Jason Dasinger

Kennesaw State
ITEC 7410/EDL 7105
Dr. Tracey Borup
Vision Paper
Schools Vision

All stakeholders at Pope High School, students, teachers, parents, administrators, and
strategic partners, will join together to make project based learning unified goal in every
classroom every year. This is a large goal because project based learning is filled with active
and engaged learning, it inspires students to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects theyre
studying. (Edutopia). In three years, Pope High School looks forward to including a capstone
project in every subject matter which will focus on integration of technology in project based
learning. We recognize the growing trend of technology incorporation in everyday life,
therefore, we will partner with strategic stakeholders in our school to provide our students with
real world projects to complete in every class.
Teachers Role
Teachers will realize education technology has a positive effect on student
achievement. (ITSE ,2012) With this realization, teachers at Pope will strive to incorporate
pertinent technology into each capstone project. Through training, teachers will be encouraged
not to incorporate technology just for the sake of including it. Our teachers will realize there
are no easy answers when it comes to how best to deploy technology within schools (Boser),

and will therefore not prescribe a one size fits all technology program in their classroom. This
will require teachers to have mastery over their subject matter as well as emerging technology so
that they can best serve their students need as a facilitator.
Administrators Role
Administrators will support our initiative by consistently providing informational
meetings and training on emerging technology. School leaders will take on the role of being a
technology coach as well as a provider of help sessions. This will require administrators to
acquire mastery knowledge of specific trends in educational technology as well as how it can
effectively use in the classroom. The driving motivation for these leaders will be the
convincing trendwhen implemented appropriately, the integration of technology into
instruction has a strong, positive impact on student achievement(ITSE, 2008). School officials
will also work with teachers to locate strategic partners in the community to partner with
students during their capstone projects.
Technology Coachs Role
Assuming we are able to hire a technology coach, our coach will be tasked informing
teachers on technology use in the classroom as well as being their guide during the capstone
project. With the guidance of a qualified coach, teachers can leverage technology to engage
students in learning and help them develop digital age skills. (ITSE, 2007). The broad goal for
our coach would be guiding our teachers on how to integrate technology in the classroom;
however I have a much narrow focus in mind. I would like to see our technology coach play an
incremental role in setting up technology integration in specific capstone projects. I envision
them working with teachers in designing the project while also training teachers on how to

utilize the specific technology. These trainees would then be available to help their department if
any issues or questions about proper use of technology arose during the capstone project.
Students Role
Students will use appropriate technology to enhance their knowledge and aid in their
project based learning. Students will be open to engage with and collaborate with local
businesses and professionals during their capstone project. (ITSE, 2007) This will enable
students to use their classroom knowledge and apply it to real world situations. Project based
learning allows students to build a professional portfolio for the future. Students will develop
better communication with their peers and adults.working within their community while
seeing the positive effect of their work. (Edutopia).
Parents Role
Parents will encourage their students throughout the capstone project. If necessary, they
may add their professional expertise if it corresponds with their childs project. Parents will be
relied upon to establish relationships with local businesses and professionals when administrators
and teachers are developing the capstone project. We will compile a database of all parents who
are willing to volunteer their time and skills in collaboration with our capstone projects.
Community Members Role
Community members play the most crucial role in our schools vision, as we need their
expertise. Without strategic partnerships, we will lose the real world application which makes
the capstone project so special. We want to adopt a capstone project which invigorates our
learning environment, energizes the curriculum with real-world relevance, and sparks students

desire to explore. (Edutopia) We are going to ask our community members to partner through
guest speakers, collaboration through Skype or other Web 2.0 tools, or possible internships. I
believe our unique relationship with our community members will set our capstone project apart
from other schools.
Conclusion
While this is a large vision, our school fully believes our capstone projects will
incorporate relevant technology into the classroom on a daily basis. While this may stretch many
teachers, our school is in the business of providing the best education possible for our students.
The jury has ruled: project based learning is not only a great way to incorporate technology, but
it also increases student learning. (Edutopia)
References

Boser, Ulrich (2013), Are Schools Getting a Big Enough Bang for Their Education Technology
Buck? Center for American Progress
International Society for Technology in Education (2007) NETS standards
http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students/nets-student-standards-2007
International Society for Technology in Education (2008). Technology and Student Achievement-
The Indelible Link. Retrieved from
http://www.k12hsn.org/files/research/Technology/ISTE_policy_brief_student_achievement.pdf
Staff, Edutopia (2008) Why Teach with Project Based Learning?: Providing Students with a
Well-Rounded Classroom Experience. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/project-learning-
introduction