Day 4: Top Three Things for Stakeholder Buy-In

What are the top three things to communicate when introducing the concept of technology integration to stakeholders? OR what three things must your audience understand in order to be fully supportive of the school's mission to integrate technology?

First and foremost, we need to communicate that by integrating technology, our students will be better prepared for THEIR futures.  Sometimes I think people forget this--THEIR futures, NOT ours.  The world is changing and evolving faster and faster.  Not much changed from when I was in grade school, then high school, and finally college (the first time I went).  I could plunk myself down and work, regardless of the years that had passed.  Nothing new and exciting to report for sure!  
Then I went to college the second time some 20 years later, and, BOOM, it was hard to keep up with the new ways to do things.  You don't actually have go to class, but you upload your assignments and chat with classmates thousands of miles away.  You can create projects with diverse tools to better represent personal ideologies.  What marvelous ideas are shared!  We are now GLOBAL.  You create and work and everything at a much faster pace.  Change is happening exponentially!  Writing reports, researching, reaching targeted audiences, presenting ideas, gathering data.  It used to take forever and now it can be literally instantaneous.  Instant gratification.  Instant knowledge!!  Instant ideas.  Instant tutorials!  Learning and adding on to a topic that is fresh and relevant in the moment.  That is the new world and if we teach "old school" these kids will not be prepared for the fast-paced world awaiting them.    

Second, that when we are truly integrating technological tools in our instruction, the students really are learning.  Those watching us need to realize that what they see happening may not be what it looks like.  It is not "games" for the fun of games.  Sometimes integrating technology doesn't look like it is educational at all!  It can be quite "messy" but if it is observed carefully enough, you will hear the kids talking the talk and understanding those concepts we've been teaching in "real ways."  They are discussing different ways to present; they are summarizing, synthesizing, and more.  I love the collaboration that takes place, the compromises (usually, and ultimately).  They want to unleash their creativity and be judged on their own merits.  They really "want" to work.  

Finally, it needs to be relayed that integration is a process, and we may not have all the answers up front.  Due to the dynamic nature of technology, things may evolve into something we hadn't expected.  We may have new questions or concerns and have to find answers to things a variety of things that pop up.  It is a learning curve because of the constant changes, and everyone needs to be open-minded and patient, and realize the final goal is to better prepare our kids for their futures (I know I said that before, but that is the most important thing!).  We may need to learn deep-breathing techniques for when it may not work out exactly as we planned, or practice our cartwheels for when it works out exactly as we'd hoped, or even exceeded our expectations.  We need to be fluid and flexible and we need to remind our stakeholders of the importance of their being fluid and flexible as well.