Identifying Priorities The technology plan document is the result of a technology planning cycle. Technology planning must become an integral part of annual budgeting, training, data gathering, and assessment of school performance. Some schools and districts do not create separate technology plans but incorporate technology into an overall school improvement plan. Results from implementation strategies spelled out in the plan create data that then feed the next round of planning and resource allocation. A technology plan should span more than one year and have enough flexibility to accommodate new and emerging technologies, teaching strategies, and data from evaluations. Preview this table of components and the guiding questions that a planning committee can use in its development of a technology plan. Printer Friendly Version PREPARATION Component Purpose Guiding Questions The Planning Committee To involve key stakeholders in the development of the plan Who should be involved in the development of the plan? Inventory To determine the current state of technology What is the current state of technology in the school and/or district? What data are available to verify the current state of technology? VISION AND MISSION Component Purpose Guiding Questions Vision Statement   Mission Statement To conceptualize a vision for the role of technology in the school or school district To establish a mission that will help realize the vision What is the overarching school or district vision statement? Does the vision for technology support this? Are the mission/vision statements realistic? Are the mission/vision statements created, understood and accepted by all stakeholders? Needs Assessment To determine gaps between current status and present and future needs What data can be gathered to determine present levels of technology use and student impact? What resources—such as hardware, software, professional development, connectivity strategies—are still needed to realize the mission established in the plan? How can monitoring of emerging technologies be built into the plan? What data can be collected during implementation that will help to guide future decisions? PLAN ACTIVITIES AND TIME LINE Component Purpose Guiding Questions Goals To create goals to frame the plan according to the mission statement To examine established goals against current state of technology What goals are already in place at the school, district, and state level that will impact the technology plan? How do the data on the current state of technology compare to these goals? Based on this comparison, what goals should be revised, deleted, or included in the new technology plan? Will newly identified goals move the stakeholders toward meeting the mission? Objectives To use data to identify more specific objectives inherent in the broader goals Based on the data gathered, what are the specific objectives that must be met to meet the goal? How will you know when the objectives have been met? Strategies To identify specific strategies to meet each of the identified objectives for each broad goal What strategies can be employed to meet the identified objective(s)? Which of the identified strategies can best be implemented with the available resources? (resources include time, talent, and skill level of the stakeholders.) Which strategies will produce the desired results most effectively and efficiently? Implementation plan To detail a specific plan for the implementation of the selected strategies What specific details must be implemented? When are they to be implemented? Who will implement them? Who will monitor the implementation? What evidence will be accepted to demonstrate required implementation? Is a contingency plan in place to "tweak" a faltering strategy? Evaluation plan To evaluate the extent to which the goals and objectives have been met Which data will be used to evaluate the success of the strategy(ies)? What will be the format for the evaluation? When will the evaluation occur? BUDGET AND resources Component Purpose Guiding Questions Budget To identify resources needed for successful implementation To identify resources needed for sustaining the initiative described in the plan What resources (finances, people, time, equipment, facilities) are needed to implement each strategy? Are the necessary resources available? If not, where can necessary resources be found or developed? What resources can be substituted without jeopardizing the successful implementation of the strategy? If necessary, can the strategy be revised to meet available and projected resources?