Kentucky Department of Education

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Introduction

As mandated by KRS 156.670, a plan related to purchasing, developing and using technology to accomplish specific purposes in Kentucky’s public school systems must be developed and must cover at least a five-year period. This is the fourth Kentucky Education Technology System (KETS) Master Plan for Education Technology. The previous three versions served this state very well and are the foundation to build the current Master Plan. 
 
To develop this plan, staff at the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) gathered feedback and input from the state’s 173 school districts. The KETS Master Plan 2013-2018 builds upon the state’s past successes and progress. This plan illustrates the path that will enable all students, teachers and administrators to become capable of understanding and leveraging technology. Education technology can provide students and teachers with the opportunity to realize their full potential. It extends instructional content beyond traditional school walls and leads students to where every opportunity is open to them.
 
This Master Plan includes information about technology unmet need for schools, districts and the state; education technology-related products and standards; and the policies and laws that affect education technology.
 
While the technology has changed over the years, the primary purpose of ensuring technology tools enhance the learning experience of students and help get them prepared for higher education and competitive in the workforce has not changed. Equity of access and opportunity has its roots in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 and will continue to be a cornerstone and driving force principle. Providing the following through technology-enabled tools also will continue to be major drivers throughout everything we do:

• a more informative and engaging experience for students
• addressing the different learning and teaching styles of all students and teachers
• deepening the understanding of academic content
• data-driven decision-making
• ease of access
• creation and production of products and content
• gathering, analyzing and synthesizing information
• communication and collaboration with others

• This plan is more closely aligned with the P-12 education strategic plan of the state and districts. The Kentucky Department of Education and Kentucky Board of Education strategic plan components are embedded throughout the Master Plan, and technology-enabled products and services are used to help address specific parts in those plans. The Master Plan contains a carefully planned vision, formed by overarching ideas, each comprised of clear initiatives that are intended to improve teaching, learning, efficiency, statewide collaboration and transparency to parents and the community.
• The plan is informed by relevant studies, research results, audit results, survey results, customer feedback and national, state and district plans to help guide and influence the direction of the work going forward. The plan highlights key text or graphics from those materials and provides links to source documents.
• Unlike previous versions, this Master Plan is intended to be read and used online versus in printed form. This plan will be much more dynamic in nature and therefore requires an electronic form rather than a pure static paper document.

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