ADMS 647Educational Technology and School Leadership

Syllabus

INSTRUCTORJonathan D. Becker, J.D., Ph.D.Oliver Hall, Room 2103jbecker@vcu.edu 804-827-2655 PURPOSE OF THE COURSE

DIGITAL KIDS ANALOG SCHOOLS The percentage of online teens who report

using the internet daily has increased from 42% in 2000 to 61% in 2006. Among teens who go online daily, 34% use the internet multiple times a day and 27% use the internet once a day.

95% of last year’s college graduates do not have a landline.

42% of 18-29 year olds will use the Internet as their primary news source for the 2008 presidential election.

45% of college students who watch series television watch them online; 30% use video sharing site daily.

In 2003, a Department of Commerce study ranked 55 industries with respect to information technology (IT)-intensity; education ranked dead last.

As of 2005, less than ½ of all public school students had at least one computer in their classroom.

In a 2003 study, Norris et al concluded that “fully 14% [of teachers]...make no use whatsoever of computers for instructional purposes, and nearly half (45%) use it with their students less than 15 minutes per week—equivalent to just 3 minutes per day!” (pp. 17-18).

Educational technology policymakers tout the fact that the student-to-computer ratio in our nation’s public schools now stands at 3.8:1. Yet, a 2003 Department of Commerce study ranked 55 industries with respect to information technology (IT)-intensity; education ranked dead last. Even within this industry that is the least IT-intensive, an enormous digital divide exists between the degree to which schools have built a technological infrastructure and the degree to which educators are using those resources to advance teaching and learning. To use a line from a popular movie, schools have built IT (though less so than other industries), but educators have not come. For example, writing about their sample of over 3,000 K-12 teachers, Norris et al. (2003) wrote “fully 14%...make no use whatsoever of computers for instructional purposes, and nearly half (45%) use it with their students less than 15 minutes per week—equivalent to just 3 minutes per day!” (pp. 17-18).

“I’m concerned that more administrators don’t feel a moral imperative to prepare students to live and thrive in a technology-suffused, globally interconnected world…Our schools are increasingly at risk of being dangerously (and ludicrously) irrelevant to the future in which our children will live.”-Dr. Scott McLeod (2007). “An absence of leadership”. Learning & Leading with Technology, 35(3), p. 17.

This state of affairs potentially renders our public schools irrelevant to our nation’s youth who have been described as “digital natives;” with their iPods, cell phones, and Internet-connected computers, they live in a digital, cyber-world. Student engagement, an important predictor of student learning, is imperiled by analog schools. Furthermore, as the United States continues to lag behind other countries in math and science achievement, analog schools and disconnected teaching pose a serious threat to our position in an increasingly technologically driven global economy.

This lack of technology integration comes despite enormous investments in software, hardware and especially professional development for teachers. In fact, nearly all of the research and (professional) development in the field of educational technology is exclusively focused on the teachers. For example, of the 125 concurrent sessions at the 2007 annual conference of the Virginia Society for Technology in Education (VSTE), only 11 were dedicated to the leadership strand. Of those, only 1 (one!) had any form of the verb “to lead” in the title; the word “principal” does not appear anywhere in the 84-page program. At the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), the largest conference in the U.S. focused solely on educational technology, of the hundreds of sessions across the whole conference, there were 13 sessions dedicated to the leadership strand; a search of that mammoth program for the word “principal” yielded 4 hits.

Despite the fact that decades of research point to the centrality of leadership to school change/reform/improvement, the formal preparation of sitting and aspiring educational leaders suffers from the same teacher-centric flaw as the world of practice. That is, the technology-related coursework that is offered in schools of education are almost exclusively limited to teacher-based departments and programs. As part of an effort to disrupt that pattern, this course is designed to allow aspiring school leaders to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to lead 21st Century schools.

COURSE OBJECTIVESThis course will provide an overview of the impact of technology, particularly

Web-based technologies, on K-12 instruction, from pedagogical considerations and associated tool choices to more pragmatic leadership issues of planning, funding, and faculty development. Questions addressed include: o How can the Internet and web-based applications be used as tools to integrate

learning strategies in instruction? o How can the World Wide Web and its resources be used to change the instructional

environment from teacher-centered instruction to student-centered learning?

“We will see few tangible, long-term benefits from technology in most schools until they have leaders who know how to effectively implement, build upon, and sustain technology-related initiatives. We need more technology leaders in formal leadership positions such as principal and superintendent rather than informal, often powerless, positions such as media specialist or technology coordinator. We need them now.”-Dr. Scott McLeod (2007). “An absence of leadership”. Learning &Leading with Technology, 35(3), p. 17.

o What are the components of a good educational technology plan?o How is technology funded in education?o What are the legal and ethical issues that surface around technology in education?o How does one facilitate the adoption of web-based instruction in a school system? o What are the emerging issues in educational technology?

With reference to the Licensure Regulations for School Personnel promulgated by the Virginia Department of Education, this course addresses the following competencies:

A. Knowledge understanding, and application of planning, assessment, and instructional leadership that builds collective professional capacity, including;

(6) Integration of technology in curriculum and instruction to enhance learner understanding;(8) Communication of a clear vision of excellence, linked to mission and core beliefs that promotes continuous improvement consistent with the goals of the school division.

B. Knowledge, understanding and application of systems and organizations, including;(2) Aligning organizational practice, division mission, and core beliefs for developing and implementing strategic plans;(7) Effective communication skills including consensus building, negotiation, and mediation skills.

C. Knowledge understanding and application of management and leadership skills that achieve effective and efficient organizational operations, including;

(4) Principles and issues related to fiscal operations of school management;(6) Legal issues impacting school operations and management;(7) Technologies that support management functions;

D. Knowledge understanding and application of the conditions and dynamics impacting a diverse school community, including:

(1) Emerging issues and trends within school/community relations;(4) Principles of effective two-way communication, including consensus building and negotiation skills; and(5) Integration of technology to support communication efforts.

COURSE GOALSThe major goal of the project is to empower the participants with the

knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to lead 21st Century schools. Upon completion of this course, the participants will be able to: o Explore current research concerning the digital natives of the 21st Century o Review web applications and tools that can be used for instruction in K-12 settings o Explore technology planning and funding considerations at the school or district

levelo Debate political, legal and ethical considerations associated with the use of web-

based instruction for K-12 studentso Articulate processes for technology integration within one’s schoolo Develop collaboratively a multimedia/wiki-based technology plan for a typical

school.

The content of this course will address Virginia’s Technology Standards for all Instructional Personnel and National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A).

COURSE REQUIREMENTSIt is assumed that all participants will have an introductory knowledge of

computers and are familiar with the basic operation and applications generally installed on a teacher’s computer. It will also include: o Access to a computer with an office suite such as MS Office or Appleworks o Access to the Internet and VCU’s Blackboardo Headset for Wimba Live Classroom o A VCU email account o A del.icio.us account

CLASS COMMUNICATIONEach student must have an active VCU email account, and become familiar with

Blackboard. The instructor will be using the communications module in Blackboard to contact individuals and groups. Please see the Blackboard procedures under Student Help for having VCU email forwarded to your preferred email address. It is best to communicate general questions to the instructor. The instructor’s information is found under the menu item Faculty Info in Blackboard. The Discussion Board forum will be used for weekly class discussions. Additionally, students are encouraged to use the specified forum as communication board to post questions or concerns for others to ponder and to express their opinions, ideas, and thoughts. This is your class and your opportunity to grow as a teacher, leader and reflective practitioner.

EVALUATION This online course requires a high level of participation. “Attendance” in an online class means that you are engaged in the weekly discussions by the due dates and submit assignments on time. Posting and responding to reflection papers includes not only posting of personal reflection, but also engaging in weekly discussions with other participants (via Discussion Board). I do not believe in “late” discussions, so you will receive no weekly participation points if you miss a week’s discussions. It is expected that students will log in to Blackboard at least three times a week. If you are having difficulties with participation or technologies, please contact the instructor. A lowered grade will be given for unexcused assignments or lack of participation.

Generally, grading is proportioned as follows:

Bb Home Page development 5%

Discussion Board Participation 20%

Papers (Lessons 2, 5, 6, 11) 20%

Web 2.0 Tool Tutorial (Module 1) 15%

Internet Safety Debate (Module 3) 15%

Final Group Project, Analysis and Reflection

25%

All assignments are to be submitted online, through the Blackboard portal provided for the course. The assignments are to be attached to each assignment link provided in blue (i.e. >> View/Complete Assignment: Reading Assignment). Once the link is clicked you will see the following screen. You need to:

1. Type a comment to the instructor (I suggest your name: Watwood Lesson 4) 2. Click Browse located below the comment box. Locate the word document you would like to attach. 3. Click the Submit button.

(See below for example)

4. Verify you have submitted you assignment successfully by clicking on Check Grades in the menu – and look for an ! point under the assignment column you submitted. If you do not see an ! you did not submit the assignment correctly.

Late assignments may lose points – contact me if you are in a bind!

Grading Scale

The normal grading scale is used for this class.

90-100 A 80-89 B 70-79 C 60-69 D Below

60 F

Remember, this is a graduate level course. A “C” is not recommended.

COURSE SCHEDULE The course is divided into five modules, each of which has a series of “lessons.”

Dates Course Module8/30-9/28 Introduction to Web 2.0

Lessons 1-4 9/29-10/12

Ed Tech Planning and Funding

Lessons 5&6 10/13-11/2

Political, Legal and Ethical Considerations

Lessons 7-9 11/3-11/23

Facilitating Technology Integration

Lessons 10-12 12/1-12/14

Projects and Emerging Issues

Lessons 13-14(NOTE: This schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor. )

ASSIGNMENTS

Module 1, Lesson 1HomePage With any new class there is a "stand up and introduce yourself" moment to help us get acquainted with our new classmates. You all already know each other (but do you really???). Since we cannot stand up in "real time" we are going to do something better! You will make a quick Homepage in Blackboard that is all about you! A PICTURE IS REQUIRED (I did not specify that it had to be you). In many ways, this simulates just how easy it is for you (or your students) to publish something to the web. Have fun with this! SUGGESTION: When making your home page (or using the Discussion Board) type out your information in a word processing document and do a Spell Check. Then just copy and paste your text into the template.

Setting Up Delicious and Google ReaderAfter reviewing the materials in the folder, create a Delicious account. I have included a video tutorial which should help. I suggest that you use your VCU eID as your account name (as I did using "bwatwood"). Also, sign up for a free Google account, and explore using RSS to feed your account with updates from websites you wish to follow.

Module 1, Lesson 2 Web 2.0 EssayClick View/Complete to bring up an attached pdf article from INNOVATE (Click to open or right click to download). Consider the following statement from the article:

"Classrooms tend to encourage and reward individual knowledge stored in the head, not distributed knowledge. They don't often allow students to network with each other and with various tools and technologies and be rewarded for doing so . . . . classrooms tend to narrowly constrain where students can gain knowledge, rather than utilize widely dispersed knowledge."

Write an essay (a two-to-four-page double-spaced paper (listing your sources)) in which you discuss how Web 2.0 tools could change this constraint. Also note whether you think this constraint applies to your particular class or specialty.

Module 1, Lessons 3-4Web 2.0 TutorialGuidelines for Creating and Posting Your Web 2.0 Tool Tutorial1. You will receive an email invitation to join the TEDU560 Wiki. Accept this invitation and set up an account in wikispaces at no charge to join this Wiki. You will find these same instructions there.2. By January 30th, go to the Tool List, click "Edit Page" and under your name, list the five-plus tools you would most like to research in priority order (top priority first) from the Top 100 Tools for Learning.3. By January 31st, Dr. W and Dr. B will collapse the list and send all by email their tool assignments.4. Research your tool, exploring in particular potential uses in the classroom or professionally as a teacher or administrator.5. Begin developing your methodology for training the rest of us on your tool. We are looking for a multimedia presentation, not a Word document or static powerpoint. 50 Ways to Tell a Story is one resource loaded with potential ways. Jing is an excellent screencast program that allows you to capture actions on a computer screen and create a narrated step-by-step process. This is where we expect to see some creativity in your decision on HOW to present your tutorial to the rest of us.6. By no later than Friday, February 13th, use the New Page feature on the wiki to create a page for your tool. Title the page with your name and the tool name. If your tutorial is web-based, simply link out to your tutorial from this wiki page.7. Over the weekend of February 14-15, review your classmates tutorials and score them using the rubric. You will be divided into teams (number to be determined), and we provide an online form that will allow each of you to anonymously submit your scores on about one-third of the tutorials (though you will be free to check out all of them). Dr. W and Dr. B will also be scoring the tutorials separately and using the combined feedback to develop your tutorial grade.

Module 2, Lesson 5Technology Planning PaperWrite a three-to-five-page double-spaced paper (listing your sources) in which you analyze/critique the adequacy and currency of your home school or school division's existing technology plan. The Readings give some good questions to address in developing a technology plan. In particular, the Virginia alignment report and the Michigan checklist are good guides as you think about the contents of the technology plan you are analyzing/critiquing. Has your school addressed them?

Module 2, Lesson 6Technology Funding PaperWrite a one-to-three-page double-spaced paper (listing your sources) in which you analyze the adequacy and currency of your home school's existing technology funding. Discuss with your school administrators the breakdown of school funding from federal, state, local, private and grant sources. Then discuss how technology is funded in your school, and again, note the adequacy of this funding.

Module 3, Lessons 7-9The Internet DebateWithin the wiki in the menu to the left, you will find 2 pages, one entitled "Research regarding Making the Internet Freely Available in Schools" and the other entitled "Research regarding Tightly Restricting the Internet in Schools."

You probably have preconceived notions already, but you job is to leave those at the door / log-in and instead research what others have said regarding these two positions. Over the next three weeks, begin annotating both pages with citations, short abstracts of resources you find, and your insights you develop as we look at the theme cases. This should be an interesting "work in progress!"

And we certainly do not want to hear "What do I need to do to get an A?" You already know the answer to that in your heart! This will be a collaboratively edited web document and we expect to see all hands participating.

Module 4, Lesson 11Emerging Issues PaperDraft a 2-4 page double-spaced paper with citations noting the top five instructional technology issues you think that YOUR school will face in the coming five years. What are the issues, what priority order would you put them in, and what are possible solutions. Feel free to interview your IT folks in addition to researching issues on the web.Module 5, Lesson 14Reflection PaperPretend that you are writing a post for your blog and you want to reflect on what the

last 14 weeks have meant to you. Draft a post (paper - keeping it to under 5 pages double-spaced) reflecting on this course and the lessons you will take forward. Will your teaching change? When you become an administrator, how will this course impact your thought processes? Do you see yourself joining any social networks (or have you already?)? Use citations if you desire, but I want this to be a personal reflection. Submit by May 3rd.

FINAL PROJECTDeveloping a Collaboratively Authored, Multimedia Technology PlanYour group has been put together as a school committee to update and create a new technology plan for your school. Your new school principal wants to make the internet an integral part of each class, and your group has been selected to make this a reality.

Within the Blackboard class, I have set up group pages so that your group has its own discussion board and group email. You can also use Live Classroom to “meet” at the same time and talk over your group project. You will eventually post your project on your group page on the wiki.Within your group, first decide what type of school you are – elementary, middle, or high school. Then, begin planning how you want to develop your technology plan.

In one month's time, during Lesson 14, your group will post a multimedia presentation on their plan in the wiki for fellow classmates to review. Your grade will be a group grade. Projects Uploaded to the Wiki by no later than Thursday, April 30th. Obviously, earlier in the final week is better, giving more time for the discussion activity.

REFERENCES Anderson, R. E., & Dexter, S. (2005). School technology leadership: Its incidence and

impact. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41, 49-82.

Byrom, E., & Bingham, M. (2001). Factors influencing the effective use of technology for teaching and learning: Lessons learned from the SEIR-TEC intensive site schools. SERVE: Southeastern Regional Vision for Education, Greensboro, NC.; SouthEast and Islands Regional Technology in Education Consortium, 2nd Edition, 27p.

Dede, C. Leadership Without Followers. G. Kearsley & W. Lynch, Eds. Educational Technology: Leadership Perspective s (pp. 19-28). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, 1993. (an abbreviated version was published in TheComputing Teacher 2 0 , 6 (March, 1993), 9-11).

Dexter, S., Anderson, R. E. & Ronnkvist, A. (2002). Quality technology support: What is it? Who has it? and What difference does it make? Journal of Educational Computing Research, 26 (3), 287-307.

Dexter, S., Seashore, K. R., & Anderson, R. E. (2002). Contributions of professional community to exemplary use of ICT . Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 18, 489-497.

Economics and Statistics Administration. (2004) US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, http://www.esa.doc.gov/reports.cfm . January 2004.

Greenhow, C., Dexter, S. & Riedel, E. (2006). Evaluating web-based environments for teacher professional development on technology integration. Journal for Computing in Teacher Education, 23 (1), 21-27.

Hartman, B., & Procter, D. (2003). Reflections of school district technology leaders on the implications of the new technologies for educational leadership. International Electronic Journal For Leadership in Learning, 7(19), 1-12.

Hooker, K. M. (2006). A study of instructional technology resource teachers in Virginia’s public school divisions: Who are they and what do they do? Unpublished doctoral dissertation, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City. Retrieved September 25, 2008 at: http://etd-submit.etsu.edu/etd/theses/available/etd-1109106-221844/unrestricted/HookerK112006f.pdf.

Lawless, K.A. & Pellegrino, J.W. (2007). Professional development in integrating technology into teaching and learning: Knowns, unknowns, and ways to pursue better questions and answers. Review of Educational Research, 77(4), pp. 575–614.

Lenhart, Amanda; Hitlin, Paul; and Madden, Mary (2007). “Teens and Technology: Youth are Leading the Transition to a Fully Wired and Mobile Nation, Pew Internet and American Life Project, http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/162/report_display.asp

McLeod, Scott (2007). “An Absence of Leadership”, Learning and Leading with Technology, 35(3), p. 17.

Mishra, P. & Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A Framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), pp. 1017–1054.

Moe, M. & Blodgett, H. (2000). The Knowledge Web. Merrill Lynch & Co., Global Securities Research & Economics Group, Global Fundamental Equity Research Department.

Morrison, G. R. & Lowther, D. L. (2002). Integrating computer technology into the classroom. Upper Saddle River: Merrill.

Nielsen//NetRatings. (December 2003) FIFTY MILLION INTERNET USERS CONNECT VIA BROADBAND, RISING 27 PERCENT DURING THE LAST SIX MONTHS, ACCORDING TO NIELSEN//NETRATINGS, http://www.nielsennetratings.com/pr/pr_040108_us.pdf . Jan. 2004.

Web-Based Education Commission (2000). The power of the Internet for learning: Moving from promise to practice. Washington, D.C.: 1-168.

VCU POLICIES This course will embody all precepts of the VCU Honor System, and all work is

expected to follow the honor system guidelines. Students are responsible for refraining from committing any act of cheating, plagiarizing, facilitating academic dishonesty, abusing academic materials, or soliciting others to engage in any of these acts. The VCU Computer Ethics Policy is at http://www.at.vcu.edu/policies/computeruse.htm It is the policy of VCU to accord students, on an individual basis, the opportunity to observe their traditional religious holidays. Students desiring to observe a religious holiday of special importance must provide advance written notification to each instructor by the end of the second week of classes. (See http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/rg7attend.html .) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires Virginia Commonwealth University to provide a reasonable accommodation to any individual who advises us of a physical or mental disability. If you have a physical or mental limitation that requires an accommodation or an academic adjustment, please arrange a meeting with me. For further clarification please read the appropriate material at the site listed below VCU Policy Link: http://www.vcu.edu/vcu/faculty/handbook/chap7c.html Additionally, the Honor System is key to maintaining academic freedom and at the same time respecting others. Please read the NEW honor policy. A complete copy of the VCU Honor System document may be found on VCU's Web site at http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/rg7honor.html

VCU EMERGENCY PROCEDURES While recognizing that this is an online class, I consider it important that you

understand the VCU Emergency Procedures. I would also ask that you also review the emergency procedures for your home school: 1. You may sign up to receive VCU text messaging alerts (http://www.vcu.edu/alert/notify). Keep your information up-to-date. 2. Know the safe evacuation route from each of our classrooms. Emergency evacuation routes are posted in on-campus classrooms. 3. Listen for and follow instructions from VCU or other designated authorities. 4. Know where to go for additional emergency information (http://www.vcu.edu/alert). 5. Know the emergency phone number for the VCU Police (828-1234). Report suspicious activities and objects. For more information about University Rules and Procedures, please refer to http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/rg7honor.html For a complete listing of “Policies of Special Importance to Students” Go to: http://www.students.vcu.edu/rg/policies/