I’ve been in far too many meetings over the years where people are making strategic decisions around their digital strategy and transformation in teaching and learning based on the price of a Chromebook. So I thought I’d write a blog post about what you should be considering when planning digital transformation and digital strategy in teaching and learning and with in your organisation as a whole.
Firstly, don’t start your plan with what device you want and how cheap it is!!! THIS IS A BIG MISTAKE! This is one of the last decisions you should make when developing your digital strategy.
Start with your vision of teaching and learning. What do you want your lesson/classroom environments to look like in 5 years time? What experience do you want your learners to have whilst they are at your organisation? What skills will they need to have when they leave to help them with they future careers and aspirations? What do you want your staff experience to be like? What skills do your staff need to meet this vision? etc.
Once you have thought about these and completed a load of research into new learning and teaching methodologies, which will enhance your teaching and learning, through collaboration, project based learning, digital skills requirements of future jobs, enabling learners to become creators of content and not just consumers, enabling teachers to become facilitators and not the font of all knowledge, that have an impact on outcomes, then you are in the right place to start transforming your teaching and learning.
Visit other schools, colleges, universities, work based learning providers to see how they are implementing this change. But dig deep, don’t just look at what devices or platforms they are using. Look at how they have transformed their delivery to have an impact, or are they just replicating what they did on paper in a digital format? Don’t get sucked in by shiny kit, and don’t just buy what the school or college down the road have bought. Be well informed! Talk to the staff and learners, and other experts in this field. Twitter is a very good place to start this research.
