Standard 1.2 Strategic Planning
Candidates facilitate the design, development, implementation, communication, and evaluation of technology-infused strategic plans. (PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b)
Artifact:
Reflection:
ITEC 7410 SWOT Analysis
The SWOT Analysis project was completed to help me analyze my school current-reality regarding technology. Completing this project also helped me identify my school strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of various technology essential conditions defined by the ISTE. First, I address each of the essential conditions and the guiding questions that correlated with each condition. As I addressed each essential conditions, I reflected on my school strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to each. Once I reflected on each condition, I summarized the results/ conclusions detailing how my school addressed each condition. Lastly, I included recommendations from the Gap Analysis I completed before drafting the SWOT Analysis artifact. I developed this SWOT Analysis artifact to make suggestions of how my school can make improvements in the area of each essential condition.
I used results from the ISTE diagnostic survey tool to help with my recommendations. I also used the ISTE’s standards for students and teachers to ensure that I used the correct technology verbiage when making suggestions. Also, while making suggestions for improvement, I used the ISTE standards as a guideline to ensure that my school would meet the standards of technology. Therefore, this SWOT Analysis artifact includes recommendations of how my school can effectively make a technology-infused strategic plan that communicates the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instructional technology for student-centered learning. This artifact helps support my school vision statement and the shared vision that I have developed for my school as it relates to technology. The vision of my school is to help students become life-long learners. This SWOT Analysis will help identify areas that are working well and those that need improving so we can use technology to assist students in achieving academic success and becoming life-long learners.
Throughout the development of the SWOT Analysis artifact, I completed the Lead & Transform Diagnostic Tool created by ISTE. I created interview questions correlated to the essential conditions. With the questions, I discussed with my colleagues concerning the current technology realities in our school. I used the data from the ISTE diagnostic test and the peer interviews to help with my recommendations of this SWOT Analysis artifact. The SWOT Analysis demonstrates that I can facilitate the design, development, implementation, communication, and evaluation of a technology-infused strategic plan for my school as it relates to creating a plan for the effective use of for student learning. Initially, I took the diagnostic test and learned what areas of improvement were need within my school. Following, I addressed each essential condition and the associating questions. I learned that my school had some a few strengths, but also areas of improvements.
To help my school create a technology-infused plan that aligns with the ISTE’s standards for teachers and students, I made recommendations that were supported by textual evidence and research-based practices. Before making recommendations, I reflected on the feedback from the peer interviews I conducted with my colleagues. This feedback helped me make recommendations that were both beneficial to the students and teachers. I proposed opportunities for teachers to have the opportunity to receive training and assistance to effectively integrate research-based best practices that will most likely support student engagement and a deeper understanding of the content. Teachers should dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology, according to the ISTE standards for teachers. Since my school does not have a technology coach, I suggested the peer coaching strategy among the teachers. I made suggestions for the peer coach to model lessons for their mentee and offered assistance in other areas when needed. The peer coach should offer to demonstrate the use of best practices when using digital resources to engage students and improve student learning for the teacher. During the peer coach planning time, he or she should go into the teacher classroom and demonstrate a model lesson that employs best-practices while engaging students. When coaches model, they go into teacher’s classrooms and show them examples of how to employ the particular practice they are learning about (pg. 29 Knight, 2007).
The completion of the SWOT Analysis artifact, helped me learn that part of the ISTE standards for educators, teachers should continually improve their practice by learning from and with others. They should also learn by exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to enhance student learning.
Although there is a strength in the skilled personnel condition at my school, not all teachers stay up-to-date with new digital resources that are aligned to research-best practices. I learned that it is vital to provide and participate in ongoing PLCs over technology resources that can be used to assess student’s knowledge, progress monitor, and to remediate. Providing ongoing technology-based PLCs to share digital resources with teachers will improve their practice as they learn from and with their colleagues exploring best-practices that promote student engagement and enhance learning. At the heart of digital leadership is a connected model of learning and professional growth (pg. 130 Sheninger, 2014). The educator’s personnel skills and professional practices will continue to grow if teachers have an open mindset to learn and implement new best-practices within their lessons with digital learning tools.
I also learned the importance of digital equity and having equitable access for all students, specifically Low SES and gender groups. Although my school and schools within the district have technology devices available for all students, some are without those devices at home. Completing this artifact helped me gain a deeper understanding of students how students who do not have internet access and technology devices are at a disadvantage at home.
Reflecting upon this issue, and finding a solution, helped me as a teacher gain insight into the need to a better plan with digital tools. Students should all have a fair opportunity to complete assignments using digital tools without falling behind academically. In addition to planning, I gained insight into the benefits of having community partners to assist low-income families that do not have internet access. The ability to allow students to check-out school-issued technology devices, when needed, will also help close the digital equity gap to diminish the threat of students falling behind in academics.
The amount of work that went into developing and creating this SWOT Analysis artifact had an impact on my teaching practices and student learning. I also assisted other teachers by using the “peer coaching” model to help improve their teaching practices and student engagement and learning in the classroom. With the implementation of using the ISTE standards when planning lessons; student engagement and learning will improve because the ISTE standards promote student engagement, critical thinking skills, and student-centered learning.
References:
ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for educators
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving
instruction: A multimedia kit for professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Sheninger, E. C. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times.
Thousand Oaks, CA: A joint publication of
Corwin ICLE.
ITEC 7410 SWOT Analysis
The SWOT Analysis project was completed to help me analyze my school current-reality regarding technology. Completing this project also helped me identify my school strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of various technology essential conditions defined by the ISTE. First, I address each of the essential conditions and the guiding questions that correlated with each condition. As I addressed each essential conditions, I reflected on my school strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to each. Once I reflected on each condition, I summarized the results/ conclusions detailing how my school addressed each condition. Lastly, I included recommendations from the Gap Analysis I completed before drafting the SWOT Analysis artifact. I developed this SWOT Analysis artifact to make suggestions of how my school can make improvements in the area of each essential condition.
I used results from the ISTE diagnostic survey tool to help with my recommendations. I also used the ISTE’s standards for students and teachers to ensure that I used the correct technology verbiage when making suggestions. Also, while making suggestions for improvement, I used the ISTE standards as a guideline to ensure that my school would meet the standards of technology. Therefore, this SWOT Analysis artifact includes recommendations of how my school can effectively make a technology-infused strategic plan that communicates the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instructional technology for student-centered learning. This artifact helps support my school vision statement and the shared vision that I have developed for my school as it relates to technology. The vision of my school is to help students become life-long learners. This SWOT Analysis will help identify areas that are working well and those that need improving so we can use technology to assist students in achieving academic success and becoming life-long learners.
Throughout the development of the SWOT Analysis artifact, I completed the Lead & Transform Diagnostic Tool created by ISTE. I created interview questions correlated to the essential conditions. With the questions, I discussed with my colleagues concerning the current technology realities in our school. I used the data from the ISTE diagnostic test and the peer interviews to help with my recommendations of this SWOT Analysis artifact. The SWOT Analysis demonstrates that I can facilitate the design, development, implementation, communication, and evaluation of a technology-infused strategic plan for my school as it relates to creating a plan for the effective use of for student learning. Initially, I took the diagnostic test and learned what areas of improvement were need within my school. Following, I addressed each essential condition and the associating questions. I learned that my school had some a few strengths, but also areas of improvements.
To help my school create a technology-infused plan that aligns with the ISTE’s standards for teachers and students, I made recommendations that were supported by textual evidence and research-based practices. Before making recommendations, I reflected on the feedback from the peer interviews I conducted with my colleagues. This feedback helped me make recommendations that were both beneficial to the students and teachers. I proposed opportunities for teachers to have the opportunity to receive training and assistance to effectively integrate research-based best practices that will most likely support student engagement and a deeper understanding of the content. Teachers should dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology, according to the ISTE standards for teachers. Since my school does not have a technology coach, I suggested the peer coaching strategy among the teachers. I made suggestions for the peer coach to model lessons for their mentee and offered assistance in other areas when needed. The peer coach should offer to demonstrate the use of best practices when using digital resources to engage students and improve student learning for the teacher. During the peer coach planning time, he or she should go into the teacher classroom and demonstrate a model lesson that employs best-practices while engaging students. When coaches model, they go into teacher’s classrooms and show them examples of how to employ the particular practice they are learning about (pg. 29 Knight, 2007).
The completion of the SWOT Analysis artifact, helped me learn that part of the ISTE standards for educators, teachers should continually improve their practice by learning from and with others. They should also learn by exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to enhance student learning.
Although there is a strength in the skilled personnel condition at my school, not all teachers stay up-to-date with new digital resources that are aligned to research-best practices. I learned that it is vital to provide and participate in ongoing PLCs over technology resources that can be used to assess student’s knowledge, progress monitor, and to remediate. Providing ongoing technology-based PLCs to share digital resources with teachers will improve their practice as they learn from and with their colleagues exploring best-practices that promote student engagement and enhance learning. At the heart of digital leadership is a connected model of learning and professional growth (pg. 130 Sheninger, 2014). The educator’s personnel skills and professional practices will continue to grow if teachers have an open mindset to learn and implement new best-practices within their lessons with digital learning tools.
I also learned the importance of digital equity and having equitable access for all students, specifically Low SES and gender groups. Although my school and schools within the district have technology devices available for all students, some are without those devices at home. Completing this artifact helped me gain a deeper understanding of students how students who do not have internet access and technology devices are at a disadvantage at home.
Reflecting upon this issue, and finding a solution, helped me as a teacher gain insight into the need to a better plan with digital tools. Students should all have a fair opportunity to complete assignments using digital tools without falling behind academically. In addition to planning, I gained insight into the benefits of having community partners to assist low-income families that do not have internet access. The ability to allow students to check-out school-issued technology devices, when needed, will also help close the digital equity gap to diminish the threat of students falling behind in academics.
The amount of work that went into developing and creating this SWOT Analysis artifact had an impact on my teaching practices and student learning. I also assisted other teachers by using the “peer coaching” model to help improve their teaching practices and student engagement and learning in the classroom. With the implementation of using the ISTE standards when planning lessons; student engagement and learning will improve because the ISTE standards promote student engagement, critical thinking skills, and student-centered learning.
References:
ISTE Standards for Educators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for educators
Knight, J. (2007). Instructional coaching: A partnership approach to improving
instruction: A multimedia kit for professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Sheninger, E. C. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times.
Thousand Oaks, CA: A joint publication of
Corwin ICLE.