1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
Upon embarking on EDLD 5352 “Instructional Leadership” I envisioned a course full of “how to” instruction outlining specific leadership tools that would be useful in the classroom. I mistakenly assumed the class would cover topics that would improve leadership among teams. What I learned is that the course centered around technology.
I learned far more than what I had expected, and in retrospect, is more important information for an administrator in the field of technology whether that be at a district or campus level. As the course began by filling out the Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA Teacher Survey, I realized that there is much that I do not understand in the field of technology, specifically as it applies to education. These inventories really highlighted the fact that before a teacher can have meaningful lessons based on technology, they must at least be comfortable with the idea of exposing themselves to different applications.
Additionally, being familiar with laws and regulations governing cyber-bullying and internet etiquette, as well as copyright infringement issues as it applies to technology is of utmost importance. Having district personnel inadvertently break one of these laws could prove disasterous for a school district. Training of faculty, constant monitoring of campuses, and supervision of students is imperative in today’s technological era. We are a society of digital immigrants teaching digital natives that are far more savvy than we are. Diligence is the key to keep students, parents, and faculty in check.
In summary, the course far exceeded my expectations of what I would be learning. The outcome of this course opened my eyes to the diligence and responsibility it takes to maintain and keep abreast of cutting edge technology as it continually changes in the world of education.
2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
The outcomes of this course are extremely relevant to the work of a technology liason. As previously stated, being cognizant of different technology applications as they change (either becoming more relevant or outdated) is only a small part of the role of a technology coordinator/liason. Not withstanding, it is important because keeping up with new programs and applications and purging outdated ones hightens the engagement of students in the classroom. It would be ignorant to assume that the students weren’t already a step (or more) ahead of the teachers in this respect. More importantly, however, are the online safety and the social, legal, and ethical issues that we must deal with head on as they confront today’s digital-age educators, students, and parents.
The course provided a wealth of useful information in the week four readings that dealt with these issues. In the field of education, online safety is of utmost importance to us as technology leaders and as campus administrators or classroom teachers. Being constantly aware of the dangers of being online and consistently communicating these dangers with students and parents is of utmost importance. Diligent monitoring of students during the use of technology applications while online is also a necessity.
As well, knowing the copyright laws and boundaries of the cyberworld is one of the most important areas that this class addressed. I am sure that on any given day administrators, teachers, and students are committing at worst legal infractions and at best are crossing ethical boundaries while using technology on campus. These laws need to be communicated to district and campus personnel, students and perhaps even to parents on a consistent basis.
3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
When reflecting back on this course, I found myself achieving a great deal with regards to technology. However the title of the course was a bit misleading. I thought that I would be focusing on instructional leadership geared toward the implementation of new ideas/concepts within the classroom. I guess with our world taking a more technical role, we as educators must also adapt our styles to fit the current society. Overall, I feel that I learned how to implement these new educational designs in my own teaching. I feel that I fell short on the teaching of others in how to implement these technology designs in their own classroom. In part this is due to the amount of time we are faced with at this time of year. With grades being due and trying to finish assigned curriculum before the holiday break, we as educators find this time to be quite stressful. Next year I will try and introduce the benefits of this new technology and how it engages the new learner. I will try and do this by planning staff developments for my campus and showing the simplicity of this new educational tool.
4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
While taking this class, I found that the course assignments had a tendency to be redundant and time-consuming. There seemed to be a lot of confusion regarding what was required on the discussion boards. The first week stated that we had to respond to comments of two other classmates. Then the instructions were changed to write responses to six other people. It was unclear whether the instructions were to follow throghout the course. Then the requirements were changed again by putting us in groups and making the requirements to make a response for each reading for at least two group members and at the same time posting your own comments on the reading. The readings and discussions required a lot of time and made it difficult to juggle everyday work responsiblities together with contributing to the the discussion board. When assignments were posted, many times there were discrepencies between what was on the rubric and what was listed in the directions. In our week one assignment, we were asked to take three inventories, two of which included the links of where to take them. The third inventory was ambigous and was later revealed by our grader that one that wasn’t available to take. Another assignment gave instructions on how to create a blog. While creating a blog was a very useful tool to learn, it didn’t make any sense to have to post the following assignments on the blog as well as submit it online via discussions boards.
5. What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
This course shed much light on my current technology abilities. I thought that I was up to date with the latest technical applications and equipment. When completing the interviews and discussions, I found that many new applications have been introduced to the world of education. My students have also introduced some of these new advances. The blog, for example, was something I was not familiar with. I have heard this term before, but never really thought about how it could be used in my classroom. After completing several posts on my personal blog, I found it to be a very simple and useful tool that could be implemented into my daily lessons. I even showed members of my team how we could use this technology to enhance the communication between our students and one another. They were apprehensive at first, but after showing the simplicity and usefulness, they were on board. The past four weeks have changed my attitudes toward technology in the classroom and how it can be used to engage students of a new generation.
6. What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?
There is great value in blogging for the 21st century learner. It allows the learner to reflect on their work in an open forum. In the past, we have used journal writing as a way for our students to improve their writing skills, connect to literature, etc. Blogging is a form of journal writing, but it gives the 21st century learner the element of technology that they crave. It is a unique way for students to share their thoughts and feelings. If we hand the 21st century learner a paper with ten questions on it and a pencil, they will be very bored with the assignment. Setting up a blog for your class is very simple and it is a creative way for the students to answer those same ten questions. Not only are they able to publish their answers, they also get to read the responses of their classmates and begin a discussion on the topic. It gives the students a choice in which questions they wish to focus on and enables the teacher to have several educational discussions going on at one time in one classroom. Blogging is an excellent tool for students to share their ideas and reflect on what they are learning in the classroom.
7. What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
Following the course, I am more encouraged to incorporate different aspects of technology into my curriculum, especially through the use of blogs. There are, however, some concerns that blogs present. Many times, students see blogs as a reliable resource to research information and that is not always the case. We have to teach our students to question the validity of the information and explore ways to authenticate their data on the internet. There is also the issue of students posting inappropriate material on their blog. Rules and regulations are key to managing the use of blogs. Cyber-bullying is a real threat in our schools and if blogs start to become a mode of learning, there would need to be strict monitoring of such sites and careful consideration should be put into students being informed of what the consquences are for involving themselves in such instances. In my opinion, I think blogs would provide a great means of submitting homework from student to teacher. It would save on paper and cut down on “lost” assignments. Many of my students tend to be very disorganized when it comes to managing their paperwork. As someone who struggles with papers and organization, I have found it to be much easier to manage files on a computer. Once a document is written, the ease of storing it within a virutal folder makes the retrival process easier than it would be to sort it in a filing system.
8. How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
Blogging is a great way to get school information out to the community quickly. It allows the school to post information about events, recent awards or changes to event schedules. In the past, information may have been posted on a website. Blogs can be more effective because it allows you to get the information out quickly, and it is much more functional than a website. Blogging is also interactive and allows the school to get feedback on what is posted. It gives the stakeholders a voice on what is happening at the school and forum to discuss the new topics. This is not the case with email or websites. If a stakeholder has a question about something that is posted, they can immediately post that question or concern for the entire community to see. This is a great way for the school to get valuable feedback and work out any potential concerns together.
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