Module 3 - Amanda Smith

1) Where do the ISTE, NBPTS, and WVPTS "speak" to or promote teacher leadership, particularly leadership for technology integration?

ISTE-
The ISTE standards require teachers to meet several leadership and technology geared standards. Some of which include design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments, promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility, and engage in professional growth and leadership.

NBPTS-
Out of the Five Core Propositions, the one that I think speaks more toward teacher leadership is number four, Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. I think this because it goes on to say that "Striving to strengthen their teaching, accomplished teachers critically examine their practice, seek to expand their repertoire, deepen their knowledge, sharpen their judgment and adapt their teaching to new findings, ideas and theories". To me, this is an excellent idea of who a teacher leader is and what they do.

WVPTS-
I think the best  line that speaks on leadership is found in Standard 4: Professional Responsibilities for Self-Renewal. It states "The teacher is actively engaged in learning with colleagues in a way that models collaboration and collegiality to improve his/her practice, addressing questions and issues related to the school and student achievement". A good teacher leader should be working together and helping others as part of a group; not just their students, but their fellow teachers and administrators as well. And as a teacher leader, this is something they should WANT to do, not just something they do because it is required.



2) If you were designing a program or professional development intended to prepare teacher leaders to take advantage of these multiple pathways, what would it look like? What learning experiences would you include?

If I were designing a program for professional development for teacher leaders. I would take the "mix it up" approach, which engages teacher leaders in a variety of experiences to build necessary knowledge and skills. I agree that "one size fits few teacher leaders", and because of that, and the fact that there is more than one way to actually BE a leader, there should be more than just a lecture about how to be a teacher leader. I would follow the approach by 'using a variety of strategies to address the needs of teacher leaders' prior knowledge and experience, diverse learning styles, interests, areas of strength, needs, and levels of engagement'. I like the idea of teachers getting to choose which pathway they would like to follow, so in order for them to make that decision, they need to be informed and have an idea of what each pathway actually entails. I would use lecture/Q&A, hands on activities, mock lesson plans, as well as having veteran teacher leaders from all pathways making appearances, speaking, and answering questions. This would allow teachers a better hands-on learning experience. The better they are informed, the more likely they are to make a good decision based on how involved they want to be in teacher leadership.



3) Share at least one strategy you will use/are using to assess the technology needs of your context (how will you document needs, what kind of data will you use, etc.).

One strategy that I will definitely use to determine the technology needs for my department is to conduct interviews with some of the math department staff. Full time professors, as well as adjuncts. Sometimes, I feel adjuncts don't necessarily get all the tools and training and options that full time folks do. Thinking along this line, I could poll adjuncts to see where they stand on certain topics, for example, office space. There are a lot of adjuncts particular this semester and something there is no room in the inn. Another need that I can think off right away is simple more full time people to teach these new, ever growing math support classes.

Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms and Changing Times

Chapter 5 - Communication:

Describe how leaders can harness the power of free resources to improve communication and ultimately improve their overall effectiveness and efficiency.

The Internet offers many different social media that schools and teachers can use for free! I feel that if leaders really want to harness the power of these free tools to improve communication, they need to do a few things. First of all, they need to realize that they need to make a change. They need to have a nice mix of traditional communication as well as use of social media to have an effective two-way communication system with their stakeholders. Next, I think that they need to use more than just one social media. There are social media tools that complement one another and allow for more people to see the information. Twitter and Facebook are excellent examples of such tools. Lastly, but not necessarily the ONLY other thing leaders need to do, is to make sure to meet their stakeholders where they are. For example, if only half parents that you are trying to reach has a Facebook, then maybe try another type of social media in an attempt to reach more people. Never stop trying to better your ways of communication. Always keep thinking of new, faster, better ideas.

Chapter 6 - Public Relations:
Describe your current position and how social media efforts are used to promote transparency and engage stakeholders.

In my role of grad student, I use blogger a lot (and not just for this class). I have created several YouTube videos as well. In addition to being a graduate student, my current position is a graduate assistant here at FSU in the Math department. I teach a Math 1107 lecture class and two math 1007 support labs. Honestly, I don't use social media in any of the classes that I teach, and I never have. I do, however, use the discussion board on Blackboard. Currently my class is reading a book about personal finance, which includes information about debit and credit cards, personal health and car insurance, FICO credit score, paying bills on time, baking information, etc. After every two chapters, my students are required to create an original post discussing their thoughts and personal experiences. They are then required to comment on two other posts from their classmates. This is the first semester that I have done this assignment and so far, I am very pleased with the results. Students are really opening up and talking to each other, something that I don't see a lot of during class.