Running Head: SHARED VISION & RATIONALE 1

Shared Vision and Rationale

Cara E. Humphries

ITEC 7410

Summer 2018

Chet Fuller
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Shared Vision and Rationale

Vision Statement

Muscogee County School District (MCSD) strives to create a “We”

mindset to inspire and equip all students to achieve unlimited potential. MCSD is a

beacon of educational excellence where all are known, valued, and inspired. The revised

mission statement of Reese Road Leadership Academy (RRLA) is to develop today’s

achievers into tomorrow’s leaders using the 7 habits, best practices, and technology

integration with Web 2.0 tools in every classroom for every student. Through the

implementation of Covey’s 7 Leadership Habits in every classroom, our school is

reflecting the vision of MCSD by building a community of “We” within our school. We

believe that every student deserves quality education. This will be provided by

technology integration through well-planned lessons that encourage critical thinking

skills and foster an environment of creativity. All teachers meet the needs of students

through differentiation, collaboration, and implementation of best practices.

Coaches must understand their principal’s vision and mission for school

improvement and principals must in return understand the interventions that their coach

has to offer (Knight, 2007). Coaches and administrators must work seamlessly in order to

carry out the vision of the school and the implementation of technology to minimize

obstacles that may arise.

Rationale

Several forms of data was collected during the course of developing a shared

vision for Reese Road Leadership Academy such as interviews, surveys, and informal
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communication. Administrators, general education teachers, and special education

teachers were included in data collection.

An informal interview was conducted between my principal and me (see

Appendix A.). It was concluded that Mrs. Long’s aspirations for how teachers and

students will use technology in the teaching and learning process is for technology to

eventually be one-to-one (personal communication, January 20, 2018). Principal Long

states that “21st century learning calls for technology in every classroom; Teachers must

be comfortable with implementing that technology” (personal communication, January

20, 2018). Administrators have worked diligently with the media specialist to ensure that

each classroom has at least 4-5 computers. The media center has tablets available for

checkout as well as a mobile lap top cart. RRLA also has two computer labs.

Administrators have been working on getting more technology into the building by

including technology into the school’s budget. At the end of the school year, we received

three carts of Chromebooks in the library for teachers to use in the classroom. Training

for all teachers on how to implement the use of the Chromebooks will take place at the

beginning of the school year during pre-planning (K. Long, personal communication,

June 21, 2018). The NMC Horizon Report (2013) describes the impact technologies

have on teaching, learning, and creative expression within schools before college. The

report mentions that cloud computing and mobile learning is on the rise in schools across

America (NMC, 2013).

The ISTE Essential Conditions include 14 crucial areas that are needed to

successfully implement technology in the classroom. These essential conditions include:

shared vision, empowered leaders, implementation planning, consistent and adequate

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funding, equitable access, skilled personnel, ongoing professional learning, technical

support, curriculum framework, student-centered learning, assessment and evaluation,

engaged communities, support policies, and supportive external context. I believe that

this framework would be essential in planning technology integration for coaches as well

as administrators. The survey questions that were completed through Google Forms,

were derived from ISTE’s essential conditions in order to get our school’s technology

integration status (ISTE, 2018). The answers from the survey questions were scaled as

followed: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree (see Appendix

B.).

After reviewing the survey results, it was concluded that stakeholders at RRLA do

not share the same vision for educational technology. Although the survey revealed that

teachers and administrators have access to adequate training for educational technology,

not all are skilled users of technology to improve teaching and learning. According to the

survey, all teachers and administrators are provided with technical assistance as needed.

Most participants agreed that students, teachers, and faculty lack in demonstrating real-

world use for technology to communicate with the community. According to the Theory

of Constructivism as it relates to teaching and learning, students must have real-world

experiences in order to create their own understanding and knowledge (Educational

Broadcasting Corporation, 2004). All participants also agreed that school policies,

financing, and reward structures are in place to support technology in teaching and

learning for all students, teachers, and other faculty members.

In conclusion, the main concerns are in the areas of proper technology integration

to improve teaching and learning, the fact that all faculty members do not share the same
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vision for educational technology, and the lack of real-world technology experiences to

communicate with the community. It is crucial that all stakeholder groups collaborate to

carry out the vision and create a plan that clearly states why and how technology will be

used to within the classroom (Sheninger, 2014). In effort to have the support of all

teachers and administrators, all faculty members will be trained on how to use Google

Apps and other Web 2.0 tools throughout the school year 2018-2019. The instructional

technology coach will provide tips and strategies for implementing technology as well.

After more in-depth training and modeling of educational technology, teachers should be

prepared to appropriately utilize Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Crompton (2015)

describes the most crucial goal for technology coaches is having visionary leadership. A

visionary leader inspires educators to have vision “in their use of technology and

developing a shared vision for positive, transformative technology use” in order to

successfully integrate technology (Crompton, 2015).

Diversity Considerations

“It only makes sense to harness the power of technology as a catalyst for authentic

engagement and application of concepts among our learners” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 134).

It is important for administrators, coaches, and teachers to consider the diverse needs of

all students when designing technology implementation. Students that come from low-

SES families often don’t get the same technology experiences as other students from

higher socio-economic status families due to the lack of technology at home

(Warschauer, Knobel, & Stone, 2004). Reese Road Leadership Academy, a Title I school,

addresses the needs of all populations, including low-SES families, by allowing parents

to check out laptops for students to use at home. There are two computer labs, at least 5
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computers and SMART board in every classroom, and all classes have the opportunity to

use the computer lab at least once per week. Personalized and blended learning takes

place in classrooms through the use of tablets and computers with programs such as

Smarty Ants (K-2) and Achieve 3000 (3-5). These programs allow students to work at

their own pace. Each time they complete an activity, the program moves them to the next

one on their level. These programs provide teachers with classroom data that allows them

to group students based on skill level. Teachers also use Envision Math and Reading

Wonders, which are both offered in printed format and digitally. Research shows that

blended learning increases performance of low-SES students (Schechter, Macaruso,

Kazakoff & Brooke, 2015). In addition to programs already in place through the school

district, all teachers at RRLA will be trained on how to implement Google Apps such as

Google Slides, Google Docs, Google Classroom, and Google Sites at the beginning of the

school year. In order to push students to the next level, we must provide them with a

variety of tools that will allow them to think critically and help them understand these

various tools capabilities (Sheninger, 2014).

The district provides assistive technology as needed for students with disabilities.

For example a student who requires voice-to-text assistive technology as a testing

accommodation as stated in his/her IEP, is provided the necessary equipment from

district personnel. In addition to this, teachers and students at RRLA already have access

to digital text for all reading and math materials. These online textbooks provide read

aloud and allow students to have access to all materials from home as well. Bowser and

Zabala (2012) state that providing digital text in multiple formats enables educators to

meet the needs of all students, including students with disabilities.

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Scott (2009) explains that technology may be geared more towards a certain

gender and that most media is geared towards males. The article also states that more

males pursue careers in technology than females. In effort to encourage all students to

participate in technology-related activities within the classroom, the RRLA media

specialist will implement coding lessons using Code.org and Legos during specials time.

She will also develop a girls only Robotics Club and a boys only Robotics Club, which

will meet bimonthly. Beede, Julian, Langdon, McKittrick, Khan, & Doms (2011) report

that men are more likely to land a job in the STEM profession than women. Thus, we

find that females are underrepresented in the STEM field. RRLA is on its way to STEM

implementation. A makerspace will be set up in the media center, as well as makerspace

kits that teachers will be allowed to check out to use in their classroom. The kits will

include materials for all students and corresponding literature to fit the lesson.

Makerspaces engage students to think critically, while using technology, math, and

literacy skills.

Reese Road Leadership Academy is a magnet academy, in which every grade

level except for Kindergarten has one magnet class. These classrooms will incorporate

technology research projects and online presentations. Most students in the magnet

classrooms exceed grade level standards and need to be more engaged while learning.

Through the use of some Web 2.0 tools such as Google Slides, Prezi, Glogster, Youtube,

and Edmodo, magnet teachers will be able to encourage critical thinking and problem

solving skills. By doing this, advanced learners will have the opportunity to reach their

full potential.
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Our school also serves a diverse population of English-Language Learners. Our

school has a full-time ESOL teacher. She works with students daily on vocabulary,

reading comprehension, and other skills that they are lacking in. The ESOL teacher will

utilize Google Translate and Google Docs to assist in communicating with parents and

students that speak very little English. The ESOL teacher will also support general

education teachers by providing strategies that can be used in the classroom. The ESOL

teacher will also have a link on the school website for parents that includes resources for

assisting their student at home.

Stakeholder Roles

Muscogee County School District “fosters a healthy organization where WE

embrace equity and diversity, WE hold ourselves and others to the same high standards,

WE commit to continuous learning and improvement, and WE treat everyone with

dignity and respect” (Muscogee County School District, 2017). MCSD strives to

communicate their vision with all stakeholders, which includes coaches, administrators,

parents, teachers, and students. Muscogee County is committed to transform teaching and

learning by signing the Future Ready Pledge to become a Future Ready District.

Muscogee County Superintendent, Dr. David Lewis, signed that pledge committing

MCSD to become a Future Ready School District (Muscogee County School District,

2017). In order to carry out the mission of the school district, Reese Road Leadership

Academy stakeholders will work together to accomplish transform teaching and learning

through the use of technology.

Administrators
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Administrators will communicate and manage the RRLA mission statement

through the use of Twitter. Twitter will allow administrators to send out real-time

information efficiently at any time, allowing all stakeholders including parents to receive

information as a text or Tweet (Sheninger, 2014). With the use of Twitter, administrators

will be able to create a transparent culture by sending out creative uses of technology,

lessons, and events that are being observed throughout the building, highlighting

teachers’ work (Sheninger, 2014).

Instructional Technology Coach

The instructional technology coach will be a resource for teachers and

administrators. She will provide professional development on how to implement Web 2.0

technology integration. The coach will also inspire and encourage teachers to use not

only technology, but best practices and the 7 habits in the classroom. Teachers need to

understand that technology is designed to support and enhance curriculum and state

standards, not to replace it (Sheninger, 2014). The instructional technology coach will be

available to model lessons for each grade level as needed. The coach will also maintain

the school website that includes resources for parents, information about the school

district, and links to teacher email.

Teachers

Teachers will ensure that the vision of RRLA is being put into action. They will

participate in professional development for implementing Google apps in the classroom,

Chromebooks, and other Web 2.0 tools throughout the school year 2018-2019. Teachers

will document the use of technology, best practices, and 7 habits in lesson plans.

Teachers should also help team members with ideas and implementation. In order to
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ensure that teachers reflect the administrators’ idea of being transparent, they will be

required to use Classdojo to communicate with parents daily not only about behavior, but

about classroom assignments and upcoming events. In addition to the training listed

above, special education teachers will also participate in additional training as it concerns

students with special needs. Special education teachers will support classroom teachers

by providing strategies for differentiation among all students and developing strategies

for technology integration with students with diverse needs. Teachers will also be

required to have weekly team meetings to reflect on strategies that were successful and

some that showed weaknesses. During these meetings, teachers will look at student data

and student work to help drive instruction. NMC (2013) states that learning analytics,

which is using student data efficiently with software to drive instruction, is a

growing trend in schools.

Students & Parents

Students and parents play an important role in carrying out the vision of RRLA.

It is the role of the parents to encourage their child to exhibit the 7 leadership habits at

school and home. Parents are expected to communicate openly with teachers and

administrators of any needs or concerns that they may have through email or phone.

Parents will also be able to communicate with their child’s teacher directly and quickly

through Classdojo. To ensure that our parents are involved in school activities, our

parents will be invited to participate in monthly PTA meetings. Parents will have access

to the school website that will include information about the school, resources, and

school district updates. The students’ role is one of the most important because the vision
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wouldn’t be possible without student cooperation. Students must do their best, be a

leader, and work hard at all times.

Reese Road Leadership Academy will provide a written copy of the school’s

mission statement and vision at the beginning of each school year that will be signed

obligating all stakeholders to participate fully. The school’s mission statement and vision

will also be available online on the school webpage.

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References

Beede, D., Julian,T., Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Khan, B.K., & Doms, M. (2011)

Women in stem: A gender gap to innovation. U.S. Department of Commerce.

Retrieved from

http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/womeninstemagaptoinnovation8311.pd
f.

Bowser, G. & Zabala, J.S. (2012). AIM for digital equity. ISTE, Learning and Leading

with Technology. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ982838.pdf.

Crompton, H. (2015). Know the ISTE Standards for Coaches: Visionary Leadership.

ISTE Education Leadership.Retrieved from

https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=375.

Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). Workshop:

Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. WNET/Education.

Retrieved from https://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/

ISTE. (2018). ISTE Essential Conditions. Retrieved from

http://www.iste.org/standards/essential-conditions#

ISTE. (n.d.) ISTE Essential Conditions Rubric. Retrieved from

https://www.softchalkcloud.com/lesson/files/I420WyNdPAKf8c/EssenCondRubri

c.pdf.

Long, K. Personal communication. January 20, 2018.

Long, K. Personal communication, June 21, 2018.

Muscogee County School District (2017). Technology Plan. Retrieved from

https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/Documents/InformationServices/Technology/M

CSD_Technology_Plan_2017_2020.pdf.
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NMC (2013). NMC Horizon Report: K-12 Edition. Retrieved from

https://www.nmc.org/pdf/2013-horizon-report-k12.pdf.

Scott, K. (2009). The New Digital Divide: Where are our girls. Retrieved from

http://www.niusileadscape.org/bl/the-new-digital-divide-where-are-our-girls-by-

kimberly-scott/

Schechter, R., Macaruso, P., Kazakoff, E. R., & Brooke, E. (2015). Exploration of a

blended learning approach to reading instruction for low ses students in early

elementary grades. Computers in Schools. Retrieved from

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07380569.2015.1100652.

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times.

SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.

Warschauer, M., Knobel, M., & Stone, L. (2004). Technology and equity in schooling:

deconstructing the digital divide. Educational Policy. Retrieved from

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5IMDFxQx2jtaWhlZjVYRGl5Sms/view.
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Appendix A.

Interview Questions for Adminstrator

1. What is the vision for the use of technology in your school? In other words,
describe the school’s aspirations and intents for how teachers and students
will use technology in the teaching and learning process.

2. How are the professional learning needs identified in your school? Are they
data driven?

3. What forms of professional learning are provided in your school? (study

groups, learning teams, book studies, workshops, mentoring, peer
observations, coaching, examining student work using protocols, lesson
planning, etc.) Is it mainly individual or collaborative? Explain.

4. What types of technology-related professional learning have been offered at

your school within the last year? (Ex: whiteboards, wikis, blogs, etc.)

5. Is the professional learning aligned to the school improvement goals? If so,

how?

6. What are the incentives for teachers to participate in professional learning and
to improve their practice?

7. Is professional learning offered that assists teachers in working with students

with special needs and those who come from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds? If so, describe.

8. In what types of collaborative school-wide professional learning teams do

teachers participate? How are these related to the school improvement plan?
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Appendix B.

Educational Technology Survey

The survey is a multiple choice with the following multiple choice answers: strongly
disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree.
1. Administrators, teachers, and other faculty members share the same vision for
educational technology.
2. Access to current technologies, software, and online collaboration is provided for
all students, teachers, faculty, and support personnel in each classroom and both
inside and outside the school and during and beyond the school day.
3. All faculty, teachers, and administrators are skilled users of technology to
improve teaching, learning, assessment, evaluation, and school management.
4. All faculty members are provided with timely, on-going, needs-based professional
development opportunities for technology, skill development, and application of
technology in teaching and learning.
5. Technical assistance is provided for all faculty members and students which
includes mentoring to enhance skills in managing classroom hardware and
software resources and facilitating effective instructional strategies to support
teaching, learning, communication, and collaborations.
6. All teachers and administrators are knowledgeable in subject areas they teach.
Technology-based curriculum resources that are appropriate in meeting content
standards are readily accessible and appropriately applied.
7. All teachers and faculty implement student-centered lessons (meaningful active,
cooperative, and project-based learning) that facilitate appropriate student use of
technology.
8. With administrator support, teachers model integration of technology and assess
regularly to measure the effectiveness of technology-supported teaching
strategies.
9. Students, teachers, and faculty demonstrate real-world use for technology by
connecting with the community.
10. School policies, financing, and reward structures are in place to support
technology in teaching and learning for all students, teachers, and other faculty
members.