Runninghead:REFLECTION FOR TECHNOLOGY STANDARD VIII1

Reflection for Technology Standard VIII: Leadership and Vision Walker B. Wellborn Lamar University

REFLECTION FOR TECHNOLOGY STANDARD VIII

Reflection for Technology Standard VIII: Leadership and Vision Self-Assessment Effective leadership and vision continues to focus primarily on the kids. Effective educational technology leadership focuses for the long-term on modeling and developing a shared vision for student learning among teachers and the community of school stakeholders, instead of the day-to-day management of technology. To change the school toward an effective learning reality for the 21st century student and teacher, the leader must demonstrate his/her belief through actions (Reeves, 2007, p. 92). I have always been more inspired by one who leads by modeling what they believe, but I often assumed it was more expected from a leader to merely plan great plans and delegate the implementation. I find in the TF/TL Standard VIII Leadership and Vision that a leader is expected to inspire a diverse group of people, to promote a culture of instructional change, and to model change by their actions (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pp. 178-180). Learn as a Learner In my field-based activities for Bonham Elementary the principal and also Internship Site Mentor requested me to facilitate and lead with educational technologies that would demonstrate and review the schools current daily classroom student learning. The resulting project-based learning review would use multimedia technology to promote the schools vision in action to parents, district administrators, students and teachers. The schools vision (2011) states, The mission of [Bonham Elementary] is to provide exceptional educational opportunities in an environment that will produce graduates with the skills necessary to become productive, responsible citizens (para. 1). Using themes relevant to capturing the daily classroom learning and to producing practical instructional step-by-step processes in making things made practical sense to promoting the vision. I was able to model application of creative writing and illustration in a project-based learning

REFLECTION FOR TECHNOLOGY STANDARD VIII application using the existing computers adding real media digital drawing tools, voice narration, and student talent. Since the project strategies involved diverse grade levels of students and teachers who collaborated as groups to illustrate digital stories about their day-to-day classroom learning experiences,

the communication was careful to include common goals for all to follow in order to avoid confusion and chaotic outcomes. Lifelong Learning Skills Demonstrating to community stakeholders the day-to-day learning using the latest technologies the Day in the Life of a Kindergartner and How-To Stories digital story presentations provided benefit to parents, district, and community leaders how relevant technology is to their kids learning. This effective use of educational technologies became another relevant way to share the schools vision that all could understand and adopt. It will take such concerted efforts for using new technologies for learning in the classroom to match the pressing needs to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress reports for No Child Left Behind Act (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pp. 178-180). For newer educational technology to be adopted as part of the vision for learning in our schools, teachers and the community of stakeholders for the school must benefit foremost from a growth in digital literacy, benefiting from participating and reviewing student learning with contemporary software tools and devices (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, and Haywood, 2011, p. 3). I intend to connect as directly as possible the vision of the school to the actions in the students project-based learning using educational technology.

REFLECTION FOR TECHNOLOGY STANDARD VIII References Johnson, L., Smith, R., Willis, H., Levine, A., & Haywood, K. (2011). The 2011 horizon report. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Reeves, D. (2007). How do you change school culture? Educational leadership, 64(4), 92-94.

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). ISTEs 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.