Mary Kate McNulty GRIT 685 Independent Research and Reflection Paper July 20 20!!

"eaders can #e found in $arious roles throu%hout schools e&hi#itin% a nu'#er of educational leadership characteristics or s(ills )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ 0"eadership is a characteristic or %roup of characteristics that can #e de$eloped de'onstrated practiced and1or o#ser$ed 2ithin the conte&t of an or%ani3ation4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ 6-./ 5ny 'e'#er of a school or or%ani3ation can e&hi#it leadership characteristic )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ "eaders are the ones 2ho create and chan%e a school6s cli'ate and culture/ They use the school6s 'ission and $ision to 'oti$ate and %uide the'/ "eaders initiate chan%e 0sho2in% people ho2 the ne2 approaches #eha$iors and attitudes 2ill help i'pro$e perfor'ance4 )7oure'an 20!0 p/ 5./ "eaders lead #y e&a'ple and throu%h colla#oration/ 08ecause of the lac( of technolo%y (no2led%e and a#sence of technolo%y leadership #y school ad'inistrators technolo%y coordinators are the de facto technolo%y leaders in a school or a school district4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ 68./ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists are those 0that are responsi#le for pro'otin% technolo%y inte%ration 2ithin a school or school district 4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ 66./ They perfor' 'any tas(s each day 2ithin the school en$iron'ent/ These tas(s can relate to curriculu' and instruction or student and teacher learnin%/ 5n Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist is the one 2ho in$esti%ates co'pares and helps to choose ne2 technolo%y for the school/ It is the one 2ho teaches teachers ho2 to use and i'ple'ent ne2 technolo%y in the classroo'/ This person assists 2ith the inte%ration of technolo%y into the curriculu'/ It is the one 2ho addresses technical issues as they #eco'e apparent and supports not only teachers #ut also ad'inistrators

2ith net2or(in% or technical support/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists need to #e a2are and ha$e a co'plete understandin% of the latest technolo%ies so they are a#le to re$ie2 e$aluate and infor' teachers ad'inistrators and school #oards a#out 2hat should #e purchased/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists can offer professional de$elop'ent 2hich 2ill pro$ide a 'odel of #est practices in technolo%y inte%ration into the classroo' to teachers/ The Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist can also esta#lish professional de$elop'ent learnin% co''unities as a place 2here teachers can colla#orate 2ith one another/ The Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist 2ill #e e&pected to lead the initiati$e in 2ritin% policies and technolo%y plans for the district/ )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ 5n Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist sho2s leadership in so 'any different capacities/ 5n Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist is the one 2ho understands ho2 e$erythin% fits to%ether9 the hard2are soft2are policies and procedures: and uses all of these co'ponents to%ether to inte%rate technolo%y into the district/ Throu%h leadership s(ills such as colla#oration $ision1strate%y co''unication de$elop'ent of others facilitatin% pro#le';sol$in% resource 'ana%e'ent persuasion coachin% plannin% inte%rity and decision 'a(in% an Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist is a leader 2ithin the school district )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ "eaders in a school hold an i'portant role in the de$elop'ent and i'ple'entation of the school6s $ision/ 7re<uently technolo%y is inte%ration is a $ital part of the school6s $ision/ It us up to the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist to #elie$e in the $ision and 'a(e educated technolo%ical decisions that 2ill lead the district to2ards their $ision )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ There needs to #e a full co''it'ent to the school6s

$ision and this needs to #e e&pressed throu%h 2ords and the actions of the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist/ The Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist is responsi#le for creatin% a school cli'ate that encoura%es technolo%ical inno$ations )8ano%lu 20!!./ =o''unication is a (ey characteristic for any leader/ 5ccordin% to *ollo'an + ,u%ar effecti$e co''unication is 2hat lin(s all leadership s(ills and responsi#ilities to%ether/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists spend 'uch of their day co''unicatin% #oth electronically and $er#ally to $arious people in the school settin%/ These con$ersations pro$ide support teachin% and colla#oration )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ 0>ffecti$e co''unication?specifically the t2o;2ay co''unication 2ith students faculty staff parents and co''unity?is a si%nificant ele'ent of leadership perfor'ance4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ @0./ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists are the ones 2ho co''unicate 2ith students teachers and ad'inistrators a#out all technolo%y;related concerns and they are a#le to understand the full picture and 'a(e decisions or offer %uidance #ased on this $ision/ Technolo%y leaders 'ust understand the technolo%y de$elop'ent readiness and the needs of the teachers in the school/ Ance these are understood it is the responsi#ility of the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist to pass on technolo%ical (no2led%e to teachers so that others are e'po2ered and e'#racin% the use of technolo%y in the classroo'/ 5s a leader one shares the tools and s(ills needed for a classroo' teacher to successfully inte%rate technolo%y into the classroo' and learn ho2 to use ne2 technolo%ies introduced/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists need to offer professional de$elop'ent to teachers re%ularly #ased on the needs o#ser$ed or needs e&pressed #y teachers/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists also need to 'a(e the'sel$es a$aila#le for support

to teachers on a daily #asis )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ 5ccordin% to *ollo'an and ,u%ar 0effecti$e leaders need facilitation s(ills 'ore than the s(ills needed to initiate a structure or process4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ @0./ 5 leader pro$ides coachin% to teachers offerin% direction and %uidance rather than dictatin% 2hat is to #e done )Picciano 20!!./ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists 2or( 2ith teachers at $arious technolo%ical readiness;le$els and sho2 leadership #y pro$idin% the appropriate a'ount of support to the teachers so that they can #eco'e effecti$e users of technolo%y in the classroo' )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ The %oal is to ha$e teachers and ad'inistrators as proacti$e participants in the school6s technolo%ical culture/ 5s an Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist there needs to #e an interest 0in #uildin% an e'po2ered tea' of tech leaders 2ho could challen%ed to <uestion analy3e and help create a di%ital a%e school4 )7ocht'an + "uthra 20!! p/ !@./ Bheatley #elie$es leaders are really facilitators/ "eaders call people to%ether to colla#orate a'on% intelli%ences di$ersity and creati$ity/ It is the leader that allo2s for opportunities for colla#oration )Bheatley 200@./ =olla#oration a'on% Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists teachers students and ad'inistrators is (ey for any chan%e or $ision/ >ducational leaders freely share their (no2led%e of technolo%y 2ith others for colla#oration )Picciano 20!!./ 5ccordin% to 7ocht'an + "uthra there is a #elief 0that no one indi$idual has the full ran%e of (no2led%e and e&perience necessary to create a learnin% en$iron'ent that 'eets the needs of a di$erse co''unity/ It is i'portant that leaders encoura%e use of their $ision as a foundation for #etter insi%hts4 )7ocht'an + "uthra 20!! p/ 2C./ 8y creatin% a tea' of tech leaders 2ithin the school the tea' can colla#orati$ely analy3e and strate%i3e

solutions and create ne2 %oals and $isions/ Throu%h colla#oration a'on% the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist teachers ad'inistrators students and co''unity 'e'#ers can 2or( to%ether 0to create ne2 (no2led%e ad$ocate ne2 nor's raise and discuss issues and %uide other teachers4 )7ocht'an + "uthra 20!! p/ !@./ Aften situations or pro#le's arise 2ithin the school and the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist needs to 'a(e thou%htful educated decisions to sol$e these pro#le's/ 0"eaders need to ha$e a situational a2areness so they can address current and potential pro#le's4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ @0./ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists need to anticipate the needs of the school to a$oid foreseea#le pro#le's or situations in the future )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ They need to handle day;to;day pro#le's that co'e up 2hile (eepin% in 'ind the $ision and needs of the school and 0proacti$ely plannin% to pre$ent potential ones4 )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200- p/ @0./ In schools today there are so 'any types of technolo%ical resources such as hard2are soft2are and infrastructure settin%s 2ithin one #uildin%/ It is the responsi#ility of the Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialist to understand these products and the infrastructure/ There is a need to analy3e plan and 'a(e 'eanin%ful decisions in re%ards to these products and settin%s so that there is opti'u' perfor'ance of these syste's in the school )*ollo'an + ,u%ar 200-./ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists need to find and identify the i'portance of inte%ratin% technolo%y into classroo's and the curriculu'/ They need to analy3e the effecti$eness of the technolo%ies and use the results to persuade ad'inistrators and school #oards to continue to use funds for technolo%y/ This leader in technolo%y 'ust persuade throu%h the use of technolo%y to teachers that addin% technolo%y in their

classroo's is for the #etter/ Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists sho2 leadership 2hen plannin% for technolo%y/ 0Technolo%y plannin% does not 'ean only allocatin% a fund for technolo%y de$elop'ent fro' school #ud%et #ut also it co$ers to focus on e&plicitly technolo%y oriented education understandin%4 )8ano%lu 20!! p/ 2!!./ "eaders need to ha$e an understandin% of 2hat is #est for the school at that 'o'ent and ha$e the foreseea#le (no2led%e to plan for future needs/ 5s a leader in technolo%y Instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists 'ust sho2 inte%rity/ There needs to #e an a2areness of le%al and ethical issues that co'e up/ Policies need to #e 2ritten and ad'inistrators and teachers alon% 2ith students need to #e (ept infor'ed of any le%al issues that pertain to the use of technolo%y/ 5s sho2n a#o$e instructional Technolo%y ,pecialists ha$e 'any characteristics that 'a(e the' effecti$e leaders in their school/ It is not Dust one s(ill or trait that 'a(es an e&cellent leader #ut a co'#ination of characteristics that allo2 the leader to #e a facilitator and supporter for all teachers students and ad'inistrators/

References

8ano%lu K/ )20!!. ,chool principals6 technolo%y leadership co'petency and technolo%y coordinatorship/ Educational Services: Theory & Practice. 11 )!./ Retrie$ed fro' >RI=/ )5ccession Nu'#er >J-!-8-@. 7ocht'an P/ + "uthra ,/ )20!!./ The road to lastin% tech leadership/ Learning and Leading with Technology. May 20!!/ 7oure'an ,/ )20!0./ Instructional desi%ners can #rin% leadership to educational syste's/ Leadership for Instructional Design/ Retrie$ed fro' >RI=/ )5ccession Nu'#er >E5!!852. *ollo'an */ + ,u%ar B/ )200-./ Technolo%y leaders 2anted9 ac(no2led%in% the leadership role of a technolo%y coordinator/ TechTrends: Lin ing !esearch and Practice to I"prove Learning. #$ )6./ Retrie$ed fro' >RI=/ )5ccession Nu'#er >J85-F!F. Picciano 5/ )20!!./ >ducational leadership and plannin% for technolo%y/ 5th edition/ Pearson >ducation Inc/ Gpper ,addle Ri$er NJ/ Bheatley M/ )200@./ 7indin% our 2ay/ 8errett;Koehler Pu#lishers Inc/ ,an 7rancisco =5/