I currently serve in a technology leadership position. I am not an administrator. While I enjoy leading my peers, sometimes I become frustrated with my peers lack of urgency when it comes to learning and integrating technology. Likewise, I am frustrated when administration frowns at the introduction of new technologies, like student email, because that is “something else they will have to police.” I guess, because of my current position, I do not need to be convinced of the importance of technology in the classroom. I am looking for ways to convince my colleagues and peers. I want to inspire them to transform their classrooms and schools into 21st century learning communities that collaborate with other 21st century learning communities. I want them to use technology to inspire their students to be successful 21st century learners. The readings provide the evidence to convince the analytic people. I have started building a similar collection of more current articles from various professional organization journals and magazines. I am still searching for more stories of classroom and school successes to inspire those overwhelmed classroom teachers to try something new. I believe these types of materials were missing from the course readings.
There are many relevancies between the outcomes and my current position. This course revealed more tools and strategies that can be used to strategically develop action plans, professional development, visions and mission statements. Our campus is working towards becoming a professional learning community. We must trust that we can learn from each other. Rather than force technology strategies and lessons on reluctant teachers, I want to provide them with resources they can use to develop these ideas themselves. The articles inspired me to put more exploration and collaboration in my professional development. I am confident that my district is leading in the area of infrastructure and technology resources. We are one-hundred percent wireless; we have mobile laptop carts; our students have access to wiki’s, blogs, email, file storage, and instant messaging. Some teachers are energetically leading with technology. These teachers can be the models, not only for other teachers, but for the administration. Just as teachers may be reluctant to relinquish technological power to students, administrators without the necessary tech savvy are reluctant to relinquish the power to these teachers. We need to open the lines of communication, collaboration and trust to move our students into the 21st century.
I am looking for more best practice strategies for the integration of technology. Some people will integrate technology because they like it. Others will do it because they were told to. However, many need proof of effectiveness. They want guides explaining which strategies were the most successful. This course provided the “why’s” of technology integration, but what about the how’s, when’s, and where’s? We were able to brainstorm ideas for ways it might work. However, we did not explore the actual classrooms that were successful on limited budgets and resources. The ones mention were part of special studies and programs. Exploration of real best practices provides proof and guidance. It also acts as a guide to future integration ideas. I currently feel like we are reinventing the wheel because there is not a lot of sharing of strategies, successes, and failures. Professional technology conferences have provided me with many of these opportunities, but we cannot afford to have an entire staff take 2 days in February to attend a conference that costs $150 per person plus travel expenses. How do I create these learning opportunities for my staff? Yes, we can learn to do things by exploring and virtual training, but sometimes we need that “live” experience to find our motivation.



Using 21st century skills in my daily and professional life prepared me for this course. I am familiar with the technologies introduced and used throughout this course, including the web conferencing. I use blogs and social networking both personally and professionally. I was not only able to complete the course, but help those who were struggling. The coursework was not discouraging, but the resistant approach taken by many in the class was. There was a lot of work and we were pushed outside of our comfort zones, but this is graduate work. Technology is not easy for us immigrants. It will take us a little extra time to learn it. We cannot depend on someone else to teach us in a “sit and get” training. We must explore and learn for ourselves. We must model being life-long learners if that is what we want from or students. To expect anything less makes me wonder if we have thoroughly considered to positions we are working to achieve. If this is too much, what will it feel like to have the academic success of an entire study population depend on the decisions we make and how much work we are willing to “balance.”
The opportunities to help others provided an opportunity for an unexpected outcome in this course. Because I am more fluent than most digital immigrants on my campus, I tend to forget what the early stages of learning technology were like. Helping others in this course helped me “slow down” in my translations to other teachers. I was also made more aware of my “accent.” I recently used this knowledge in a classroom. It helped me to better bridge the gap between the teacher and student. I also learned that reluctant teachers have worn me down in the past year. I must rekindle my passion for technology integration. This passion enabled me to inspire others to learn more. Without that passion, my suggestions and strategies are ignored. As leaders, we cannot let a few resisters keep us from continuing on the path to technology integration. We must let those who we inspire lead the way, not hold them back while we focus on the negative.

Blogs provide students the opportunity read and respond to “real” stories. How many times have we heard, “Why do we have to do this?” “When will we use it in the real world?” Twenty-first century learners want their education to be relevant. Blogs provide this opportunity. Blogging provides students the ability to express themselves in a medium they are familiar and comfortable with. Many students want to “fit in” in the crowd while being unique individuals. This desire causes many to shy away from learning that publicly singles them out. Blogging allows them to demonstrate their knowledge while remaining in an “anonymous” comfort zone and expressing their personal style. Students can start breaking away from the ideals their parents have and explore other beliefs. This allows them to develop their own beliefs, based on their own experiences. They are able to communicate with people from around the world. Image that old science exploration we all did in elementary where we marked of a 1 meter square and observed the life in that square. We were able to compare it with another square somewhere else on our campus. Through blogs, we can compare it with a square in another state or even another country. Students can use real information to learn about different biomes and ecosystems.

Safety is the main concern for the use of blogs in education. Educators are charged with the task of protecting students. This includes protecting them online. All the technological protections in schools cannot protect our students alone. Teachers and administrators must take an active role in this protection. Students must be educated about cybersafety. They must know the dangers and how to protect themselves online. While at school, we must monitor their online habits, protect them, and educate them. We must take time out of the TAKS curriculum to teach the “Life-long” curriculum that includes cybersafety. This is true for those that have technology tools at home as well as those who do not. Being fortunate enough to have these tools at home does not guarantee that the student has been taught cybersafety at home. Students that are not exposed to these tools at home may be more naive and more curious. Both scenarios are equally dangerous if we do not act and protect our children. Remember, “it takes a village to raise a child,” not just the parents.

The high school principal in our district uses a blog. She blogs about “hot topics” around her campus. One blog discusses the dress code regulation that shirts must be tucked in. It was interesting to me that very few of the comments were against the rule. Many were indifferent and most supported the rule. It was interesting to read the perspectives from various stakeholders. Of course students commented, but there were also comments from parents, professionals in the community, teachers, and board members. This blog provides evidence that blogs can reach all types of stakeholders. It provides them an opportunity to weigh in on a topic or even a decision that must be made in the future. They have an opportunity to express themselves and know that they will be heard. It gives the decision maker an opportunity to hear the opinions of various stakeholders, and the reasons for their opinions.
I knew that my current position would help me be an effective administrator in the future, but preparing to become an administrator is helping me be a better instructional technologist.