Managing Complex Change

My principal often tells me that one of the hardest tasks we have as educators is integrating ICT into our curriculum. I would say for one of the two cohorts in the school this is correct, for the teachers. However for our students its as natural as breathing. Prensky hit the nail on the head with digital natives and digital immigrants. I only have to look at my students using predictive texting on their cellphones to quickly regain my immigrant status.

For us to successfully integrate ICT, we need to manage the change and the best resource I have found for this process came from a paper by J. Thousand and R. Villa, called Managing complex change towards inclusive schooling. This table sums it up for me:

Vision +	Skills +	Incentives +	Resources +	Action Plan	= Change
	Skills +	Incentives +	Resources +	Action Plan	= Confusion
Vision +		Incentives +	Resources +	Action Plan	=Anxiety
Vision +	Skills +		Resources +	Action Plan	=Resistance
Vision +	Skills +	Incentives +		Action Plan	=Frustration
Vision +	Skills +	Incentives +	Resources		=Treadmill

For each of these we have to ask some questions.

1. Vision.

• What is the guiding vision?
  
• Does it provide valid goals and objectives?
  
• What are the goals and objectives?
  
• Is it a shared vision? has everyone bought into these?
  
• Are these goals achievable, measurable and manageable

2. Skills

• What skills are needed?
• What skills do the staff/community have?
  
• What skills will the staff/community be provided with?
• How will you provide them?
  
• What support systems, processes etc are staff/community provided with?

3. Incentives.

• What are the incentives for adoption of the project?
  
• are they:
• tangible - financial, temporal, classroom facilities or
  
• intangible - recognition, prestige, personal achievement

4. Resources.

• What are the resources that are available?
  
• Are they suitable and appropriate?
  
• Are they reusable, flexible, engaging, portable?
  
• How are they distributed or accessed?
  
• Do they through availability and distribution enhance integration and adoption?
  
• What resources are you going to add?
  
• Is the distribution of resources equitable?
• Do the resources suit the needs of all aspects of the community?
  

5. Action Plan.

• What is the action plan?
  
• Has the staff/community been involved in developing this? Have they bought into this?
  
• Is it valid given the rapidly changing nature of the ICT?
• Is it measurable and manageable?

With each phase we also need to ask who is accountable and how do we measure this.

I also like to apply the KISS rule:

Keep It Simple (you can add in the last S)

Is it easy, no; Is it possible? yes and is it worth it..... Indeed!

If one of the elements above is missing you will be a little like the dog chasing his tail

Can you add to this? http://edorigami.wikispaces.com