Introduction

My name is Mrs. Shodia Cobham the author of this blog.

This blog was created to meet the criteria of The Erdiston Teachers Training College

 Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Leadership. PGDEL: Technology 

Leadership For Educational Leaders.

I will attempt to express my thoughts on the implementation and use of a digital

 strategy versus a technology plan in my educational institution, Belmont Primary

 School, where I am now assigned as the Information Technological Coordinator

 (ITC) .

My blog will define technology plans and digital strategies. Provide specifics about

 technology at my school, emphasizing our technical Vision and Motto.

I will further assess the use of technology at my school, noting the strengths, flaws,

 threats, and opportunities, and will design a digital strategy to address one of our

 deficiencies based on that analysis.

Feel free to browse and leave comments.

Thank You.

My School Institution - BELMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Belmont Primary School is located on Odessa McClean Drive, Belle St. Michael. It is a small school with a roll of approximately 170 students and 26 staff members, teaching and ancillary. 

The school comprises 2 main buildings and 2 prefab buildings. Due to 

electrical problems in 2020 the school recently received an upgrade in electrical 

and technological infrastructure.

We now have fully functioning internet service throughout the entire school, school-

wide security cover via cameras, a school-wide intercom system, and 40-inch televisions in each classroom.🎇

Click here to view a video of the school's infrastructure.

The School's Motto is ' AIM HIGH'

The School's Mission Statement is: To deliver the highest quality of education in

an environment that is highly conducive to teaching and learning, maximizing the 

talents of staff, students, and the community in the promotion of lifelong learning.

Belmont Primary Technology Vision

The learning community at Belmont Primary School will be digitally literate life-

long learners. Learners will be able to successfully interact in a technology

 environment in order to fulfill their personal and educational objectives. They will

 use technology to access, retrieve, and use the information at the school,

 community, national, and worldwide levels.

Beliefs

Belmont Primary School's aim is to foster the development of independent, self-

assured, and digitally literate citizens by providing open access to

 cultural, intellectual, and informational digital resources.

Technology is used to improve communication with all stakeholders, lesson 

delivery, assessment, and school management.

The effective use of technology promotes the development of process skills such as

flexibility, adaptability, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, all

 of which are required for success in our fast-changing information age.

We can better fulfill our students' different learning requirements thanks to 

technology.

Our schools must prepare students to be lifelong learners who are self-directed, 

skilled in accessing and processing information, confident in using

 technological tools, capable of solving complex problems alone or collaboratively,

 creative and innovative, and capable of communicating locally, nationally,

 and globally.

BELMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL

What is a Digital Strategy

The way we communicate and learn, as well as the jobs we do and the decisions we

 make, are all being reshaped by digital innovation.

We must embrace change, seize opportunities, and prepare ourselves by providing a

 connected, informed, and empowered educational experience.

A Digital Strategy is a tool that assists schools in understanding their

the current level of digital maturity, identifying gaps and developing 

and implementing a plan to improve their digital capabilities. It will aid

Principals and school leadership teams as they navigate the

 digital transformation journey. 

A digital strategy summarizes digital transformation processes objectives, guidelines, and controlling structures and acts as an interface to the coordination of the numerous digitization activities. The digital strategy contains a company’s digital vision and expresses the business strategy’s the objectives and priorities through digital plans. Fraunhofer IAO 2016

Creating a blueprint and setting out a digital strategy template can assist in seeing

 the broad picture and determining where digital options can be used to maximize

 efficiency and effectiveness. This plan can be used to cut waste, keep departments

 on track, track progress, and make revisions as needed.

Some of the digital strategy initiatives were implemented by our local government

 enabling schools to continue and create their own digital strategies.

The below video gives an example of digital strategy in Ireland

Reference: https://www.hyperisland.com/digital-strategy

What is a Technology Plan

A technology plan is an overview of the current technology infrastructure and

the use of the technology at your institution.

Steps of a Technology Plan:

• Why develop a technology plan. Needs assessment 

•  Mission statement/Introduction  

• Technology goals and objectives  

• The technology inventory  

• Budget planning  

• The evaluation process 

• Selection of the appropriate digital/technological needs

Why should you create a technology plan?

A technology plan is more than just deciding what technology to buy and when to

 upgrade it. It is a mechanism for prioritizing and budgeting for the most important

 technology tools for achieving organizational goals. A technology plan helps to

 clarify where opportunities exist to improve infrastructure or deliver services in a

 new way by starting with an organization's mission and priorities.

Technology Planning – November 2008 ­ New Hampshire State Library https://www.nh.gov/nhsl/electronic/documents/tech_planning.pdf

The below video highlights the importance of a Technology Plan

Technology Plan VS Digital Strategy? Which Should We Implement at Belmont Primary School

This particular topic baffled me while researching for my blog since it appeared to

 me as I read that the digital strategy is a component of the technological plan, so

 how can I compare and contrast them and choose one without the other?

In my perplexity, I came across this video that clarified the differences between the

 terms 'Plan' and 'Strategy.' Please take note of the differences listed below.        

I therefore concluded:

          A Technology Plan focuses on the organization's technology investment and overall use.

whereas

A Digital Strategy is concerned with the use of technology to achieve specific goals outlined in the technology plan. The emphasis is on teaching, learning, and evaluation.

FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG, I WILL LOOK AT IMPLEMENTING A DIGITAL STRATEGY AT BELMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL. I CHOSE THE STRATEGY OVER THE PLAN BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY PLAN BEGINS AT THE COUNTRYWIDE LEVEL. OUR MINISTRY OF EDUCATION HAS ALREADY  IMPLEMENTED A NATIONWIDE PLAN TO IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY AT SCHOOLS THROUGHOUT THE ISLAND AND THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BUDGETING AND SETTING GOALS. THEREFORE A DIGITAL STRATEGY WOULD BE MORE SUITABLE AT THIS TIME FOR BELMONT PRIMARY SCHOOL.

Our digital strategy will highlight the use of technology to achieve our

 technological goals and vision.

The below links provide insight into our national technology plans.

https://blogs.iadb.org/caribbean-dev-trends/en/how-barbados-is-bridging-its-digital-infrastructure-gap/

https://caricom.org/barbados-to-develop-blueprint-for-science-technology-education/

https://www.dataguidance.com/news/barbados-minister-announces-formulation-national-ict-strategy-within-five-years