Why should we spent time on digital strategy development?
The development of strategies for schools is a great challenge for all, who are involved. The development of digitisation strategies means, to face two challenges at the same time: school development and technological change. Each single would be hard enough, but both together is a big task.
A school is a very complex system, including many different groups of actors with different ideas of how school, teaching and learning should be. These maybe different concepts should be brought together to a common picture of school. This enables everybody involved, to identify with the organisation and its specifics, due to that, follow and achieve greater goals.
What does the training course deliver?
The training concept, developed within the project STRIDE “Strategies for the Digital Education”, allows the involvement of different related status groups in order to redefine “their school” towards new requirements in teaching and learning, organisation, but also changes in learning culture. The manuals will guide you through two core contents:
- selected digital tools on different organisational levels as well as a step-by-step-direction of how to use them and
- a step-by-step-direction of how to develop an overall strategy for schools.
It is possible to combine both guides, if you decide to use the presented tools.
Okay, I got this. However, what exactly can I learn?
Let us differentiate the learning goals on three main levels. On the level of knowledge, you learn details about a selection of digital tools. You learn how they work and where you can apply them in school. A second main learning goal on this level is to know the main steps of strategy development. You learn details about decision making in development processes, specialist terms and you understand the structure of the development process.
On the level of skills, you learn how to use the involved digital tools. You can practice with them using a step-by-step guide. Afterwards, it will be much easier for you to apply your new skills on digital tools, which we did not arranged within the course. Moreover, you learn how to handle tools of strategy development. You learn to think like a manager and to develop ideas and action opportunities, which fir with your school.
The most challenging field of learning goals is the last one, the level of abilities. After doing the course, you are able to combine the two content streams to a well-fitting solution for your school. You are also
able to anticipate future developments and base the choice of digital changes in your school on those estimations. It will be much easier for you to exploit unknown digital solutions for school, because you reached a certain handling security and reduced fear of new things. This training course makes you more confident and reflected.
The last point is especially important, because we developed this training course for multipliers.
What is a multiplier?
A multiplier is a person, organisation, publication medium or medium to transmit knowledge, expertise and specific interpretations towards others in order to spread these. A multiplier in the sense of this training concept is on the individual level a person that gets familiar with the didactical approach and, if possible, becomes the leading figure for school-related strategy development processes. On the organisational level, a school can spread its strategy and, as an example for good practice, become a multiplier itself.
What are the cornerstones of the training course?
Take your time – this is the most important thing about strategy development in general and also for the development of digital strategies. We tested the strategy development training as a five days presence model and nearly ran out of time each day. This is why we recommend the following:
- find at least five dates
- do one module on each date consequently
- inform other related groups in between about your progress
- support yourselves by looking up best practice examples from other schools
If you know, where you want to go, you will be able to decide what you need in terms of further education, tools, infrastructure, staff…
Of course, you also need access to a computer, projector and Wi-Fi. You can practice everything at home in your own speed, but we recommend, especially for the learning field of strategy development, to prepare yourself at home and find additional presence meetings. This course profits more from blended than from e-learning.
