Reflection

As the course began, I was excited to address the topic of technology in schools. As an administrator I feel it is imperative that I maximize my knowledge in this area. As for my expectations for the course, I only wanted to build my current knowledge base to a higher level. I had hope we would address the use of blogs and other open source technology, and address the “Appropriate Use” policies schools are using to “protect” their students. For schools to continue to authentically engage students of the 21st Century, we must offer instruction that incorporates the technologies students use in their everyday life. While schools strive to meet this goal, it is an oversimplification to think that technology will improve teaching on its own merit. Teaching strategies are necessary for technology to have the desired impact, and it must be supported by professional development. This professional development must influence changes in the behavior and habits of all stakeholders.

I found most of the course work relevant to the current situation in my school. Schools need to find and use the most current technology to teach and communicate with all stakeholders and this class addressed this need. I do not feel this course equipped me with the knowledge of the proper procedures to make effective change to our current technology program or it’s Acceptable Use Policy. As Dr. Abernathy and Dr. Jenkins suggested, districts need to make major changes to accommodate the paradigm shift that is taking place with the integration of technology in our schools. I felt the course material sold me on the change process, but left me wanting more of a plan to initiate this change in my school or in my district. Identifying the need for change is only the first step in this difficult process.
This course was organized quit differently than others in this series. It had many more hands on technology activities that I enjoyed, and felt I learned a substantial amount of useable information and instructional strategies and was able to carry out all of the assigned work. I found the week one and two assignment my favorite, because of the hands on activity of creating our own blog and actually posting our course work in this open source website. Also, the new discussion board strategy, where we posted quotes from the assigned reading, was extremely affective. It was the most productive use of the discussion board out of the eleven classes I have taken, and it forced me to study the assignment articles with greater attention. I would, however, suggest minimizing the discussion board quantity during the first two weeks due to the depth of the blog assignment.
This course has taught me to be proactive in my acquisition of knowledge and skill in reference to technology. I do not want to be a principal that receives technology education in a ‘trickle up” manner. I want to be an instructional leader that is current and aggressive in this key area. As the course work has taught us, as principal we are the technology leaders of our campus and there is no better way to lead than modeling that which we expect from other. Also, my attitude has change on the acceptable use policy. Before this course I felt it was not my job to question the policy, but to simply enforce it to the letter. I now believe changes need to take place in our “AUP” for the education on our campus to meet the needs of the 21century student. Technology on our campus needs to be wireless, mobile and brought to the students, not hidden away in some far off computer lab. With all of the current technology available, student should be using their textbooks less and less. Student should be using the same technology in the classroom and they do at home creating a seamless technology environment that cultivates and engages.

Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach. (M. Prensky, 2001) Prensky went on to say that our students don’t even process information in the same way as we “digital immigrants” do. Student need open source venues such as Weblogs or “blogs” to collaborate and communicate in today classrooms. Educators have been slower to adopt Weblogs for a variety of reasons, among them access, privacy, and security issues. (W. Richardson, 2004) But because so many people in the real work and communicate on a daily basis with blogs, schools are slowly overcoming their fears and experimenting with this new form of communication. Today many schools are starting to see the cost effectiveness of blogging. Blogs are not only for students but can be extremely effective in promoting collaboration among teachers. As a principal, many new teacher directives take more and more of your time. Time teachers did not have to spare in the first place. Establishing interactive school and departmental blog sites would not take away time from teachers, but would allow teacher to collaborate without requiring an extra meeting! This strategy would actually add time back to our teachers schedule, improving teacher moral, collaboration, and ultimately classroom instruction.
My excitement for the use of blogs does not minimize the safety issues surrounding their use. Any time teachers and especially students are posting personal information and private thoughts onto the web, caution should be used. It is our responsibility as administrators and technology leaders to keep our students protected with thoughtful teaching and clear policy. (W. Richardson, 2005) As Richardson suggested, we can learn more form blogging in a short amount of time that all of our lives spent reading. The information is current and interactive to your thoughts and questions. It is, however, important to understand the nature of open source formats, and educate our children in the art of using these tools. They are not definitive sources of information, but collaborative tools to further you knowledge and understanding on a specific topic.

In blogs, educators are discovering a new tool for engaging students who live in a world increasingly dominated by technology. By incorporating blogging into the school environment, educators can capitalize on the social media explosion, turning a potentially isolating medium into a format to communicate to all stakeholders. It would allow for self-expression as well as a bridge to the broader learning community. Blogs offer a creative outlet and give students a voice in what may be their only outlet or experience of being heard. Introducing blogs into the classroom fosters an environment of cooperation and recognition of the talents of each individual. Plus, students are learning and applying technical and communication skills that they will take with them into the 21st Century workplace.