excellence


 * NOTE: THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS... I am sharing this to see if the concepts make sense, not so much the use of the English language at this point :).

NOTE 2: This is also just a workspace, eventually I'll put it into the formatting that has been established by the NLSA Committee...

Lutheran Schools of Excellence : Technology**


 * OVERVIEW**

Technology is an integral part of all facets of the educational process. Lutheran schools are challenged by a variety of factors when it comes to technology. In the past having an "effective" technology program had to do with technology classes, labs of computers, teachers using PowerPoint, a static website, and if you were really lucky, e-mail. Lutheran schools need to be cognizant of what is happening now and in the future with regards to educational technology, and unfortunately, it has nothing to do with the factors of the past.

One of the more interesting parts of the component in technology is that in order to achieve excellence one must shift the way they think about education. Terms like "teacher" and "school" become less clear when an institution strives for excellence in technology.

The main roadblocks to excellence in technology in Lutheran education are reluctance to change, lack of funding, and a lack of trained personnel. Lutheran Schools are historically not breeding grounds for change. We do things a certain way because it is the way it has always been done. Without the total removal of this roadblock, there is no chance for a Lutheran School to be excellent in Technology component. Lack of funding and lack of trained personnel are usually grouped together. However, they are separate issues. First of all, trained personnel are becoming more readily available, usually they are not synodically trained, but there are people who have a gift in Technology, and a love for Christian education available nationwide for Lutheran Schools. The problem is schools do not see the value of having someone trained in technology on staff. They claim a lack of funding, but when it comes down to it, if schools BELIEVE that there is a need in technology, one of the first steps is getting someone on staff that can lead the drive for effective technology use. The final roadblock is lack of funding. This is another false assumption. There are a number of ways to fund technology, either with a technology fee or with a capital fund drive to get things started. Also, open source solutions (free software) have gotten to the point where they are quite viable for many Lutheran Schools, which eliminates the need for expensive licensing contracts.

**GLOBAL**
Schools need global perspective in order to prepare students for the 21st Century community. If students are not prepared to deal with the new “flat” world it will be difficult for them to be successful. Likewise if schools do not recognize and prepare for the realities of a “flat” world, it will be impossible for them to remain effective in the 21st century. Schools that are truly “Ablaze” will be cognizant and prepared for the realities of a flat world.

Students and staff not only know how to discover new information or tools but they are able to gauge usefulness in various set of circumstances. This goes beyond finding a quality resource on the web and moves towards adapting and adoption Web 2.0 tools, environments and complete technology based lessons.
 * Level I – DISCERNMENT**

Students collaborate with students not only in their own class, school, local community but also collaborate with various students and groups from around the world. Students collaborate to gain control of their own learning and contributors in the entire learning process rather than simply a passive participant. Teachers and other staff collaborate with other teachers worldwide to gain new skills and more importantly share what they have learned to be effective strategies to facilitate learning.
 * Level II – COLLABORATION**

When the school is flattened it is simply another tool in a student’s arsenal of learning. Technology is no longer a goal to be overcome but an integral part of the learning process. Students are learning alongside others from around the world, including their own teachers who facilitate the interactions seamlessly within their own curriculum. “School” is no longer defined by a building, teachers, staff, but by the local learning community of students lead by the facilitators the school employs. The curriculum offered by the school looks very little like the curriculum before it became global. There are still essential learnings and skills to be mastered, but they are achieved within a variety of different means.
 * Level III – FLATTEN**

**SHIFT**
The word shift implies movement and change. Schools must shift their view of technology from something that is taught to the way we teach, from a tool to get tasks done to how we get all tasks done. Technology is not a fad. Technology is the way our society works today and will work for the foreseeable future. The shift that is implied is already occurring, Lutheran schools will cease to be relevant if the shift does not occur within them as well. This shift changes all aspect of educational ministry, from the way we teach, to the way we communicate, to financial concerns, to personnel concerns.


 * Level I - DEVELOPMENT**

Development is where it starts for the shift to happen. Schools need to re-think the way they do staff development and more importantly how they budget for it. Schools also need to develop or adopt nationally recognized standards (ISTE - NETS) of use/integration. A Technology plan needs to be developed in order to help in the discernment process. Schools at this level will have a technology director/coordinator in place who is in charge of the vision of and implementation of technology in the school. Various electronic communications between school and school community members is the norm at this level.


 * Level II - HARNESS**

At this level the teacher becomes the true facilitator of student learning. These facilitators help students to collaborate, network, share, communicate, and learn in a technology rich environment. At this point technology is present in all parts of the curriculum and that curriculum is being shifted to a form that is ready for the richness technology can bring. Schools at this level have multiple people on staff trained in educational technology preferably one per department. Staff members participate in conferences annually both on technology and on digital learning. Focus shifts in this level to how do I minister to students in a technology rich school and what ethical and moral impact are my students having in a technology rich society. Communications and interactions use a variety of Web 2.0 technologies.


 * Level III – UBIQUITY**

Ubiquitous technology access is the key marker for this level, whether it is a one-to-one program or other student to technology device ratio. Students and teachers are both members of active learning networks. Students tap into them for various projects or tasks and teachers contribute and use them to facilitate the learning of students. The student/teacher roles have changed to learner/facilitator. Schools at this level look very little like traditional Lutheran schools. "We don't have the money for it", is no longer a valid argument.

**CONCLUSION**
One of the main concerns with reaching for excellence in technology is that there will be less interaction with students. There may not be as much traditional face to face interaction, but students will be interacting MORE with their learning facilitators. This is not a bad thing, students interact this way all of the time with different people in their social networks. In a typical school setting students get to ask very few questions. Most of the class time is either teachers asking questions and looking for rote/basic responses or the teacher dispensing knowledge (Sage on the Stage). Imagine if your school was modeling how Christians interact using these technologies rather than simply ignoring or blocking these technologies. Schools that are "ABLAZE" and preparing students to be "ABLAZE" will embrace these technologies to spread the Good News of the Risen Christ to the "seven seas and the four winds".