DB #3

When I think of education, communication first comes to mind.  As educators, we are constantly communicating—whether it be with students, administration, parents, etc. As I read this week, a comment on communication in particular stood out.   Sheninger, 2014, stated, “Using social media tools that compliment one another is extremely important, but to get to this point, it is important to understand the major social media tools available to school leaders and how they can be used to enhance communications.  I personally think there is a negative connotation when it comes to the idea of social media in education.  While most people are under the impression that social media wastes time; on the other hand, it opens to doors for communication to a mass audience, in which schools can continuously grow support throughout the community. 

 According to Sheninger, 2014, the six elements of change are: connectedness matters, vision, value, support, professional development, and embracement. 

Connectedness doesn’t just mean to be on the social media platform, but to truly understand how to use it for the benefit of a classroom and/or school in order to enhance to learning opportunities of students. 

Vision means that as educators, we hold a clear technology goal and objective that we would like to implement into our classrooms, lessons, and schools.  With no plan, it would be difficult to be proactive. 

Value is a trait that we actively pursue if we want our students to be 21^st century learners.  If we don’t place value on the importance of understanding and utilizing technology, it will be ignored, and our students will not be prepared for the real world.

Of course, in order to have technological value within a classroom/school, one must have support.  Support can come from the school’s administration, or the school district itself.  Nonetheless, if one doesn’t have support in the technology plan or goal, it is likely that students will not receive the resources they need to be successful. 

Professional development is an important aspect to educational technology.  I will admit, that without this class, I would not know much about technology that could be incorporated in my classroom.  Furthermore, having practice with the technology that is planned will make you much more valuable during implementation. 

Lastly, as educators, we should embrace the opportunities we have to be 21^st century teachers.  There are so many valuable resources out there that can increase engagement and student learning, that we would be doing our students a disservice if we ignored technological opportunities. 

In order to apply this into our districts, one must not shy away from standing up for your beliefs.  Change comes from action from educators in the district, and with data.  Keeping track of data that can potentially increase the technology budget has the abilities to get school districts, and their students more opportunities.  Such data support is what teachers and administrators need to display the importance of educational learning incorporating technology. 

Reference

Sheninger, E. C., & Zhao, Y. (2014). Digital leadership: changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks (CA): Corwin.