Reflections of Instructional Leadership

EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link
WEEK FIVE: REFLEXIVE PAPER
CHARLES BUTLER

When registering for this class I was expecting to learn techniques for facilitating classroom instruction with leadership in presentation, documentation and effective communication. I was totally surprised by the expectations of the weekly lessons and the depth of the use of technology. WOW! Being a digital immigrant I have not taken advantage of the opportunities technology can afford. I just used technology for the needed classroom procedures. Although my original outcome expectations were not meet as I expected, it goes without saying that I feel empowered by what I have done over the last five weeks and therefore exceeding my perception of this course. I am not ready to teach others but certainly prepared to advance my use of current technological trends. You might say a more willingness to give it a try.
Although some teachers feel they are being forced to update their skills they also feel renewed as they learn these new tech skills and apply them in their classrooms. As teachers utilize technology it becomes more and more clear how relevant it is for the 21st Century student. Once we make connections with our students on their play ground they get involved with their own learning at levels that may not have been seen recently in the classroom. We must lead our young students into the future and stop pushing them into the way it was in the past. Technology is clearly the future and it is here to stay. I would hope to be able to tell the stakeholders of my community that the students in our district are being properly prepared for now and the future where they will become the leaders of tomorrow. When it applies to you now, then it becomes relevant to learning. As life-long learners we must lead the way into the future with our actions.
I can’t say I did not achieve the outcomes I expected only that they did not appear as I thought they would. For example the blog was a very interesting and current trend that students are using today. Blogging is a relevant tool for achieving my expected outcomes by allowing teachers and students to collaboratively present instruction and have interactive communication with documented results. This open forum allows for expansion of ideas and in-depth learning through dialogue. There is still so much that I don’t understand about blogs and I would have liked more interaction with my colleagues through our blogs. I received no feedback to help with the depth of learning. Most of the links that I tried did not work. I feel we all could have used some more interaction on our blogs. Although the discussion board was bloggish and helpful, I would like to have more information on how blogs are being used in schools if at all at this time.
Because I am a visual learner, I found this course to be the most challenging so far. It did help to have others to talk with although the timeliness of responses seems to prevent most of us, from what I seen, from asking each other questions. A model would have been nice but I, as I think we all, just gave it our best thought and went on. This learning technique is definitely not what is suggested on my campus. We are strongly encouraged to provide models of expectations even on daily assignments. Although, probably more is learned by allowing students to make decisions that affect their own understanding of the content. As a campus leader you must know the motivation of your audience to ensure the proper level of professional development to be effective in the classroom.
I am definitely old school when it comes to methods of teaching. My favorite saying was “if my students are getting excellent results on the TAKS, why do I need to change what works.” But this year has been a real challenge and I am starting to realize the change in student attention, motivation and need for relevance in their life immediately not later on. As I have failed to see the need for technology in the classroom my students are failing to see the relevance of the content in their lives. Why would they want to keep up with pen and paper when they have it at their fingertip? As I began to learn how to use technology in this class it has awaken my desire to learn more. As a leader I must be encouraging rather than demanding of digital immigrant migration into the 21st Century. With adequate training and opportunities to utilize and develop the new skills acquired, with support, teachers will be able to make gains on the digital environment where they work. Also, technology development teams among teachers may facilitate the rate of progress on this challenge.
When students miss class for whatever reason teachers are left with the challenge of catching them up without them missing what is going on at present. Therefore, students must attend tutorials to get the instruction time needed to be successful. Now available time for tutorials becomes a problem for the students more so than the teacher. We make ourselves available before and after school but for some reason they can’t seem to work us in their busy schedules until report card time or progress reports if eligibility is a factor. In math the concept they missed has affected their performance on the present work and so grades start to slip creating a bigger gap and stronger need for tutorials. Teachers could blog daily lecture and notes for students to reference when they are absent or need extra assistants. This would also provide a place for collaborative feedback between classmates and teacher, acting as an online tutorial for everyone. Teachers can see readily where students are having difficulties that might need to be addressed before moving deeper into the concept. Students can feel empowered for not just having help available but actually helping others as they start to understand. This is a powerful tool to give students a since of being in control of their learning while relieving the stress of feeling lost and alone. If assignments could be submitted electronically, most students would do them.
A problem with blogging is having the technology available for everyone to use. We can not provide a fair and equitable education for all students without this availability component being fulfilled. So, once again it draws a line between the haves and have not’s. This disparity is what the education system is trying to avoid between schools, hence the Robin Hood plan. But schools fear a much bigger problem with this free response environment, maintaining safety amongst the users and avoiding liability issues. With this uncontrolled environment there are opportunities for going beyond classroom sites where cyber predators and bullying take place. Is there a viable and affordable method for doing this? Technology directors should be investigating and pursuing this information to facilitate the procedure of moving school districts into the 21st Century with technology.
Like anything else, people naturally fear the unknown. School districts could create blogs for collaborative communication with all stakeholders. This would provide a forum for discussion on education as it pertains to the community as a whole. Everyone could have the floor so to speak and bring their concerns and acknowledgments to the table for consideration, like an electronic suggestion box. Blogging may become a valuable resource for new ideas presented by any stakeholder from the student to the school board. This would also allow administration to get a better perception of proposed changes before decisions are finalized. Stakeholders could raise concerns and receive feedback from other stakeholders as well as teachers, students and administration. All stakeholders could have a voice in the decision making process. As this opportunity for stakeholders to use blogs catches on it will open doors for using technology more effectively in the classroom.