Jennifer N. Hudson, M.Ed.

EDIT 760 Brief Paper 3

Standard Performance Indicator

The third standard is excellence in professional practice. In this standard, educational

administrators promote an environment of professional learning and innovation that empowers

educators to enhance student learning. In doing so, educational leaders are to allocate time,

resources, and access to ongoing professional growth in technology and integration. Educational

leaders must also facilitate in learning communities that nurture and support administrators, staff,

and faculty. They must model and promote effective communication with all stakeholders using

digital-age resources. Educational research is constantly changing and educational leaders must be

aware of these changes and help implement those changes to improve student learning.

Personally, I believe this is the standard that shows how the implementation of the skill(s)

are being encouraged and promoted in the educational learning environments. Someone has to be

the educational leader who will facilitate and model effective communication using digital-age

resources. There must be a plan in place that empowers educators to want to continue to the use of

technology and become proficient in the area of technology.

Methods

As previously stated, a person must be in charge of helping undergo these changes. The

person I think who should help mandate the technology and other digital-age resources is the

person with the most training and knowledge of the resources. Currently, we have our librarian as

the designated person to go to for technology concerns. She has had training on the district level,

but I do not believe she has had any additional training. Over the years, many teachers also enroll

in technology courses during the summer months. Those classes assist teachers in the classroom.

I do not think it is a problem to have the librarian as the technology person, and I do believe the

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person should constantly and consistently stay abreast with the latest piece of software and devices

being used in the classroom.

Right now in Georgetown County, we are transitioning our classrooms to use

Chromebooks. My biggest concern is making sure our instructional leader is fully aware of the

ramifications that are involved with students using Chromebooks and how to troubleshoot

problems.

This year every third and sixth grader has a Chromebook that was assigned to them at the

end of the school year. The implementation of this Chromebook was designed to follow that

student until they have been promoted out of the school. Each school year, a new grade level will

have Chromebooks added. This sounds really good in theory. However, the school district literally

only ordered the exact amount of computers for each class. I specifically had two new students

enroll in the school year after the order was placed. Fortunately, when we worked on projects,

those two students used the laptops instead.

Evidences

Georgetown County School District decided to go through these changes to make sure we

could have 1:1 devices by 2020. According to the 1:1 laptop initiatives, there were many

computing initiatives taking place since 2005. The research shows that successful implementation

of laptop initiatives was shown to increase student engagement and motivation as well as improve

student achievement (Gulek & Demirtas, 2005; Holcolmb, 2009).

The school-wide email is simply an email database that connects everyone at our school.

As stated in the previous paper, we could send out a school-wide e-mail about the different

software programs being used frequently in classes. In doing so, this could help teachers and

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students access reliable and accurate information quickly. Teachers can learn how to incorporate

the technology software into their everyday learning and teaching. The instructional leader could

hold teachers and students accountable by having some type of small meeting or discussion about

what is working and what is not working.

Concern

This isnt a concern for the instructional leader, but I did have a child who had problems

typing with the keyboard. I think somehow the keyboard needed to be calibrated. Since this is a

new device in the school, I asked our instructional leader about the situation and she stated to

report it to get fixed. We are all learning how to use the software, and I think with practice we will

become more familiar. Each child receives their own login for their computer, so it makes it easier

to keep documents stored with the login information.

Discussion/Reflections/Reactions

I think excellence in professional practice is having someone in place that can help

students, staff, and other stakeholders use digital-age resources in a productive and effective way.

I believe the transition for schools to have 1:1 devices is a great decision from the district. I think

as a district we are making strides in the right direction. We must continue to have realistic

expectations and for us and for others. The educational leader should continue to attend workshops

and trainings to stay abreast of the educational research and new trends that uses effective use of

technology.

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Resources

Gulek, J.C., & Demirtas, H. (2005). Learning with technology: The impact of laptop use on

student achievement. The Journal of Technology, Learning and Assessment, 3(2), 1-39.

Holcolmb, L. B. (2009). Results & lessons learned from 1:1 laptop initiatives: A collective

review. Tech Trends, 53(6), 49-55.