Project plan.

It is with pride and pleasure that I use this blog post to introduce a project, which might lead to a change in the way we use technology in schools.

What?

The project is called “Introduction to Wiki-School.org”. Wiki-School.org will be, to summarize it in a few words, an organized collaboration-based (hence wiki) network of resources ready to be shared and used within the educational world.

Why?

The use of technology has changed the way we teach and learn. Both teachers and students around the planet have benefited from it. However, these improvements are not yet being delivered at the rate they could be. Time the main factor limiting our progress, and there are two ways we can avoid time-limitations: one is a time-machine which can take us back in time and another is sharing what we do so that others can benefit from it. This project intends to explore the latter.

When?

This project will be finished on Saturday May 4^th, 2013.

Please note that this project (“Introduction to Wiki-School.org”) will lead to a much bigger one (Implantation of Wiki-School.org), which will not finish before June 2015. The real Wiki-School.org is a project for life.

Where?

The Introduction project will take place in Leysin American School, where I currently work and can collect very useful ideas. The implantation project will take place in an educational organization (secondary school or university), which fully supports (financially and logistically) the project. The real project will take place world-wide.

Who?

The main directing responsibility of these projects is in my shoulders, but I count with the support of many. Several teachers in different international schools and university professors have already offered. YOU are already supporting the project by reading these lines. If you would like to support the project further with your contributions, please leave thoughtful comments in this blog.

The following skills are very valued in this project:

·      Understanding of the role of technology in today’s schools.

·      Critical view of the current schools’ virtual presence on the web, social media and online publications.

·      Understanding on how technology is mentioned, integrated, and present in a school's mission/strategic plan.

·      Critical view of the current standards for technology, technology planning and professional development programs to support faculty and staff.

·      Understanding of how information technology is used in schools and what kind of framework could allow for successful integration of IT Standards into a school curriculum, supporting and enhancing student learning while making less time-consuming for both teachers and students.

·      Ability to research, explore, improve, implement, organize and/or run efficient IT Professional Development programs in schools

·      Ability to develop and evaluate a technology plan for/from an educational organisation.

·      Knowledge of the key components of an IT technology plan which supports, sustainability learning and innovation.

·      Understanding of financial planning, IT infrastructure, and new IT initiative implementation for technology within school settings.

·      Awareness of the connections between various components of a school’s technology plan and how they influence the time limitations of different personnel positions within a school.

How?

The format of the project introduction is a combination of blog posts linked with other sources such as videos and websites. Implementing the project will take the form of a PhD thesis and the real one will take the form of a community network.