Reflections on Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link

“The very nature of information has changed in the past decade. It has become increasingly digital, networked, and overwhelming” (Warlick, 2007, p.20). This is a quote out of our first set of readings in week 1. The last part of that quote, “overwhelming,” really relates to the thoughts going through my mind when I started this class. I would not call my self a total “Digital Immigrant” but I am definitely not a “Digital Native.” One of the outcomes I was hoping for with this class was for my eyes to be opened to what new technologies education has to offer and exactly how I can promote the implementation of them as a school administrator. I feel like from the readings I obtained some invaluable information that has rejuvenated my excitement about technology and what it has to offer.
Learning to use a blog has been very rewarding. I have never participated in a blog and I think that learning how to download the slideshow was a neat experience. I believe that all stakeholders in education could benefit from blogging. From the teacher keeping an on-going review to parents and students from students posting their reflections on class from each day. Communication between all stakeholders will greatly increase when we start implementing such technology. I also think blogging empowers 21st century learners to take some control of their own learning, it is a great process for them to deliver feedback. If each student had their own laptop they could use a blog as a journal. This way other students could see their interpretation of the days lesson. Another way to communicate using blogs would be to set up a page for departments. A place to vent, plan events, and even collaborate on concepts and planning. I am still concerned with some of the details with blogging among staff like how often each staff member should check it. In the past we have reverted to email as our main source of communication. Blogging is not the waive of the future anymore, it’s todays line of communication and as educators we must start participating in it.
Moreover, even though blogging is a great educational tool, it also comes with a few concerns for educators. Cyberbullying is a reality in today’s society. “58% of students have not told their parents or an adult abou something mean or hurtful that happened to them online” (Hitchcock, 2007, p.13). This number is unsettling for me. It makes me want to hover over my children and their comuter as they get older. This is why it is so important that technology leaders have proper procedures and guidelines in place. This includes a board-approved Acceptable Use Policy that is current and up-to-date with today’s technology. Students and parents almost must be taught about internet-safety and cyberbullying. One idea this course has brought to my mind is that we need to find ways to implement the student’s new technologies into the classroom, including the I-Phone and I-Pods.
This course has given me more confidence with technology. I feel I can be a successful technology leader and half the battle of getting there is to just overcome the fear of learning something new. I have learned that if you want to be a school leader you have to lead by using technology yourself. Teachers will only follow a leader that has had hands-on experience with the technology. You can’t simply ask them to do something you are not willing to do yourself. Another outcome that I would have like to achieve but didn’t was using a Wiki. I have tried this in the past and I was not successful. This class didn’t really address Wikis. I would have loved to gain some experience with other technologies that are out there, not just blogging.
Furthermore, I was very pleased that I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. Luckily, the instructions and rubrics were very clear, except on the last plan. I was a little unsure of exactly how my plan was supposed to look, so I probably went overboard with information. The discussion board requirement was good because it forced me to fully read all of the articles, but it did grow tiresome. I felt like everytime I tried to get it done early, I found myself working on it the last couple of days. I feel like we didn’t exactly do it the way we were supposed to. I think the person that started the quotes should have gave the “Final Word” after the other student’s had the opportunity to respond. However, it would have been way too much to have to gone back and responded to eight more reading responses.
Lastly, I belive that any student that worked hard in this course would have to say that the outcomes and work completed in this course was definitely releveant to the work we do in our schools. As a technologly leader and an administrative intern, it is important that we embrace these new ideas in technology and began to move our campuses into the 21st century. I know I am facilitating two technology trainings in the spring and I plan on sharing some of the readings from this course with my teachers. This course has proven to me how valuable blogging is to the engagement of learning of our students in today’s society. Now it is up to me as a leader to help my school gain use of this great technology tool.

References

Warlick, D. (2007). Literacy in the new information landscape. Library Media Connection, 26 (120-21.

Hitchcock, J. A. (2007). Cyberbullies, online predators, and what to do about them. Multimedia & Internet @ Schools, 14930, 13-15.