1.1 Shared Vision
Candidates facilitate the development and implementation of a shared vision for the use of technology in teaching, learning, and leadership. (PSC 1.1/ISTE 1a)
Artifact: Shared Vision Paper
Reflection:
The artifact for this standard is my Shared Vision paper, which I created for the ITEC 7410 class. For this artifact, I developed a vision for my school’s integration of technology. In order develop this vision, I surveyed our school's stakeholders, including administrators, parents, teachers, and students, to gain their insight and feedback on the current level of technology implementation at the school. I designed an electronic survey, using Google Forms, to administer the survey and to collect and analyze the results. In the survey, I asked questions about the current versus the desired usage of a shared vision and technology implementation plan. I asked about the current versus the desired usage of technology in the classroom. The survey questions, inspired by the ISTE essential conditions (ISTE 2012), were used in determining the school's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats when it comes to implementing technology. I used the results and stakeholder's feedback to develop a shared vision for technology implementation. I shared this vision with our local technology team, which includes the interviewed stakeholders. As a group, we discussed the vision and made changes to ensure that all stakeholders were comfortable with their defined roles and that all ISTE essential conditions were addressed. Once we had perfected the shared vision as a committee, we shared it via electronic communication with the whole school community to gain their feedback. Once we had collected their insights, we reconvened as a technology team to make the necessary changes and clarifications. Afterwards, we implemented the shared vision throughout the school community. We created an expanded technology team to guide teachers in applying the shared vision to their lesson plans. The technology team also began to create a technology implementation plan based on the shared vision.
Completing a shared vision was a meaningful and beneficial experience for me. It taught me how important a shared vision is to guide a successful technology implementation plan. This experience provided me the opportunity to evaluate the conditions at my school and find ways to improve them. I discovered the views of teachers, parents, administrators, and students on the changes that they would like to see in the school's implementation of technology. Gaining feedback increased community support for the school, which will be vital as we continue through the implementation phase of the shared vision and implementation plan. If I were to do this assignment again, I would gain more feedback from students. Only a few students answered the survey and only one participated in the panel discussions. Next time I would have a more diverse set of student participants so I would have a more accurate view of the students’ wants and needs.
This artifact impacted school improvement because it gave the school a strategic implementation plan, which it did not have previously. The needs assessment provided the administration with an understanding of the current level of technology usage, the desired level of usage, and suggestions on how to improve. By having a structured plan, the school was able to take the first steps in improving technology integration. Successfully implementing technology throughout the school will improve student achievement, which should be seen on next year’s CCRPI. A more immediate method of obtaining feedback is to review the Student Perception Survey responses which contain questions about the quality of instruction in the classroom.
References:
ISTE (2012). Essential conditions: Necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-for-students-essentialconditions.