Reflections on EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link
When this class began I was intrigued to find out that it dealt with integrating technology into the classroom. The school where I teach is in the process of putting hand-held PDA’s in the hands of all students and faculty. More specifically everyone will be obtaining Apple i-Touches. The concern for many teachers is how can these devices be used to educate, instead of only being toys for the students. I viewed this course as a possible great resource for me, not only for future principal positions but, as a current educator being thrust into a technology explosion in education.
As I finish the course I believe it did serve as an adequate primer for technology integration in education. Through the various readings and assignments I was able to envision ways to use technology to advance the curriculum of schools. The class also brought to the fore-front some of the many hurdles that could hinder the process. Most are problems that are more likely to be addressed by administrators.
As the course did serve as an excellent introduction to how technology can and will be used in classrooms in the near future, it also left me as a student knowing that I must continue my quest for development in this area. This is probably the most relevant course, in this Lamar Masters Education process, to what I am currently doing on a daily basis. As a classroom teacher I am constantly searching for new ways to integrate technology into my classes. This course has reinforced the need to integrate technology into the classroom that my local school district is developing. As a veteran of the education system I, as well as all long-time educators, have seen a plethora of new innovations to make education better. This push for technology integration may appear to be just one of those fads to some, but with the reinforcement of hearing it from a respected source (the Lamar Education Department) I realize technology led curriculum is not another passing fad , but the future of education in the 21st Century.
As I reflect on this course I was hoping I could become more comfortable with the use of podcasting. This is an area that I believe can be of great help to educators. As more students become “plugged in” to the internet the number of ways to keep them engaged to the curriculum grows. Podcasting appears to be one of the most intriguing ways to do that. Several of the course articles discussed podcasting and it was mentioned during lectures, but I would like to have learned more. I understand that having each student create podcasts for the course currently may not be workable, but maybe the process could be explained and educational podcasts researched. Perhaps as this course evolves, the use of podcasting can be integrated into it much as the creation of a blog was.
Most of the course assignments were very challenging. The weekly assignments which always included multiple readings requiring personal reflection was often demanding. Some of the papers were quite lengthy and it becomes hard to find adequate time as a full time teacher and coach. Some times it was late in the week before I was able to post my quotes and reflections. I noticed there were others in my group with the same problem. This can cause a problem for others as they are waiting to reflect on someone else’s post.
The most challenging assignments were the ones that came at the beginning of the course when we were required to interview a principal, a member of the campus improvement committee, teachers, and students. This would be difficult to accomplish in five days at any time during a busy school year, but this assignment fell around the Thanksgiving holidays and it was very difficult tracking everyone down. I was eventually able to complete the assignment but it was not as complete as it could have been.
As technology becomes integrated into every level of our education system the possibilities of more students becoming meaningfully involved in their own education is exciting. However, this course has helped me to look at this technology integration from an educational leader’s perspective. As the leader of a campus where technology is being integrated there will be more and more need for principals to understand not only the educational possibilities but also the additional problems that may be created. These problems will range from dealing with the distractions of new technology to possibly new safety issues. There will be problems arise that we do not even understand because of our limitations of technology expertise. It will be imperative that as an educational leader of a campus I stay aware of new trends and innovations. It will be of even more importance to have a staff from campus technology facilitators to teachers who are properly developed in technology.
As with all technology, blogging has grown exponentially in the last two years. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines a blog as- a Web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer. A blog used in the educational setting can be used for so many things that could be beneficial for students, teachers, and all stakeholders of the school. For the students, researching blogs allows a student to not only read about information but to interact with the author by making comments and even having the author or other readers of the blog responding to their comments. This can allow a person to actually discuss a question with an expert.
For teachers, blogs can be an invaluable tool for researching their field of teaching or finding new and exciting ways to express their curriculum. Blogs can also be an excellent tool to keep students and parents in tune with what is going on in a teacher’s classroom daily.
While blogging is an excellent form of communication and research it also presents itself as a possible tool for problems. The thing that makes blogs so useful and easy is the same thing that can cause problems. Anyone can create a blog. While this is a good thing, it means someone can easily put out propaganda or mistruths about something or someone on the world-wide web. People tend to be much braver when speaking in untruths or slander when they are protected by a keyboard and computer screen. It could also be a problem if schools or teachers use blogs to give stakeholders important information and passwords are stolen to release incorrect information. When schools use official blogs to disseminate information security must be taken very seriously.
Blogs and wikis will continue to grow in importance in the field of education. As educational leaders we must not only keep ourselves up to date on the beneficial uses of these tools, but also be aware of the special problems that this new technology can bring.
As a future educational leader I foresee using blogs as an additional way to effectively communicate with all school district stakeholders more effectively. Students are comfortable communicating over the internet but their parents may not be. As a leader of a school one of the most important aspects of the job is effective communication. A blog will allow the school district to not only post information but also allow stakeholders the opportunity to comment on it in real time. It will be necessary to educate everyone who is interested in the blog. Students, parents, community members, etc. should be given ample opportunities to train in the proper use of a blog or wiki. This effort in itself will allow the administrator to have a more personal relationship with parents and any other interested school stakeholders. I would recommend a training session for these stakeholders be held at least once per six-weeks.
