John Dewey said, “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.” teaching has changed even in the last twenty years. Our children need to be integrated in a classroom embedded with technology. Our teachers need leaders in technology to guide them, so that they can guide their students. Technology leaders need to be teaching and learning with 21st Century technology tools. There is a gap between what students are being taught and what they need to know for the future. Our schools need technology leaders, but what do they look like?
Leadership is influencing followers in a positive direction. Technology leaders empower their colleagues by listening to ideas, strategies, and relinquishing control and trusting the teacher’s capabilities. Leaders inspire creativity and help create a positive work environment. I would trust those I instruct and communicate with that they are taking what we have discussed or collaborated about and made their own. With technology, anyone can manipulate an app and personalize it to suit their classroom needs. Each teacher would make the choice on how that particular lesson can be transformed with a particular tech site or app. I will trust that they know their students and what will work best for them. Leadership is knowing what needs to be done and having a goal and striving to achieve it.
Technology Leaders are up to date on current research and new ideas to share with staff. They have ideas for integrating tech into all curricular areas. With that being said, schools need to purchase and provide technology devices for ALL students. This could be laptops, ipads, or tablets. Tech leaders would provide instruction to the teachers and students on presentation apps, classroom forums such as Google classroom, Blogs, and Vlogs with pertinent information relevant to what they are currently studying. We need our classrooms to be 21st century classrooms providing 21st century tools to our students. Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity are what has been deemed critical components.
Students need to work in teams, and collaborate and effectively communicate online. If a teacher is not tech savvy, the technology coordinator needs to show them common online forums for classroom collaboration. Teachers can collaborate with students as well as students collaborating from anywhere they have a device and internet. Students need to be taught how to be safe and appropriate communicators online. Students need to exactly what to watch for. What exactly is and is not safe information online. This needs to be explicit. Then they need to know how to handle those situations if they arise.
Learning critical thinking skills draws on other skills. It leads to deeper thinking and understanding. It takes them beyond surface level comprehension. This skill is essential for students not just in school, but in our ever changing, constantly moving world. This includes different ways we can argue points, analyze information, explaining, and finding different ways to solve a problem. This helps them from making foolish decisions and being able to reflect on their personal decisions and understand why they made those choices.
Creativity and using multimedia tools can transforms the teaching land learning from paper pencil to different types of technology. Allowing students to use technology to be creative. Students can create a word wall, a game on Google draw, create a movie based on a story they wrote, the sky is the limit.
Technology Leaders have their hands in everything from inspiring life long teachers to use technology for the first time to collaborating with the most tech savvy teacher at their site. Technology leaders help our teachers create 21st century classrooms and transform lessons that students love. They are researchers that look for that next new thing to teach educators for the best first instruction. Technology Leaders need to understand curriculum, district systems and networks, and have wonderful communication skills. 21st century classrooms need technology leaders ready to lead them.
Leadership is influencing followers in a positive direction. Technology leaders empower their colleagues by listening to ideas, strategies, and relinquishing control and trusting the teacher’s capabilities. Leaders inspire creativity and help create a positive work environment. I would trust those I instruct and communicate with that they are taking what we have discussed or collaborated about and made their own. With technology, anyone can manipulate an app and personalize it to suit their classroom needs. Each teacher would make the choice on how that particular lesson can be transformed with a particular tech site or app. I will trust that they know their students and what will work best for them. Leadership is knowing what needs to be done and having a goal and striving to achieve it.
Technology Leaders are up to date on current research and new ideas to share with staff. They have ideas for integrating tech into all curricular areas. With that being said, schools need to purchase and provide technology devices for ALL students. This could be laptops, ipads, or tablets. Tech leaders would provide instruction to the teachers and students on presentation apps, classroom forums such as Google classroom, Blogs, and Vlogs with pertinent information relevant to what they are currently studying. We need our classrooms to be 21st century classrooms providing 21st century tools to our students. Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity are what has been deemed critical components.
Students need to work in teams, and collaborate and effectively communicate online. If a teacher is not tech savvy, the technology coordinator needs to show them common online forums for classroom collaboration. Teachers can collaborate with students as well as students collaborating from anywhere they have a device and internet. Students need to be taught how to be safe and appropriate communicators online. Students need to exactly what to watch for. What exactly is and is not safe information online. This needs to be explicit. Then they need to know how to handle those situations if they arise.
Learning critical thinking skills draws on other skills. It leads to deeper thinking and understanding. It takes them beyond surface level comprehension. This skill is essential for students not just in school, but in our ever changing, constantly moving world. This includes different ways we can argue points, analyze information, explaining, and finding different ways to solve a problem. This helps them from making foolish decisions and being able to reflect on their personal decisions and understand why they made those choices.
Creativity and using multimedia tools can transforms the teaching land learning from paper pencil to different types of technology. Allowing students to use technology to be creative. Students can create a word wall, a game on Google draw, create a movie based on a story they wrote, the sky is the limit.
Technology Leaders have their hands in everything from inspiring life long teachers to use technology for the first time to collaborating with the most tech savvy teacher at their site. Technology leaders help our teachers create 21st century classrooms and transform lessons that students love. They are researchers that look for that next new thing to teach educators for the best first instruction. Technology Leaders need to understand curriculum, district systems and networks, and have wonderful communication skills. 21st century classrooms need technology leaders ready to lead them.