Long-term Planning for Independent Schools

So in this session, we have, uh,

Linda Lawrence is going to be our facilitator with us today. And, uh,

we're very excited to have her join us. Um,

so today we're gonna be talking again about that long-term planning with

independent schools. So a very exciting topic. Um,

before that we jump into it though, um, I want to also welcome,

uh, uh, Julia. So, uh, Julia Applegate, um, is here as well,

and, uh, Julia is representing Blackbaud and this, uh, they sponsored this.

So Julia, would you like to, uh, jump on and say hello? And Kelsey,

can you help me, um, spotlight her as well?

Sure. Thanks Ashley. Um, yeah. Hi everybody.

Thank you so much for joining today's webinar. Um, as Ashley mentioned,

we are thrilled to work with Atlas throughout the year on various areas of

content, um, and just one of those areas are these webinars.

So we are always excited and grateful to have the opportunity to work with Atlas

and to work with all of you. Um,

I'm gonna hand it over to our esteem speaker this afternoon. Linda Lawrence,

Linda acts as an advisor for Blackbaud, K 12 K through 12 solutions, um,

in which she plays a very active role in helping shape our solutions and our

product roadmap. Um, so we're also very grateful to have her expertise there,

but also in instances like this where she can share her knowledge a little bit

more broadly. Um, she's got an amazing presentation for you all today,

so I am not gonna take up any more of her time. And, um, Linda,

I can hand it over to you to introduce yourself.

Okay. What a buildup. Um, thank you, Ashley. Thank you, Julia.

Hello everyone. Good afternoon. Um,

I think when Atlas and Blackbaud reached out to me to present on this topic, um,

I naively saw this as an opportunity to slow down a bit after the start

of school to get a head start on next year's strategic planning. Um,

very optimistic thought,

but I hope all of you're now on the down slope like I am related to the start of

school. And once again, you can begin to think a little bit higher,

a little bit more, a thousand feet, maybe 2000 even,

and start thinking strategically. So just a little bit about me. Um,

I come to independent schools in a different way.

I started with the oil and gas industry, um,

developed software supported systems in, in the United States and in Europe.

Um,

saw a lot of trends in the oil and gas industry where I could put my expertise

in data management and architecture together and developed,

um, or started my own software development company and, um,

consulting agency.

And we created my business partner and I created a data warehousing system that

we eventually sold. Um,

and it wasn't until 2005 that I got exposed to independent schools when

Hurricane Katrina blew me up to New Jersey and I had to find schools for my

children and Morristown friends in New Jersey generously accepted my

freshman.

And it was there that I saw what a wonderful environment independent schools

are. Um, I then when I got back to New Orleans,

um, got involved in the parents association and led a few initiatives,

and then the head of school said, Hey,

can you consult with us to make our black bot systems run more efficiently?

And so started there, I became the director of, um,

or the director of technology development. And then one day she said,

you wanna teach AP computer science? And so I did that too.

And then it evolved into, um, creating a department,

the Department of Applied Technology at the same time running the school's, uh,

data management area. And, um, Blackboard,

I got involved in the Blackboard world, and it's been skyrocketing ever since.

I'm starting my fourth year at Ransom Everglades School. Um,

fascinating job, fascinating role. It's two campuses,

grades six through 12. We, I think our roster is 1,164 students now.

Um, and I have a team of six, including me,

that supports this organization. So I'm between New Orleans and Miami.

And, um, I have three adult children that live in three different states.

So I get to travel a lot and rack up my airline miles joyously,

of course. So today's topic, recent and, and the reason why, um,

I said yes to Julius because when she approached me, we had just revealed, um,

our new mission. So my, my school embarked on this project,

um, last year. And, um,

it was a major undertaking to evaluate our mission and determine

if it was truly the focus of the school. And, um, they tweaked it a little bit,

but more importantly,

they had clearly defined core values that they unveiled.

And since the reveal,

this mission reset has had a major impact on unifying our school

in expressing the ideal future for our students and regarding

our technology department,

these core values serve as the compass focusing our team on what's important.

And this new Ransom Everglades way, that's what we call it. The r e way,

gave me pause, stopped for a moment,

and I had to revisit our master plan and say, okay,

do we truly align with our school's mission?

And so today I'm going to take you on a journey that I embarked

on with my leadership team and the wonderful members, exceptional,

extraordinary members of my technology department.

And hopefully you'll walk away with some helpful insights on how refining

decisions and prioritizing what needs to be addressed within your own technology

plan will better align with the mission of the school.

So I usually find, um, value in starting with the why,

why, why should we align our technology plan with our school mission? Well,

I kind of chuckle here because there's so many benefits to be gained from

sinking with your school's mission. And I think a better question might be,

why is it crucial, crucial, truly crucial to align with your school mission?

Well, for starters,

aligning the technology plan with the mission ensures that you are making the

decisions where technology supports and enhances the mission's overall

objectives. Oh, sorry, didn't wanna reveal that yet.

The school's mission statement outlines the essence of the school,

its core values, its goals, and the educational philosophy.

So a technology plan consistent with that mission helps maintain the school's

identity and its purpose. Next, as technology leaders,

as we all are that served our schools during the pandemic,

we're keenly aware that technology is a tremendously powerful tool,

enhancing teaching and learning. And it's still going on today. It's in fact,

it's become even more impactful. I I think the toothpaste is outta the tube,

y'all, and it's not going back in.

So as EdTech coordinators and systems and network administrators,

we have been identifying and evaluating and guiding and recommending and

implementing hardware and software solutions for faculty and and administrators.

And I hope some of you have actually caught your breath since that time. But,

um, I know we're still running at a fast pace.

So when aligned with the school's educational philosophy and goals,

the impact of these innovative and creative educational experiences is even

greater. Another why? Okay.

The long-term strategic direction of technology integration is guided by a

master plan that's aligned with the school mission.

Your master plan thoughtful alignment ensures that the technology

investments and the initiatives are purposeful and contribute to the school's

long-term vision and strategic priorities. Now,

I don't know about you,

but with so many ambitious undertakings in the many programs that an

independent school offers as a commitment to develop the whole child,

I've become acutely aware that resources such as budget, personnel,

infrastructure growth, these are all definitely limited.

And a fine hand shop happens when you just start creaking over a little bit

above your budget.

If a technology acquisition or a request does not support the school's core

values and the educational priorities of the school,

it's so much easier to have that discussion with someone and letting them know

you can't prioritize it at this time.

Another wise stakeholder engagement. I want our stakeholders, our teachers,

our students, our parents, our alumni,

our trustees to support and engage with our technology initiatives.

And these stakeholders do it more readily.

You'll find when they comprehend that the initiatives carry out the school's

strategic objectives. So as a result,

this alignment fosters a sense of shared purpose and community buy-in.

And so within the aligned technology plan,

a clear framework for measuring progress towards mission related goals includes

data-driven measurements. So your plan should outline that too.

Monitoring the measurements will hold your department accountable for the

responsible use of technology. And additionally,

these indicators will also provide insights over time on when it's necessary to

pivot.

So technology is continually evolving and aligning the master plan to the

school's objectives provides that living plan,

ensuring that the school remains adaptable to the changing educational needs

while capitalizing on technology advancements all while staying true to its

mission. So after I've given you all that in summary,

the why for aligning technology plan to our school's mission is simple.

Enhance the learning experience, make strategic decisions,

and ensure that technology's a meaningful and purposeful part of the educational

experience.

So I'll kind of outline what the technology master plan is as

far as your roadmap. It's, it's that roadmap,

that strategic document that outlines the goals, the objectives,

and the strategies for integrating technology into all aspects of the school's

educational programs. And don't forget the administrative operations.

So the mission and vision section of a technology plan presents a brief

overview of the plan's key goals and strategies. You know,

in your executive summary, you present that in the introduction,

stating the rationale for creating the master plan and the school's mission

statement regarding the school's commitment to your technology integration.

The vision and goals section presents a clearly defined goals and objectives

related to technology integration,

as well as the vision statement outlining what the school aims to achieve

through technology.

And the current technology assessment provides an inventory of existing

hardware, software, network, infrastructure, technical resources.

It's where you are right now,

as well as the assessment of the current level of technology integration that

you're doing in the teaching and administrative processes.

So from where you are,

you move into the components of the strategic plan of where you wanna be,

um, the plans and strategies for your future related to the infrastructure,

the curriculum integration, the professional development,

how to keep your training strategies and educators,

educators and administrators up to date your policies and procedures for

ensuring online safety, digital citizenship, online etiquette and protocols.

And then the, finally, the protocols for collecting, storing,

and protecting data.

So that third component of your technology plan is the implementation plan.

Who is the implementation plan?

It outlines the methods for assessing the effectiveness of feedback of the

assessing the effectiveness of the technology plan through regular evaluation.

That feedback, the data that you get from it, it allows the technology,

it allows your department to adjust your plan and revise it so that it

really truly is meeting your goals and objectives.

A detailed budget that includes costs and hardware should all cost for hardware

and software, and everything that goes with what you do.

The ongoing maintenance, the FTEs for the people that are supporting your,

your department. That should be including your master plan.

And it also includes the timelines for, um,

implementing various aspects of the plan,

either immediately or what you're building to implement in the future.

Um, in creating the master plan strategies for communicating that tech plan and,

and its initiatives is, is critical too,

because in the more you communicate about what you're

going to roll out, it increases your stakeholder's awareness of it and, um,

gets their buy-in too. The why you're doing what you're doing.

And then also take care of your own house contingency and risk management is

where your worst nightmares should be accounted for.

Identify the potential risks and challenges that could impact technology

integration and plan for mitigating these risks and other unexpected issues.

So the fourth area of the technology plan is that, um,

allows you to be forward-thinking where you should consider long-term

sustainability for,

for technology initiatives as well as emerging technology trends and their

potential impact on the school.

This leads to more intentional discussions with your leadership team and your

board members because they have a vested interest in the school and its future

and in, in the outlooks.

So regularly revisiting and updating the plan is crucial to its success in

helping the school achieve its objectives through technology integration. So,

as I mentioned in the introduction,

the refocus on our school mission along with a revised set of core values was a

great opportunity to review our technology master plan intentionally.

And I wanted to take you through some key parts of the school mission. So,

um, here's the school mission, and I, I don't really wanna read it to you,

but it definitely, it,

it still holds our true values that we put produce graduates who believe that

they're in the world, not so much for what they can get out of it,

but for what they can put into it. Um,

but from a technology lens, we picked out the parts that were,

um, within the,

that what we felt related to technology producing graduates,

preparing students for learning and service,

fostering academic and co-curricular excellence, as well as social wellbeing.

These were all things that we can hold onto and create a mission for our own

department as it related to the school's mission. Okay,

let me set the stage here. Um,

this exercise was happening as my team and I were preparing for the start of

school this year where we were finishing up some of our major summer projects

that we had been planning all throughout last school year. Um, we imaged,

we were wrapping up the imaging of 1200 laptops that we had collected,

and now we're planning on how we're going to best distribute those in, in a,

in an efficient manner. Within 48 hours of the first two days of school, um,

we were preparing a student technology orientation session for new students to

the school as well as the entire freshman class. We were onboarding, uh,

I think 28 new employees and preparing for opening workshops where we had this

big gigantic ed tech expo that every faculty and staff member went through.

And we were presented with nine different sessions.

So this mission and our ability to serve it did not happen overnight,

and it's still a work in progress,

but I figured I would share it with you just to show you it's what we have so

far. And I like the action in it. Um, fostering innovation,

empowering education, and enriching our community.

Our goal in the technology services department is to create a well-rounded

educational experience that benefits the entire school community. Okay,

so then we all lean back through our pin down and said, okay, done. But no,

we started then asking questions, how do we fulfill this mission?

And better yet, are we fulfilling this mission? And so with that,

um, answering this,

these questions made me think back to when I first came to Ransom Everglades in

May of 2020. Um,

that rainy day in May when I could barely stop to go to the bathroom.

'cause that's, I feared getting covid. Um, as we were driving 13 hours,

it's always a good practice to take some time to figure out what the questions

are. And in this case, it was when I first landed at Ransom Mary Gates,

what does our department truly support?

And are we properly resourced to fulfill the needs of the school as aligned to

the mission? So with that, we did some exercises with my team,

um, and, uh, we kind of created an organizational chart,

but it's not really an organizational chart.

It's really an areas of responsibility chart areas where our technology

department provides support. At that time,

our department was called Information Technology, just it,

and we outlined that when we found figured out, we grouped things, um,

into what we supported in five major categories, academic technology,

enterprise systems, infrastructure and communications,

and ancillary systems and information analysis and delivery. So,

and we then we started going, okay, what do we do best? Who does what where?

And we identified areas of support that our people did,

and everyone was all over the place.

We were just all just jumping in and doing what we could do best.

And the orange areas were what the IT department was doing best in

2020. Um, the green,

although the green was like an extension of the technology services department,

it was a department of, um,

a group of super users that were in our other departments, uh,

such as advancement admissions.

They were the super users that ran their software products best and, um,

and did it well.

And then the blue areas were areas we were questioning well,

should it even support that? And then the, um,

uh, what other areas are there? The, the things that,

that they look kind of brown right now. Um, it's just, it,

we identified areas that, um, it was really a purple and orange hash, you know,

combination. We did some of it, but not all of it. And, um,

we identified those as the key areas requiring improvement to fulfill the

mission. And these were in training,

faculty development and support of the new one-to-one laptop program that we

were about ready to launch. So by the way, also in May of 2020 when we landed,

we realized school was going to a one-to-one laptop program so that we could

have consistency and equity for all students of the school.

So the other benefit in performing this task was that as the new C T O,

um, I quickly got up to speed on the equipment that we were supporting,

the software that we had in our arsenal, the databases that we were supporting,

and actually a good feel for the people in our department and where they felt

comfortable in what they wanted to support. So upon that review,

we immediately took six impactful, or over the course of six,

the first six months of my tenure at ransomware glads,

we took six impactful steps that immediately aligned the department to provide a

technology experience that benefits the entire school community. We,

by implementing a ticketing and inventory system,

we were able to prioritize our support requests and gather data on levels and

types of support required.

And the trends and patterns allowed us to identify where did we truly have to

grow and hit the ground, um, running or to improve, um,

what we were doing and make it better. During covid, um,

we formed a task force so that we, I called it the data wranglers task force.

I think I stole this from another black bot advisor that I hold near and dear.

Um, the values of this man are incredible,

but it was intentionally to study our disparate systems and kind of bring some

purpose around making our data work for us rather than us working for the data.

Um, we also began a study of data movement within the organization,

uh, with the data wranglers. And then I was also, uh,

prioritizing that as a pro project for the technology

service department. Um, we,

we also established a zero base budgeting process for software and hardware

requests be so that we could better determine and manage subscriptions,

renewals, and the acquisition of equipment.

And we changed the department's name from it information technology to

technology services. This seems like something that's so minor,

but it's actually huge. Um,

it refocused the group into new purpose technology services.

We were there to service the entire school in a meaningful way.

And just by changing it into that,

we were able to have those discussions about are we doing what we need to do?

And we have a defined role within the school. Um,

performing that exercise with the areas of responsibility actually led to a

department reorganization in a slightly unique way.

It wasn't hierarchical anymore,

but it also paved the way for adding two FTEs.

So this is what, um, we're kind of with right now,

but it outlines the technology services department,

still the six areas of support.

But we added a technology integration analyst who, um,

really gets our software working top speed and

integrates with all the rest.

It try their purpose is to focus on integrating our systems.

Well within our, within our ecosystem, you'll notice that people are, um,

crossed across boundaries. They don't really have hierarchical role,

and that's intentional because we are a very small group that

supports quite a bit.

And that way we have backup redundancy and training.

So knowing our roles and how we operate,

provided the opportunity from that time on to tackle really big

infrastructure improvements and necessary software integration projects,

while also handling the many, um,

help desk tickets that we get and the daily support of running across campus

everywhere. And with the zero base budget planning process,

we have a budget approval process now that,

that enables us to make decisions and good decisions based on our core

values.

So I mentioned core values because they ensure that our actions align with

our mission.

Two questions that always bubble up when we start evaluating technology requests

and needs was, um, what is the, what do the core values say about this request?

So questions that I present to you is are,

have you reviewed your school school's core values lately?

Revisit them frequently. And then,

do we need to adopt and update our strategies to align with today's

current needs within our core values? I kind of say this in a way of, um,

just like you take your car into the shop to get your tires aligned,

that kind of makes your your road your ride a little bit smoother.

So by referencing those all the time, it really assists in decision making.

Okay. So in addition to our updated mission,

I did mention that we have some new core values, five of them.

And having these core values pres present and in front of us all the time makes

our goal setting for this academic year so much easier in,

in making decisions too. So I think what I'd like to do now is, um,

step you through a few examples of how technology and some of the

questions that we ask allowed us to set goals that,

um, support these core values. And in doing so,

it aligns with our school mission.

We see it as aligning with our school mission. So the first goal,

we are a supportive community where all members feel accepted and valued for

their unique talents and contributions.

All three goals under support and community this year are founded on

collaborative efforts between the technology department and amongst ourselves,

and then also between the technology department and others.

So the first goal encourages and offers continuous learning opportunities such

as workshops, training sessions,

and conference attendance to help our team members develop their skills and stay

current with industry trends.

This is a great way to grow your technology department in

a very different way instead of growing it in numbers.

An alternative is to focus on expanding your department skillset for the

members of your department,

not it provides the opportunity for the members of your department to learn

more, to contribute at a higher level,

and also be recognized and take pride beyond the department for their

contributions to the school.

It drives ownership of these contributions and it just makes our department work

better. People have more purpose, more sense of being within our department and,

and the growth opportunities as well.

The second goal was to establish mentorship programs that connect experienced

colleagues with newcomers, fostering a culture of learning and support.

So not only do I have members of our department pair with each other on task to

further their skills,

but I also see areas where my staff can be mentored by others in our community.

Um, serving on task forces populated by faculty and staff allows my team to

understand more about academic needs and school function to solve problems

beyond the hardware issues and to help me in planning future growth.

For instance, um,

not only did I join a task force that was, um, on ai,

but another member of my technology services department served on it and,

and was, and,

and this task force was exploring the impacts of AI within education. Of course,

it started last January, but the dialogue was great,

and the relationship building with the faculty was invaluable for our recently

appointed systems analyst in that group. Um,

and that's because not only did he become aware of what was going on within the

academic world, but that group became aware of his interest, his empathy,

and his preparedness for discussing a very complex topic.

So pairing a technology person with a faculty member to produce present new

technology topics also has its benefits.

The faculty member usually furthers their technology skills while the technology

person has to operate within a teacher's world and working together,

they demonstrate the collaboration between technology and education for

furthering technology Integration into the curriculum is purposeful and

meaningful.

The third goal was to develop initiatives such as cross-functional projects or

sharing sessions to facilitate knowledge sharing and exposure to different skill

sets.

We've already started the year working on opportunities that bring our community

together. We now have an EdTech training space,

and I wish I could take my camera and give you a tour of it,

but I'll say that for another day. Um, in, in this space,

we plan to offer Periodic Tech Tuesdays. So it,

and we also help have an offer drop-in sessions for teachers to

discover and discuss what's going on in their classrooms with technology and how

to make it better. And then just also problem solving for them. So it's like a,

it's not truly a help desk, but it is a department on steroids. Um,

my mouse just went out. Oh my goodness, I'm gonna have a problem.

Let's just do this. Okay.

So another example of these in these initiatives was driven from the interest of

one student wanting to get certified in cybersecurity and the sponsorship of his

teacher. So since that time when they,

when they approached us,

we started the planning for a student cybersecurity club,

stressing ethics and challenges before learning and practicing cyber offensive

attacks. And in our middle school,

we're assisting with the build out of a broadcast club.

So that collaboration really drives community,

um, togetherness.

Let's see if I can get this to go. Oh,

y'all technical difficulty by an ed tech person. This is not gonna, there we go.

There we go. Okay, click. Um,

our goal within the core value of diversity and inclusion is to work closely

with our director of inclusion and engagement on the initiatives established by

the school.

We've come a long way in assisting with the data collection and understanding of

our school's broad culture.

This information broadens the outreach plans to further engage our community.

So knowing what our school wants,

our technology plan accounts for the tools to collect the information about our

constituents, the events and the surveys,

while also keeping the data protected and confidential.

Another objective in our informed technology strategy is to promote

diverse viewpoints with healthy discussions when determining whether the

technology we're promoting is purposeful and it's leveraged appropriately.

For instance, we're in year four of the one-to-one laptop program that we,

that we, uh, procured on behalf of the school, the entire school,

we gave every single student a laptop.

So this year we're embarking on determining the next steps for our one-to-one

laptop program that we started. During the pandemic,

we're forming multiple focus groups and being intentional on the diverse

representation of viewpoints and needs so that all aspects of the laptop program

can be explored, including the equity, the learning, the availability,

and the digital wellness.

And I think having many voices in this discussion is critical to determine

what the next steps will be and how successful that program will be.

Um, the core value of honor and excellence challenges our department to provide,

provide tools and initiatives that actually challenge our students to think

deeply, critically, empathetically,

and creatively within our technology master plan strategies to support our

academic curriculum and professional development guide these decisions.

This year we continue to build out a robust ed tech program to promote the

academic goals of the school.

These initiatives include developing and implementing collaborative technology

platforms that foster teamwork, critical thinking, and empathetic engagement.

We're also integrating a curriculum mapping component within our L m s to

make sure that the academics are meeting, um, overall curriculum, um,

scaffolding and scaffolding guidelines.

I mentioned earlier that members of our technology services department served on

the AI task force.

I associate our dedication to this ongoing service with our honor and excellence

core values since our department's goals relate to incorporating responsible use

of AI within the academic curriculum.

And two things I'd like to share today that were developed within this task

force, um, are really interesting.

I think it just to touch on the AI initiatives that are happening everywhere,

showing you what Ransom Everglades is doing. The AI task Force, um,

is developing resources for our faculty and staff related to information about

ai, you know, making them comfortable about it.

Last spring was really critical and gave them time over the summer to think how

to embrace in a, in a, um,

successful way within their curriculum and the use of AI within the

classroom. So the snapshot on the left over here is, um,

a topics board that we put in my compass,

our Blackbaud learning management system, where we included, um,

the purpose of the AI force, but also, ooh, gotta go back.

Can't do it without my mouse. So I'm not gonna touch the screen.

I wish I could show it to you more. I'm sorry.

I'm having difficulty with my broken mouse.

Can't do it. Oh, it came back good. So the other,

the second is that it, it was, um,

we devised an easily identifiable strategy for informing students where the

teachers could inform students about when AI is appropriate for assignments.

We shared this red green yellow approach during opening workshops with the

faculty. And, um, just last week I sat in an as a student assembly,

student led student assembly.

And I was really delighted to hear the students actually explaining what the red

meant that, um, students may not use AI at all for the assignment.

What the yellow meant was, um,

only AI specific task could be done and what the green meant, it's like, um,

you can use it freely, but you know,

think about am I over relying on AI in order to answer these questions?

So in the joy and wellbeing, um, core value,

we threw our hands up. We said, okay,

what strategic plans can be itemized within a technology master plan related to

joy and wellbeing? Well, in a brainstorming session,

someone unequipped having their laptops work flawlessly.

Well, yeah,

that was a great one because we repurposed and reim imaged all student laptops

this summer to improve device management and eek through that final fourth year

of life. So if that brings joy to our students mission accomplished.

But then it also realized that no longer tongue in cheek,

it was an intensive review of our help desk processes and procedures as well as

our ticketing systems so we could identify patterns of where we might need to

improve our laptop program. Um,

aligning parent concerns about digital wellness we're fostering open

communication with parents, um, with more intentional topics. Um,

we had a parent orientation focused on the new responsible use policy that we

have in our student handbook, stressing that we're all in this together.

Parents included, um, parent coffee, uh,

we've had that just last week.

Identifying key goals of a digital wellness program. Our parents are, you know,

ear to the ground. Our parents are very concerned about screen time,

digital wellness, um, health of their children,

time away from the laptops, time away from technology.

And so we're also putting together, um,

recommended reads for parents related to starting those conversations with their

children about digital for good.

And then making sure another initiative is to make our faculty more aware of the

technology enhanced learning environments that accommodate various learning

styles.

Microsoft and Google both provide so many tools that we can use to

cater to different students' strengths in the classroom.

And a fun brainstorm idea that I can't,

I can't let go of and I keep in my back pocket, is to figure out how to add, um,

a hackathon to our schedule that relates using technology for good

for students.

I really wanna promote a student hackathon where the theme for this design

thinking exercise is creating an app to promote some form of student wellbeing.

So, um, if any of you have done something like that, shoot some ideas my way,

please. Okay.

Our other core value with respect to service and outreach,

my team refocused on the guidance part of this core value.

For students to make a positive contribution,

we need to make sure they have the tools within our academic offerings to

create, collaborate, and research effectively. For instance,

our students lead the Miami Youth Climate Symposium every year,

and we need to make sure our infrastructure supports the 500 participants that

come to campus and also broadcasts all of their sessions to the throughout the

world about their initiatives. We also undertook this summer, um,

we re reworked our student handbook where the technology acceptable use policy

was transitioned from a list of rules and do's and don'ts to actually a student

pledge of responsible use. And I took that idea from Richard Colada and, um,

digital for good and from Isti, uh,

PO so positively reinforcing what technology should be used for within the

school rather than what they can't use it for. And,

and presented as a pledge that they pledge to abide by that.

Our master plan also encompasses the need to support student-driven signature

programs within the school. This year we plan to work with, um,

our holtman Center for Applied Ethics.

It's one of the school's signature programs to engage students in conversations

about ethical considerations in technology,

helping them become more responsible digital citizens.

And for one week during that ethics program,

laying the groundwork where students will be presented with digital ethical

dilemmas to discuss and debate and explore the implications of technology on

privacy, security, and AI ethics.

And hopefully then they will take this on and move it, pass it forward,

or plan it forward to just create a positive practice within

their own student body.

And so, as a wrap,

I wanted to show you a version of a technology of this is just one version of

one form of technology master plan. It works for me. Um, just one last time.

I know I did not give you a complete how to guide,

but I'd recommend participating in the Atlas Technology Leadership Institute.

I went through a great exercise that I was pulling my hair out and saying,

this is so overwhelming,

but just focus a little bit at a time on this and you can get it done. Um,

I don't think I even have it completely done yet,

but I shouldn't because it's a living document.

But I do hope I gave you some food for thought and encouragement to revisit your

master plan.

And I do have just a few more strategic planning tips

in closing. Um,

clearly state how your technology supports and enhances your core values while

supporting the school mission. Don't work in a vacuum. Um,

collaborate with others such as your academic council, your division heads,

your leadership team,

and outline cre clear strategies and purpose for integrating the technology into

the curriculum. Remember, the technology plan's, a roadmap detail,

the technology infrastructure required to support the plan. Um,

outline the bits and pieces that are important to your school.

It doesn't have to incorporate everything that was on that previous slide. Um,

and remember, topics change include all key components and policies,

procedures for what you do, but intentional. You know,

I intentionally put this picture of a puzzle containing a road that continues

moving forward. So remember that your technology plan,

your roadmap is a living document. Since technology continues to evolve,

students need and students' needs continue to be discovered.

And school demands continue to grow. Be sure to continually revisit your plan.

So come on back to your puzzle.

Look at what pieces you need to put in place next. Um,

keep scanning your technology document. I add the pieces that fit,

be prepared to put it back together again if it drops on the floor or if some

bumps cause your pieces to be disheveled and continue painting the vision at it

as it aligns with your school's vision. So I think with that,

I am finished giving you my little bits and pieces,

but, um, open for any questions that you might have,

which is really the more fun part.

I'm gonna stop sharing. Should I stop sharing Ashley?

Uh, you can. Yeah. I encourage you all to connect with Linda on,

on LinkedIn there, um, and find her and stay in touch. Um, we,

we can drop that link in the chat too. No worries. But Linda, amazing job.

Thank you so much. I love the,

the breadth of all of the things that you covered today.

I was definitely over here taking notes and I know our participants are, uh,

we're doing the same. Um, if you have any questions participants, um,

feel free to throw those in the chat or if you are aware,

you can pop on and turn on your camera for just a second.

We welcome that as well.

We're gonna give everybody just a second to mull those over.

Oh, while y'all think of your questions, I'm gonna take a swig.

Well, thanks. You're welcome.

Excellent. Um, it looks like not a lot of questions, Linda. I think the,

the presentation was quite comprehensive, so thank you so much. Um, I, I loved,

again, so many different things, but your AI task force, your red light model,

you know, I've seen the red light model with different applications before,

but I love that adaptation for the AI use in the classroom. That's fantastic.

Love that you guys have, you know,

the task force and all the innovative things you're doing with cybersecurity as

well. Um, we do have a question in the chat. It says,

have you ever encountered teachers misuse technology,

especially after covid? And how did you, you reeducate teachers?

Um, yes. We actually, um, we,

I I wouldn't call it misuse, I would call it misinformed. Um, you know,

we definitely stress, uh,

approved academic software for use because we

don't want people exposing, you know,

exposing their computers,

our network to anything that could be

a mal actor or wherever you call it, bad actor.

So I think it's education. Um,

we reeducate the teachers by showing them,

by informing them about, I mean,

that was one of the things in EdTech Expo that we addressed this year. Um,

and it was a great event, and I didn't even go into that detail.

It was such a fun event,

but we definitely had a mandatory session where everyone went through the

cybersecurity section and in there it, it explained why,

what things could happen when you don't use the software that we have approved.

Just because something's free doesn't mean that it's,

it's valuable to the school. So, um, I know I'm talking in circles,

but the, the reeducation is,

um, through tech tips. I kind of,

if if somebody's using a product that I hear about and I said, Hmm,

that's not on the approved list, I kind of make a tech tip that day about, Hey,

the reason why we have a approved software is reason why A, B, C, um,

items like, and I'll name the tip, I'll name the software, um,

aren't on the list, you know, and go to this link,

you'll see the approved software list.

So publishing the approved software is important,

and we have videos about how to use software and what the

advantages are. I think during covid, we, um,

listed, uh, things that,

or software products that allowed for student engagement, software,

products that allowed you to record and, you know,

act and so on and so forth.

And then we crossed reference those to the software products that we subscribe

to and support. And that if we always go back to that,

our core values in academics, our core value, you know, what the,

the reasons why we chose the products that we do, did, um, please use these.

And we offer sessions on how to use them.

That's how we reeducate our teachers.

I hope that answered your questions lane, Linda.

Absolutely. I I think that's, that's good.

Can you expound upon that a little bit more? What is the vetting process?

So let's say, you know, there's an app or a, a tool that they came across.

It's not on the list yet and they want you to consider it. Right?

What does that look like?

Okay. So I do have a sheet that has, um,

a technology inquiry sheet that, uh, people fill out.

And actually I work with the department chairs. I,

my team works with department chairs. Um, come budgeting process,

we start that in January. So a cycle starts in January.

If people have an immediate need for something,

they'll fill out this product inquiry where they list the product,

why they want it, how does it apply to their academic pursuits,

and how does it align with our core values. So again, we're,

we're hearing from the,

the teachers as to why they need this in their academic

portfolio. Nice. And then what we do on our side, okay, is,

um, first of all, first and foremost, we look at the privacy policy,

the acceptable use po you know, whatever the things are,

the security part of it. So we look at the privacy and the security, we look at,

you know,

we go to common sense and look at other evaluation tools for how they're rated.

We look at recommendations, reviews, um, we look at whether the vendor,

what their security procedures are, and whether, um,

it passes our, our standards that, you know,

makes us feel better about having that on our network or through our network.

And, um, it's just a series of steps.

It doesn't take long. And we've got it down to a science I think now. Um,

and then, you know, I reach out to my Blackboard advisory team saying, Hey,

what do you know about this product? Who uses it? And the ones I,

I usually lean into them quite a bit about that.

Yeah, that's wonderful. You know, and I think that that's so important.

And as you're interacting with the faculty at your school,

things that you can, um, kind of help bring them along to understand, you know,

there are first of all, data privacy regulations.

So there are laws around mm-hmm. Uh, the student data and protecting that. Yeah.

But more and more we're seeing regulations and laws coming down the pipe of

cybersecurity.

So there are currently 11 states that have passed where you basically are

responsible for vetting that vendor contract and knowing what happens with the

third party, if there's a breach who does what,

which of course is a best practice anyway,

but now required by law, um,

coming more and more into the us We're definitely gonna continue, um,

those conversations in October. We have our cybersecurity stuff.

Yeah. Can't wait for that.

We're gonna Yeah. Dive deep into that. Um,

but I love that you touched on that today and I can't wait to hear more about

your student ethical hack hacking side.

Someone said, someone gave me an idea. I think. Yeah, I, I used to, um,

I taught a class on m i t app inventor, so yeah, I'm really excited.

Very cool. Very cool. Any final questions?

I haven't seen any more pop through in the chat, uh, attendees.

Anything else you wanna know today?

Alright, well, with that, I'm going to stop the recording.