RUNNING HEADER: EDTC 640 REFLECTION 1

EDTC 640 Reflection

Gretchen Nicholson

University of Maryland University College

EDTC 640
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EDTC 640 Reflection

Taking the course Leading Technology Change in Schools opened my eyes to the

leadership role that needs to take place when using technology. Throughout the course emphasis

was put on influencing others in a strategic way by using our district technology plan and our

multimedia presentation. This course allowed me to become more confident in my ability to be a

technology leader in my school.

At the beginning of this course, I was unsure what this course would be about and what I

would be learning from it. Our first discussion post we were asked to list what we hoped to gain

from this course. Looking at the specific outcomes that I picked I feel as though this course

encompasses all of the goals that I wanted to gain. The district technology teaching plan (DTTP)

was a project that forced me to look at data, analyze it and create a plan for the teachers at my

school. This allowed me to hit multiple goals that I had such as promoting increased

opportunities for technology use in schools and encouraging regular use of technology tools.

Based on the data that was collected I was able to create multiple ways that my fellow teachers

could use technology more and regularly. Another aspect of this course that allowed me to meet

my goals of identifying leadership qualities and effective leadership practices was the

multimedia presentation. Coming from our DTTP where it was more of a formal paper this

presentation would be presented to the school board. Therefore, I felt as though it was really

important that I get my point across as to why my DTTP would impact teachers and students. As

a result, giving me a leadership position in the presentation. The goals that I selected at the

beginning of the course were met through challenging presentations and projects.

During the course with all the discussions that we had to take part in from the

introduction of leadership, organizational change and the state of educational technology

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professional development I felt as though all these posts made me look at technology and

leadership in different ways. Before taking part in these discussions I always thought that a

leader was someone who tells others what to do. But learning more about what a leader is I

learned that a leader is someone who works with others instead of a boss who tells others what to

do but does not work with them. In the future, I know that I need to be working with others in

order to lead the technology change that we need in the classroom. Another factor that I felt

made me look at technology differently was when we discussed the state of education technology

professional development in a school. This particular discussion post made me really look into

my school and see what was the implications. According to the U.S Department of Education

they recommend that teachers “need continuous, just-in-time support that includes professional

development, mentors, and informal collaborations” (UDE, 2017). When reflecting I noticed that

sometimes this does not always happen at my school and professional development at my school

is always focused on reading or math instead of technology. Reviewing this I noticed that if the

time during the professional development time slot was given on technology a lot of teachers in

my building would be more confident and able to use the devices and technology that is given.

Overall, this course allowed me to learn more about how to coach others on using

technology in my school. Of the different standards that are listed I felt as though they are the

overarching goal as to what we should be able to be by the time that we finished this course. One

of the standards is to “inspire and participate in the development of implementation of a shared

vision for the comprehensive integration of technology” (ISTE, 2018). This particular standard

brought to light that since we have all of this knowledge of technology from previous classes and

our background knowledge we need to use it to benefit others in our schools. I know that on my

team there are multiple different teachers who do not have a clear vision for what technology
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looks like in a classroom or how to use it effectively. But as we use our skills from this course

we can be a visionary for them and help them to see what it looks like and how technology can

be used in a classroom.

In the future, I plan on using the leadership skills that I have learned to benefit myself,

students and other teachers in my school. First, instead of being a boss with technology I plan on

working with others when learning about new technology. In the past I have gotten frustrated

when others do not know how to use it. But I can see how these people look to me to lead them

in the correct direction on how to use technology. Another aspect that I plan on implementing in

the future is speaking up about specific professional development that needs to take place in my

school. For example, when we are given new technology or devices to use I want to speak to the

administration team in order to bring to light that teachers need professional development on

these new technologies or devices that we are being expected to use. Along with those skills, I

plan on implementing in the future is the idea of being a leader myself and being a teacher

leader. When promoting organizational change, it is important that teacher leaders encourage the

message among all staff. When new technology is available if I am able to educate a few

teachers within my school setting on a specific technology I will more likely be able to

encourage the rend within my school by just spreading the word throughout the teachers in my

building.

This course was incredibly challenging from creating a district technology training plan

to a multimedia presentation. I feel as though it challenged me to push myself in the way of

becoming a technology leader in my school and showed me how it could be done.

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References

Coaching Standards [PDF]. (2018). ISTE. Retrieved from

http://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions

U.S. Department of Education. (2017, January). Reimagining the role of technology in

education: 2017 National education technology plan update[PDF]. Retrieved from

https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf