Initiating
The initial stage of Kurzweil 3000 deployment requires the active participation of the involved stakeholders. Therefore, the initiating phase would require the establishment of communication channels with the interested groups such as parents, individual teachers, and, possibly, respective local organizations and initiatives (Arthur, Davison, & Stow, 2014). The awareness campaign should be focused on the key features of the product, its advantages over traditional learning methods, and the benefits of its implementation for the learners and, by extension, the improvement in the well-being of the community in the long run.
The administrators related to the implementation process also need to be informed on the key procedures and associated benefits to facilitate collaboration as early as possible. Overall, the deployment of Kurzweil 3000 should bring numerous improvements to the learning process and improve stakeholder involvement.
Planning – Analysis & Design
Once the necessary level of awareness is reached in stakeholders, it is important to create a master plan of implementation. The plan has to include several important components. First, meaningful, achievable, and measurable goals must be established for all levels of implementation, including individual learners, classes, schools, and districts (the latter depends on the scale of the intended deployment). Next, it would be necessary to gather, analyze, and include information on the possible target audience which is expected to benefit the most from the technology. The active participants must be listed, with the credentials that substantiate the choice and the allocated responsibilities within the project.
Finally, the timeline of the project containing the chief milestones and major objectives must be included. Another important element of the planning phase is a realistic budget. To be relevant, such budget must include the direct costs of the implementation (e.g. the purchase of required software and hardware and the salaries for involved staff members) as well as the most likely indirect costs (e.g. maintenance and support of the platform as well as training of the teachers).
Besides, it would be reasonable to outline a fund for additional expenses, such as various incentives. Finally, the implementation team responsible for the process must be identified. Since the deployment occurs on several levels, the team should be diversified enough to provide training, participant support, resolution of administrative issues, measurement, and inter-department coordination to ensure consistency and reach the intended goals.
Executing – Implementation
After all aspects of planning are covered, it is possible to move to the actual implementation. The first step would be the purchase of equipment, consisting of software and hardware components. The former is a central component in the process and should thus be prioritized in the decision-making process. The IT specialists within the team should be informed on the needs of the audience and decide on the most appropriate components of the suite that can deliver the desired results (Beetham & Sharpe, 2013).
They also have to verify the suitability of the available hardware for the installation of the chosen software and clarify all the controversial points with the representatives of the Kurzweil company. Once the content of the software package is settled, additional hardware should be purchased in the case when the available equipment is outdated or otherwise incompatible with the goals (Poole & Sky-McIlvain, 2014). The installation must occur by the planned locations for the training of the personnel. It should be noted that delays in installation can result in the decline of motivation among teachers (Gorozidis & Papaioannou, 2014). After all the components are ready, it would be necessary to acquire digital materials necessary for the program and check for the possibilities to convert physical copies into digital format and vice versa.
Once the equipment is set, it is possible to commence training. The main bulk of the training is intended for the ongoing format, with follow-up and refreshment elements introduced whenever necessary. The training is more effective when it is integrated with the regular classroom activities, so additional attention should be paid to the success of the teachers’ attempts to perform it (Corno & Anderman, 2015).
Another important aspect at this stage is the collaboration between the teaching staff and the IT department since the latter can resolve technical problems and ensure the seamless nature of the integration. Since the planned procedure is aligned with the goals and objectives of an institution, it would be reasonable to integrate brief training sessions that correspond to the identified topics and thus ensure the relevance of knowledge among teachers and students (Radu, 2014). Importantly, Kurzweil 3000 can yield better results when combined with similar interactive tools, such as communication devices and digital whiteboards (Ekanayake & Wishart, 2015). Therefore, the possibility of such a combination should be looked at during deployment.
Controlling
The evaluation process should be based on the efficiency criteria outlined in the master plan and must include the assessment of students, teachers, and schools, or districts. Data collection can be performed using the integrated capabilities of the software and independent questionnaires and surveys. The latter can be used to develop follow-up implementations as well as to detect and address the existing gaps in knowledge and skills.
Closing
Once the evaluation is completed, it would be possible to conclude on the progress made as a result of the implementation. The expected benefits of the Kurzweil 3000 deployment include the successful meeting of the learning objectives due to the student-centered design and improved performance among students with learning disabilities due to numerous assistive tools. In the long run, it is also reasonable to expect diversification of skills and high involvement among both learners and educators.
References
Arthur, J., Davison, J., & Stow, W. (2014). Social literacy, citizenship education and the national curriculum. New York, NY: Routledge.
Beetham, H., & Sharpe, R. (Eds.). (2013). Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for 21st century learning (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Corno, L., & Anderman, E. M. (Eds.). (2015). Handbook of educational psychology (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Ekanayake, S. Y., & Wishart, J. (2015). Integrating mobile phones into teaching and learning: A case study of teacher training through professional development workshops. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(1), 173-189.
Gorozidis, G., & Papaioannou, A. G. (2014). Teachers’ motivation to participate in training and to implement innovations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 1-11.
Poole, B. J., & Sky-McIlvain, E. (2014). Education for an information age (6th ed.). Edison, NJ: University of Pittsburgh.
Radu, I. (2014). Augmented reality in education: A meta-review and cross-media analysis. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 18(6), 1533-1543.