This course was divided into two main topics. The first topic we covered was being a leader and innovator in the world of educational technology. The second topic was more of a reflective and evaluation process in educational technology.
For the first part of this class, we read the book "The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity" by George Couros. In this book and in this class, we focused on defining innovation, looking at both what it is and what it isn’t. After that, we shifted towards creating the conditions that empower a culture of learning and innovation in your school or district. The last part of the book helped me focus on how to lead in such a way that you can unleash people’s talent. The second half of this class was more driven towards evaluating and making decisions about educational technology. We really took a look at how the digital transformation has happened in classrooms. I enjoyed this portion of the class as it was a reflective opportunity for myself to look at how I evaluate the technology I choose to utilize in my classroom. We also learned and evaluated school districts technology plans. We read the book "The EdTech Advocate's Guide to Leading Change in Schools" by Mark Gura. As a final project of the course, we created an "Ignite Talk" to recap the information covered throughout the semester.
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As I reflect on the "Big Picture" activity this week, It made me think about how I can take all these resources from my graphic and with a clear vision, collaboration, solid implementation, and close reflection, I can enhance the way my students are able to learn in the classroom. In the upper portion of my graphic, I made a section for resources, which I broke into the three categories mention in the textbook: Websites, Applications, & Hardware. I then had to reflect on my own experience and I was able to draw on examples from this and other courses in order to fill out each category with examples. Underneath my three categories, I created a flowchart using a software/website called draw.io, where I demonstrated the process of how technology is used and integrated into the curriculum. The next section of my graphic touched upon the general approaches utilized in the classroom. I decided to choose Game-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning. Both of which I make a conscious effort to implement into my classroom and both I feel strongly about the benefits towards students. The third section sort of is the product or culmination of the previous two sections. It speaks about the products or artifacts students can create with the integration of technology into the classroom. I decided to break it down into three subsections: Blogs, Portfolios, & General Creations. The more I reflect on it, they could all be classified under general creations but I decided to be more specific on what type of creations. I then went on to list specific examples for each category on what students could create or innovate for all of them. This activity really enhanced my knowledge on the kinds of edtech resources and practices that are currently being used or the ones that are readily available at our fingertips. What did you learn from Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of our textbook?
Chapters 5 and 6 from The Tech Advocate's Guide to Leading Change in Schools by Mark Gura provided both an overview of creating a vision and then ultimately, making that vision a reality. Before this course, I was unaware that a "technology plan" was an actual document with a vision, needs assessment, goals / objectives, and other articles. The more I reflect on it, it's completely obvious how important it is to have such document in place. Technology is an essential tool that allows students and staff opportunities to communicate, collaborate and create. It's important to reflect on ideas like "where we are", "where are we going", and "how are we going to get there". f you don't have a plan/vision, it is difficult to have an idea about where you need to be heading. Then, once you have a concrete plan to those questions above, its important to consider what is it going to take to get us to our goal and that is where PD comes into play. It's important to come up with meaningful PD that is selected from multiple members of the staff or a technology team. The PD sessions should ultimately guide your district towards the visions and goals they have. Throughout my lifelong education journey, I have heard the term TPACK on different occasions but never took the time to dive in and understand what it means and how if could better my skills as an educator. Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a framework to understand and describe the kinds of knowledge needed by a teacher for effective pedagogical practice in a technology-enhanced learning environment. Gura, Mark. The EdTech Advocate's Guide to Leading Change in Schools (p. 40). It is made from different components, including Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), Content Knowledge (CK), and Technology Knowledge (TK).
I think this framework resonated with me the most because it considers the different components equally and doesn't rank them in order of importance. Most teachers recognize the benefits technology can have in the classroom but few actually have the courage to take the risk and face that challenge. TPACK shows us that there’s a relationship between technology, content, and pedagogy, and the purposeful blending of them is key. Because it considers these three important domains, the TPACK framework becomes a productive way to consider how teachers could integrate purposeful educational technology into the classroom and thus create a more meaningful learning experience for my students. How does technology improve teaching and learning in your school?
After reflecting on my journey thus far as an educator, I can clearly observe that technology enhances education as a whole. Technology can allow teachers to make learning more fun and enjoyable for the students though cool technology tools. Technology improves communication, which is an essential part of education. It also allows us to stay connected with our students and their families. It can also give teachers the opportunities to empower our students by allowing them the tools they need to create and innovate. What are some areas in which this could be improved? I think our school district could do a better job of collaborating and communicating opportunities to utilize this technology in our classroom. Unless you go out and do the research on your own, often times you might get left in the dark. With so much awesome technology out there, its obvious that something could be utilized in your classroom which could enhance the learning in your classroom. How do you go about making decisions about what technology to use in your classroom or school? Typically, I will first evaluate what I have already in place and see if replacing it with new technology would be meaningful or am I just trying to keep up with the trends. If I determine that new technology could better serve my students, then I will begin to experiment with it myself, watch videos or tutorials from other educators, and ask other colleagues/PLN's if they have heard or used this technology. Next, I decide how/when to implement it into my classroom. Lastly, I will evaluate how it went to determine if it was effective enough to continue it in the years to come or if I should find another option. What was your thought process?
I decided to break down my visual based on the organization of the book "The Innovator's Mindset". Couros divides his book into four main parts : Innovation in Education, Laying The Groundwork, Unleashing Talent, & Concluding Thoughts. What process did you go through to create the visual? My process was to review the main sections of the book and prioritize what I felt are the main topics and sections of each of the four parts are. I then tried to strategically place them under the proper sections and make them look organized. Why did you include certain things in your visual? I decided to include several quotations from the book that I felt applied or spoke volumes to me as an educator. I also included many lists that I felt applied to me and that were clearly big parts of the book. I then tried to summarize several key points in my own words or reflect on how it applies to me and my impact on students. Link to my Popplet Visual - app.popplet.com/#/p/6342641 What did you learn from the book this week?
One key takeaway from the book this week was to not do things simply because everyone else is doing them. Another would be to not focus solely on the areas that you might lack in as an educator, but focus more so on your strengths. In the book, they use the example of blogging and everyone else is blogging so we should be doing it as well, so that we don't fall behind. This would be a prime example of not using technology meaningfully and just using technology to say your using it. I also really enjoyed the topic about 21st century school or 21st century learning. It speaks about how schools might have all top of the line technology to offer to their students but if they are not utilizing it a meaningful way then is it even worthwhile or are we just handing students expensive pencils. These topics made me reflect on how sometimes I get caught up in all the latest trends in education or the latest and greatest technology tools. If it's not meaningful and have the potential to inspire new ideas or innovation, then you might just be window dressing a new way of doing the same old thing. What did you learn from the videos this week? One video I really enjoyed was listening to Simon Sinek talk about how great leaders inspire action. He talks about military life and how they will lay down their life so that others may gain. Then, when people ask them "why", they always say, because they would do the same for me. He concludes that there is a deep sense of trust and cooperation that has to take place. When I reflect on this, It makes me realize that a majority of people today often look out for themselves and think of how they can gain or benefit first. But, good leaders will make the choice to put other lives first, they will sacrifice their comforts so that others will feel safe and feel like they belong. Good leaders want to provide opportunity, education, and discipline so that we can achieve more than we could have ever imagined. Listening to Kayla Delzer, I learned the importance of letting students be owners of their learning. She speaks on how teachers are the gatekeepers of everything that happens inside of our classrooms. Today, we have more resources available at our fingertips than ever before. This gives us the ability, as teachers, to make our classrooms less teacher-centered and more student- centered, which we should embrace. She wrapped up her speech with a quote that I found quite profound, "Technology changes. The laws that we have will change. The standards that we use to assess our kids are going to change again. But one thing remains constant through time. Relationships between students and passionate teachers will always be the foundation of successful classrooms." No matter how much content knowledge or technology knowledge you have, it doesn't mean anything if you aren't willing to establish a relationship with your students as a ground level. Without that relationship, it will be difficult to build anything on top of it. |
MSET Program > CET 720 Leading Evaluation & Change in the Educational Technology Environment
AuthorMy name is Matthew Brue and I graduated from Dakota State University with a K-12 Computer Education Degree. I am currently pursuing my Masters Degree in Educational Technology. I obtained a minor in Computer Information Systems, as well as K-12 Technology minor. I work at the Tea Area School District as a Middle School Technology Teacher. Archives
April 2021
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