Technology Leadership (ITEC 7410) is a course designed to prepare any ITEC major to be a technology leader for their school or district. This course requires many skills in communication, innovation and vision. The main assignments varied in skill. As I completed each new task, I felt that each assignment worked to improve the step before. The tasks provided a strong foundation in understanding where your school or district falls in technology integration and how to make an action plan that will increase the level of competency for your administrators, teachers and staff in the are of technology integration and digital citizens.
First, I completed a technology plan analysis. The basis of this assignment was to explore ways technology could be improved or modeled at the school level. The task required a deep look into the school growth plan to determine priorities for technology use and ultimately analysed the current state of technology use at my school. Next, thinking from a technology leaders perspective, I created a shared vision based on needs. Considerations such as rationale for the vision, diversity needs, stakeholders roles and technology best practices research based on module readings were used to backup the shared vision for my school. Then, I each used The ISTE Diagnostic tool to assess the current state with a questionnaire and performed a SWOT Analysis for my school. Each Essential Condition was assessed using the four components of a SWOT Analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The goal was to create recommendations. This was followed by a Action/Evaluation plan that would lead the technology changes and develop the shared vision of my school. Last, I developed a grant for headphones to make the technology integration easier for teachers. In Clarke County School District, grants are easily submitted using a basic template. This made this process very simple and effective.
Being a technology leader requires current knowledge about technology trends and knowing the framework to create a shared vision for a school or district based on the needs of students, teachers and families. It takes time and commitment to explore all the data and Essential Conditions to determine the next steps. It is also equally important to consider your staff and know what their threshold is because they can easily become overwhelmed with change. Sheninger (2014) concludes, “It's the small changes over time that will eventually leave a lasting impact. Schools and educators need to be empowered to make these changes as they see fit. These are the keys to learning with technology” (p. 70). In my experience, teachers need to be in control. As I completed each task, I was sure to think from a teacher's perspective and ensure success by including “technology talks” and informal ways to encourage collaboration and technology skill building among teams. There were many skills needed to effectively complete this course and build up my knowledge as a technology leader. I feel prepared to take on what lies ahead in my school district.
References:
Sheninger, E. C., & Zhao, Y. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks (CA): Corwin.
First, I completed a technology plan analysis. The basis of this assignment was to explore ways technology could be improved or modeled at the school level. The task required a deep look into the school growth plan to determine priorities for technology use and ultimately analysed the current state of technology use at my school. Next, thinking from a technology leaders perspective, I created a shared vision based on needs. Considerations such as rationale for the vision, diversity needs, stakeholders roles and technology best practices research based on module readings were used to backup the shared vision for my school. Then, I each used The ISTE Diagnostic tool to assess the current state with a questionnaire and performed a SWOT Analysis for my school. Each Essential Condition was assessed using the four components of a SWOT Analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The goal was to create recommendations. This was followed by a Action/Evaluation plan that would lead the technology changes and develop the shared vision of my school. Last, I developed a grant for headphones to make the technology integration easier for teachers. In Clarke County School District, grants are easily submitted using a basic template. This made this process very simple and effective.
Being a technology leader requires current knowledge about technology trends and knowing the framework to create a shared vision for a school or district based on the needs of students, teachers and families. It takes time and commitment to explore all the data and Essential Conditions to determine the next steps. It is also equally important to consider your staff and know what their threshold is because they can easily become overwhelmed with change. Sheninger (2014) concludes, “It's the small changes over time that will eventually leave a lasting impact. Schools and educators need to be empowered to make these changes as they see fit. These are the keys to learning with technology” (p. 70). In my experience, teachers need to be in control. As I completed each task, I was sure to think from a teacher's perspective and ensure success by including “technology talks” and informal ways to encourage collaboration and technology skill building among teams. There were many skills needed to effectively complete this course and build up my knowledge as a technology leader. I feel prepared to take on what lies ahead in my school district.
References:
Sheninger, E. C., & Zhao, Y. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks (CA): Corwin.