Heading a workshop on education leadership for the digital age, Maria Dickerson, director of digital and learning resources at El Paso Independent School District in Texas, said the vision statement should be student-centered, quantifiable and inspiring.
“Our technology empowers students to become creators rather than consumers, problem-solvers and collaborators across boundaries," she said. "We envision learning environments where technology removes barriers, amplifies the student voice and prepares graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
Along with a vision statement, Dickerson said tech leaders also need to come up with a plan to find and fix any gaps in digital equity, whether that means more professional development for teachers to learn how to use ed tech effectively or connectivity programs that ensure reliable Internet access for students and schools.
Getting to know these needs is crucial when it comes to deciding where to spend money on technology, Dickerson said, adding that districts should explore federal, state and local sources for funding, along with public-private partnerships. To further focus tech investment decisions, she provided templates for districts to track their existing technology, prioritize purchases and develop a one- to three-year funding sustainability plan.
“Do you have these in place?” Dickerson asked. “Because if you want to keep sane in what you’re doing, there are a lot of documents and a lot of systems that you need to have in place. And you need to be organized.”
With an organized foundation, Dickerson said tech leaders will be better positioned to move on to the next steps for success: making and following a document to guide procurement for all new tech purchases, conducting a data privacy audit on ed-tech tools, and shoring up school cybersecurity with tabletop exercises and realistic drills.
Dickerson said these safety measures help set the stage for the ongoing work of educators and ed-tech leaders: continually increasing digital integration, redesigning learning spaces to better support the use of ed-tech tools, introducing a framework to evaluate emerging technologies and developing a pilot-to-scale plan for innovative initiatives.
Given how overwhelmed ed-tech leaders may feel at the breadth and depth of these steps, Dickerson said she recommends laying out three immediate action items that can take place in the next 30 days, two medium-term goals that can be achieved within three to six months and one long-term vision that could take a year or more to complete.
