Shared Voice in IT

There is a fair amount of talk in education circles about 21st Century classrooms.  Rightfully so since we are moving into the seventeenth year of the century.  However, I think we need to make sure that this dialog is not about just technology, but learning.  Recently I read "Squad Goals" in EdTech Magazine.  The article talked about giving the voice to teachers in the selection of IT materials.  I think they hit the nail on the head with the notion of "Curriculum drives technology.  Technology should not drive curriculum," (Hennick as quoted by Anne Pasco, page 21).  Why would we consider making these expensive and critical choices without the input of those who will be using them.  It seems only logical.

I would like to take this notion a step further.  There are two other groups that I think should, at least, be able to provide input to these decisions.  First, how about the students?  These are the people that should have the most interaction with the technology.  How are we making sure they have input into the decision?  Second, how about their parents?  These are the folks entrusted with upbringing of their children.  Shouldn't they have a voice in ways and types of technologies used in our schools?

You might say, that all sounds good, but how do you go about getting the input.  Honestly, the answer to that is technology!  Over the last year, we were looking to expand our 1:1 program into grades four and five.  We were also determining what device we would like to use in our second round of 1:1 in our middle school.  We began the process with our technology team.  This is a group of teachers and staff from various grade levels representing the whole school, as well as, various levels of technology competency.  This group talked about all the different part of the the last three years with the 1:1.  They asked a lot of what ifs and explored several options.  

Together the group also put together a survey using Google Forms that was sent to parents.  Another one was designed and sent to students.  The survey reviewed our goals, asked about student use at home, and asked for input from them as to what goals they have in regards to technology and learning.  The feedback results were just clicks away and recipients appreciated the simple approach that was relatively simple.  When the choices for devices were narrowed, we brought in multiple examples and let students use them to give us further feedback on what they liked and how they might function in the classroom settings.  

In the end, the information collected was reviewed and helped the team make a recommendation for the future technology devices in our school.  The team put together the presentation that was shared with the Education Committee and eventually the School Board that resulted in the approval of the purchased devices.  It was a great process that took time, but resulted in the device that fit our system and needs the best.  

References

Hennick, C. (2016, Fall). Squad goals. EdTech, 18-21.

EdTech Focus on K-12: IT and Education. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2016, from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/