Leadership
Program Goals:
· Students will be leaders in educational technology.
· Students will be current in research technologies and designs.
Program Competency:
· The educator is competent at leading and managing systemic change processes
at the classroom, school and/or district levels.
· The educator is familiar with technologies specific to the discipline she teaches
and is able to use these technologies successfully to support student learning.
· The educator is able to initiate and support professional development processes
that reflect attention to principals of adult learning.
· The educator is able to use technology to participate in increased levels of
professional collaboration.
Leadership has always come naturally to me due to my strong work ethic and desire to succeed. As an adolescent it was ingrained in me by my high school football coach that we were to lead by example and let our actions do our talking. As a leader it is important to be respectful of opposing viewpoints and philosophies while still having the knowledge and courage to stand your ground. Going through the MSET program has definitely strengthened my knowledge base concerning technology but it has also influenced my educational philosophy and my communication abilities. I now have more confidence and a desire to take on additional responsibilities in an effort to improve the educational rigor at Madison Central.
CET-765 Leadership in Technology Change, Dr. Geary, spring 2011
A great leader should have a sense of humility about him/her, a point that was really drive home to me while reading Good to Great by Collins. I enjoyed the analogy about the mirror and the window and how it illustrates the behaviors of the CEOs of the companies highlighted in the book. Great leaders or level 5 leaders as Collins would put it, always look out the window to give praise and looked into the mirror to take responsibility for setbacks. Just the opposite was evident for those leaders of comparison companies that weren’t as successful. My work sample includes a set of cliff notes covering the book and a few additional sites covering the topic of leadership technology.
CET-720 Evaluating Technology Outcomes, Dr. Hawkes, spring 2011
I found a lot of similarities between CET 720 & 765 especially concerning the topic of professional development. Both courses gave me a great opportunity to reflect back on my experiences as an educator involved with years of professional development and I must say most of my experiences have been negative. Through the readings, classroom discussions and interactions with my classmates and professors I am now able to identify many of the pitfalls associated with my past experiences with PD. I now believe I can assist the Madison School district in refining their approach to PD. My work sample was a collaborative project where we developed an evaluation plan to address the effective use of technology for the Madison School District.
CET-726 Technology in Curriculum, Dr. Wiken, spring 2009
As my educational philosophy has shifted over the years to more of a constructivist viewpoint, I have found myself at odds with trying to create a student-centered classroom and meeting the demands of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). I believe there is a major conflict between what educational theorist are proposing and the standards and methods of assessment mandated by the federal and state government. This course revealed the multiple technological possibilities educators can employ to raise student achievement, but also opened my eyes to the obstacles we face in an effort to utilize them – mainly the large emphasis placed on standardized testing. With that being said, great leadership will be required to develop alternative assessments measures with which to showcase our students to the stakeholders involved. My work sample examines technology-based learning and NCLB.
