Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
EIST 5100
Dr.Wilkins
Summary
The article that I read gave an interesting perspective. This article actually
presented a case study about a school that was trying to successfully implement a one to
one technology initiative. The district and school funded a one to one through laptops and
also did a bring your own technology initiative (BYOT). The superintendent who
initiated this was extremely optimistic about this technology and was particularly hopeful
that it would raise student achievement scores to help this school reach the same caliber
The first year it was implemented didn’t go as planned and many teachers and
students weren’t using the technology effectively. Students were logged as using the
computers mainly for recreational use. This is issue stemmed from the fact that teachers
felt like they weren’t equipped with enough training on how to implement technology
into their instruction and were only professionally developed on the fundamentals of
computer use. Such as, logging on, using e-mail, getting on the Internet and the other
basics. No real professional development about how to intertwine it in the curriculum was
given. Another adversity teachers faced is when they did reach out for help they were told
to just use the computer best they knew how, so there was a lack of support.
Therefore, the technology initiative the first year wasn’t as effective as hoped.
Another principal was coming into the school and was determined to change this around.
This case study was used to get aspiring administration (students who are in school)
actively involved in the implementation of technology into the curriculum. They were to
ways technology could be used in their school. The requirements for this were as follows:
RUNNING HEADER: PROFESSIONAL GROWTH 3
Strengths Weaknesses
What are teachers doing well in regards to What aspects of the laptop program can be
educational technology use? improved?
What resources does the school have that can What can the school do to further support
support technology use? educational technology use?
What are additional strengths of the school? What are additional weaknesses of the school?
Opportunities Threats
How can the school’s strengths be turned into What threats do the school’s weaknesses expose it
opportunities? to?
What assistance can the school request from central What may happen if the school does not improve?
office? How is central office limited in its capacity to
What external environment resources can the school support the school?
seek to make use of?
Lastly, this article touched on the need for a vision when it comes to technology
in schools and one great way to do that is through the research, goals and work outlined
above.
Critique
One of the most salient parts of the article was the section where the case study
for the school that was trying to move a one to one technology initiative was discussed.
RUNNING HEADER: PROFESSIONAL GROWTH 4
This is such a relevant issue in today’s schools and is an issue we face daily. We are given
these great initiatives and professional development’s to implement into our daily
routines in the classroom, but are given no real tangible way to do or the support to make
technology. Many times teachers are told to build 21st century learners, but feel out of
control or lost on how to do so. As administrators it is our duty to alleviate these barriers
and be the model and empowerment to implement this technology. Our goal is to help
students learn and in the fast paced world we live in and technology is an effective way to
learning needs, pedagogical expectations, and a theory of action for how technology will
support teaching and learning, a school can avoid sending conflicting messages regarding
the initiative (Anthony & Clark, 2011). Even though the case study focused in on one
school, this notion is applicable to many schools, districts and even nationwide.
Another beneficial component to this article was the fact that it gave you concrete
ways to get administrators talking about technology. The whole goal of this article is to
can be implemented and how to support staff on this technological adventure through
professional development. The Knowledge Building Activity was a great resource to get
implementation. Another logical and beneficial resource the article gave was the
questions for the SWOT ( refer back to summary section) questions when it came to the
RUNNING HEADER: PROFESSIONAL GROWTH 5
topic of technology. So many times people are reactive versus proactive when it comes to
professional developments and the information given. Through that line of questioning it
allows administrators and other stakeholders to think holistically and create a vision for
technology in the school and start to get the wheels turning for professional development.
One area of growth I would have appreciated is more data on the use of
technology in the classroom. As the famous saying goes, you can’t argue with facts. With
solid numbers and percentages and proof that technology positively impacts student’s
pertinent that in any professional development I require there is reasoning and logic
behind it through statistics and research based evidence to gain the educators buy in.
Relevance
organization. A point driven home by this article and through the SWOT conversation is
that it is so important to have a vision when it comes to technology. Visions help provide
innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning through the infusion of
myself and other administrative staff to complete the Knowledge Building Activity as a
programs, ideas and ways for these educators to facilitate technological learning in the
classroom. Therefore, we have to put in the time and research. If we invest in the vision
teachers will see that and will equally invest back. Overall, this article was very
beneficial to me as a future administrator and gave me great ideas on how to start the
References
with the integration of technology into mathematics classrooms serving urban students.
2018, from
http://journals.sagepub.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1555458914528913
RUNNING HEADER: PROFESSIONAL GROWTH 7