Assignment #4

When asked to write about the failures of others as we implement 1:1 and BYOD I am not sure how to respond. Everywhere I read explicitly states that we do not have enough research or data to suggest we are succeeding or failing. Thus, I have to answer with a question; What is failure? Is it failure of students not meeting standard? If so, does making growth counter the "failure?" Did we fail to close the achievement gap? If so, was it because we widened the gap by giving access to some outside of schools and not others? Or did we succeed in doing our best to give more access to students who would've otherwise not had any access? Failure is such a challenging word for me to listen to because I look for the opportunities in most things. So, I would like to take this opportunity to look for the modifications and improvements of the innovators and leaders in implementation of 1:1 initiatives. Off the soap box...

We can learn much from the leaders in 1:1 and BYOD such as: technology roll out plans, infrastructure problems or pitfalls, security issues and updates, process and protocols within schools, tracking devices vertically and horizontally within schools and district, best resource for the money, professional development rollout and sustainability programs, multiyear cost analysis, instructional materials support, OERs versus whole curriculums or even supplemental curriculum supports, replacement costs, new buildings and renovations to support 1:1 or BYOD, off site access for disadvantaged, internet provider subsidy programs, technology curriculum, device checkout programs, new policy for checkout programs, and I'm sure a whole host of other topics that we can learn from. It would be nice to have a systematic checklist of expectations to ensure we are attending to for the district, school, classroom, and student level. I wonder if there is such a thing? Of the items on the list the thing I learned with the 1:1 initiative in our school district was the importance of common language and expectations in the classroom level. If we had this from the district prior to deployment we might have avoided some pitfalls of replacement, tracking, and overall safety of the devices being used. However, as a paperless classroom I enjoyed the freedom to set up expectations and common language in my classroom that was definitely different compared to other classrooms in my school.

The opportunity CCSS presents for technology leaders is the ability to share, collaborate, create, modify, and other endless possibilities, on the same topics and subjects others are teaching around the country. With Pinterest, shared Google docs, social media outlets, and the vetted digital library, finding resources is at the tip of your finger. As for integrating technology into our curriculum, there are so many more open educational resources available to us. School districts are beginning to create positions dedicated to finding these resources for core and supplemental instructional resources.

As for the steps needed for me to improve my readiness to be a digital leader I need to learn more about OERs and their influence/support of the CCSS. Being aware and knowledgeable about their significance is critical as I see it as a turning point in the technology and curriculum connection. Also, continuing to read about the research for and against the implementation of technology with the understanding that self-reporting is a slippery slope. Using a good cycle of analysis with the data from core subjects will help in determining if what we perceive is actually based on findings in our data. I would hope this is already going on in classrooms around the country as the rollout of 1:1 is beginning to take hold.