Welcome to our class blog. Blogs can be used by individuals to maintain interactive personal journals or news outlets, or in lieu of a traditional, static website. They can also be used by communities of individuals sharing a common experience or perspectives. Our class blog is the place where all members of our learning community are going to share perspectives and resources related to our exploration of leadership; particularly leadership that supports meaningful technology integration in our schools, workplaces, or other organizations. I've created this blog for us to use, but you may want to create your own blog for another purpose so I am including this link to a YouTube video that walks you through the steps involved in using Google's Blogger tool. Please share your favorite resources related to using blogs or using Google Blogger with the class.
Creating a Blog With Google's Blogger
In your comment on this posting, consider the quote above. How do you think this quote about leadership relates to the relationship between technology, leadership, and change in your professional context?
I think this quote about leadership relates to knowing the differences and similarities of people and how they react to change in everyday instances. The evolving technology can create anxiety for people to learn new habits. Being a good leader can result from knowing the people you are leading and how they interpret change and technology.
ReplyDeleteI agree that to be a good leader you must know who you are dealing with and think people who take the time to know people and celebrate individual differences make the best leaders.
DeleteI joke that I'm part counselor in my job as a technology integration specialist. In order to enact change that sticks and is positive, you have to build a relationship with someone while you teach them technology. They have to trust you. I do this often by letting teachers gripe, complain and vent to me :)
DeleteFalling somewhere in between those who are technologically savvy and those who experience technology phobia, I can attest to the anxiety that many of us feel concerning technology. This quote asserts that effective leadership involves the ability to overcome our fears through a willingness to confront them head on. This also includes being open to change, which is a source of anxiety for many people concerning technology. As an effective leader in the professional context, we should both learn how to incorporate technology into our teaching and assist others in adopting new practices through example and education.
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the line where you said that the best way to overcome our fears is to face them head on. I think that is an excellent way to look at facing problems whether they are in technology or some other problem in our lives. Ignoring problems is never an effective method in dealing with them. The sooner we face them the quicker we can move forward. I find this is true for this situation also.
DeleteI think in order to be a leader in the field of teaching not only in their own lives but also in the classroom! Everyone does not always embrace challenges in the same manner and technology can cause anxiety in many people. True leaders step up and help others through using technology in their lives as well as model the technology in action in different situations. Blending these three main concepts (technology, leadership, and professional context) can be challenging but leaders can find a way to work emerging as a role model for both their peers as well as their students.
ReplyDeleteIn our modern and ever changing world, we need to utilize all of the tools at our fingertips to bring in others so that they are interested in what we have to say. After all, we have a lot of media to compete with when we want to get whatever message out to our audience; so, we have to be an innovator in technology to stand out to others. I think that this quote embodies the hesitancy many feel to switch our society from a person-to-person environment to a electronic one. After all, when my mom goes from being a phone person to a facebook person, you know that the trend is moving towards that way. Leaders have to be trendsetters in the field and embrace the change first.
With the multitude of new technology programs and applications that are available in today's society also comes the uncertainty and the phobia of not wanting to use them, but not exactly having a choice since technology is a mainstream form of communication now. A person who is not scared of the technological advancements that are being made in today's day and age must be the "leader" and guide the rest of the people who have a phobia of technology through the changing times. I think the people who have a phobia of technology are the ones who are discussed in the quote as having a major anxiety, and those of us who are technologically savvy are the ones who are the leaders because we're not afraid of technological change. ... I know from my point of view, I do not have a fear of technology, and in some cases would prefer technology over some of the older ways of doing things. However, I know that even though I like using technology, it could just be because of my age, or simply because technology interests me, and doesn't cause me major anxiety.
ReplyDeleteReading not only the quote but also the other post a common theme seems to be anxiety about new things and in this case technologies that are changing at a rapid pace. I think that true leaders will be the ones who embrace the new ideas and applications and take the time to master them and then share their experiences with others. I believe in sharing my experiences with others and one reason I like the education profession.
ReplyDeleteI realize that this class is technology based and that many if not all of us at some point experience some sort of phobia concerning said technology, however, I feel that this quote for myself reflects the leadership part of education. I am a fairly new teacher, only in my third year of my first full time job. Being such, the technology phobias have not reached me just yet. I am not so concieted to believe that I will never have a time where I have no idea what to do with a new technology, but for now I have not experienced that. My major anxiety that I have had to face has been the leadership role in my school. I am currently at a school that is experiencing a high rate of teacher turn-over, be it retirement or other, we find the face of our faculty changing quickly. What I have found difficult is trying to motivate some of the other teachers to expand beyond their books and chalkboards. I have experience with the technologies we use and I often find myself at odds with those that have that anxiety, and as such have to summon massive amounts of patience in order to deal with some of their lack of interest. I can deal with questions and working through these new technologies, but what is so aggrivating to me is the complete lack of openness to new concepts in education that some teachers can show. I truly believe that we are at a point in education that will witness a new era in education. I feel as if I am witnessing hitory, and before my career is over, new teachers will be asking me such quetions as, "What was it like to have textbooks in the classroom?" "How did teachers ever communicate with their students before social media and other technologies?" I'm excited to see where this new chapter in education takes us, because I have faith that it will revolutionize our capacity to educate young people in a way that has not been experienced since the turn of the 20th century.
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with your assertion that we are indeed at a point that is a new era in education. With the advent of technology, much of the current education has become antiquated. I am also amazed at the resistance to technology that I have witnessed at my school. However, I have also witnessed the resulting epiphanies of those teachers who were at first reluctant to embrace any technology. With time, I believe we will all have to embrace these new technologies, as our students already have.
DeleteTeachers can be very reluctant to change their teaching methods. I have seen teachers who are forced to use technology fall in love and never look back. To a large extent this is the way of education. The profession changes slowly but when it truly changes it never looks back. Technology has caused us to change our lives and our way of thinking and I can see teachers beginning to understand what it means to teach with tech. The leadership part will come, I just don't think we're all ready for that yet. At its core, education plays a leadership role in society and so as technology becomes our way of life then we will begin to help usher in the new ways of technology. Teachers will be more technology savvy than students; in some ways we are already, and as this trend progresses we will no longer find ourselves on the learning curve but instead establishing the learning expectations.
DeleteHi! I'm Hilary, a technology integration specialist for Randolph County Schools. Needless to say technology leadership is something WAY up my alley! It's what I live and breathe everyday. So, I'm very excited for this class!
ReplyDeleteBlogger is an AMAZING web tool. I've had the privilege of helping students in several classes this school year setup blogs using Blogger. In a foreign language class, they are using it to post about certain topics, such as culture or geography. With Blogger they can embed pictures or videos, so it's a perfect medium for this. In a senior English class, the teacher is having students respond to writing prompts on their individual blogs. The possibilities for integration of Blogger are endless! (And just for shameless, self-promotion, I have to advertise my vegetarian blog that I use to share my favorite recipes with friends and family: http://ourveglife.blogspot.com)
The quote sounds like something I would say, just in a more formal, flowery way. I have the motto as a TIS that “Rome wasn't built in a day...baby steps.” My role as a TIS to make teachers more comfortable with technology so they use it more in their classes. That requires patience, training and building teacher confidence. In order to evoke change, I as a technology leader, must recognize where people are at and help them, build them a ladder for them to step up and change their ways of teaching. It is the most amazing and rewarding job being a TIS; I love being able to help people.
Your school system is also integrating technology in a way that empowers students to demonstrate leadership skills by posting their own ideas in a forum that can be viewed by teachers and classmates. You have a very important job! I agree with your quote about Rome, advancement definitely takes small steps and a lot of patience.
DeleteAs a teacher I must assume a leadership role to help my students become responsible stewards of technology and its potential. My students may not be anxious about their new abilities to use technology but they should be. Technology can build vast and powerful empires but it can also lay low any proverbial stronghold, and all at the fingertips of infants. The quote discusses a willingness to confront anxiety and I will confront my own. I worry for my students. There is more than an abundance to junk technology and there is constantly a new and underhanded way of utilizing technology to take advantage of someone. This is my motivation to become a leader in my classroom. I will be an informed and diligent example for students. I will use technology for good, not for evil, and I will show my students what a responsible digital citizen looks like.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with technologies being used in an underhanded way. Just last year we had a great assembly that was performed by the State Police. Actually a department of the State Police, Online Predators Division (I believe this is the proper name). They discussed some of the problems that can occur with the use of social media platforms. The first question to the students was, "How many people here have over 1000 friends on Facebook?" The amount of students who had over 1000 people on their friends list in little Webster County frightened me.
DeleteThe integration of technology has emerged in all aspects of our lives, but predominately in education. The teachers in my generation have grown accustomed to using technology everyday, so they are more comfortable to incorporate new age literacies into their curriculum. However, there are many older generation teachers in the system that are frightened by change, especially using technology. And who could blame them. So as technology leaders, it is our responsibility to help everyone overcome their fears of change and help them embrace and understand the importance of integrating technology in all content areas.
Delete--Amy Phillips
I am older but did my student teaching a year ago. My major is FACS and I had both a younger teacher in my high school placement and a older teacher in my middle school placement. One may think that the younger teacher embraced technology and the older teacher would be more reluctant. It was not what I found, the younger teacher did not have any interest in any ideas I could offer to use technology in the classroom but the older teacher not only listened to my ideas but embraced them and took the time to learn how different programs could be used. I loved my middle school placement and the older teacher gave me so much by her experience and was ready to share her time but when my placement was finished this teacher thanked me for showing her so many ideas to use and I thanked her for showing what it means to be a teacher. She was in fact the leader and and did guide me but was open to also learn from me and I think that being a good listener is an important quality of a leader.
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ReplyDeleteGalbraith’s quote definitely relates to the relationship between technology, leadership, and change in my professional context. The basic premise of this quote is that all of the critical leaders throughout time have confronted something that has caused apprehension amongst their people. This quote can relate to our age of vast technological growth and many people fear change, which technology is definitely a cornerstone of change. I’m not yet teaching in a formal classroom, but I work for a non-profit community behavioral health agency. In my office, we have fallen behind the technological times and actually still use a couple of old IBM dot-matrix printers from the early 1990’s. Many of my fellow co-workers and administrators become extremely apprehensive and often-times reluctant when a new computer program or agent of technology is introduced into the workplace. In my area of employment and as a future educator, I think that it takes a leader to analyze and determine what is needed to make the organization /classroom/school operate more effectively and efficiently. It takes leadership to implement change and introduce new technologies to colleagues, supervisors, administrators, students, and principals. And ultimately, it takes a leader to embrace change and growth for the improvement of employees, clients, colleagues, students, and any other person involved in the agency, school, or classroom.
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ReplyDeleteI believe this quote is saying that inorder to be a leader you must be prepared and equip to confront those interpretations or conditions that triger than anxiety of the people the are attempting to lead. In our case this would interpret - An educator must be prepared to help lead their students in this new technologically advanced world and teach them the necessary knowledge as well as the life skills to suceed in our society.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is increasing at a rapid speed and as educators we must be prepared to learn the technology as it comes in and be prepared to teach that technology to their students. The quote above does not directly relate to the idea of leadership and technology created; however one might interpret that the anxiety of our time is the rapid increase of technology - there fore creating a direct relationship between leadership and technology in this day and age.
As far as our professional context, as educators we are leaders and role models for our students. We must remain confident in the technology we use and teach to instill that same confidence in our students. Educators must always stay one step ahead of their students to ensure the sucess of our students.
I belive that it is important that we use the newest and latest tools to teach and prepare our students for the future. To be sucessful leaders or educators we must prepare our students for the world in which they will step into after school. At times this can be a difficult task as we are teaching our students to be prepared for the future when we infact are unsure of what the future holds. It is our duty to prepare them to the best of our ability and instil confidence and the desire for sucess - this is how educators can be great leaders.
The quote itself relates to how well great leaders have dealt with anxiety. Anxiety, according to the Encarta Dictionary, means that you are "nervous or agitated about something that is going to happen." If you can handle the anxiety then the quote says you should be able to handle leadership. How well we handle change in different situations will begin to help us understand how we could have success or failures as leaders. The way that all of this could relate to technology is that computers and all of their different programs tend to make people anxious. When faced with difficulties on the computers or in life there are typically two different types of people: those that get frustrated and give up, and those that get frustrated but their frustration fuels success. Leaders are the type of people that don’t necessarily get frustrated but instead are motivated to succeed in difficult situations. As a teacher and also an assistant manager in a clothing store, we are faced with computer issues constantly. I had to train a new employee on our computer system, and one of the most difficult problems I faced was the fact that she didn’t grow up around computers. The whole concept of a computer makes her extremely anxious, however she has not let her inexperience hold her back. She continues to make strides and work hard to overcome her problems. The truly sad part of the story is that our system is not that complicated. The world today relies mostly on computers for all facets of life. When working in my classroom I use technology for almost every lesson I teach. The technology changes so frequently that some days it feels like a constant uphill climb to stay one step ahead of my students. I am not afraid of technology and the challenge to do things on computers I’ve never done, fuels my curiosity. In the near future I think the advancements will come faster and continue to make our lives easier, however we will truly find who the leaders are by how well they adjust and simply “go with the flow” when trying to adjust to the challenges put in front of them by advancements in technology.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think you hit the nail on the head when you state that true leaders do not let frustration stop them but motivate them to achieve.
ReplyDeleteI agree! That is an excellent point! Frustration can be one of the greatest motivators, if we chose to use it in the right way!
ReplyDeleteActually, this is a very interesting topic to me, because I have been experiencing a gradual change to an issue that just two years ago was concrete for me. In a perfect world that may apply, but the education field is far from perfect. Now, I would argue that I am not limited to one particular teaching philosophy. My basic outlook has an always will remain constant, as I am a firm believer that students are progressively losing their critical thinking skills. Therefore, I have always taken an inquiry-based approach in my teaching style. It is very important for the students to learn just as much of the subject material as they can, but one could argue that in today’s changing society that it is more important to teach them how to learn. However, the more time that I spend inside the classroom, the more I learn that I am being forced into changing my tactics to perpetuate self-learning inside the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThe days of simply lecturing students and asking an open-ended question are over, especially if you are teaching in an inclusive classroom of younger students. As much as I hate technology, I am once again taking yet another educational technology class to expand my own classroom capacities further. One of the most influential professors that had a lasting effect on my personal beliefs always asked the question “What are you going to do if the technology fails?” At that, particular time in my educational experiences that question made sense. Now I look at the same question in reverse, why are many teachers failing the available technology. Considering that the technology that could be available in the classroom has made enormous advances, many teachers fail to incorporate there services. I was guilty of this until I actually got into a classroom and noticed that many of my students simply did not respond well to lectures. No matter how I tried to get them involved in the discussions, it was clear that elements of actual learning were missing. I have started to incorporate more technology in the classroom not only for the Global 21 initiative, but because my students were becoming more responsive to the material. It is amazing how putting the notes on a power point can change the way that the students respond to the material.
Noticeably, I do not want my students to memorize content for testing purposes, so the only thing that I could do was adapt and change my own teaching style. One could argue that a truly great educationalist will always change to fit the student’s needs, because not all students will learn from the same model. Furthermore, if the teacher is unwilling to make concessions, then they are not helping their students to fulfill their potential anyway. Regardless, of what particular situation a teacher is placed in, modifications to the plans are a clear necessity for higher student achievement.
Wow! This was going to be just a "test" of our Blog system, but the postings and responses are so well-crafted and interactive I've decided to give everyone who participated a little extra credit (check your grade book in Blackboard).
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