Technology Usage in Schools within the State of Gilliardania - Case Study Example

Name: Course: Tutor: University Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Reference list 12 Introduction Background information The newly created education commission in the state of Gilliardania has been mandated to administer all levels of education from preschool to university. This is as a result of a shake up and reorganization of state and government powers, which led to the merging of an array of educational authorities. This is a heavy responsibility since powers have been centralized, and with this system information is also centralized. The Education commission now has the responsibility of ensuring holistic service delivery within the states’ schools, in a bid to develop all rounded and self sustaining individuals after school. Therefore, one of their assignments is to develop an effective information system strategy that ensures smooth flow of information from the commission to the people and institutions under their mandate. The commission’s administration is standing on a tricky ground because the people have high expectations. Apart from computerizing their operation for easier access, they have to bear in mind that most of the officers and users of their information are enlightened when it comes to information technology, with most of them operating very smart devices with much ease. On the other hand overwhelming changes have occurred in the world due to information communication technology causing governments to restructure their operations in order to keep up with the pace and also to remain relevant in the business world (Moyle, 2010). Policy Agendas for the personalization of learning The state government, in a bid to maintain sanity in the midst of the global financial crisis has to maintain its competitiveness by incorporating innovative technologies into the different sectors, with the education sector being on the frontline in order to realize a self sustaining, and productive national economy (Marginson, 1997). The commission bears a legislative responsibility for all the learning institutions and also delivery of necessary financial support to those institutions that will require the support. The OECD (2009b) argues that the global financial crisis offered government an opportunity elevate their investment in developing and empowering the human capital, thus creating a need to incorporate new training and education infrastructure. In addition there is a need to restructure the school infrastructure by integrating leaning with ICT that will help create an effective and efficient personalized learning environment. Technology usage in Schools within the state of Gilliardania The structure of service delivery in schools has also changed with changes in Information communication technology and students have access to information with the touch of a button (Lenhart, 2005). Needless to say, most students have access to computers and they have a good command in operating other technological devices (Laurillard 2002). Within the state of Gilliardania, some schools have started making changes in the way they teach, making it very necessary for the commission to have these institutions in mind when the strategy is being formulated, implemented and even in administering it. One of the aspects information management and delivery is designing and implementing a Bring Your own Device (BYOD) program that is efficient in information delivery. Studies have shown that BYOD creates a personalized workspace for the users, and in this case, school authorities within the state of Gilliardania indicate that students enjoy working independently on custom-made activities as well as in activities that require cooperation (Moyle and Owen 2009; Moyle, 2006) in addition they desire to be viewed seriously and are ready to take on different challenges (Moyle and Owen, 2009). According to the Alberta Education (2012), there is a whole world of web based resources and tools that have entirely changed the scope of learning. Therefore being the body in charge of education service delivery within this state, it is only reasonable that we grab this platform to streamline the usage of available technological resources. Justification for the BYOD program Developing a BYOD program within the state’s education system is no easy task, but it is a risk worth taking if the commission intends to retain its relevance in this fast growing world of technology. Unlike in previous state government operations, this commission has a heavy burden to bear in delivering efficient services and products to its citizens. A BYOD program will help the commission in cutting down its expenditure considering that the funds available are not sufficient enough, forcing the commission to work on a limited budget. Recent studies into the BYOD model efficiency within the education sector have shown that running such a program helps in cutting down costs (Alberta Education, 2012). Besides recent research has shown that students already in the BYOD program exhibit a high degree of Self-direction, have high motivation and they are more engaged in their own learning. The teachers on the other hand are able to deliver student focused teaching models. Adopting this approach allows the commission to create a virtual space for its officers, who are able to access information from any place as opposed to using the institution provided devices which will require them to be physically present. This saves time in the execution of tasks making the Gilliardania education commission’s service delivery more efficient because the officers can respond to the user’s needs at any time regardless of their physical location. According to Moyle (2010) the state’s education policy is being redefined following a change in priorities, which are motivated by the state-run and international economic priorities. This is largely influenced by the directions taken by a majority of countries across the world. Policy considerations for the BYOD program The implementation of the program internally and externally by the commission will be followed by proper maintenance by the administration. Therefore the BYOD strategy will require a number of considerations that will govern the usage, accessibility and administration of the program across all the education levels. Such considerations will include; The clusters of information to be accessed by different users The state of Gilliardania’s education commission having been given the mandate to administer all levels of education from preschool to the university, will have to consider their different users needs as well as level of information literacy. Therefore the BYOD model will be designed in a way that each user, be it a parent, teacher, Student, or school authority, can access a portal that is unique to the cluster he/she lies in. Correct usage of the program The BYOD model for schools will be governed by policies that describe the desired usage of the technology in classrooms, in order to aid in developing responsible digital citizens. This is supported by the Alberta Education (2012), after they collected data form a number of schools within Gilliardania that have already started incorporating the BYOD model into their learning system. These schools’ authorities emphasize the importance of having their users exercise responsible usage behaviour and have therefore, put in place policies that describe the desired usage of the technology. Ease of access ensuring impartiality This concept will work to ensure that even students whose parents cannot afford devices are catered for by the institution. They can be allowed to use existing school devices so that they keep pace with others. On the other hand, the commission can partner with schools to provide devices to such students, allowing the parents to pay in affordable instalments. Accessibility to network by all users This BYOD program should be able to cater for the needs of all the users for it to be a success, but at the same time ensure they are protected from cyber bulling which is a big threat especially to the students. This consideration will also address the possibility of availing internet to the students when they are not in school. This is important because there are student who might not have internet access at home, so they can be allowed remote access to the server. The readiness of the commission to run the program, and the readiness of the users such as schools to implement this model The education commission is ready to run this program since it promises to improve on efficiency and cut down on its general expenditure. However, the successful implementation of the BYOD program in a school is highly dependent on the school administration’s commitment to digitalizing learning, such that they are ready to implement the program. In our case, implementation is made easier by the fact that a number of schools have already implemented the program. Therefore rolling it out to other schools will not be a big challenge since those that have not implemented will use the program designed by this commission. BYOD for the commissions’ officers (Workplace) Developing a BYOD program for the officers definitely give the commission great flexibility as mentioned earlier. This system will not be so different from the one described above but this will be different in terms of the approach. The officers deal directly with the commission’s database and as such they are responsible for ensuring the resources are available to the end user. This will be an internal BYOD program catering for the needs of the commission and its officers. The best approach for this system is to have the employees access the information in groups defined by their daily activities. Therefore designing a BYOD system for this group will require a safe approach that is secure enough to ensure there is no security breach. According to Reddy (2012), the BYOD program when used at the workplace has a number of advantages like: Enhanced employee productivity and greater work satisfaction It helps to discover new talent which is retained and nurtured within the organization Procurement and support costs in IT are reduced It helps to improve cooperation within the workplace BYOD Model The BYOD program designed by the commission will target a wide range of users who have diverse needs, skills and abilities when it comes to operating the system. Therefore the program designed will ensure that the needs of these users are considered. To make it effective the program should have in place the following aspects; 1. Vision- this will communicate the reason for having this program in place and explain what value the users will gain from being part of it. Define the timeline for implementation internally and externally and explore the highlights that will be indicators of successful implementation. 2. Define the governing policies. Such as the responsible use policy to be upheld by every user. Other policies will govern the use of the resources, giving priority to security of the user and the service provider. 3. Technical considerations of the program This will address the ability of schools to adopt this program by identifying the resources that are available to support implementation. It will consider what data will be accessible to the different categories of users. This is the platform that what technical assistance will be necessary to the different schools and their users. 4. Training This action step will address the need for capacity development for the various administrators of the program within the different institutions of learning as well as within the commission. A template will be developed to address the need to also train the end user who is the student, parent, teacher, and commission officer. Therefore this will work to ensure a smooth transition for every party involved. 5. Digital content to be made available. This segment will highlight the process of availing the electronic resources to the end user, highlighting the conditions that will govern the ease of access to the same resources. 6. Affordability- this program requires the end user to have a personal device that is most importantly internet enabled. However, we cannot overlook users who might not be able to afford such a device. This segment will address such cases by recommending the most appropriate procedure to be followed, in a bid to assist such cases. Implementation Before rolling out the implementation process the commission will need to be in touch with their current and targeted end users, in order to determine the best practices to be adopted. The goals of the whole process will have to be clarified for easier transition. For instance according to the Alberta Education (2012), a number of models should be evaluated with collaborative efforts from every stakeholder that is concerned. The implementation process will be an easy one and very cost effective because as reviews have shown, majority of schools within the state of Gilliardania have a provision of computing infrastructure, that supports a range of school activities (Grimes, 2008). Students are able to access internet services within the school compound using their own technological devices such as mobile phones, laptops and notebooks (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). Some of the activities powered by the ICT system within the schools include activities such as; dissemination of the syllabus by the teachers to the students, access to information within and outside of the school, students access to the school library books (e-books), aiding the administrative team in the execution of their duties as well as in keeping and organizing records. Besides there are several software that enables the personalization of learning in the world and some of them have been adopted in the state of Gilliardania’s schools. However the transition to this model will be executed in phases stretched out over a period of time. The process will start internally, first targeting the commission’s staff. They will be allowed to use their own devices to access and operate the commission’s data and the IT department will be charged with the responsibility of supporting the functionality of the whole process. The best approach will be to divide the employees into broad groups with each group having their own support system. This way it will be easier to track data usage and any cases of security breaches. Besides reducing costs, this will help improve productivity in service delivery. The commission is able to offer online trainings, conduct assessments and evaluation of the employees, and give feedback with much ease. Functions of the HR, customer care and finance are made easier with this system Infrastructure Currently the commission is using Microsoft products for its operations, and supports only Apple and Microsoft’s operating system. Given the pressure to work on a limited budget, it is important for the commission to lay ground rules governing the type of devices that will be able to access their electronic resources. This calls for the commission to develop a guide to be observed by all the institutions such as the one developed by the Alberta Education (2012). One major consideration the commission will address before opening its digital doors to the users is the ability of its wireless network to cope with the demand by the different devices that will be sussed to access information (Reddy 2012). Starting with the internal BYOD program for the commission’s officers, the network will experience heavy traffic since it will offer support to all functions of the commission from administration to HR to finance. Therefore before implementation the IT department will be required to configure the system in a way it can handle the demands. The commission also has to make provisions for charging the devices within the premises. However if the employees have remote access to the commission’s site, allowing them to work from whatever location they are in, then this reduces the demand for such a provision thus reducing the costs involved. Possible challenges Every new venture has its own challenges accompanying it at all levels. The BOYD program by the Education commission of the state of Gilliardania is no exception to this fact. Some of the challenges that will be involved in the implementation process include; 1. Data protection The commission’s officers will have access to some very sensitive data that is at the risk of being exposed to the public should a theft occur. This makes it hard for the commission to trace the device in a bid to erase the sensitive data. 2. Security It is impossible to keep the personal devices from malicious software since they are used to access other sites for personal use besides being used for the educative and work purposes. The IT software development and maintenance department will have a hard task in developing a security system that is strong enough to protect these devices. 3. Costs involved in implementation Poor planning can cause the costs involved in the implementation process to soar beyond what is expected. The commission could incur greater costs of running the program stemming from unnecessary transactions within the BYODs outlay. Therefore the commission will have to be very careful when planning so as not to fall in this trap. 4. Support for the devices The IT department is likely to be overwhelmed by the large number of devices used to access data from their system if it does not have the right capacity to handle the traffic flow. 5. Compliance with National and International requirements The commission has to comply with the set standards on data protection regardless of the software in use. Therefore should there be a breach of data, regardless of what mobile device was used in the breach we stand the risk of being fined by the regulators. Overcoming challenges Despite being faced with challenges, there is the flip side that allows the commission to protect itself from risks by adopting specific measures such as ensuring that all the officers are well equipped to with the necessary skills to run this program. The end user should be educated on the right procedures to follow when accessing the electronic resources. The implementing authority will be required to collaborate with stake holders and mentors who will provide directions and guidelines on the right infrastructural provisions to incorporate. These infrastructural designs will support the secure encryption of data, applying a containerization method of data storage and support the implementation of the BOYD program in solid phases. Conclusion The education commission is no doubt carrying a heavy responsibility towards the people of Gilliardania. Despite having to work with limited financial resources and being under pressure to design and implement a strategy that is totally new to them, the commission has the capacity to deliver an efficient information system. The BYOD strategy explored above promises to deliver quality once the right procedures followed. Reference list Alberta Education. (2012). Bring your Own Device: A Guide for Schools. Viewed 14 September 2013< http://education.alberta.ca/admin/technology/research.aspx> Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009). Communication, measures of Australia’s progress 2006. Catalogue No. 1370.0. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Viewed 14 September 2013, Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking university teaching: A conversational framework for the effective use of learning technologies. London: Routledge. Lenhart, A. (2005). Teens & technology. USA: Pew Internet. Viewed 12 September 2013, Marginson, S. (1997). Markets in education. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Moyle, K. (2006). Leadership and learning with ICT: Voices from the profession. Canberra, Australia: Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Ltd Moyle, K., and Owen, S. (2009). Listening to students’ and educators’ voices: The views of students and early career educators about learning with technologies in Australian education and training, Research findings. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. Moyle, K. (2010) Building Innovation: Learning with technologies. Camberwell, Victoria: Acer Press Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2009b). Policy responses to the economic crisis: Investing in innovation for long-term growth. Paris, France: OECD. Viewed 13 September 2013 Reddy, S.A. (2012). Making BYOD Work for Your Organization. Australia: Cognizant Read More