Leavitt1

AnthonyLeavitt
Instructors:MichelleZey&RachelMurphy
PG&Leadership
26October2014
Leadership
EffectiveLeadership
WhenIthinkaboutaneffectiveschoolleader,Ithinkabouta
determinedindividualwhohasastronginnerdrivetosucceed.Irecently
wasprivilegedtomeetwithandlistentosuchaperson.SuperintendentDr.
JamesBriscoofCanyonsSchoolDistrictcametomyleadershipclass
andgavealectureonthesubject.Heexplainedthatleadershipdoesnt
happenonaninetofivescheduleandusuallyrequireslonghoursafter
schooltomeetleadershipresponsibilitiesandgoals.Superintendent
Briscodescribedthataspectsofleadershipwillchangeandthatonemust
beflexibleandchangewithit.Also,conflictsinschoolsmustbe
confrontedandnotavoided.Hewasadamantaboutmeetingwithpeople
whodisagreewithyou.Heexplainedthatschoolleadersmustbevery
cautiousandcarefulintheircommunicationsbecauseoneunfortunate
statementcouldresultinterminationofemployment.Inconclusion,Dr.

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Briscoexplainedthatfailureisanopportunitytochangecourse,improve,
andlearn.Failureisnottheendofthingsbutispartoflifeandis
encounteredbyeveryone.Hearguesthatyouhavetoadmitwhenyou
havemadeawrongchoiceandbewillingtochangecourse.
Ipersonallybelievethatschoolleadersmustnotbeeasilybruised
emotionallyormentallybythestressandburdensinvolvedinleadership.
Also,schoolleadershipcrossesintomostaspectsoftheirlivesbecause
theyoftenneedtoworkoutsideofschool.Schoolleadersmustbegood
communicatorstotheindividualstheyoversee.
FormerPresidentRonaldReaganwasagreatexampleofhowto
communicate.ItwasnotedbyaprominentSenatorthatHisreputationas
TheGreatCommunicatorboilsdowntothreebasictraits:hewassimple
hewasclearhewassincere(Thompson).Schoolleadersmustdelegate
worktobedoneandmaintainapresenceovertheprogressionofthat
work.Inaddition,Ifeeltheymustbewellversedintheirownsubjectarea
ofeducation.Leadersmustunderstandthatpeoplearecomplexand
thereforemustbereadytodealwithawideassortmentofproblems.
Understandingthatfailureispartoflearningandimprovingeducationisan

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importantjobofschoolleaderstherefore,theyshouldnotbediscouraged
byitsoccasionalappearance.Finally,aschoolleaderispositiveand
optimisticalmostbydefaultwhichhelpsmotivatestudentsandteachers.
EducationalTechnologyProfessionalDevelopment
Leadershipineducationaltechnologyandprofessionaldevelopment
requiresaclearandconcisedirection.Theworkenvironmentinschools
hasbecomecomplexanddifficulttonavigate.Almosttoadefault,
professionaldevelopmentconsistsoftheFireHoseEffect.Itisakinto
takingadrinkfromafirehose.Teachersaredrenchedwithvastamounts
ofinformationthatcannotpossiblybeunderstoodormasteredwithinthe
timelimitsgiven.Furthermore,teachersinevitablyhavetotrytomake
senseoutofprofessionaldevelopmentontheirowntimeafterschool
hours.FrompersonalexperienceIfeelanxietyduringeveryprofessional
developmentbecauseIknowthatwhatevernewmandateishandeddown,
Iwillhavetofigureitoutandimplementitonmyowntimeafterschoolor
athome.Also,deliveringvastamountsofinformationthroughalecture
formatinashortperiodoftimeisahorriblewaytoteach,anditisalways
donebyprofessionaleducatorswhoknowbetter.Thismethodmakes

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everyoneupset,resentful,anddiscouraged.Teachersshouldfeelexcited
andmotivatedafteraprofessionaldevelopment.
Timeisthemostessentialelementneeded.Informationmustbe
scaffoldedorpresentedinlayersthataremanageablebythereceiverof
theinformation.ResearchstatesthatAlllearnersneedtimetoprocess
newideasandinformation.Theyalsoneedtimetoverballymakesenseof
andarticulatetheirlearningwiththecommunityoflearnerswhoarealso
engagedinthesameexperienceandjourney(Alber).Furthermore,
researchshowsthatscaffoldingiscriticaltothesuccessofmastery
learning:
therearetwomajorstepsinvolvedininstructional
scaffolding:(1)developmentofinstructionalplanstoleadthe
studentsfromwhattheyalreadyknowtoadeepunderstanding
ofnewmaterial,and(2)executionoftheplans,whereinthe
instructorprovidessupporttothestudentsateverystepofthe
learningprocess.Inanappropriatescaffoldingprocess,there
willbespecificidentifiablefeaturesthatareinplacetoallow

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facilitationofassistingthelearnerininternalizingtheknowledge
untilmasteryoccurs.(Lipscomb,Swanson,&West)
Teachersshouldleaveaprofessionaldevelopmentwitheverything
completeandreadytoimplementintheirclassroom.Thepresentermust
useappropriatetimemanagementtoensurethatteachersareleavingwith
theobjectivesofthetrainingcompleted.Researchshowsthatlearningcan
besuperficialiftimeisnotsufficient:
Thetimethatthestudentneedsforstudiesandthetime
providedforhimorherinthecurriculumforms,togetherwith
thequantityandthelevelofdifficultyofstudymaterial,formthe
workloadofstudies.Workloadisappropriatewhenstudents
areprovidedwithenoughtimeforcompletinglearningtasks
andlearnercapacityistakenintoaccount.Atootightschedule
doesnotenableeffectivelearningbutresultsinstudent
overloadandsuperficiallearning.(Karjolainen,Katariina,&
Suvi)
AtthispointinmycareerIhaveneverbeeninchargeofa
professionaldevelopment.Iwantteacherstoleaveanyprofessional

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developmentthatIamoverwithteachingtoolsreadytobeimplementedin
theirclassrooms.IplanonpresentingClassDojoatmyschool.Class
Dojoisanexcitingwaytohelpmanagestudentbehavior.Ihaveenjoyed
implementingthistechnologyinmyclassroombecauseIfinditinteresting
andthereforeitmotivatesmetocontinuallyimproveuponit.Ilikehowmy
studentsgetexcitedaboutClassDojo.Iuseittodothefollowing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Takeattendance
Sendmessages(text&images)home
Awardpositiveandnegativepointsforbehavior
Trackstudentprogress
Givestudentsrewardsforobtainingpositivepoints
Motivatestudents
Sendbehaviorreportshome

Iwantteacherstohaveatleastoneclasssetupbythetimetheyleavemy
professionaldevelopment.Teacherswillthensimplyneedtopresentitto
theirclass.
Inconclusion,Ibelieveinbeingalifelonglearner.Teachersmust
continuallyupdatetheirskillsasaneducator.Anyonethatprovides
educationaltechnologyprofessionaldevelopmentmustspendtime
becominganexpertatit.Thepresentermustbepreparedtoanswer
questionsandeffectivelydemonstratetheuseofthetechnology.Iintend

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tocontinuelearningabouteducationaltechnologyafterthisendorsement
programisoverbyearningaMastersDegreeinthisfield.
Contributions
SincebeinghiredbyCanyonsSchoolDistrict,Ihavebeen
introducedtomanyformsofeducationaltechnology.Ihavelistened
carefullyandobservedthepotentialuseofeachtechnology.Believingthat
itwouldnotbepossibleformetoimplementalltechnologythatIhave
beenshown,IdecidedtopickandchoosewhatIconsideredthebestfit
formyself.InjustoveroneyearIhaveimplementedorusedmany
educationaltechnologiesinmyclassroomasshownintable1:
Table 1

Canvas
Gradpoint
CSDDOCS
ExitTicket
UTIPS
Animoto

ClassDojo
Weebly
KhanAcademy
Socrative
AdobeSuite
HaikuDeck

Nearpod
Smartboard
Arduino
GoogleClassroom
GoogleSketchup
BlendSpace

Implementingnewtechnologytakestime,resources,andcommitmentas
showninfigure1.

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Figure 1

Ihavespentmanyhoursafterschoolgettingtechnologyreadyfor

myclassroom.Ihavenotoutrightrefusedtoimplementanytechnology.
Teachersmustbeflexibleandbewillingparticipantstoincreasetheuseof
technologyintheclassroom.Iknowmanyteachersareresistantto
implementingtechnologybecauseoftheextraworkthatwillbeinvolved.I
cannotjudgeteacherstooharshlyforthisbecauseoftheiralreadytight
andoverloadedschedules.Nevertheless,whentechnologyisworkingand
theinitialbreakinphaseisover,itcanbeanextremelybeneficialand
motivatingpartofanyclassroom.
Ifeelthatifateacherwantstobealeaderintechnology,theymust
leadbyexample.Itisahardandtroublesomeroadtotakewhenyou

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decidetoimplementnewtechnology.Therewillbemanybumpsalongthis
road,andapersoncannotbeeasilydeterredbythebumps.Thatiswhy
commitmentissocritical.Aleadermustbewillingtoshareandcreatewith
thelearningcommunity.Ipersonallyhavebeentherecipientofsomegreat
curriculumandideasinmyclassroom.Becauseofopensourcewebsites
likeKhanAcademy,Ihavebeenabletoenrichmystudentseducationwith
multiplewelldonelessonsofJavaScriptProgramming.Icouldnotcreate
orduplicatewhatisinKhanAcademy.Iamgratefulforthiswebsiteand
manyothersthatareopenforustouse.
IoftenthinkthatthereisnothingIhaveputtogetherthatanyone
wouldwant.Havingmyworkrejectedscaresme.However,itissomething
Imustgetpast.IhaveputtogethermanymodulesinmyCanvasclasses
thatIamwillingtosharewithothers.MytroubleisthatIamstrugglingto
findthetimetodothis.Howdoesonefindtimeinthisbusyworld?Myonly
solutionistoworklongerhoursandallowmyselfonlysmallamountsof
freetime.Thisismysadrealityandthatofmanyotherteachers.

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EducationalResearchandInnovation
Youwouldbehardpressedtofindagreatersupporterof
educationaltechnologythanmyself.Iamaparticipantinmanynewand
excitingchangesineducation.Twoyearsago,Ihadneverheardof
CanvasormanyeducationaltechnologyprogramsthatIamusingtoday.I
teachonlineclassesforEntradaandCanyonsVirtualHighSchool.Iuse
CanvasandGradpointtogradeandgivefeedbacktostudents.There
needstobemanywaysforstudentstogetaneducation.Traditional
methodswillnotworkforsomestudentswhowilldropoutandgiveupon
education.Onlinecoursesareagreatwayforstudentstostillprogress
alongtheireducationalpathway.
Canvashaschangedmyviewoneducation.Ithinkitisinnovative
andcansaveateacheralotoftime.WhenIgradestudentwork,itis
alreadysortedbynameandclassperiod,timeanddatestamped,anditis
readable.Teacherscanwastealotoftimetryingtodecipherwhat
studentshavehandwritten.ThepossibilitiesofCanvasarelimitless.
Alreadythisyearmystudentshavesubmittedassignmentsbythe
followingmethods:screenshots,websiteURL,GoogleDocs,textbox,

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andothers.Studentscaneasilyresubmitassignmentsafterreceiving
feedbackfromme.
Asateacher,Imuststayuptodateonnewtechnologyinnovations.
Thebestwaytodothisistofolloweducationaltechnologywebsites&
blogsonTwitter,Google+,andFacebook.Also,attendingmyAssociation
forCareerandTechnicalEducation(ACTE)WinterandSummer
Conferencesareveryresourcefulevents.TheUtahCoalitionfor
EducationalTechnology(UCET)ConferenceIattendedin2013opened
evenmoregreatresourcestome.
CanyonsSchoolDistricthasheavilypromotedtheuseofCanvas
andGoogleDocsbyteacherswhichwillincreasetheuseoftechnologyin
theschools.TheCEOofInstructure,thecompanythatcreatedCanvas,
JoshCoatessaid,WithCanvas,anewstandardforsimplicity,usability
andelegancehasbeenset,andwebelievethiswillhaveadirectand
positiveimpactoneducationinUtah.IagreewithMr.CoatesCanvasis
allofthosethingsandmore.Bothofthesetoolshaveallowedmeandmy
studentstobemoreproductiveintheclassroom.Thesetwowillbeeasy
topromoteinmyschoolduetotheirblessingfromtheDistrict.

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Inconclusion,technologyinschoolsisadvancingandteachersthat
donotgetonboardwillbeleftbehindandwillincreasinglyfindthemselves
ontheoutsidelookingin.Theuseoftechnologyisbecomingpartof
evaluationsandthereforeismandated.Theuseoftechnologyinthe
classroomisultimatelytherightthingtodobecauseitrepresentsthereal
worldandtheworkenvironmentinwhichourstudentswillsoonfind
themselves.

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WorksCited
Alber,Rebecca.6ScaffoldingStrategiestoUseWithYourStudents.
Edutopia.24Jan.2014.Web.
Brisco,James.LeadershipinEducation.PG&Leadership:2014ETE
107.CanyonsSchoolDistrictOfficeBuildingProfessional
DevelopmentComputerLab,Sandy.21October2014.
Coates,Josh.UtahEducationNetwork(UEN)News.NewStatewide
LearningManagementSystemSelected.UEN.1Nov.2014.Web.
Karjolainen,Asko,KatariinaAlha,andSuviJutila.GiveMeTimetoThink:
DeterminingStudentWorkloadinHigherEducation.Finland.
2006.Web.
Lipscomb,Lindsay,JanetSwanson,andAnneWest.Scaffolding.
EmergingPerspectivesonLearning,Teaching,andTechnology.
1Nov.2014.2004.Web.
Thompson,Fred.WhatmadeRonaldReagantheGreatCommunicator:
FormerU.S.SenatorFredThompsonreflects.DailyNewsonthe
Web.6Feb.2011.26Oct.2014.Web.