Technology Philosophy

Technology is a significant part of our lives, whether we are a day laborer or work in a professional position. We cannot ignore the fact that our students will be using technology in some fashion as part of their working and personal lives. Marion Ginapolis said this when she served as Director of the Michigan Gates Project “LEADing the Future:”

“It is not about the technology; it’s about sharing knowledge and information, communicating efficiently, building learning communities, and creating a culture of professionalism in schools. These are the key responsibilities of all educational leaders.” (McLead, 2018).

So while technology plays an integral part in our student’s lives now and in the future, we should not focus on the technology itself in the classroom.

Knowledge Constructor

As we embark on training our students for 21st Century skills, I believe we must still build a foundation by instructing on reading, writing, math, and other foundational subjects, but how we do this will look quite different. In the past, the teacher disseminates all knowledge, and the focus of learning is on the teacher. This must change by allowing students to build skills to be lifelong learners, and this is where technology can aid in the process. Students should not just rely on their teacher for the information, but learn to curate information online and build learning communities within their school and beyond (ISTE-S, 3., 2016). As the technology coach, I will help guide students through this process by designing the learning “experiences and environments to meet the needs and interests of all students” (ISTE-C, 4a., 2019). I want to guide teachers to “develop authentic, active learning experiences that foster student agency, deepen content mastery, and allow students to demonstrate their competency in many different ways” (ISTE-C, 4a., 2019).

Empowered Learner & Innovative Designer

As students sharpen their skills of curating information, I will also guide students use to “leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals” (ISTE-S, 1., 2016). The classroom dynamics are changing from students producing the same result to one where students have a choice to improve student higher-level thinking skills like problem solving and creativity. As a technology coach, I will “connect educators, leaders, instructional support, technical support, domain experts, and solution providers to maximize the potential of technology for learning” (ISTE-C, 1e., 2016).

Digital Citizen

Students are trained in history and government on how to be a good citizen of the country they reside in plus the understanding of what that means in their everyday life. Now with an unlimited amount of information at their fingertips, students must be taught how to “critically examine sources of online media and identify underlying assumptions” to become good digital citizens (ISTE-C, 7c, 2019). Within this same scope, I need to embed skills in students and teachers so they can “make informed decisions to protect their personal data and curate the digital profile they intend to reflect” (ISTE-C, 7d, 2019). Lastly, while building excellent online skills for useful searches and helping protect identity, I must also help students foster and model a healthy balance in their use of technology with their students.

Global Collaborator

With online tools made readily available to our students, teachers must harness the power in the classroom and relinquish control of past experiences as the sage on the stage. Students should be empowered to broaden their perspectives beyond the textbooks and teacher opinions and views “by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally” (ISTE-S, 7, 2016). As coaches, we must inspire and encourage educators to use technology to guide their students to engage in civic engagement and address challenges to improve their communities and beyond (ISTE-C, 7a, 2019).

Click this link to Technology Philosophy Document