Module 3: Brianna Jones

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

ISTE, NBPTS, and WVPTS all promote teacher leadership for technology integration by using standards that teachers should follow in their classrooms.

ISTE is geared toward providing teachers, administrators, coaches, and etc. standards to help them become better leaders in the 21^st century. Right on the front page it says that the standards are helping “transform education with the guidance of the global standards for learning, teaching, and leasing in the digital age.” The website provides resources for teacher that can help them become leaders in the digital age.

NBPTS is national board certification standards for teachers that are national board certified. Teachers are aware of their students learning patterns and have multiple ways of teaching the same concept. They are leaders by collaborating with their fellow teachers and working together with the community. Teachers are finding new and creative ways to teach students today and that goes along with using technology. They are able to reflect on their lessons and make changes when needed.

WVPTS gives teachers standards that are using when being evaluated by the administration. These standards are what teachers should go by when reflecting on their teaching and finding new ways to engage their students in the classroom.  There are five different standards that are in the WVPTS. Standard 4A is the best example of teachers being digital leaders. The standard states that” the teacher engages in professional learning to critically examine his/her professional practice and to engage in a continuous cycle of self-improvement focused on how to learn, teacher and work in a global, digital society.”

◦There are typically three pathways to teacher leadership for practicing teachers: a pathway for teachers who leave their classrooms to move into formal administrative positions as school leaders, a pathway for teachers who remain in their classrooms to develop and share a deeper knowledge base about teaching with their students and colleagues, and a pathway that bridges the two previously mentioned paths, that is for teachers who spend part of their time in a classroom and part of their time taking on additional administrative and professional development responsibilities. 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?

I would have a professional development session that included past and present administrators. They would be the guest speakers and would talk to the teachers about their jobs and what they should be aware of when they are going into that pathway. The administrators would be able to work independently with an educator and enlighten them on various topics that they cover throughout their day on the job. The educators would be able to ask them questions and get some helpful tips and information on becoming an administrator and what to expect in the responsibility department.  Administrators would also talk, in depth, about the responsibilities of decision-making and how there are a lot of decisions that need to be made on the run. The topics that would be covered would also serve as an understanding as to what administrators go through throughout the course of a day, week, and year and this will allow teachers to understand just how tedious the job could be. The difference between being a classroom teacher and administrator can prove to be extremely different and those in the teaching profession may want to understand that before making that move.

◦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.).

I think that the best way to actually see the needs of technology in our school is to take a survey like Amanda said. In order to see what our school needs when it comes to accessing technology what better way than to ask those that need to use it?  By having teachers in my building take a survey to see what needs to improve and what our school needs in the technology department. I take responsibility in my school for helping get teachers and students more resources and that includes technology. We have been working on getting more iPads or Macs, but the board is yet to approve them.

 

Digital Leadership:  Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (Chapters 5-6)

Chapter 5 Communication

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

There are so many resources available to us and a lot of them are free. Our county has made an app for apple and android cell phones. This app is for students, parents, teachers, and community members. Once you have installed the app on your phone you are able to choose which schools you need to view. You can also choose more than one, which is great for parents that have kids at different schools. Each school is responsible for updating their school page and making sure that everything is on there for parents and everyone to view for that week. It has helped a lot of people become more involved with our school and our students. Our school also has a webpage online, which is ran by our technology teacher.  Our school also has several Facebook pages for different sports and clubs that are active in our school. By utilizing all of these free resources our leaders have the power to enlighten our parents, students, and community members on what is happening at our school.  On our school webpage each teacher has their own page as well and they must keep it updated throughout the school year. We include office hours and a phone number where a parent can always reach us. Implementing all of these resources has really helped everyone that is involved with our school. It is also improving participation in our school when it comes to parent volunteers and needing help for sporting events or anything academic.

Chapter 6 Public Relations

Describe your current position (workplace, student, etc…) and how social media efforts are used to promote transparency and engage stakeholders.

I am the library media specialist for Robert C. Byrd High School. I not only keep our library updated and get students and classes to utilize our wonderful collection, but I also am responsible for two laptop carts, an iPad cart, and a computer lab that is located in the library.  At RCB we have a news channel and it’s called Byrd’s Eye View. On this new channel our students are the reporters and report different types of news and events for our school. At the beginning of the year, I wanted to promote our library for our students to be able to come down and utilize all of the resources that it has to offer. There was a newsletter sent to the parents about our Back to School Bash, which had a tour of the library for parents and students. I also went on Byrd’s Eye View to show our students what our library has to offer. When I need to make an announcement I can send an email that gets forwarded to all of the staff in our building or I can put it on the School App page that everyone can see. Eventually, I would really like to create a blog for students and parents to view and post different events and new happenings that are going on in the library. Since this is my first year in the media center I am trying to get use to my new surroundings and work on getting more students to use the library more than they have before. I talk to teachers and students on what they would like to see. I would also like to create an online book club that way students and parents could join. Students and parents are busy when it comes to working and extracurricular activities. I think that if the book club were online then more people would be interested in participating.