Tech's Magic Formula

Scott MacLeod:

Lack of vision + inadequate infrastructure + no training + poor implementation + insufficient ongoing support + refusal to change = tech success!
Does this sound like your wishful school or district? Hope not!

With our Highly Ineffective Principal (HIPster), we drew a Royal Flush on this one. It's all we can do to keep the one-to-one going despite the random flailings of the administration ... we being three of the teachers.

1. Lack of vision - If it hadn't been for one particular teacher getting the ball rolling and two other of us pushing, we'd still be without BYOD or any one-to-one program.
2. Inadequate infrastructure - don't get me started.
3. No training - Inservices revolve around the Curriculum Coordinator and his protocols for having discussions about "authentic" learning and teaching, protocols for having meetings, protocols for developing a single lesson plan that we'll test in a few months. That's right ... we're making a single lesson. Technology? Not so much.
4. Poor implementation - 
1. Kids are damaging their devices and no one has a plan for that. 
2. They don't charge the batteries ... "I can't hold class because they didn't bring it."
3. Leave it at home.
4. Some parents don't want their kids to have that much screen time and have asked that the kids NOT be given one.
5. Insufficient ongoing support - Crickets make more noise.
6. Refusal to change - This is the one part we do too much of. Change, change, change ... without ever looking back to see if the previous changes were effective or looking forward to see if we can predict and measure the effects of the present proposed change.

= tech success!