Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

1 Getting Started

6 Disseminate, Monitor, and Evaluate the Technology Plan

2  Technology Mission Statement

3 Current Technology Raw Data and Analyze Data

INTRODUCTION

GUIDING QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

SCORING GUIDE

Top of Page

INTRODUCTION

COMMUNICATION / DISSEMINATION 

A well thought out plan for dissemination, monitoring and evaluation turns a good technology plan into a great technology plan. Without this last part, a technology plan is not an active living document that engages the community and shows the way for the district’s future. 

Communication and Dissemination activities should communicate the needs and plans of the district. These activities should alert interested parties to opportunities for cooperation that can grow into robust partnerships that increase the district’s effectiveness. 

Tips on writing the dissemination portion of a technology plan: 

• Clearly list dissemination activities and how those activities will be carried out and by whom.
   
• Describe expectations for collaboration, sharing and leveraging of resources. Identify partnerships and resources that fit with the goals of the district. Provide ways for community groups, including district partners, institutions of higher education, libraries and individual members of the community to become involved. Relate these expectations back to the needs of the district.
   
• Outline how the district plans to increase parent involvement. Evaluate home/school communication. Inform parents about how technology is being used at the school to support learning. Include activities for supporting student learning with technology at home and school. Provide regularly planned opportunities for quality parent/community participation.

Implementation is underway!  Headaches galore?  We hope not!  If your well-written and executed technology plan has covered all the essential components then everything should be going smoothly.  Implementation can be a breeze, but the evaluation phase can sometimes cause a snag if an evaluation procedure has not been written into the plan.   

The importance of evaluation in technology planning and implementation is an on-going process for any school district.  In every stage of planning and implementation, the district should be aware that it is accountable for the extent to which technology is helping to provide those strategies and resources that will inspire every student to do their best! 

A technology plan and report should be presented annually to the Board of Education for their comments and approval.  Assessments should be periodically given to staff and administrators for their input on technological instructional needs.  The administrative staff needs to review and report issues affecting the district, technology related items should always be included on the agendas for their meetings. 

Other on-going communication of progress to school and community stake-holders can be achieved through a variety of methods including: 

• School and district newsletters;
  
• Technology demonstrations at school committee meetings and school open houses;
  
• Establishment and operation of school web pages. 

To facilitate the monitoring and evaluating process, meetings of the District Technology Committee and the administrative staff should be held to address district needs.  The groups can continue to review goals/objectives which contain some standard of measurement for progress.  When written in this type of format they are much easier to assess.   

Example:  By the end of the first year, all students in grades K-1 will achieve an 80% mastery level on the committee designed technology assessment checklist, indicating competency in basic computer use.  This objective is reflective of the JCPS action plan on Training/Staff Development - Ensure that all students and staff receive appropriate training to be effective and efficient in using various technologies. 

It is of utmost importance to continuously monitor the implementation of the educational technology plan.  Planning calls for knowing where you are, knowing where you want to be, and continually working to close the gap between the two.  Continuously monitoring the development and implementation of hardware and software systems as well as evaluating the effects of an enhanced technological curriculum on students and staff must be an on-going process.  Revision of the technology plan must be on going.  While the mission and vision of the educational technology plan may stay constant, the implementation plans will change constantly, as new products and possibilities become available.

Top of Page

Top of Page

GUIDING QUESTIONS

• How often will the district Technology Plan be reviewed?
• Is the district Technology Plan Mission Statement current and valid?
• Is the assessment of technology current and comprehensive?
• Does the analysis of data coincide with the technology gaps identified and were recommendations made for improving student learning?
• Have the goals of the district Technology Plan been achieved?
• Do the goals of the district Technology Plan need to be rewritten or revised?
• Have the objectives been met in the five Technology Focus Areas (TFAs)?

1. Student Learning (includes technology skills)
2. Teacher Preparation and Delivery of Instruction
3. Resource Distribution and Use
4. Administration/data management/communication processes
5. Technical Support

Do the objectives need to be rewritten or revised in the five Technology Focus Areas (TFAs)?  

1. Student Learning (includes technology skills)
   
2. Teacher Preparation and Delivery of Instruction
   
3. Resource Distribution and Use
   
4. Administration/data management/communication processes
   
5. Technical Support

• Is the Action Plan timely, affordable and practical?  
• How and to what groups will the results of the evaluation be shared within the district?
• Do changes need to be made in the technology committee?
• Do changes need to be made in the needs assessment?
• What adjustments need to be made in the technology plan? 

Top of Page

RESOURCES  

Technology Planning Resources

Basic Principles of Technology Planning. North Central Regional Technology in Education (NCRTEC) Consortium, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL).

• Evaluating the Implementation of Your Technology Plan

Factors Influencing the Effective Use of Technology for Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned (pdf). SouthEast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium (SEIR*TEC), 2001.

• Lesson 8 (pdf)

Planning into Practice: Resources for Planning, Implementing, and Integrating Instructional Technology. Southeast Initiatives Regional Technology in Education Consortium (SEIR*TEC), 2000. 

• Chapter 7 Evaluation (pdf)

Technology @ Your Fingertips: A Guide to Implementing Technology Solutions for Education Agencies and Institutions. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 1998 & 2001. 

• Chapter 7: Knowing How to Support and Maintain Your Technology Solution  

Technology Connections for School Improvement: Planners’ Handbook and Technology Connections for School Improvement: Teacher’s Guide. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. 

Technology Plan Outline (pdf). Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2000. 

• 7 Evaluation (pdf)

Using Technology in Missouri Schools - A Planning Guide. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 1994. 

• Implement and Evaluate the Technology Action Plan

  Top of Page

INTRODUCTION

GUIDING QUESTIONS

RESOURCES

SCORING GUIDE

Top of Page

SCORING GUIDE  

Click here for Tech Plan Scoring Guide (doc)

Top of Page