Standard V is about helping teachers and administrators increase their productivity through the use of technology. Technology leaders are to help foster effective professional practice within professional learning communities. Technology leaders can use contextualization and modeling to remove some of the overload and fragmentation normally associated with change.
Instituting a policy that requires teachers and administrators to utilize technology when they meet with their professional learning community could be a daunting task if they are not provided with the proper guidance. By requiring the use of technologies such as Wikis or Google Docs during professional development it also helps teachers to improve their mastery of the SBEC Technology Applications standards for teachers. According to Solomon and Schrum, " ...web 2.0 should be used authentically to enable educators to understand and become comfortable with the tools and their potential as preparation for using them in their classroom" (2007, p. 103).
As a technology facilitator it would be my responsibility to provide the campus staff with the answers to their policy level questions. This performance indicator is important to me because before I started this program I had no clue why the school was run in a certain manner. Once I learned the reason for a lot of the policies and procedures I became an instrumental player in reaching the goals set by the Campus Instructional Leadership Team (CILT) and Foundations Committee.
One of the task presented to me as a part of my Internship was to create a profiling system that teachers could enter their data on the computer and determine objective mastery. The challenge I faced was to create a system that the teachers would use on a continual basis. According to Williamson and Redish, "To bolster use, technology facilitators and leaders can contextualize the tools for educators" (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 105). Based on that fact I constructed a form and spreadsheet for teachers to get them started using the system with their students.
I continually seek ways to improve my productivity and professional practice by staying connected with my Personal Learning Network online. This allows me to see how others are utilizing new and old technologies in the classroom. Presenting at events such as the “Intouch with Technology Workshop” allows me to share different ways to use technology to improve student performance. I also plan to attend technology conferences and read books about best practices for using technology in the classroom.
References
Solomon, G., & Schrum, L. (2007). Web 2.0: new tools, new schools. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
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, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.