I have seen the troubled expressions that administrators have when trying to makes sure students have the available to them via their budget. There are several common sources of funding that I know firsthand. There are federal grants (NIH or NSF), business grants (Texas instrument and others), and local businesses. These are not the only available ones, but these are the ones that I have experience with. As an administrator, I would rely on as many as possible. Though there is a lot of work to gain access to funding it is worth the time and effort to help the students. This is not limited to administrators to seek funding. There are many funding opportunities for individual teachers and groups of teachers.

When teachers and administrators work together in financial planning there are many experiences and knowledge that can be brought to the table. I can only imagine the true stress and responsibility that those that manage a school budget must go through as they are continually monitoring and correcting when different situations occur. A good administrator will talk to their teachers and discuss where teachers have seen what technology can help and assist students in their learning.

There are a lot of opportunities for funding technology that are outside of the “normal” budgets for schools. It takes time and effort to seek these opportunities. There are many grants available for technology, but with my experience, you do not always get every grant that you apply for. This can be a deterrent for individuals to apply for grants.

List of some grants:

https://www.kajeet.net/extracurricular/10-new-grants-for-ed-tech (Links to an external site.)

Article with links of grant sites:

https://literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/08/21/overcoming-the-digital-divide-step-one-increasing-funding-for-technology-and-internet-access

This semester has been an eye opener to the work that leaders must go through to take care of those they are responsible to oversee and lead. There are many areas that I need to work on. Focus and sticking to ONE project and seeing it through. I see projects through but sometimes I find “rabbit holes”, those interesting pieces of knowledge that catch my attention.

My biggest takeaway from this class is that integration and development of technology programs in schools are difficult. There are many opportunities for leaders to grow in their leading the charge in implementation of new and innovative devices and programs that will help students and teachers. I see that leaders need to know what technology can do and in what ways technology can help students progress. Just using technology can actually be detrimental to student growth. When students spend significant amounts of time waiting on a teacher to use a piece of technology they can quickly become disinterest in the class and the teachers ability. There are many things that go into finding, researching, and integrating technology in schools.

Being a leader that facilitates the integration of technology, especially integration into a positive culture, takes time and planning. This may seem like a no brainer, but many of us like to take shortcuts. They want to find a simpler and easier way. Sometimes the simpler ways may take time and effort to accomplish. There is also the time and effort to talk to your colleagues and determine that they are feeling and thinking about what type of technology will work for their classes. This can be a difficult process. Also setting up professional development to teach and train teachers about new programs and technologies.

To have a positive culture you must have everyone (most) on board with what is being used in the school. Also giving them options is very important too. Some areas suggested by GoGuardian.com where teachers can explore include: gamified learning, digital field trips, Integrate social media, digitally gather student feedback, creating student-produced digital content, using a shared, online classroom calendar (everyone knows when things are due and what will occur in the future), review and critique webpages (provides students with a chance to critique data and determine reliable sources for future research or projects), Incorporate video and multimedia into lessons and presentations and online activities for students who finish work early. These are just suggestions, but all are great ways for teachers to help students and themselves to have an enjoyable time learning.

The importance of building a positive technology culture in paramount in student and teacher success in technology implentation. There are many ways to achieve this goal there is no one way to accomplish the goals on integration. A couple of websites that give some good insight are included below.

Websites that may be of interest:

https://www.goguardian.com/blog/technology/9-unique-ways-to-use-technology-in-the-classroom/ (Links to an external site.)

https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation

Professional development is an important aspect for teachers to grow in their skills and knowledge. For evaluation for professional development, these are questions that would stand out to me if I was in the position to organize professional development for a school or school district. The following questions would be critical:

• What are the key skills do teachers need to help student achievement?
• What skills do the teachers feel they need to learn to be better teachers?
• How much time will each skill need for teachers to become proficient?
• Do we need to plan for future follow-up Professional developments to help teachers fine-tune their skill acquisition?
• Can someone in the district train other teachers or do we have to bring in a third party?
• Does the skill function in K-12 or are their specific skills that are needed in different grade levels?

These are the initial questions that cover the initial planning, but there will need to be more planning when determining the needs of the school or school district.

For the integration of technology, leadership should set up a scaffolded learning plan. There needs to be some form of evaluation for teachers to determine their skills with a given technology. This was teachers that do not need the remedial PD then they can work on other skills or knowledge. I have been in a PD where everything was a review, but it was boring and I had to spend a lot of effort to not fall asleep.
It will take more planning and work to scaffold training plans for different proficiency levels but overall it will be worth the effort. Teachers that have higher skill sets will not be bored and feel they are wasting their time. Also, teachers who need remedial training will not have other teachers, who do not need the training, making them feel that they are the only teacher that does not understand the given technology.  

Something that stood out to me as I went through everything was that there is no silver bullet for professional training. With anything in education, there is a statement that I like to refer back to when there is no clear answer “It Depends”. When I thought about planning a PD session there are many variables that one has to consider when planning a PD session. I do not envy those administrators that have to develop PD’s for a whole district.

Model for choosing technology

• In general, how would you lead teachers, administrators, students, parents, etc. through this challenging time of switching to online classes?

The first thing to consider when deciding on a technology, what is the purpose of the technology? I have been discussing this with my wife lately. There are several key things we discussed and these are things that are important to students. First, what technology do students need to do their schoolwork and access their study materials? Will a simple Chromebook that runs about $150 meet the requirements? Or do students need a higher functioning piece of technology?

Administrators play a key role in these decisions. They should know what the software that will best suit their school. Also, they need to know what hardware will run the needed software. They sometimes have the hardest job when deciding what technology that their school needs to further their students’ education.

Parents need to not seek the highest cost or top of the line technology. Parents need to support their students in the usage of technology. There are some instances where I have heard that parents take over technology once a student comes home. I understand the need of the parents for access to technology when there is not a computer in the house. But there are the needs of the student for learning.

The student has to use the technology. When they are given the technology they need to access the material through the designated technology. But then there may be a lack of access. Not every student has access to the internet at their homes. This can be a major roadblock to student growth. Many restaurants and fast-food places have internet that can facilitate that need. In the current environment with COVID-19 students lose that access to the wi-fi that restaurants normally provide.

For teachers, I would suggest to them to practice using the online classroom features. I have tried to use technology for the first time in a class. Understanding the theoretics is completely different the practical use in the online classroom. I would also own their shortcoming. Let students see you struggle through and learn. It is a great example to students that they do not have to be perfect for the first time that they are introduced to something new. They can also learn that it takes time to become proficient in a skill or their content.

• https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical-differences-between-media/ (Links to an external site.)

The first thing to consider is the students. What are their skillsets? Do they need to be trained in hardware/software? Or is the specific technology easy to use?

Next, we have to look at ease. Can anyone use the hardware/software? Can they learn it quickly? Many teachers would love to go back to chalk and blackboard. It was/is an effective learning tool. But with the ways that the world is progressing with technology, they need to be able to assist students in their technical knowledge and literacy.

Some other factors to consider include pedagogy integration, interactions (student to student, teacher to student, parent to teacher, and others), organizational issues (what support or infrastructure is needed?), networking (what internet access is needed?), privacy, and security. These are just some of the things to consider. These are not the beginning or end-all, just some of the many things that need to be considered when implementing technology.

• Students
• Ease of use
• Cost
• Teaching functions, including pedagogical affordances of media
• Interaction
• Organizational issues
• Networking
• Security and privacy

Few websites that have some thoughts on choosing appropriate technology.

https://techknowtools.com/2015/04/03/checklist-technology-learning/ (Links to an external site.)

Table of contents—main page with links

https://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/9-pedagogical-differences-between-media/ (Links to an external site.)

My daily life was completely affected by the internet.  To begin with, I started school before the internet was widespread. It was during the 1990s when the internet (world wide web) became a come everyday thing. I grew up with the internet development. The internet was created just the same year I was born. It is interesting to note that I grew up as technology/computers developed. The first time I accessed the internet was during upper elementary school when my school had a few computers (large box) computers.

I remember in elementary when I had a book report I had to go to the library and use a card catalog. As the internet was more readily available, I learned to shift the way I researched to looking upon databases online. The only time now I go to the library is to get a book that is not available online.

In 10 years, I think we will have the internet connected to contact lenses and glasses. I know there are google glasses right now, but the cost is a little high and the specifications are lacking. I think there will be more mobile devices that will replace a “normal” desktop computer.

This also applies to distance learning. Distance learning is learning via the internet where students learn from a teacher that is not close to the student. This can be a great way for students to learn from teachers if there are circumstances were, they cannot attend school regularly. K-12 learning has developed a lot in the last few years. To facilitate homeschooling for whatever reason, there are options for parents to help students grow and learn.

With the accessibility of the internet there is a great access to student support. There are a lot of K-12 programs that students can use for homeschooling or as a supplement to challenge a student. The easiest way is to just search for K-12 online programs. In addition, there are many resources that provide students with multimedia to help with their learning.

Some sites are below:

• HowStuffWorks

https://www.howstuffworks.com/

• The Exploratorium

https://www.exploratorium.edu/

• Science Toys

https://scitoys.com/

• Bill Nye the Science Guy

https://billnye.com/

The integration of technology in schools is very important, albeit difficult at times. One of the major issues that has been stated is the lack of training in the integration of technology. When teachers receive training, it is usually in the form of a massive mental download during a short period. After teachers receive the training they are told to go forward and use technology in their classrooms.

We, as teachers, have been taught that scaffolding is key to helping develop students’ understanding of content. Start with foundation knowledge and work out way to a deeper understanding. Why do we not do that when teaching each other as educators? It seems we forget we are students and learners as well. Something that I want to look at in research/dissertation is helping teachers in their integration of technology in preparation to incorporate gamification in their classes.

Besides technology, there is also multimedia to help students. Though multimedia also includes using technology. Multimedia use by teachers in a great way to show students examples or get them interested in a topic. For example, if you are teaching about cell cycle you can show images of growth of a dog from puppy to adulthood. Then when you have students use multimedia if you differentiate the usage for students, multimedia can be used for extension after the lesson or used to introduce new material.

Something that stood out to me throughout what I read was the integration of technology takes time. Sometimes with administers expect teachers to fully be integrated in technology right now. Teachers are not given time to fully develop their classes in the usage of technology that fits with their teaching style.

I have found several interesting articles about integration of technology.

• “The Difference Between Technology Use And Technology Integration”

https://www.teachthought.com/technology/difference-technology-use-technology-integration/ (Links to an external site.)

• “HOW TEACHERS ARE INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CLASSROOM”

https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/blog/integrating-technology-into-teaching/ (Links to an external site.)

• Integrating Technology in the Classroom (Grades K–12): MS in Education

https://www.waldenu.edu/online-masters-programs/ms-in-education/curriculum/integrating-technology-in-the-classroom (Links to an external site.)

‘What does “technology integration” mean?’

https://www.classcraft.com/blog/features/definition-of-technology-integration-in-education/ (Links to an external site.)

This week for ETEC was another week of new experiences. We looked at writing memos for “thorny” topics. Looking at those technologies or techniques that can be implemented into a school that can be very beneficial for students. This can also be affected by data that has been collected about those technologies or techniques. Data can change or assure the decisions made by different stakeholders in the schools.

Decisions that come from data are very important. I, myself, like quantitative data, logical and concrete as can be. With making decisions from data there are key parts that must be taken into consideration. One must be able to manage information. When looking at data, you must be able to organize it rationally before you can even begin to break down the information. Also for data to mean anything or have a real impact there must be someone or group that can analyze the data. They must be able to glean what is going on. I have seen and read articles that were in science or education journals were there was no backing from the data. In the same articles, the data did not match the conclusions.

Also after the data has been analyzed it must be used for the betterment of students. There are many stakeholders in schools and districts, but the students are the center of all the “debates”. Stakeholders in education include students, parents, teachers, principles, superintendents, local leaders, business owners, and many more. If a school fails it can have severe impacts on a community.

This is why there must be backing (data) that drives what is to be done. Also, there is a great need for a critical eye when looking at data. If you made all of your decisions based on standardized testing then there is a flaw already in your decision making. Many intelligent students are horrible test takers. I use my wife as an example. (She permitted me to share). She is a very intelligent woman, she makes me look like an idiot. But that being said, she gets a test block. She will overthink questions and in the process think her way out of the correct answer that she knows. I am not saying that we should not discount standardized tests, but there are many more dimensions to our students than what we learn from a test.

We need to do what is best for our kids, there must be data that supports what we decide to implement in their schools. We want the best for them and it depends on the students we want to reach with technology.

This week’s lessons, discussions, and information focused on technology in schools whether in administration or the classroom. Each school district, school, and classroom is different. I personally have liked to use Electronic spreadsheets in my classroom. I thought about how I have used spreadsheets in research to perform statistics for genetics research. Student needs to see real-world examples which provide them great access to understand the technology and how it is beneficial. Also, this helps them with some of their basic computer science skills and statistical skills.

My thoughts for integrating electronic spreadsheets are, of course, focused on science classes. For biology, I would use spreadsheets to show how students can use the data to determine what happens during an event. An event could be looking at changes in species populations. Students can take records from a digital model and then they can run the statistics via the spreadsheet. This can come from real research studies or create data that is an example of “real” information.

A great example of electronic spreadsheets and how it can evolve into something more would be an educational program call ClassCraft. This program started as an excel spreadsheet where a physics teacher would have students create a character and keep up with the statistics of that character. It took off and became a website and then a digital app. This shows how using an electronic spreadsheet can inspire students and students are left wanting more.

In education, no matter what technology a school district, school, or teacher incorporates it must be for the benefit of the students. I know some teachers use technology because they must, but it is so much better for everyone when there is buy-in. If we know that technology will help teachers and students, then we need to share that vision and help train teachers in the usage of that technology.

Planning and technology.

This week has been a lot to mental digest. With the implementation of technology, there are many moving parts that must be in place and function for success. Before anything can be done a plan must be in place.  What do the teacher, parents, and administration want to achieve with technology? How much training do teachers need to properly implement technology? There are many questions that need to be answered when developing a technology plan. Teachers play a key role. They must be trained to use technology. I have heard of teachers that want to implement technology, but they do not know-how. There are barriers of time, money, and others that prevent implementation.

In addition, technology is not the beginning or end-all with technology. A student can download a physics book and have all the knowledge at their fingertips but can then utilize that knowledge. Technology is a game-changer for students only if they and the teachers are working together. TPACK is a framework that focuses on the blending of pedagogy, content knowledge, and technology. This is a great model for teachers to follow, everything in balance. This is not easy to do and takes time and planning.

Dear diary… I mean journal…. Dear blog reflection…. Let’s start again.

This week was I learned further that I have room to grow as a leader. Communication is vital for leaders. They must make sure that they understand what is being said to them. In addition, a leader must be able to properly and clearly. Also, body language is important, I have a bad habit of crossing my arms instead of having them at my sides when I am thinking. This can initial make others think that I am closed off, unsure, and self-protecting.

Prezi has been around for awhile but before this week I have not had the opportunity to use it for a presentation. Via Screen-o-Matic I presented a video about TPACK framework and the importance in the classroom of integrating technology. I am still unsure of what else I can do with Prezi, but I look forward to figuring out more of the features that are part of the “Free” package.