4 - Technology Planning
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	Collection of articles on Technology Planning reprinted with the permission of the Ottawa Board of Education.

Introduction to Technology Planning

Purposeful planning is the key to successful integration of technology into ESL and LINC programs, whether a program is just getting started in the use of technology, planning to expand, or undergoing a review of the current use of technology.

Technology planning is "an ongoing process that translates program and technology needs into concrete actions. … Planning provides a road map for the implementation of technology and can result in more efficient expenditure of limited resources."¹

Having realistic expectations for the role technology can play in the delivery of ESL and LINC programs is an important first step towards technology planning. To help avoid many of the most common unrealistic expectations, the first article in this section is entitled Misconceptions and Fantasies About the Use of Computers in ESL. The points raised in this article may help the novice instructor avoid a great deal of frustration and disappointment by encouraging a realistic sense of what technology can and cannot do for ESL programs.

The second step is to determine overall program needs, and to identify how technology can help meet those needs. The second article, Technology Planning Needs Analysis, takes you step-by-step through a series of checklists in order to help determine program needs and priorities, and from that identify specific goals and objectives for the use of technology.

The third step concerns the purchase of specific computer resources to implement the goals of technology planning. Learning how to evaluate software is an important prerequisite to developing appropriate criteria to guide the purchase of suitable software for the program. The third article is called Program Features to Consider When Reviewing Educational Software.

The fourth step concerns the effective management of computer resources, which involves monitoring and adjusting the use of technology in order to ensure that goals and objectives are being met, or if necessary, adjusting goals and objectives to make them more manageable and achievable. The fourth article is called Effective Management of Computer Resources in ESL.

The fifth step is to plan for hardware purchases and upgrades which will be required to run the kinds of computer software chosen for the program. The fifth article is called A Guide to the Purchase of Hardware. There are many tips and suggestions as to what to look for when buying computer hardware, as well as a list of the minimum requirements necessary to run most of the software in this Annotated Bibliography. This is followed by a list of World Wide Web sites that can further assist in planning hardware purchases.

At the end of this section is a Glossary of Computer Terms which will be useful throughout all stages of technology planning. It can be used as a reference to clarify terms and ensure understanding of the terminology used throughout this publication. There are five sub-sections of the glossary:

General Computer Terms

Internet Terms

Categories of Software

Word Processing Terms

Desktop Publishing Terms

¹ Technology Planning For Adult Literacy by Christopher Hopey and Joyce Harvey-Morgan. Published by the National Centre on Adult Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania. Report published February 1995. Available for downloading at http://www.literacyonline.org/products/ncal/pdf/PG9501.pdf

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