Chapter 5-This chapter was relatable for me. My school has always been result driven. Just last school year we have failed one of our sub-groups and now we have to change to make sure we are assisting all of our sub-groups. When I think of change, I think of the book my school read "Who Moved My Cheese?" It actually is a good book if want to get motivation for any change in your life. Not too many teachers have made changes especially when it comes to technology. We never have many Staff Development on using technology during school hours or during our faculty meetings. I wish we could, so we can master using some of the software program and interwrite programs with our classes. Our principal is the one who is suppose to set up these Staff Development, but she does has so many other things to focus on to make sure our school stays on the right track through the directions of the School District. If we could have one person to set up the Staff Development for technology, this could help the teachers to allow themselves to be more comfortable with the technology tools we have.
Chapter 6-This chapter represents my fears on becoming a technology leader. Resisters and Saboteurs. I am afraid that someone at my school would be a saboteur. There are already some resisters and don't want to make any changes whether it comes from the county or the administration team. As a leader, I would have to make the changes subtle so it does not seem overwhelming for them. I may need to show them how to incorporate technology into their lesson plans so they can plan to set up the software or programs needed for the lesson. As for the saboteurs, I would have to make sure that they can express their concerns and make sure there is a Plan B.
Chapter 7-When it comes to evaluating technology, we need to step up. We need to look beyond the basic computer drills and have students use the computers as another resource to retrieve information about different subjects. We need to make sure that the schools are focusing on Categoris A and B in the NCREL learning and technology framework. Students need to become explorers with the help of teachers as their facilitator and guides to come up with engaging and authentic projects. This could help keep their interest and build their confidence to learn more technology base projects.
Chapter 8- Managing technology or leading technology can be confusing when you don't know which one to flip on. We can start by leading the technology programs in our school by coming up with the mission and vision, as well as the goal(s). Once we started leading the new ideas and programs, we need to manage the technology programs we started. This can be a challenge when we must maintain our path to reach our goal(s). We must stay up-to-date on the latest technology whether it is a program, software, or a useful website that allows students to interact with class sites or teacher sites.
Chapter 9-To make sure we are effective leaders, we must beware of our saboteurs and/ or resisters. We need to make sure we set up Staff Development for teachers when new techniques or software can benefit the students. We should be flexible when it comes to constant change especially through technology. Technology is constantly changing with new software and techniques for the classroom. We can support the teachers by getting them away from a full 15-20 minutes of daily computer drills and have the students use the computers as extended learning tools for web based projects.
Chapter 10- Our dream as educators is to be able to reach out to the students and show them the choices they have for the future. If we had wishes, we would reduce the drop out rate, close the gap for all sub-groups, help the ELLs to comprehend in English faster, and have students go to college. Technology could help to push our wishes into reality if we use it more for authentic projects instead of drills. This could help the students to become familiar with basic computer skills they will need for high school and college.
April, so glad to finally see my our words. I'll post a true response this weekend when I have time to read your blog correctly.
ReplyDeleteI really agree when you say you will need to make subtle changes. Some people really do not understand that change is hard. As a technology facilitator you have to be ready to handle different types of people who are all handle change differently. Being understanding will be helpful if change is to occur without all the saboteurs succeeding. Sorry for ranting on your blog! :) I hope you are having a good week...I meant to talk to you during break but got caught up in my own bubble of thought!
ReplyDeleteThere are Resisters and Saboteurs in every thing we do, but as leaders if we keep the idea "What is best for the students" in mind, often making decisions becomes much easier. We teach not for the comfort and security of the adults around us but the enlightenment of children to a world of knowledge. Grab up those resisters you were talking about and make them part of the bigger plan. Change is very difficult for many people, put on soft gloves at first and come out fighting for what is best for the kids.
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