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Looking for that perfect gift for the leaders in your school or district? Not sure what to get that principal or superintendent that has everything? Search no more. Get them What School Leaders Need to Know About Digital Technologies and Social Media

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All of these data were ultimately distilled to those 9 factors (called Key Implementation Factors, or KIFs in the Project documentation) that need to be present in a school to truly realize the full potential of major 1:1 investments. While each factor is worth a post or two in and of itself, I'll just list them here.

Setting the Stage: First Steps Toward 1:1 The first few months in a new school are always extra hectic, and this semester has been even more crazy than usual, because we have been working on several different facets of technology and learning here at YIS, in preparation for 1:1 next year. Here's what we've done so far:

Project-Based Learning grabs hold of this idea and fosters deep learning and autonomy by using technology to help students engage in issues and questions relevant to their lives. This resource will direct you to a variety of resources on this approach, the research behind it, and how you can use it in your class to transform your students into engaged and interested independent thinkers

We need to be able to attach a value statement to what we invest in. For each proposed "new" I think a value statement could be developed for the current model and proposed alternates. Also, what is being undone by introducing the new - what will be given up? What increased benefit is expected from the current state relative to the proposed new?

1. ICT IS USED TO ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING2. ICT IS AN INTEGRAL ASPECT OF TEACHING3. PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT IS ONGOING4. PLANNING, BUDGETING and EVALUATION ARE KEY ORGANISATIONAL ACTIVITIES5. ICT INFUSION IS SUPPORTED BY COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

A year ago, I wasn't on Twitter. Now my PLN is invaluable. If every other form of PD was taken away from me, I would continue to grow and learn because of the people and resources at my finger tips on Twitter. A year ago, I didn't really blog. Now it's part of who I am. It's how I actively try to make sense of the world. And it has connected me to people who challenge my thinking and help me to be a better teacher.

The conventional wisdom in education is that any school reform--be it curriculum, instruction, assessment, or teacher professionalism--is most likely to take hold in schools that have strong leadership. The same holds true for technology.

I agree with Dave's observation. We have four elementary buildings in our district, each with a different principal and each with a distinctive leadership strength. It's just like when I was teaching, I tended to teach to my strengths and had to remind myself to be well-rounded, but my classrooms definitely had a technology slant to them. Now as a building principal, my staff professional development is also slanted to the technology side. That part comes easier to me. I just have to work harder at curriculum and instruction pieces when I "marry" them all together.

"...we need to keep reminding ourselves that ed reform is not technology reform and that embedded, transformative technology is not simply digitizing what we've already been doing."