EXAM OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP 9

Master’s of Educational Technology Leadership: The Finish

Comprehensive Examination

Jesse M. Cole

Lamar University

Master’s of Educational Technology Leadership: The Finish

When I began the quest to pursue a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology in

November 2009, I did not realize the journey of learning on which I was about to embark. My main motivation was to acquire my master’s in a field in which I had personal interest and that would allow me to become an expert and leader for my school in the area of technology as it relates to classroom instruction. According to Prensky (2005), I am a “Digital Immigrant,” (p. 1) which accurately describes my starting point in this journey. My hope, like every other immigrant’s hope, is to have a future in this arena, and hopefully become an expert that helps lead Prensky’s (2005), “Digital Natives” (p.1) of the future.

Position Goal

The Educational Leadership Program at Lamar University has expanded my horizons and my thinking concerning technology and education. As I complete the program, I believe the career path on which I am traveling will ultimately lead to a position in which I am able to impact other teachers’ knowledge and skill bases so that they will continue to be more comfortable and, possibly, more of a risk taker as it relates to ever emerging technology software and hardware applications in the classroom. If given the opportunity, I would like to teach different technology application classes, and become a lead professional as it relates to the integration of technology in the classroom. Becoming an Instructional Technologist for a school district that teaches both students and teachers effective ways to teach and learn new ideas would be a fulfilling job for the future.

Leadership Goals

As an educational technology leader, my goal would be to effectively model technology integration in my own classroom and then use that as a stepping stone to help other teachers and students reach their goals in the classroom. As a swim coach for the past 24 years, I’ve always enjoyed helping other coaches learn new ways to coach their swimmers. I’ve always wanted my athletes to succeed in the pool and apply the lessons learned to their own lives.

Educational technologists are viewed as problem solvers for their schools. I enjoy helping others learn and grow and finding solutions to their problems. I feel that I have the right set of attributes to help others learn and grow and help them find their own solutions to their problems. My success as a swim coach and in the classroom gives me the confidence to take on this task. I have demonstrated leadership in working with computer applications, instructing others in professional development and designing and leading an employee based Wellness program prior to beginning this program. I am confident that I can accomplish both my career and leadership goals because of the knowledge I’ve gained and the personal growth I have experienced as a student attaining my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology Leadership at Lamar University.

Vision of Educational Technology

As a child I relied on the newspaper, radio, and television to get current and accurate information about the world around me. If I wanted to know more about a subject, I accessed the library or, as my mom, the librarian, would say, the Information Media Center. I explored my world through Encyclopedias, National Geographic’s, Popular Science and such. I accessed my teachers or trusted adults to further my learning experiences. Today, information is everywhere and instantaneous. According to The Horizon Report “ a key challenge is the fundamental structure of the k-12 education establishment - aka ‘the system’” (Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine, & Haywood, 2011, p. 7). No longer are we tied to a traditional construct to get information and to learn. “People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want” (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 6). As we have seen in the past few years, smart phones and apps are developing at a frenetic pace. People are expecting to hit the internet from any location at any time. Business wants education to produce workers and future leaders that can work collectively with others. My personal vision of educational technology is to create and foster a collaborative learning environment where new and innovative technology is used to enhance the learner’s experience through the educational process.

These trends are a continuation from one year to another. “The world of work is increasingly collaborative, giving rise to reflection about the way student projects are structured” (Johnson et al., 2011, p.8). We see more of cooperative nature in business, so we need to provide those opportunities in school. Schools will continue to have to change how they do business; our current resistance to mobile devices in the classroom must change. According to the 2011 Horizon Report, electronic books are moving closer to mainstream adoption for educational institutions. (Johnson et al., 2011, p. 8). Instead of students carrying sixty pounds of textbooks around a school, they will have the means to obtain the same information in an eight ounce media reader. Current television commercials are touting these types of changes already. Publishers are beginning to not just electronically print the information for us to read but are now visually interfacing the material into a multimedia enriched experience. Interactivity is not only possible with this type of digital media, but is highly anticipated. We now can save and send materials to others to comment on as well. This type of technology also allows the publisher to update and enrich the material in a more timely manner than traditional print. Utilizing e-books in the classroom and having students share comments is one method of helping to foster a collaborative learner, who will one day become a collaborative member of the work force.

Another aspect of change is Augmented Reality (AR), which refers to the addition of computer-assisted layers of information over the real world. AR is an active, not passive technology: students can use it to construct new understanding based on interactions with virtual objects that bring underlying data to life (Johnson et al., 2011, p.16). AR is not as complicated as it might seem; for example, every time we watch football on TV and we see the “first down” line superimposed on the picture for us to see - that is AR in action. Apple’s iPhone app Skywalk, when pointed toward the sky, will give you the stars’ and constellations’ positions and names as well as access information about each planetary body or constellation. And Second Life, where people create avatars and then explore and interact in many virtual locations, is used by more than 300 universities, including Harvard and Duke, as an educational tool. Some educators conduct entire distance-learning courses using Second Life; others use the program to supplement classes (Sussman, 2007, pp. 3). Designing and using Augumented Reality would allow for an enriched and, at times, virtual collaborative effort; learning experiences can be created an accessed from different locations and even at different times, if necessary.

Today’s educators realize that technology is a key component of a twenty-first century student centered learning environment. It must be incorporated into daily classroom teaching activities, but deciding on which tools and techniques to use is always the challenge. David Warlick states: “ dramatic changes in information do not mean that we must change our definition of literacy, but they do point to an expanded notion of what those skills are” (Warlick, 2007, p. 20). Collaboration in the classroom using authentic learning activities which utilize exciting and innovative technology tools such as mobile devices and Augmented Reality are just some of the ways that technology facilitators and leaders will be challenged in the future. This use of technology must be paired with the educator’s goal to increase our students’ literacy on each subject we are teaching. “Once the goal of enhancing teaching and learning through technology is agreed upon, there are many ways to accomplish it. One of the most successful is to use the technology to learn how to use technology, or some might say, not just talk the talk, but truly walk the walk” (Solomon & Schrum, 2007, p. 111). It is my goal to truly walk the walk.

Personal and Professional Growth

My reasons for obtaining my master’s degree after 24 years as an educator was motivated my desire for job security. I took a position in the Highland Park School District and they require all educators have a master’s degree by the end of their sixth year of employment. Our district has been a strong advocate for the Lamar University system; they have offered informational sessions about the Lamar Master’s Degree programs, so I decided that I would give it a shot.

What I Have Learned About Myself

I think the most important thing I learned about myself is that I fear failure the most. As I started thinking about the Master’s program, I dreaded taking the GRE exam. I knew I had to get through that test to complete my Master’s. As in life, I had a bigger fear than just passing course work and taking the GRE the fear of letting down my family by not retaining my position at Highland Park. But I pushed past my initial fear and jumped into the program.

That jump has allowed me to learn more about myself in 18 months than I have in over 20 years of teaching: I am smart and more than capable of completing course work assignments. When I began this journey of self discovery, I would look at the rubric and directions in a course and try to determine what are the professor was wanting or thinking, and get frustrated trying to complete the various components of the assignment, not feeling like I had a good understanding of the end goal. However, during this process I learned that I worked best if I previewed and read through the assignment on Monday, and then started to outline my approach to the task on Tuesday. I taught myself to work in chunks and steps to solve issues that where presented to me. As I completed each course and was able to receive A’s in my courses, I gained more confidence in myself and my abilities to succeed at the task placed before me.

This initial fear of failure and now new found confidence has given me a better understanding of how many of my students and athletes feel in class or in the water, especially when I ask them to do something new or out of their comfort zone. As it had been over 20 years since my last official university course, I must admit I did not viscerally remember how a student feels. I, along with many teachers, had fallen into the rut of thinking learning was routine. I now strive for complete detailed directions and rubrics in my course work, I am much more patient with students that “don’t get it”. Through various course work assignments, I’ve learned that collaboration is a must if you want to be successful as a teacher in the classroom, and as leader in a school system. I’ve learned that I am actually very good at collaboration and enjoy working within a group setting. The ability to work collaboratively is such an important skill to have in our school systems. As a coach, I’ve always worked individually, and often that meant competitively. So it is great to know that I can, and do, enjoy working with others.

What I Have Learned About My Technology and Leadership Skills

As I’ve progressed through my master’s courses, I’ve learned that I can effectively use a wide variety of technology programs and software available. The confidence I possess when approaching a new software application is really one of my biggest strengths in technology. While some people fear using and learning new applications, I think of it like a new toy. My excitement to use the tool overcomes any fear I might have of using it in the classroom. Many teachers and administrators, including my wife, are scared they will “do something wrong” or “mess it up” if they play around with any new technology presented. I, however, like to experiment to see what I can do with it; it makes my job interesting and exciting. The knowledge I gained from reflecting on the ISTE’s National Educational Technology Standards has really given me the confidence to try different approaches to implementing the standards throughout the school year and discuss my ideas with my colleagues as to how our department or school might better implement the standards throughout our many programs.

Leadership is nothing that I have feared in the course of my working career. As a coach for past 24 years, leadership is a key component to the job; and critical if you want to be successful. I’ve learned through trial and error how to lead others to be successful, from my state and national championship teams to my assistant coaches and teaching colleagues. According to Combs, Edmonson, and Harris (2010), “the leader needs to determine which priorities, both from external and internal sources, are not negotiable” (p. 72). As a coach, I strongly agree; I’ve always been willing to compromise, but I also have principals and ideals from which I will not deviate. In the past, these priorities have, at times, been important enough to make me change jobs.

I don’t believe any course work, in and of its self, can ever really teach someone how to lead. But I do believe that after you have had a chance to lead a group, reading and reflecting on types of styles of leadership styles and strategies can become more meaningful to you and help strengthen your skills as a leader. One course that discussed leadership skills was EDLD 5339 Organization and Management Issues; this course really examined different leadership styles and decision making skills. It actually helped define my strengths as well as provided me with techniques to overcome my weaknesses, such as different brainstorming activities to help foster successful and amicable collaborative environments at school and on my swim team.