Whitehead (2013) defines, “future proofing means
that a facility anticipates and supports educational change without extensive
remodeling. It is inherently a flexible building that can be used as appropriate
today, but it also allows future interpretation and reassignment of programs
and functions” (p. 200).
About a half mile down the road from my house, the
local high school has been under construction for the past four years. The
school system received a huge grant from the Ohio Department of Education and
spent 73 million dollars on a new facility for this high school. The virtual
tour is nothing short of spectacular. However, technology, integration, a
digital network and 21st century learning is not discussed. There is
this beautiful building with a new gymnasium, swimming pool, theatre complete
with scene shop and fabulous lighting and sound bells and whistles, but there
is no WiFi access, limited amounts of devices for students to use, and some teachers
that do not know how to integrate technology in their classrooms. These are
just some of the barriers that Whitehead says stand in the way of effective integration
of technology in schools today. The major barrier in the way is funding. In my
area, we have access to fiber optic cables which allows for the best speed and
most bandwidth for a network. However, we lack funding for an IT department to
run and monitor the network. We also lack the expertise of individuals who are
qualified to run such a massive program such as a PLN and district wide network
for digital learning. Therefore, in
order to “future proof” this school, I would first seek aid from the E-Rate
program. The funding for the E-Rate program is found by the Universal Service
Administrative Company (USAC), a not-for-profit corporation, in charge of
securing funds from telecommunications companies to support the E-Rate program
(U.S. Department of Education, 2013). Since
Akron is considered an urban school system, they could receive discounts on
devices, internet services, and software of up to 90%. Another way I would “future
proof” the school is to ensure that there is a district wide technology plan
with an IT department that can run, support, and monitor it. This is a huge
undertaking as we have all been realizing through the group project we have
been working on. However, in order to be relevant in today’s society and particularly
in the future, our students must be able to use and create with technology, they
must be able to learn online through the internet, research, connecting with classrooms
and others through video, social media, and blogs. These technological skills
will help them realize their future goals, no matter what they are.
U.S. Department of Education. (2013, August 21).
E-rate program- discounted
telecommunications
services. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/
list/oii/nonpublic/erate.html
Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D. F. N., & Boschee,
F. (2013). Planning for technology: A guide for
school
administrators, technology coordinators and curriculum leaders (2nd ed.).
Thousands Oaks, CA: Corwin.
