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August 1, 2002
The Administrator's Role in Professional Development and Technology Integration
By Barbara Bray
Professional development has moved from one-shot strategies to a more systemic approach. And administrators' roles change when they create professional growth opportunities within the structure of the school system. Effective leaders disperse responsibilities throughout the school community. It's ultimately the teacher's responsibility to identify when and how technology can be used to improve the student program, but the administrator plays a vital role in setting the stage. Several leading authorities share their opinions on how administrators can encourage and support technology integration.
A Systemic Perspective
Jamie Mackenzie, a consultant on planning and professional development, claims many schools "put the horse before the cart." Technologies - not technology - should serve the curriculum instead of the other way around. Administrators were given the impression that connecting to the Internet would change everything. A better approach is a systemic perspective. Schools must clarify the connection between student learning and literacy so students can interpret, infer and analyze. Students and teachers need to be good at exploring data instead of spreadsheeting. Professional developers sometimes overfeed teachers on how to use technology, so whet their appetites by starting with the magic track, then when they see the need in their curriculum, show them. "I've seen the transformation of a teacher in a single day--when they 'get itư' and were won over," says McKenzie. To learn more, visit From Now On and staffdevelop.org.
Modeling Technology
Marianne Pack, director of CTAP Region 6 for the Stanislaus County Office of Education, is the ACSA Central Office Administrator of the year for Region 7. She advises administrators to: (1) model technology by showing their own personal use through e-mail, electronic memos and announcements; (2) provide ongoing technical support and someone to maintain the school Web page; (3) set aside time for teachers to share their successful "teaching with technology" strategies with each other; and (4) allow opportunities for regularly scheduled, open communication with staff regarding their technology successes, frustrations and difficulties. See the California Technology Assistant Project.
Encouraging Experimentation
Saul Rockman consults on research, evaluation and policy development. He suggests four ways administrators can support teachers. First, take over a class for a period or two over a weeks' time to free teachers up to observe, co-teach or be supervised in teaching a powerful technology-supported lesson or unit. Second, reassure teachers that it's okay if students know more than they do; help them say yes, not no, to a student who wants to use a technology the teacher doesn't know. Third, encourage experimentation, supporting teachers who want to try something new, and applaud the grand failures with as much fanfare as the great successes. Fourth, say no to a salesperson, unless twenty percent of the teachers agree to take responsibility for the new product. Visit Rockman.com.
Part of School Culture
Susan Brooks-Young, chair of CUE, Inc.'s Administrators' Special Interest Group, says school plans provide a road map for sustained improvement in students' academic achievement. Technology needs to be woven into the plan across all content areas for true integration. A separate technology plan is helpful for inventories and budgets, but it inadvertently sends the message that technology is its own entity, not an essential instructional tool. Remember that equipment, materials and professional development are equally important. Structure professional development workshops so that technology integration is modeled regularly. Make certain that examples and exercises are content-based so teachers understand potential classroom applications. Brooks-Young moderates a listserv for administrators. To join, e-mail CUEAdmin-sig subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Creating Expertise
Patty Christa, Principal of Newark Memorial High School in Newark, Calif., champions technology use at her school by modeling the use of e-mail and laptops in presentations, and encourages projects that use technology. A new technology center will provide tools such as wind tunnels, tornado machines, and digital video production, all tied to the curriculum. At this Digital High School four teachers will be (up to half-time) mentors to their colleagues. Everyone from beginning users to advance will have the resources and support they need as long as there is funding.
Change is Coming
David Thornburg is an award-winning researcher and educational speaker who sees educational technology continuing its advance into the foreseeable future. Administrators should resist the lure of extrapolation - the belief that we'll continue to use existing tools for which the major change will be increased performance at lower cost. Instead, we need to be prepared for wild cards - new tools and services that will rock our concepts of educational technology. Today, for example, it seems that wireless handheld devices may become the computers of choice for many youngsters. So they should interface to existing school networks. Palm and Compaq may dominate now, but a new version of the Gameboy will hit the market soon which will likely provide Web access and double as a cell phone, and could sell 25 million units in its first week. On the software side, peer-to-peer clients such as Groove to support true collaborative workgroups may eclipse the Web. The collapse of the client server model of the Web won't spell the end of servers, however, since we'll also have to adapt to the world of "storewidth" - the tradeoff of local storage for increased bandwidth as exabyte hard drive arrays on remote servers not only cache relevant Web pages, but function as the primary storage for student work being done on diskless handheld devices. The future will not look like the past. Thornburg can be reached at dthornburg@aol.com.
Listening and Support
Larry Anderson, founder of the National Center for Technology Planning, offers administrators four rules for successful technology integration. (1) Don't come to a situation with an answer, looking for the question. You don't have to know everything. Listen to teachers when they present an idea, then engage them in genuine conversation before issuing any mandate. (2) Be bold users of technology so everyone can witness your successes firsthand. If you need help, ask - teachers are quite willing to provide support. (3) It requires an inordinate amount of time to make technology work as we think it should. When teachers have time to practice and become proficient using technology for their own use, they will find ways to use it as an instructional tool. (4) Teachers need adequate, appropriate, and convenient support. Have a school level technology coordinator and have teachers attend workshops and conferences to learn, develop independence, and create networks of supportive colleagues. Visit the National Center for Technology Planning.
A Total Cost of Ownership
Professional development traditionally is not part of the school day. When teachers and administrators create a collegial atmosphere where they learn from each other and the school community, a total cost of ownership model develops where everyone wins. The culture supports staff in continuous improvement and a process of reflection and inquiry around best practices. Administrators will find they'll be incorporating professional development in a new type of learning community where teachers will say "I get it" more often.
Email: Barbara Bray is president of Computer Strategies, LLC and My eCoach. She moderates the CUE techstaffdevelop listerv and writes PDQs for TechLearning.com. Share tips at the submission page.
Computer Using Educators
Copyright 2002, CUE, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
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