Week 1 Blog Post: BLOG POST PROMPT
"Vision" enables the staff to develop strategies to achieve the schools technology objectives and to produce desired results. My understanding of our school’s vision for implementing technology is that we are fully committed to the conversion of our school from traditional to blended instruction for the purpose of improving instruction and teaching our students how to be responsible digital citizens. It has not always been this way. Because of recent changes, specifically, a new principal who brings a fresh new vision to our school, we have had 4 teachers leave the school. Humans are creatures of habit by nature so this kind of transition has been difficult.
Our "new vision" supports the mission of both our Parish and The New Evangelization of the Catholic Church. Our vision affects what happens when we “go forth” after mass or after school and how we treat others whether that interface be in person or online. Our vision tells us that there should be no distinction. We should always project the mission of the Church in all we say, think and do. Technology is simply another tool that is necessary for Christians to learn to use in order to become more effective communicators of our faith. Some evidence of this commitment to our vision can be explained by the fact that we have begun to schedule professional development to meet the needs of our teachers to support them through this conversion. Also, the school currently has resources earmarked for the purchase of additional devices. Additionally, we have plans in place for the updating of our infrastructure in order to facilitate this commitment. Based on what I have read about the difference between structural change and cultural change, I expect that there will be several barriers in making our vision a reality. We have started to make some structural changes to our structure already for next year but these goals could become barriers to the necessary change. These structural changes include the creation of a professional learning community, focused and specific professional development and time for teacher collaboration. Cultural change that could eventually become a barrier for our vision may include the novelty of blended learning and the parental perception of what a traditional classroom should look like. Do teachers and staff really believe that ALL students can and will learn? Are our expectations and our pacing unrealistic? Will it be sustainable for the years to come? These questions have yet to be answered as we look forward to a new school year with out new vision, fresh goals, renewed hope and many expectations.
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