Getting Started With Creating a Digital Strategy in Education

With the disruption to education caused by COVID-19 and an uncertain educational future ahead, it’s more crucial than ever that all school stakeholders can come together effectively to create a digital strategy that incorporates how edtech can be used effectively in-school and remotely.

Where do you begin?

1. Firstly, it’s good to know (or check) exactly what devices you have and where they all are in the school. This way, you can confirm their status – seeing which ones are up to date, which ones can or need to be updated and which ones can potentially be retired or repurposed. A critical part of this stage is to also check the state of your infrastructure to verify what its current capabilities are and see how it may need to be updated or changed to support any future edtech plans.
2. If a whole-school digital strategy is to be effective for everyone, then input across the board is vital! So the second thing to think about is bringing representatives from all areas of the school together to ensure everyone has the opportunity to give their thoughts, feedback and contributions. Naturally, your strategy will have pedagogy at its centre and will expand out from there to take account of additional goals such as saving time, improving communication (across the school and with parents) and enhancing collaboration; areas that embrace every part of the school community.
3. The third area to consider is training. It’s an area that has been neglected in the past – or simply omitted as it cost too much! There’s no point in getting a load of new tech on board in the school if only a few people can work out how to use it, so to maximise your investment and deliver on your goals, factoring in a budget and time for training is absolutely essential.

Developing your plan

Setting out a defined vision of your digital strategy’s ultimate goals can help you begin to see how you can get there. NetSupport’s MD, Al Kingsley, and ICT Evangelist, Mark Anderson, have co-authored a superb Guide to Creating a Digital Strategy in Education dedicated to help your school define and plan its edtech goals. Packed with tips, comments from schools and tons of useful information around remote learning, communication, collaboration, online safety and more, it’s a must-read!