1.4 Diffusion of Innovations & Change
Candidates research, recommend, and implement strategies for initiating and sustaining technology innovations and for managing the change process in schools.
Technology Action Plan
The Technology Action Plan was created in the Instructional Technology Leadership course. The purpose of this assignment was to develop an action plan to increase technology use within my school. The goals for the Technology Action Plan were based on the strengths and weaknesses listed in the SWOT Analysis; therefore, the goals are a direct reflection of the most significant technology needs at my school. For the assignment, I included a success indicator, evaluation method, strategies, time, budget, and person(s) responsible for each goal. The Technology Action Plan includes three separate goals that could be reasonably implemented at my school to improve technology use.
The Technology Action Plan demonstrates mastery of Standard 1.4 because the action plan required research in order to recommend strategies that could be implemented in the future. The purpose of the action plan is to develop strategies to sustain technology innovations and to manage the long term process for implementing these strategies. Mastery of this standard will affect my career as a technology leader because it is highly likely that I will need to develop action plans similar to this in the future.
By completing this artifact, I learned about the process of creating an action plan. I realized that developing an action plan can be similar to developing a lesson plan unit (but on a grander scale). I think the most difficult aspect of this assignment was developing measurable and meaningful goals. I found, once I developed the goals, the rest of the assignment seemed to fall into place. Another important aspect to this project is the inclusion of a timeline and a budget. These are crucial elements to an action plan, and it reminded me that goals should not only be meaningful and measurable, but also realistic. If the funds aren't available to implement the strategies required, then something in the action plan will need to be adjusted. To improve the quality of the Technology Action Plan, I would have spent more time reflecting on my Technology Vision instead of just focusing on the SWOT Analysis. While all the assignments go hand in hand, I think I would have taken more risks with my goals if I would have thought more about what my school should be moving towards in the future in regards to technology use.
The work that went into the Technology Action Plan impacts faculty development. The strategies that were developed in order to meet our technology goals included professional learning, differentiated teacher training, collaborative team planning, and teacher mentoring. Essentially, each goal leads back to improving teacher knowledge to best benefit students. The impact of this assignment could be assessed by performing observations, classroom walkthroughs, and having informal discussions with teachers.
The Technology Action Plan demonstrates mastery of Standard 1.4 because the action plan required research in order to recommend strategies that could be implemented in the future. The purpose of the action plan is to develop strategies to sustain technology innovations and to manage the long term process for implementing these strategies. Mastery of this standard will affect my career as a technology leader because it is highly likely that I will need to develop action plans similar to this in the future.
By completing this artifact, I learned about the process of creating an action plan. I realized that developing an action plan can be similar to developing a lesson plan unit (but on a grander scale). I think the most difficult aspect of this assignment was developing measurable and meaningful goals. I found, once I developed the goals, the rest of the assignment seemed to fall into place. Another important aspect to this project is the inclusion of a timeline and a budget. These are crucial elements to an action plan, and it reminded me that goals should not only be meaningful and measurable, but also realistic. If the funds aren't available to implement the strategies required, then something in the action plan will need to be adjusted. To improve the quality of the Technology Action Plan, I would have spent more time reflecting on my Technology Vision instead of just focusing on the SWOT Analysis. While all the assignments go hand in hand, I think I would have taken more risks with my goals if I would have thought more about what my school should be moving towards in the future in regards to technology use.
The work that went into the Technology Action Plan impacts faculty development. The strategies that were developed in order to meet our technology goals included professional learning, differentiated teacher training, collaborative team planning, and teacher mentoring. Essentially, each goal leads back to improving teacher knowledge to best benefit students. The impact of this assignment could be assessed by performing observations, classroom walkthroughs, and having informal discussions with teachers.