Becoming a 21st Century District or School Board

It's more than technology that needs to change for a School District to become a 21st Century Learning/Teaching District.  Becoming a 21st Century Learning/Teaching District is not a linear process - it's a dynamic process.  Certainly there are some steps or key components that must take place early in the process, but these are not isolated activities - they are part of an overall cultural change.  The focus must remain on student success if the various stakeholders are all going to commit to systemic change.

The District or Board priorities/vision are a great place to start.  Including 21st Century Learning/Teaching as a framework to support numeracy and literacy priorities will ensure that the focus on pedagogy does not get lost in the requests for equipment.

13 Areas of Synergy:

 1.  Board Priorities and Vision

 2.  Governance Support - Policies and Procedures

 3.  Political Context

 4.  Jurisdiction and Literature Review

 5.  Leadership and Support

 6.  Building Capacity and Role Models

 7. Infrastructure stability and Wireless environment

 8. Pilot Projects and Student Devices/Access

 9. Mobile Devices and Teacher Tools

10. LCD Projectors and Interactive Whiteboards

11. Digital Resources

12. Learning Commons (Library transformation)

13. Shared Funding

Changing the tools in the classroom is not the same as building on teacher practice.  Pedagogy focused on research based practices, combined with new tools, will result in increased student engagement and increased student achievement.

Without the changes in teaching practice, the technology may result in increased engagement but the goal of improved student achievement may remain an elusive target.

Click here for more details on moving towards a 21st Century Learning and Teaching School District.