Technology+Facilitation+and+Leadership+Standards

=Reflections=

Chapter 1
In this chapter, I realized how important it is for a school leader needs to be keeping up with technology as it becomes available. Instead of assuming that their staff should know how to use technology, whether it is given to them by the district or by the campus, they should be able to model how technology should be use and be able to evaluate whether there needs to be a facilitator training session be created to bring the staff up to speed.

If I were to evaluate my administrators on how they use these standards, it would show that they are very ideal leaders in my campus setting. They understand the importance of technology and pushing the campus into the 21st century learning in a pace that is comfortable with the teachers and students. One of the most discussed reasons to why many teachers at my campus do not use technology in the lessons is due to what Williamson called “enabling factors”. She stated, “Even a simple classroom activity such as having students exchange writing via e-mail requires an understanding of multiple enabling factors.” (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 20) Students and teacher would need to both understand how to use email or the application that is being used in the lesson in order for it to be seamless.

I assisted my teachers as much as I could to help them feel comfortable in using technology in the classroom and fully understanding the software available to them to help student performance. For example, I showed one of my teachers and a student, who was dyslexic, how they can independently be reading the same stories in the Texas Treasures textbook, which allowed her to quietly have a story read to her with headphones with the ease of just clicking a few buttons on the screen.

Since technology is changing rapidly due to Moore’s Law, it is very important for not just technology leaders, but anyone who uses technology to keep up with the changes and the advances as they come. “Keeping pace with emerging technologies is another reason why this standard will never be obsolete.” (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 22) I understand this idea even before I read this chapter. I knew even as a child how important technology was and how useful it can be in creating a productive society. It strikes me as odd to see how others do not keep up to date or understands technology and how we overlook that the complex technology today will be as commonly used and taken for granted as the common fork.

Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.

Chapter 2
In order for teachers to be able to integrate technology into their classrooms, they must be comfortable with the technology and have the tools available to create the lesson. A technology leader should be able to provide the necessary resources and feedback to teachers as they try to embed technology into their lessons. Many teachers need a planning guide when they try to integrate technology into their lessons. If they have a road map of how it should be done and what the outcomes should look like, they would be able to see if they are on the right path while they are creating their lessons. “Many teachers remain uncertain as to how to embed technical training into instruction and are uncomfortable assuming the role of technical trainer in their classrooms.” (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 37) A technology leader should be able to assist teachers in efficiently integrating computing skills in to the lesson to avoid any problems or setbacks. I felt that it was very difficult to move teachers from what their comfort zones. If they minimally used technology, any more would frustrate them especially if they are having problems. They grew impatient and did not know how to roll with the punches as technical issues arose. As I assisted teachers in creating a lesson with technology embedded, it became over whelming with the number of “what if” questions that arose. I said stated that the lesson needs to be systematic but also fluid. Creating a script does not work because of issues that may arise and potential questions from a student that can side track a lesson. As one of my activities, I assisted my staff in ways to finding an abundance of online resources that they were unaware of at the time. Teaching them how to do specific searches enabled them to find resources that can help boost student achievement. It was second nature to me to be able to do online searches. Most of us take this skill for granted. Utilizing Boolean to narrow search results, and giving my staff a better understanding of how search engines work opened a door to many possibilities. As a new teacher, I can now see how difficult it is to embed technology into a lesson. As an elementary teacher, we do many lessons a day. It would take a lot of planning time to have an ideal technology rich room. I understand that over time it can be possible, but it needs to be a consistent addition and reflection on how each lesson is relevant to the needs of the student. = = Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Society of Technology in Education.

Chapter 3
Since the start of this program, I have understood that there was a misconception on what integrating technology into curriculum meant. This school year, my district has started to agree with the notion that there is “a disconnect between the ways technology is used for teaching and learning and the ways students use technology in their own personal lives.” (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 58) I know see that technology is not going to be the savior to solve the problems of education, but one of the many tools available that will be used concurrently to help close the achievement gap. It was my previous understanding that all we needed to do in order to get students to learn was to find the right learning software which met the needs of the students. After becoming a teacher and going through the courses, I found it was much more than that. Applying the NETS is an important aspect of what integrating technology means.

I assisted one of our fifth grade teachers in integrating Google Earth into his social studies lessons. There are many historical maps available online that can be used with Google Earth. Having students use world book during a lesson will help promote research and information fluency. I felt that history and science were two subjects which can be easily be integrated because of the abundance of resources available online. I found it was difficult to implement this standard due to the problem with either the teacher or students not knowing how to manipulate the technology available to them. Teachers felt there was not enough time to deal with technology problems or teach the students how to use the technology before or during a lesson.

The implementation of these standards and indicators were difficult to implement, but over time and with practice, it should become easier. I feel that I should probably do more research on the content before I create another lesson which integrates technology into content areas I am not familiar with. Since the focus should be on the TEKS and not on the NETS, more time should be spent understanding what the students really need to know, while the NETS are just another way to get the students where they need to be. = = Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.

Chapter 4
I became familiar with DMAC last year, as I wanted to know more about what data is and how it can be used. I found that many teachers feel that the data is just numbers and they have no meaning to what they see in the classroom every day. After becoming a teacher, I have grown to appreciate the data even more. When used correctly, we are able to fully understand what our students know, which content areas need special assistance, and which students or groups of students have growth. I found that testing students to gather data that has integrity is a tough task. Many variables can affect the numbers, so every detail must be accounted for. It is not as easy as finding a test online and giving it to the students. Every question needs to be read thoroughly. You must think as your average child in your classroom would think, and know everything they should know by the time of the test date. If you make the questions too easy or too hard, the data will not be reliable. We use Star Reading from Renaissance Place to give us the reading level of our students. Some of the teachers on our campus say it is not reliable and the numbers are wrong all the time. I have found the opposite. Since it is an adaptive test, it accurately tells me the level of my students. I can chart their growth and also print out a copy for students’ parents to see.

I assisted teachers in using the DMAC data and Star Reading data to help group their students into different categories and showed them how to get information so they can target specific areas that were critically low. Helping the grade levels gather this information was interesting because of the spectrum of students that teachers at my campus work with daily. Differentiating instruction needs to be a key component in their instruction. I feel that I did not fully understand the data last year. It is easy to get lost in all of the numbers, but I realized that you need to have a question in mind before you can find an answer in the numbers. The biggest question that my colleagues would ask was “How can I get these students to learn the content?” My response at the time was, “If we knew the answer, we would be out of a job.” Teaching is fluid and students come with too many variables which affect their learning. DMAC can group students in many different ways, but DMAC does not know which student’s parents are in the middle of a divorce, or whether a student is having trouble at home for another reason. Understanding each student individually can also help make the numbers speak more clearly.

I feel that data speaks to those who know how to speak the language. It is up to administrators to ensure their staff is fluent in speaking data as clearly as they should in order to promote student achievement. If the staff is on board with how to use assessments and data effectively, they can target content areas which students are weak in effectively. Since now my colleagues think I am data hungry, as new teacher, I can model to them on the benefits of using the data effectively to close the achievement gap. I feel that I have to reinvent the wheel every time I make an assessment for my students. There are resources available, but I feel they are not meeting my standards or expectations of my students. I wonder if I am the only one who is noticing this or if I have my expectations set to high.

Self-Assessment
Standard V is an important aspect of how technologists assist their schools into productive environments with the use of technology resources. With the use of technology, campuses can have online professional learning communities which are a big part of teacher growth. Current learning communities which are held online can free up time by having the learning community members meet or do any assigned tasks online on their own time instead of canceling tutoring or any other after school activities. Technology can also be used to assist with student grading. A great example is SpellingCity.com. Teachers can create a spelling list for the week and have students log in and take their spelling test online when they have completed other tasks, or as a class in a computer lab. SpellingCity.com will automatically grade the students test and give the student their score immediately after taking it. Students can also print their results and study the words they got wrong to do a retest which also does not need to take up class time. I have known for a long time that technology is an important aspect in improving efficiency. An important aspect of technology which is new to me is the fact that Web 2.0 tools such as Google Docs, have so much potential and being implemented in a collaborative environment. These tools can be used for professional learning communities when sharing and collaborating on documents simultaneously. As I assisted teachers in finding different ways in implementing video and images into their lessons, there was a problem with some of the staff members not being familiar with the different file types. This caused a problem when teachers started to imbed audio, picture of video files into presentations or lessons. They would download files on there USB drives at home, and some of the files would not work on school computers due to a lack of specific software which was needed.

Learn as a Learner
As I met with different teachers to evaluate their students’ needs and to see if technology would be a good fit for them, I noticed that many of the teachers did not understand the importance of using technology and were scared that technology would fail during the lesson and they would not know what to do. “A barrier to realizing that higher levels of productivity from technology in schools is the extended amount of time required to master use of a productivity tool. “ (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 103) I decided to start with a small group who was willing to work with me as we found ways to assist their students. I knew we would run into problems, but I also knew that my experience with technology was on our side. As the year progressed, many of the teachers had a lot of questions daily on how they can use different websites to make them more productive. I forwarded the information on the SpellingCity.com and the use of Google Docs to hold their team planning sessions.

Lifelong Learning Skills
Working with people who are not savvy with technology is a tough task to endure. I think that I should be more considerate to the limited knowledge of technology of my colleagues. Increasing their knowledge in technology, in order to be more productive or to incorporate technology into student learning, will need to be scaffolded in the future. As new Web2.0 tools and tablet PC’s become cheaper and more popular, will there be more productive ways for educators to collaborate efficiently? If so, will it be easier to use than current methods? = = Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.

Self-Assessment
Digital equity, student privacy, online safety, and understanding current copyright laws should be on the fore front of a technologists mind when working with staff and students. Ensuring that we close the digital divide between students who have more access to technology than others is important. E-rate was created for this reason. FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) is also a common spoken term at the beginning of the year during teacher inservices. Teachers need to understand what FERPA is and how it affects the school. Facilitators need to understand that security is a priority when working with student information. Online Safety is another concern because of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Each of the schools need to make sure their following the guidelines set by FERPA in order to qualify for E-RATE discounts. “New technologies have accelerated a new medium for undesired behavior.” (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 131) Technologists also need to understand current copyright laws and the limitation of the fair use policies. I found that educators did not fully understand the fair use policy. As I educated the staff on the 10% rule, many of them did not like that idea because the content was being used for “educational purposes.”

Learn as a Learner
As I implemented these standards, I needed to get the staff to understand the ethical and legal aspects of using technology. I saw many violations of copyright laws as I assisted staff members. Educating them on what fair use is was a wakeup call to them. Staff members would check with me constantly to make sure they were not in violation. I basically told them that if it feels like you doing something wrong, you probably are. Creating a flyer assisted them very well in ensuring that they were following the guidelines. I think I could of collaborated with a teacher and had a group of students or a class create the flyer in a lesson. The staff was welcoming in the knowledge gained. They continue to ask me questions on the social and ethical issued pertaining to technology.

Lifelong Learner Skills
I need to make sure and stay current with any laws that change. What is true now may not be true tomorrow. I also understand that technology is not limited to computers, gadgets and programs. Understanding the ethical side of technology is also important. I feel I should have given them a survey to understand what they knew before I gave them information on the ethical use of technology. I would have had a better understanding of where they were and been more prepared by predicting questions. I know there are other educators who give the rights to share their content online. With budgets being currently being cut, educators are being forced to find new ways to get curriculum and content. In order to avoid any copyright laws being broken, a wiki site should be made available so educators can collaborate on giving their own content without violating these laws.

Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.

=Chapter 7=

Self-Assessment
Planning, procuring, implementing, and maintaining technology is no simple task without procedures and guidelines set in place first. Small budgets create challenges for technologist and technology leaders to be more creative in their technology planning recent years. Even though access to technology is at an all time high, teachers are still stating that access to technology is still a barrier that causes them not to use technology in the classroom. (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 162) In my opinion, I feel a factor that was not mentioned in the chapter is the exponentially growing demand for technology. Through experience, I have gotten to understand how important the total cost of ownership (TCO) is when budgeting for technology. These hidden costs can shrink a budget is not carefully analyzed and in some cases make the technology useless. As I assisted in determining the technology needs of the campus, I ensured that the TCO was added to the budget for certain technology items.

Learn as a Learner
Understanding the technology needs of administrators, teachers, and classrooms individually to help maximize the use of technology was an important part of helping my campus utilize technology to their fullest potential. Administrators were each given an iPad to help them manage their daily lives and to assist in teacher observations. I worked closely with them to help ease the transition to mobile computing by training them on how to maximize their iPad experience to better suit their needs. Calendars, notes, email, and contact information can all be synced across all their devices. Creating shortcuts to certain district websites was a useful tool during teacher evaluations. As I worked with the teachers and administrators, I found that the more I assisted them, the more questions they had about technology. Instead of being a disseminator of information, I decided to forward online knowledge bases and videos on YouTube to help assist them on their questions.

Lifelong Learning Skills
The process of planning for technology is a tough task when budgets are too low to meet the district requirements to maintain current technology levels. Changing the district requirements and procedures is sometimes the only way during tough times, especially if the technology budget is cut in half. Having a plan is the important part of purchasing technology resources. Plans can change once new information is acknowledged. Rolling with the punches is an important aspect of being a leader. Moving from a 4 year replacement plan to a 6 year replacement plan for computers and laptops can frustrate administrators, teachers, and students. Having a strong proactive technology support team will play a vital role in ensuring our computers and laptops last as long as they need. Something that I feel that is a problem when meeting the ever growing technology needs of students, teachers, and administrators, is their expectations of what technology should do for them and the realization of what is currently available to them. Finding ways to better close this gap in a feasible way without breaking the bank are becoming more challenging. Tablet computing is becoming a cheaper way to meet the needs of schools but they come with a higher risk of failure. How much longer do we need to wait before Moore’s law will reach a point in which computing power and computing costs meet to provide us with the expectations of what technology can do for us? = = Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.

=Chapter 8=

Self Assessment
Leadership and vision are important aspects in creating a technology plan for the district. “Where are we now?”, “Where do we want to go?”, “How do we achieve our vision?”, and “How do we know we are making progress?”, are questions that should be answered when forming the technology plan. (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, p. 181) Thinking with the end in mind and making sure the technology plan has these following requirements: Focus on student learning, grounded in research and best practices, aligned to other strategic initiatives, comprehensive, simple and clear, useful and achievable, measurable, and logical. (Williamson & Reddish, 2009, pp. 181-182) Utilizing these requirements to invoke a vision of technology into the technology plan will create a solid foundation and set the stage for the technology needs of the district. In any big project, planning is the key to success. There is no such thing as over planning. I realized that proper research is just as important in the planning process. A technologist must be knowledgeable in best practices in order to create strategic initiatives. I realized there is so much research involved during the preplanning stage during my internship activities. Adequate research will set the foundation for the entire planning process for technology.

Learn as a Learner
Assisting in the development and evaluation of technology planning and implementation seemed like an easy task at first, but after conducting an evaluation of the school’s technology environment, I found that the campus was not meeting the standards set by the district three-year technology plan. I had to look back to previous years’ budgets to see why the campus was a year behind schedule. Every year the campus was suppose to be replacing 30-35 computers. One year they only replaced eight which caused a ripple effect. I understand now that even though a district has created a policy or procedure to meet the district goals of its technology plan, a campus must be responsible to meet those goals provided they are able to do so. Pointing fingers when mistakes are made do not resolve problems. If any problems arise, all parties need to work together to create a plan to solve the problem and also make sure the plan is carried out.

Lifelong Learning Skills
Checking on each of the campuses to ensure that they are following the district technology plan as directed should be enforced. A district technology leader should be working with campus leaders to make sure this is happening with proper documentation. There are so many people involved in the researching, planning, creating, and managing the technology plan. Proper dissemination of information on the plan should be done in a medium that is comfortable to all parties. PowerPoint presentations of the plan and posting the plan online may not be enough for all parties to understand the importance of carrying out this plan. Creating a medium in which all stakeholders are familiar with can be challenging. It would be a task worthy of completing to find a way for all stakeholders to be engaged in the technology plan process. = =

Williamson, J., & Reddish, T. (2009). //What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Washington, TC: International Soceity of Technology in Education.