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Module 14 Reflection: Final Post

Over the course of this semester, I have learned a great deal about how to be an educational technology leader. The biggest takeaway I gained from the course is the importance of creating a strategic plan, while having a missional mindset guide the planning process. In order for strategic plans t be successful, leaders have to be willing to take the time to know their colleagues and team members and work to gain their buy-in. It is necessary to establish a common mission to ground teachers and students in the school to work towards a common overarching goal. Teachers will more likely see the relevance and importance of technology when learning and facilitation are demonstrated in a way that visibly helps the team reach the objectives and goals outlined in their mission. Before all this though,, it necessary for the leader to take the time to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of all team members to be sure the necessary supports are put in place to aid their educational technolog...
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Module 13 Reflection

This week we learned about the importance of school culture when it comes to integrating educational technology. Some are more comfortable with the use of technology, while others are more reserved. Regardless, as technology leaders our job is subtly mold the or enhance the school culture to be comfortable with the use of technology. As I have mentioned in my discussion post, I truly feel that this goes back to the tech leader's strategic plan. A technology leader must set reasonable goals and objectives that they envision the teachers and students in their district achieving. Once setting these goals, emphasis should be built on building camaraderie and support from all involved in the school to reach the goals and objectives. Technology integration should be viewed as an instrument that is necessary to reach the grander goals and objectives. In this way, the process of learning technology may not be viewed as simply "learning new technology for the sake of learning new techn...
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Module 12 Reflection

This week's material on professional development was salient. Teacher professional development is very peculiar on its own, and becomes increasingly more complex when it involves educational technology. Unfortunately, it is sometimes communicated to teachers ineffectively because presenters show what the technology can do, but often not really getting to the core of "how" to effectively and efficiently facilitate its use in diverse school contexts. Teachers that attend professional development beyond their school districts may learn innovative strategies for using technology, but may be on their own when it comes to execution in their classrooms. Professional development should take into account diverse school contexts and skill levels. Technology integration can be overwhelming and unfamiliar territory and the goal is not to turn individuals off from using/learning to use technology, but  rather to inspire and encourage its use and learning. I have learned that leadershi...
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Module 11 Reflection

The assignment and discussion for this module were very relevant and insightful. I find it very interesting that we have found ourselves in a situation where we have become completely dependent on technology. While I am not happy with the way that it has come about, I almost feel that a situation similar to what we are facing) was necessary to exhibit the value and importance of technology, especially in education. I remember when I was in the classroom, I received a lot of push back from my colleagues because I always wanted to take the technology route to solving problems. For example, I thought that we should seize the opportunity to integrate mobile phones in our pedagogy (rather than constantly fighting their presence). If they are going to be there, find a creative way to integrate them. Another example is testing. I thought it was important to prepare students for the transition to online state testing by putting all my course assessments online. This way students would have the...
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Module 10 Reflection

I think that distance learning and virtual learning are innovative  options to offer students. Not only can the experience offer a unique shift in the learning process, but it offers opportunity for more classes that students  can take that other face-to-face schools do not offer. To this end,  I feel that it is important to keep the individual student in mind every step of the way when deliberating the idea of transitioning to virtual learning. Some students are going to be able to readily take on the responsibility and other may need more supports in order to adjust and become successful, and in some cases virtual learning is just not the answer for some students.  Something new that I learned this week is that Tennessee offers a couple of options for virtual schooling and learning. However, when checking their website to learn more, they seemed very standardized and formulaic. The biggest turn off for me was that the websites advertise that students demonstrate...
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Module 9 Reflection

As an educational technology leader, being able to identify both the benefits and barriers of technology integration in various school contexts is salient. This practice fosters a conscious recognition that will aid in deliberating mobile technology integration and management.   Successful integration and management of mobile technology involves identifying the benefits and barriers early on to become knowledgeable and know what will and will not work in a specific school’s context. The substantial benefits of mobile device integration as a contrivance for student engagement and learning and can be universally manipulated and adapted to fit the confines of most classroom atmospheres. However, the teacher is responsible for knowing the barriers that may have potential to impede the benefits.  In the end, i t is up to the individual teacher to determine if the benefits outweigh the barriers for a specific area and how they plan to overcome barriers and become comfortable wi...
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Module 8 Reflection

This week's material focused heavily on the importance of data-driven decision making. As a middle and high school social studies teacher and team leader, I had the opportunity to work with a team of administrators and educators to gather and interpret various types of student data including TVASS data, iReady data, and general data for all course assessments.  Not only do assessment data points allow me to best understand what prior knowledge my students have, whether or not I am effectively teaching students, at what rate students are growing over time, and what needs each individual student has, but also data analyses from all areas of study coupled with regular communication with other team teachers allowed me to implement cross-curricular lessons into my curriculum.  In particular, I worked with the science teachers extensively to creatively bring science concepts into the social studies classroom. In addition to individual data analyses, I worked with colleague...
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