Personal Leadership Action Plan

1. Personal Leadership Action Plan Vangi McCoy August 2, 2008 Dan Morris ADMN 4838

2. Preface In my current position, I provide technical assistance/coaching to teachers using a social-emotional program called The Incredible Years. This is a curriculum, and the only technology involved is the use of videos or DVDs to show short vignettes to spark discussion. Getting teachers to use the vignettes can be a bit of a challenge – one that I will address in my action plan. Other than that, the use of technology with others is not in my job description. However, I do teacher trainings that I create power points for, and can see where I can use wikis or google docs with teachers I work with. Beyond that, as time allows, I do have some freedom, and will work on creating some of the surveys and things in my action plan, in hopes of being allowed the flexibility to step outside my social/emotional box to give teachers an opportunity to have some positive experiences with technology in order to ultimately benefit the children. I did have some difficulties feeling confident fitting my ideas into the action plan slots, since I am not attacking this from an administrators point of view.

3. Essential Questions: How can the leader support teacher effectiveness to improve student achievement ? • The leader can provide support to teachers through providing reliable technical support, training opportunities, as well as opportunities for teachers to share with each other their uses of technology through professional learning communities , wikis, etc. What is a 21st Century school/district/teacher/administrator? • A 21st Century leader is one who stays abreast of what is happening in the realm of technology so that they can make teachers aware of new break-throughs that will benefit the students and their teachers. • They will seek opportunities to train staff so that teachers feel competent to use technology in their classrooms. • They seek funding to sustain their current technology, as well as to obtain new technology as it comes available.

4. My Next Steps • After identifying resources that are appropriate for ECE teachers, make those resources available to teachers, advocating for training time to do this. Some that I will be exploring and sharing include: Thinkfinity, http://ecetech.wikispaces.comhttp://realebooks.com (for using digital photos to make class books) , http://www.nwrel.org/request/june01/technology.html#usingand http://educate.intel.com/odyssey/StoryFinder.aspx?viewby=category

5. 2. I will need to do my research so that I am able to model effective use of technology, be aware of resources in order to share, begin dialogue in the ECE community about the appropriateness of technology use with young children and the implications, and identify experts who can serve as resources to the teachers in their use of various forms of technology, programs, etc.

6. 3. I will spend time going over the multitude of resources shared in this area – it is the area that I feel least comfortable with. Exploring these resources and learning all I can is my next step. I would like to develop a training based on what I learn, because I am guessing that this is the area that my teachers are least familiar with as well.

7. Strand 1 – Basic Technology Skills and Applications What skills, experience, and/or willingness can an administrator model in regards to using technology without having to be an “expert”?

8. III. Productivity and Professional Practice Educational leaders apply technology to enhance their professional practice and to increase their own productivity and that of others

9. Strand 2 –Leadership Skills How will you, as a leader and facilitator, help others focus on a vision that improves student achievement and facilitates continuous professional growth?

10. I. Leadership and Vision Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.

11. II. Learning and Teaching Educational leaders ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching.

12. IV. Support, Management, and Operations Educational leaders ensure the integration of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.

13. V. Assessment and Evaluation Educational leaders use technology to plan and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation

14. Strand 3 – Social, Legal and Ethical What systems and resources do you need in place to ensure that available technologies support and enhance the learning environment?

15. VI. Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Educational leaders understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible decision-making related to these issues.

16. Describe your greatest strength in helping to integrate ICT into practice in your school I have a solid understand of the basics of technology so I am not intimidated by it. I am usually able to think of ways to help others come to understand what I am teaching. I think creatively so can see possibilities, which will be crucial in working to integrate ICT into early childhood classrooms in my community.

17. Describe your greatest weakness in helping to integrate ICT into practice in your school I am not in an individual school, I work out of a family resource center so don't have a single school community to work with, which makes integration very tricky. I am not in classrooms often when technology is being used so mostly have to go on what I am told. So my challenge is more of integrating ECE and county wide!

18. Describe your greatest “personal” staff development need(s) in the area of ICT I am excited to find so many new tools , both to share with others and for personal growth. I think my biggest need is to slow down and organize the information as I get it so that it is easier to retrieve when I want to access it again.

19. Describe what you believe to be the greatest staff development need(s) of teachers in your school in the area of ICT • Inability to see the possibilities of what can be in the realm of technology in their classroom. • Lack of time for professional development, time for PLCs or even a chance to dialogue with colleagues.

20. Technology Tools you want to explore (software, hardware, Web 2.0, etc.) There are so many!! • Skypes (I downloaded it this weekend and now just have to get others hooked up! • Wikis (at least I know what they are now, I am excited about creating them) • Web 2.0 • De.lic.ious • Podcasts • Intel tools and resources

21. School resources and support you will need • There is no consistency in resources in the classrooms that I work with and the staff is varied in their knowledge and interest in utilizing technology.  Just like in this class some don't know the basics like cut and paste and some are quite skilled. Many classrooms don’t even have a single computer. I will need buy in from site administrators and time with teachers in order to move forward.

22. Postscript • I have learned a lot in this class. I love exploring new resources and finding ways to make them work for me. Even though much of what we talked about does not pertain to my current position, I know that I will find applications throughout my life, whether professional or personal. • I see so many possibilities!! Thank you! Vangi McCoy