The Technology First Problem

The Thrill of New Technology 
I really enjoy new things, especially when they're technology-based. The old thing became a dinosaur with a thirty minute battery life and programs that would no longer update. I almost convinced myself to purchase a new computer because of this.  But, I was incredibly proud of myself for replacing my computer's memory and hard drive, and gave myself the feeling of having purchased a new computer for a fraction of the cost. As consumers, we sometimes talk ourselves into buying new computers, cell phones, and tablets, because the newer ones are faster, sleeker, and more fashionable. Many times these decisions to make large purchases aren't driven by the question "Do I really need a new ________? Why?" but instead we're lured by trends.

Technology in Schools
Sometimes schools and school systems are lured by trends in technology as well: 1:1 programs, BYOD, online testing, interactive whiteboards, games in education, cloud-based systems, digital content, etc. The technology, whether it be tablets, e-readers, laptops, or netbooks, can end up driving the decision-making from how money is spent and allocated to how curriculum is delivered to students. But should technology be the driver? Does it make sense to start somewhere else? Having technology in the classroom for technology's sake isn't guaranteed to making a lasting or cost-efficient impact on students, teachers, and learning.

Importance of Goal Setting 
The most important place to start in considering technology in education is with the problem you're trying to solve. Chapter 3 of Blended by Horn and Staker,"Start with the Rallying Cry" introduces the idea of a rallying cry as a focused, planned, researched solution to an educational problem or problems that others can get behind and support. It's important to know how technology will be a part of the solution rather than just a fancy product in the classroom:

"The most successful blended-learning programs are much more deliberate and generally share a common starting point: they begin by identifying the problem to solve or goal to achieve. They start with the rallying cry" (Horn & Staker, 2015, p.98).

When you begin this way, you're able to identify key needs, create a timeline of progress, understand resources needed, see how others will view the chosen solution, choose ways to support those affected, and find ways to measure success. Schools have a multitude of needs such as supporting remedial students, providing enrichment opportunities or real-world applications, increasing student test scores, etc. For these needs, technology may or may not be part of the solution, but until they are assessed and evaluated, it's difficult to know what will work. Throwing technology at a problem doesn't ensure

Creating SMART Goals
It's easy to set goals, but it's harder to set good goals that will produce results. The SMART acronym is really useful in helping to set they types of goals that will result in some positive outcome. So when thinking about the problems that need to be addressed in your classroom, school, or district, think SMART.

Naugle, Paula. "SMART." Flickr. Yahoo!, 1 Jan. 2013. 

Specific goals are what follows in the rest of the acronym: measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. It's important that they're measurable so that there's some way to indicate their level of success or evaluate over time to make adjustments and improvements. An attainable goal is one that's realistic for the people involved and the resources available. Goals that are relevant are ones that are likely to gain support and are actually worth investing in. And making a goal time-bound means that there is a date at which this should be accomplished, and perhaps also times along the way to check in and test the effectiveness of the plan.

And if, once you've written out a SMART goal, you've realized that blended learning is a way to reach this goal, then you can start asking questions that include, what technology do we need to help us accomplish this? But the question goes well with others such as, How do we support teachers with professional development? Do we need to redesign learning spaces, curriculum paths, or students schedules? What other support or resources do we need? What have others schools and districts done and how can we learn from them? How will we make this initiative sustainable? 

When you're ready to solve the technology first problem, start by goal-setting.

Source: Horn, M. B. & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.