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June 15, 2001
Training Administrators to Be Technology Leaders
By Tom Schmeltzer
What can districts do to develop tech-savvy leaders? Here, a veteran educator and trainer shares his tips and techniques for building a successful course for administrators.
To say that school leaders today face a different set of challenges than their predecessors did is an understatement of epic proportion. School safety, community pressures, and information overload are just some of the issues administrators are grappling with these days. Technology can certainly play a positive role in helping them face these challenges-but only if they have the vision and know-how to harness it and make it part of the fabric that supports teaching and learning in schools.
Until now, professional development for educators has generally focused on the needs of the classroom teacher and has been driven by a technology coordinator or someone in an equivalent role, who more often than not was once a classroom teacher themselves. But with the increasingly ubiquitous presence of technology in schools-98 percent are now hooked up to the Internet-the need for an overarching vision and cohesive plan has meant that administrators can no longer avoid stepping up to the plate to provide the same kind of leadership with technology as they have in more traditional areas. The recent focus on National Education Technology Standards for Administrators (see "Technology Standards for School Administrators") and other administrator-related initiatives (see "Additional Resources for Administrators") are indicative of the newest wave in education: the push to train administrators to plan for and use technology effectively in schools.
What skills are required of school administrators in order for them to lead in a technology-rich environment? Basic technology competencies such as word processing, e-mail, and other daily-use applications are important, of course, but in order to be truly effective technology leaders, they need a much broader set of experiences. They must understand how technology can improve instructional practices, and develop strategies for helping teachers use technology in their classrooms. In addition, they must hone their team-building and mentoring skills to create a system of ongoing support for the entire educational community as it moves forward in using new technologies.
Above all, administrators must be able to understand how technology can be successfully implemented in schools, and how to set reasonable expectations for its use. In short, they must have a vision for education and a plan to make it happen. As Jason Ohler and David Warlick discussed in their conversation on leadership, it is imperative that leaders develop a shared vision with their staff, understanding that this process is a group activity rather than a solitary one and that the road they travel to shape that vision is ultimately more important than the vision itself.
Designing Training for Administrators
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation State Grants for Leadership Development, the National Staff Development Council, and other initiatives detailed in the "Additional Resources" sidebar, as well as private programs, such as the TOPONE course I've developed over the years, are certainly very good ways for administrators to at least begin acquiring the skills necessary to become leaders in the field of education technology. With this foundation of skills, some administrators may then consider building their own homegrown, home-tailored technology leadership programs to keep the training going.
So what does a successful training program for administrators look like? How is it organized and what content should be included? The following is a sample outline of what a course might look like, based on my own experience designing, honing, and implementing technology leadership training for administrators.
Prerequisites
Because the focus of the training is leadership, technology competency is a prerequisite. Participants must be daily e-mail users and Web surfers. They also should be able to compose a simple document using a word processor and modify a spreadsheet. Each should also have previous experience in basic computer operations. Previous experience using presentation software is desired but not required.
Format
Key to any administrator training is a flexible schedule and format. While a niche of time can be fairly easily carved and protected for teachers during after-school hours, it is not so with administrators, who are on call at all times and must be ready to "fight fires" at a moment's notice. When faced with emergencies and other realities of the school day, an administrator's good intentions and plans for meaningful professional development usually take a back seat to more immediate concerns. So on-site training is not the best plan.
Regularly scheduled, project-driven experiences that permit administrators the luxury of thinking and planning away from the stress of everyday life are critical. Activities for administrators should be conducted in large blocks of time-three hours at a minimum-at off-site locations to eliminate distractions. The creation of a community of learners composed of administrators that share similar challenges is also crucial.
For example, in my program, workshops are typically scheduled for sixteen hours of intense project-oriented experiences delivered from 11:00 a.m. on a Friday to 6:00 p.m. on the following Saturday. This format provides the time and focus necessary for an administrator to "marinate" in the technology leadership model. Regularly scheduled monthly follow-up meetings as well as ongoing online communication provide the refreshers and new experiences that strengthen and institutionalize the learning.
Content
Workshops for administrators should combine real-world scenarios with real-life experiences, including small and large group discussions and extensive hands-on sessions. They should also feature activities to develop skills in project management, time management, personal productivity, and community relations. Other components I've found to be key deal with the processes of visioning, planning, team-building, communication, integration, and mentoring. Below are brief descriptions of how TOPONE approaches sessions dealing with these issues.
Visioning. Successful leaders have personally developed a picture of success and have successfully involved their staff in visioning experiences. This session concentrates on preparing administrators to lead such a visioning process. Learners review case studies and participate in focus group activities to formulate their personal vision for success. Each participant develops a vision for his or her home school and presents the plan to a jury of peers for review and adjustment. The emphasis of each plan is to encourage "change over time."
Planning. Leaders develop a plan for using technology. It must describe how the learning process will be enhanced with technology tools and activities that support instruction and learning (see "Creating A Plan for Technology"). Begin by reviewing each school's current technology plan as a group. Using Web resources such as the Guidebook For Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan by Larry Anderson, participants research best practices for the development of a working plan. Participants update or completely rebuild their current plan, collecting information to help bring their technology planning documents to life.
Team building. This learning experience builds on the leadership models introduced in Gung Ho! by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles. Participants read the book before the session begins, so as a group they are ready to discuss the principles of creating a successful organization. The session centers around positive leadership attributes, such as listening to and respecting others; working toward shared goals; using values as a guide to all plans, decisions, and actions; clearly defining the playing field; and encouraging people when they do something right. Participants then create action plans to apply these principles in a school setting.
Communication. Leaders develop a communication plan for their school that incorporates all internal and external school communications. The format and content of e-mail correspondence, newsletters, school Web sites, and brochures are analyzed; and templates are developed using Microsoft Project and PowerPoint to create a unified message to the whole community. In small groups, school Web sites are critiqued by participants, who are asked to evaluate sites coming from the perspective of new parents considering a home purchase in the school district. In addition, case studies of successful programs are reviewed to help learners build their own implementation models.
Classroom integration. Technology must be viewed as just one of the threads that are to be woven into the fabric of learning by leaders, classroom practitioners, and students. Here, participants implement a modified InTech model for integrating technology in the K-12 curriculum. Designed and first implemented by the Educational Technology Center at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, InTech is now required training for all teachers in the state of Georgia seeking recertification. Louisiana has also adopted and adapted the InTech model. The technology skills embedded in the InTech curriculum are based on technology standards developed for the International Society for Technology in Education and adopted by the National Council for Accreditation of Teachers in Education. Areas of study include use of modern technologies, curriculum integration, classroom management, pedagogy, and designs for learning.
Mentoring. The ultimate benefit of this learning experience is the development of mentors who are prepared to lead and who have the vision, the tools, and the techniques to put that preparation into practice. This learning module binds it all together. Participants use all of the lessons they have learned to create a mentoring strategy. The design of strategic action plans and the implementation of a comprehensive learning support system are key products of this module. Microsoft Project or similar software can be used to build the plans and manage the implementation back in the home school.
Throughout these activities, participants should be documenting their progress and evaluating their performance. One way to do this is to provide them with handheld computers to create personal diaries of their goals, experiences, and thoughts. They can also create what I call an Individualized Technology Organizational Plan, which becomes a personal road map to chart success and guide ongoing learning.
Outcomes
By the end of the training, administrators should know how to apply the right tools and make technology decisions that increase productivity and enhance learning. They should be able to better facilitate communication between students, teachers, parents, and the community; and be able to use technology more effectively to run the business aspects of a school. For example, in the DeKalb County Schools in metropolitan Atlanta where I conducted leadership training, principals now communicate daily with staff, parents, and students using technology. Daily e-mail to staff provides required management information in real time. A weekly newsletter, once only available in print, is now e-mailed to parents who have Internet access. In addition, teachers are encouraged to post lesson plans and assignments on the school Web site, which both students and parents can access. Palm-sized handheld computers have become integral in managing calendars, schedules, and student information. In addition, the processes of dealing with budgets, invoices, accounting, purchasing, human resources, personnel records, transportation, and student records have been changed to allow the school leadership to streamline school business aspects and maintain a primary focus on learning.
A Final Word
While bringing administrators up to speed on technology-and providing ongoing training-may seem like a massive task, designing a course that addresses technology in the context of leadership and management is a good place to start. Educating those who are in a position to make organizational decisions and point the way for others will bring districts and schools closer to achieving their vision for technology and, more importantly, for education as a whole.
Tom Schmeltzer, founder of Technology Solutions and the TOPONE technology leadership program, has over 30 years of experience with educational organizations. He is also the author of Models of Success.
Creating a Plan for Technology
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