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Planning for technology integration is an intentional process. It’s not merely about acquiring new tools but strategically considering how to enhance learning and prepare teachers to incorporate them into their classrooms. Recent research reveals a digital divide, with many educators lacking the necessary support or professional development to deliver effective tech-driven instruction.

Experts during the edLeader Panel “Improving Professional Learning Systems for Today’s Educators: Playbook for State and Local Leaders” highlighted essential, research-based strategies for leaders to build sustainable systems to strengthen educator capacity and supercharge learning experiences.

Understanding the Digital Divide

To explore the digital divide, the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) conducted its annual survey. The results showed a growing digital divide and unmet professional learning needs that states experience as they strive to establish effective edtech programming, signaling a significant opportunity for improvement.

Findings indicated critical gaps in systems that provide educators with the support to implement educational technology and AI tools. The causes include:

1. Definitions Misalignment: Although there is a desire for student-centered, tech-integrated instruction, many states lack formal definitions for high-quality instruction and professional learning. Without a clear vision, aligning spending with effective practices becomes challenging.
2. Funding Utilization: Money often goes toward short-term tool training rather than lasting instructional strategies that build meaningful capacity. Without a framework for professional learning, the refinement of practices fails to materialize. 
3. Measurement Metrics: There is limited tracking of funding impacts, focusing more on compliance than continuous improvement. Metrics such as participation and satisfaction are measured, but they do not link learning investments to instructional changes or student outcomes.
4. Desire for Exemplary Models: There is a need for documented, evidence-backed professional learning models for replication across districts. While coaching and professional learning communities (PLCs) are recognized, specific evidence-based programs remain elusive.

These factors point to a coherence problem. State and local education agencies lack a unified understanding of both tech-enabled instructional goals and the professional learning needed to achieve them.

This understanding led to SETDA’s creation of a comprehensive guide, Improving Professional Learning Systems to Better Support Today’s Educators, offering strategies for strengthening state and local systems for edtech and professional learning.

Effective State-Level Strategies

According to SETDA’s research, the most successful states implement six key strategies to create coherent conditions for tech-integrated professional learning:

1. Promote a Shared Vision: Establishing a clear vision for tech-enabled instruction removes ambiguity for districts, focusing on what effective teaching entails rather than merely the technology used.
2. View Compliance as a Lever for Improvement: Utilizing compliance structures to drive improvement helps leaders identify strengths and pinpoint areas needing support.
3. Encourage Durable Professional Learning Models: Shifting focus from “one-and-done” workshops to ongoing support, such as job-embedded coaching and PLCs, fosters deeper professional development.
4. Document and Spotlight What Works: Sharing successful program examples and best practices can reduce duplication of efforts while accelerating coherence across districts.
5. Align Funding with Instructional Priorities: Coordinating funding across programs around instructional goals eases the sustainability and scaling of effective initiatives.
6. Collaborate Across Silos: Fostering connections among curricula, instruction, and assessment teams ensures unified educational efforts, sending consistent signals throughout the field.

Local Strategies for Improvement

Locally, districts can take specific actions to translate resources into tangible improvements in teaching and learning. Five critical actions help build coherence within districts:

1. Build Cross-Functional Leadership Teams: Bringing together leaders from various departments fosters shared alignment from vision to implementation.
2. Anchor Professional Development in Long-Term Outcomes: Goals should focus on improving tech-enabled instruction, such as enhancing literacy and numeracy.
3. Invest for Sustainability: Ensuring programs can withstand staffing changes and other pressures through effective coaching models and regional partnerships builds resilience.
4. Use Data for Planning and Assessment: Successful districts analyze participation and instructional data to assess and improve practices, tailoring support where most needed.
5. Diversify Funding Sources: Ensuring program longevity by braiding funds from various sources helps enhance resilience and impact, adapting to future needs.

Armed with these strategies, state and local education leaders can build stronger systems that not only enhance instruction but also bridge the edtech gaps for every teacher and student.

Learn more about this edWeb broadcast, Improving Professional Learning Systems for Today’s Educators: Playbook for State and Local Leaders, hosted by SETDA.

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Professional Learning & Practice is a free professional learning community that presents edWebinars and hosts online discussion forums on a wide range of issues on professional learning and educator practice.

SETDA is the principal association representing U.S. state and territorial educational technology and digital learning leaders. Through a broad array of programs and advocacy, SETDA builds member capacity and engages partners to empower the education community in leveraging technology for learning, teaching, and school operations. For more information, please visit our website, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

Article by Michele Israel, based on this edLeader Panel