Part Two | Chapters Seven and Eight | "Leading 21st Century Schools"

Part II of Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology Engagement and Achievement consists of the final four chapters and is focused on considerations for 21st century teaching and learning. This post provides insights and reflection from chapters seven and eight.

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Chapter seven focused on tools for teaching and learning in k-12 schools. Searchable repositories of digital curriculum such as Curriki and MERLOT were highlighted, as well as the benefits of using Web 2.0 tools and reusable learning objects to replace the standard textbook. Although I grew up anticipating the first day of school when textbooks would be distributed (along with instructions to take them home that night and cover them in brown paper bags) technology advances have made digital learning cost-effective and easier on kids' backs. For example a digital textbook allows for hyperlinked materials making it easier and faster to access up-to-date information even after the textbook has been published. Students can benefit from personalized learning with digital technology instead of everyone following the same textbook at the same pace.

Using Analytics As a Catalyst for Change http://bit.ly/1GVgviu

Chapter eight explored considerations for 21st century school leaders and the need to be prepared for managing constant change. This chapter briefly discussed the flipped classroom and gamification as ways to engage students while encouraging collaboration, discussion, and hands-on experiences. Both of these strategies are on the higher education radar with the flipped classroom almost being old hat and gamification really entering into its own. The authors listed five trends in technology in education and the one that stood out to me concerned open content and learning analytics. Taking a closer look at several Learning Management Systems, learning analytics have become prevalent features and are more robust than they were even three years ago, even if this is looking at data on a smaller scale. EDUCAUSE has dedicated discussions and content to the growing use of learning analytics for assessment, revision of programs, and improving retention and graduation rates.

Part Two | Chapters Five and Six | "Leading 21st Century Schools"

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Part II of Leading 21^st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology Engagement and Achievement consists of the final four chapters and is focused on considerations for 21^st century teaching and learning. This post provides insights and reflection from chapters five and six.

Chapter five examined technology planning and the need to be purposeful, collaborative, and strategic when making technology-related decisions. The authors suggested performing a technology audit and offered some considerations when planning for one. Assembling a technology team was an important part of the planning process. I thought about the equivalent here where I work and was able to relate the technology team to a combination of our Center for Teaching and Learning and the faculty Technology Committee. Together they work to ensure the classroom technology is meeting the needs of the faculty. The Information Technology department works with this group as well, but it also responsible for student technology needs.

Tools for teaching were also discussed in this chapter. The authors considered items such as interactive white boards, digital and still video cameras, and MakerSpaces. The latter caught my eye and lead me to think about how these have reached k-12 education. MakerSpaces, whether you call them that or not, have always been part of libraries. With the advent of 3-D printing these spaces which used to consist of arts, crafts, Legos, and more now feature technological components as well. Kids or adults can build small robots, print a model for a school project, and plan the redesign of their house. MakerSpaces are great additions to the k-12 schools as they can be used to inspire creativity, foster inquiry, and develop confidence in the students.

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Chapter six explored Web 2.0 technologies, which by now are old hat. Web 2.0 has evolved into Web 3.0 which seeks to connect data, concepts, and people. Much like MakerSpaces, Web 2.0 tools promote collaboration, interaction, and creativity. They are mostly free, cloud-based so they can be accessed anywhere from a computer connected to the Internet, and creations are easily shared on social networks, blogs, and websites. These tools have been around for a while now, so the current discussions are not focused on how to use the tool, in other words how to make it work, but how the tool can be used by technology leaders to enhance their teaching, learning, and communication. The bulk of this chapter focused on examples of how k-12 teachers and administrators used things like Twitter, blogs, podcasts, and bookmarking software to teach, learn, and share information. Discussions about the best use of these tools are at the forefront of online education. Because they are readily available and for the most part easy to use, faculty are looking for ways to enhance content and pedagogy with technology.

Part One | Chapters Three and Four | "Leading 21st Century Schools"

Part I of Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology Engagement and Achievement consists of the first four chapters and is focused on leading 21st century schools. This post provides insights and reflection from chapters three and four. 

“The more we connect, the more we learn” 

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Chapter 3 of Leading 21^st Century Schools focused on ways school leaders could use technology for professional development and to enhance communication and collaboration with teachers, parents, and other administrators. In order to gain and share knowledge, the text suggests developing a personal learning network (PLN) to share ideas with other instructors, locate free resources for students, crowd surf for answers to problems, and to keep up-to-date with education news. PLN's can generate a lot of information at one time, so it is important to develop a plan for interacting with your PLN at the same time your are developing it. For more information on building a PLN check out this presentation Lori Reed and I gave at the NC Library Association conference in 2013. 

Schrum and Levin suggest communicating with teachers and parents through websites, blogs, podcasts, social media, and wikis. One of the best things in this chapter is a list of possible blog topics for administrators to share with their constituents. Some of these ideas include keeping a log of the things you are learning as a school leader, showcasing student artwork and creative writing, and posting links to books or articles to encourage conversation (55). At this point in time, it would be difficult to find an administrator who has not heard of these tools listed above -- it is what to do with them that still presents room for education.

Chapter 4 looked at legal, safety, ethical, and curricular considerations for school leaders. Many of the topics discussed did not pertain to me in higher education, so I chose to focus this post on those that are useful to me. Table 4.1 offers fair use of educational materials. As a librarian and educational technologist, I get a number of questions pertaining to fair use so this table may be a useful tool. Here are additional websites to check out on fair use: Purdue University Libraries and Stanford University Libraries.  Another useful piece from this chapter is a chart that helps a student with digital literacy, in this case how to recognize an advocacy webpage. The questions contained in this chart will be useful for creating an information literacy LibGuide on evaluating websites.