August 2007 — News/In Brief
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Technology + Online + Industry + Partnerships
ED TECH ADOPTION IN 7 EASY STEPS
JUST AS A TOOL is only as good as the craftsman wielding it, education technology only proves its value when it is sensibly selected and competently deployed.
To assist schools throughout the process of adopting technology, the education division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) has released its new Software Implementation Toolkit for Educators.
The authors boil down the principles of acquiring ed tech into seven components: determination of objectives and stakeholder buy-in; integration planning; logistics planning; delivery and installation of software; professional development; implementation monitoring and software support; and software program evaluation. Tips are organized according to each stage, and are supplemented by sample scenarios and worksheets.
Checklists throughout cover such matters as steps to take during product evaluations, and points for educators to consider when forming relationships with vendors. Also, call-outs provide advice at a glance; for example: "A critical first step in logistics planning is the appointment of a strong coordinator from the institution who will have the overall responsibility and authority to carry out and monitor the implementation."
The publication's appendix is also a rich resource, beginning with a timeline model and including links to related online material. The toolkit is available for free here.
:: Industry News
STUDENTS REACH OUT TO AFRICA BY VIDEO. Communication and collaboration technology provider Polycom has joined forces with the nonprofit Global Nomads Group on Project Uganda. A distance learning program, Project Uganda connects students in 25 schools throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom with their peers in Uganda via a series of video-conferences.
Through these meetings, the organizers hope to raise awareness of world issues and give students in developed nations a way to help address problems outside their own borders. For example, one of the challenges of the program is for young people to raise funds to build a biology lab for Ugandan youth.
