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Running head: VISION AND RATIONALE 1
Vision and Rationale for Technology
Paulette M. Allard
Kennesaw State University
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VISION AND RATIONALE 2
Vision Statement
The use of technology will be embedded into the curriculum with
specific emphasis on
the assimilation of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) in every
classroom. Students will be
engaged in their learning while mastering academic and
technology standards. Administrators,
teachers, parents, and students will support the integration of
technology in the BYOD classroom
by promoting and practicing good digital citizenship. The school
district will collaborate with
schools and stakeholders to provide appropriate access and
availability so that students of all
cultures and abilities are sufficiently supported to meet their
learning needs.
Rationale
Whether it is due to budget constraints, educational
enhancement, or both, the
deployment of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is trending in
schools. If you were to walk
through just about any school, it would appear most students
have their own personal device
readily available. On the contrary, few schools are able to
provide 1:1 access to technology in the
classroom on a regular basis. Handheld devices such as cell
phones and tablets can considerably
enhance student learning according to Lemkey, Coughlin, and
Reifsneider (2009). Technology
has the potential to engage students by improving classroom
practices and individualizing
student learning (Boser, 2013). These individual learning goals
and student curiosities can be
well served by educators who practice constructivist teaching
while using technology in the
classroom (Creighton, 2009).
The effectiveness of a BYOD program requires not only an
established policy but also a
rationale for the plan, infrastructure, staff training, and
informed parents (Johnson, 2012). There
are many stakeholders involved with the integration of a BYOD
policy, which includes not only
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VISION AND RATIONALE 3
teachers and students, but also the district, administrators,
and parents. All stakeholders bear the
responsibility for the success or failure of the integrating
technology and BYOD in the schools.
Stakeholders
School District, Administrators, and Teachers
There are many things to consider when addressing teacher needs
and the ability to
deliver content while addressing standards and incorporating
technology effectively. To meet
these criteria, Niess (2011) suggested that the teacher
education community must be redesigned.
Besnoy, Dantzler, and Siders (2012) identified five conditions
as a theoretical model for
effective use of technology in the classroom: strong school
support, technology infrastructure,
professional development, teacher attitude toward technology,
and personal use of technology.
The district will support student learning with technology by
providing a sound
infrastructure with the capacity to support multiple wireless
devices simultaneously throughout
the day. Additionally, the district will provide support staff
and funding to ensure there is little or
no loss of instructional time due to technical difficulties.
Creighton (2009) states the major role
of administrators is to evaluate and supervise appropriate
professional development programs
designed to improve the effective instructional use of
technology. Teachers will actively
participate in constructivism through their own learning and
teaching. Learning by building
knowledge structures in ones mind rather than having it
implanted is a significant cornerstone of
constructivism (Creighton, 2009) so teachers will actively seek
and construct knowledge through
staff development and allow for their students to do the same in
their classrooms.
Students
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VISION AND RATIONALE 4
Students will practice digital citizenship by using technology
responsibly to locate
information, work independently and in groups, and build 21st
Century skills while engaging in a
variety of learning experiences. Students will move beyond the
basics and begin to use of
technology to promote higher order thinking skills through real
world applications. Students will
use technology to improve learning and productivity. Students
will increase cultural awareness
by using technology to collaborate with students and experts
from other cultures and
backgrounds.
Parents
Parents will support students and teachers by endorsing
appropriate use of technology for
focused learning activities. Parents will model proper
collaboration by using technology to stay
abreast of student progress and communication with faculty.
Parents will also encourage students
to accept responsibility and display digital citizenship at all
times.
Conclusion
As the use of technology and BYOD further infiltrates the
classroom, the role of all
stakeholders must evolve. According to Marcoux (2012) teachers
must become facilitators as
they apply content standards and integrate technology. Through
staff development and practice
teachers can move more towards constructivism by allowing
learning to become more of an
active process by the students (Creighton, 2009). It is
imperative that schools and districts
provide assistance in the form of staff development,
infrastructure, and technical support so that
teachers can effectively merge technology, pedagogy, and
content.
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VISION AND RATIONALE 5
References
Besnoy, Kevin D.Dantzler, John A.Siders,James A. (2012).
Creating a digital ecosystem for the
gifted education classroom. Journal of Advanced Academics,
23(4), 305.
doi:10.1177/1932202X12461005
Boser, U. (2013). Are Schools Getting a Big Enough Bang for
Their Education Technology
Buck? Retrieved from http://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/06/UlrichEducationTech-brief-3.pdf
Creighton, T. B. (2003). The principal as technology leader.
Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin
Press.
Johnson, D. (2012). On board with BYOD.(Power Up!)(Bring Your
Own Device schemes in
schools). Educational Leadership, 70(2).
Lemke, C., Coughlin, E., & Reifsneider, D. (2009).
Technology in schools: What the research
says: An update. Retrieved from
http://www.cisco.com/web/strategy/docs/education/tech_in_schools_what_research_say
s.pdf
Marcoux, E. ". (2012). Use technology wisely. Teacher Librarian,
39(6), 61-62.
Niess, M. L. (2011). Investigating TPACK: Knowledge growth in
teaching with technology.
Journal of Educational Computing Research, 44(3), 299-317.
doi:10.2190/EC.44.3.c
