ITEC 7410 Instructional Technology Leadership was both challenging and rewarding for me because it took me out of my comfort zone designing technology-integrated lessons and coaching teachers about specific digital tools and strategies, and instead asked me to consider the “big picture”—how technology could shape school improvement and be connected to a greater vision for the school. These are questions that I had never before asked, simply allowing others to answer them for me, but I think the act of “answering” those questions through this course gave me a clearer understanding of how a technology coach not only facilities classroom technology usage, but likewise shapes how technology is viewed and implemented for school improvement.
I now have the ability to create a clear vision for technology that outlines the specific roles key stakeholders must play to achieve the vision. Similarly, I can conduct a SWOT analysis that examines multiple facets of a school’s operations in order to determine how school structures both promote and impede technology integration. The SWOT analysis prompted me to examine school policies, procedures, and personnel that I had never before considered may pose opportunities for or threats to technology implementation. Similarly, the Action/Evaluation plan forced me to transform the SWOT analysis into clear, measureable goals, with specific strategies that could actually be implemented in the school setting. I was required to consider how time, budget, and personnel constraints may hinder implementation, all requirements of an actual Technology Plan.
I think the work completed in this course definitely prepares me to move into roles as technology leader or even administrative positions that focus on technology integration. Creating a vision and plan for action are important tasks for which educational leaders must provide guidance, and I believe I am beginning to develop the ability to provide such guidance and to offer suggestions that have a reach beyond my own classroom and instead influence the ways in which technology will affect the entire school community. This course has instilled in me the confidence and experience needed to be a technology leader both inside the classroom as well as for the entire schoolhouse.
I now have the ability to create a clear vision for technology that outlines the specific roles key stakeholders must play to achieve the vision. Similarly, I can conduct a SWOT analysis that examines multiple facets of a school’s operations in order to determine how school structures both promote and impede technology integration. The SWOT analysis prompted me to examine school policies, procedures, and personnel that I had never before considered may pose opportunities for or threats to technology implementation. Similarly, the Action/Evaluation plan forced me to transform the SWOT analysis into clear, measureable goals, with specific strategies that could actually be implemented in the school setting. I was required to consider how time, budget, and personnel constraints may hinder implementation, all requirements of an actual Technology Plan.
I think the work completed in this course definitely prepares me to move into roles as technology leader or even administrative positions that focus on technology integration. Creating a vision and plan for action are important tasks for which educational leaders must provide guidance, and I believe I am beginning to develop the ability to provide such guidance and to offer suggestions that have a reach beyond my own classroom and instead influence the ways in which technology will affect the entire school community. This course has instilled in me the confidence and experience needed to be a technology leader both inside the classroom as well as for the entire schoolhouse.