Reflection On Instructional Leadership

Instructional leadership was a course that forced me to focus on some issues that may be overlooked as a future leader. As a future principal, I always believed that my main function was to focus on what teachers are doing in the classroom. This course forced me to look at the role of a principal in a different light. As a instructional leader it is my obligation to ensure that technology is used efficiently and legally. Some of the topics that were talked about, from an administration standpoint, is copyright infringement, cyber bullying, inventory tracking, and blogging. As a principal, all of these things are vital to the education process.

When I first took this class, I envisioned this class being about how to ensure teachers are teaching, but the class was the complete opposite of what I thought it would be. The course should be titled technology leadership, even though I can see how it encompasses instruction. As a result of my miscalculation of what the class would be, I achieved different outcomes (which is not a bad thing). One of the major things I will take with me, is the importance of using the best technology to keep track of equipment. I never knew that schools lost so much money on lost equipment. By not taking this kind of threat serious, administrators could drain huge amounts of the schools budget replacing equipment.

I do wish we could have spoken more about how the principal's facilitate technology use in their schools. The action plan touched on this, but I think we could have dug deeper into this topic. Speaking of the Action plan, it was a great activity. It forced me to evaluate data to figure out what our school was weak in, and come up with solutions to address the problems. One of the items I decided to use was the STaR Chart. The STaR Chart provides data on how teachers are using technology in the classroom, and the level of expertise they have using technology. After evaluating my schools information, I had to determine what would be the best plan of action to address the needs of the staff. This took me a while but I think it was a great activity, and it should be continued.

The one part of the class that I did not like was the number of quotes from the readings. I always read the readings, but I found myself spending more time on the quotes than the actual assignments. When our group focused on one or two quotes, I found that the discussions were much better and more meaningful. It seems like when we added more, the comments were shorter, and had less substance.

One thing that forced me to look at how I do things, was the different ways to break the law through copyright infringement. Every school should post portions of that article in the faculty work room. I have seen violations of copyright law by teachers and administrators, and I have been guilty of a few of those myself. The best way to work on this is to educate our teachers on the dangers of this practice. Students also need to be taught that it is not a victimless crimes, and we as teachers and administrators should set a good example.

This is my first ever blog, I am not sure who will read it besides my professor, but I believe it can be a useful tool to use in the classroom. Student's can blog about the State of the Union address, or maybe a movie that is related to a topic covered in class. Blogging is a useful tool, it just needs to be monitored and constantly updated. I am looking forward to using this tool, as a teacher and future administrator. As an administrator, I would use this tool to allow teachers to chime in on some of the problems in the school. This would give teachers a way to voice their opinions, or enter into meaningful dialog. Blogs do present everyday problems. Anyone can create a blog, it can be used to spread false information, or it can be used to bully other students. As an administrator it is our responsibility to make sure everything possible can be done to keep our students safe from the dangers of blogs.

This class has shown me that I really need to work on implementing more technology into my class. I have used technology in a manner that will allow my students to work on thought provoking lessons. The way I have used technology in my class has not really challenged my students. I have found that I am a immigrant to the world of technology, and I will have to get on the same page with the natives. I will implement blogs in my class, and I will allow my students more ownership of their work, by allowing them to have a say so in what type of activities they choose.

Overall this class was excellent. It provided me with valuable insight in to the world of educational technology. It forced me to look at some technology that may have been frowned upon, and use it as a valuable teaching tool. We have to take the good with the bad when it comes to technology, so it is important for teachers and administrators to be vigilant while are students are using these technologies.