Reflective Blog for EDUC 638

Reflective Blog Entries 1

The first book I would like to reflect on is by Don Hall, The Technology Director’s guide to leadership the power of great questions. In reading chapter one I find myself really connecting with the main character Max seeker. Max was technology leader on a wireless development deal that had run into a few problems after it was developed. (Hall,2008) I have found myself planning a lesson for my students that seemed great but, when I had my class try it, it  did not go the way that I expected it. I would have to step back and take a second look at what I could do to make it better. I have only been teaching three years so I am sure there is still a lot for me to learn in my teaching career. However, I’ve already learned a lot in these three years. One of my biggest lessons is about preparation. One evening I searched online all evening trying to figure out what we were going to do the following day. Things had changed big time with my lesson plans and I needed a great one day lesson. After much research, I finally found a great lab to do with my students. I even had all the materials that I needed in my classroom. I printed it off, ran copies the next morning, and got everything ready. The students got started and about half way through this not so clean lab, we realized it didn’t work. I needed a specific kind of dirt. Go figure. With that and a few similar situations before, I learned always do the lab before you have students to do. This allows you to work through all the kinks.

The Author Don Hall Breaks down the three leadership styles which are Sage, Sensei and Oracle. All three have both a positive and a negative side. Sage represents a strong controlling leader who wants it their way and only their way. When you see this type of leadership, you see it in people with executive jobs or military men who take have a higher power ego. The Sensei rule combines two different leadership styles, mentoring and facilitating. Someone with this type of leadership would be more like a little league coach or a big brother/sister. The Oracle leadership style likes to see others succeed in their goals. They do not mind giving responsibility to others they have trusting relationships with. The most important thing we can gather from this reading is this question, “How can I benefit from the experience of others ( Hall, 2008)?” Hall lets us reflect on the leadership pyramid, which shows how data evolves into wisdom.

In the second book, Educational Leadership and Planning for Technology by Anthony Picciano, chapters one through three; it discusses the integration of technology in schools have been slow throughout the year. Many employers today expect high school graduates to be knowledgeable of how to work with computers and their systems. The modern business community is expecting the employee to have a significant technology background, and use technology to perform the basic tasks of the job. (Picciano, 2011). One example of how integration has been slow over the past few years is that many school systems believe that they are empowering teachers by providing them with a wide variety of teaching tools and resources, such as laptops and over-head projectors. Many school systems do not realized that most children do not have internet connection to utilize these technological advances given to them after they leave the classroom. Despite their disadvantage outside the classroom, the county makes it possible for students and teachers to have access to content-rich lesson plans developed by their county teachers and specialists

References:

Hall, D. (2008). The technology director’s guide to leadership, the power of great questions.

 ISTE. Washington, D.C.

Picciano, A. (2011). Educational Leadership and planning for technology 5^th edition.

 Pearson Publishing. Boston, MA.