Observer-Participant-Leader Record of Activities Based on the CETL Framework

One of my final projects for my Educational Specialist (Ed.S.) degree was to complete an Observer-Participant-Leader (OPL) record based on the Essential Skills from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). There are 10 essential skills based on educational technology leaders. The 10 skills are:

1.     Leadership & Vision

2.     Strategic Planning

3.     Ethics and Policies

4.     Instructional Focus and Professional Development

5.     Team Building

6.     Stakeholder Focus

7.     Information Technology

8.     Communication Systems

9.     Business Management

10.  Data Management

Observing the CoSN’s Skill – Team Building and Staffing

During my Principal’s Candidacy semester, I monitored the hiring process from beginning to end. I was able to observe administration from the posting of the position, collecting resumes, interviewing candidates, and hiring the position. During this semester I wrote a paper on the hiring process for my school system.

Click here to read my paper on the personnel process.

Participating in the CoSN’s Skill – Strategic Planning

Through my job as technology coordinator I participate annually in the writing of the school level and district level technology plans. These plans are submitted to the state and are a basis of state level funding. Through this process parent, teacher, and student surveys are used to assess technology needs. The surveys are also used to create goals for the next year.

Click here to review my technology plan.

Leader in te CoSN’s Skill – Instructional Focus and Professional Development

In September 2018 I presented a professional development to 10 third grade teachers. Before the training I gave each of the teachers a survey to gauge their knowledge of Google Applications. I asked the teachers the following questions:

What is your prior experience with Google Forms?

They answered on a 1-5 scale. 40% of them said they had a 3-4 level experience with Google Forms.

Do you use Google Forms for quizzes?

60% of the teachers answered that sometimes or often use Google Forms for quizzes.

Is Google Forms a tool you would like to learn more about?

100% of the teachers answered yes, they would like to learn more about Google Forms.

Click the link to view the presentation on how to create Google Form Quizzes.

During October 2018 I conducted a professional development on creating Google Sheets to track student data. Third grade teachers use this training to create class sheets and merge them onto a master sheet for fluency progress monitoring. Below you will find the presentation of the training.

Click the link to view the presentation fro Student Data Tracking

Reference

Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTO. Retrieved from https://www.cosn.org

Johns, T. (2017). Personnel Project. Unpublished manuscript

Johns, T. (2018). T Johns Pd Training [Video file]. Retrieved from

        https://drive.google.com/open?id=13QcdkACkD9UEN-ejnfDI1qUv0BjtqZtQ

Johns, T. (2018). Student Data Tracking: Implementing Data Walls. Retrieved from 

       https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1s-

       3BtZ0KDSKFKXSe_MLfkSb0aCom42BK2ulCnY54DTI/edit?usp=sharing

Johns, T. (2018). Creating a Google Form. Retrieved from 

      https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VhS3QQUsbJGIVqgTFPCsXNvem_
      iBigEGH76g783cx0s/edit?usp=sharing

Too Much or Not Enough That is the Questions?

Too much technology or not enough technology that is the issue schools face today. Parents want their students to be prepared to enter the digital world but they do not want them to spend all day in front of a screen. Teachers want to provide their students with be best and most up-to-date technology but they don’t want the students to miss the traditional instruction. Schools are challenged with balancing students’ learning with technology use (Krishan, 2017). School districts and administration tend to leave teachers and students out of decisions when it comes to technology. Leaders want the teachers and students to have everything they need but they sometimes overwhelm them with too much at one time.

Much like reading and math curriculum, technology should be planned. If teachers integrate technology into their lesson’s students will seamlessly move from traditional instruction to technology learning. When students are engaged with technology it should be to challenge them and expand their learning (Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee, 2013). Professional development for teachers will help them create a technology enriched classroom. To assure success in these areas’ schools must create goals and vision in their technology plans (Whitehead, Jensen, & Boschee, 2013).

These technology plans are created annually to assure that schools address areas of weakness and celebrate areas of strengths. Funding is issued based on these goals, strengths and weaknesses. My school system has spent the past 5 years preparing the infrastructures of our schools. Installing wireless access points in all classrooms was a goal that was completed. We are now working on making sure the bandwidth meets the needs of all the schools. Successful technology integration takes many people and viewpoints. Everyone working together to make things work.

Reference

5 Technologies That Will Change Classroom Education. (2015, September 16). 

          Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com

Krishan, N. (2017, November 15). Balancing Technology and Teaching 

         in the Classroom -- How Do We Do It? – InsideSources. Retrieved from 

         https://www.insidesources.com

Moen, M. (2015, February 24). A Healthy Balance: Mindfulness & 

         Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com

Tech-overload-technology-classroom [Digital image]. (n.d.). 

         Retrieved April 22, 2019, from http://owlconnected.com

Top 5 Tech Tools to Take Control of Your Classroom. (2017, 

         September 05). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com

Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). 

         Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators, 

         technology coordinators, and curriculum leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: 

         Corwin, a Sage Company.