Technology integration in schools is a leadership challenge, not merely a technical one. The principal's decisions about technology — what to adopt, how to implement it, how to develop teacher capacity, and how to evaluate its impact — directly shape whether technology enhances instruction and operations or becomes an expensive distraction. ED7016 develops the doctoral-level leadership competencies needed to lead technology integration strategically, ensuring that technology serves educational purposes rather than the other way around.
The principal's role in technology integration
Technology leadership as a core principal competency
- Visionary technology leadership: ED7016 positions the principal as the technology visionary for the school community — the leader who articulates a compelling vision of how technology will enhance teaching, learning, and school operations; who connects technology investments to instructional improvement goals rather than pursuing technology for its own sake; and who models effective technology use in their own leadership practice. Drawing on the ISTE Standards for Education Leaders, the course develops the capacity to lead with a clear educational technology vision grounded in student learning outcomes
- Strategic technology planning: The course develops strategic planning competencies specific to educational technology — conducting technology needs assessments, developing multi-year technology plans aligned with school improvement goals, creating sustainable funding strategies for technology (initial purchase, ongoing maintenance, replacement cycles, professional development), and evaluating technology investments against their educational impact rather than their technical sophistication
- Change leadership for technology adoption: ED7016 addresses the change management dimensions of technology integration, applying frameworks like Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovations theory (understanding that faculty adopt technology at different rates — from innovators and early adopters to late majority and laggards) and the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (recognizing that teachers' concerns about technology shift from self-concerns to task concerns to impact concerns as they gain experience)
Technology for improving instructional programs
ED7016 evaluates approaches for integrating technology into instructional programs to improve student learning outcomes. The course covers the SAMR model (Puentedura) as a framework for evaluating the depth of technology integration: Substitution (technology replaces a traditional tool with no functional change), Augmentation (technology replaces a traditional tool with functional improvement), Modification (technology enables significant task redesign), and Redefinition (technology enables previously inconceivable tasks). The course develops the capacity to move teachers beyond substitution-level technology use (using a word processor instead of paper, using a digital quiz instead of a paper quiz) toward modification and redefinition (collaborative writing across classrooms, real-time data collection and analysis in science, global virtual exchanges with students in other countries, student-created multimedia products that demonstrate learning in ways traditional assignments cannot). The course also evaluates specific technology categories and their instructional applications: learning management systems, adaptive learning platforms, digital assessment tools, virtual and augmented reality, coding and computational thinking tools, and AI-enhanced learning technologies.
Technology for improving school operations
ED7016 covers the operational dimensions of technology integration that consume a significant portion of principals' technology leadership attention. The course covers student information systems (SIS) and data management platforms, communication technologies for family engagement (websites, apps, social media, emergency notification systems, translation tools), scheduling and resource management software, financial management and budgeting systems, digital professional development platforms, and safety and security technologies (camera systems, visitor management, emergency communication). The course also addresses the infrastructure decisions that underpin all technology use: network capacity and reliability, device management and security, data backup and disaster recovery, and the ongoing challenge of maintaining technology infrastructure within school budgets that prioritize instructional spending. Throughout, the course emphasizes that operational technology decisions should be evaluated for their impact on the core mission — student learning — not merely for their administrative efficiency.
Building teacher capacity for technology integration
ED7016 develops the principal's capacity to build teacher capacity for effective technology integration. The course covers the research on effective technology professional development (sustained over time, job-embedded, content-specific, collaborative, and focused on student learning outcomes rather than technical skills), the design of school-based technology coaching and mentoring programs, the creation of professional learning communities focused on technology integration, and the evaluation of teachers' technology integration practices through observation, coaching, and formative feedback. The course also addresses the equity dimensions of technology capacity building — ensuring that all teachers (not just the early adopters) develop the technology skills needed to serve their students, and that technology professional development is differentiated to meet teachers at their current skill level rather than delivering one-size-fits-all training that is too advanced for novices and too basic for experienced technology users.
ED7016 assignments include technology plans, integration evaluations, professional development designs, and operational technology analyses
Our doctoral education specialists deliver expert support for ED7016.
Get Help With ED7016
Technology plans, integration evaluations, PD designs, operational technology analyses, SAMR assessments.
Place Your OrderView All ServicesRelated courses
Frequently asked questions
The SAMR model, developed by Ruben Puentedura, is a four-level framework that describes the depth of technology integration in instruction, and ED7016 uses it as a practical tool for principals to evaluate and improve technology use in their schools. The four levels are: Substitution (technology acts as a direct substitute for a traditional tool with no functional change — students type an essay on a computer instead of writing it by hand), Augmentation (technology acts as a substitute with functional improvement — students use a word processor's spell-check, formatting, and revision tracking features), Modification (technology enables significant task redesign — students collaboratively write and edit a document in real time using Google Docs, receiving peer feedback and revising simultaneously), and Redefinition (technology enables the creation of new tasks that were previously inconceivable — students collaborate with students in another country to co-author a comparative study, publishing their findings on a public blog and receiving feedback from an authentic global audience). For principals, the SAMR model serves as a diagnostic tool during classroom observations: when walking through classrooms, a principal can assess whether technology is being used at the substitution level (common but limited impact) or at modification/redefinition levels (less common but higher impact on learning). It also serves as a goal-setting framework for professional development: rather than training teachers to use a specific tool, effective technology PD helps teachers move their practice up the SAMR levels, using technology to transform what students can learn and how they can demonstrate learning. However, ED7016 also develops a critical perspective on SAMR — recognizing that not every lesson needs to be at the redefinition level, that substitution is appropriate when the existing task is effective and technology simply makes it more efficient, and that the quality of the learning task matters more than where it falls on the SAMR scale.