies and procedures they would need to put into place to make this roll out as smoothly as possible. Some of the goals required additional funding and the district instructional technology coordinator is working on some grant proposals to help make these things happen in the near future.
Through the development of this action and evaluation plan, I learned the importance of understanding all aspects that influence the goals created by a school or district before they can be finalized. This plan and the goals within it, were only possible after weeks of first creating a shared vision for technology within the school and then the analyzing the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that affect the school. Often times, teachers get frustrated that they have great ideas only to have to wait for approval after a long wait period. This assignment enlightened me as to why it is so important to stop and research before changing policies, procedures, or programs due to the funding and other resources that must be present to make them happen. In the future, I would like to see this process become more transparent with the teachers in the building. This plan was created and shared with those impacted by the goals, but the overall process from start to finish should be shared with the entire staff to understand not only how this plan was created, but also what it takes to make change happen on a school level.
The goals created for the school in this action and evaluation plan will impact school improvement through the betterment of the school as a whole as we work to reach the goals. The goals were created to increase teacher capacity using technology effectively in the classroom which will benefit both the teachers and the students involved. This impact can be assessed through teacher evaluations, conversations, as well as overall student achievement in the classrooms effected by the goals.
The Action/Evaluation Plan was created as an assignment for the ITEC 7410: Instructional Technology Leadership course during the summer of 2015. After analyzing the current state of technology usage within Dalton Middle School, this action and evaluation plan was created to bridge the gap between our current state and the shared vision by providing the school specific goals to work for in the next few instructional school years. Each goal also was crafted with specific strategies, timeline, funding sources, people responsible for managing the goal and evaluation tools to see if it was implemented successfully. My contribution to this action/evaluation plan was to take all of the data and information and develop the goals and strategies to accomplish each goal. I worked with district and school technology specialists to be sure the timing and funding was realistic for the district, but the overall plan was created as an individual assignment.
In preparation for crafting this action and evaluation plan there was considerable research that took place in order to determine what policies, procedures, and programs were already taking place in the school through the completion of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis. In reviewing this information and the data collected during the research, I was able to recommend five goals with specific strategies for each to aid the school in moving forward in our usage of technology. These goals ranged from specific resources that needed to be provided to overall strategies that the staff as a whole needs to become more familiar with. To implement these strategies, discussion was held with the administrators and school technology specialist when school began in the fall. Many of the strategies mentioned in the plan did not require additional funding such as mentoring new teachers and interested teachers using the Learning Management System (LMS) used by the school. I was able to coordinate a small group of teachers with representation from each content area and begin this mentoring program. Another implementation strategy was using Survey Monkey to identify the interest of teachers who would be interested in being a part of the 1:1 initiative. I created this survey, administered it, and now am working with some who are interested to discuss what this would look like in their classrooms and the policies and procedures they would need to put into place to make this roll out as smoothly as possible. Some of the goals required additional funding and the district instructional technology coordinator is working on some grant proposals to help make these things happen in the near future.
Through the development of this action and evaluation plan, I learned the importance of understanding all aspects that influence the goals created by a school or district before they can be finalized. This plan and the goals within it, were only possible after weeks of first creating a shared vision for technology within the school and then the analyzing the current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that affect the school. Often times, teachers get frustrated that they have great ideas only to have to wait for approval after a long wait period. This assignment enlightened me as to why it is so important to stop and research before changing policies, procedures, or programs due to the funding and other resources that must be present to make them happen. In the future, I would like to see this process become more transparent with the teachers in the building. This plan was created and shared with those impacted by the goals, but the overall process from start to finish should be shared with the entire staff to understand not only how this plan was created, but also what it takes to make change happen on a school level.
The goals created for the school in this action and evaluation plan will impact school improvement through the betterment of the school as a whole as we work to reach the goals. The goals were created to increase teacher capacity using technology effectively in the classroom which will benefit both the teachers and the students involved. This impact can be assessed through teacher evaluations, conversations, as well as overall student achievement in the classrooms effected by the goals.