Evaluating your school’s implementation of digital technologies

Starting with a 'new' perspective on what qualifies an implementation of digital technologies as successful, this paper outlines a process developed through a design research project whose aim is to support and improve the professional practice of schools' leaders, advisors and consultants in ICT. In particular, the aim of the research is to facilitate the move away from technology-centred implementations to more empowering, user-centred implementations that are personalised to each school's particular way of doing school - and to do so by designing a formative, holistic process that a school can use to evaluate and develop its implementation.

The process makes use of both qualitative and quantitative methods to draw out a picture of how the school 'does school', and then compare that to a similar picture of how it 'does ICT'. Of primary importance in this process is the value and respect it affords teachers as professional pedagogues. While it does not expect teachers to be experts in using ICTs, it credits them with the competence to assess the extent to which the school's implementation is empowering them as they carry out the core business of the school – teaching and learning.

Other significant features of the process are the emphases on full-staff participation, on obtaining both group and individual data, and yet on minimising the disruption to the school's teaching schedule.

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Paper detailing the evaluation process(248.24 KB)

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