Reflection on Instructional Leadership EDLD 5352

Vision and Outcomes
I envisioned strengthening my definition and perception of instructional leadership. I thought this course would help me understand better how to help the teachers on my campus be the best instructors they can. I was looking forward to that information because it is a question that I have. Unfortunately, it is still a question. I do believe that the material covered in this course was important. All the required class articles, plus those I read outside of this class, indicate that technology is the biggest part of education that we will have to work on. But certainly, it’s not all the instructional leadership information we will need? I will have to do some outside reading on instructional leadership to fill in the gaps left by this class.

Assignments
I was successful in carrying out the course assignments if grades are an indication. I felt that some of the instructions were so vague that my answers were more of a shot in the dark than I would ever want them to be. I was often frustrated at the lack of direction in the assignments. Most requests for help were directed to the course overviews, which were little more than a copy of the assignment instructions, and there is born a vicious circle. I was able to muddle through the assignments because I have a good study group to work with and discuss what the instructions could really mean. The assignments themselves were huge. Creating a technology action plan was way more than a one week assignment had any right to be. That plan would be better served as an ongoing project through the class. It was somewhat helpful to look at district technology plans through the eyes of an administrator, but the work I did on it was so rushed that I do not think it will be helpful to me in the future.

What I Learned
What I learned in this course was most definitely relevant to the work I do in my school. At this point, I am still a classroom teacher. I am incorporating more technology in my assignments so that these students will not be behind when they enter middle school or high school. I have let go of some of my fear of using unknown technologies with my 4th graders. Because of the articles and discussions, I’ve begun to tell my students that I don’t know how it [new software] works and I need them to play with it and teach me. This lit such a fire under many of these students that I wondered what on earth I had been waiting for.

Even though I didn’t get exactly what I expected from this course, I definitely learned a lot. I already had a solid grasp of many technologies, some from classroom use and some from personal use. This class helped me see that some of the technology I use personally, like blogging, can work for me and my students in the classroom. I also saw how I was adding to the [falling behind] problem by not having my students use the computers for anything more than subscription services like Symphony Math, Ticket to Read, or Accelerated Reader. I realized that my students don’t need perfect lessons from me with technology incorporated in according to my rules. They need to see me use it, and they need to use it themselves as a tool to learning. They need to put their hands on it and click to figure out what they can make it do. They need someone to give them permission to explore. The dendrites they build through that exploration last longer than any perfect assignment I can give them. In that, I see my own attitude altered greatly.

Blogging
Blogs have a terrific educational value. Students write reflectively and for an audience. It helps them learn to find their voice (very important for 4th grade in Texas) and write coherently. It also connects their ideas to others. Through RSS feeds and commenting, students can interact with each other, practicing the way adults are interacting more and more in our society. My students always ask me why they have to learn to write correctly. They tell me it’s all on computers nowadays. Well, when I think of handwriting, I can see their point, but no one wants to read a blog that is not coherent or has mechanics so terrible it hurts the eyes! Of course, there are concerns about blogging. These are 4th graders we’re talking about. Our district uses Edublogs and with that, I would be able to block my students’ blogs from the outside internet, allowing them access only to each other. Should our blogging efforts require communication with someone outside of our circle, I, as the teacher, would take steps to be the filter between the groups. I would love to encourage other classes at our school to blog so that students can have a range of students to discuss content with. And, of course, the topics of blogs would be moving the curriculum forward. My own teacher blog would have pages for students, other teachers, and parents. As an administrator, I can see a blog as a valuable tool for connecting with the community.

Technology Action Plan

GOAL: To better use technology for instruction

GOAL: To better define and monitor technology expectations as set by TEKS and SBEC.

Based on teacher surveys, STaR charts, and district technology information, determine what technology teachers have available, what training teachers have already had, and what technology and training is still needed in order to reduce obstacles and move forward with technology integration. Analysis of the STaR chart, the teacher technology-use survey, interview with key leaders, and AEIS report shows that professional development, while available in our school and appropriate for learning technology, needs to be designed differently in order to be more effective. Activities to address campus goals are as follows:

• Use the professional development model where initial training takes place, teachers return to their classrooms to implement, then have follow up PD meetings to assess progress and discuss implementation.
• Trainers come to the campuses to support teachers as they implement technologies in their classroom
• Professional development held in a teacher’s classroom using only the resources a typical campus teacher has on a regular basis
• Professional development to familiarize teachers with the technology TEKS and how to address them in their classes.
• Subscribe to AtomicLearning.com for self-paced technology trainings and differentiated technology training plan
• Develop a mentor system where less experienced but technology savvy teachers are paired with more experienced teachers who need support in technology. Both could benefit each other by collaborating on how to integrate technology into the curriculum and instruction.
• In order to stay up-to-date on current instructional technologies, Campus Instructional Technologists will attend an annual instructional technology conference.

In order to measure progress, two processes will be implemented. Every nine weeks, teachers will complete a continuum-based progress monitor to report their progress in implementing instructional technology into their classroom curriculum. Campus Instructional technologists will perform regular walk-throughs to observe teacher progress in implementation.
 
End of the year evaluation by campus leaders will include a review of the teachers’ nine-week survey data, CIT observations report, and principal observations. Included with that will be an end-of-the-year survey of students and parents designed to assess student and parent perspective of technology use in schools. These measurement tools will allow leaders to evaluate trends and determine successful strategies toward meeting goals.

 

Texas STaR Chart Presentation

Teaching and Learning: The Heart of It All

 The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 has four domains:

• Teaching and Learning;
• Educator Preparation and Development;
• Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; and
• Infrastructure for Technology.

Teaching and Learning is one area of focus that interests me. This area coveres the use of technology as a tool in education. Teachers teach students how to use those tools to communicate, research, and problem-solve effectively. This area also covers online education, a topic near and dear to me (This is an online graduate program, after all).

My campus has shown a bit of a backward slide in Teaching and Learning. In 2006-2007, we fell into the Advanced Tech catagory, but since then, we've only managed Developing Tech. The strongest losses are in Patterns of Classroom Use and Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation. The other areas showed fluctuation but nothing steady. I do see how these areas are weak. In the two years I've been on this campus, I see students using the computers in the lab, but more often to use the online subscribed services than to create for their class. And nowhere have I been instructed about or shown the TA TEKS. It wasn't until this class that I realized we were accountable for those, too.

Statewide, 69.7% of schools fall in the Developing Tech category for Teaching & Learning. This is second only to Educator Preparation. These numbers concern me. I can see where teachers might feel they lack adequate training to incorporate technology in their classrooms, but I can also see where their own fear of technology might be getting in the way. Teachers may get enough training to be successful in the classroom, but don't feel confident enough to use it. And, of course, the training will fade over time because the teacher never did anything with it. It's a catch-22. Educators have to step up and be brave. The students need that from us more than they need tests and grades. They need someone to show them that it's okay to take risks and try something you're not comfortable with.

Pre-K TEKS and What They Mean for Us

The PreK guidelines for Technology include the child opening and navigating through software programs; using a variety of computer input devices, such as mouse, keyboard, touch screen sound recorder, etc; using software to create and express own ideas, and recognizing that information is available through technology. I appreciate that these guidelines are in place and feel that a Pre-K student could learn much of that, however, I do have a concern.

In Texas, neither Pre-K nor kindergarten is required by the state. That means that there will be a number of children entering 1st grade at a disadvantage. If Texas recommends that student have this technology in their background before 1st grade in order to successfully grow into the 21st Century learner, then the state is either giving up on those who do not attend Pre-K or K through public schools, or it’s putting the weight of all those previous TEKS on the 1st grade teacher, who still has to have the students at a certain level by the end of 1st grade. Neither one of those is acceptable. The spiraling nature of the technology applications TEKS is one way to make up for this deficiency.

These Pre-K guidelines would provide an excellent foundation for K+ teachers to build on. It would allow the subsequent teachers to step forward with confidence that their students could follow. Since the technology applications TEKS are spiraling, some lack of information could be picked up as a topic is covered again and again. For example, students will have several opportunities to present information to other students, using software such as Microsoft PowerPoint. They will use the same application more than once over the course of their school career. In each use, a new skill will be acquired and old skills will be practiced, engraining them deeper and making them easier, providing a foundation to build on.

Thoughts on the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

This long-range plan consisted of four major elements: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. Based on what I read, there is no need for the other three elements if the infrastructure element is not sufficiently met. The plan outlined wonderful recommendations for teaching and learning and educator preparation to better do our job by these 21sth Century learners, but then it talked about how, even though much of Texas is connected, it's basic and more is needed. And we need the skilled individuals in place to maintain it and help use it properly.

Having worked in Texas school districts of various sizes and budgets, I can say that, from what I've seen, many schools are not willing to put much of their budget into the skilled individuals required to support technology use. Those folks who have the technology skills and drive to use them creatively and effectively are not working in our school districts. They are earning more elsewhere. Schools do pay less than corporate jobs do, and the smaller, rural districts don't stand a chance of drawing and keeping talent with little more to offer them than low pay and quiet nights with a great view of the stars.

The First Step: Assessing My Strengths and Weaknesses

As part of the first week’s assignment, I had to take two surveys: one assessing my technology skills and one assessing the use of technology on my campus. Based on these surveys, I need to discuss my strengths and weaknesses in technology and in technology leadership on my campus. So here it goes.

The first assessment was the Technology Applications Inventory provided by TEA. It was a simple yes or no inventory broken into four domains: Foundations, Information Acquisition, Solving Problems, and Communication. Overall I answered ‘no’ to less than 14% of the statements. I was pretty proud of myself. There were a few statements that I was on the line about, such as, “I can delineate between the various digital file formats including, but not limited to, .wav, .mid, .au, .doc, .txt, .gif, .jpg, .mov, and .cwk.” I will admit that .au and .cwk stumped me until I looked them up. Ahhh… Clarisworks. Yep. Got it. And .au is a simple audio format. I had to dig for that answer. Even Google wasn’t on familiar terms with it. So I found I could answer yes to most of those I was iffy on because it was just a matter of looking up the vocabulary. I have a sound working knowledge of most of the items on the list, and I feel that I can quickly learn anything that I might be lacking. I knew nothing about how to use Photo Story yesterday afternoon, but by evening, I had it downloaded for my daughter’s Spanish project and now have enough basics to take it into my classroom and have my 4th graders create! (And now I’m at 279 words… *sigh*)

The second assessment is the SETDA survey for the teacher. This survey was more about technology use and philosophy at the campus level. From this survey, a picture developed of a campus that encourages technology use and provides many options for use, but doesn’t have a set requirement for teaching nor an assessment of student’s technological education. For myself, I see that to be an effective instructional leader, I will need to take the steps into using more technology with my students, and sharing those successes with the school. This would provide an audience for my students’ work and would provide teachers with a motivation to use those technologies with their students.

I plan on developing my skills in multimedia technology as much as I can in the near future. I believe that virtual schools are still growing and will need leadership as much at brick-and-mortar schools do. I want to be ready for anything.

And By Way of Explanation

These posts are all in response to questions in my instructional leadership class, one of the required classes in the Educational Leadership masters program I am taking through Lamar University. Perhaps when the class is over, I will morph this into something that I will use in my career.