Week 11- Sitka school district

In my research, I found there are many ways that technology can be used to help students learn better. One of these ways is student-directed learning. This is the idea that when students are in charge of their own education and use of technology as part of their learning they greatly increase their learning and retention of material. According to the Learning and Technology Policy Framework, when students are in charge of their learning and communicated and give feedback to their peers their learning rate can double (The Learning and Technology Policy, 2013). 

As I am not currently teaching in a public school I had to look up the policies for the Sitka School District. According to SitkaSchools.org the goal of the district's technology equipment plan is to "provide a consistent, appropriate level of technology equipment for both students and staff to achieve the highest possible level of education with the available resources. Most of these policies have to do with ensuring the technology in the district is up to date and is maintained. It outlines the technology in each classroom and dictates the staffing of IT personnel to maintain the technology in each building. 

When I looked at the policy the Sitka School District (SSD) has adopted I found many concerns when it was compared to recommendations from K-12 Blueprints a website that outlines tools to help school leaders evaluate their current policies and many any changes that may be necessary to keep up with our ever-changing world. 
One concern I have is that the SSD is that their policies seem to be more focused on using technology as long as possible (even if they are outdated). I understand the restrictions placed on the purchase of the newest technology because of budget restraints, but to have the same computer for 4 years is a long time. At that time many of the programs and softwear will be old and need to be replaced. 
Another problem I see with the SSD technology policy is there are only a few IT employees to serve hundreds of teachers, support staff, and administrators. This brings to the surface an entirely new set of problems. How are a few technology support employees supposed to update, replace, and service every computer in the entire district? I would imagine that is an overwhelming undertaking and there have been errors made.
If I were to recreate the SSD technology policy I would add the following things.
- Technology would always be placed at the forefront of students education
- Using other technology (QR codes) to aide in students learning.
- Use free technology time as a reward.



District Technology Equipment Plan. (2018, July 24). Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.sitkaschools.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=353&dataid=150&FileName=District Technology Equipment Plan.pdf

Hudson, H. (2013, May 28). 10 Classroom Technology Policies that work. Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.weareteachers.com/10-classroom-technology-policies-that-work-2/

Learning and Technology Policy Framework. (2013). Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://education.alberta.ca/media/1046/learning-and-technology-policy-framework-web.pdf

Policy & Leadership. (2020). Retrieved April 16, 2020, from https://www.k12blueprint.com/toolkits/policy