In 1996, the Iowa Legislature sought to "develop and equitably fund instructional technology within public schools of this state to ensure that school students, teacher and administrators are equipped and prepared to excel in the twenty-first century." Toward that end, the School Improvement Technology Planning Bill was passed. It states: "The board of directors of a school district shall adopt a technology plan that supports school improvement technology efforts and includes an evaluation component. The plan shall be developed by licensed professional staff of the district, including both teachers and administrators. The plan shall, at a minimum, focus on the attaintment of student achievement goals under sections 280.12 and 280.18, shall consider the district's interconnectivity with the Iowa Communications Network, and shall demonstrate how, over a four-year period, the board will utilize technology to improve student achievement..."

So, your school district technology committee has created and implemented your technology plan. Now what?

The process of creating, implementing, evaluating, and revising is a never-ending one. Now it is time to ask some questions:

• Is your plan a real tool for powerful teaching and learning?
• Does it have the support of the entire school community?
• Are the goals you established broad and comprehensive?
• Do they truly address the learning needs of your school?
• Have you looked at the "whole picture" in your district? Are the technology plan goals closely related to the broader goals of the district?
• Does your technology plan identify how technology enhances curriculum?
• Have you developed a plan for student assessment of technology use?
• Have you specifically addressed the issue of staff development? Is your staff development plan for technology comprehensive?
• Have you accomplished the goals you set for this year? If not, why not? If so, what is the next step?

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

This site is a gold mine of information about many education topics. Choose Pathways to Internet School Improvement Server or Learning Through Technology: A Planning and Implementation Guide for a wealth of material on technology planning in the schools.

NCTP - National Center for Technology Planning

You'll want to explore this site! You can download and read the publication A Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan. The sequel, Visions and Revisions: Updating and Revising Your Technology Plan, is available for purchase through this site as well. By choosing "Districts", you can jump to a district planning section which includes a very comprehensive list of links to school district technology plans. These are just a couple of the options available to you. Take some time with this one!

The Switched-On Classroom

This web site is a project of the Massachusetts Software Council. It has a very detailed technology planning guide for public schools. All aspects of creating a tech plan and evaluation of the plan are covered. The case studies included can give your technology team some great ideas on technology use in the classroom.

Emerging from the Smog: Making Technology Assessment Work for Schools

This article by Jamie MacKenzie points out the essential reasons for ongoing assessment of your technology planning. He outlines a step-by-step process for identifying whether technology is accomplishing your district objectives. A section on resources has several links to informative sites.