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Professional Growth and Development Paper

Chelsea Hobbing (800660693)

EIST 5100

Dr.Wilkins

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Summary

The article that I read gave an interesting perspective. This article actually

presented a case study about a school that was trying to successfully implement a one to

one technology initiative. The district and school funded a one to one through laptops and

also did a bring your own technology initiative (BYOT). The superintendent who

initiated this was extremely optimistic about this technology and was particularly hopeful

that it would raise student achievement scores to help this school reach the same caliber

of scores as its surrounding schools.

The first year it was implemented didn’t go as planned and many teachers and

students weren’t using the technology effectively. Students were logged as using the

computers mainly for recreational use. This is issue stemmed from the fact that teachers

felt like they weren’t equipped with enough training on how to implement technology

into their instruction and were only professionally developed on the fundamentals of

computer use. Such as, logging on, using e-mail, getting on the Internet and the other

basics. No real professional development about how to intertwine it in the curriculum was

given. Another adversity teachers faced is when they did reach out for help they were told

to just use the computer best they knew how, so there was a lack of support.

Therefore, the technology initiative the first year wasn’t as effective as hoped.

Another principal was coming into the school and was determined to change this around.

This case study was used to get aspiring administration (students who are in school)

actively involved in the implementation of technology into the curriculum. They were to

do a Knowledge Building Activity that cultivated a self-research initiative of tangible

ways technology could be used in their school. The requirements for this were as follows:
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1. Describe the educational use of the technology found

a. Definition
b. Purpose/rationale
c. Technologies used (equipment, software, etc.)
2. Discuss the challenges associated with the educational use of the technology
3. What planning can be done to prevent the challenges associated with this
educational use of technology? Who should assist with the planning and what
should their role be?
4. What support should be provided to teachers and students for this educational
use of technology? Who should provide the support?
5. Describe possible evaluation and review resources and processes for this
educational use of technology.

Additionally, mentioned in the article is Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and

Threats analysis for the use of technology in their particular school.

Strengths  Weaknesses
What are teachers doing well in regards to  What aspects of the laptop program can be 
educational technology use?  improved? 
What resources does the school have that can  What can the school do to further support 
support technology use?  educational technology use? 
What are additional strengths of the school?  What are additional weaknesses of the school?

Opportunities  Threats
 How can the school’s strengths be turned into  What threats do the school’s weaknesses expose it 
opportunities?  to? 
What assistance can the school request from central  What may happen if the school does not improve? 
office?  How is central office limited in its capacity to 
What external environment resources can the school support the school?
seek to make use of?  

Lastly, this article touched on the need for a vision when it comes to technology

in schools and one great way to do that is through the research, goals and work outlined

above.

Critique

One of the most salient parts of the article was the section where the case study

for the school that was trying to move a one to one technology initiative was discussed.
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This is such a relevant issue in today’s schools and is an issue we face daily. We are given

these great initiatives and professional development’s to implement into our daily

routines in the classroom, but are given no real tangible way to do or the support to make

it happen. As discussed in the article this is particularly relevant when it comes to

technology. Many times teachers are told to build 21st century learners, but feel out of

control or lost on how to do so. As administrators it is our duty to alleviate these barriers

and be the model and empowerment to implement this technology. Our goal is to help

students learn and in the fast paced world we live in and technology is an effective way to

do that. As administrators we also have to be on the forefront of research, be

knowledgeable and have a clear vision of where we want our school to go

technologically. By developing a vision that is informed by academic standards, students’

learning needs, pedagogical expectations, and a theory of action for how technology will

support teaching and learning, a school can avoid sending conflicting messages regarding

the initiative (Anthony & Clark, 2011). Even though the case study focused in on one

school, this notion is applicable to many schools, districts and even nationwide.

Another beneficial component to this article was the fact that it gave you concrete

ways to get administrators talking about technology. The whole goal of this article is to

encourage administrators and future administrators to be cognizant of how technology

can be implemented and how to support staff on this technological adventure through

professional development. The Knowledge Building Activity was a great resource to get

administrators “ feet wet” and encourage them to involve themselves in technology

implementation. Another logical and beneficial resource the article gave was the

questions for the SWOT ( refer back to summary section) questions when it came to the
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topic of technology. So many times people are reactive versus proactive when it comes to

professional developments and the information given. Through that line of questioning it

allows administrators and other stakeholders to think holistically and create a vision for

technology in the school and start to get the wheels turning for professional development.

One area of growth I would have appreciated is more data on the use of

technology in the classroom. As the famous saying goes, you can’t argue with facts. With

solid numbers and percentages and proof that technology positively impacts student’s

achievement it would strengthen the rationale to use it. As an administrator it will be

pertinent that in any professional development I require there is reasoning and logic

behind it through statistics and research based evidence to gain the educators buy in.

Relevance

The relevance of this article to my administrative ISTE standards is apparent. It

addressed standard 1: Visionary leadership Educational Administrators inspire and lead

development and implementation of a shared vision for comprehensive integration of

technology to promote excellence and support transformation throughout the

organization. A point driven home by this article and through the SWOT conversation is

that it is so important to have a vision when it comes to technology. Visions help provide

administrators and staff direction and motivation (Anthony &Patravanich, 2014).

Furthermore, this article went on to address standard 3: Excellence in professional

practice Educational Administrators promote an environment of professional learning and

innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning through the infusion of

contemporary technologies and digital resources. As an administrator I would call upon

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myself and other administrative staff to complete the Knowledge Building Activity as a

professional development for administrators that would eventually allow us to

professionally develop and positively impact teachers. If we expect our teachers to

integrate technology and do it effectively, we must be knowledgeable and have real

programs, ideas and ways for these educators to facilitate technological learning in the

classroom. Therefore, we have to put in the time and research. If we invest in the vision

teachers will see that and will equally invest back. Overall, this article was very

beneficial to me as a future administrator and gave me great ideas on how to start the

conversation of technology at my school and hold administration accountable for its

professional development on technology and the support and professional development of

technology given to teachers.

References

Anthony, A. B., & Clark, L. (2011). Examining dilemmas of practice associated

with the integration of technology into mathematics classrooms serving urban students.

Urban Education, 46(6), 1300-1331

Anthony, A. B., & Patravanich, S. (2014). The Technology Principal: To Be or

Not To Be?Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership,17, 3-19. Retrieved February 28,

2018, from

http://journals.sagepub.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/1555458914528913
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