Executive Director’s Report: Education technology is all about improving learning
By Anne L. Bryant
At the end of February, in Kyrene, Ariz., NSBA hosted one of our fabulous site visits that showcase leading districts that have truly integrated technology into teaching, learning, and administrative practice.
Technology Leadership Network (TLN) site visits are held three times a year. More recently, site visits were held in March in Kent, Wash., and in May in Batavia, N.Y.
In selecting sites, our education technology programs team selects from among the 337 school districts that participate in the TLN. The idea is to showcase school districts that have enabled teachers, administrators, and students to use technology in creative ways so that student learning is truly 21st century.
Let me unpack that a bit: The Kyrene Elementary School District delivered a powerful message to attendees: Changing the culture is more important than changing the hardware. Operating under the theme “Evolution Not Revolution,” district leaders explained how they used professional learning communities to inspire teachers to change their classroom behavior.
Throughout the visit, it became clear that essential building blocks -- such as clear education goals, sufficient technology staff support, and a reliable network infrastructure -- were essential elements.
But it was the passion for education and excitement generated by the teachers as they inspired one another through their professional learning communities that made the biggest difference. In other words, technology is more about “smartware” -- integrating technology tools into teaching and learning -- rather than simply buying the latest product.
NSBA’s most effective TLN members have proven time and again that the successful use of technology within a district requires a shared vision among administrators, teachers, and community members -- along with implementation strategies that are both bottom-up and top-down -- to truly transform the culture within a district.
One attendee reported on the evaluation form, “I am inspired to go back to my classroom and change my style of teaching.” Another attendee appreciated the opportunity to learn about “new ideas for instructional technology and all the ways to infuse it into instruction that engages students.”
These site visits are just one of NSBA’s programmatic technology-related tools for National Affiliate school districts and our state school boards associations.
Most of you know that NSBA was a pioneer in the education technology revolution. Back in 1988, NSBA held our first Technology + Learning (T+L) Conference at the Infomart in Dallas.
This conference has grown over the years from just a few hundred attendees at the first event to several thousand at the most recent T+L Conference last October, which also featured 219 exhibiting companies and sponsors.
The 2008 T+L Conference, Oct. 28-30, will be held in Seattle for the first time. The keynote speakers include futurist Paul Saffo, who will focus your thinking about the world in which our children will live, and David Warlick, who will connect that future with the essential skills students will need to be successful.
Programming throughout the conference keeps an eye toward the future, but with a reality check of what works today. Attendees will learn how to use technology to deliver learning experiences and personalized instruction to create a 21st century learning environment.
While other education technology conferences focus primarily on teachers and technology staff, T+L is targeted toward helping district leadership teams, including school board members and key administrators, get up-to-speed on the latest technology trends and understand the policy implications.
Two additional TLN site visits will be held in the Seattle area in conjunction with the T+L Conference -- to the Lake Washington school district on Oct. 27 and the Kent school district on Oct. 30.
The TLN also promotes a team approach to technology decision making. The TLN is a community of school district leaders who share best practices and knowledge, invest in districtwide professional development, and influence national legislation to increase support for technology in education.
Being part of the TLN brings many benefits. Many of our National Affiliate districts choose to augment their program participation by adding the networking advantages offered by the TLN. Once you are a member of your state association, you can join either or both of these programs.
TLN members gain access to an array of online resources, including information about the latest technology grants, job postings, publications, learning opportunities, and advocacy issues affecting education technology. They also receive discounts for the T+L Conference and TLN site visits. If your district is a National Affiliate, you can join the TLN at 50 percent of the regular fee.
Within the past decade, many state associations have joined NSBA in helping school districts become innovators and leaders in the integration of technology.
I recently visited the Georgia School Boards Association and saw first-hand how its “eBOARDsolutions” program is helping school boards carry out strategic planning to help them become good governors of their districts, access state and local data to drive their decision making, and focus like a laser beam on raising student achievement.
Education technology is not just about the hardware or the software, broadband or wireless, although these tools are important. It is about educating the board, administrative staff, teachers, and students on how to move away from a teacher-centered classroom to a student-centered classroom where the teacher serves as a guide and facilitator.
Education technology is also about creating systems that give teachers good data about student performance every day -- and not just test scores -- so they can adjust their teaching style to create a personalized learning environment.
As you can tell from the Kyrene example, technology can transform teaching and learning. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
NSBA and many of our state associations can help school board members and superintendents take advantage of the tremendous resources we have. Join us. Connect with us. Learn with us.
Reproduced with permission from School Board News. Copyright © 2008, National School Boards Association. Opinions expressed in this newspaper do not necessarily reflect positions of NSBA. This article may be printed out and photocopied for individual or educational use, provided this copyright notice appears on each copy. This article may not be otherwise transmitted or reproduced in print or electronic form without the consent of the Publisher. For more information, call (703) 838-6789.