EDLD+5370+Internship+Week+3



Technology Leadership – Comprehensive Examination Alberto Guia Lamar University As I look back over the past 17 months or so I begin to wonder did I do the right thing? Did I make the right choice in regards to my degree in Educational Technology Leadership rather than Administration? This though is now even more relevant to me today since I was just released from my position on my campus as the school computer teacher and technology leader. Through all this looking and the recent bad news I think I did. I think our students need technology, more than ever, and the education system needs leaders who are trained in this field to help guide the student, the teachers, and the administration into the 21st Century, even though they don’t yet realize it themselves. ** Career and Leadership Goal ** To career, leadership and me goals, are a hard concept to wrap my head around. It may sound like a very simple concept, what do I want to do with my work and how do I want to help others along the way? But thinking ahead I have several things I want to do with my career in the education field as well as options and idea for outside of it. Within the education field my career and leadership goals are very simple, in fact I think too simple, I want to help students and teachers better understand technology and get them to realize that with technology everyone’s life’s will be easier and full of more opportunities. “The technologies that benefit young children the greatest are those that are interactive and allow the child to develop their curiosity, problem solving and independent thinking skills.” (Perry) I think that technology makes the classroom more interactive for students, thus allowing them to become more involved in the lesson and in turn allowing them to better retain and synthesis the information. Without technology savvy teachers and more importantly technology savvy leaders those experiences that our students need and quite frankly deserve will never happen. As the technology leader on the campus it will be my job to better equip the staff and administrators on how to integrate technology successfully in to the classroom. ** Vision of Educational Technology ** In today’s environment technology is ever more prevalent in the classroom. Technology is no longer a taboo but a must have for our youth, the “Digital Natives” (Prensky). As I first begin my graduate program I thought I was very advanced and savvy in regards to technology and the must have and how to’s. After the first few classes I began to realize there is much more to technology than an Iphone or a Spartboard in the classroom. In today’s classrooms a teacher cannot live without technology such as a digital projector, document camera, computer workstations, etc. This is something I feel as an educational technology leader as the must have’s for a classroom. But as my courses advanced I began to turn my attention to even more “advanced” technology such a Web 2.0. These tools include videoconferences, 2nd Life, blogs, wikis, glogs, etc. These technological advances allows for the instructor and students to stay connected in a virtual classroom way beyond the normal operating school hours. Even more than before students can have unprecedented access to their teachers, share information, collaborate outside the normal classroom and gain knowledge on a 24 hours 7 days a week basis. In order for student to be able to take full advantage to the tools that we as educators are trying to prepare them for I strongly feel that basic internet access is a must have for all students. Being a teacher from a low-income neighborhood, where 97% of the students are on free or reduced lunch, the students are not able to fully take advantage of the on-line tools. As a technology leader I think that school districts should have an obligation to the students they serve to provide the with free home Internet access. Yes I know many school districts are going through budget cuts and crises, I was just released from my position as the campus only computer teacher and technology leader, due to funding and program cuts. Despite this looming dilemma schools need to ensure that their students are able to learn and compete with students who have unlimited resources. In today’s workforce even the smallest job requires that the individuals know the basic computer skills and in today’s market that means being able to use and productively navigate through the Internet. ** Lessons Learned – Knowledge Gained ** Looking back over the past 18 months, I begin to wonder what have I really accomplished or what have I really learned about technology and what it takes to be a school leader. I can honestly say I have learned a lot about myself, my technology and leadership skills, and my attitude towards technology and the key role it will play in the education field. First what have I learned about myself? This type of question I often hard to answer. It requires the people to really look inside themselves and truly ponder the idea of me. After much thought I can say I have learned a lot about myself. I have learned I can accomplish great things, such as starting and finishing an intensive Master’s program. I have learned that my skills as a technology and overall school leader have improved to better serve my students and my colleagues. I have learned I can fully function regardless of the situation or circumstance regarding my employment location and job duties. Second what have I learned about my technology and leadership skills? At my former school, which I was employed for the past three years until last week when I was unexpectedly transferred, I thought I knew everything when it came to school technology. I was the school’s only certified computer teacher, running three computer labs, and the go to guy for anything and everything about technology for the entire staff, including the administration. After finishing the past 11 courses I can say I really did not know much but now I am better equipped as a teacher and a technology leader to help my new students, staff, and eventually my school district. I have learned that technology goes way beyond using a document camera in the classroom instead of the old fashion overhead projector. I learned that technology really means everything and anything that the kids and adults use in their everyday lives. Such technologies include cell phones, Ipods/Iphones, blogs, glogs, wikis, and other Web 2.0 programs and equipment. Technology is really what you use but more importantly how you use it. Technology has to be something that motivates students to want to learn, it make them want to wake up in the and actually come to class. Technology has to be fully integrated into the “flow” of the classroom as well as able to go across the curriculum, allowing it to fully engulf the students thus allowing them to fully absorb the material. Now with technology in the classroom, in the school, and in the school district comes the need for trained individuals who know how to use it but also how to lead and show others. I feel a good technology leader should be able to fully operate and show others how to use a program, website, equipment, etc. Now a great technology leader is someone who can everything stated above but also burn paths for new forms of technology and new uses for old ones. Technology in the classroom has come a long way, it has evolved over the past 20 years and now schools need technology leaders who can stay current with such changes and help others fully understand and integrate it in their content area. Technology is not a fad, it is not something that will go away and today’s technology leaders at the campus levels are the one’s who I feel are the most critical in leading the charge for change. These leaders are on the front lines and dealing with everyday issues and concern with teachers and administrators and are able to do the most good for their campus and then eventually their district. What have I learned about my attitudes? I think my attitude about technology is the same, technology is a vital part of education and without technology students are deeply handicapped and cannot be successful in college or in the work force. Technology is embedded into everybody’s everyday lives. It is something that most people wake up to and go to bed with. As educators we have to find ways to feed this need for technology in the classroom to help student learned. Perry, B. (n.d.). Using Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom. //Teaching Resources, Children's Book Recommendations, and Student Activities | Scholastic.com//. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/bruceperry/using_technology.htm Johnson, L., Smith, R., Levine, A. & Haywood, K. (2010). //2010 Horizon Report: K-12 Edition.// Austin, TX: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved October 17, 2010 from //www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report.pdf// Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. //On the Horizon//, //9//(5), 1.
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