3.6 Selecting and Evaluating Digital Tools & Resources
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Candidates collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources for accuracy, suitability, and compatibility with the school technology infrastructure. (PSC 3.6/ISTE 3f)
Before the creation of the school app, I had to present my idea to my school administrative team and then, with approval, the district administrators and then eventually, the Board of Education. Before any of this occurred, I needed to be able to collaborate with teachers and administrators to select and evaluate digital tools and resources. This artifact, Evaluating Emerging Technologies Project (ITEC 7445), is that collaboration’s result.
After attending the GaETC conference in Atlanta, Georgia, I brought back an idea for our school to create a school app for all stakeholders to be able to access to assist each student with his or her learning and achievement. The teachers I spoke with and the entire administrative team at my school were immediately on board with the idea. They asked that I provide them with some information before we present this to the district administrators, and we found that from all of the sites online that had web-based app creation platforms, one set itself apart from the rest in terms of ease of use and price. The administrative team and I reviewed all of the features the company could provide through the app, and the decision was made to present my findings to the district administrators.
As soon as the district administrators understood the educational potential, and the one-time fee that was associated with the purchases, rather than a per month basis, we had the green light to proceed in the purchase of the app. The high school administrators found out about this project and also purchased an app for their school at the same time. Everyone was on board, and others were jumping on board as we continued through the process of app creation and implementation.
The app itself that we decided to purchase was a skeleton model, which means that we were to fill it with whatever content, media, and other miscellaneous information we desired. If anything was not accurate, it would be due to our error only. I was to make it suitable for the middle school students, their parents, and all stakeholders that may download our school app. As it was web-based and could be used on any web browser or Apple or Android phone or tablet, the purchase is very compatible with all school and district technology devices, along with personal technology devices of all stakeholders.
I learned that when making decisions on this large of a scale (purchase of an app to manipulate), many district level personnel will need to be involved in the decision making process. This was a team effort, going all the way up to our Superintendent, and could not have been finalized without him and our Director of Technology.
The one thing I would do differently would be to get more teachers on board and have a team of creators for the app itself. It is a very tiresome job to create an app, and although it occurred, many unplanned hours were used. The more the merrier when it comes to large scale projects like this.
The work that went into the creation of the school app impacts student learning on a daily level, faculty are sharing lessons and study guides with ease, and collaboration within teams has improved to streamline the sharing of content with their students through the app. The impact is assessed by looking at the app data from the administrative dashboard in terms of clicks, downloads, and user engagement.
After attending the GaETC conference in Atlanta, Georgia, I brought back an idea for our school to create a school app for all stakeholders to be able to access to assist each student with his or her learning and achievement. The teachers I spoke with and the entire administrative team at my school were immediately on board with the idea. They asked that I provide them with some information before we present this to the district administrators, and we found that from all of the sites online that had web-based app creation platforms, one set itself apart from the rest in terms of ease of use and price. The administrative team and I reviewed all of the features the company could provide through the app, and the decision was made to present my findings to the district administrators.
As soon as the district administrators understood the educational potential, and the one-time fee that was associated with the purchases, rather than a per month basis, we had the green light to proceed in the purchase of the app. The high school administrators found out about this project and also purchased an app for their school at the same time. Everyone was on board, and others were jumping on board as we continued through the process of app creation and implementation.
The app itself that we decided to purchase was a skeleton model, which means that we were to fill it with whatever content, media, and other miscellaneous information we desired. If anything was not accurate, it would be due to our error only. I was to make it suitable for the middle school students, their parents, and all stakeholders that may download our school app. As it was web-based and could be used on any web browser or Apple or Android phone or tablet, the purchase is very compatible with all school and district technology devices, along with personal technology devices of all stakeholders.
I learned that when making decisions on this large of a scale (purchase of an app to manipulate), many district level personnel will need to be involved in the decision making process. This was a team effort, going all the way up to our Superintendent, and could not have been finalized without him and our Director of Technology.
The one thing I would do differently would be to get more teachers on board and have a team of creators for the app itself. It is a very tiresome job to create an app, and although it occurred, many unplanned hours were used. The more the merrier when it comes to large scale projects like this.
The work that went into the creation of the school app impacts student learning on a daily level, faculty are sharing lessons and study guides with ease, and collaboration within teams has improved to streamline the sharing of content with their students through the app. The impact is assessed by looking at the app data from the administrative dashboard in terms of clicks, downloads, and user engagement.