Reflections Standard TFVII

Standard VII states “Educational technology facilitators promote the development and implementation of technology infrastructure, procedures, policies, pans, and budgets or PK-12 schools” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 165). To meet this standard, I have maintained campus technology inventory, participating member of the campus Technology Gift Committee, and trained teachers on global education opportunities.

Under Technology Facillitation VII.A, it states, “use the school technology facilities and resources to implement classroom instruction” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 165). Since 2009, I have maintained my campus’ technology inventory spreadsheet. Whenever a new piece of equipment arrives on my campus I assign the hardware a district number, and put all appropriate information into the spreadsheet including warranty. I often meet with the PTA to discuss the inventory so it is important that the inventory be perfect otherwise funding would decrease. It is important to have an accurate inventory so my campus is aware of out of date technology that requires renewal/replacing.

I use the inventory regularly throughout my week. Whenever a piece of equipment needs a technician, the information from the inventory becomes invaluable.  I am the only person on the campus that maintains the inventor and I receive a small district stipend since it is such a laborious process.

Under Technology Facilitator Guideline VII.B, it states, “Follow procedures and guidelines used in planning and purchasing technology resources” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 166). I meet regularly with the campus principal and PTA technology representative to review necessary purchasing for specific times of year. Since my campus does not receive state funds, we utilize funds parents raise during yearly carnivals, auctions, and other fundraising ventures. I work cooperatively with the parent gift committee and the principal to discuss the needs the campus. Before the official “Gift” committee meeting, I meet at least once with the PTA technology chair representative to go over the items that are up for renewal, software purchases, hardware purchases, and allocating money to our projector and printer funds. After meeting with PTA rep, we then meet with campus principal to review items on the agenda. We then will meet with the Technology Committee which is a subcommittee from PTA. Agenda and items for Gift Committee is approved by voting members of the committee. After preliminary meetings are held and approved, all subcommittees meet for a Gift committee meeting and each area is addressed, voted, discussed, and approved or tabled for later. Rutherford and Billig (1995) suggest that continuous parent/family participation and community involvement depend on active support by leaders. Teachers and other school personnel are key players in family involvement and that families are connected to the services provided by the school or the community.

Also, under Technology Facilitation VII.C, it states, “Participate in professional development opportunities related to management of school facilities, technology resources, and purchases” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 166). With the help of Edna Phythian, our district Global Educator on Special Assignment, I am able to work efficiently with my teachers on global opportunities. Specifically in September 2010, I worked with the Kindergarten team on working with China. We created videos of specific seasonal customs.  Our kindergartners created simple classroom graphs of their favorite foods for lunch. We had items such as pizza, spaghetti, and chicken nuggets. We then decided that with kindergartners we need to take an opportunity to share our information first with local, in district schools. This was to help the students understand that we are first sharing locally then sharing globally. We did not want to overwhelm each class so we did the sharing with groups of three classes. One kindergarten class from our school met with a class at Armstrong and another class at Hyer.  After students practiced their presentation we met via WebEx and shared. Then I would go to another class, set up the Webex conference, and we would share with another group. Finally, after all the local sharing occurred, I recorded, using a camcorder, one group from each class presenting their graphs. I then posted the videos to my school blog so we could share with our partners from China. We could not meet with them live since their time zone is so different than ours. Posting videos was a logical way to work through the time differences. During these lessons, I worked with the teachers on how to use the WebEx system, recording using the video camera, and uploading videos to a blog. These lessons helped the teachers to continue the project without having to rely on someone else.

Not only does distance education help students who cannot physically participate in a traditional school environment, it allows teachers in a conventional school to supplement and work with the “tech savvy” students. I have seen Moodle appropriately integrated with first graders and older students. “The importance of knowledge about effective virtual schooling cannot be overstated” (Cavanaugh, Gillian, Kromrey, Hess, & Blomeyer, 2004, pg. 22). Our teachers need training on the proper utilization of online educational environments so our students can benefit from these tools.

References

Cavanaugh, C., Gillian, K., Kromrey, J., Hess, M., Blomeyer, R. (2004). The effects of distance education on k-12 student outcomes: A meta-analysis. North Central Educational Regional Laboratory. Retrieved on April 25, 2011, from http://www.ncrel.org/tech/distance/k12distance.pdf

Rutherford, B., & Billig, S. H. (1995). Eight lessons of parent, family, and community involvement in the middle grades. Phi Delta Kappan, 77I(1), 64-66, 68.

Williamson, J. & 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.