A strategic technology plan is a specific type of strategy plan that lets an organization know where they are now and where they want to be some time in the future with regard to the

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

and infrastructure in their organization. It often consists of the following sections.

Components of strategic technology plan

Mission, vision statement

mission statement A mission statement is a short statement of why an organization exists, what its overall goal is, the goal of its operations: what kind of product or service it provides, its primary customers or market, and its geographical region of operatio ...

describes the overall purpose of the organization. An example of a mission statement: : Our mission is to ensure our students have the desire for learning and provide them with the knowledge, skills, and values to become contributing citizens of the world. A

vision statement A vision statement is an inspirational statement of an idealistic emotional future of a company or group. Vision describes the basic human emotion that a founder intends to be experienced by the people the organization interacts with. The Infinit ...

describes what the organization stands for, what it believes in, and why it exists. It describes the desired outcome, invoking a vivid mental picture of the company's goal. An example of a vision statement: : The Carrington Public School System is committed to seeing students exercising self-control, being accountable, showing respect, actively learning, inquiring, discussing, questioning, debating, self-motivated, creating, connecting instruction to life, and reflecting and revising.

Needs assessment

needs assessment A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining and addressing needs, or "gaps", between current conditions and desired conditions or "wants". Needs assessment is part of planning. It can be used to clarify problems and identify appr ...

is a systematic exploration of the way things are and the way they should be. These things are usually associated with organizational and/or individual performance. A needs assessment describes: teaching and learning, integration of technology with business requirements, curricula and instruction, educator preparation and development, administration and support services, infrastructure for technology. Curriculum integration When evaluating your needs, consider: *Current

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

strengths and weaknesses and the process used to determine these strengths and weaknesses *How curriculum strategies are aligned to state standards *Current procedures for using technology to address any perceived curriculum weaknesses *How teachers integrate technology into their lessons *How students use technology (McQuillan, M. 2008). Professional development When evaluating your needs, consider: *How the organization assesses the technology

professional development Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensiv ...

needs of certified staff, administration, and non-certified staff *Technology professional development training available to certified staff *How the effectiveness of the professional development will be measured. Equitable use of technology When evaluating your needs, consider: *Availability of technology to students, staff, employees, and organization members *Amount of time technology is available to students, staff, or organization members *Description of types of assistive technology tools that are provided for students, employees or users with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, se ...

where necessary/applicable. Infrastructure for technology When evaluating your needs, consider: *Current technology infrastructure of the school/organization - explain the type of data and video networking and

Internet access Internet access is the ability of individuals and organizations to connect to the Internet using computer terminals, computers, and other devices; and to access services such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is sold by Internet ...

that is available *Effectiveness of present infrastructure and

telecommunication Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than tha ...

service provided *How

E-Rate E-Rate is the commonly used name for the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, which is administered by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ...

has allowed the district to improve or increase technology infrastructure. Administrative needs When evaluating your needs, consider: *How administrative staff uses technology, accessing data for decision making, information system reporting, communication tools, information gathering, and record-keeping *Professional development opportunities that are available to administrative staff. Stakeholders are composed of; *Board members *People affected by technology *Superintendent *Principals/assistants *Teachers/special needs teachers *Parents/students/community members *Director of Technology *Director of Instructional Technology *Teaching and learning design team

Technology initiative descriptions, goal statement and rationale

In order for technology to be effective, it must be tied to leadership, core visions, professional development, time, and assessment. The following goals are statements of ways with regard to its use of technology: *To improve student academic performance through the integration of

and technology *Increase administrative uses of technology *Utilize technology as a medium to create an interactive partnership between the system, parents, community agencies, industry, and business partners *To utilize technology to support the professional growth of all staff, which will result in maximum learning to all students

Objectives (measurable and observable)

The

objective Objective may refer to: * Objective (optics), an element in a camera or microscope * ''The Objective'', a 2008 science fiction horror film * Objective pronoun, a personal pronoun that is used as a grammatical object * Objective Productions, a Brit ...

s are tied to the mission and vision statements. Each goal has objectives and indicators. The objectives stated in specific and measurable terms what must be accomplished in order to reach the larger goal. The Technology plan splits the objectives into categories: *Teaching and learning *Educator preparation and development *Administration and support services *Infrastructure for technology *Integration of technology with curricula and instruction

Hardware, software, and facility resource requirement

Only by having the proper equipment can staff development take place. Effective technology plans should not just focus on the technology but also the applications. This will provide teachers and administrators with the information on what they should be able to do with the technology. Professional development is the most important element in implementing technology into the classroom. Teachers must be able to have strategies to change the way they teach and integrate new technology. The only way to do this is to provide the hardware,

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

and the training. Teachers and administrators should be able to use a variety of technology applications such as: the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a ''internetworking, network of networks'' that consists ...

video camera A video camera is an optical instrument that captures videos (as opposed to a movie camera, which records images on film). Video cameras were initially developed for the television industry but have since become widely used for a variety of othe ...

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

s, and multimedia presentations.

Instructional resource requirement and staff development plan

In order for an organization to fulfill its mission and goals, it is important that all staff be provided with the necessary support and training opportunities to enable them to undertake their roles to the highest standard. The plan will provide training and educational opportunities for professional and personal development to relate to educational activities. Professional development is a key focus of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The law requires enhancing education through technology entitlement funds to be directed toward professional development that is ongoing and high quality.(Fernandez, D. 1999).

Itemized budget and rational, evaluation method, and funding

In the strategic plan, there is an item budget, evaluation method, and funding source/amount/timeline. The itemized budget is broken down into the years of the plan. Money is divided up into amounts that will be used for each year. The evaluation method collects data and disaggregates it to determine the outcomes.

References

{{reflist * Fernandez, D. 1999
''Texas can & affiliated charter schools.''
* Rouda, R., Kusy, M. 1995

* McQuillan, M. 2008
''Connecticut state department of education''

stafdevplan.pdf Staff Development Strategic Plan. 2005.
Strategic management