Running head: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP COMPREHENSIVE EXAM 1
Educational Technology Leadership Comprehensive Exam
Thomas F. Holly
Lamar University
Introduction
The purpose of a comprehensive exam is to demonstrate mastery of a body of material. Since the Fall of 2010, I have been on a quest to obtain a formal education in educational leadership, with a focus on technology. I hope in the pages that follow, I am able to demonstrate and express some of the knowledge that I have gained and intend to apply to improving technology in my school district’s classrooms. I would like to acknowledge with appreciation the assistance of Dawn Kirkland, our instructional associate, in helping to improve this document, and format it according to the American Psychological Association guidelines (Association, 2010).
Position Goals
I am currently a school administrator with the title of Executive Director of Technology. I arrived in this position by a possibly unconventional route, having had a strong technology background but no teaching or classroom experience, and seized an opportunity. Being in my fifth year at a school district in this position, I do not have any other particular goal for a future position, but would like to continue improving my effectiveness in my current one. I have no interest in being a principal or other type of administrator. A possible promotion in my future may be to assistant superintendent, if the organization were structured as to make it possible.
Leadership Goals
As a school leader, I would like to use my particular skillset and passion for integrating technology, when helping to develop policies, purchasing hardware and infrastructure, and providing, facilitating, and promoting appropriate professional development. This systematic pattern of inquiry will lead to my own professional growth in my field (Dana, 2009, p.9).
My motivation for this, is that it is clear to me that technology, properly utilized and implemented can help in every area of education, for our teachers to be more effective. Regardless of whether or not we meet accountability standards in certain areas, we owe it to our students to provide the very best, research-based, and state of the art tools in the classroom. Many students expect the technology-rich environment which is part of their every-day lives when they come into the classroom (Richtel, 2011).
I am further motivated toward contributing to this goal, since I am personally committed to the lofty goal of “educating the future”, as stated by our school board. I think it is important for every administrator and decision-maker in the district to be committed to this goal, in whatever capacity possible. I feel like what I do has a substantial impact on the educational process, since it directly impacts the teaching and learning process in the classroom, and we as administrators, should particularly focus on classroom technology tools which will encourage the cooperative learning skills so necessary in today’s workplace (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p.139). Since the integration of technology is still a foreign concept to many teachers, there is a real need to assist them with designing and planning, as outlined in ISTE’s TF/TL standards (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 34).
In moving forward in my ability to contribute to the educational process, I believe the accomplishment of acquiring the educational technology leadership degree, and the comprehensive knowledge acquired thereby, allow me to be a better district administrator and lead school improvement. I now see more of the “big picture” regarding what goes on at all levels in the district, from the coursework, action research project, and field experiences.
Vision for Educational Technology
It is my belief that the massive appeal of computer games to all ages, especially to the current generation of school-aged children, who are digital natives, can be utilized to be a major tool in teaching and learning.
It is important to embed educational material into appealing and engaging game-play, so that the experience does not appear to be like hard work, but knowledge is naturally transferred. The truth is, as the 2010 Horizon K-12 Report describes (Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., 2010) that an engaging game may require its participants to put forward an enormous effort and time to master, but the player will do it, because the story line, the problem-solving, and the social and collaborative experiences make it rewarding.
The most likely games to transform education are those that are long-term, and open-ended, possibly with multiple players. Johnson et al. found the skills learned in this type of online computer game, such as doing “research, writing, collaboration, problem-solving, public leadership, digital literacy, and media-making” are beneficial for a lifetime, in addition to teaching any embedded curriculum content. The students are motivated to work hard, because they see the immediate benefits of succeeding in the game, whereas with traditional teaching methods, they may not understand the application or point to acquiring the knowledge.
This is why I believe that clever integration of curriculum into games or other engaging classroom activities utilizing technology tools are going to be mainstream in education in the very near future. Many teachers are pushing forward on their own, to incorporate interactive technologies in their lessons, through grants (McCrea, 2010).
Self-Learning
During my internship, I realized what I had known all along, which is that I have a strong technical background in technology hardware and software, but limited knowledge of the needs and experiences of teachers in the classroom, regarding technology.
My previous degree was in computer science, and I had worked several years in tech support before becoming an IT director, so I knew what average computer users face, but not specifically what the challenges are in the classroom environment. This lack of classroom and educational experience was what prompted me to pursue the Educational Technology Leadership degree, so I may have a formal background, and experience to help me support campuses better.
As I gained more experience since I began my current position 4 ½ years ago, I realized that technology leadership is only partly about having the right technical background. In order to succeed, one should be very empathic, as well as a good listener and communicator. One needs to be a model of a lifelong learner, a process which never stops, and an agent of continual change in the transformation of the classroom, facilitating whatever the next goal is, to provide a technology-rich learning environment ("Creating digital learning," 2007).
What’s more, the technology goals should be decided with a good deal of communication among stakeholders, so that everyone has some part in the final result. This “buy-in” will not only boost morale, but ultimately determine whether the implementation is successful. My attitudes have changed and matured regarding these factors in the last several years.
Beneficial Courses
The courses that were most helpful to me among my Educational Technology Leadership degree courses, were both those that most directly help support my day-to-day work as a school administrator, and those which give me background knowledge, where my own experience is lacking.
In my job, I am called to do many things, such as contribute to a campus improvement plan, or to solicit feedback and update the district’s technology plan. To help me with strategies to do this effectively, I found the readings and assignments in EDLD 5326, School Community Relations, very helpful. The scenarios and exercises that were played out were very familiar, real-world situations that I could identify with, to communicate effectively with stakeholders in education, throughout the community.
Since I supervise, directly or indirectly almost thirty employees, I am always eager to learn about personnel management techniques and how to be the most effective supervisor, to maintain a strong team. EDLD 5345, Human Resource Management, was helpful to me, especially regarding how to appraise and discipline employees appropriately.
There is some overlap of Human Resources with the area of School Law, and an administrator should be cognizant of the law when dealing with personnel. I found EDLD 5344 gave me many insights regarding handling situations appropriately, especially as a principal, avoiding lawsuits, and maintaining discipline, while still protecting constitutional rights on campus.
EDLD 5333, Leadership for Accountability, gave me a glimpse into something that I knew little about, though related topics constantly come up in meetings of administrators, since we live under a state accountability system, which is a constant challenge. Because all campuses are “under the gun” regarding accountability, and my department supports the campuses, it is important for me to understand what the principals and teachers are dealing with. This primer in accountability made me better able to do my job.
EDLD 5362, Informational Systems Management, and EDLD 5364, Teaching with Technology, were two courses that complemented each other well, and were very illustrative to me. Because my background is in technology, but not in classroom technology specifically, I was intrigued by the proper use of student response systems, for example, in daily classroom practice, to gather data for continuous assessments, both formative and for accountability ("Assessment: measure what matters", 2010). There are so many classroom technology tools available to teachers today, once the classroom is opened up to the world through the internet, that it is a worthwhile challenge to encourage the every-day utilization and integration of technology tools into the curriculum. Teachers who need encouragement should be trained to become technology proficient, and certain things (such as doing online lesson plans) should be mandatory. Students only need to be unleashed and given access to the classroom technology.
Degree Program Reflections
As an overall program, the educational technology leadership degree has proven very beneficial to me, both personally and professionally. What I hoped to achieve was accomplished: namely that I would mature as a more able technology leader in my career.
I learned not only facts and figures, and technical knowledge regarding what is possible with technology in the classroom, but learned a great deal about myself, including my strengths and weaknesses. I realized that planning and implementing technology is a large responsibility and a great challenge. This challenge and responsibility is one I am glad to bear, realizing that the work will never be completed, or perfectly achieved.
Practically speaking, there were some challenges in completing a degree which is entirely an online experience. Learning without attending real lectures, and having face-to-face interactions, is definitely a different experience. The difficulty for me was partially achieving the discipline necessary to stay on track and not fall behind, especially when there were other competing priorities in my life. Generally, I felt that through the patience of the professors and instructors, most of the students who felt occasionally overwhelmed, could be ultimately successful.
In the end, I believe this degree program proved worthwhile by encouraging me to be continuously learning, working on and improving the technology status of our school district. This is something I have re-committed to after learning a great deal from my colleagues and professors at Lamar, that I should strive to be the best possible technology leader, not merely “good enough.”
Professional Development Plans
As part of my commitment to applying my newly-acquired knowledge to bettering myself and technology in the district, I plan to put myself on a professional development plan, with specific goals, year-by-year, for the next three years. Though the goals are personal, since to be successful, I must be ever-more personally skillful in my presentations and planning of technology in the district, they are also practical, so that I may successfully achieve our district’s long-term technology goals.
My professional development goals focus on my relationships with administrators and campus-personnel throughout the district. I know that to achieve our district goals in technology, everyone must support and understand them through collaborative decision making (Martin, Wright, Danzig, Flanary & Brown, 2005) so my goal in the first year will be to meet with every principal, one-on-one, to hear their views regarding the future of technology in the classroom. This feedback will be funneled into an updated draft of the district’s long-term technology plan, and the meetings will have the effect of enhancing dialog between campus and technology staff.
In the second year, I will focus on regular meetings with both principals and central office administrators, acting as an intermediary to encourage dialog to help determine ongoing budgetary needs to campuses. Having experience both as an administrator and background understanding classroom needs will allow me to bridge the gap between these groups.
In the third year of my professional development plans, I hope to take the message of maximizing utilization and access to district-provided technology to the community. Working with the superintendent, our communications department and PTA, I hope to interact with parents and community members, to make them aware of our resources, and receive their contributions to our technology plans.
References:
Association, A. P. (2010). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (7 ed.). Washington DC: American Psychological Assn.
Creating digital learning environments. (2007). Retrieved from http://government.hp.com/docs/HP_lores_060407.pdf
Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge, the principal as action researcher. Corwin Press.
Assessment: measure what matters. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010/assessment-measure-what-matters
Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A., and Haywood, K., (2010). 2010 Horizon Report: K-12
Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium
Martin, G., Wright, W., Danzig, A., Flanary, R., & Brown, F. (2005). School leader internship. (2nd ed.). Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
McCrea, B. (2010). Embracing classroom technology. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2010/06/17/Embracing-Classroom-Technology.aspx?Page=1
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Richtel, M. (2011, September 03). In classroom of future stagnant scores. . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?pagewanted=all