The vision for educational technology is to provide learners with a scalable and sustainable 21st Century learning environment that will have a positive impact on student achievement and student literacy for all students while preparing students to be college, career and life ready.

This vision rests on the following core beliefs that when technology is implemented with efficacy:

Student engagement and learning increase with the use of technology.

Technology supports differentiated instruction.

Technology supports differentiation of learning.

Active participation and contributions to the learning process increase with the use of technology.

Project and inquiry based learning experiences are enhanced with the use of technology.

Technology supports broader collaboration opportunities both locally and globally.

21st Century communication requires fluency in the use of technology.

Teachers need professional development so they can create and implement instructional and learning opportunities that apply best practices in teaching and learning.

We began our journey into the technology world knowing the task before us was great. We started with a seemingly simple question: Why?

In the video below, Simon Sinek suggests that all great companies start with the "why" and their products and services are more successful because consumers not only care about "what" they are selling, but "why" they are selling it.

We connected that valuable insight into "why" we are participating in this technology committee and focused on THE WHY of our work, instead of just focusing on which devices to choose.

"THE WHY" drives our work.

Many devices were piloted within classrooms in all levels and buildings within the district. The benefits were then brought back to the team to take into consideration when making decisions around instructional technology.

Some of the devices piloted were:

Various models of Chromebooks

Samsung tablets

iPads

Nexus tablets

Chromecast

Flat-screen displays

Our chosen lens/model for viewing professional development for the staff called the "SAMR Model" was at the forefront of our utilization of devices and applications to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. Our discussions within the Design Teams have been to recall our knowledge of this model when designing professional development for staff. As we move forward, it is our aim to develop custom and differentiated professional development that is by our West Ottawa teachers and for our teachers. We feel that teachers learn best when they learn from one another in a collaborative setting. Many members of our Design Teams also attended the 2015 MACUL Conference, where we were given access to many professional development sessions as well as industry-leading vendors for educational technology.

To ensure that our professional development offerings will reach teachers at the point where they need the most assistance, surveys have been sent to staff to gauge comfort level with the devices and web-based applications (i.e. Google Apps for Education) that are heavily used in the classroom and district. The Design Teams have and will ensure that results are used to tailor our professional development sessions to address any areas where improvement is needed most. See a sample of survey results from 2014-15 here.