Key Questions to Consider

Additional briefs include:

Strategies for Improving Academic Achievement and Teacher Effectiveness

• How can technology be used to support the improved academic achievement, including technology literacy, of all students?
• What strategies will you use to improve teachers' capacity to integrate technology effectively into curriculum and instruction?

Goals

• How do your goals support local curriculum initiatives aligned with national and state content standards?
• How do your goals contribute to a comprehensive system that supports effective uses of technology and contributes to improved student achievement?
• How do your goals support the use of technology for ongoing professional development for teachers and administrators?

Steps to Increase Accessibility

• Are your educators trained and encouraged in a supportive environment to utilize technology with content that will effectively enhance the achievement of all students (regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or special needs)?
• Do your teachers have access to high quality content that is appropriate, relevant, and engaging for every student (regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or special needs)?
• Do all of your students (regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, or special needs) have positive, supportive learning opportunities that are hands-on experiences with technology resources and high-quality content?

Promotion of Curricula and Teaching Strategies That Integrate Technology

• How will you identify curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively and lead to improvement in student academic achievement?
• How will you promote the use of these curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively in your district?

Professional Development

• Do you have an overall professional development plan, tied to goals and standards, that provides for ongoing and sustained staff training?
• Is your professional development for technology linked to curriculum programs and student performance?
• Does each of your educators develop an individual professional development plan that includes technology integration skills?

Technology Type and Costs

• What technology options effectively support teaching and learning in a variety of classroom and learning environments?
• What are some lower-cost options to providing technological support besides a desktop computer for every student?
• What are the real cost factors involved in successful uses of technology to support teaching and learning?

Coordination with Other Resources

• How will you coordinate initiatives funded under an Ed Tech grant with other technology-related initiatives in your school or district?
• Does your plan include opportunities and structures necessary to share and coordinate resources?

Integration of Technology with Curricula and Instruction

• How can you maximize the instructional impact of your existing technology resources?
• How can you balance resources for hardware, software, personnel, and professional development to reach curricular and instructional goals most effectively?

Innovative Delivery Strategies

• What are the primary purposes that online courses can serve in extending the curriculum offerings in your district?
• What will be the process for planning, implementing, and evaluating online courses for your district? How will all the relevant constituents be involved?
• Will the online courses be developed and taught by district staff, purchased from outside the district, or some of each?

Parental Involvement

• Does your application and long-range technology plan enable parents, educators, students and community members to contribute to and benefit from the investment in technology?
• Is the community involved in district and school strategic technology planning efforts?
• Does your application describe how parents will leverage existing networks and communication systems to facilitate communication with educators regarding student progress, assessment results, and support resources?

Collaboration with Adult Literacy Service Providers

• What are the adult literacy needs in your community and how are they currently being met?
• In what ways might collaboration between your schools, district, and organizations that promote adult literacy around technology use produce increased benefits for each of their constituents?
• What other funds and resources, such as the 21st Century Learning Communities or the Community Technology Centers, can you access to increase your impact?

Accountability Measures

• What set of evaluation questions will most effectively yield answers to whether and how your district needs were addressed through funding provided by the grant?
• What evaluation strategies (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, classroom observations, analysis of student products or scores) will most effectively provide the data needed to address your evaluation questions?
• When addressing accountability measures, what is the quality, reach, and impact of your project's work?

Supporting Resources

• What supporting resources and services do you already have available that effectively leverage and expand your technology investment? Where are the gaps?
• What untapped community resources are available that can provide hands-on support of technology-enhanced learning? For example, are there local institutions of higher education that can help investigate alignment of proven practices for technology integration and the methods used at your school or district?
• Does your school or district provide an expectation and structures that encourage technology and curriculum coordinators to plan together so that software, services, and resource acquisition link directly to current curriculum priorities? Are there particular supporting resources that can assist in this sort of ongoing collaboration?