EDLD 5370 Week 4.6 Assignment - Reflection on Standard TF - VIII

TF-VIII: Educational technology facilitators will contribute to the shared vision for campus integration of technology, and foster and environment and culture conductive to the realization of the vision.

It seems to be a challenge to get people on board with something, especially when it involves change. I found this to be very true in school environments where people like to stick to what they know and nothing else. "Those who did not grow up with technology find it difficult to imagine how new technologies can support educational endeavors. This limited awareness may create apathy, or even resistance, to technology programs" (Williamson and Redish, 2009, p. 179).

To get everyone on board towards a goal or vision of technology, its good to model it. I have taught a handful of classes to educators on various software programs. Usually they are pre-occupied by the fact that it may be foreign to them. I try to get them to realize the potential uses first, as a motivator to learn the program. I thought it was a great idea that those who are the stakeholders need to see exactly how technology can transform a classroom. "Technology implementation not only increases student learning, understanding, and achievement but also augments motivation to learn, encourages collaborative learning, and supports the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 3). From this standard, I concluded that you need to be motivated about technolgoy and its direction for the classroom in order for others to get motivated as well.

The Texas Education Agency has put together the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology spanning 2006-2020. "Having this plan allows schools to construct a cohesive vision for technology, set measureable goals, chare an action plan, and monitor progress" (Williamson, 2009, p. 180). I know that my district has used this plan to build their own technology plan, along with a timeline of short term and long term goals. According to the Ennis Independant School District (2010), their technology plan ends bef0re the 2011-2012 school year. Hopefully before the plans ends, they have been able to provide data on progress toward their goals. Because of the potential cut backs in the schools of Texas here in the next year, I wonder how that will change the technology plans. I know that my budget for my class will be cut, as will others. What will these set backs do to the district goals?

I like being able to share my current knowledge with others about implementing technology into the classroom, so I know that is something I would like to continue working with. To assess what type of technology needs to be focused on, I should survey teachers about their current knowledge. From there, steps can be taken in the right direction to our shared district technology plans.

Ennis Independant School District (2010). Ennis ISD Technology Plan. Retrieved from http://www.ennis.k12.tx.us/files/209233/eisdtechplan10-11.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., and Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria: VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Williamson, J. and Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.