Kali Alford

Vision Paper
Instructional Technology Leadership
Spring 2015

It is the missions of Riverwood International Charter School to prepare students to not only
become contributing members of their own communities, but also to become global citizens. While
this is an ongoing goal, the methods that need to be employed to achieve it are ever-evolving. In a
world that is increasingly becoming more and more technological, such a goal is not attainable
without the inclusion of digital resources and tools to support, enhance, and extend instruction.
Todays generation of students have at their fingertips a wealth of information through a variety of
fast paced mediums that more often than not outpace the more traditional mediums associated with
todays classrooms (Prensky, 2010). Education must vie for students attention and it must change
the acquire assets similar to its competitors in order to win that battle. Similarly, those school
leaders must have in place a plan that clearly articulates what those assets should look like within a
school.
The first step in achieving this is to put the students at the center. While data analysis and
standardized tests are essential, teachers and administrators cannot forget that they are teaching
people and not numbers on paper. Disaggregation of data can tell educators a great a deal about
student performance. However, educators must begin to look at these things before outcomes and
before test results have been generated. Taking a constructivist approach to instruction can offer that
insight. The constructivist approach puts students plainly in front of the teacher so that they can see
learning as it is happening rather than assessing whether it actually took place and to what degree
(Creighton, 2003). When considering the results of my technology usage survey and several
observations of classrooms, I can conclude that this is not something that is widely happening in
many classrooms in this school. That is not to say that meaningful instruction is not taking place.
However, that is to say that there is a discord that is created when a student is sent home with an
assignment, several resources, and left to their own devices. This discord hinders understanding. In

the time in between a student receiving homework, making a mistake and the teacher finding the
mistake and remediating the lessons that covers it, the mistake may have already confounded itself
into a much larger problem or misconception. The constructivist approach instead minimizes that
discord, and insures that there is a mode of communication between the student and teacher anytime
learning is taking place.
In the future, schools should in essence, convey to its students that learning does not stop
with the final bell and that they are students or pupils 24 hours of every day. This must become a
cornerstone of the educational process in the future if student performance is to improve. In his
article entitled Authenticity of Instruction and Student Performance: A Prospective Randomised
Trial," Jeffrey La Rochelle examines a variety of instructional platforms and found that hybrid
platforms generated better student performance than platforms that relied solely on online or face to
face instruction (La Rochelle, 2009). As there are many resources to create a hybrid learning
environment available for little to no cost for public school systems, the merits of such strategies
are well within the grasp of schools. To insure that such an approach comes to fruition and is
effective, schools such as Riverwood can and should use technology to implement and support this
approach.
Social media has created a connectedness among its users. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc, have made it possible for information to be shared and disseminated at rapid speeds.
This affords the users the ability to expand the bubble in which they live to infinite measures. Who
is to say that such an effect could not also happen to the walls of a classroom? In a study examining
synchronous communication within education, Damon P. Leiss surveys the communication of
social media and the communication a teacher may have with his or her students (Leiss, 2010). He
mentions that social media is mobile and therefore not contained within walls. It has no bells and

therefore is not restricted by time. If the human mind is constantly learning then these restrictions of
concrete walls and school bells, while necessary, should not send the connotations that learning has
ended. Technology can be the wrecking ball that breaks down those barriers containing and
restricting learning.
There are several methods that support this way of thinking. One such method is the flipped
classroom model. What this model does is make the work students do to show mastery observable.
In essence, what would have been homework becomes classwork. At home instead of completing
tasks outside of the teachers presence and without the teachers direct aid, students are offered
resources such as recorded lectures or interactive readings using software tools. Once the student
returns to school the lesson in class is more of an activity that builds on, enforces, or assesses what
theyve learned at home. Adam Butt examines the flipped classrooms in a study published by
Business and Education Accreditation. He states:
In courses that are constructively aligned the desired learning outcomes are
expressed in terms of the activities students are required to be able to demonstrate, with
teaching and learning activities and assessment (both formative and summative) being
designed to be consistent with these desired learning outcomes. Consistent with the studentcentered approach to learning, the most important aspect of a course is what the student does
and not what the teacher does or says (Butt, 2012).
This should be the approach taken at Riverwood and the integration of technology can assist in
making this so.
With a structured system of support, such a program could be implemented within a year
using a group of teachers to pilot the program. Ideally, the courses used to pilot the program could
be those where extra support or remediation for students is needed more often (Math, Chemistry,
etc). Additionally, the pilot courses could include those where readings or document analysis is a
heavy component of the subject matter (i.e. US History or American Literature). Software programs

such as Camtasia or Adobe Presenter allow school wide licenses at discounted rates. These
programs allow teachers to create interactive recorded lectures or interactive versions of documents
that allow students to use hyperlinks, chat features, or other features to gain a better understanding
(Business Editors/High-Tech Writers Nov, 2003). Following the piloting of this program the school
should assess data to measure the students success on standardized test or section/wide benchmarks
to assess students who taught using these methods versus students who did not. The the comparison
would be inform the school on the effectiveness of the model, what changes should be made, and in
which courses it could be most beneficial.
Dr. Trina J. Davis, a University of Texas Professor and then President of the ISTE, once said
that, teachers should use any and all resources available to create change, and promote growth.
This statement rings true to Riverwoods primary objective of creating global citizens. If this goal is
to be realized, the resources within the classroom must be as boundless as the resources afforded to
students in the real world. By making the center of instruction Riverwood not only takes a step
toward realizing that goal, but Riverwood could create students that are self-advocates. Students
who are prepared to face the obstacles of the real world head on using a skillset that they in part
helped to create.

Appendix

Technology Use Survey

This is a survey to gauge the variety of technological resources that are available and used at Riverwood
International Charter School. This survey will be used to assess the overall state of technology use, access, and
instructional integration. The questions in this survey look to address your overall level of comfort with technology
use and your level of technology literacy. Please answer each question honestly and to the best of your knowledge
and ability.

Statement

I am proficient using productivity tools (word

processing, databases, spreadsheets,
presentations, etc.)
I am able to troubleshoot problems when they
occur with these programs.
I feel comfortable teaching my students and
colleagues about using various software
programs.
I am proficient using Web 2.0 tools found online
(Prezi, Diigo,etc).
I am able to locate materials online to assist in
my instruction of content.
I currently have and maintain a class website or
synchronous teaching platform (edomodo.com ,
schoology.com, etc)
I actively use a variety of technological resource
alongside my instruction.
I actively search for learning activities to
increase my technology skills.
There is adequate access to the technology
provided to me at Riverwood.
I use my laptop actively for instructional
purposes.
Any technological issues are resolved in a
reasonable amount of time.

Strongly
Disagre
e
1
1

Disagre
e

Somewha
t

Agree
4

Strongly
agree
5

2
2

3
3

Comments:__________________________________________________________________________
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References

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers. (2003, Nov 05). TechSmith releases Cstudio 2 with integrated
recording and production for application demonstrations, software simulations and video
tutorials. Business Wire, pp. 1. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/446291996?accountid=11824
Butt, A. (2012). Student Views on The Use of a Flipped Classroom Approach: Evidence from
Australia. Business Education & Accreditation, 6(1), 33-43. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1446438932?accountid=11824
Creighton, T. (2003). The principal as technology leader. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
ISTE President Emphasizes Transformative Power Of Technology In Education At NECC Opening
Address.(2008, Jun 30).PR Newswire, Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/447379029?accountid=11824
La Rochelle, Jeffrey S., et al. (2011): "Authenticity of instruction and student performance: A
prospective randomised trial." Medical education 45.8 807-817.
Leiss, D. P. (2010). Does synchronous communication technology influence classroom community?
A study on the use of a live web conferencing system within an online classroom. (Order
No. 3398688, Capella University). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 90-n/a. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/275980069?accountid=11824
Prensky, M. (2010). Why you tube matters. why it is so important, why we should all be using it,
and why blocking it blocks our kids' education. On the Horizon, 18(2), 124-131.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10748121011050469