Technology+Facilitator+Standard+7

Self Assessment: In this chapter it discussed standard 7, procedures, policies, planning, and budgeting for technology environments. Throughout the chapter, it discussed the steps that are taken to provide technology for a campus and/or district. The first step or duty is to plan. Leaders and facilitators need to select technology that is aligned to their learning standards and also research based. Included in this step is budgeting, creating a time line, and arranging the technology. Under the arrangement of technology, it discusses the strengths and weaknesses in the arrangement of certain technology tools in and out of the classrooms. I found myself agreeing to the strengths and weaknesses of the chart on page 151, (Williamson & Redish, 2009). This chart describes the strengths and weaknesses with having desktops in computer labs. This is an issue that my campus deals with on a daily basis. We as classroom teachers are unable to find time to use the labs or we are limited to its use and we don't know if the students are getting what they need according to the content standards. When it comes to budgeting we need to look at all the components that are necessary to ensure the access to technology. We need to look at total cost of ownership, which includes the cost, implementation, and maintenance, instead of just the initial costs (Williamson & Redish, 2009). Constructing a time line that we can project the time required for this implementation is key also. The next step is acquiring the technology and service that we have chosen is procurement. Included in this is the purchasing requirements, this includes either getting an RFQ, RFP, or just a negotiated price. The next step is to implement the new technology. In this stage the technology is delivered and integrated into the school. One part of implementation that is a challenge is the training and support of users. There are 5 kinds if technical assistance that is necessary. According to Singh and Means, (n.d), these 5 include helping in planning for technology uses and acquisitions, providing training in how to use new hardware and software, providing demonstrations and advice on how to incorporate technology into instruction, providing on-demand help when software problems or hardware failures arise, and performing low-level maintenance on the system. The last step in this process is maintenance. As a technology leader that wants a good technology program we need to provide ongoing support for classroom teachers and other technology users. From this chapter I learned the process that one must go through to implement new technology into a school setting. I did not realize that so much went into making the decision to purchase technology. I feel that I am now more informed and understand better the process of making such a key decision when it comes to implementation of technology.

Learn as Learner: I felt that this chapter gave so much information but yet it was at a high level of interest so it read fairly easy. This reflection was a little difficult to complete in the fact that I had problems finding references to help me support thoughts and ideas.

Lifelong Learning Skills: As a leader I can use what information that I learned in this chapter to make better decisions and be able to support my ideas of what technology that I think will fit best in certain school settings. The key thing that I will keep in mind is that in order to find technology that will be beneficial I need to make sure that I keep the teachers in mind and involve them in the decision process. I have learned throughout the process that communication skills are very key when making a big decision. If teachers feel that they have had input then the technology will have more meaning to them and they will not feel that it has been pushed on them. If we as leaders involve teaching colleagues then our research will have far richer inquiry experiences and this will help make a more informed decision, (Dana, 2009).

References: Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge. American Association of School Administrators

Singh, R. & Means, B. Challenges and Strategies in Using Technology to Promote Education Reform, (n.d), A Research Project Sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. retrieved from []

Williamson, J., & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards. Washington, D.C: International Society for Technology in Education