Session Two Blog Post

In my research for this blog post I came across a quote that I found to be especially pertinent, I have added it below.

"There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important. To manage means to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct. Leading is influencing, guiding in a direction, course, action, opinion. The distinction is crucial" - Warren Bennis

As many of my classmates have already posted there is to some extent a fine line between managing and leading and in many cases that line can be unclear. In my opinion it is safe to say that each involves the other to some degree. One can not be an effective manager without some basic understanding of leadership just as a good leader must have the ability to manage certain aspects of the job. While there is definitely a difference between managers and leaders I feel that many times that line can be blurred for a number of reasons and change change throughout the day.

Managers in my understanding simply do what needs to be done for the sake of getting it done. I think of this in terms of having a "to do list", a manager would likely only do what is on the list, nothing more. Whereas a leader would be more likely to complete the list and then go above and beyond doing things that would make the jobs of others easier. Essentially doing things for the greater good and success of the team.

In terms of personal experience regarding technology and the difference between leaders and managers I have a few sources to draw from. When I worked in Detroit because of their budget constraints, high rate of theft and destruction of school property, and the "management style" of the administration at that time, technology was not anywhere on the "list" of what was important to the success of the students, school, and district. Their focus was on working metal detectors, campus police, patrolling the hallways and parking lots, and maintaining the building (lights, water fountains, bathrooms, etc). While I understand the hesitation of the administration to make purchases when in their mind they would just be throwing away money, it seems to me that it was a decision based on the need to save money not the needs of the students. The administrator at the time was under pressure to keep costs down and enrollment up, he was very much into maintaining "status quo". Being that this administrator did not fully realize that advancements in technology would likely encourage student attendance and achievement, he was definitely more of a manager than leader in terms of technology. It is my understanding that this particular school has since been closed.

The administrator I work with now is completely opposite in terms of leadership style and views on technology. I consider him to be a leader in most every way; he is visible on campus, the students know and respect him, he is most always available to listen to requests for technology purchases and makes it a point (to the extent possible with our budget situation) to ensure that all students have access to said technology. Most administrators have a focus on the two main subjects (English and math since that is what accounts for their scores), however our prinipal seems to realize that English and math happens in other classes as well. For example I teach biology, earth science, and health - within my special education classes we focus on graphing, statistics, reading, and writing (my biology class just finished an essay) as well as the sciences and health. When I approached him earlier this year with a request for technology he wanted to know who would benefit, how it would be used, and to what extent it would improve my instruction and by December we were able to get LCDs and Elmos for our content area teachers within special education. He has made using and accessing technology a priority for both teachers and students at our site as well as the district level. Even with funding being virtually non-existant he has ensured that the core content area classrooms are equipped with LCDS, interwrite boards, scientific equipment, etc to the extent possible. Under his leadership we have instituted the Apple 24/7 program where select students recieve an Apple laptop for the year to be used in classes and at home to help these students become more interested in technology and learning. I could go on and on about how he has changed our school for the better in terms of technology (and other aspects as well) however, it is clear he is more of a leader than a manager and it shows in everything that has been accomplished in the four short years he has been with us.

Activity Log Session Two

1/19 Listened to podcast/ took notes, researched online difference between leaders and managers both in and out of education field for contrast, perused blogs of classmates.

1/20 Set up second appt with site technololgy coach - got cancelled - met with head of WASC for our site and reviewed technology plan, also discussed at great detail leaders vs managers in terms of previous principals at our site with her.

1/22 Researched possible ideas of first project, took notes and came up with several possibilities, reviewed blogs of classmates and took notes

1/23 Reviewed pod cast, posted responses to three peers, created my blog posts and activity log

Activity Log Session 1

1/13 - Listened to podcast/ took notes, reviewed syllabus, researched possible blog sites.
1/14 - Made initial blog post, looked online for book, thought about and made notes on potential projects
1/15 - Talked with tech coach at my school site regarding tech plan and survey from WASC, continued research on possible projects
1/18 - Added to first blog post, reviewed blogs of classmates/ posted three responses, talked with WASC coordinator on staff

Focus Area 1: “Using technology to increase our personal effectiveness in our own role as well as being a model for others to follow”
I believe that by exposing our students to technology and the variety of ways it can help make their lives (and ours!) easier. The majority of my students are low SES and do not have access to technology at home so the only time they are exposed to it is at school. It not only benefits school staff but the community as a whole when our students leave us and are able to enter the workforce already knowing the basics (but hopefully more than that) of technology. I have seen in my students that whenever there is new technology available they want to learn how to use it and that is beneficial for everyone. because it makes us all more effective. I also believe that as teachers we have some influence regarding what other teachers do in their own classrooms. For example, I was one of the first teachers in my department to begin using basic technology within my daily lessons. The students were immediately engaged and came to class most days wanting to know what was next. They would then go to their other teachers and talk about it. Those teachers then came to me asking what I was doing, was it easy to learn, set up, etc. I have found even the smallest steps toward technology benefits everyone!

Focus Area 2: “Communicating to others information about the effective use of technology including training and guiding others to use technology effectively”
I recently approached School Site Council (group in charge of deciding how money will be spent at our site) and asked for money to purchase basic upgrades to technology for our special education students. While I did not get everything I requested I was able to secure LCD's and Elmo's for the core teachers in my department. With the approval from the principal I then organized four small training sessions for our teachers to learn how to use this equipment effectively in their lessons. While I do not consider myself to be technologically advanced, I was able to guide them towards developing more technology based lessons while still focusing on the content and keeping student attention.

Focus Area 3: “Supporting the effective use of technology through planning for technology use, promoting technology use, staff development, infrastructure acquisition and upkeep”
Without a solid plan for technology use, development, and upkeep even the best intentions are of little use. I am hoping that through my projects in this class I can better understand where my district stands on this issue and what is being done to resolve the issues that seem to arise every year.

Session 1 blog post Course Orientation

I am hoping to complete all three required projects for this course. The first project I am considering doing involves research to practice. I have not yet decided what exactly I will do, however it will most likely include researching best practices for using technology with special needs students at the high school level. For the second project, I have a few thoughts though I am strongly leaning towards the idea of the barriers to technology survey. As my school is currently under review for WASC and preparing for their visit in March this is already something I have been working on and would like to incorporate into my work for this course. Being that the third project deals with supporting the use of technology, I am considering continuing to work on the school technology plan and refinement of our school's acceptable use policy if this is acceptable. Being that I am already doing most of these things for WASC, I am hoping I can use what I have already started as a starting point for the requirements of this course.