Technology+Facilitator+Standard+VIII+Reflections

 Technology Facilitator Standard VIII requires educational technology facilitators to contribute to the shared vision for campus integration of technology, and foster an environment and culture conductive to the realization of the vision (Williamson & Redish, 2009). This can be a difficult standard to achieve as it requires both leadership and technical skills. Even the most well developed technology plan won’t ever be implemented without consensus from the campus community. As a technology teacher with years of experience in technology and technology education, I can develop and discuss a technical plan. This master’s program gave me the opportunity to cultivate my leadership skills so that I can confidently articulate my vision for technology education and lead my campus community into its implementation.

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 During my internship for the educational technology master’s program, I wanted to utilize my technical knowledge as a “digital native” in a position of leadership on campus. Specifically, I wanted to utilize technology to improve our school, its efficiency, test scores and graduation rates. According to the 2011 Horizon Report for K-12, “technology skills are critical to success in almost every arena, and those who are more facile with technology will advance while those without access or skills will not” (The New Media Consortium, 2011, p. 6). I was chosen to take part in a campus action plan committee, which evaluated several school issues and brainstormed solutions that we presented to school leaders. One action research area that I focused on was the development of more structured and diverse career and technology education courses. I documented research that proved that strong CTE programs strengthened test scores, lowered dropout rates and better prepared students for higher education or the workforce after high school. I outlined my vision for the improvement of these programs and through my documented research, convinced campus leaders that investing in technology programs would be an effective use of limited resources and promote interdisciplinary success. ======

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 During the master’s program, I was given several excellent suggestions for things that I could do to effect change in technology education. Several professors and even some classmates presented at TCEA, an annual technology conference in Austin. In addition, some even served on committees with TEA to assist in the development of course programming and technology integration in Texas schools. In the future, I would like to utilize my skills to reach a broader audience and potentially impact technology education on a state level or higher. This program has helped my colleagues and I reflect on our leadership skills, the current state of technology education and what needs to be done to move us forward to remain globally competitive and I am looking forward to exploring opportunities to further utilize the skills learned. ======

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The New Media Consortium. (2011). //The NMC Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition.// Retrieved March 11, 2012, from New Media Consortium: http://www.nmc.org/ publications/2011-horizon-report ====== Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE's Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards: What Every K-12 Leaders Should Know and Be Able to Do. Eugene: International Society for Technology in Education.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education