Research on Prior ICT Initiatives

Introduction

My innovation plan is to equip teachers in the district with tools and pedagogy to create engaging, experiential learning for students integrated within the curriculum. Experiential learning lets students explore, discuss, and meaningfully connect real-world concepts related to content. . The future career fields are not demanding rote memorization and compliance, they are wanting their employees to have skills such as, teamwork, critical thinking and innovative thinking (Hart, 2006). Emerging technology is calling for a new shift in education, switching from the Industrial Revolution model to student-led 21st Century learning. This emerging technology can be used in the classroom to help build experiential learning environments for students. I want to start a movement in Milford Exempted Village School that shows teachers the benefits of experiential learning in their content. The Professional Learning will not focus on a certain tool, but the learning and content first (Kolb, 2017). My initiative would start a cohort of teachers that would learn the pedagogy and EdTech that can help other teachers. This group of teachers and administrators would train others in experiential learning and be model teachers across the district.

What Research Says

Experiential learning is a broad idea that encompasses many different aspects of teaching. Experiential learning lets students explore, discuss, and meaningfully connect real-world concepts related to content. I found that I can compare this to authenticity in lessons. Authenticity in content correlates to learning gains (NCSS, 2016; Anthony & Walshaw, 2009). This idea aligns with research about how the human mind turns information into useful, transferrable knowledge (Lombardi, 2007). Nearly two-hundred years ago, Friedrich Froebel spoke about the importance of educational environments being practical and the use of materials, think about the importance of play (Smith, 2019). One hundred years later, in Education and Experience, John Dewey spoke about the importance of creating authentic learning for students (1938). If students construct connections from their knowledge at school to the real world, it allows for learning gains because they see the reason why. We can take the research from Dewey and Friedrich in the 18th and 19th centuries and use modern technology (XR) to enhance play and create authentic lessons for our students.

Global Lessons Learned-What Worked

I found five main components in my research on different case studies that helped create a successful initiative, ICT Champions, ongoing and relevant professional learning, create a shared vision and culture, time, and a focus on higher-level thinking skills. ICT champions were used in multiple initiatives. ICT champions allow teachers to model technology and help create a shared vision and culture of learning and innovation (Venezky & Mulkeen, 2008; Wolfe, Lyons, & Guevara, 2019). These initiatives focused on effective ongoing professional learning (PL) that gave teachers time outside of PL to enrich their curriculum with educational technology (Venezky & Mulkeen, 2008).

Global Lessons Learned-What Could Have Been Done Better?

Outdated technology and software, lack of Internet access, lack of support and vision, voluntary PL that is not content-specific, and widening the achievement gap are all mistakes made by ICT initiatives. If the technology or software was not updated or outdated, it would cause problems that are out of the teachers' and students' control and create doubt in the initiative (Venezky & Mulkeen, 2008). There is a significant disparity between students in different income brackets on access to the Internet at home ("Demographics of Internet and Home Broadband Usage in the United States", 2019). This can widen the inequities already present in education. The Los Angeles Unified School District's iPad initiative showed what can happen to initiatives when there is no shared goal or vision. The program started to fail when they canceled their contract with Apple that laid out how to have a successful launch (Chambers, 2014). I found that if teachers do not have meaningful and relevant PL, it can hinder the learning culture and the initiative. The PL needs to address how schools can close the achievement gap. In one study, they reported that the gap widened between high and low achieving students. They found that higher students were able to troubleshoot their technology problems, but lower students became stuck on the ICT task (Venezky & Mulkeen, 2008).

Applying These Lessons to My Innovation Plan

Studying these prior initiatives has helped me create a successful roadmap for my innovation plan. Districts need to make sure that they are not only looking at successes but looking at how they can learn for mistakes. Districts need to be mindful of the SAMR Model. The content and PL needs to focus on technology that is not merely a substitution for what they are teaching, but modifying and redefining those tasks. Time needs to be built in for teachers to plan and dive deep into experiential learning. We want teachers to see the progress, growth, risk-taking, and pedagogy in experiential learning. Finally, students need a variety of devices to create on, and the IT department needs to make sure and have a plan for these to be serviced and updated. Creating experiential learning helps build schema and prepares students for the world that lies ahead. We need to make sure we are doing our part in helping this generation succeed.