When I learned the title of this course, Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link – I envisioned gaining valuable and practicable tools for finding creative ways to reach more students. I also assumed I would learn about the role and responsibilities of administrators both on a campus and district level dealing with the selection and implementation of technological advances. As a teacher, I would be more concerned with every day, actual uses of the technology to strengthen my instruction. But from an administrative point of view, there are more aspects to consider. A number of concerns arise such as finances, connective infrastructure, hardware and software needed and the training of everyone using these new technological advances.
I was able to learn about and examine some of the areas of concern that I mentioned above. There are different roles and responsibilities that must be executed in order to assure that the improvements and additions through technology will be efficient and effective. There should be a set of checks and balances in place in order to fulfill each of those roles. Some of the strategies mentioned in the course I had heard of before and even tried to use a couple in my class. There are some ideas that are new to me which seem very valuable to the learning experiences of students. Some of the articles made the integration of these strategies seem more possible.
I think many of the ideas that I gained from this course are very relevant still. However, as the point of the articles and lectures stated, one drawback to technology is that once we seemed to have master a particular aspect, new advances are made which require continual learning on our part. Hopefully, we stay excited because with each new advancement made we develop better ways to perform the same tasks.
I would have like there to be more actual examples of technology used throughout the course. However, one thing that has become very apparent through this course the amount of time and planning needed to incorporate a large unit or project using features of technology. The actual use of the technology is works with relative ease. The more curious a person is the more able they are typically to navigate through a website and its functions so that they can engage the technology and put it to use. While we didn’t get to use the entire bundle of new “toys and gadgets” we did learn of sites and ways to practice on our own. I had never pasted a power point presentation to a blog entry before and learned a way to do that. I would have liked more applications like that to have been included but as I stated, we were able to take some baby steps in discovering many of the benefits that are available through technological advancements.
By and large I was able to manage and complete our assignments for this course. There were a couple of assignments that required some good ole fashioned trial and error in order to come up with the most effective way of solving an issue. Through a process like trial and error you find out how committed you are to a task or situation. At times, technology is frustrating because it might not do what you are trying to do. Or often, you must use a different language from one computer or program to the next. But we must keep in mind that one we understand how to use the technology, previous tasks will be easier to complete and make the frustrations worth the time and effort.
Now that the course is just about over, I was able to understand how students are changing and what that will require of educators. What is difficult to see is how I have changed from being a teenager to now in my thirties. Some of the good ole day syndrome sets in as I move into the next generation. As new technology is introduced, we cheer at the aspects we can use and appreciate. At the same time, we scoff at those advances that we either don’t understand or don’t want to take the time to incorporate into our every day teaching and leading within a school. At different points in time we were or still are excited about learning. For some of our students, they may not reach that point without the use of technology. As a leader I need to understand that there will be negatives along with the benefits from technology. We must be the ones to continue pointing towards those positive and not dwell on any negative outcomes or attitudes resulting from the integration of technology. We may as well take something that many of our students already use and incorporate our curriculum into their interests.
A somewhat recent resource available to education is the effective use of blogs. Blogs can be used by anyone however in an educational setting, blogs can be highly effective as a means to allow a large group to follow, participate and create during the learning process. A blog allows 24/7 access to learn, share and innovate for multiple users virtually anywhere in the world with internet access. This can allow classrooms hundreds or thousands of miles away to share with and learn from each other. Theoretically, classrooms can have no boundaries with a little imagination and creativity. Blogs can also allow students with less confidence to participate without having to express their thoughts in a time-hurried manner and away from the spotlight of others in a classroom.
Blogs have many positives but do possess some negatives that must be accounted for by educators. Privacy must still be kept from those without intended access to the blog. Also, blog entries they must been censored and monitored to try and ensure safety and proper ethics when using the technology. One other concern I would have is that students might begin to take any information they picked up from a blog as the truth. Since just about anyone can access a blog there is an unlimited number of possibilities for whom and what might be contributed to a blog and its entries.
I believe a blog could be used both on the district website and on campus websites in order to communicate with the entire educational community. Just about anything could be discussed ranging from daily updates and upcoming events to long-term goals and plans for the district/campus. That particular type of blog wouldn’t’ necessarily be one where others could respond but it would allow an administrator to provide a large amount of information in whatever interval of time needed to each group of stakeholders in the educational community. Also, through blog updates, information can be accessed regardless of the day or time. Important reminders and notices could be provided (school closings, announcements, recommendations, etc) could be obtained by parents, students and community members no matter when or where the individual is at the time. So, even over a weekend or holiday break the school can still communicate with its “customers”.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Action Plan
Assistant Superintendant of Instructional Services and Assistant of Administrative Services - Approves software/programs within budget and or necessity
Administrative Officer of Technology Information – Researches and selects district approved software/programs and presents to Asst. Superintendant of instructional services for approval Coordinator of Informational Technology – Installs/controls/monitors software/programs; contact C-Techs on any new updates with software/programs
Elementary Facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on an elementary level.
Middle school facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on a middle school level.
High school facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on a high school level.
Individual school principals – Model the use of technology and stress the importance of its integration into everyday classroom instruction.
Classroom teachers on each level of the educational community – receive training on the various advancements in technology which can be used to enhance the learning of students. Teachers will use their subject-specific expertise and creativity to provide meaningful, in-depth instruction using the benefits of electronic and digital technology to strengthen our day-today instruction.
Professional Development is necessary to implement the greater volume and effectiveness of technological instruction.
1) Teachers will receive 3 at least hours of training each semester with regard to new methods of providing information to our 21st century learners through the use of technology.
2) Current classroom walk-through (CWT) data will be collected and shared with faculty in order to illustrate the current methods being used in the classroom and areas for increased use of technology.
3) Teachers will be trained on tools and skills available to enrich curriculum instruction. The goal would be to bring the staff development to the teachers (via technology) to make better use of time and the resources that are currently available to them.
4) Once teachers are accustomed to using the advanced technology, programs can be offered to allow student to not only have instruction through technology during regular school hours, but they can also learn through online means away from school and outside of the normal school hours. This can be a main focus of having students “catch up” if they have gotten behind on credits for a variety of reasons.
5) Teachers will be taught how to assess data from AEIS reports and the STaR chart reports to steer instructional efforts towards current deficiencies.
6) Inner-campus communication will be done more by a digital means so that continual practice with using technology can be obtained. Teacher surveys and data collection can be performed through digital means (google docs, blogs, power point presentations, etc.) to encourage a culture of electronic proficiency or even excellence.
7) Implementing pilot programs which focus on technology replacing older forms of texts to test the effectiveness and level of application of new 21st century resources.
Evaluation of technology strategies and implementation will occur on a continual basis. There are many areas that can be used to measure the impact and efficiency of our time and resources regarding digital aspects of instruction.
1) The AEIS report will allow analysis of current scores and trends among the whole school population as well as individual smaller populations within the school and district. This data will provide a means to determine which groups are benefitting most from increased emphasis on instruction through technology. Perhaps core curriculum classes could be structured to encompass individuals from these groups (ethnic, socioeconomic, at-risk, or any other group) to obtain a larger benefit from integrating technology.
2) The STaR chart can be an invaluable tool to continually access how relevant, effective and accessible the technology on the campus and within the district is to the achievement of students. This along with information in the AEIS report can further guide the use of resources both fiscally and among personnel.
3) Currently within the CIP, there is an emphasis on both of these aspects (AEIS and STaR). There is a major focus on making data-driven decisions which use both of these reports. I think a major key will be the use of not only data from standardized evaluations but also from anecdotal indicators and the classroom experiences of teachers.
4) Another aspect of evaluating the benefits of technology is to determine the actual number and percentage of students that are being positively impacted. This should be the most important factor when determining the direction of instruction within the school and district. Since we are given taxpayer dollars, we must find ways to be the most effective at communicating information and learning processes while being fiscally responsible.
Administrative Officer of Technology Information – Researches and selects district approved software/programs and presents to Asst. Superintendant of instructional services for approval Coordinator of Informational Technology – Installs/controls/monitors software/programs; contact C-Techs on any new updates with software/programs
Elementary Facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on an elementary level.
Middle school facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on a middle school level.
High school facilitator – provide training and experimentation on software and programs believed to be beneficial to classroom teachers on a high school level.
Individual school principals – Model the use of technology and stress the importance of its integration into everyday classroom instruction.
Classroom teachers on each level of the educational community – receive training on the various advancements in technology which can be used to enhance the learning of students. Teachers will use their subject-specific expertise and creativity to provide meaningful, in-depth instruction using the benefits of electronic and digital technology to strengthen our day-today instruction.
Professional Development is necessary to implement the greater volume and effectiveness of technological instruction.
1) Teachers will receive 3 at least hours of training each semester with regard to new methods of providing information to our 21st century learners through the use of technology.
2) Current classroom walk-through (CWT) data will be collected and shared with faculty in order to illustrate the current methods being used in the classroom and areas for increased use of technology.
3) Teachers will be trained on tools and skills available to enrich curriculum instruction. The goal would be to bring the staff development to the teachers (via technology) to make better use of time and the resources that are currently available to them.
4) Once teachers are accustomed to using the advanced technology, programs can be offered to allow student to not only have instruction through technology during regular school hours, but they can also learn through online means away from school and outside of the normal school hours. This can be a main focus of having students “catch up” if they have gotten behind on credits for a variety of reasons.
5) Teachers will be taught how to assess data from AEIS reports and the STaR chart reports to steer instructional efforts towards current deficiencies.
6) Inner-campus communication will be done more by a digital means so that continual practice with using technology can be obtained. Teacher surveys and data collection can be performed through digital means (google docs, blogs, power point presentations, etc.) to encourage a culture of electronic proficiency or even excellence.
7) Implementing pilot programs which focus on technology replacing older forms of texts to test the effectiveness and level of application of new 21st century resources.
Evaluation of technology strategies and implementation will occur on a continual basis. There are many areas that can be used to measure the impact and efficiency of our time and resources regarding digital aspects of instruction.
1) The AEIS report will allow analysis of current scores and trends among the whole school population as well as individual smaller populations within the school and district. This data will provide a means to determine which groups are benefitting most from increased emphasis on instruction through technology. Perhaps core curriculum classes could be structured to encompass individuals from these groups (ethnic, socioeconomic, at-risk, or any other group) to obtain a larger benefit from integrating technology.
2) The STaR chart can be an invaluable tool to continually access how relevant, effective and accessible the technology on the campus and within the district is to the achievement of students. This along with information in the AEIS report can further guide the use of resources both fiscally and among personnel.
3) Currently within the CIP, there is an emphasis on both of these aspects (AEIS and STaR). There is a major focus on making data-driven decisions which use both of these reports. I think a major key will be the use of not only data from standardized evaluations but also from anecdotal indicators and the classroom experiences of teachers.
4) Another aspect of evaluating the benefits of technology is to determine the actual number and percentage of students that are being positively impacted. This should be the most important factor when determining the direction of instruction within the school and district. Since we are given taxpayer dollars, we must find ways to be the most effective at communicating information and learning processes while being fiscally responsible.
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