Technology+Facilitator+Standard+Reflections

Technology Facilitator Standard Reflections

**__TF-I Technology Operations and Concepts:__** Standard I focuses on the ideas of identifying and understanding the available technology then making sure that the educators you are responsible for have that knowledge as well. This may seem to be the easiest of the standards as most teachers have at least some basic computer skills. However the caution is, "Although educator proficiency has improved over the past decade, technology facilitators and leaders must continue to increase educators' knowledge of technology operations and concepts" (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Leaders must maintain diligence when training individuals to continually assess skill level and comfort with not only the new technology but the basics as well. Training sessions can be a source of this type of information if the training is provided in such a way that the individuals are required to utilize their technology skills. Williamson & Redish state, "... technology skills and concepts cannot be neglected, they should be integrated into professional learning experiences emphasizing technology as a curriculum tool" (2009) This program has been an exceptional example of the concept of learning by doing. Every assignment tested not only the ability of the students to read, learn, and connect new knowledge, but technology skills were necessary to complete each one. If a student could not access the internet, then they could not access the information. The courses challenged us to create, organize, and save materials in specific sequences and places to make them available not only to the course professor but to each other as well. There were also specific courses such as EDLD 5365 Web Mastering and EDLD 5363 Multimedia Video Technology that introduced new tools to expand our understanding of the scope of technologies available. Though I have used most of the technologies presented throughout the coursework, I did find a few new tidbits to use. Most importantly, I learned about new ways to teach the information to students and professionals alike.

**__TF-II Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences:__** Most of the teachers I know think of technology as a tool to make their day to day tasks easier. They input/access grades and attendance using online software packages, they save and organize materials using networks, and they communicate using email as effectively as teenagers texting. However, many of these same educators have not incorporated their skills in their instruction much beyond creating and presenting PowerPoint presentations. "Despite technology's potential to augment and transform instruction, teachers generally have not implemented technology as frequently as hoped" (Willimason & Redish, 2009). My experiences in this degree program have given me many ideas that I have passed on to other educators and even more that I have begun to implement in my own professional career. When planning professional development sessions, the first thought is how to get the teachers some hands-on experience during the training. The use of video conferencing during our courses has lead to some new ideas for holding "office hours" after school to allow teachers and students time to process information and develop questions. I am even working on developing my own video tutorials from some of the past training sessions based on the design presented in the courseware. Obviously I have a long way to go, but having an experience such as this program has been a tremendous source of information and ideas which I am excited to get to work implementing.

**__TF-III Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum:__** Obviously a degree program designed to create leaders in technology would infuse methods and strategies utilizing technology into the curriculum. This entire program has been lesson after lesson on how to integrate many different types of technologies while at the same time never losing focus of the content within each course. Even subjects like School Law and Leadership for Accountability which are generally thought of as being text book driven were transformed into multimedia opportunities to establish content knowledge through a technological platform and requiring technological experiences from the learners. However, the Standard is more focused on supporting teachers who need help integrating technology into their particular curriculum. This support role is extremely important as Technology Applications TEKS have been in place for several years but many teachers are not prepared to introduce technology to their students. My most recent field based experience illuminated that fact clearly. After introducing a Web 2.0 tool during a professional development session many teachers wanted to know where they could find sample lesson plans specific to their curriculum. If those plans had not been available I believe that many of our teachers would put the new tool aside. Williamson and Redish state, "To distinguish TF/TL-III from TF/TL-II, school technologists must remember that Standard III focuses on supporting teaching and learning through curriculum development (2009, p. 65). I feel that supporting both how to use the technology and ideas for using it are equally vital. Another important piece to this standard is the, "Use [of] technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students" (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Many of the courses included open-ended, thought-provoking, and even reflective assignments such as this one. But the most learner-centered piece in my opinion has been the internship. There is a statement in the handbook that describes the internship as different than those of the past because it allows the interns to determine the most beneficial learning opportunities for themselves. I found this to be much more useful and fulfilling than a list of contrived experiences like those during my undergraduate work in education. However, there were some frustrations along the way. Some of these standards are vague to say the least and matching the experiences I had with each standard was a bit of work. Also there were times when I needed an example of an activity that would cover a particular standard but there were few available and of those some were impossible to complete in my particular situation. While this might have been an important lesson in problem-solving, I believe one suggestion for future versions of the Internship handbook would be to include some examples of activities that other interns performed for each standard. This would ease the tension thereby creating a more positive learning environment while still giving interns the opportunity to guide their own activities in a direction meaningful to their purpose. This idea is similar supporting teachers by giving them ideas linking technology to their curriculum which is the essence of the standard.

**__TF-IV Assessment and Evaluation:__** This standard is essentially three separate but related ideas. It covers not only assessing student technology literacy, but also evaluating available technologies, as well as data collection and analysis. I am a technology leader on my campus and am therefore very familiar with all three. Chapter 4 opens by stating, "In the current age of accountability, educational leaders are required to be more skilled in assessment and evaluation than their predecessors were" (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Continually updating my skills is essential in a technology leadership position. Throughout this program, I have learned even more about each of these topics. The Fundamentals of Educational Technology course assignments covered all three areas. We not only viewed, we also discussed how and why to collect the data. We also had the opportunity to evaluate websites using a checklist. I have utilized my new skills many times over the course of this past school year. For instance, currently I am the only person in my district that administers the technology assessment developed and required by the State for all of our 8th grade students. The average passing score from this test is reported in our district wide STaR chart data, which is a requirement if we want to receive e-rate funds each year. The testing is a difficult process and has yielded very poor results the last two years. The passing grade is set at 80 by the State. This year only 10% of our students earned a passing score. We attribute this to several factors but the greatest of these seems to be the lack of technology used in core classrooms. When teachers were asked to help by implementing more technology next year, they felt overwhelmed and anxious. Ongoing training and support will be necessary to ensure increased scores next year. My colleague and I took another step toward meeting this standard a couple of months ago when we pitched the idea of a Technology Learning Community for our campus to the Principal. He was supportive and excited to have some help with important decisions concerning technology. We have had only one meeting but we are communicating via a wiki site and have collected data in an online survey to begin the process of prioritizing the technology needs and wants of our teachers. This and many other programs or ideas will be necessary in the future to, "... provide stakeholders with information about how their investments in technology are translating into improved learning opportunities for students" (Williamson & Redish, 2009).

**__TF-V Productivity and Professional Practice:__**

**__TF-VI Social, Ethical, Legal, and Human Issues:__**

**__TF-VII Procedures, Policies, Planning, and Budgeting for Technology Environments:__**

**__TF-VIII Leadership and Vision:__**

References: 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, pp. 1-55.