Reflective
Blog Entry 2
In the reading of The Technology Director’s Guide to leadership
the power of great questions chapters 3 and 4 by Don.
Hall. The mission of the technology department
is to provide leadership, guidance, assistance, support, through the
coordination of information management, computing, media, and telephone
services enabling students, faculty, and staff to address the diverse
educational needs of the school to meets of the school system as a whole.
According
to Hall a key responsibility of any leader is the development and management of
an organization’s or team’s vision. The presence of a powerful vision is what
allows an organization to reach its goals.(Hall, 2008). Hall
states that it is important to provide clear leadership when developing a
technology vision for your organization. (Hall, 2008) There are three components
that technology leaders must have when designing a vision for the district or department:
feedback and ownership, publicity and ongoing communication and monitoring and
evaluation. The vision for my school system’s IT department is to use
technology effectively in the classroom which means transforming the classroom,
teaching, and learning. Productive use of technology does not mean using it
solely to help slow students catch up, to occupy quick achievers, to reward
good behavior, or to baby-sit. Where technology is yielding results, the
classrooms are student-centered, with teachers as coaches and guides. Outside
resources come to class and students go outside the classroom. Technology
allows engagement, review, and especially assessment in broader, deeper ways.
In reading Educational Leadership and Planning for
Technology by Anthony Picciano chapters 4 through 6. Picciano talks about the
three major software components that are utilized in most business and school
IT environments; the database, the electronic spreadsheet, and office automated
software. (Picciano, 2011) According to Picciano data collecting and data searching
skills are being taught by having students use the World Wide Web to access
databases maintained by government agencies, universities, and research
institutions. It is very important for students to be able to use databases
when working on research projects, this allows the students to build their own databases with
information that they have collected on from the World Wide Web on animals,
weather, states, famous people, minerals, places, and ect. With the uses of spreadsheet programs being
used in mathematics, the sciences, and business education classes. Spreadsheet can
be particularly effective in instructional applications where data collection
using a database is combined with data analysis. Word processing software makes
revisions easy and avoids the chore of handwriting or retyping extensive
amounts of text. Many students at various grade levels commonly use Microsoft
word processing to do writing assignments. One of the most important lines out
of chapter six for me is “Integrating technology into the curriculum is
therefore closely tied to professional development, which is therefore one of the
critical components of any technology-based plan, along with hardware,
software, facilities, and finances.” (Picciano, 2011). In order for the student
to be educated in technology the teacher must first get the education.
The person that I have chosen
to interview this week is Ms. Tracy Lancaster, ITRT of Henrico High School in
Henrico County Virginia. During my interview I asked ten question regarding the
advantages and disadvantages for educational technology for teaching and
learning. What I have found out about
the technology program surprised me. The
mission of Henrico County Public Schools is to "inspire, empower and
educate every student to be prepared for success in the 21st century."
This
is accomplished by creating 21st century learning environments in which the instructor
is a content expert, provides engaging, student-centered 21st century
instruction, and where 21st century technology tools are available for
instruction. Henrico County Public Schools was one of the first
school districts in the United States to distribute laptop computers to
students, during the 2001 school year. The Department of Instructional
Technology works with teachers, principals, and content specialists to identify
and implement digital resources and supporting technologies that will ensure a
solid 21st century learning experience for Henrico students. ITRTs provide
training and resources for teachers for their own edification and to use with
the students. Teacher can subscribe to resources through iTunes U if desired
but also have an online course to use with their students. Training is also
provided at faculty meetings and by using quick tips and email to bring
attention to Internet safety throughout the year. I have learned so much more
now than before about the 21st century learning initiative. I feel that it is
very important to have technology in the classroom as well as for the students
to have access to it on a daily biases. However when was never mentioned to me
is the cost of all of the smart boards and the laps that are being used at the
three newest school in the county. When the school I worked for did not even
have enough money to buy books. Genesis
11:6 “And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one
language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that
they propose to do will now be impossible for them.”
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 5th edition. Pearson Publishing. Boston, MA.
No comments:
Post a Comment