TECHNOLOGY PLAN

A technology plan focuses on an organization's investment and overall use of the technology. Holligan, J.(2022)

According to the www.nh.gov website, based on a technology plan, the educational institution's focal point will be its current technology needs and any technology resources which will be needed. 

This type of plan implores educational leaders to format a strategy which will assist all involved at the school to become familiar with the use of technology to make the job easier and to enhance teaching and learning. As referenced by TechSoup.org, methods of funding to source tools to achieve the school's goals will also need to be taken into consideration.

LAWRENCE T. GAY'S PLAN

PRE-COVID

Even before the Covid pandemic, it was widely believed that teaching and learning should incorporate technology. According to  Chamberlain, 2016, who stated

 “Education is evolving due to the impact of the Internet. We cannot teach our students in the same manner in which we were taught. Change is necessary to engage students not in the curriculum we are responsible for teaching, but in school. Period.”  

To start this evolution, teachers used smart boards or software such as: Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, YouTube and other educational videos to complement their lessons or teaching methods. This was done by projecting presentations in the class or allowing them to watch or listen to various videos online. Students were also taught basic digital literacy skills on laptops and shown various programs by the Information Technology Coordinator. 

However, the pandemic threw educators into the depth of the technological realm and they were forced to grapple with all other means of technology devices and software which they were unfamiliar with. 

EQUIPMENT & TRAINING

Fortunately, prior to this, most /all teaching staff at L.T. Gay had been equipped with laptops and basic training of some software. However, plans were put in place for teachers, students and parents to attend sessions online to learn how to use the software in Google G Suite. Demonstration videos were emailed to students and parents as well. Teachers also demonstrated amongst themselves in age group sessions and other groups how to use other educational software such as Formative, Live worksheets, etc. It was a learning process for all involved.

Teachers, children and parents became exposed to using devices in ways they never had to so of course this came with challenges.
Some of which included not knowing how to use/manipulate the items posted in various programs such as Google Slides, Google Docs, Jam Board and Kami. Persons had internet issues and therefore missed many classes. The competition from other online games and forums caused numerous distractions in the online classroom setting and there was very low attendance for many students who may have opted to not come to class. At times, information communicated was also misinterpreted.

At the school base, the Information Technology Coordinator and teachers would set up appointments with parents to collect Tablets or Chrome books. This was to ensure that students who did not have any available devices at home to also had the opportunity to participate in the online forum. Some families who had difficulties sourcing internet access were also accommodated. Some teachers also used printers to copy worksheets and books to distribute to students so that writing practice could still take place. 

There were some pros, as persons had a new respect for teachers and the efforts that go into lesson planning, but most importantly many students also had new and innovative ways to learn or collaborate with peers. This in some instances filled the much needed gap for them to "socialize" with each other. 

SOFTWARE

Various  learning theories  and styles had to be considered as we know students all learn at a different rate and in different ways. Some students are stimulated visually, some auditory, some tactile/ kinesthetic or even multi-sensory. For these reasons teachers had to be able to inspire those students so no one was "left behind". 

The consideration and implementation of Bloom's Taxonomy was best utilized in the digital world as software such as Google Slides, Jam board, Nearpod, Socrative, Live Worksheets, Twinkl and so many others became teachers' best tools. Not only did they offer ways to disseminate information but also to capture students' attention and offer immediate feedback. Teachers also liked the fact that work of students could've been viewed as it was being done in "real-time." Another advantage was that work was stored automatically to the class drive/cloud.

Students were able to create their own work, watch and listen to videos and songs. Assessments could've also been done in a timely manner even though there was no formal classroom. Students also came to the realization that learning could be fun as they particularly enjoyed assessments using Kahoots and Quizizz to name a few. 

PPOST- COVID 

Present day, the pandemic is almost behind us and  it seems as though some educators have reverted to how situations were pre-Covid.  Some  educators have resorted to the traditional "chalk and talk" methods, failing to utilize the Google Classroom and  other educational software which had been utilized, two years prior. 

Having said that however, we must note that many educational institutions are confronted with many challenges which prevent an efficient and effective technology process. Number one being the inadequate 20 Mb/sec downstream/upstream. In a regular household the lowest package has 100 Mb/sec. How then can a school with over three hundred (300) students and staff function efficiently? The necessary internet broadband to handle the capacity of  the school is a must .

The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training is pushing for the use of technology in our schools but with such poor internet service at most schools island wide, this will be a hindrance. Not only that but one must consider that the internet has to be evenly distributed throughout the school to work effectively, especially on a big plant like L T. Gay's . Therefore modems and extenders will have to be sourced. The funding will have to be allocated for problems like these.

Ideally, we would like to integrate technology into all subject areas, however having  the necessary equipment would be an asset as well as having the technical infrastructure to support the demand. 

ISSUES

Budgeting must be considered for problems such as those mentioned. Primary school's budgets are already so meagre with many expenses to undertake. The purchase of technology equipment  which is expensive due to situations beyond control may be deemed "not priority " at the time.

At Lawrence T. Gay, we have not only been probed with problems which were Covid related but environmentally as well. Due to the recent re-occurring environmental issues, this school has once again found itself in the peculiar situation of being segregated. 
The school has been relocated to three other off-site locations. Hence having the ideal technology plan at this time will not be feasible, but for each location various plans would have to be been put in place.

At the site to which I am assigned, there are sixty-five (65) students, four (4) teachers, one (1) monitor and two (2) ancillary workers. Students are separated into two buildings which accommodates two (2) classes each. There is no available Wi-Fi to students and hence Digital Literacy cannot be taught in its full capacity as intended.

We have however tried to set up our work spaces and implemented some measures in such a way so that we can obtain some of the following goals. Teachers download material before arriving at the destination and save it to the device or they use hotspots or mobile data plans, projectors and Bluetooth to assist in the technology aspect of teaching. 

  Picture 1.

Students work together to complete an interactive worksheet.

GOALS

Our goals are to:

• To develop team building, communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking among students. 

• To distribute the administrative workload evenly among staff to avoid work overload and so that the teaching staff can focus on teaching. 

• To utilize programs /methods which can assist in assessment and provide immediate feedback.  

• To have sessions/ meetings among ourselves to provide staff support and continuous professional development.

At each site, circumstances will be different and each age group will adapt their plan in whichever way is best catered to their specific location.