Reflections on Instructional Leadership - The Technology Link

I knew that this course would involve a focus on technology, but I did not anticipate the direction that the course took. I didn’t really have a good idea of the direction this course would take simply because “technology” involves many different aspects of what we do in a school. Technology involves everything from campus email to online gradebooks to mimios and smartboards to online communities. Many of the objectives covered, including in depth discussion posts and blogging, are tools that I already incorporate into the AP course that I teach but I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the use of these tools with my colleagues and peers.

Technology must be a part of our daily lives on a school campus because it is a part of the majority of our students’ lives outside of school. They are regularly exposed to so much interaction and instant feedback that we lose them in class if we cannot provide them these things on the same level. The more we integrate tools that they already use like Yahoo or Google groups, Facebook and Myspace, Twitter, and Blogspot, the more likely we are to get our students to interact with us. If students are already spending time online, take the work to where they are as opposed to trying to get the students to learn from a traditional teaching style.

After talking so much with people from schools with different amounts of technology available to them, I wish we had discussed more strategies for incorporating technology into schools that can’t afford it. In this program, educators work at schools that range from having 60 computers for 1200 students to schools that have a laptop for every child and every teacher. This disparity means that we all have different access to technology and our students also have very different access to technology. This is a difficult problem to solve, though. Unfortunately, it takes money to buy computers and someone has to be willing to pay for it whether that is the district or a district benefactor.

I was successful in completing most of the course assignments. I had difficulties with time management during week 3. I turned my assignment in late and did not get my discussions completed that week. This is the same type of problem many of our students have with online assignments because we have to create the time to complete the assignments. The big thing to understand when something like that happens, though, is to keep moving forward and get back on track. During week four and week five, I have stayed on top of my assignments and discussions. One of the helpful things is that my husband and I are both taking this course so we are able to study together and help each other figure out the meaning of each assignment.

This course has taught me several things. One thing I have learned is that I am ahead of many teachers in terms of using technology in my classes, but there is always more to aim for. I have explored new websites that I learned about through this course and am trying to use the concepts learned in my own school. For instance, we had a recent training on the Mimios sitting in our closets. Prior to the training, our principal asked PLC leads and Freshman Team leads for suggestions on what to focus on during that training. I used concepts brought up in this course to recommend using the training to create a specific lesson with each PLC as opposed to just giving general use instruction.

Online community and communication tools are also a huge aspect of learning today. Many of our students have Myspace accounts, use email, or some other kind of communication that involves being online. As educators, we need to take advantage of their comfort level with technology and utilize in our classrooms. Blogs are one of the tools that we can use. They provide an opportunity for learners to extend their learning past the classroom. In my AP Environmental Science class, we use blogs to tie current events into the concepts they are learning about in class. By asking students to think about content outside of class, I am helping them reinforce and validate the information they learn.

While they are a valuable tool, the use of blogs in an educational environment require that we make sure that students understand appropriate use of online communities. There are dangers to the anonymity provided by being online. Students need to be well aware that there are people out there that might try to find out personal information about them and use it hurt them. They also need to understand their own responsibility in terms of online etiquette. Some students feel like they can carry conflict from school to the internet simply because they are not in the same room as the person they are talking about. Students can learn a lot using online communities, but they need to be monitored and taught appropriate behavior online just as they are taught appropriate behavior in the classroom.

Blogs are great not only for classroom assignments, but also as a communication tool with parents and the community. Teachers can use blogs to keep parents informed of what their children are doing in class. Districts can use blogs to talk to community members about the ways that they can contribute to the learning process happening in schools. Blogs can also be used by administration to share information with staff or to carry out staff professional development. The blog format allow a form of back and forth that ensures that everyone can voice their thoughts and see the thoughts of others regardless of the time and location they choose to look at the blog.