State taps expertise of EdTech professor

The state of Idaho has again called on the EdTech Department for expertise and leadership.

Idaho Governor Butch Otter has asked former EdTech chair Lisa Dawley to serve on the Idaho Education Network’s Strategic Planning Committee.

The state has already spent millions of dollars on IEN infrastructure, which eventually expects to connect every school in Idaho with high-speed broadband services and increase instructional opportunities at even the smallest and most remote communities.

Dawley hopes to create a holistic plan that brings together a variety of stakeholders interested in “improving learning outcomes and re-engaging students, teachers, parents and the larger community in our educational evolution.”

This is the second major initiative in which the state of Idaho has called on Boise State’s EdTech Department for expertise and leadership. In 2010, department chair Kerry Rice completed two years of work on standards and an endorsement for K-12 online teachers in the state. The Idaho Legislature approved the endorsement and supporting standards last spring.

Dawley and other IEN committee members are expected to craft one-, three-, five- and seven-year plans to drive growth in educational opportunities and innovation through IEN.