Module 3 - Laura Funk

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

This question has multiple ways of being answered, but for me, when looking into each page more closely, I began to notice how the web page and group kept linking “leaders” to specific areas.  For example, ISTE immediately offers options on their page to connect, advocate, lead, explore, search resources, and look specifically at the standards or learn more about them as an organization. 

They break down the standards for teachers, coaches and administrators.    One can look into their “leadership team” and other global collaborations.  Perhaps most engaging is the spot on the main page that links you to their “standards in action” where you can see how these technology standards are being successfully implemented.  Every page has an “about” section where they explain their purpose, but for me it is more engaging to see the standards activated and being utilized in productive ways. 

NBPTS focuses on advancing teachers into leadership paths and making them a part of the more “elite” in their schools.  The process of becoming a National Board certified teacher has been compared to me in the past as that of one seeking approval for one’s thesis in a Masters Program.  It is not easy or immediate.  It is a process worked on and built up over time and preparation.  For this group, I think the area they reference where it “speaks” to leadership more specifically is in the “spreading the NBCT expertise.”  They mention teachers taking up leadership roles in their schools and being more actively involved in the running of the school and content.  They mention “technological facility” as an overarching competency in their goals, so they advocate it with their teachers, but as more of a collective part of the whole. 

WVPTS site shares the what and why very well.  I was interested particularly in the “Why are the WVPTS important?” – this section does a nice job explaining the importance of aligning ones curriculum to the overarching goals of the WV standards.  It references the 21^st century teacher, not technology specifically, but in this modern teaching age it is implied that teachers integrate technology frequently to enhance instruction.  Links are also provided for additional research and resources, which will eventually link you up to technology integration strategies and methods.  I liked this page the best of them all because it is straight-forward, and all the relevant information is there.  The page is focused and simple and easy to maneuver, which I appreciate. 

2. 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 immediately began thinking on the same lines as Sean.  I would want teachers currently in those various pathways with firsthand experience to share their stories.  I rather think I would create an introductory video of each pathway, that could be shared with groups in the future considering which path would best suite them.  I think creating a film would make it much easier to share with groups instead of always bringing in those teachers when needed.  Perhaps one real body would do well to function as a question and answer portion towards the conclusion of the training day, but it would depend heavily on availability of everyone involved.  I think I would also have teachers currently working in those pathways posting to a public blog that is centered around giving teachers additional questions to think about before pursuing a pathway and also being a sound board for potential questions or concerns from my teachers considering their path.  I would also establish the new teacher with a mentor in the path of their choosing to help guide and inspire them along their journey.  The mentors would facilitate communication through email correspondence, phone calls, web-chats, or face-to-face meetings.  Whatever method of checking in and collaborating that the two involved decides is best suited for them and their needs.  The mentorship would last for one academic year.

The learning experiences would come from the firsthand experience teacher stories, the blog reflection posts and the other various resources shared on the blog intended as preparatory measures for my teachers in the course.  I think all of these methods along with the mentorship program would prepare a teacher sufficiently for their desired pathway. 

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.).

A survey is a concise way of gathering information based on what a group of participants feels proficient in or where they need more work and training.  A survey also helps you narrow down the focus of training topics and skill proficiencies.  I think it is always helpful to also survey after the integration has be completed to assess the level of comfort that is now placed on the participants.  Surveying before and after can give you a good range of growth of the participants and to gauge how meaningful and impactful the training or plan was in retrospect.   

Chapter 5 Communication

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

Remind is an app used in communication between teachers and students, or administration and teachers – really between anyone.  Remind is a free messaging app platform where numbers remain confidential, and basic information is exchanged.  An example of the effectiveness of this tool is that my school is utilizing it as a means of communication throughout the school to inform teachers if a “lockdown” is in fact a drill or the real thing.  This helps the efficiency of the school immensely because it leaves no cause for speculation.  We are communicated the facts directly and can plan accordingly and remain calm.  Remind could also be used to inform the school of schedule adjustments, cancelations, meeting locations, etc.  If everyone opts to sign up it is an invaluable tool for efficiency and clarification. 

Group pages and profiles can be used to communicate functions in the school and encourage participation.  Facebook is a great tool because of the sheer mass of people active on it and twitter is very quick and to the point.  Many of these free services are functional and can be efficient, depending on the desired goal or outcome. 

Chapter 6 Public Relations

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

I work at South Middle School in Morgantown WV.  Our student population is constantly growing – we are bursting at the seams.  Every classroom is utilized during almost all periods of the day.  We have many teachers without classrooms, who must travel room-to-room all day to utilize other teacher’s classrooms during their planning periods. 

South Middle School has several informative pages on Facebook.  Primarily teams or clubs in the school utilize facebook groups as a means of communicating events, times and other pertinent information.  The cross-country team utilizes instagram to post student photos congratulating successes at various events throughout the season.   The basketball team is active on twitter in the same fashion.  Celebrating successes and communicating game information. 

As far as I am aware there is not one generic page for all South Middle specific information besides our actual school webpage.  I know teachers active on facebook that use it as an active source for communication, the exchanging of ideas and networking, though it is not a school-wide endeavor, just case-by-case involvement for those of us proactive in our use of social media.  I do think we could benefit from having facebook, twitter and instagram, but it really boils down to the question of who is going to manage the content.  It is a big job that would require constant monitoring.  Because of that I do not see it being unanimously used.