EDU 936: Infrastructure and Technology Planning for Today’s Schools

Course Learning Outcome 1

Develop skills for the identification, selection, installation, and maintenance of technology infrastructure, including hardware and software applications to support the goals and desired outcomes of an engaging and empowering learning environment.

ISTE Standards for Education Leaders: 3.1 Equity and Citizenship Advocate

Develop skills for the management and administration of technology budgets, personnel, and programs at the building, district, and regional levels. 

ISTE Standards for Education Leaders: 3.1 Equity and Citizenship Advocate

ISTE Standards for Education Leaders: 3.4 Systems Designer

Artifact

Network Plan and Considerations - Google Drive
Main assignment prompt: Enrollment in your District has increased and it has been decided to build a new Grade 6-8 building to support growth.  You have been tasked with creating a plan to connect that building to your existing WAN and then create a wireless and wired LAN to support a technology-rich learning environment.

Reflection

For this assignment, we were asked to act as a Director of Technology in a school district.  This artifact allowed me to showcase my IT infrastructure knowledge in creating a thorough plan.  I was able to take real-world experience and put it towards the infrastructure design, such as expanding the number of access points to have adequate coverage in 1:1 environment, adding additional switches and data frames, and recognizing how many more network-connected devices exist in a modern school setting.  I felt confident in my ability to complete this assignment in particular, reminding me that I'm on the correct career path to work on the things I'm good at and the things I enjoy.

Course Learning Outcome 2

Develop leadership techniques for working with all levels of the educational community to manage and administer instructional technology programs at the building and district levels.

ISTE Standards for Education Leaders: 3.1 Equity and Citizenship Advocate

Identify and develop an awareness of the safety and security issues that impact the technology planning and infrastructure for educational institutions in the fast-paced technological world.

ISTE Standards for Teachers: 2.3.c Model Safe, Legal, Ethical Practices
ISTE Standards for Education Leaders: 3.5 Connected Learner

Artifact

Instructional Technology Plan - Google Drive
Main Assignment Prompt: Now that your building infrastructure has been planned your next step is to create an instructional technology plan for the building. Your plan should outline the devices necessary for instruction, instructional programs that will be utilized, professional development necessary, and any filtering and security recommendations you would give to the district. Your plan should include the first-year budget.

Reflection

I found myself outside of my comfort zone as made sure that any recommendations in this plan were grounded in research-based standards and best practice.  Again I was able to take what I've learned from supporting classroom teachers and reflect what hardware and software is needed at a building-wide level.  Any true instructional technology plan would need collaboration between technology and curricular/teaching and learning departments.

My favorite part of this was summarizing my ethos and plan through the Vision for Technology Integration. "Any technology that we implement should directly support instruction, enhance student learning, and help prepare students to be successful beyond their K-12 education. Our goal is to provide the best tools possible for our educators to transform their lessons.  We will use several research-based standards for helping guide this success, including PDE SAS, The Danielson Framework, ISTE and ASCD. We must also provide adequate training resources to support faculty - both to implement new ideas and to reinforce best practices throughout the school year."