Extras from additional readings (week 4)

This week I wanted to highlight a journal article I found during my research.  It's from Dr. Anthony Chow who, at the time of its printing in TechTrends, was the Online Director of Learning for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  The article is titled "One educational technology colleague's journey from dotcom leadership to university e-learning systems leadership: Merging design principles, systemic change and leadership thinking."  He starts with an interesting visual representation of a map that highlights internet activity in the world.  There were large areas of darkness in certain regions of China and the Amazon, but the USA was completely lit up.  When I think of that representation, it is hard to fathom how we could possibly manage or keep up with technology.  It is growing at such a rapid pace, how can we possibly prepare our middle schoolers for the jobs of the future?  Systemic change needs to happen, but how can we possibly all agree on what changes to make, much less on how to make them.  Admittedly, this article provided more questions than answers for me, but questions are good - especially ones that really make you think!

BTW...I found the article using SCDiscus.org.  If you are in K-12 education and you are not using Discus or teaching your students how to use Discus, you should be!  It's free thanks to the South Carolina State Library!

Extras from suggested readings (week 3)

This week's extra comes from the suggested reading text, The Technology Director's Guide to Leadership:  the power of great questions by Don Hall.  One extra little something I want to share comes from chapter 2 - What kind of leader am I?  The author defines three main styles of leadership, explaining that there can be some crossover.  You can possess characteristics from more than one style of leadership.  It was enlightening.  I could pick old bosses out of the descriptions.  He calls the three styles, sage, sensei, and oracle.  I think my current boss definitely aspires to be a sensei, but can sometimes get bogged down as sage.  He is nonconfrontational and I think that helps his coaching.  It made me realize that we are more alike than I had previously thought.  I don't know if that's good or bad.  Good that I see we share some of the same strengths (or characteristics that I consider strengths, anyway) but bad that I see we have some of the same weaknesses.  I'm going to have to work on mine or find value in them (in him) so I don't interpret them as weaknesses any longer.

Extras from additional readings (week 2)

When ordering the suggested readings for this course, good ole Amazon recommended Kasey Bell's Shake Up Learning.  I follow her on Twitter and decided to follow Amazon's recommendation and ordered her book, too.  It's a quick read full of inspiration to get you and your colleagues amped up about teaching in today's digital age.  She highlights many tech tools, especially in G Suite, but also provides practical advice about technology integration and inspiring your students to show what they have learned in new and exciting ways.  She encourages the reader to take risks, to be courageous, to purposefully get out of your comfort zone.  I highly recommend especially if you are looking for supplemental material to help you spread your vision of change in public K-12 education.

Extras from suggested readings (week 1)

The Technology Coordinator's Handbook is recommended reading for this course, but I had a few qualms about ordering a 14-year-old edition so I ordered the 3rd edition, published in 2017.  I found it a little technical but enjoyed learning about infrastructure.  I also especially enjoyed revisiting the SWOT analysis.  Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are identified and accessed leading to strategy questions that can determine the priorities in your strategic plan for growth.  I first used a SWOT analysis as an undergrad in organizational communication.  It's refreshing to see it make a useful appearance in my second career (although I wish I had made the connection on my own!)