Week 5 Reflections

Week 5 EDLD 5352
Reflective Responses

* What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

When I enrolled in this course, I didn’t really know what to expect. I fully expected to learn what my role as an administrator would be as it related to technology, but I wasn’t aware of how complex it would be. I have learned a great deal about how critical technology development is to our children’s future, and how far we as a district have come and how far we need to go. I also evaluated my own comfort level with technology, and feel much more like a digital borderland resident or native than a digital immigrant, despite my age. I also now have a library of resource articles, (complete with links) that I can refer back to from time to time. I have already shared some of these articles with my school administrators and the technology teacher. I have not fully explored all of these links and have a list of things to look at when I am on break. I feel that the course surpassed my expectations. I did not expect to get the depth and breadth of information that I obtained in this course. It was an intensive, but positive experience.

* 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?

Much of the information covered was limited in scope in my current position as a PPCD teacher who has one computer in the classroom for teacher use. However, I do work a lot with photographs, digital media (using a flip camera) and I have to complete many types of reports through my special education department. That said, I do not plan to be in that position forever, and in almost any other position in the school district, I will have to be cognizant of many of the topics covered in this course. Despite little relevance for my current assignment, I found the articles to be thought provoking and prompted curiosity about how things are done in my district. I wanted to know where our district really stood on technology integration. While it looks like the upper levels (Junior High through High School) have good access to technology, our elementary clearly is lacking in many ways. True, the upper level student is better able to integrate technology independently. However, our younger students could benefit from many of the programs available. They simply are not available because no one has computers truly available to students except in the computer lab. I am inspired to learn more about how technology planning works in my district.

* What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I feel that I was able to achieve all of the outcomes and objectives of the course. There were a few tense days when it looked as if I would not get the information I needed from the director of technology for an assignment. I will say that given the tight turnaround on assignments, I was not able to interview people as thoroughly as I would have liked. I find myself wondering whether the deficits identified are just on my campus, or whether they are prevalent throughout the district. Clearly, on our campus, there are few teachers who are using technology, and it is not entirely their fault. We simply lack the technology availability. If I were in the position of Technology Director, I would try to be more transparent about district technology goals and objectives and would include teaching staff and building administrators in the planning process. I would also post our technology plan on our intranet and update its status every six months. There were a tremendous number of “pendings” listed on our district plan.

* Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

The quick pacing of the course, the time of year, and the availability of district administrators created some tense moments for me when completing my assignments. Because we were off for a week at Thanksgiving, I had a little difficulty scheduling time with my principal and getting information from the Technology Director. It was a tense week when I did not get a response from my email request, then telephone request to the Technology Director. She finally emailed me the district technology plan that Saturday. Fortunately I was able to complete the assignment in the time scheduled. I would have liked to have had time for follow up. Specifically, why did I have to go to her for the Campus and District Technology Plan? My principal did not have a copy, and it was not posted anywhere online. I would have liked to know how they keep track of progress on the plan, which is in its last year.
The lack of knowledge on the part of my principal was discouraging. With technology as important a component as it clearly is in the articles of this course, I would think she would want to know more and be able to advocate for more technology. Instead, she appears to be resigned to the facts at hand, instead of looking for explanations. The lack of a response to my email from the technology director was also bothersome to me. I never received a response via email other than the technology plan, and I had to call on Friday to get it. It seems to me that that plan should be online where we can access it. When I called Friday, the Tech person I spoke to said that she had to get permission to release the plan, and that she didn’t think she even had a current copy. That circumstance leaves me with a feeling of over protectiveness on the part of the technology department, and I don’t really understand why. As a director of Technology, it would seem that one should be more transparent and interactive with your school administrators. One would need to coordinate with the principal to determine needs for both hardware and software. I did not get the feeling that is happening on my campus.

* What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I feel that I learned a great deal from this course. The readings opened my eyes to the many new ideas, strategies, and requirements that living in a digital age has. I learned that I am really more tech savvy that I thought I was, even though I don’t use all of the cutting edge technology on a daily basis. I personally prefer to write on the computer, and use technology fairly comfortably in my job and in my personal life. I am not always someone to jump on the newest bandwagon, but I do see lots of value in most of the emerging technology of the last five years. I see some distinctive leadership issues in our district with technology and building administrators. As a technology director, collaborating with administrators and campus teachers must be central to development of plans for those schools. Because I prefer the collaborative process in terms of general decision making, I would work to regularly collaborate with the principals, the campus improvement committee, and any other group that requests technical assistance. I believe this is a way to “bridge the gap” between tech staff and teachers as well. I personally believe that teachers and techies must learn to collaborate, and respect each others’ needs. Not all problems can be resolved as peacefully as we would like. However, the process could help develop working relationships with mutual respect.

* What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

I believe that blogs have a tremendous potential for the 21st century learner and teachers. I viewed many of the blogs mentioned in our reading materials and found them engaging and focused. I will not soon forget “The Secret Life of Bees” blog. It is one of my favorite recent reads and I thoroughly enjoyed the blog. I learned from the perspectives and questions of others.
Setting up a blog and posting was a neat process. This was the first time I have set up a blog, though I have commented on many. I found the process easy, intuitive, and with the exception of pasting Word tables online, found it easy to figure problems out. I definitely see the potential for a lot of learning in the upper elementary through high school grades. It is fun to create and post a blog. However, no blog should be created without establishing guidelines for internet/blog use, discussing internet ethics and acceptable use policies, and without the express consent and review of the building administrator or designee. For all the good blogs can do, a poorly developed and reviewed one could create big problems for a school and school district.

* What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

Blogs can be wonderful instructional tools. Properly created, reviewed, and maintained, they can contribute to learning in ways that no other method can. However, blogs can also be dangerous places if they are not well conceived. The articles I read reiterated numerous times that blogs absolutely must be formed with parameters for acceptable use, they must have the ability to be reviewed for appropriate content prior to posting, and students should have ongoing ethics and etiquette training to prevent potentially dangerous, libelous, or criminal events from happening within the blog. Blogging in education should happen, but with teacher guidance and control. Teachers must have training regarding how to develop a good blog and what to avoid. School districts must have acceptable use policies that address blogs as well.

*How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

Blogs can provide a wonderful opportunity to provide information to your campus as an administrator, can provide the community with school information, and can serve as a site for education among staff. As we become a more technologically oriented community, I believe we will use media such as blogs to communicate ideas in a way that allows for anytime information and learning. My favorite way to look for information is to use a search engine. During hurricane season, I read the Houston Chronicle SciGuy blog, simply because there is a free market of ideas and a moderator who keeps things sane and is well informed. (No one has to evacuate Katy for a hurricane, but we need to let Galvestonians get out of harms’ way!) As a technology director, I would love to use a blog to keep district staff informed about progress on technology issues, training, and even use it for requests and explanations. It is very satisfying to be able to go back and review information that was blogged. A tech blog is also a great way to provide education to staff and link it with educational links, much as we did with the YouTube links.