Instructional Leadership Reflections

Originally when saw the course title Instructional Leadership, I thought the class would provide insight into leading the school or being in charge an instructional team. When I the class was downloaded and I learned the class would focus on the technology aspect of instructional leadership, I was excited to start the class. I have learned so much from my previous classes, that I knew I would leave this class well informed and with a new perspective. I thought this glass would explain how technology is chosen my administration and all that goes into the decision making. The course took a different approach than what I expected, but I was not disappointed with the content and what I learned. I was hoping to leave with an understanding of the state’s view point of technology and how it should be used in the classroom. I did achieve this outcome and I was impressed with how the course relayed this information.
Understanding how the state views technology use is very important to me. I am glad to know the about the long-range plan the state has set in place. As educator in the classroom it is very important to understand the direction in which we, as a state, are going with technology. Having an understanding of the long range plan will keep me motivated with the changes that will come about as new technology is implemented. Understanding the ultimate outcome will also assist me in motivating my co-workers when they begin to show signs of frustration with the pendulum of change this is education.
I do wish I had learned if the principal, or school leadership, will use technology that is different from what the classroom teacher uses. I believe the classroom teacher uses more technology than the administration, but I am not sure. On my campus, my principal jokes that he does not know how to effectively use technology and he tells us that he looks to us for guidance in this area. Whether he is joking or serious, this could just be a weak area for him. Is the school leader expected to be strong in the area of technology or can one effectively ‘wing’ it?
During this course I had a lot of outside issues affecting me. I have five children between the ages of 7 months and 13 and I take care of my father. During this course, my father has had a stroke, and underwent a major surgery and three of my children were contracted the flu at different times, but I was able to maintain. The readings and discussion postings seemed excessive especially when coupled with the lengthy homework assignments. I think I would have felt this same way whether I had the crazy five weeks or not. I also felt there was little miscommunication about some assignments, the weekly email would provide one set of information and the Brighton information would provide another, this was not a major hindrance to me, until the last week. While at the hospital with my dad I only had the printed copy of the homework, therefore I thought the assignment was due on the ‘Seventh day of Week 5’ and not on the eighteenth, which was the end of the semester.
This course taught me that I have a lot learn about leading a school and all that is involved in it. I did learn that I work well under pressure and in most instances I am good at balancing my home and work life. I found I know more about technology than I originally thought. This course provided me with ideas for technology implementation on my campus. It also provided me the language needed to communicate with my students and opened up a dialogue for me to get my students more involved in our classroom activity decision making process. When discussing the wiki with my students I learned many of them already have websites and are proud of them and happy to share them with me. Many of my students are anxious to assist me with implementing technology more in my classroom, but I would not have started that conversation, had I not taken this course.
Blogs are class discussion in 21st century. I currently use blogs as a method of submitting homework assignments. Most of my students enjoy having this as an option for turning in work. When the netbooks are assigned to all of our students I can envision an entire lesson done in silence, via the blog. I think the students would enjoy that. When all students have access to the technology, I can see an assignment in which students must create and maintain a blog for the content area. I saw in the class where individuals were concerned with the safety of blogs, I personally do not see this as an uncontrollable issue.
Many are concerned with the safety of blogs. In the class, I saw people who were worried if predators can obtain information about students from blogs and use this information to hurt the students. I believe if students are trained in appropriate internet use, then this threat can lessened. I do not believe it will ever be one hundred percent safe for students to blog or even use the internet, just as it not safe for them to walk to school alone, however with proper training and education students can be prepared which can offer a great defense in the technology world. As technology is implemented in the schools, there must be a course which will educate students on proper internet use. It may even be useful to extend this course to parents and other stakeholders in the district.
Parents and stakeholders must be area of proper internet use and the benefits it can provide. Many stakeholders would benefit from being able to use blogging a way of communicating amongst each other and campus personnel. Blogs can be used as a form discussion and conflict resolution; I believe most stake holders would benefit from communication aspect of blogging. I currently have blogs on my website to communicate with parents about issues they may have or new concepts that are being covered in the classroom, but many parents have not taken advantage of this tool. This lets me know that having a blog is not enough; you must advertise the blog and benefits of using it.

Action Plan

Over the years, the Texas STaR chart data has shown our campus’s weakest area to be ‘Educator Preparation and Development’ my principals agreed that this is an area which needs improvement. Our campus has the technology, but many teachers fear implementing it. It not because the teachers are against technology, many just do not know to successfully implement it in there classroom. As a professional development I allow teachers to see exactly how this technology is used in their subject areas. This may require more than one day training, but it would be well worth the time for teachers to understand how useful technology can be in their subject area. Teachers would be broken into groups according to the subject they teach. During the first session, teachers would act as students, as they sit through a lesson and experience how the content is taught using technology. Teachers will then compile a list of questions which will be addressed during the debriefing portion of this session. During the second session, teachers will observe the technology being implemented into the curriculum during an actual lesson. Teachers will then compile a list of questions which will be addressed during the debriefing portion of this session, they will also create a lesson in which they will implement the technology of their choice (assistance will be available). During the third session teachers will be observed implementing the technology, at the debriefing teachers will ask and/or answer any questions. The last session of the professional development will address data collection. Teachers will be in teams (math, English, science, social studies, and two electives) share the techniques and resources they currently use and how the data is used in their classroom. This information will be compiled and discussed during the debriefing portion of this session. This information will placed on the campus shared drive, so that all may access it as needed.

Texas STaR Chart

Texas STaR Chart

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Texas STaR

When reviewing the STaR Chart information, I was most interested in the Educator Preparation and Development. I believe this is one the most important aspects of technology integration. If the teachers are not properly prepared then the students may be mislead and may experience difficulties later in life from the mis-education they received from an untrained teacher. My campus was one of the one thousand five hundred twenty campuses that are at the ‘Advanced Tech’ level. At this level our campus has integration of technology into teaching and learning and uses online resources regularly, sixty percent of our current staff meet the SBEC standards and twenty five to twenty nine percent of the technology budget is allocated for professional development. For our campus we have been at the ‘Advanced Tech’ level for the last three years, we have shown slight progress from last year to this year, but not enough to advance to the next level. In the state of Texas there were almost two hundred more campuses which reached the Advanced Tech level in 2008-2009 school year than the year prior. While the Advanced Tech is an ok level to reach, I worry about our campus still maintaining this level because Phase I will end next year and we are not at the Target Tech level. I am sure our campus administration is working hard to get us to this level, it may be beneficial for them to share the Long Range plan with staff and where we stand in relation to the other campuses in the state. In order for our campus to improve in this area, it is necessary for the staff to be aware of the teacher preparation that is available, especially if it is specific to their content area. Many times teachers don’t attend or take the courses because they are not aware that they are available, it may also be beneficial to offer incentives for teachers who that participate in the technology professional developments.

Pre-K - Is That Where It Starts?

The Pre-K Technology Application TEKS provide students with a good foundation for technology applications in the years to come. The students expectations, referred to as End of Prekindergarten Year Outcomes, start at the basic level teaching students skills such as, naming and using input devices. At this level students are exposed the vocabulary that is necessary in the later grades for the basic computer components. During grade K-2, students will be expected to use this technology terminology that is appropriate for their assigned task as well as appropriately use these computer hardware components. In Pre-K, the children will be exposed to software programs in which they are expected to create writing and drawings, in the later years students will be expected to use these same programs to express their own ideas on given topics. During grades 6-8, these same students will be expected to use appropriate computer based productivity tools to create and modify solutions to problems. Exposing them to the software at such a young age is beneficial to them when they reach this stage. At the end of their Pre-K year, students will understand how to open and navigate through certain software programs; they will use this knowledge to meet the K-2 expectation of starting and exiting programs and creating, naming and saving files. Children at this level will also be exposed to voice/sound recorders and touch screens, this exposure will assist them when they are expected to use software programs with audio, video and graphic to enhance learning experiences in grades K-2. The Pre-K Technology Application TEKS lay a solid foundation that will help ensure students are successful at meeting the Technology Application TEKS throughout their educational career.

2020 Fast Approaching

I was a bit overwhelmed with all information contained in the Long-Range Plan, but I was also intrigued. At a first glance, I thought ‘this will be a lot to accomplish in the given time frame’ and wonder ‘why the sudden push.’ As I continued to read and saw how the United States is comparing to the other countries around the world I completely understood the need for change and reason the change must be immediate. I had heard this information before but it was very useful to see the ‘numbers’ that lie behind this information. I also learned some great information that will be useful when I am in a leadership role. Understanding the phases Texas has set forth will help me develop and campus and staff that is prepared to successfully prepare our students for the 21st century. I found it very interesting that by next year, there are processes that will have taken place. I feel that our campus is on the right track to meeting all the goals that have been set forth. I would love to have the opportunity to sit down with my campus administration and reflect to see exactly where we are in regard to Phase 1.

The Technology in Me

I am very grateful for the technology we have today, most of the time I feel that I can not live without it. After I completed the Technology Applications Inventory, I found that I was rather proficient in my knowledge of the four strands of technology. On each strand I no more than three questions which I answered ‘No’, there was even one strand, Information Acquisition, in which I was able to answer ‘Yes’ to all questions. Information Acquisition is obviously my area of strength, the other three strands appear to be equal for me, however Communication had the lowest percentage, therefore I would say this is my weakest strand. I expect to be able to answer ‘Yes’ to all questions by the end of this course, for me having one ‘No’ answer seems unacceptable. How can successfully teach something which I do not have a clear understanding of?
The SETDA survey really made me reflect on the data we collect in my content area. We do not collect data to measure students understanding of the Technology Application TEKS, I was shocked and disappointed when I realized this. Our data mainly focuses on how well the students are mastering the content TEKS and it seems the Technology TEKS have been set to the side, hopefully we will be able to find a way to adjust this in the near future. I plan on using the questions on T18 to help me develop lessons plans that integrate technology more. I felt this was a good guide that could help me. This survey caused me stop and reflects, I use technology in my classroom daily, and however I can not say the same for my students. I try to allow students to ‘experience’ the technology but I have not taken the time to appropriate teach them ways to use technology in my classroom. The SETDA survey has caused me to create the following goal for myself: By the end of this school year I will be able to answer daily or weekly to all of the questions on T18.

I agree with each of these assessments and found them to be useful. I will use the information I have gained from them to help me become a better educator for my students. The surveys caused me to reflect on current knowledge and I believe this will help me be a better leader when I am given that position.