When it comes to long term planning and establishing clear goals and objectives for an educational agency, an Enterprise Architecture enables the appropriate guidelines that help prevent redundancies and increase efficiencies. Therefore, the framework, such as TOGAF, is set up with an Education Plan and a Technology Plan as two separate entities that still coordinate with one another. Since technology isn't integrated in all things in the school system, and has a life span that depends on so many varying factors, keeping it separate will allow frequent changes to be made without affecting all other areas of planning. A technology architecture is developed from the components of products & services, data & information, systems & applications, and networks & infrastructure; which, altogether helps establish the overall business plan. Essentially, the two are somewhat combined, in the sense that they are both made to achieve the organization’s mission and could not neglect each other. By having the plans "separate" enables the appropriate stakeholders to focus on the necessary details presented to them. The video here is a very quick overview of a technology plan, an example of how easy and simple it is to communicate their main points for the year without the distractions of any other district issues. Using a Brick to analyze various specific areas of technology is a great way to stay organized and up to date with the software programs and applications available. This initial research could really help in school and classroom planning and practice by collecting past, current, and future states of the type of technology tools required. It will also provide documentation of ideas that could be pitched to the proper committees to allow its use since it is especially important to have full support in implementing new classroom resources.
Furthermore, in constructing the Brick, additional information will come forward that the [potential] user may not have been aware of or may have overlooked. As well, knowing what the program offers, with which specific device models and their operating systems, will determine how long it could be used for teaching. It's preferable to have resources that will be long lived and could be used over again for at least a couple years. This will help plan future lessons and in preparation for the following year[s]. Programs or applications that are already outdated and no longer supported by its own company would waste valuable class time. The worst thing to do, is to teach students something they can't use beyond the classroom. As a teacher I would like to utilize the most recent and affective tools for my students that could enhance lessons and personalize learning. Limited to existing resources as well, I would need the appropriate information to be able to properly analyze the best options. The Brick is in a template form that could be updated regularly and shared amongst colleagues. It will further help track my own practice and improvement by understanding the state of these tools and in ensuring that I could effectively use the tool before introducing it to students. Reference: Berk, Rupert. (2016, January). EA Bricks Reference (Enterprise Architecture). University of Washington: Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://wiki.cac.washington.edu/display/EA/EA+Bricks+Reference Working from a third person's point of view in analyzing an organization has quite the limitation and is more time consuming than it ought to be. Even if I was working for the school district as a teacher, unless I was working directly with the school board, information won't come readily available. Contacts listed are unreachable, which isn't at all surprising, considering how there are probably more important matters to attend to than answering emails from unknown personnel. However, that concerns me; would parents and other interested stakeholders be able to obtain answers to their questions regarding student learning? To find information on the organization's technology devices and operating systems I was limited to their website and their public online Board Documents. Searching through file after file, pdfs, power points, and various links (that were listed in no particular order), I was able to find their Technology Plan with the additional information that helped give me the latest update on their school district. The plan consisted of new hardware that was purchased between 2010-2015. From there, I did additional research on the specifications to be able to compare them to SBAC testing requirements. What I found, was how quickly the laptops were outdated. Some were no longer being manufactured, so I would assume would need to be replaced in a few years when the operating systems required upgrading. For example, the school district implemented iPad 2s, only now, the SBAC recommends new purchases of iPad 3s. All other details: screen size and resolution, headphones or earphone attachments, keyboards and pointing devices, and security and network met all minimum requirements since the hardware were only purchased in the last five years. Basically, the newer the product, the better the specs would be in surpassing expectations, especially with the expansion of internet broadband across the district. New to me, is the Schoolwire Synergy software that the organization had included to secure browser use and to control access to websites and applications. The devices, like the Chromebooks and iPads, have programs that are pre-installed and will allow personal management of the system; which was generally what I was familiar with. The important factor here, is the functionality to prevent students from accessing non-approved sources during testing. As up to date as they could be, I'm curious if the organization has an updated Technology Plan for 2015 onwards, since no documentation has been made accessible. Hopefully, as the organization becomes more familiar with how technology is integrated with the school system, there would be a more organized and more efficient way to manage such details. Reference:
"Device Requirements and Approved Browsers." (2016). Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. Retrieved from http://www.smarterbalanced.org/assessments/testing-technology/devices-and-browsers/ By documenting the inventory of applications used in an organization, and then rationalizing its level of contribution to the agency's operations, a well established plan to prioritize and evaluate existing systems will be completed with much more clarity. A chart allows stakeholders to focus on the major details of an application. Its data input and output provides an idea of how the applications are used and the range of its involvement in the educational programs. The functional and technical assessment, along with its standard classification, ranks a general idea of its performance quality in relation to other similar applications. From there, its process issues identifies any major problems that need to be resolved; and the state/district/school outcomes shows its relevancy in the education system. Finally, the costs gives the most important data of how much funding is needed to license, maintain, support, and essentially, to keep using the application. Each of these aspects helps determine where money could be saved and unnecessary labour reduced.
By going through this process of researching each application, I have become more aware of how they could quickly go outdated. It is so important to understand the business aspects involved: contracts, timeframes, external and internal support, relevancy to state and federal laws; also, the changing of applications, changing companies, changing services, and changing costs. All of which, contributes to the decision making process. Going over past and present data will give insights to how change has initiated progress and any trends that are stable and consistent. Ultimately, in leading an organization through decisions around changing their applications, I would recommend they look at the overall picture, the inventory list of applications, where areas need attention and to consider how existing applications could be upgraded to oversee another system that is having troubles. It's about taking what works to do more and to do better for the organization as a whole. References: “Education Enterprise Architecture Guidebook.” (2014, March). Reform Support Network. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/implementation-support-unit/tech-assist/education-architecture-guidebook.pdf "Application Architecture focuses on the relationships between applications and users and usually includes several matrices that depict these relationships: understanding each application and how it supports the organization, defining the requirements and roles of each application, ensuring internally consistent definitions across applications and combining similar applications to remove duplicate functionality." (Education Enterprise Architecture Guidebook, 2014).
In other words, to understand how to unify systems in a school setting, clear definitions on how they are used and by who are established; and by also recognizing which applications have already been set up to support the organization. When specifically looking at these four systems:
Teaching and Learning Systems, used for the classroom, will constantly be upgraded as technology and applications improve. Updates are often necessary and may only be used with certain devices. School, state, and federal polices continue to be modified as well, although not as frequently, requiring Administrative and Back Office Systems to make appropriate accommodations. These changes are inevitable, and when the systems are unified, information will be easier to access and to work with. This will prevent any major disturbances to school operations. Investments to link and coordinate applications for ease of use will also unify faculty that can support one another despite their area of expertise. Unifying systems, requires the unification of all workers, teachers, and learners. Reference: “Education Enterprise Architecture Guidebook.” (2014, March). Reform Support Network. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/implementation-support-unit/tech-assist/education-architecture-guidebook.pdf With the Student Online Personal Information Protection Act (SOPIPA) new to California's law, many are still unaware of its existence and many may be uncertain of its implications. In a school district where this is true, comes the responsibility for its leaders to take action and establish communication. I would recommend that the first step in creating a cohesive level of understanding would to notify staff of what SOPIPA is and to hold district meetings to answer any follow-up questions. Then working with school leaders, conduct workshops or professional development opportunities that will ensure all staff are aware of the responsibilities the K-12 education system has to keep student data safe and secure. Detailed examples will show how third party vendors have sold information for non educational advertisements. Another suggestion I would give to these district leaders, is to sought out districts that have been acting on SOPIPA; gather resources that could be shared with the rest of the staff as a foundation to build on. District's online provider should also be contacted in regards to this law and to reestablish in contract the prevention of collecting any student information and instead, deleting them as required. Finally, parents need to be given reassurance for their children's safety and to provide them with the proper information on what has been planned to enact on SOPIPA. Overall, I would encourage open communication as soon as possible with all parties involved with the school system.
Reference: Herold, B. (2014). Landmark student-data-privacy law enacted in california. Education Week. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2014/09/_landmark_student-data-privacy.html What is it? Why is it in place? How can an organization become or stay compliant? Find out by reviewing the following document: CIPA by Danielle Freitas-Carlin FERPA by Amanda Wallace COPPA by Kay Pham SOPIPA by Polly Macuga The application of data in any organization relies on how it is analyzed and used. The information retrieved through the collection of data aides in planning and developing programs in a school system utilized by administrators and teachers, creating conversations for solutions for improvement. For the current state of Information Architecture, the inputs of data around grades, demographics, teacher information, attendance and so forth, help establish a personalized learning experience for students when output of data are generated; leading to a future state that is understandable and actionable. The output of data could give a more informed picture of individual students that need specialized assistance; or it could be used to differentiate the needs within a school on a class to class basis or within a district on a school to school basis. The information could help teachers improve their teaching which in effect, improve student learning. It could also pinpoint and justify required resources and services for staff and students; especially when authority is beyond the local level, at state and federal levels that administer according to data provided. Therefore, it is important that the data analyzed is understood with clarity in order to communicate to all supporting parties and those who are directly affected by the outcomes that follow. It allows planning for preventatives and for regulating services in a timely matter that is adaptive to the limited time frame of a single school year. Furthermore, the representation of data needs the appropriate security to ensure the safety of students and their families from any future conflicts that could harm the students. Data could allow the control of certain situations and establish direction towards a target goal that is attainable according to the statistics based on real results. Reference: "Education Enterprise Architecture Guidebook." (2014, March). Reform Support Network. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/implementation-support-unit/tech-assist/education-architecture-guidebook.pdf "BIG DATA GameChanger: Changing the Way Teachers Teach and Students Learn." THE Journal: DELL Software. Retrieved from https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2689673-dt-content-rid-52753967_1/courses/EDL680-K1-Spring2015-ExtEd/THE_Dell_GameChanger_Final.pdf
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April 2016
Kay's Books
Some very interesting concepts of how the education system needs to be adjusted.
Very informative. Although quite repetitive and a few oddly worded parts.
by Austin Kleon
Easy read. Interesting perspective and reminder for many aspects of how to look at one's own work and work habits.
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