Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

Buford Academy Vision Statement

Ashley Keifer
ITEC 7410
Summer 2016
Dr. Fuller

SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

Buford Academy Vision Statement

Vision Statement
Buford Academy will develop 21st Century technology leaders who are
purposefully, intentionally, and responsibly participating in their own learning in order to
prepare to compete globally by engaging students in deeper, more meaningful learning
activities. Students will partner with local businesses, participate as interns, investigate
and research to work alongside mentors and experience real life application in their
project based learning.
Rationale
Research shows that project-based learning achieves greater gains than traditional
textbook learning. Edutopia (2008) defines project-based learning as, a dynamic
approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges,
simultaneously developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative
groups (p.1). Technology can be the perfect tool for engaging students in project-based
experiences. This is true due to the collaborative nature of the Internet. Oblinger and
Hawkins agree, The Web is a medium for participation. Users receive information, but
they also comment, collaborate, and create their own content (p.15). Oblinger and
Hawkins also share, Learning is an active process; technology can provide a wide range
of active learning opportunities and can enable those to scale to reach more learners. But
adding technology without altering pedagogy is not a solution (p.15). For this reason,
the vision must include changing the status quo. This is the survey, which was sent to a
variety of stakeholders that was utilized to determine our vision:
1. Do you think technology is important in making an impact on student progress?

SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

Why?
2. Do you think business partnerships can be utilized to provide some of the
technology needed in the classroom? If so, how?
3. In regard to utilizing technology in productive ways, where do you see our school
now?
4. Thinking about what you just answered, where do you see our school going?
5. Do you find it important for all students to have continuous access to technology
throughout the school day? Why?
6. Does it appear that our school is doing the same things with technology, or are we
taking advantage of the unique capabilities of technology and redesigning our
activities?
7. Do you think all teachers at our school are using technology effectively?
8. Do you think teachers could increase their effectiveness with specific technology
based training?
9. Do you think one form of technology can replace another, or do you think they
can be blended to achieve greater success?
10. Economic inequities and anytime, anywhere access beyond schoolor lack of
such accesscontribute to differences in the kind of learning students experience.
What solutions do you see to this problem?
11. How do you envision students and teachers using technology given the tools we
currently have available?
12. What tools do you see as necessary for the future of Buford Academy?
Answers included a variance which was expected. Some thought technology was making
a difference and some did not. This is associated with the discrepancy in skills of
different teachers and the difference in regard to the availability of tools. Most did believe
in the blending of technology to achieve greater success, which is a positive outlook for
our school. However, not all saw technology being used to achieve new heights, which is
a concern and needs to be addressed. Finally, the vision is written to support student
learning to the highest potential. Edutopia (2008) says it best, Adopting a projectlearning approach in your classroom or school can invigorate your learning environment,
energizing the curriculum with a real-world relevance and sparking students' desire to
explore, investigate, and understand their world (p.1). Creighton (2003) also shared that
a technology leader should lead in discovering, evaluating, installing, and operating new
technologies of all kinds, while keeping teaching and student learning as the guide and

SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

driving force behind it all (p.3). Incorporating proper uses of technology together with
new pedagogical skills and continuing to embrace new and emerging opportunities will
allow our classrooms to come alive with the passion for learning that every teacher
dreams of producing.
Diversity Considerations
There are always gaps in instruction that need to be intentionally addressed. Many
of these gaps are due to diversity. Creighton (2003) alluded to the fact that two groups are
often slighted in regard to the proper use of technology within the educational setting.
These two demographic groups are females and students with a low socio-economic
status. In my personal experience, the hardest of these gaps to bridge is the gap between
socioeconomic statuses. Students may be given handheld devices, but that does not mean
they have the same access due to the lack of Internet availability. Parents in all
socioeconomic classes have a desire for the children to learn and have the essentials they
need to succeed, but some parents simply cannot provide Internet access. In order to
solve these inequities, our technology leaders must offer afterschool hours for students to
have access to all facets of technology, including the Internet. Students will also be
provided with take-home, handheld devices in order to work with programs that do not
require online access. In addition, most assignments must be designed to provide
adequate student access within the school day. Assignments and activities will also be
geared with high expectations for all students regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic status. Being intentional about assigning like tasks, with higher order thinking
skills required, should help in bridging the gaps for gender groups at the elementary level.

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Stakeholder Roles
Creighton (2003) alludes to that fact that some challenges are associated with
technology integration. These include tying the technology to the mission and priorities
of the school, not getting the right people to buy-in, placing the focus on technical issues
rather than the instruction, and having a lack of good leadership. In order for this vision
to be put into practice, stakeholders must have specific roles. These include professional
learning of new pedagogies for teachers. The new skills learned will be used to
effectively implement engaging and meaningful instruction. Parents need to be included
in decision-making and technology use outside the classroom, as well as partnership roles
within the school setting. Students will be asked to perform at new levels by engaging in
new technologies along with human aspects of learning in such a way as to produce reallife meaning from their products. Business partners will be utilized to provide new tools
and support, as well as participating in mentor programs and working partnerships with
students. These partnerships will allow for real-world application and open the classroom
to diverse populations and greater collaboration. Administrators must be willing to lead
and support teachers in embracing new and exciting educational tools not by focusing on
the technical aspects, but by connecting these tools with the mission, standards, and
priorities of our school. Each of these roles should serve meet ISTEs (2008) seven
factors for successfully implementing technology for learning (p.7,8):
1. Effective professional development for teachers in the integration of technology
into instruction is necessary to support student learning.
2. Teachers direct application of technology must be aligned to local and/or state
curriculum standards.

SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

3. Technology must be incorporated into the daily learning schedule (i.e., not as a
supplement or after-school tutorial).
4. Programs and applications must provide individualized feedback to students and
teachers and must have
the ability to tailor lessons to individual student needs.
5. Technology use must be incorporated in a collaborative environment to be most
effective. Project-based learning and real-world simulations must be the main
focus of instructional technology utilization.
6. Effective technology integration requires leadership, support, and modeling from
teachers, administrators, and the community/parents.
7. Effective technology integration requires leadership, support, and modeling from
teachers, administrators, and the community/parents.

Creighton (2003) shared that a technology leader should lead in discovering, evaluating,
installing, and operating new technologies of all kinds, while keeping teaching and
student learning as the guide and driving force behind it all (p.3). As our technology
leader, I must be the common factor that connects all aspects in a way that makes the big
picture clear to all involved. If all stakeholders follow these roles, success will come and
our vision will be obtained.

SHARED VISION & RATIONALE

References
Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, California:
Corwin Press, Inc.
Devaney, L., (2014, November 12). 7 reasons digital equity is a social justice issue.
eSchool News. Retrieved from
http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/11/12/digital-equity-access-938/2/

Edutopia, (2008, February 28). Why teach with project-bsed learning?: providing
students with a well-rounded classroom experience. Edutopia. Retrieved from
http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-introduction

ISTE. (2008). Technology and student achievement: the indelible link. ISTE Policy Brief.
Retrieved from
http://www.k12hsn.org/files/research/Technology/ISTE_policy_brief_student_ach
ievement.pdf

Oblinger, D. G., & Hawkins, B. L. (2006). The myth about no significant difference.
Educause review, November/December. Retrieved from
https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0667.pdf