Jingwei Viola Liu
Visionary Leadership Indicator C
Indicator C: Advocate on local, state and national levels for policies, programs, and funding to support implementation of a technology-infused vision and strategic plan.
Artifact:
Artifact & Course Description:
Course Title
GDIT 715 Instructional Learning Theory
Course Description
This course explores the fundamentals of instructional design, including principles of learning theory, and instructional strategies (pedagogy and andragogy) that are relevant to instructional design.
Project Description
In this assignment, we were assembled into a team and were asked to apply a teaching model to the development of an online learning course. We chose to address improving the competency of teachers in the Wahtzamattau School District so they have the skills necessary to integrate technology across the curriculum at their appropriate grades. Our group developed five modules for delivery: copyright and fair use in media literacy, creating a wiki, creating a flipped classroom, developing course sites, and digital storytelling.
Reflection
At the district level, the Wahtzamattau School District lacked teacher competency in using technology in instruction. This was the feeling of some of the students in the group, so we picked this topic. This project revealed to me how to try to implement staff development at a school district level. These courses needed to be adoptable by teachers who handle all grades, and needed to be attractive to these types of teachers, so they are more willing to complete the course and adopt these new techniques.
According to L. B. Dias, technology has been present in public education classrooms in the United States for more than a decade, and one of the major concerns has been making sure teachers are trained on using technology. Dias feels that we need to move teachers away from using computers as a separate class to actually integrating technology into teaching. This will require overcoming the barriers to technology integration, which include having the time, training resources, and support to upgrade teachers’ skills.
One way to advocate for programs to be placed at the local, state, and national level is to propose the implementation of a program that represents a technology-infused vision and strategic plan. This project showed me how to advocate on a local level, and plan for a program implementation. With this proposal, funding could be sought to support an expansion of knowledge among the teachers of this school district.
References
Dias, L. B. (1999). Integrating technology. Learning and Leading with Technology, 27, 10-13.