"Every component of the school is driven by the school's core values & beliefs."
-NEASC Standard 1: Core Values, Beliefs and Learning Expectations
Aligning Your Technology Program with Your Beliefs about Learning
Research on technology integration shows that 1:1 implementation is most effective when a vision has been developed in collaboration with all stakeholders. If technology is introduced as an initiative or a gimmick without taking intentional steps to connect it to what drives your work as educators and learners, it becomes challenging to make it a meaningful part of learning at your school.
One way to ensure that the program is driven by your beliefs and connected to your mission is put in place a collaborative process that focuses on beliefs and makes practical connections to the benefits of technology integration.
One way to ensure that the program is driven by your beliefs and connected to your mission is put in place a collaborative process that focuses on beliefs and makes practical connections to the benefits of technology integration.
The Process: Teams of students and teachers review the school's beliefs about learning. After reviewing these beliefs, the teams can work together in a collaborative document to explain how a 1:1 program would support the school's vision of teaching and learning. After collaborating digitally, hold a meeting to identify common themes and create a vision of 1:1 learning for the Nipmuc community.
The Process in Practice: What do you believe about learning?
Articulating beliefs about learning is a process that will fill as much space as you give it. By using a tool like Mentimeter, you can define the space of this conversation to get productive and actionable. To give this process a try, click the button below and complete the prompt: "I believe people learn most powerfully and deeply when..."
Turn Your Beliefs into a Vision for Technology Integration
Now that you've articulated your beliefs about learning in a quick, simple way - let's use these beliefs to establish a vision. Working in small groups, review the beliefs about learning in the document below. Next, in the second column, explain how technology integration will support this belief about learning. Add as many examples as possible in the second column. (see the example in green to help you get started)