Aligning technology purchases requires transparency
Getting all involved parties on the same page is never easy. It requires collaboration, compromise, and tough conversations about how and why we do what we do in the classroom. We need to build a shared understanding of the work we do and increase transparency in our processes. Ultimately, we need an underlying philosophy. At Parkway, we call this our Education Technology Commitment, and it guides our decisions about how and why we use and buy technology for our students.
Without a mission statement or guiding document, your district may be making technology decisions based on how people feel that day. Instead, it's important to identify common ground across your organizations.
Ask These Important Questions When Writing Ed Tech Documentation
A great starting point is to recruit people from your school community who represent the various groups that may be involved in the decision-making and consultation process. This could include teachers, building administrators, librarians, district curriculum leaders, technology staff, students, parents, local industry partners, etc. You won't be able to include every stakeholder, but having a range of voices at the table will help you develop a more credible and compelling philosophical position.
Discover: Selecting essential classroom technology to ease the digital burden in K-12.
What you're looking for is evidence, something that lets you say, “This is why we made this decision.” Once you've come together, look for common ground, and in the process, consider some guiding questions:
- What do we want our kids to do with technology? Do our students agree with our answers?
- What skills do students need to have when they leave school?
- What experiences do we want to provide our students to prepare them for the world outside our school district?
- What actions should you take to keep your students safe online?
- What existing policies do I need to follow?
These questions alone won't create a final document, but they are a great way to get a sense of where your group is and what's important to your community.
47%
Percentage of K-12 educators surveyed say educational technology has enabled them to teach more effectively
Source: HMH, 9th Annual Educator Confidence Report, August 2023
Community support builds leadership support
Once you have a draft, reconvene the group for feedback to ensure everyone's input. From there, involve school leaders who may be making decisions about technology use and purchases; these are the people who need to buy into the overall philosophy when making their own decisions. The more people who provide feedback (whether it's used in the final document or not), the more representative the document will be for your entire community.
Whether you call the final document a technology commitment, guidelines, or philosophy, the important point is that you create a transparent process and recognize that there are community-backed reasons for making technology decisions.
clock: A school district's IT and curriculum teams work together.