Kim Hayward - School Library Media Portfolio Reflection 1:3

1:3 Instructional Partner

Candidates model, share, and promote effective principles of teaching and learning
as collaborative partners with other educators. Candidates acknowledge the
importance of participating in curriculum development, of engaging in school
improvement processes, and of offering professional development to other
educators as it relates to library and information use.
Artifacts
ISTC 702 Educational Leadership and Technology
The C3 professional development plan was designed to create a professional
development opportunity for teachers that evolved around identified teacher
technology needs. In the plan, teachers were given a survey to assess their needs
and instruction was planned around the survey results.
ISTC 702 Educational Leadership and Technology
The cyber-safety and security project that was created with two other classmates
was designed to identify the needs of other educators in the area of cyber-safety
and security and teach them how to create a safe atmosphere for students when
they are working with technology.
Relevance
The artifacts included in this reflection represent examples of ways that a school
library media specialist serves as an active participant in the professional
development of staff at their school. Both artifacts were created in the educational
leadership and technology class and involve collaboration with other educators in
effective and safe technology integration into the existing curriculum.
The C3 professional development plan engages the school library media specialist
as an integral part of the school improvement process. Teachers are often provided
with technology that they are not sufficiently trained to use and therefore feel
uncomfortable utilizing. Promethean boards are often used primarily as overhead
projectors and lab carts go unused. This project began with a survey for teachers in
the school to ascertain their comfort level with technology and to receive input
about how the teachers would like to receive their training. Through the survey,
technology leaders were identified utilized as group leaders in professional
development opportunities. Staff would be encouraged to bring lessons from their
curriculum to the training in order to integrate a technology component into existing
lessons.
The cyber-safety and security project was created with other educators to provide
staff with important information about potential threats and concerns around
student use of technology. The project focused on cyber-safety, cyber-security, and
cyber-ethics. Teachers were educated about the dangers students face today on-line
and ways to both protect them and teach them how to protect themselves when

they are on-line. Cyber-security focused on teaching staff to teach students about
identity theft and other forms of cyber-attack on-line. Cyber-ethics dealt with
teaching staff how to deal with cyber-

bullying, plagiarism, and other unethical behavior. Websites were included that
educators could use with their students to teach them how to handle these potential
on-line issues. Creating a curriculum to educate teachers about these issues will
allow teachers to educate their students on how to be safe.
Analysis
The creation of these products gave me the opportunity to learn about the current
technology issues facing teachers and students. Lack of training, both in how to use
and teach with technology, as well a show to handle new safety, security, and
ethical dilemmas threaten to curtail technology integration in schools. Although
both of these products deal with C3, the professional development plan focuses on
integrating technology into the curriculum and the cyber-safety and security project
deals with educating staff about potential threats and how to protect students.
The creation of the C3 professional development plan was developed with
knowledge of the technology issues at my current school. Many teachers who have
Promethean boards do not know how to use them past writing on them with the
pen. Although the staff was given training on how to use the boards, teachers cite a
lack of support for continuing to use them. The professional development did not
allow for enough differentiation for varying proficiency with the technology. The
professional development plan was designed with those issues in mind. Meeting
teachers where they were, creating lessons that could be implemented
immediately, and continued support would be the focus of my technology
professional development with staff.
The creation of the cyber-safety, security, and ethics project was designed to teach
educators about the cyber-challenges that face students today. Students are
exposed to many opportunities with technology, but are also exposed to many
threats. Teachers, who may be digital immigrants, may not be aware of the dangers
facing todays students and should be educated about how to keep students safe
and also how they can educate students to keep themselves safe. I would
collaborate with teachers at the beginning of the year about how to integrate this
information into lessons before students are taught technology integrated lessons.
Access to information must be balanced with safety.