Every Education Leader Must Be a Technology Visionary, Essay Example

Educational leaders must be proactive about their technology vision. The rate of technological advances requires education leaders to quickly and efficiently implement a plan of action in order to curtail being out-of-date in these advances. Education in a vacuum creates a lack of learning: therefore, it’s important to utilize the growing tools of technology for a more healthy, progressive, and up-to-date leadership for schools to be effective in the modern age. In order for the above to happen, however, “leaders [must] identify existing assets and needs while providing the resources for staff” (Larson et al., 2009, p. 13). Thus, it’s the education leader’s role to provide the necessary tools for staff, school, and district to be a fodder for advanced (or at least, up-to-date) learning techniques.

In order for a leader to be able to implement technological learning tools they must first focus on teacher development in this area (technology). I believe that in order for leaders to lead in education they must continuously take classes on technological uses of computers, web, JavaScript, so that they are better equipped to offer a thorough knowledge base of understanding to their districts, and to translate technological ideas into a better learning experience. These classes will enable educators to make use of technologies such as ipads, iphones, ipods, etc. for curriculum. For instance “Box” can be used on an ipad for dropping curriculum or pacing guides for courses so teachers can then gain access to these tools. This can be, not only useful for a single school, but can be utilized district wide as the “Box” can be accessed, updated, and have material dropped into it from every campus and be accessible for every campus. This makes use of technological advances with wi-fi, internet, and ipads. In order for this to be utilized, however, the district must provide ipads for every teacher as it is the district’s burden to provide a necessary technological tool for teachers. Teachers can then use the ipad for lessons planning, as well as an instructional tool. As a leader, I would implement a policy in which teachers have their own ipads so long as they’re employed with the district. The ipads could be used for curriculums as well as teaching off campus. I mean to implement classrooms in which teachers, or speakers, can teach from the field, or from other campuses, therefore making lessons across the board available. I will do this by installing Facetime onto every ipad (or Skype as a backup, and have each campus have an account for either so that the teachers may use when performing related functions). Facetime will then be used by guest lecturers (such as for Science or Geography) who lecture from the field, lab, etc. thereby making the leader’s role interactive, hands on, and inclusive. For this to be successful, however, teachers must embrace the idea that connecting learning through technology is not only progressive, but also needed. If teachers are unwilling to accommodate these progresses, and implement new ideas into the old curriculum, there is a stagnation of creativity that needs to be addressed.

Teachers aren’t the only way that students learn: students go online and resource their questions, research answers, and develop instant access to learned material. Since this is the new face of adolescence, teachers, and by extension leaders, must accommodate: “all those connected to learning and teaching must first renew their vision to establish digital learning environments. Teachers need to be able to connect to their students’ digital worlds to engage and motivate a new and very different type of learner…classroom teachers…play the role of enhancers, answering questions and helping students better understand the material covered electronically” (Larson et al., 2009, p. 13). Thus, the questions becomes not only how leaders will implement new technology in their role as leaders, but in what capacity will the leadership accommodate the learning environment.

Leaders must have the perspective and long-term goal vision to properly predict the influence of technology on education. Not only this, but leaders must also decide in what beneficial and detrimental ways technology will influence their role as leaders(Larson et al., 2009, p. 14). Leaders can do this by identifying potential gaps in their technology (lack of computers, lack of teacher knowledge within that framework, lack of funding, potential parental conflicts with including these technologies as part of the curriculum, etc.). With all of these potential risks leaders must have the foresight to anticipate what needs to be in their district, and develop a “shared vision” that incorporates teacher, student, parent, district into a progressive plan of action(Larson et al., 2009, p. 14). I believe this can be done with monthly meetings between all parties involved, weekly newsletters between the leader, teacher and district (potentially parents) on classes being offered for teachers to stay up-to-date with new advances in technology, etc. As a leader advocating the advancement of technology for education I would make use of as many technological aspects as possible.

Leaders must be a technology visionary because the potential for the usefulness that technology can do is limitless. Technology has a chance to truly revolutionize education: in education there are three different types of learners (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) they must be catered to, to the utmost of the school’s capabilities. Having a lecture on a subject only engages 1/3 of students, but having a lecture with a smart board presentation has the potential to engage all three. This type of learning, however, is only successful if the teacher knows how best to implement technological advancements (e.g. google hangouts, google docs, smartboards, etc). Leaders must establish a technological vision early on as funding may prove to be a problem as well as support from faculty, parents and bosses. The advancements in education, the way in which students are learning and engaged in the classroom, have progressed significantly in the past decade. As wireless devices advance so too does the speed in which access to information is advancement and this speed to get information changes the topography of education in that teachers are competing with these devices for children’s attention. As such, teachers are no longer the only source of information but they are the translation of what’s online to what the student understands of their world. Thus, it’s important to have a technology vision, because without one, student’s interests wan, and if this happens then education becomes archaic and out-of-date.

Leaders may ask:

• “Is it OK to block off significant amounts of time for test preparation at the expense of time to use digital tools?” (Larson et al., 2009, p. 14).
• “How can a new, shared vision help us rethink what a typical classroom should look like?” (Larson et al., 2009, p. 14).
• “What do you think is important that would be a framework for our learning community?” (Thompson, 2012, para. 12).
• “What should our fundamental values be?” (Thompson, 2012, para. 12).

These questions may be the foundation of a study because they address the issue at hand (Leaders as visionaries in educational progress in the classroom) and open up the floor for further discussion. This means that while leaders may have a vision about where they want technology included in classrooms, but they’re being inclusive about it’s designs, ensuring that the children’s needs come first, but that those needs are about a shared vision between child, educator, and district.
References

Larson, L., Miller, T., and Ribble, M. (2009). 5 considerations for digital age leaders. Learning and Leading with Technology. Retrieved http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/uploads/LLDecArticle.pdf

Thompson, S. (2003). Getting real about visionary leadership for progress in education. John Hopkins School of Education. Retrieved http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Transforming%20Education/Leadership%20in%20Education/Getting%20Real%20About%20Visionary%20Leadership%20for%20Progress%20in%20Education/