Running head: TECHNOLOGY PLAN 1

Case Study: Instructional Technology Plan

EDUCA245

Ryan Moulday

November 4th 2019

TECHNOLOGY PLAN 2

Instructional technology plans serve as comprehensive planning for the implementation

and evaluation of technological solutions in the classroom. Typically, technology plans are

written and implemented at the school or district level for the board and other administrators.

However, in this paper, instructional technology plans or ITPs will be viewed from their

potential implementation in the individual classroom by the classroom teacher. The first question

that should always be posed when considering constructing an ITP is the purpose and audience

for the ITP's creation. For the average classroom teacher, the major purpose of a classroom ITP

will be twofold. The first goal of the creation of the ITP will be to communicate the goals and

planning of a particular technological utility in the classroom to school administration. For the

purpose of requesting resources and approval from school administration the teacher will have to

demonstrate that their particular technological tool's implementation has been well thought out,

and the needed resources carefully considered. The second goal for writing the ITP is so the

classroom teacher themselves will be able to carefully consider the purpose and utility of a piece

of technology in the classroom.

Technology plans vary immensely in their construction depending on local norms and the

target audience. ITPs directed towards a board at a district level or higher will contain much

more in-depth requirements including planning for administration teams to implement the

technology across the district. For the ITP proposed in this paper however, such details will be

largely insignificant. The first component of writing an ITP is to compose basic information

about the classroom the ITP is being written for. Typically this information will include the

grade level, the number of students in the classroom, and the name of the teacher writing the ITP.

This serves to give administrators in the school context with which to understand the plan and to

indicate exactly who is requesting resources or approval.

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The next section that is universally present in most ITPs is the mission statement/goals

section. In this section, the teacher will include the fundamental hopes of the implementation of

this technology plan. It is also fairly common to include the district or school mission statement

among this section so that the goals of the plan may better align with the goals of the school.

Traditional ITPs at the district level will have goals that are broader and may apply to multiple

areas, subjects, and grade levels. For a classroom ITP however, this section can be more akin to a

traditional lesson plan in that this section sets the objectives of the implementation of

technology. This serves to remind the teacher what the hope of using the technology is so that

further planning does not run tangential to desired outcomes.

The next common section is an inventory or breakdown of the current technological

resources and the resources that will be required for the teacher’s desired implementation. At the

board level, this typically extends to network capacity and available computer access across

schools. For the classroom ITP, the major concerns will be if there are sufficient computers or

tablets available for every student in the classroom or for groups if that is the desired

implementation of the technology. It is important for the teacher to be aware of what resources

are available to them and what additional resources may be required for the implementation

of the ITP to determine feasibility.

Following the inventory, there is usually a budget or cost analysis. Generally, (but not

always) there will be a need to acquire additional resources for the implementation of the ITP.

This need may equate to additional pieces of hardware like computers or tablets but often will

also include software costs as ITPs generally involve specific software at the classroom level.

One of the major reasons for the creation of an ITP may be to request resources from the school

and thus this section can be important for a classroom teacher.

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Following the costs, there is generally an action plan of some degree. This includes the

strategies and methods that will be pursued in the implementation of the ITP. For classroom

teachers, this section is akin to the meat of a lesson plan which discusses how the lesson will

progress and what strategies will be used. This section is probably the most important as it

demonstrates exactly how the technology will be used in the classroom.

The final section consists of some method of assessment. On the board level, this is

usually what metric of improvement or key indicator of success will be reviewed following the

implementation of the ITP. For the classroom teacher, this section will focus primarily on what

kind of classroom assessment will be used to gauge the effectiveness of the ITP in reaching its

desired learning goals. For classroom teachers, this is almost exactly the same as the assessment

portion of a lesson plan, and standard tests and quizzes will be valid forms of assessment for an

ITP at the classroom level. It is important that the teacher is able to coordinate the assessment

portion of the ITP with the initial goals section to determine if the technology serves its desired

role in student learning to determine if it will be used in the future.

In conclusion, an instructional technology plan is a useful tool from the classroom to the

board level. The ITP serves as a lesson plan for teachers with a special focus on technology

which will be implemented alongside the lesson or which will serve as the vehicle for the lesson.

An ITP considers the desired effect of a piece of technology and practical requirements for the

use of a piece of technology. When used well, an ITP can turn the implementation of a piece of

technology from a pleasant distraction to an efficient and objective oriented tool for learning.

Link to tech plan in my field:

https://www.state.nj.us/education/archive/frameworks/math/math17.pdf