This SLO allows individuals to exercise their knowledge and expertise to propose innovative technology-based solutions. The candidate will perform a needs assessment to determine the needs of an organization and develop effective methods, strategies, and innovative solutions to address the organization's needs. This is something educators do daily. We are constantly reflecting and making changes to our lessons to provide the most engaging way to present material that best meets the needs of every student in our classroom.
MEDT 8462: Leading and Managing Instructional Technology
For this assignment, I performed a needs assessment at my school to determine and identify areas of need within the school. I analyzed the data received to determine areas that needed to be improved by implementing more effective technology methods, strategies, and solutions. Click on my Needs Assessment to discover what I found and what suggestions I came up with.
MEDT 8462: Leading and Managing Instructional Technology
After performing my needs assessment and technology plan, I took the strategies and solutions I suggested and wrote a grant proposal to acquire funding to purchase a school subscription for Type to Learn. By writing a grant to acquire Type to Learn, we were one step closer to better meet the needs of the school and students. Here is my Grant Proposal.
Artifact one presented a few challenges because I took the class during the summer. This was an issue because I was required to perform a needs assessment and identify needs for my school. I had to interview over ten people for this assignment. It was summer and many of my co-workers were not checking their email regularly. This was an issue because it took me longer to get the information. I had to call several co-workers to finish this part of my assignment. Artifact two was the first time I attempted to apply for a grant. As I was going through the grant process, I didn't realize there were many different organizations that offer grants. It was overwhelming to narrow down the right one to apply for. The beginning of the process was intimidating because there were so many steps and criteria to follow. I learned how important it is to make sure that the grant I am applying for matches the criteria for that specific grant. This process was very eye-opening and I am glad I had the opportunity to experience it.
I feel that these projects demonstrate my achievements in understanding SLO 4. In both of these assignments, I had to identify a need for my school and then determine a technology solution to meet the instructional needs of the school and students. Artifact one, the needs assessment, determines the needs of the school to improve student learning and academic performance based on surveys and interviews with administration and teachers. This lead me to design a technology plan that would best meet the needs of the school and students. The needs assessment led to my second artifact, the grant proposal. I wrote a grant proposal to acquire the funding to purchase a school subscription to Type to Learn to better improve student typing skills and better prepare our students for state online testing. With the purchase of this technology program, the school could see an improvement in our school scores.
I found both of these assignments exciting to accomplish because they were out of my wheelhouse. The assignments were challenging, but they allowed me to expand on the skills I learned throughout this program. After completing both of these assignments, I found that I am more confident in my abilities to make changes and come up with solutions that will help benefit the needs of others. Both assignments were from the MEDT 8462: Leading and Managing Instructional Technology class. The needs assessment laid out the framework for my grant proposal. I focused on one of my school's most important technology needs and wrote a grant proposal for a technology program (Type to Learn) to address the school's needs. The administrators and staff wanted the students to become more proficient and confident in their typing skills. We hoped that we could gain funding from the grant for the typing program and help students perform better on the state-mandated online testing.