EPortfolio+-+1.6+Reflections+on+Technology+Standard+II

In reading ISTE’s standards for Technology Facilitators and Technology Leaders, it became much more clear what exactly I want to do. I want to be the Facilitator, rather than the Leader. I sometimes feel that when teachers and support personnel get t o Central Office and District level leadership roles, they lose sight of what it is really like on the frontlines. It’s not intentional, but I think that there is so much pressure at that level, that their focus tends to shift.

In our classrooms, we are encouraged to move towards more of a facilitator role. “Teachers view their role as facilitating what students do, rather than specifying and directing activities. . . students are viewed as capable of managing their own learning, facilitators encourage students to establish and explore their own interests.” (Fradd & Lee, 1998) The research is there that details that kids learn more when they are masters of their own learning. I had never thought about the same being true for teachers. In this reading, there was an aha moment when it talked about designing professional development opportunities that fit teachers’ individual styles. Nobody does that! Every year we are subjected to one-size-fits-all professional technology development. I consider myself an Advanced learner, and these sessions are boring. It made perfect sense in this reading to design professional development opportunities that allowed teachers to be the architects of their own learning, and the computer expert a Facilitator. People learn by doing, so it seems frustrating that so much of our technology professional development is Sit-N-Git.

In learning that we should be more facilitators, and not leaders, several thoughts came to mind. First and foremost was how deprived my campus has been because the current professional has tried to be more of a Technology Leader, rather than a Technology Facilitator. Our teachers are not comfortable with incorporating technology, and the students I feel are suffering. According to the Texas STaR Report, (2009) we are suffering in the first Key Area: Teaching and Learning. None of the scores are above a two, and this is the area which addresses content area connections and classroom use.

My goal during my field-based activities, and for the rest of the year, is to almost “re-introduce” teachers to the technology that is available, but more importantly, how it can best be used in their classes. In focusing on Performance Task –II.A.2, I inserted myself into various grade-level planning meetings (mainly in sixth grade) to help teachers brainstorm and plan integration lessons. Since I am still a full-time classroom teacher, and not the campus support specialist, it was easier to work with the sixth grade teachers because we would have common planning and lunch periods. This made me available for standard TF-II A.3, assisting them as they used and implemented what we created.

The teachers that I worked with were appreciative of the support and feedback. It is something that has been severely lacking on our campus, and I am excited to be part of the change that is happening. Having the ISTE’s Standards to guide any decisions, will make my future job a lot easier.

References: 1) (2009) //Texas Campus STaR Report Summary.// Retrieved from [|http://starchart2.esc12.net/campusSearchlist.aspx?foryear=20092010&district=Northside&]campus=Rudder 2) Williamson, J. and Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE’s Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards.// Eugene, Oregon: ISTE. 3) Fradd, S. and Lee, O. (1999). Research news and comment: Teachers’ Roles in Promoting Science Inquiry with Students from Diverse language Backgrounds. //Educational Researcher// //28:14-23.// DOI: 10.3102/0013189X028006014