Essential Conditions

In the ideal world, all the essential conditions would be present in all schools.  Unfortunately, I do not think it is realistically present in all schools.  I also don't think they will all be present for a very long time.  However, I believe it is still good to have these essential conditions to strive towards.  If we don't have these essential conditions to guide us towards a goal and set the bar high, we would have no direction.

All the essential conditions are important to the success of implementing technology at schools.  Without one or two of the essential conditions, there would be a significant hole in the overall success.  A school may have a shared vision, implementation planning, and adequate funding but if it is lacking in skilled personnel or technical support, it will not succeed in "effectively leveraging technology for learning".  It will also not be successful if schools have skilled personnel, technical support, and adequate funding, but not a shared vision.  All the essential conditions rely on each other for overall success.      

It is very challenging for many schools to satisfy all the essential conditions.  Although it is challenging to keep up with the constant changing nature of technology, I believe technology can be very useful in the classroom and helpful with communication.  Therefore, it is beneficial for schools and teachers to learn how to use technology in their classrooms.  Schools should try to strive to eventually meet all the essential conditions, even if it's one at a time.

The essential conditions listed were not present at the school that I had recently visited.  There is no access to emerging technologies and there isn't adequate funding.  During my visits and observations, I did not witness the teacher using a lot of technology, especially emerging technology.  Although the teacher has a computer, she is not skilled or educated in using and practicing it to communicate with other teachers, her students, or their parents.  I also did not see any of the students using any type of technology in their class.  I did see a computer table with three very old looking computers.   

The teacher uses the "old fashion" overhead projectors and transparencies in her classroom.  She has heard about smart boards, but her school does not have funding for them.  She also doesn't believe that the school will receive enough funding for smart boards in the near future.  Although the teacher is interested and thinks it would be great to have one in her classroom.  At least this teacher is willing and wanting to learn and utilize new and emerging technology.  It is unfortunate that she has the desires but doesn't have the resources or equipment.