1.2 Strategic Planning
Candidates facilitate the design, development, implementation, communication, and evaluation of technology-infused strategic plans. (PSC 1.2/ISTE 1b)
Artifact: Current Reality Report (SWOT Analysis)
Reflection:
This artifact was one component of the Technology Plan project in ITEC 7410: Instructional Technology Leadership. Through its creation, I was responsible for analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of our school’s current technology structure and plan as it pertains to ISTE’s Essential Conditions that are necessary “to effectively leverage technology for learning” (ISTE, 2009). The SWOT analysis was an effective way to assess the current reality as a basis for recommendations for future improvement of technology implementation in our school. In order to evaluate each condition, I pulled data from several sources, including conversations with my principal and School Technology Specialist, the county software inventory, the school technology equipment inventory, the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and a staff perception survey, which I created.
Through the analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our school’s current technology reality, I was able to capitalize on the opportunities and threats portion of each of the eight Essential Condition’s analyses to begin to design and develop recommendations for future improvement. The strengths and weaknesses portion of the analysis focused on our current reality, whereas the opportunities and threats portions focused on a hypothetical future based in current reality. For example, an analysis of the current reality of student-centered learning with technology revealed that while our school has plenty of equipment that is being utilized daily (strength), technology in general is still being used for either teacher-centered instruction or student-centered, lower-order thinking tasks (weakness). This analysis led to the design and development a portion of a strategic technology plan that focused on increasing professional development to help teachers learn to implement student-centered technology use for higher-order thinking. This would be possible because of a forward-thinking and enthusiastic administration as well as our school’s foundation being poised to invest in software and apps that would foster this technology use (opportunities). However, in planning for professional development, the school needed to be aware that teachers often felt they did not have time for much professional development (threat).
Although the plans from the SWOT analysis were not yet implemented in my school, the work done to analyze our current reality and reveal possible improvements for the future has laid the groundwork for successful implementation. The opportunities and threats analyses for each of the eight Essential Conditions are absolutely vital to ensuring that any future implementation of the strategic plan is successful because it would be based upon careful considerations of what resources and opportunities we have available to us and what threats exist in our school that might get in our own way with implementing the plan, rather than hastily-conceived plans that do not consider our school’s current reality.
By gathering data for this SWOT analysis from the principal, School Technology Specialist, and classroom teachers, those stakeholders now had a vested interest in the outcomes of the SWOT analysis and resulting ideas to include in the school’s strategic technology plan. This helped get stakeholders interested in communication about the strategic plan. The completed SWOT analysis, including all the plans that emerged as a result of the analysis, were communicated directly to the school principal and School Technology Specialist, each of whom specifically asked for access to the document. The resulting strategic plan could further be communicated to all stakeholders in several ways. First, it could be emailed to teachers in the building as well as parents on the school mailing list. Like the current School Improvement Plan, the strategic plan could also be published on the school’s website and posted throughout the school. By communicating the goals in the strategic plan to such a wide audience of stakeholders, the school would be held responsible for working to achieve those goals.
The work of completing the SWOT analysis was inherently focused on evaluating both the current technology plan, which was a part of the School Improvement Plan and a major data source for the SWOT analysis, as well as any new plans that emerged a result of the SWOT analysis. The evaluation of the current technology plan throughout the SWOT analysis revealed that the plan was not strong or specific enough to help our school fully realize each of the eight Essential Conditions. Furthermore, each new plan that emerged from the SWOT analysis was thoroughly evaluated for necessity and feasibility as a result of analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our current reality. The new plan could further be evaluated based on student achievement data as a result of improved technology facilitation called for in the plan.
The process of completing the SWOT analysis taught me that there are many different sides to the story that must be considered when evaluating one’s current reality. I learned much about our school’s overall culture with technology that I otherwise would not have known about as an isolated teacher. I also learned many details about our school’s technology budget and infrastructure and other details from our principal and School Technology Specialist that a classroom teacher would otherwise not know about. If I were to do another SWOT analysis, I would probably focus more on communicating the results to a larger audience than just the principal and the School Technology Specialist, as it revealed a large amount of information about what we are doing well and where we have room for improvement. By communicating the plan directly to more stakeholders, I would assume that there would be even more widespread enthusiasm for moving forward with improving how effectively we leverage technology for learning.
The work that went into completing the SWOT analysis had a direct impact on the creation of a strategic plan for our school, although this plan has not yet been formally adopted. Once adopted and implemented, the impact of this plan could be assessed by comparing the frequency of professional development for technology from before the plan to after, as well as comparing student achievement data from before the plan to after, when technology will hopefully be much more effectively utilized to foster student learning in all subject areas.
ISTE (2009). Essential conditions: Necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-for-students-essential-conditions.
This artifact was one component of the Technology Plan project in ITEC 7410: Instructional Technology Leadership. Through its creation, I was responsible for analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of our school’s current technology structure and plan as it pertains to ISTE’s Essential Conditions that are necessary “to effectively leverage technology for learning” (ISTE, 2009). The SWOT analysis was an effective way to assess the current reality as a basis for recommendations for future improvement of technology implementation in our school. In order to evaluate each condition, I pulled data from several sources, including conversations with my principal and School Technology Specialist, the county software inventory, the school technology equipment inventory, the School Improvement Plan (SIP), and a staff perception survey, which I created.
Through the analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our school’s current technology reality, I was able to capitalize on the opportunities and threats portion of each of the eight Essential Condition’s analyses to begin to design and develop recommendations for future improvement. The strengths and weaknesses portion of the analysis focused on our current reality, whereas the opportunities and threats portions focused on a hypothetical future based in current reality. For example, an analysis of the current reality of student-centered learning with technology revealed that while our school has plenty of equipment that is being utilized daily (strength), technology in general is still being used for either teacher-centered instruction or student-centered, lower-order thinking tasks (weakness). This analysis led to the design and development a portion of a strategic technology plan that focused on increasing professional development to help teachers learn to implement student-centered technology use for higher-order thinking. This would be possible because of a forward-thinking and enthusiastic administration as well as our school’s foundation being poised to invest in software and apps that would foster this technology use (opportunities). However, in planning for professional development, the school needed to be aware that teachers often felt they did not have time for much professional development (threat).
Although the plans from the SWOT analysis were not yet implemented in my school, the work done to analyze our current reality and reveal possible improvements for the future has laid the groundwork for successful implementation. The opportunities and threats analyses for each of the eight Essential Conditions are absolutely vital to ensuring that any future implementation of the strategic plan is successful because it would be based upon careful considerations of what resources and opportunities we have available to us and what threats exist in our school that might get in our own way with implementing the plan, rather than hastily-conceived plans that do not consider our school’s current reality.
By gathering data for this SWOT analysis from the principal, School Technology Specialist, and classroom teachers, those stakeholders now had a vested interest in the outcomes of the SWOT analysis and resulting ideas to include in the school’s strategic technology plan. This helped get stakeholders interested in communication about the strategic plan. The completed SWOT analysis, including all the plans that emerged as a result of the analysis, were communicated directly to the school principal and School Technology Specialist, each of whom specifically asked for access to the document. The resulting strategic plan could further be communicated to all stakeholders in several ways. First, it could be emailed to teachers in the building as well as parents on the school mailing list. Like the current School Improvement Plan, the strategic plan could also be published on the school’s website and posted throughout the school. By communicating the goals in the strategic plan to such a wide audience of stakeholders, the school would be held responsible for working to achieve those goals.
The work of completing the SWOT analysis was inherently focused on evaluating both the current technology plan, which was a part of the School Improvement Plan and a major data source for the SWOT analysis, as well as any new plans that emerged a result of the SWOT analysis. The evaluation of the current technology plan throughout the SWOT analysis revealed that the plan was not strong or specific enough to help our school fully realize each of the eight Essential Conditions. Furthermore, each new plan that emerged from the SWOT analysis was thoroughly evaluated for necessity and feasibility as a result of analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of our current reality. The new plan could further be evaluated based on student achievement data as a result of improved technology facilitation called for in the plan.
The process of completing the SWOT analysis taught me that there are many different sides to the story that must be considered when evaluating one’s current reality. I learned much about our school’s overall culture with technology that I otherwise would not have known about as an isolated teacher. I also learned many details about our school’s technology budget and infrastructure and other details from our principal and School Technology Specialist that a classroom teacher would otherwise not know about. If I were to do another SWOT analysis, I would probably focus more on communicating the results to a larger audience than just the principal and the School Technology Specialist, as it revealed a large amount of information about what we are doing well and where we have room for improvement. By communicating the plan directly to more stakeholders, I would assume that there would be even more widespread enthusiasm for moving forward with improving how effectively we leverage technology for learning.
The work that went into completing the SWOT analysis had a direct impact on the creation of a strategic plan for our school, although this plan has not yet been formally adopted. Once adopted and implemented, the impact of this plan could be assessed by comparing the frequency of professional development for technology from before the plan to after, as well as comparing student achievement data from before the plan to after, when technology will hopefully be much more effectively utilized to foster student learning in all subject areas.
ISTE (2009). Essential conditions: Necessary conditions to effectively leverage technology for learning. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-for-students-essential-conditions.