Florida Educational Leadership Standards

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 1

Standard 7: Technology

Standard 7: Technology – High Performing Leaders plan and implement the integration of technological electronic tools in teaching, learning, management, research, and communication responsibilities.

Knowledge

I have the knowledge and understanding of:

 Current technologies that support management functions

 Current technologies that support curriculum

 Ethical principles in using technology

 The role of technology in promoting student learning and professional growth

 Criteria for selection of management and instructional strategies

 How to develop a technology plan for the short and long-term needs of the organization

Dispositions

I believe in, value and am committed to:

 Personal acquisition of technology skills that can facilitate management and instruction

 Using technology to improve curriculum and instruction

 Using technology to improve management functions

Skills

Throughout my internship experience and coursework at FGCU I have learned and evidenced through integrated essays and artifacts the following list. As an administrator I will facilitate processes and engage in activities ensuring that:

 There is effective use of technology to manage school operations

 Technologies are used in teaching and learning Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 2

 Professional development for all, including the administrators, is provided to use appropriate technologies in the school

 Technology is used to monitor student progress

 Grant opportunities to acquire technology are sought and obtained

Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology

Students entering kindergarten this fall have never lived in a world without computers and cell phones. These children are members of a group called “the millennial generation”. They are experiencing a world unlike any before in which the social, cultural, and technological conditions have transformed nearly every aspect of daily life. Globally, governments are recognizing the necessity to support the growth and use of new technologies in education. The

U.S. Department of Education in 2005 (as cited in Yelland, 2007) noted that “American education is being bolstered by the increasing use of educational technology, greater accountability, and growing new partnerships between tech-savvy students and teachers…[T]he technology that has so dramatically changed the world outside our schools is now changing the learning and teaching environment within them.”

The No Child Left Behind Act sets forth a systemic framework for reform to close the achievement gap. The efforts of this change call for a rethinking and realignment of our prior models of education, and included in this call for change is a need to rethink the tools that are available to support such change. In all facets of a school, instructional and operational, schools will need to effectively employ technology to better meet the needs of students, Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 3 parents, teachers, and administrators. In many areas of work and life, this transformation has already occurred from on-line shopping to text messaging. This same transformation must occur in our schools. The National Education Technology Plan is meant to help motivate and incite technology-driven transformation. The plan aims to meet the needs of twenty-first century students, provides an opportunity to assess the progress of the past decade of technology investments in schools, and finally presents a set of action steps and recommendations that school systems can consider as they begin or continue to change. The seven action steps are: (1) Strengthen Leadership, (2) Consider Innovative Budgeting, (3)

Improve Teacher Training, (4) Support E-Learning and Virtual Schools, (5) Encourage Broadband

Access, (6) Move Toward Digital Content, and (7) Integrate Data Systems (U.S. Department of

Education, 2006).

Learning and management technologies have been collectively called information and communications technologies (ICT). ICT includes devices such as computers, digital cameras and televisions, MP3 players, mobile telephony, electronic whiteboards, digital cameras, scanners, electronic musical instruments, and laser printers. Software is a part of ICT, such as the Internet, learning management suites such as Angel and Blackboard, communications software like Skype and Messenger, editing programs such as iMovie and Windows

Moviemaker, GarageBand, Kid Pix, and the suite of Microsoft programs that includes

PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and Publisher. ICT enables learners to function in new ways that were not possible prior to their induction (Yelland, 2007). Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 4

ICT integration into schools involves technology planning. District and school administrators must devise and implement a well-defined strategic technology plan in order to effectively integrate ICT into the learning environment so that it ultimately produces improved student learning. In the course Technology for School Leaders, I participated in a group project that evaluated the current technology plan of Lee County . The William Cecil Golden School

Leadership Development Program, in conjunction with Accelerated School Administrator

Program, provides a set of guidelines for strategic ICT integration planning.

The initial step is to create a belief statement paired with policy statements. The belief statement will stand as the fundamental values that will shape the mission and objectives in integrating ICT. Policy statements define the path and place self-imposed limitations on the organization. Writing a vision statement is the second step. The vision is a broad statement of what the organization/school will be in the future. This will be an informal agreement of how the ICT will be used by staff, student, parents, and other community members so the overall plan will be implemented effectively and efficiently. Enhanced student learning, as in all educational visions, should be the driving force of the vision. The writing of a mission statement follows, which provides the primary focus of the organization. The mission statement must emphasize the uniqueness, singularity, and distinctiveness of the organization.

The fourth step is to write the goals and objectives for ICT integration. Goals should be statements of what the school or district wants to do. The goals provide a framework for the plan and must align with other educational goals within the organization. Goals should be realistic for the near future and acknowledge the constraints of local priorities, funding, and Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 5 other barriers. Strategies are the next component, if you think of the goals/objectives as the

“what”, strategies are the “how”. Strategies should lay out broadly stated means of attaining the resources necessary for meeting the objectives. The action plan, the sixth step, breaks down the strategies into explicit tasks required to implement the ICT integration. For each task the action plan list the person responsible, the due date for completion, and an analysis of the benefits and costs. The action plan ensures that the strategies are implemented.

Included in the action plan, should be a step in which baseline data is collected to determine the impact of the implementation. Following the implementation of the action plan, is the next step in which performance measures are analyzed. Data collected post- implementation should be compared to baseline data to provide information on the performance of students. Finally, this performance measure data is analyzed and used to establish or revise current or additional goals and objectives with a schedule for future program evaluations. Thus begins the feedback loop cycle, and the planning steps are repeated as the organization moves closer to ICT integration (FLDOE, 2006).

Technology in schools serves two major purposes for school administrators, to improve curriculum and instruction and to improve management functions. School administrators must become knowledgeable in the technologies available to them which will aid in meeting these fundamental goals.

I spent the earlier portion of this essay outlining the National Education Technology Plan and its basis for integrating technology into today’s classrooms. Regarding curriculum and instruction, the foremost relevant goal would be Integrating Data-Systems. The Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 6 recommendations accompanying the goal call for a database of student information available to administrators and educators so that they may have the information they need to improve student learning. This is evidence of the change in current educational practice, to a delivery system of data driven instruction. The USDOE recommends using these data systems to analyze assessment results and use the analysis to differentiate instruction for every student.

(USDOE, 2006).

In the course Technology for School Leaders I practiced using a data system similar to the one described. In this artifact a variety of technology uses for analyzing data are presented.

Also included in the National Education Technology Plan are a put for e-learning and virtual schools. E-learning is on-line instruction, where lessons are taught through the use of a learning management suite such as ANGEL which is used by FGCU. The USDOE also encourages increased broadband access for teachers and students both at school and home, granting access to data management tools, e-learning, on-line assessments, and high-quality digital content (USDOE, 2006).

In using data to drive instruction, teachers must be knowledgeable of a variety of teaching methods so that they may choose the best approach or intervention to meet specific needs of students. Having an understanding of the available technology tools will increase this knowledge. A common tool used today is tutor applications. In tutor applications, the computer generally presents information or subject matter and the student responds. The computer evaluates the response and presents additional or new information. Tutor applications include drill and practice, tutorials, simulations, and instructional games an Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 7 problem solving. Examples of tutor applications include the Reader Rabbit Series, Rossetta

Stone Series, Oregon Trail, and the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Series (Picciano,

2006).

In Collier County Public Schools, Rosetta Stone is a tutorial tool used to teach language acquisition. CCPS recently upgraded to version 3 and purchased 5,000 license for the English program to use with our English Language Learners. As part of my Building Technology

Coordinator duties I attended the training. The training was geared more towards database management, assigning students to levels and managing reports. Riverdeep is another example of a tutor application. Riverdeep has a bank of lessons meeting standards of reading, language arts, and math. Each student has their own individual login and can be assigned lessons by their teacher based on data and individual needs. This artifact is a direction sheet for teacher to assigned shared lesson accompanying the goals of the reading curriculum to student. MS

Publisher is required to view the file.

Tool applications make up one of the most frequently used computer applications. These include word processing, spreadsheet, and database software. The Microsoft Office suite which includes Word and Excel are popular tool applications. Database software such as Grolier online or Gale Group KidsInfo bits are excellent examples of tool application which are meeting the Move Toward Digital Content action step of the National Education Technology Plan

(Picciano, 2006).

Tutee applications involve the teacher or student directing the computer towards some sort of action. This can also be considered programming. Simpler tutee applications include MS Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 8

PowerPoint in which the user designs a presentation. Squeak is a script writing program that can be used with young children. Code writing, such as HTML is also included in tutee applications (Picciano, 2006).

Integrated learning systems (ILSs) are combinations of hardware, software, curriculum, and management components. A student management system that tests students, keeps records on their performance, and adjusts lessons material depending on their progress is a feature of

ILSs (Piciano, 2006). Last school year I was involved in piloting the ILS program My Reading

Coach. This was a program designed to teach reading and was provided for ESE students with reading goals in the inclusion classrooms at my school.

Multimedia (sound, pictures, video) have been around for much longer than computer- based technologies. There have been great advancements in these technologies with the movement towards digital media. Many schools produce and run their own “morning news” show in which students utilize equipment to broadcast live video throughout the school to conduct morning announcements.

Finally, data communications, which involves access to networks provides a wide range of instructional applications. Local area networks are used to support central computer labs, ILSs, and other instructional applications (Picciano, 2006). For example, CCPS recently adopted a new reading series. With it came a phonics computer application title Buggles & Beezy. This came as one networkable CD-ROM, that was added to our own local area network. This meant that teachers and student could access the program directly from any computer in the school that was networked, without needing to install the program or have the physical CD. Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 9

Other than having the physical equipment and resources to run these instructional tools, it has been my experience that the most critical aspect of providing instructional technology tools in an effective manner to promote student learning is staff development. If staff are untrained or not comfortable using certain technologies, they simply won’t. The use of technology in schools, from the classroom to the front office, requires continual professional development to acquaint users with new software, new hardware, and how to effectively integrate technology into curriculum, instruction, and assessment (Kallick & Wilson III, 2001). I would add that in addition to training, technology users need time in which to practice and become comfortable with the tools. Incentives and encouragement from administrators will also help in the transition to the classroom. I became well acquainted with the interactive whiteboard tool

Mimio when my principal required the use of the tool in at least one of our classroom observations.

The other realm of technology use for administrators is that of utilizing technology to improve management functions. Office technology has changed dramatically in recent years in all areas of work including the business and health care industries. Schools are no different.

Data communication systems have reinvented the ways in which the learning community shares information. Networks allow computers to connect with each other. All network users of a school community have access to shared drives, where files can be stored and saved.

These can be lunch schedules, lesson plans, and budgets. E-mail and the internet have made communication quick and efficient. Rare are the days of a hand written memo placed in a teacher mailbox which is not read until students are gone and the teacher physically makes Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 10 his/her way to the mailroom. An example of this is a schedule for the computer lab that I developed in my role as Building Technology Coordinator. I used the spreadsheet program

Microsoft Excel, and created a working document that could be shared by users over a network.

This saved time and also increased access to computers for students as teachers could view the schedule and sign up for openings from their own classroom at any time during the school day.

No need to march down to the lab and pencil in a time. .

Database applications have also changed with way school manage information. Database applications manage information about the various activities of a school in the form of data elements, records, and files. Database management software is used to hold and track student information such as attendance and grades, personnel information such as evaluations and history, facilities information such as equipment inventory and work order processing, financial information such as budget and purchasing, and finally curriculum information such as scheduling and curriculum revisions (Picciano, 2006).

Electronic spreadsheets are another tool that is used to improve management functions.

Spreadsheets are often used for applications that require frequent analysis and manipulation of numbers such as budget, accounting, enrolment projections, and test scores. Office automation, which in the past referred solely to word processing, is one of the most frequently used computer application worldwide. With the development of the Internet, office automations have moved beyond simple word processing to include desktop publishing, electronic, mail, voice mail, and databases (Picciano, 2006). Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 11

Finally, there are several specialized computer applications that may come in hand for administrators. ERIC (Educational Resources Information System), is a database which contains the world’s largest collection of articles and studies in the field of education. There are filter systems which allow you to find current or past research on specific topics in education.

Statistical software such as SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) can aid in instructional planning, evaluation, or research offices. In the course Foundations of Educational

Research I completed several modules which involved utilizing the SPSS software to analyze statistical data. An example of a module is here as , you will need to have the SPSS software installed on your computer in order to view the file. Automatic telephone calling systems combine telephones, computer equipment, and stored voice message equipment to make automated calls to families. This can be used to monitor attendance, as well as notify parents of events and activities occurring at the school.

Haven’t the times changed? I remember being in 5th grade, it would have been 1991, when the first computers were brought to MSAD #68 in Dover-Foxcroft, ME. Our teacher made up a schedule and each student in the class was allowed one 15 minute block of time to play the game Number Munchers. Today, I teach kindergarten students how to make PowerPoint presentations! A description of other technologies used in schools today is mentioned here

Being a witness to change such as this give me a better understanding of the many changes that occur, some quickly others not, in the world of education. As school leaders, it is our responsibility to be lifelong learners ourselves and change our schools, just as the world is changing around us. Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 12

References Florida Educational Leadership Standard 7: Technology 13

Bobowick, E. (2001). Information technology for schools (Kallick, B. & Wilson III, J.M., Ed.). San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Florida Department of Education. (2006). Florida school leaders: The William Cecil Golden

school leadership development program. https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/

Picciano, A.G. (2006). Educational leadership and planning for technology (4th ed). Upper Saddle

River: NJ: Pearson.

United States Department of Education: Office of Educational Technology. (2006). National

Education Technology Plan.

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/plan/2004/site/edlite-default.html

Yelland, N. (2007). Shift to the Future: Rethinking learning and new technologies in education.

New York, NY: Routledge.