Instructional Technology Leadership

Instructional Technology Leadership

Much of the additional research that I spoke about in the previous section stemmed from work I did when I stepped away from the virtual campus at Iowa State University and stepped onto the real campus at Upper Iowa University. This additional class in curriculum and instruction focused on building teacher leaders as we explored constructing effective learning environments. It was during this course that I performed a self-evaluation of my professional practice using Danielson’s Framework for Teaching (Danielson 2007), and found deficiencies in engaging students in learning (3c), establishing a culture for learning (2b), managing student behavior (2c), and using assessments in instruction (3d). This prompted the action research mentioned previously and helped me better understand a passage by Rogers read in CI 511, “individual innovativeness is affected both by an individual’s characteristics and by the nature of the social system in which the individual is a member” (Rogers 2003).

Based on the classifications outlined by Rogers (2003), I see myself as a change agent with expertise that links the resource system of technology with the client system of technology. The Moodle class that I spoke of previously freed up some time for me to both teach higher levels of mathematics and be a trouble-shooter who assisted the technology director with various tasks. Both of these had direct effects on learning for students but carried no additional financial rewards. The first effect was directly obvious, but the second one allowed me to share my experiences with Moodle or other technology innovations with fellow teachers and begin to diffuse effective teaching and learning strategies with technology to those respected early adopters who trigger the critical mass of diffusion (Rogers 2003).

To extend upon this new direction of leadership, I decided to present a topic at the Tri-School Professional Development day that my school participates in with two neighboring districts. This annual event allows area teachers to gather together and collaborate on educational ideas and topics to enhance the profession of teaching for everyone involved. “Teachers need opportunities to explore, reflect, collaborate with peers, work on authentic learning tasks, engage in hands-on, active learning” (Sandholtz 1997). I found myself presenting Moodle to many change agents, but also to some early adopters who could then take what they had learned back to their own communities of professionals and further spread the use of educational technology. One of the biggest enthusiasts of the Moodle concept turned out to be a fellow teacher from my own school. Together we re-presented the topic to our whole staff at a day of professional development at our own school.

The teacher I presented with also became a fellow member of the newly formed 1:1 computer integration team. Although we are currently immersed in the development of this 1:1 integration plan, my membership on the committee and active participation in the development of this plan is evidence that the expertise that I have gained from the M.Ed. program at Iowa State University is vital and will be put to immediate use. Even though the committee is not a state or national organization, it is essential for the improvement of learning for my students, and thus essential for me. We are in the early stages of this 1:1 technology integration, but the adoption and more importantly the adaptation of this new technology will take some time (Cuban 2001), but I feel well prepared to take that trip, leading my fellow teachers.

Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold & Underused: Computers in the Classroom. Cambridge, MA.:Harvard Universoty Press

Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing Professional Practice: A Framework for Teaching. Alexandria, VA. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Rogers, E. (2003). Diffusion of Innovations (5^th Edition). New York, NY.: Free Press

Sandholtz, J., Ringstaff, K., & Dwyer, D. (1997). Teaching With Technology: Creating Student Centered Classrooms. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University