Technology+Facilitator+Standard+VIII

I began my reading for this week a clear understanding of leadership and vision since I had been involved in casting a vision for the church I pastured, the denomination I served and several boards and committees as a leader in the world of religion. I already knew how important both leadership and vision are to any institution or organization. I had led groups to form long-range strategic plan. Although I had knowledge and skills at the outset, I could not simply take what I had and apply it to technology. The expectations of leadership and vision of technology facilitators is quite different from those in my former career. Some of the principles are the same, but the applications are divergent. I discovered that “leadership and a strong vision are necessary to push technology use into less familiar, but promising, constructivist context” (Williamson and Redish, 2009., p. 179). Technology facilitators are responsible not only for a technology vision, but also for school reform. The challenges are also different because the technology did not exist when many of the stakeholders were students, vision must be understood, adopted, and enacted by all members of the community, and schools face other seemingly bigger issues. Although I had not considered what Williamson and Redish (2009) identified as a successful tool for creating and sustaining a vision, technology literacy of stakeholders, I see how this can make an impact on the decision makers. By modeling and involving stakeholders with technology the technology facilitator can overcome the challenges list above. According to Williamson and Redish (2009) long-range plans for technology must include a vision of the desired outcomes, description of the status quo, and an action plan for moving from the status quo to the ideal of the vision, and a means to measure progress. They also identify the qualities of exemplary technology plans improve student learning, utilize research based best practices, connect to other initiatives, provide measurable goals. The plan must also be logical, simple, and comprehensive. Finally, the authors place the leadership and vision in the context of an ongoing process. As an intern I was able to see the resistance for change in meetings with grade-level teachers who expressed great concern over “breaking the spirits of students” by challenging them in benchmark testing. I saw the district technology committee grapple with budget issues to fulfill the vision that they had cast for the district.
 * Self-Assessment **

** Learning as a learner ** I learned by reading, observing, and participating in discussions and meetings related to vision and leadership. I built on my previous knowledge to construct new knowledge with which to improve my skills in leading and vision development for technology. The previous chapter provided the management tools needed to help me understand and implement this standard. By shadowing the T3 Grant coordinator, I was able to observe seasoned educational facilitators and leaders as they demonstrated this standard. I have discovered that through reading I learn the concepts and ideas that are required to know what to look for when provided the opportunity to observe. I learned that seeing others perform tasks make it easier for me to apply my knowledge and skills, Reflection also plays a large role in my learning. I learn to appreciate discussions with my mentor following a shadowing experience. Perhaps most important, I realized that I can fulfill the expectations of a technology facilitator. As in previous standards, collaboration was essential to developing the ability to implement this standard. By working with others on shared documents, discussion boards, and wiki’s I had a sounding board on which to consider my ideas regarding my learning. Sometimes I discovered that I misunderstood an assignment or that there was a better approach. At other times I helped someone else who needed a little guidance.

** Lifelong learning skills ** I learned that the vision for educational technology must also cast a vision for improving learning. Throughout this program I have come to understand that school progress must be measured by student achievement. I am confident that the responsibility to improve learning and teaching will never diminish as my goal. I have also personally discovered the value of collaboration. Leadership and vision are especially collaborative in nature. I have learned to use collaborative tools because of the collaborative approach used to complete assignments through out this program. I am keenly aware that leadership and vision are not individual tasks to be forced upon the people that one leads, but they require ownership derived by many voices. I am aware that there is a big difference between observing and contributing to a vision and leading others to collaborate to create a vision. I wonder how committed the Abilene Independent School District committed to the current vision. I wonder how many employees even know that one exists.

** Reference ** Williamson, J, & Redish, T. (2009). //Iste's technology facilitation and leadership standards: what every k-12 leader should know and be able to do//. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.