EDLD 5370 Week 4, Part 4.6

5370 Week Four assignment. Part 4.6
Reflection on ISTE Standard VIII
Janet Kelly L20261945
October 30, 2011

Self –Assessment

Standard eight requires that technology facilitators promote a vision for technology that all the key players within a school share. They must also translate this vision into achievable goals and implement plans to reach those goals. I did not realize that technology leaders were expected to display this level of leadership. Often the vision for technology comes from the superintendent or the school board who desires to stay ahead of the rest. It seems most districts have a hodge podge of requests for technology based on the latest trip to a conference. Technology facilitators discern the best course of action when faced with this myriad of requests.

During my internship activities, I had several opportunities to share the school’s technology plan, district plan and history of technology in schools with a member of our education foundation, Trish D. Our education foundation is a great partnership with the schools. It’s goal is to raise funds to purchase technology, new curriculum, and fund innovative ideas in the schools.

I also participated in professional development for TX-VSN that demonstrated the use of the website and program that allows for teacher websites that are assessable only to students with a pass code. This site allows for power point lessons, podcasts, and video lessons secretly placed on internet for student access and review.

Learn as a Learner

To implement Standard eight in my internship, I needed to find ways to interact with others who are in positions of making technology decisions that effected schools. I was able to accomplish this through relationships with teacher and school board and education foundation friends. Attending meetings where we discussed campus needs and bond election technology requests helped me understand the need to contribute to the shared vision of a school’s technology future. I also participate in our bond election Facebook page.

One activity I did to “conduct an evaluation of a school technology environment” (Williamson & Redish, 2009) was to interview the counselor and testing coordinator at Riviera ISD. This district is very rural, so in-house staff handles troubleshooting issues or it is given a long timeframe for resolution.

Through our Skype group, I was able to comment and contribute to two other bond elections within the state. Both of those elections were victories. In addition, in creating our Public Service Announcement during the course Multimedia and Video Technology, we were able to educate the public about the purpose of bond elections for school districts and why they are becoming so commonplace.

Lifelong Learning Skills

In our course, School and Community Relations, we learned about the necessity to relate school partnerships with those organizations and individual whose service links “practices to school goals” (Sanders & Lewis, 2005, p. 56). Finding business partnerships that desire to promote technology in the schools by supplementing or supporting a particular device or software is fulfilling Standard eight’s requirements that technology leaders “examine issues related to hardware and software acquisition and management” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 191) Providing technology through community partnerships is also important.

Research proves that student achievement increases when parents, schools, and communities work together. It is also evident that such partnerships are most effective when school cultures foster levels of involvement that go beyond passive participation, nurture mutually respectful relationships, and provide adequate tools and resources for parent involvement programs that work. (Adams, 2011, slide 2)

I have learned that not only is it important to show students the benefits of technology to education, it is also imperative that parents and community partners benefit from this classroom technology and help support it and provide for it.

Bibliography

Adams, N. (2011). EDLD 5326 School community relations: Week 2 Promoting family involvement. Beaumont: Lamar University.

Sanders, M., & Lewis, K. (2005). Building bridges toward excellence: Community involvement in high schools. The High School Journal, 88(3) , 1.

Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every k-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene: International Society for Technology in Education.