Instructional Leadership Technology: A Personal Reflection of a Challenging Graduate Course

     When I began this course, I envisioned learning new technology applications to help manage daily school business and data. My view of these applications was very limited and now I understand that choices vary by district and one graduate class cannot teach you how to use a few specific programs. There are many choices and technology, especially software, changes quickly. Instead, I learned about popular trends in technology in the real world and ways to apply these trends to our daily school activities. For example, Richardson (2006) offered great ideas for using podcasts in the classroom. Warlick (2007) shared ways to use Wikis “for community collaboration” and “to democratize Web participation” (p. 36). Warlick also noted that Wikis offer easy access for group members to continually update documents (p. 38). Another powerful tool presented by Richardson (2004) is the Weblog and RSS. We learned that syndicated blogs could be used “to communicate with students, parents, newspapers, etc.” (p. 12). Richardson also had simple suggestions for using blogs with students in the classroom. He encouraged us to jump in and try it, which is good advice for any new technology that comes along.


     While the outcomes of this course did not match my expectations, I’d say that what I learned is even more relevant than what I’d envisioned. The professors took real-world technology trends and helped us envision these trends in the classroom. From the article Turning on the Lights (Prensky, 2008), I gained a new perspective by looking at a student’s point of view. Students are surrounded by computers, cell phones, and video games at home but when they come to school, these are prohibited. Prensky recommended talking with students and ask for their input regarding technology use in schools. Students’ ideas can help us create assignments that integrate technology, provide more active participation, and include core curriculum content.

     Through this course, my comfort level regarding technology integration has increased tremendously. One area that is still abstract for me is converting various files. In the process of posting the Power Point presentation to my blog, I experienced some frustration trying to upload and convert the document. Even with step-by-step instructions within the assignment, there was some sort of glitch with authorSTREAM that would not allow me to successfully upload the document. After some time, I switched to slideshare and had no problem. During week four, I tried to repeat the process with my action plan. I was not able to upload and convert the Word document that contained SmartArt, so I copied and pasted it in parts to create a Power Point presentation. Then I was able to successfully upload and convert the Power Point document and post to my blog. This was time-consuming, frustrating, and a direct result of my inexperience with the process.

     Other than the conversion process noted above, I feel that I was able to successfully complete all assignments. The most discouraging part of this course was the inconsistency in directions. The rubrics were not always clear and did not necessarily align with the directions given on the syllabus, courseware, or emails from our coach. The discussion board caused frustration having to weed through hundreds of quotes and comments in order to find those from my group. At times I felt that I was searching for a needle in a haystack and I wasted a lot of time. The wasted time could have been prevented by having a separate discussion board for each group.

     I learned from this course that having perseverance, focusing on a goal, and constantly monitoring and adjusting my attitude will help me learn new things and overcome obstacles. Technology is not a separate skill to learn but a choice that I can make to increase my effectiveness. As a teacher and a leader, I can model the use of technology in the classroom and within our learning community. Burns (2002) wrote, “the use of technology was the prime catalyst for teachers’ reimagining themselves as co-learners with colleagues and students” (p. 302). Technology helps teachers make the changes necessary to create a learner-centered classroom. The article that best helped me revise preconceived notions of technology use in the classroom was Using Flexible Technology to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners. (Duffield & Wahl, 2005) suggested using simple tools such as “talking text, Web resources, graphic organizers, and features of the word processor” (p. 3). All of these tools are simple to use and most teachers are already comfortable using them. Duffield & Wahl also showed how to integrate technology with research-based strategies such as identifying similarities and differences, summarizing and notetaking, cooperative learning, and nonlinguistic presentations.

     Our 21st century learners are already comfortable with blogs and online discussion groups. Blogs bring substantial value to education. Richardson (2006) pointed out that blogs provide an opportunity for students to “create meaningful content for audiences wider than just a teacher and a small group of peers. In the process, they learn to negotiate meaning and knowledge in real and relevant ways, preparing them for the connected world they will find once they graduate” (p. 48). This quote alone was enough to convince me to jump in and create a blog on my teacher website. It’s been slow to begin, but I’m hopeful that students and parents will embrace it and the blog will become a prominent part of my reading classes.

     One reason my blog has been slow to catch on is parent concern. Parents are cautious for good reasons and are hesitant to allow their children to participate in online activities. It’s up to teachers and administrators to communicate to parents the benefits of technology use and outline the safety precautions that the district provides. It’s also important to direct attention to the National Technology Standards. Parents, teachers, and administrators need to know the standards and help students become proficient in each and every one. Joseph (2007) directed our attention to Standard 2 of the National Technology Standards. Standard 2 relates to Social, Ethical, and Human Issues. Using technology requires more than knowledge and skills. Students also need to “learn about conducting themselves responsibly while online” (Adelman, 2004, p. 20). I like Adelman’s word “netiquette” for network etiquette. Just as they are taught to treat classmates with respect in the classroom, they need to respect themselves and others online. As Richardson (2005) pointed out, “we can keep our students protected with thoughtful teaching and clear policy” (p. 48).

     Blogs can be used to communicate with school stakeholders. Positive and frequent communication helps build trust and a strong sense of community. Blogs can be used to invite stakeholders’ input. Blogs can be used to publish accomplishments and photos. The best thing about blogs is that they provide the most up-to-date information. Richardson (2004) noted, “parents could ‘subscribe’ to different feeds that are relevant to their children” (p. 12). He also mentioned that school committees could keep notes and links on a blog so an administrator could easily keep up with each group. The only thing that limits our use of blogs for communication is our choice not to use them at all. In education, we need to press the fast-forward button and catch up to our students and the real world.

References

Burns, M. (2002). From compliance to commitment: Technology as a catalyst for communities of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 84(4), 295-303.

Duffield, J., & Wahl, L., (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners: What teachers can do. http://www.wested.org/cs/we/view/rs/763.

Richardson, W. (2005). Blog revolution: Expanding classroom horizons with web logs Technology & Learning, 26(3).

Richardson, W. (2006). Making waves: With podcasting, anyone (yes, anyone) can create their own radio show. School Library Journal, 52(10), 54-56.

Warlick, D. (2007). The executive wiki. Technology & Learning, 27(11), 36-38.

Richardson, W. (2004). Blogging and RSS – The what’s it? And how to of powerful new web tools for educators. MultiMedia & Internet @ Schools, 11(1), 10-13.

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.

Joseph, L. C. (2007). Keeping safe in cyberspace. Multimedia & Internet@ Schools, 14(1), 17-20.

Adelman, H. (2004). Teaching online safety. Voices From the Middle, 11(3), 17-22.

Technology Integration Action Plan Pp

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Technology Integration Action Plan Pp

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Texas STaR Chart Presentation

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Texas STaR Chart

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Texas STaR Chart

The Texas STaR Chart mirrors The Long-Range Plan for Technology. Four key areas provide a framework for students, educators, leaders, and infrastructure to help us measure how well we’re progressing with our technology goals.

I believe that all four areas are essential to improving student learning, but today I’d like to explore just one area, Teaching and Learning. The key area of Teaching and Learning is directly related to how students use technology in the classroom. Research, problem-solving, and communication are the skills to promote. All students need access to tools and resources for individualized learning. Traditional teaching methods need to be replaced with learner-centered, authentic experiences where students collaborate and analyze data to solve real-world problems. Web-based lessons align and integrate technology TEKS into content area TEKS.

A teacher can make a big impact on student motivation and achievement by integrating technology into content-area lessons. With most teachers already using the web, email, and word processing for personal use, it wouldn’t be a huge stretch to apply it to lessons. The best way to improve this area is to provide teachers with sample lessons and model implementation. By examining how they use technology in their lives, teachers will begin to envision some real-world projects for their students to experience.

Technology Application TEKS

Preschool students are expected to open and use software programs, use input devices such as a mouse, keyboard, and CD-ROM, and operate recorders and touch screens. They can use software applications to express their own ideas, and they understand that technology offers them access to information from others.

The Pre-K TEKS are the very beginning of a dynamic, spiraling technology curriculum. The Pre-K TEKS lay the foundation for successful technology performance in the future by providing experiences where students become comfortable with basic technology equipment and terminology. Their early technology application experience builds their confidence so that they are ready to tackle more complex projects as they move through each grade level. A spiraling curriculum builds on basic skills by touching on what the student knows and adding to it. For example, Pre-K students learn how to use the keyboard to create a simple word-processing document. In third grade, students expand on this by changing fonts and inserting charts. In middle school, their document becomes more sophisticated by learning how to use page set-up and publishing multi-column newsletters. In high school, they take it even further by publishing it on the internet. A spiraling curriculum is very different from a traditional curriculum. Traditionally, we master a set of objectives and move on to the next that are usually disconnected from the previous knowledge. A spiraling curriculum keeps elaborating on what we already know. Our foundation skills provide a springboard to the next level, but we continue to use these basic skills within the context of more sophisticated application.

Long-Range Technology Plan

The Long-Range Plan for Technology offers Texas schools a vision and plan to provide leaders, teachers, and students technology application proficiency and instructional integration. From 2006 to 2020, the plan will be refined and updated based on actual progress and new technology as it becomes available.

The first domain applies to students. Research, problem-solving, and communication are the skills to promote. All students need access to tools and resources for individualized learning. Traditional teaching methods need to be replaced with learner-centered, authentic experiences. No Child Left Behind requires all students to achieve technology literacy by eighth grade. In order to accomplish this, technology will need to be aligned and integrated into core content areas.

The second domain applies to educators. New educators will enter the profession with proficiency in current technology applications. Ongoing professional development will ensure all teachers become and remain proficient. Offering online learning will provide abundant opportunities and make professional development more convenient. Interactive learning communities will provide support and structure to help teachers integrate technology into instruction.

The third domain applies to leaders. Leaders need to model professional use of technology. Offering staff development, including distance education, will help teachers increase their understanding and use of technology for daily tasks and instruction. Leaders, with the help of a technology committee, need to implement and update campus goals through collaborative planning and budgeting. District leaders need to look for ways to expand classes, including online and distance learning, for students.

The fourth domain applies to an infrastructure system. Essential to achieving this vision is the strong framework to provide support. The planned infrastructure makes sure that the district has reliable funding, data software, high-speed connectivity, easy and constant access, and instant technical assistance. The students and teachers in Texas need state-wide, equitable access that connects homes to schools to businesses to libraries which will create a collaborative learning community for all.

As an instructional leader, it’s important to understand and implement this long-range plan. With district support and a collaborative technology committee, a principal can lead the campus to improved technology use and lesson integration. Technology goals can be integrated with objectives in the Campus Improvement Plan.

What do I know about instructional technology?

Not enough. During the first week of this graduate course, we were assigned two assessments.

The Technology Applications Inventory sorts technology knowledge and skills into four categories: foundations, information acquisition, solving problems, and communication.

Foundations skills include basic knowledge related to operating systems, hardware, software, and files. Of the 18 foundation skills assessed, I was able to dust off enough cobwebs and reach back about ten years to find a connection to all but one. I can’t say that I use all of the vocabulary presented on a daily basis and probably can’t give you a perfect definition of each, but I can give you an example of how I currently use the concept at home or at school. I don’t have any experience using cross platform files.

For the information acquisition category, I scored knowledgably on seven out of ten skills. I am a research fanatic and completely obsessed with data. However, I’ve never heard of Boolean search strategies, vector or bitmapped graphic files, and I’m just not sure if I’ve ever used a variety of text files. Maybe I’ll find out that I have and I just don’t know it!

Most of the skills involved in the category of solving problems with technology tools are related to software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, databases, multi-media projects, and telecommunications. Scoring 12 of 18, I feel my knowledge is comparable to my teenagers. Have I ever used interactive virtual environments? Not sure. The other items I checked as unknown were related to integrating core subjects with technology. Because I teach only reading, my technology use is limited to one subject.

The last category, communication, refers to projects used in group presentations, newsletters, and management tools. Scoring ten of twelve, I feel competent in most of these skills. I’ve created newsletters, brochures, charts, graphs, and multimedia presentations. I’ve never used a database manager or project manager tools.

The State Educational Technology Directors Association Teacher Survey, at 26 pages, was unreasonably long and mostly irrelevant to my position. I’m not going to add up how many times I checked don’t know or not applicable. Maybe by the end of this graduate course I’ll understand their questions.