In this Module you displayed your collected data to help inform the decision making process. Why is this important for educational programs to use this type of approach? How has it helped you to understand and possibly lead an organization that might face these important decisions?
It is important for educational organizations to use a systematic approach when making decisions in order to maintain focus and fidelity to the organization's vision. Having a format which clearly lays out the applications in question make it easy to compare them. Without a coherent application strategy an organization will only become successful in trouble shooting and solving the current problem. Without proper planning, an organization will succumb to easily avoidable roadblocks.Without strategic planning, it will face unexpected costs. If an organization takes the time to compare an application's capabilities thoroughly, it will provide the opportunity to foresee any potential pitfalls. Succumbing to roadblocks and pitfalls will only blur the organization's vision making it less attainable. If leaders are always putting out fires, they will become distracted from the true capabilities or advantages to working with a specific application.
One example may be when Organization X purchased the NWEA MAP Testing application after purchasing Chromebooks in order to move to an efficient online assessment model, but didn't take into consideration the amount of bandwidth that would be needed to support such a move. The first days of testing experienced many challenges and all under the time constraints of completing the tests within a given window of time. Ultimately, the administrator bused some students to another school where that administrator had purchased sufficient bandwidth to complete testing. Students took tests in an unfamiliar setting under time constraints which made for a less than ideal test setting. Clearly, taking the time to strategically plan and foresee roadblocks is extremely important. Using a design such as a Preliminary Application Rationalization plan would have helped to identify any potential challenges and to understand all costs, so that budgeting for other supports such as bandwidth would have been considered.
It is important for educational organizations to use a systematic approach when making decisions in order to maintain focus and fidelity to the organization's vision. Having a format which clearly lays out the applications in question make it easy to compare them. Without a coherent application strategy an organization will only become successful in trouble shooting and solving the current problem. Without proper planning, an organization will succumb to easily avoidable roadblocks.Without strategic planning, it will face unexpected costs. If an organization takes the time to compare an application's capabilities thoroughly, it will provide the opportunity to foresee any potential pitfalls. Succumbing to roadblocks and pitfalls will only blur the organization's vision making it less attainable. If leaders are always putting out fires, they will become distracted from the true capabilities or advantages to working with a specific application.
One example may be when Organization X purchased the NWEA MAP Testing application after purchasing Chromebooks in order to move to an efficient online assessment model, but didn't take into consideration the amount of bandwidth that would be needed to support such a move. The first days of testing experienced many challenges and all under the time constraints of completing the tests within a given window of time. Ultimately, the administrator bused some students to another school where that administrator had purchased sufficient bandwidth to complete testing. Students took tests in an unfamiliar setting under time constraints which made for a less than ideal test setting. Clearly, taking the time to strategically plan and foresee roadblocks is extremely important. Using a design such as a Preliminary Application Rationalization plan would have helped to identify any potential challenges and to understand all costs, so that budgeting for other supports such as bandwidth would have been considered.