Technology Planning
District Comprehensive Planning
Kentucky's school districts collaborate on an annual basis with multiple shareholder groups to align education technology strategies with the district vision for digital teaching and learning and the KETS Master Plan. The process provides the ability to identify what's working well, where there is opportunity for growth, including new or emerging areas to address. Strategies include measurable outcomes to determine effectiveness as well as coordination of district and school funding sources for sustainability. District education technology plans should also inform and be aligned with the comprehensive district and school improvement plans. Click here for more on comprehensive planning. Office of Education Technology (OET) staff review district education technology plans annually, and the information is used in Master Plan strategic planning efforts to inform technology needs and other key components.
District Technology Planning Requirements
Through the legislation associated (Appendix D) with the development and maintenance of a master plan, districts are required to develop strategic technology plans that span at least one but no more than three years. Components of a district strategic technology plan include establishing specific strategies aligned to the areas of emphasis of this Master Plan. The areas of emphasis are a collection of strategies to carry out the vision of the Master Plan and aligned to the eight gears of the Future Ready Framework. The gears include:
- Collaborative Leadership
- Robust Infrastructure and Ecosystem
- Data Security, Safety, Privacy, and Use
- Budget and Resources
- Partnerships
- Digital Learning, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
- Personalized Professional Learning
- Use of Space and Time
As with the Master Plan itself, the identification of funding sources is a critical component of the district strategic technology planning process. The strategies contained in district-level plans include available federal, state, and local funding sources. The Kentucky Education Technology System offer of assistance is a state-level funding mechanism intended for implementation of district technology plans.
Strategic technology plans at the district level fit into and should be informed by KDE's overall strategic planning cycle depicted in the figure below (Figure 4). There are well-defined and repeatable processes within all levels of the department that occur during specified timeframes. As this planning cycle continues, KDE strives to align all strategies and associated goals to ensure careful consideration at both the state and local levels toward continued improvement of Kentucky's education system.
Figure 4: Strategic education technology planning cycle
An important focus for the Master Plan is to identify leadership and support opportunities directly tied to goals and deliverables for KDE and school districts. When doing so, targeting measurable indicators presents an opportunity to gauge the overall efficiencies and effectiveness of the KETS program. Like the Master Plan, the district technology strategic planning process is intended to provide the local level with control over the decisions related to integrating technology into instruction and administrative functions, and efficiency based on the situation and capabilities such as culture, policy, and available funding sources. Just as the National Education Technology Plan cannot dictate standards and specific requirements for all 50 states, the Master Plan cannot define a step-by-step process to follow, nor can it advocate one solution over another for 171 districts. The Master Plan can be considered a guide for districts to reference and consider when developing local (and customized) strategies for technology integration. The areas of emphasis and performance of KETS (which in turn support the strategic goals of the Kentucky Board of Education) can be measured through the technology strategic planning process. The Office of Education Technology provides districts with a District Budget Planning tool and technology plan template for completing their district technology plans. The Office of Education Technology works with districts to provide accurate commodity codes to assist with budgeting. Both documents may be found on the KETS Funding and Reporting Webpage.
Planning Alignment
The KETS Master Plan is also informed by plans, research, and policy work on a national and state level. Among the most influential for this KETS Master Plan include the National Education Technology Plan, the Future Ready Framework, as well as state-level digital learning plans from partner states through the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) network. The following section contains a brief description and a link to each referenced publication.
National Education Technology Plan
National Education Technology Plan - The U.S. Department of Education plan provides states with key concepts, recommendations, and examples of using technology to transform learning experiences providing learners greater equity, accessibility, and opportunities for both personal growth and to remain competitive in a global economy.
Kentucky is in sync with the three recommendations within the National Education Technology Plan:
- Close the Digital Access Divide - Divide in access to high-speed connectivity and quality devices between historically- marginalized learners and their peers.
- Close the Digital Design Divide - Divide between those developers and educators who understand inherent neuro variability and how to design learning experiences with that variability in mind – and those who cannot.
Close the Digital Use Divide - Divide wherein some students are subject to more passive uses of technology than their peers. Future Ready Framework Future Ready Framework - The framework emphasizes collaborative leadership in creating an innovative digital learning environment for students. Featuring eight key areas, referred to as gears, the framework allows district leaders to create action plans using a dashboard tool that ensures smoother implementation. Kentucky recognizes the eight gears of the Future Ready Framework. The Areas of Emphasis section of this document is organized to show the identified areas for the Master Plan linked with a Future Ready gear. Contributing State Plans State-level education technology and digital learning plans provide insights, recommendations, and research to advise Kentucky's education technology and digital learning work. The following section provides summaries with links to a sample of these publications. North Carolina Digital Learning Plan - The most recent iteration provides data, action steps, and metrics to support the North Carolina Digital Learning Initiative. This initiative drives digital teaching and learning support and resources for North Carolina Public School Units. Wisconsin Digital Learning Plan - Utilizing the Future Ready Framework, this plan focuses on learning environments that are equitable, personalized, applied, and engaging.
Contents - The Vision < Technology Planning > Master Plan Areas of Emphasis