Key terms

 Here are some key terms you should know:

Technology Plan

A technology plan focuses on the institution's investment and overall use of technology.  It is usually long term and implemented over a period of time.  In this plan, emphasis is on the procurement and use of technology.  A technology plan involves a needs analysis of the school's current infrastructure and digital security compared to its future needs.  The technology plan has a budgetary component which is concerned with acquiring and/or spending of funds for said technology.  

                                                                

Digital Strategy

A digital strategy is part of a technology plan.  It focuses on the use of technology to achieve specific goals as set out in the technology plan to enhance instruction and learning.  A digital strategy focuses on the use of technology to complement teaching and learning within the institution.  The digital strategy deals with the implementation of the technology plan.

AUP 

AUP stands for Agreed User Policy.  This is the set of rules that the stakeholders of the institution agrees upon that dictates how technology (hardware and software) is used.

PLC - Professional Learning Community

A professional learning community is a group of educators who meet and share experiences and expertise.  They usually collaborate to improve teaching skills and academic performance of students.  In the professional learning community, emphasis is on the educator and improving instruction and strategies.

PLN - Professional Learning Network 

A professional learning network is a group of persons who work collaboratively to improve teaching and learning (Brown and Poortman 2018)  These persons connect with others through the use of digital resources like social media to exchange resources and ideas.  Like PLC, working collaboratively is key, however, in the PLN, emphasis is placed on improving the learning outcomes of students.

Now that you know the differences, we can now move forward to discussing the need for a digital strategy vs a technology plan for Deacons Primary School.