CaseAnalysis:LighthouseSchoolDistrict

PartI:

Leadershipandmanagementaretwodistinctpositionsthatcannoteffectivelybe
accomplishedbyoneindividual(Kotter,2001,p.8586).Mr.Phutureistryingtodirecta
groupofdiversestakeholderstowardMr.Howellsvisionwhilesimultaneously
overseeingthefinerdetails.Anotherbarriertotechnologyintegrationisthatsome
stakeholdersfeelasthoughtheirviewsarenotbeingunderstood.Mrs.Bennettfeelsthat
theintegrationisbeingforcedupontheteacherswithoutteacherinput.Finally,thereisa
lackofhonestcommunicationamongthehigherups.

Iproposetoseparatetherolesofleaderandmanager,asresearchsuggeststhatpeople
cannotbothmanageandlead(Kotter,2001,p.86).Ms.Cordoneshouldassumethe
teacherleaderrole,whileMr.Phutureshouldactasadministrativemanager.According
toCuban(1986),teachersaskverydifferentquestionsaboutclassroomtechnologies
thanadministratorsdo(p.67).Additionally,thewayinwhichimplementationishandled
greatlyaffectsteacherresponse(p.5456).HavingMs.Cordoneasteacherleaderwill
demonstrateteachersupport,ratherthananinitiativefromthetop.

Ialsoproposetoimplementapilotamongteachers.Ertmer(2005)suggeststhatwhen
teacherscreatepersonalexperienceswithtechnology,changesinbeliefscanoccur.A
pilotwillprovidevicariousexperiencesfornonparticipants.Furthermore,havingateam
pilotallowsteacherstosupportoneanother(p.34).Afterthepilot,teacherscanpresent
experiencesandfindingstoremainingstakeholders.

Finally,allstakeholdersmustcommittobeinginvolved:attendingmeetings,listeningto
research,andagreeingonacommonvision.

PartII:

ExcellenceinProfessionalPractice

Ensureongoingprofessionalgrowthintechnologyintegration:

Asatechnologyleader,Iwouldhavetheresponsibilitytopromoteaprofessional
learningenvironment.Toensureongoinggrowthintechnologyfluencyandintegration,I
wouldholdprofessionaldevelopmentsessionstoeducatemycoworkers.Settingaside
specifictimestolearnabouttechnologywouldhelpmycolleaguesseepotentialfortheir
classrooms.Icouldalsoofferhelpsessionsfortroubleshooting.

Facilitateandparticipateinlearningcommunitiesthatstimulate,nurtureandsupport
administrators,faculty,andstaffinthestudyanduseoftechnology:

Fortechnologyimplementationtobesuccessful,itisimportantforallstakeholderstobe
wellinformed.Toensurethatadministrators,faculty,andstaffareeducatedinthelatest
research,teacherswouldpresenttheirownexperiencesatDistrictBoardMeetings,
holdingaforumfordiscussionafterward,helpingtokeepstakeholdersonthesame
page.IwouldalsocreateaplaceforonlinediscussionlikeGoogleDocs.

Promoteandmodeleffectivecommunicationandcollaboration:

Iwouldgroupmycolleaguesintotechnologyteams.Eachteamwouldworktogether
usingthesametechnologiesforsupportpurposes.Atprofessionaldevelopment
meetings,eachteamwouldpresentashortsnapshotofhowthetechnology
implementationwasgoingintheirclassrooms,howtheyhavebeenusingthe
technologies,thingstheyhavelearned,andthingswithwhichtheystillneedhelp.These
presentationswouldhelpstafflearnfromoneanotherwhilefosteringopenlinesof
communication.

Stayabreastofeducationalresearchandemergingtrendsregardingeffectiveuseof
technologyandencourageevaluationofnewtechnologiesfortheirpotentialtoimprove
studentlearning:

Tostayupdatedonemergingtrends,Iwouldaskmyprincipaltosetaside1015
minutesofstaffmeetingstosharenewresearchregardingtechnology.Iwouldleadthe
firstfewsessions,andthenuseSignUpGeniustorecruitcolleaguestopresent.We
couldalsoparticipateinEdCamporhaveguestspeakers.

References


Cuban,L.(1986).
Teachersandmachines:Theclassroomuseoftechnologysince1920.
NewYork,NY:
TeachersCollegePress.

Ertmer,P.A.(2005).Teacherpedagogicalbeliefs:Thefinalfrontierinourquestfortechnology
integration?
EducationalTechnologyResearchandDevelopment,5
3(4),2539.

InternationalSocietyforTechnologyinEducation.(2011).
ISTEstandards:Administrators.R
etrieved
from
http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/2014_ISTE_StandardsA_PDF.pdf

Kotter,J.P.(2001).Whatleadersreallydo.
HarvardBusinessReview,
79(11),8598.