Saturday, April 28, 2012

A conversation about Vision...


I had a conversation with some other educational professionals a couple days ago about what the goals, direction and vision of what a tech department should be like. I feel like I didn't give a good explanation of what I thought at the time so here goes for a better explanation...

What do I envision for a Tech Department? In looking at the ISTE Standards, a tech department should probably model elements of those standards. Listing some key descriptive words would help clarify my thoughts on this topic. Some are clichés and catch-phrases that may be overused, but they do capture the spirit of the type of department I want to be involved in.

  • Dynamic:  Creative and Innovative. Something is always happening. New ideas are being shared, projects are being worked on, in order to improve the integration strategies, school systems and knowledge of the school. 
  • Goal-Driven: Goals are clear and defined. Steps are defined to solve problems. These are based on the schools Mission and Philosophy, and what the overall goals/objectives are for the school (usually from an accreditation report). 
  • Collaborative:  Communication is key. There is a culture of working with others and not in isolation. Ideas are being shared amongst the members of the department and with the rest of the school. We are team players and we reflect and share to become better.
  • Engaged: Actively model good practices and work with other departments and students to assist and help integrate. 
  • Appropriate: Tech is not integrated for techs-sake. It is integrated where appropriate. Sometimes the best technology is a pencil...
  • Research based and Data-Driven: We are critical thinkers that base decisions and best practices on research. Decisions and new programs are not just adopted willy-nilly. Time is spent to research effectiveness
  • Helpful: No one will want assistance if we are not helpful
  • Responsible and Ethical: We model appropriate use of technology
This is all I have for now...

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