What is your general definition of teacher leadership?
My general definition of teacher leadership is being effective in a variety of roles. I think that teachers that exhibit great leadership skills work well with other professionals within their school, work well with (and understand) their students, and work well with administrative staff. I also think these leaders are well liked and respected by other teachers, staff members, and students.
What examples of teacher leadership have you observed or experienced?
Examples of teacher leadership that I have experienced personally are creation of committees within the school to ensure that operations are going smoothly. I also have two new administrators this school year; I have witnessed them being fair and equitable to not only the students but to staff at our school. They have both asked for staff and student opinions and have been willing to consider these opinions based on what is best for our school and our immediate student and working populations.
How is leadership for meaningful technology integration different from other kinds of leadership?
I think meaningful technology integration is different regarding leadership due to other parameters that must be crossed. These include funding sources, acceptable use policies, etc, etc. It is frustrating to try and utilize technology within the school setting due to all of the limits that are placed on technology within public schools. Example: If I want to school a youtube video to my class I must first log into a website and access the video. Prior to 2014 videos had to be approved by someone within the state department prior to showing them to students in the classroom. This limited 'on the spot' teachable moments.
From your perspective, what are the benefits and the challenges of teacher leadership for technology (for teachers, for students, for schools, for the profession)?
Benefits of teacher leadership re: technology; safety within the school. Due to blocking limits; students aren't getting on social media sites that could potentially cause trouble within the school.
Challenges re: technology: Blocking; some schools in other states as well as the WV Department of Education have social media sites. These cannot be accessed at school for information. Another big challenge are limits to 21st century tools. For instance, at my school, we have no cell coverage but the staff expressed an interest in allowing our students to utilize their personal devices as tools in the classroom (GPS, calculator, etc). We received permission from our administration to do so but received an almost immediate email response from the central office listing why these was a "bad idea" due to excess use of bandwith on the servers, etc.
Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI like your definition of teacher leadership. It is similar to mine. I think it is vital for teacher leaders to have the best for all in their mind as they take on different roles as far as leadership is concerned. It sounds like the leadership examples that you have observed are strong examples of how teachers should work together with other teachers and students to better their school. I also agree that social media is both a benefit and a challenge for our schools; deciding which to allow, if any, and how to implement them correctly and make them beneficial to students. I find it interesting that at your school there is no cell coverage. Is that school-wide, or just for students?
Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that there are a lot of challenges when it comes to implementing technology in our classrooms. Safety is a big one when it comes to having students looking at different sites. Schools have blocked a lot of websites that our school computers can't use which does hurt us in a way. Our students have their phones out all of the time which has been an issue and we have been working on correcting it. What's bad is that our students have googled how to find the school wifi password and have actually sold it to other students just so they can get on social media while in school. That's the one thing that I hate about cell phones.
I like that you mentioned logging into youtube with our teacher accounts. I guess I do like that they block the content from students to access, so logging in is an efficient way for teachers to control the information viewed. I personally LOVE youtube! So much good content that helps guide and teach us step by step! I have students go to "Art Kids Hub" when they miss my class and they complete a short drawing tutorial to make up their missed points for that day. That channel is fantastic! Check it out if you have the desire.
ReplyDeleteWe do have limitations to a degree, but most of those are easy to work around or with if you are creative like me. Keep it up Darlene!
Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI really like your examples of leadership. Fairness and equity are two vital traits that a leader must exhibit. I remember the time period when we had to login to the WVDE site and receive permission for youtube videos, it did deter in the moment teaching.
Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI really like your examples of leadership. Fairness and equity are two vital traits that a leader must exhibit. I remember the time period when we had to login to the WVDE site and receive permission for youtube videos, it did deter in the moment teaching.