School Evaluation Summary

Completing the school evaluation summary was an interesting and very useful assignment. Before starting the evaluation, I already had some ideas in my head about how my school would rank. I knew the small size of our university and its limited resources would be factors that would potentially keep Warrior University from scoring well on the evaluation. Being a technology support employee at our school also gives me a unique and probably somewhat biased opinion about the use of technology at our school. I was surprised that our school graded out at the Integrated level on the Technology Benchmark Model.

There a couple of items worth noting from the evaluation. Warrior University consistently scored higher on resources and infrastructure than it did on behavioral. I think this reflects the fact that capable systems and technology are in place but are not being used to their fullest potential. Secondly, there is an incredibly wide spectrum of technology use at our school. Some employees are early adopters, embracing technology and constantly seeking out new ideas. Others are resistant of change and slow to adopt any usage of technology. My hope is that we will continue to seek out and develop those who can drive the change at Warrior University in order to bring us closer and closer to the Intelligent use level. 

Survey

Evaluation

Technology Use Planning Overview

What is Technology Use Planning

I would define technology use planning as developing a blueprint for accomplishing an educational vision that incorporates the effective use of technology. Technology use planning should be more than a document created by one person and given to teachers and administrators as a list of rules or expectations. The planning process should include multiple participants with different perspectives in order to put together a plan on which all participants agree.

The National Technology Plan as an Effective Resource

This document is an excellent resource to use in forming an effective technology use plan. The National Plan provides an example of a goal based strategy that focuses on the learner. It encourages the development of new and better processes. I think the National Technology Plan provides an excellent overarching view of national trends and concerns relating to the use of technology in learning. These ideas can be customized to meet the needs of any school district or learning institution.

Tech Use Plans - Long Term vs. Short Term

I think we should break technology use planning into two parts when considering time frame: goals and strategies to accomplish the goals. It is okay to set longer term goals for technology as long as they revolve around what we want to accomplish with the use of technology instead of what technology we will use. How to accomplish the goals centers more around what technology resources will be available. Since equipment brands, forms and specs change so rapidly, a shorter term plan is required. Most importantly we should use technology to accomplish our goals instead of letting the technology dictate our decisions. Any technology use plan should be fluid and flexible.

All About Application

I definitely agree that technology use planning should be focused on application and not on the technology itself. As stated above, technology will always change at a rapid pace. This cannot handcuff the overall vision. Having a plan that is based on application will also allow for more flexibility. This flexibility will increase the odds of developing a successful plan that can have many variables including budget and skill level.

Personal Experience

I have not been involved in creating an actual technology use plan. I have seen attempts at technology planning by others at our school. Unfortunately, the outcomes that I have seen so far have not been great. I think a couple of weaknesses have attributed to these poor outcomes. I have seen decisions that are made based on the latest trend or available device. Secondly, I have not seen a good professional development plan to go along with the implementation of new technology. Many professors have not embraced the use of new technology because they don’t have the knowledge or skills to make the most of the tools. These are factors that I will keep in mind when I am involved in technology planning.

image source: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/125/405736696_89e1f4604a.jpg

Digital Inequality

This assignment was practical and beneficial. Before doing research to become more familiar with the topic, I was not aware of how many different factors can cause digital inequality issues. Identifying some of these issues at our University and ways to improve on them will have positive benefits. Leveling the technology playing field will allow more students to be successful from the onset of their college careers. Addressing problems caused by differences in access, equipment, and experience will facilitate this success.

Link to Presentation

Tech Trends

For this assignment, I reflected on the technology trend of tablet computing. Our school is currently developing a mobile learning strategy. The information in the Horizon Report regarding tablet computing in education was helpful and interesting to read. I was able to share this information with my boss, the Director for Information Technology. We are currently weighing the options of providing tablets for incoming students versus allowing students to bring their own devices. Both of these options present unique challenges. This assignment allowed me to gain valuable information as we continue in the decision making process. 

Here is a link to the Google Doc.

Tech Trends - Tablet Computing

EDTECH Research

For this assignment, I did research on the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom. I was very impressed by the research tools available in Google Drive. Regarding my research, I found it interesting that the British government has spent millions of dollars on the purchase and installation of interactive boards for their classrooms. Because of this, several of the articles I found were taken from British scholarly journals. The idea that I would like to present to the faculty members at my school is that student engagement will improve with the use of interactive whiteboard technology because students are used to similar technology in every other aspect of their lives.

Link to EDTECH Research assignment

RSS in Education

In the past two weeks, I have learned a lot about RSS and RSS feed readers. Feed readers like Feedly are powerful tools that help organize different sources of information so they are easily accessible. Before completing this assignment, I had not put much thought into uses for RSS in the classroom setting. I now realize that feed readers are great for student research. They are also a great way for teachers to relay information to students or parents about classroom updates or assignments. 

I have created a static tutorial that shows teachers how to change settings in a blog they have created so parents can subscribe to the blog using a feed reader. The tutorial also teaches parents how to subscribe to the classroom blog using Feedly RSS feed reader. I think this is a great way for a teacher to use RSS in his/her classroom.

RSS Tutorial

Elements of Educational Technology

In reviewing the article on the definition of educational technology, there were a couple of ideas that stood out to me. I thought it was interesting to see the progression and change in the definition itself throughout the years. Technology is a dynamic field so it makes sense that this definition would have to remain open to constant change and reevaluation. I was also very interested in the paradigm shift from a focus on controlling instruction to facilitating learning. This changed my thinking on how technology can be used. My experience with technology has been more focused in training and instruction. This article makes me consider ways to promote this "deeper" level of learning by focusing on the learner and the learning environment.

Here is a link to my reflection of the article:

Reflection on the Definition of Educational Technology

Welcome!

Welcome to my learning log for the EDTECH program at Boise State University. My name is Kent Ellison. I work as a computer technician at Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina. Using this blog, I will compile artifacts and assignments relating to educational technology during my time as a graduate student. I am excited about having this "digital portfolio" as a reference for ideas in the future. I will be sharing posts to this blog with the EDTECH community in Google+. Here is a short introduction video.