Final Thoughts

While I was planning and organizing my technology initiative "iPad Fun Night", I found myself consistently asking, "Will this device work?". Each time I added or considered a new piece of technology, either to help support the event or to provide for the attendees' use, in the back of my mind, I continued to wonder if the device(s) would be functional on the night of the event. Throughout my career, I have helped colleagues setup and organize technology in their classrooms, prepared for assemblies, and aided peers in solving tech. issues. All of these situations have led me to believe that though technology can make the life of students and teachers easier, the leaders of the tech. use need to be prepared ahead of time for technical issues that may arise. Recently, in my own JK classroom, I had to solve a few tech. issues when recording the students' retells. I had used a video camera from home to record a few, until the battery died. Next, I had to search for and borrow the school's camera to record a few more. Then, finally I used my classroom digital camera to finish the project. In the first case, I had to use my personal video camera because the school's could not be found. In the second scenario, finding the school's video camera was not an easy task, considering no one in the school had seen it for a couple of years. And, when I did find the device, there was no memory card in it to save video on. Finally, I used my classroom digital camera to record the video. The quality is much better and so too is the sound. However, while loading the videos on to my school computer, I was stuck again because I had exceeded the memory capacity of the drive.

All of these difficulties are ones that may be present in any technology initiative. A really successful and fun event has already worked these glitches out before the night of the event, so that the attendees can participate and  the leaders can share their expertise. Be prepared ahead of time is one characteristic I think all leaders of technology require in order to be successful.

I really enjoyed the digital storytelling task. Part of the reason why I enjoyed so much was the fact that it included a variety of multimedia. Recently, my JK class and I conducted a retell of the story of the '3 Little Pigs'. I wanted to create some excitement and really engage in the activity, considering it was the middle of May and some of the students were already checking out for the summer. So, we create puppets out of paper, straws, and markers. And, the original plan was to video tape the students retelling the story using the puppets. But, the students wanted more than that; they wanted to re-create the story of 'The 3 Little Pigs' using props., sound effects, narration, a backdrop, and the list went on and on. By the time we were finished and ready to present, it was as if the entire story had come to life. We videotaped each student's production and the students were loving it. I also happened to come across another picture book titled 'Miss. Smith's Storybook'. It is about a teacher who reads from a special book that makes the characters from the story actually come alive and perform in front of the reader's eyes. As I was reading it to the students, I had an 'aha' moment: this is exactly what the students in my class had experienced when we read 'The 3 Little Pigs' together. It was the reason why our retell morphed into a live performance! The book and its characters had come alive for the students!

In any case, this is how I see digital storytelling applying to junior/intermediate grade levels. It could provide the same avenue for older students, who may not be as keen to perform in front of their peers, but who can certainly use the same level of imagination through digital storytelling. Next year, I am teaching a grade 3 class and I will certainly look to use the technology tool to enhance students' demonstration of their learning, or atleast provide it as an option for those who are interested.

Implementing an IICT Program as an IICT Leader

One issue which continued to arise as I completed this module was the fact that leaders of technology must have a vast knowledge of many IICT tools. Only having 1 or 2 tools in your bag really limits the amount of IICT integration the staff at your school can implement, making the initiative one that may fizz out and lose momentum. But by having a host of tools to utilize means the leader can meet the individual needs of the most staff members. Those needs may range from staff having a vast knowledge of IICT tools and their function in the classroom to staff with no prior knowledge or experience. Each of these ends of the learning spectrum, as many in between, will require different approaches to PD as well as IICT integration.

Another aspect of this dynamic is the fact that teachers are teaching a variety of subjects as well as topics and skills, layering the implementation and creating a complex situation. Being able to support all of these teachers and their programs is a monumental task, especially if the leader himself/herself is learning the IICT tools, too. Ofcourse, being aware of where and when he/she can access an expert in the specific IICT tool is also an effective means of supporting staff. But, IICT leaders who can provide the timely, on-the-spot support which comes with being knowledgeable is the most effective way to lead in IICT.

 

The document entitled Four Challenges Classroom Teachers Face When They Integrate Technology Into Their Teaching provided some insight in to the roadblocks IICT leaders may face when they attempt to implement an IICT initiative. Having these 4 aspects in mind before they begin an initiative is really beneficial. It means the IICT leader can plan ahead to avoid these roadblocks. Or have a backup plan to get around them and continue with the initiative.

 

One area I wish to further explore is in regard to educational packages offered by companies so that their tools can be integrated across the school. I know many companies have products specifically for schools, but many require email addresses and passwords to register and login. I would like to know more about the support these companies can offer schools, so that they can remove this roadblock and make it an easier process in implementing their software.

Staff Development

One significant issue that arose while I was completing the most recent learning experience was the fact that as a leader of IICT I need to be prepared to support my staff with applicable, user-friendly, professional development opportunities. It is one thing to desire change, but it is an entirely different task carrying-out the change. It begins with a good plan, including goals, available technology, ICT knowledge, and a strong team. To keep the plan moving forward, staff need to be supported in their efforts, both through encouragement as well as professional development. This is junction in which ICT leaders need to implement very specific and timely PD.

The purpose of this PD should be to increase the comfort-level of staff members, as they are the individuals who will integrate and implement the specific steps of the plan. The PD should be hands-on and allow for plenty of exploration time for staff. It should also include some specific training on key features of the program or technology. And examples of its use in a classroom setting or as a classroom task should also be made apparent to staff, so that they can see the tool in action and begin to think of ways they can use the same tool to help support their classroom learning.

But, before this can happen, each individual teacher will need to also have a plan for integratiing technology on their own program. There is no 'cookie cutter' solution, which suits all classrooms. Instead, there are programming opportunities just waiting to be capitalized on. A traditional, oral presentation can be slightly adapted by the teacher to integrate IICT, such as Voicedthread, to suit his/her classroom. Or, a plan to use PowerPoint presentations can be altered to become a Prezi 'prezentation'. Teachers can start implementing IICT without impacting the programming they may already have in place. A class blog/vlog could be created to keep parents/guardians as well as students and the school community aware of what is going on in the classroom. Once the teacher feels comfortable with blogging for his/her class, then he/she can begin to integrate it in to their programming, as a reflection tool or as a means of conducting and gathering research.

 

The 'Qualities of a Good Leader' video was a great opportunity to reflect on my own practice, identifying the leadership qualities I already incorporate in my classroom. It also provided me with an opportunity to look forward and plan for ways in which I could enact leadership qualities in my future role as a IICT leader.

 

 

For example, I am a leader who leads by example. This is an effective means of leading when the leader desires others to emulate him/her. However, when it comes to making change happen, a leader who leads by example can only take his/her team so far. This is the point in which the leader needs to switch gears and become not only a leader who leads by example, but also one who speaks up and out for his/her intiative. Leading by example can be inspirational; however, many teachers do not know where and how to start when they are inspired. This is when the leader of IICT can speak up and share his/her knowledge and expertise. Once the momentum has been established, then he/she can speak out, describing the needs of the school to administration as well as other IICT leaders with in the board, so that his/her school can have access to all the technology necessary to support student learning.

 

Many of my colleagues have shared with me a variety of effective ways to implement and provide professional development for my current school. They have done so because they have had opportunities to test and implement IICT PD, and they now wish to share their knowledge with others. I can now take the expertise they have shared with me in to my school for my school's intiatives.

Leadership

After completing the first e-tivity in learning module 1, I began to see that there are a lot of different ways a leader can lead, and many qualities he/she can have in order to be effective. As I continued to read, discuss, and reflect on the assignments and my colleagues' posts, I kept coming back to one quality/characteristic: organization. A leader who is organized already has a goal(s) in mind and has thought of the process leading up to it/them. This helps when breaking down the goal(s) in to smaller components, so that individuals or groups of individuals can work together towards the ultimate goal(s). Another reason being organized and having a goal in mind is an excellent quality for a leader is to help garner interest in any initiative. A leader can perform a song and dance--like the one in this video--

but if he/she does not have a plan in place to prove to people that joining this new initiative will be worthwhile, then the leader will have a difficult time motivating his/her team. A solid plan has room to be flexible when unexpected results or events occur. It also provides a firm ground for moving forward with the initiative as well as maintaining momentum.

Being a leader with a plan builds trust between the leader and his/her team because they know the direction and can see the progress being made. And when team members trust their leader, they feel more comfortable implementing the initiative and encouraging others who maybe more pessimistic to get on board and join the movement.

All of these thoughts and considerations stemmed from an assignment which had learners elaborate on methods of implementing change when the change is not overly accepted by many staff members. The 'Positive Change' assignment really made me think about how I as a leader would respond to negativity towards an initiative. Many new initiatives proposed by school boards are met with pessimism. So, this activity really has merit. I think a solid plan with clear indications of the how, when, who, and why of it can change a lot of negativity in to optimism. It seems more and more expectations are placed on teachers to boost the school's EQAO results and produce evidence of how we plan on getting students to levels 3 & 4 as well as evidence of them achieving these levels. And in the case of those not achieving, we are again expected to prove how we plan to get them there the second, third, fourth time around. If most of this planning is in place for teachers when a new initiative is set out, then I think more teachers would be willing to get involved and take a risk in their own practice. The 'Positive Change' assignment really challenged me to consider the possibility of having to garner support when there may not be a whole lot.

Many of my colleagues have expressed ideas and initiatives implemented in their schools, which has provided me with some insight to possibilities for my school. The discussions between colleagues has provided me with a solid basis for which to begin establishing a technology team with in my school. The examples of assignments and tasks developed by my peers has given me an excellent starting point for implementation. I can now share these ideas with others in my school to determine who would be interested in integrating technology in to their programming, in hopes that our example will encourage, inspire, and/or motivate others to do the same, just as I have been by my colleagues in this course.

I am interested in gaining some more insight in to establishing a BYOD program at my school. I think it is imperative that we consider the possibilities of such an implementation, considering that many of our students have their own devices. And, knowing jobs and professions rely more and more on technology, especially the devices and programs that allow for collaboration, it will be necessary for our students to have a solid understanding of the power of electronic devices as well as the proper etiquette.

Final Thoughts

One issue that continued to reoccur as I completed the tasks in the final module was that being a leader involves more than one person. Within any leadership position lies a team working with him/her towards a common goal. If I were asked at the beginning of the course if I felt there were opportunities to get the school community (i.e., parents, community leaders) involved in technology integration, I would have responded with a no. Simply because the school community is rarely connected with the in's and out's of a classroom and would not necessarily grasp the intentions or challenges. Now, on the other hand, I am totally supportive of community involvement in technology integration. For a couple of reasons:

1. technology is a vital aspect to many job descriptions and having their involvement would strengthen the school to work connection;
2. there are many community leaders who just by the nature of their position are experts in many examples of technology;
3. the more the community supports technology integration the greater the support within the school from teachers, administration, and students; and,
4. the community's support is imperative in order for important events to take place. Teachers and administrators are sometimes bogged down by their jobs that eager parents could help support the workload.

As a teacher interested in further integrating technology in my practice as well as increasing my role as technology leader, I will seek the support of the school's community, not just from parents and community leaders, but also from the students themselves, especially those who are tech. savvy and are interested in sharing their expertise with me and other teachers.

I really enjoyed developing a 3 year plan for integrating technology. It gave me a real sense of accomplishment and it was a practical assignment because it is something I can take to my principal and/or place in my teacher's portfolio for future reference. It also made clear the necessity of having a plan in place when integrating technology, not just for accountability sake, but also for measurement of effectiveness and future goal setting.

Philosophy on Integrating Technology in the Classroom

I believe that technology should support student learning and inquiry, not taught as a separate entity. Students should be using information and computer technology to in the same ways that a typical classroom uses pens, papers, and textbooks. Technology should be prevalent in every classroom and available to all students. In this way, students become the navigators of their learning, the teachers become the sails, and the technology the sea from which all possibilities emerge. Students will then become active, rather than static learners, and in the process more engaged in their education. Finally, when students use rich technology in meaningful ways, they are developing skills necessary for the 21st century professional, and they will be better suited to adapt successfully in the future if they feel confident in applying these skills.

The 3 things I have learned from this course so far are:

1. In order for schools to successfully integrate technology in to their classrooms, the school as a whole needs to approach this endeavour as a team. The principal and/or lead technology teacher will have to take on the leadership roll, but it is the individual teachers and classroom support staff that will make the integration successful.
2. Teachers who have adequate training as well as some tips and hints for troubleshooting are more likely to integrate technology in their classrooms. They are even more likely to continue to integrate it if they feel confident in adapting or readjusting lessons when things do not go as planned.
3. The best examples of technology impact the most students as possible. A SMARTBoard is a really cool piece of equipment and it has a whole host of classroon applications. However, few students can interact simultaneously on it, leaving many of the other students disengaged or lost.  For relatively the same cost, a classroom could have a class set of iPads or tablets with which to explore and develop skills.

As the lead technology teacher in my school, the 3 things that I will do to support my colleagues are:

1. Create and maintain a technology blog with lists of types of information and computer technology, examples of possible ways to integrate them, links to excellent lesson and unit plans, exemplars of others or myself using the technology, answer comments or questions about the technology, as well as tips and hints for my colleagues regarding the integration of the technology.
2. Ask my principal for some time during a staff meeting(s) or PLC(s) to demonstrate a Web 2.0 tool(s) which could be useful for many of my colleagues.
3. Ask for some time at a school assembly for my students to chow off their creations using technology, so other teachers or students may be inspired or want to inquire about how they can use it, too.

Being a Technology Leader

I really enjoyed the content in the latest learning module. Part of the reason why I liked it so much was because there was some collaboration involved both with my colleagues at school and peers in the course. Through the creation of a staff survey on technology to the feedback from the my peers, I learned quite a bit about what it means to be a lead technology teacher. The position not only involves solving technical problems and troubleshooting--though I'm sure those who are currently in such a position feel as though that is all they do--but also includes forwarding thinking and planning in order to best support the students' learning. Technology moves so fast that without someone staying current, a school could quickly fall behind the latest improvements, or they could be spending their money on technology that is out of date.

One issue that really hit home emerged from David Jakes paper Strategies, Solutions and Innovations for Technology Leaders. In his paper, he mentions that when technology leaders consider which types or examples of technology to integrate, they should also consider the option that impacts the most students. This statement made me rethink my position that every classroom should have a SMARTBoard. The reason why I have changed my perspective is because though a great interactive, novel tool, it is still teacher-centred, meaning the teacher decides the content, the resources, the process. For the same amount of money, a school could purchase a number of tablets, iPads, or other similar devices that allow the students to determine the direction, the source, and the content of their learning, making the impact of technology on the students in the classroom that much greater. Having these devices in the classroom also allows the teacher to design and present lessons and units that are teacher-centred because they can broadcast the lesson through Wi-fi, and maintain student autonomy by allowing them opportunities to revisit and work at their own pace.

I am interested in learning more about how a lead technology teacher receives funding, support, and/or attention from his/her board. More specifically, what does the teacher need to do other than send encouraging emails. I would like to know the process and required information to make a pitch to the board to have a technology-focused classroom with a large amount of computer technology integrated in to the programming. This would be an interested endeavour to undertake, especially considering they are few mainstream classrooms in my board which are technology focused.