Final exams are mostly behind us. Graduations and end-of-year ceremonies have returned, clap-outs, field days, and summer prep are in full swing. We will all have a moment or two to breathe in the summer air and take a dip in the pool. Then, before you know it, halls and classrooms will be empty, making space for summer projects such as building maintenance, renovations, and technology upgrades. But how do you ensure your technology visions is carried throughout the summer?
As an administrator, of course you want to get a jump on the fall and have likely already drawn up a plan for the many projects of summer. Let’s talk about those IT projects on your list! You can help make sure summer IT projects, in particular, lead to better learning experiences next school year. Your daily interactions with teachers and students put you in a great position to know how technology is serving them well and how it could be improved, so gather as much intelligence as you can about your building’s technology environment before everyone becomes scarce for the summer. If you are a Vartek partner, let our Leadership Team, EdTech Leaders, and Classroom Technology Coaches support these conversations and gather information for you. It’s what we do to support your needs.
The five tips below can help you help your technology team prioritize its summer IT work.
- Make sure you are up to date on your school’s technology vision. Knowing where school leadership wants the IT environment and technology integration in the classroom to be on a macro level helps you have more meaningful conversations about school technology on a micro level.
- Understand the equipment, infrastructure, and network upgrade or refresh needs. Work with the technology team to define an actionable plan. Ask teachers, ask support staff, ask students, identify the pain points. Find out if there are minor but persistent frustrations with technology that could be taken care of with a simple fix. Paying attention to little things creates good will that lasts a long time.
- Observe a variety of classrooms at various times of the day and week and take note of how students and teachers are (or aren’t) using technology. This will help you plan relevant professional learning sessions for the fall.
- Ask other building leaders what they’re hearing from their teams about school technology. It’s always good to have information that balances and corroborates what your team is experiencing.
- Create a plan with purpose! View our suggestions for {Practically} Perfect School Technology planning and a Strategic Education Technology Plan for more resources.
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Vartek Services is a professional services company partnering with K12 schools to provide IT Leadership, Implementation, and Technology Integration to enhance the teaching and learning environment.
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