Dive Brief:

• Georgia's Fayette County Public Schools implemented a three-step strategy to help teachers boost students’ math scores, aiming to identify problem areas, smoothly integrate the technology to solve it, and adopt more personalized learning strategies, according to EdTech: Focus on K-12.

• Administrators first set out to no just identify the problem, but to really understand it using the ADDIE (analyze, design, develop, implement, evaluate) formula to identify the ed tech needed for a specific project and goals. Then, they brought the teachers into the technology discussion.

• Finally, districts need to make sure their network can handle the bandwidth needs of the new technology — a common oversight that can make an ed tech project an exercise in futility.

Dive Insight:

Administrators around the country agree with Fayette’s second step, that teachers need to be involved in technology development decisions. Teachers know the students best and understand what needs to be done, as well as what can be done with the resources currently at hand. Teachers should be part of a district’s board. During a panel at SXSWedu 2017, one panelist stated that, if given a grant, she would use it to make sure a teacher advisory panel had weekly meetings with administrators to voice their opinions.  

With the pace of the online testing shift quickening, the parameters, logistics and implications might tax the expertise of superintendents who weren’t really immersed in technology in their career paths. But there are a number of strategies to make the process more effective and efficient.

Invest your time and energy into vendor relationships, making sure the necessary research has been done and holds up. Just because a vendor has been great for a neighboring district doesn’t mean it’s right for your project and your district. All districts have unique aspects, such as geographic size and number of schools, to name only two. And as Fayette illustrated, don’t skimp on infrastructure. Finally, students should be familiar with the technology before test day. Don’t assume that kids “just know” how to use anything digital.

Districts can save money and time if they include STEM students and faculty in the ed tech process. Besides that, students get hands-on learning opportunities they can apply to the real world. Just remember to make sure to train the students on the risks of cybersecurity breaches. STEM faculty should be in on the plans, as their buy-in will smooth integration. Finally, build programs with hands-on learning opportunities for faculty, staff and students. This will help them to understand the technology and build excitement.