Reflections Standard V

Standard V states “Educational technology facilitators apply technology to enhance and improve personal productivity and professional practice” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.112). One are of this standard is when I Work with district campus instructional technologists at district meetings to grow professionally. As a member of the district technology team, I meet regularly with the district technology staff. At our May meeting, I worked with another technologist and we wrote an Acceptable Use Policy for students who Bring Their/Your Own Device.  I think this policy will be beneficial especially in the time of budget crisis. My school district is rather affluent but our tax revenue is recaptured for districts whose tax revenues are not doing well. Since we do not have any funding outside of what parents raise, having children bring their own technology device to school would be advantageous. If a student has the device, our district should support that decision. The policy I helped write, has many areas of focus ,but liability was, understandably, extremely important. I researched other districts policy in this area and met with our district instructional technology leader while writing the policy. I found it helpful to discuss the topic with a fellow Campus Technologist. We worked through the policy together and submitted it to our administration. They took the policy and edited a few sections. The board did not care for the title of Bring Your Own Device, since it has a connotation too closely linked to BYOB otherwise known as bring you own beverages. The Board is still in the process of making its final decision about the policy but it is looking positive.

Another area in Standard V is “apply technology to increase productivity” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.112). On several occasions I utilized distance learning software to train global partners. A class in India was going to connect with our school to learn different culturally specific games. Our school was going to create videos and discussion forums in Moodle. Her school would then log into our Moodle to upload their own videos and create forums. She did not know who to use Moodle. On November 8, 2010, at 8:30 AM, I conducted a video conference via Skype with Sudha Penu from India which was 7:30 PM for her. Using Skype, I was able to “share” my screen with her. I logged in to the Moodle site, and showed her specifically how to edit, upload, and other basic functions of Moodle. I also shared my Moodle manual that I use with teachers. We had a very beneficial training time until a storm hit her area and we lost internet connection. Luckily, though, we were through with the training part of the Skype call. Without the use of Skype, the teacher in India would have been less likely to work with my school. The ability to train someone via web conference was extremely beneficial for the teacher in India. It was also extremely positive for me because I was able to get feedback from her on the areas she felt she needed to focus.

Within Standard V we are to “use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 113). I am the coordinator of our campus web page and as such I must maintain the entire site. Since I began working at University Park, I have been the web master. I update the page before school starts with new information, create new teachers pages, delete old pages, and basic file management. I add announcements throughout the year. Every Thursday I upload and link, what our school terms, “Thursday Folder” handouts to the specified web page. I help train teachers on creating their web pages. I also update my school webpage regularly.

At the beginning of the 2011-12 school year we encountered some major problems with our school website. I had to visit every teacher’s website and update their links. Many of the teachers’ web pages had to be renamed and their links again updated. The problems continued occurring but I was finally able to get the school’s website working correctly.

I also utilize a section of the campus website for specific information for the teachers on my campus. When our district went to using Outlook, I posted many informative videos to help the teachers with this change. Keeping our families well informed is more than just a nicety but is a wonderful way to encourage public relations. I sometimes get annoyed at all the tedious areas I must maintain within the site but then I keep in mind the  Community Relations course from Lamar and am reminded of the importance of keeping stakeholders informed. From Epstein’s Framework of Six types of Involvement, one area of importance is learning at home. We need to “provide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning” (Epstein, Coates, Salinas, Sanders, & Simon, 1997, pg. 4). Creating an atmosphere of partnership is important to ensure the value of learning in a cooperative environment. Sanders & Lewis point out that, at the schools where partnerships experienced success, “partnership leaders…encouraged schools interested in community partnership development to promote ownership among community partners" (2005, p. 9).

 References:

Epstein, J. L., Coates, L., Salinas, K. C, Sanders, M. G., & Simon, B. S. (1997). Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement. School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sanders, M., & Lewis, K. (2005). Building bridges toward excellence: Community involvement in high schools. The High School Journal, 88(3), 1-10.

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.