How can you lead educational technology initiatives in your school?

Between 2004-2009, I was the localizer and the advisor of the Innovative Teachers Program of Ms Turkey and we started a program for teachers (a 32-hour innovation seminar), and school administrators (A 12-hour leadership seminar). It worked well.

Como experiência precisamos começar sempre por um programa de Cultura Digital. Ainda que se utilize a nomenclatura para Transformação Digital, no campo educacional, a cultura precisa estar em destaque. Este foi modelo que nos permitiu reproduzir iniciativas.

Remember you need to ensure you are abiding by any legislation or local school board policies regarding student information and data security. Any tools selected must pass a Privacy Impact Assessment. A newer framework that focuses on ethical considerations like "A TechnoEthical Framework for Teachers (TEFT)" should also be considered as a lens to examine your project.

From my observation and analysis , there has been huge impact on students and educators for being able to exposed to technology and integrating AI specially has been engaging for the outcomes

Our students are taught Word,PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets right from their first year of their Bachelor’s program.They are taught to solve complex problems in statistics with the use of digital technology.

With any vision, your intent and goals must be clear to everyone for that vision to be shared. If it is not understood, it cannot be followed with the same passion that you may have for it. It would be an error to rush past this important groundwork if you hope the initiative becomes part of your normal way of doing things. You also need to understand that your vision will and must be changed by those you introduce it to so they can take ownership as well. By them doing that, you increase your chances of success.

I believe to develop a great vision and plan, the educators can share their experiences on their passion of teaching and their ideas which can bring a positive and vital role in the life of students .

We have imparted education both using physical mode and virtual-sort of a flipped class room approach. Students are evaluated both in labs and in theory classes regularly in physical mode and online exams.

SunShine educational vision has been publicly shared. The community are part of the living story. The Covid 19 period required of us to prepare all parents and learners for the online mode of learning – we supplied them with information, tutorial sessions and organised demos before we could resume distance learning.

While we incorporate technology in classrooms, we need to keep in mind the individual differences among teachers and students. Chosen platform must be able to cater to the diverse needs of learners. At the same time, technology should not hamper the imagination of the learners making them so tech dependent that their creative thinking abilities cannot function to their full potential.

In my role as a leader, I led the implementation of Google Suite for Education at a school with a diverse teaching staff. To ensure everyone could benefit, we organized bilingual training sessions. This allowed teachers of different linguistic backgrounds to effectively use the new technology. To add to this, we introduced 'Google Gurus,' teachers who received extra training to act as in-house experts. They provided immediate, ongoing support, helping to create a collaborative learning environment. This dual approach—initial training and ongoing support—was key to successfully integrating the new technology. Therefore, while initial training is crucial, ongoing support is equally important for the successful adoption of new technology.

In 2007, a few years after Smart Boards were installed in all classrooms, I sought out a tech integration degree to help my high school moved forward with as much knowledge and support as I could provide. I offered many tech integration classes for my school as well as all members of the Salem State Collaborative members. I advised and created shared folders on our school dept folders. I always led by example and never suggested my department try a new way to do something without providing concrete examples that I had already used in my classroom

Professional Development is sadly an area where EdTech projects fall flat. Insufficient time is provided to train staff. One PD session with no follow-up or additional support will likely not be enough for everyone to feel confident. Educators need to have confidence in the tools they use or will not use them. The PD plan of your rollout should be one of the most comprehensive pieces next to your shared vision.

We have asked experts in the fields to impart their knowledge and expertise on monthly basis. We have workshops,seminars and virtual events of educational relevance from the experts across the globe. Our students are made to visit pharmaceutical companies and organisations locally and across the states of India. ~ Our students take part in clinical research,and retail pharmacy programs in the city. ~The students are motivated to help increase awareness about medicines, their use,and educating general public about the same once in a year.

Ongoing PD sessions are very important for the eductors to learn , execute and share ahead. It’s important for educator to be good learner as well. PD sessions can help them improvise their area of teaching and develop enthusiasm towards education

The best way to model your EdTech practices is by inviting your colleagues into your learning space. Give them the opportunity to see it firsthand. Portfolios and presentations are great, but they are sometimes so clean and tidy, the viewer cannot see a realistic entry point for themselves. In a classroom environment, they are more likely to see its impact and more importantly, provide feedback on their observations in a follow-up conversation. It takes more time, but it's more authentic.

Educator can set up a target for their area of improvement and then apply design thinking skills inline to a perfect lesson plan using edtech tools to engage students and engage them and show progression in the classroom

We have developed an outcome based syllabi both in theory and practical based pharmacy curriculum. The students are taught to take virtual theory exams and given mathematical problems to solve using the Excel spreadsheet. They are taught to use Power Point presentations on a subject of Pharmaceutical interest.

Open learnings and demos are part of the culture of the Studio. Our lead teachers readily engage in sessions with parents to promote acceptance of technology for education at home. It is significant to differentiate technology for education from technology for fun and entertainment. We work actively in the direction of discouraging our learners from online gaming. Advising parents and children through modelling, time scheduling, supplying information about educative approaches and resources is part of attaining the shared vision of SunShine.

Evaluating impact can be tricky when schools have so many variables. Do your best to try and reduce the number of variables you are trying to evaluate at any given time to get the most accurate results. Most educators are not 'data scientists' so reading result data may not be a common skill among your colleagues. Once you have your results, remember that data itself is usually boring and some will just tune it out. What you need to do is tell a story and use the data to show that the story you are telling is based on facts and the results therefore are repeatable.

I always like to recommend multi-year approaches to assessing the impact of a new educational technology. For example, success in year 1 might be achieving a certain percentage of faculty adoption of a particular retention tool. Year 2, however, might involve determining if the tool actually improved retention rates.

We reflect on our progress and align our practices to the set targets. Statistical reports, including surveys, help in identifying the lapses and achievements. In order to achieve this we partner with other companies and businesses, whose counsel and support we value.

To introduce edtech into a teaching that was previously devoid of it, it seems to me that we must start with simple and limited things. Two of the simplest ways are: 1) The preparation of slideshows with soundtrak. All it takes is for the teacher to record with a headset microphone what he would have said face-to-face to accompany each slide 2) Conducting small, fun self-assessment activities Initially, these tools will complement the traditional course by allowing learners to work in the absence of the teachers, then, when their number is sufficient, they can even replace them. These are achievements that teachers can do themselves to a large extent, without requiring the intervention of specialists in digital tools.

One thing is clear - AI is here to stay and we need to learn how to learn even more and better. I am a beginner and ready for the journey although I have lots of questions. The best part is that there are agencies, experts and NGOs who can answer these questions.