Setting Visions & Goals

Principles of establishing workable visions:


image of Rick Feutzimage of Kent Keelimage of Scott Buswell

Pictured above: Technology Coordinator, Rick Feutz and Technology Director Kent Keel of Kent, WA. and Manager of Technology, Scott Buswell of the Montana Office of Public Instruction.


image of Kate Stetznerimage of Joe Kitchens

Pictured above: Superintendent Kate Stetzner of Butte, MT and Superintendent Joe Kitchens of the Western Heights School District in Oklahoma.

Examples of Vision Setting:

Feutz, Technology Coordinator, discusses their needs-based approach to establishing a vision, including

"When the Washington K-20 network was developed, videoconferencing was one of things being touted. When we took a look at the state of art of videoconferencing, and direct instruction and distance learning, we found some real glaring problems. The biggest of which is the fact as teachers we were trying to get out of being in front of the classroom, the stand and deliver model, and we could see the same thing being transmitted electronically. So what we said is, we'd try to orchestrate new and inventive ways to be able to use this medium with kids, and instead of keeping it in the boardroom, getting it directly to the classroom. That's our vision, to put this in the classroom so that kids and teachers can transcend those four walls and be able to meet on-line.

"A lot of the collaborative projects that are going on tend to still be through the teacher. What videoconferencing allows to us to do is have kids collaborating with other kids and the teacher doesn't have to be the small bandwidth that they get through, so they are literally opening up. We've also taken a look at different studies and our own information that shows that when kids can see pictures of other kids, or in this case actual other kids on-line, their interest level goes way up. Engagement is tremendous, and being a longtime schoolteacher myself I realize that engagement is a thing that you have to have before anything else happens.

"My dream is that kids will have opportunities to do things that we used to do as families. We used to do field trips and we used to experience in ways that we just don't do as much now. I was appalled to see the statistics that back in the 50's people went on two-week vacations and actually went and saw America, and now the average vacation is 3 days and they go to a destination site. Kids learn, and we know it from educational research, by being able to peg things to their self-interest in their environment, and if that narrows, I think that really stifles their learning. Videoconferencing will hopefully give them the opportunity to experience those things, things I enjoyed when I was a kid, and it may not be quite as good as being there, but it might be better than not experiencing it at all.

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"We used to do a lot more field trips, even in our own community. In fact one thing that bothers me is in all of our social studies and history classes, the thing that is lacking is local community. In our state, there is Washington State history, US history, World history, but very little Kent history. So by using two-way videoconferencing, we are able to talk to the fire fighters at the fire station, the police, the mayor of the city, the Historical Museum, and are able to bring local history into the classroom. It certainly is important, and if you think about it, as adults we make more decisions based on our locale and our local history then we ever do on world events. I think to have well-educated kids who can go back into their communities and make good, long-range decisions, they have to be attuned to that history."

Keel, Technology Director, addresses the seemingly contradictory requirements of meeting increasing demand with decreasing resources:

"I think there's a lot to be gained in education using two-way video conferencing. Our expectation is that as budgets and time begin to shrink and the demands for learning and resources begin to grow and expand, that we can use, in particular, two-way videoconferencing to bridge the gap, or crevasse, that's happening between both those two ideas."

Buswell, Manager of Technology, conveys a vision of increased and improved services to school districts through greater efficiency:

"While we don't have the pervasiveness of this technology around the state that I would like to see, I think it's real important that we've gotten involved on the leading edge to learn some of those weird quirks about this technology and how it's used. With the size of a state like Montana, we can't physically travel to all spots and the more that we can travel electronically using video systems, the better. It's cheaper, much more time efficient, and means a lot less windshield time for the specialist here in the office, and that's real important. It's an effective means of communication and something that I think in the next few years is really going to make a difference in education."

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Stetzner, Superintendent, conveys a vision of curricular integration, improved student assessment, and meeting state standards:

"Having used videoconferencing for the last five years, from a curriculum standpoint it's a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to integrate technology into our curriculum. As a district we have established three district-wide goals for next year, and that happens to be the number one goal, an integration of technology into curriculum and more importantly, how we are going to do that. We know that a very important part of assessment and accountability for school today will come through knowing how to put that integration together. We truly believe that videoconferencing and this type of technology will be a very innovative, effective way of providing this kind of service to the children that we teach.

"We know that we've got to now redirect the way we assess children and we've got some great opportunities to do this via telecommunication. One thing I'm really excited about is that I believe we can establish electronic portfolios for every child and assess each child on an individual basis. We are now in a partnership with a company called Lightspan and that company has a home/school connection component where you have a computer in your home that may be the same as having a television in your home anymore. Parents are going to be able to access the school at a much easier rate, and we know that we need to do everything we can to have parental input and cooperation in the schools. So I think there are many different directions that we're able to go with integrating technology because were going to be assessed. They're actually adding a media communications assessment to our state standards and national standards. Those are going to require that we have good technology skills."

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Kitchens, Superintendent, presents a comprehensive vision

"We fundamentally focused on four particular issues related to technology. First, we want these computers to have more capability or enhanced capability in the telecommunications areas. We'd like to be more flexible in the way that we distribute products and we'd like to be more flexible in the way that we receive communications from parents. Many of our parents are economically disadvantaged and disenfranchised, with 80% of our students qualifying for free and reduced meals, so we believe that we have to try to use the technology to expand our communication to them. We can do this through IP telephony. We want every classroom in our district to be used, we want every classroom in our district to be accessible to parents through the regular phone-switching network. We understand that through IP telephony and voice over IP that we will be able to make the PC a telephone set. By doing that, we don't think that we need to run a telephone line to every classroom. Rather, it is more cost effective and more economical to take the existing IP circuits and make them enabled to carry voice, so we have attempted to set up telephony servers in our district. We're doing that now so that we can have a bridge between our network (the JetNet), the IP network, and the public switching network, thereby enabling our parents to communicate with any classroom in the district under a standard telephone format.

"Secondly, we believe very strongly that IP-based videoconferencing will be a very important component for us because it will also be driven by the computer. The computer in the classroom that is serving as a telephone can also serve as a video transmission device, and through the IP network can be flexible enough to be in contact with any spot in the world in true video/audio communication. That interactive capability really has the power to enhance classroom instruction. We are really enthused about the ability to have our students involved in interactive cooperative learning experiences with students from other lands. It's very motivating to students when they can communicate with students in other schools within the state, out-of-state and around the world. Recently, we were able to host a videoconference that included seven United States Senators, two members of the British Parliament, a group of students in Bristol England and a group at Western Heights High School. They were discussing the differences between the constitutional monarchy and the republic form of government that we have here in the United States. When students are able to do those kinds of things, they do understand the impact of what is happening, and it is a tremendous example of how we can use technology to more appropriately educate students, and to motivate students to understand how unique learning can be. That's a great hope we have for technology.

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"In addition to IP-based videoconferencing and IP telephony we are very interested in IP-based video serving. We believe that streaming technologies have a tremendous potential to impact education. The traditional on-line instruction programs that we see in the United States right now are primarily text and graphic. Some learners are more dependent than others and need the visual [presentation]. They need to see a demonstration of a learning exercise and they need to see the teacher bringing forth the explanation of the learning objective. Some students can get it just by looking at text and graphics, some students need the visual explanation, and then there are some students who need the ability to interact with an actual human being. It is important that at the point in time when learning is taking place, we have the ability as a school to interact in whatever mode is necessary to create and enhance the learning experience.

"The great thing about technology and where we are headed is that through video streaming we can have teachers demonstrate learning objectives. Through videoconferencing and distance learning and distributed education we can actually have the ability to interact. Where technology is taking us is that we'll see text, graphics and one-way video and simultaneously we will be able to do two-way video so that we can support almost all the needs that a student would have. Remarkably, we'll be able to do it not only from one classroom to another, but from our classroom to the home or anywhere else in the world. I think that's a very exciting paradigm because it extends the school from just being a 6 to 8 hour institution to potentially being a 24 hour service institution. Our teachers will be empowered through technology. They won't be replaced, they'll be valued more for what they can do to make the educational experience more productive and extend it and make it more flexible."

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