Loose Threads

Wikicommons Photo

This will mark the third year that I am teaching EDU 6270 - Leadership in Technology at Madonna University.

Even though the course has moved completely online, I still maintain class discussion assignments  through an online discussion board. This actually features my favorite content of the class as it allows me to bring up a rich variety of topics that I find interesting.

Needless to say, I actively participate in the discussion threads.

*This year, three of the forums are based on important sections from Eric Sheninger's book, Digital Leadership. One of the better ones ties into a Twitter assignment that I give my students. I teach practicing teachers, and it surprises me how few use Twitter for professional development and networking.

*A fourth discussion is based on the students' review of the Horizon Report by the New Media Consortium.

*Since it conveniently occurs during our semester, I also require students to register for the 4T Virtual Conference. They are required to share their take-aways.

*My favorite assignment is a bit more academic. Students are required to read a rare piece of scholarly research on the correlation between technology usage by school principals and the level of technology integration in their schools. Unfortunately School Technology Leadership: An Empirical Investigation was written in 2003 so the "indicators" for determining whether or not a principal models the use of technology are quite dated. For example, if a principal used email in 2003 it was considered evidence that he or she was in the vanguard of technology adoption. But still it's a great study and I ask my students to imagine that they were going to replicate it in 2015.  My question, to the students is what kinds of technology usage would distinguish a current school leader as modeling tech use? Interesting to consider.

I look forward to engaging with my students on these topics!

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

I'm staying home this Easter Break, and with no major household projects I have plenty of time to concentrate on some tech projects.

1) I am preparing for my spring/summer Leadership in Technology course at Madonna University.  This will be my second time teaching the course. However this time around it will be completely online.  I am already busy

"Ventures" by aconant

culling through my iTunes U course for multimedia materials.  I am also creating some new ones.  I will certainly miss the face-to-face contact with students but sense we all have "day jobs" being able to engage with each other through BlackBoard on our own schedules is a great convenience.  Laying out the course is a fun challenge.

2) Since my upcoming ISTE presentation is also concerned with technology leadership, I find myself thinking quite a bit about the topic. The presentation centers on leadership by example, but I now find myself interested in other aspects of technology leadership such as collaboration and transparency.  I am digging around online in those areas, trying to broaden the scope of my resources and knowledge.

3) In this space, I have recently discussed "Reviving M-Hub".  After two meetings with Kylie Meyer (who is taking the lead on this project until she goes abroad on her Fulbright Scholarship) we have decided that we will promote our site with a virtual career day.  With the help of our alumnae department, we will host some videoconferences that allow our students to careers. M-Hub will also show the students how easy it is to have their own customized career days any day they choose.

4) Finally, I have some professional development organizing to do during and immediately after Break.  Administration hopes to support our faculty as we transition from Moodle to Schoology.  At the last faculty meeting we had some great presentations on topics like rubric creation and digital testing.  We want to circle back to these topics and introduce new ones with some after-school workshops in May.  I am crafting a Google Forms survey to get input on how to best serve the needs of the teachers.

Lots to keep me busy, but busy doing things I enjoy.

The Old Professor

This summer I will turn sixty.  How odd that my professional career would have taken such twists and turns at a time of life when most of the folks at my last high school reunion had either talking about retirement or had already done so.

Two years ago I became an administrator at Mercy, and now I've decided to do a little moonlighting.  On Friday, I signed a contract as Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Teacher Education Department at Madonna University.  I'll be instructor for a small section of Masters Degree students in Leadership in Technology.

"Classical Scholar" CC photo by lisby1

I'm very excited to teach the course, and I feel like I do have some experiences to share in this area.  Nevertheless, it has been about thirty years since I attended a university class.  And though I logged lots of college classroom time as a student, those traditional academic qualifications have little to do with my new role.

I think that it is very telling that I find myself in this position due to factors like this blog, being an Apple Distinguished Educator, and my professional learning network.  

Ironically, many moons ago I entered (but eventually abandoned) a doctoral program in Instructional Technology-- a field so new at the time that my advisor pretty much had to create my program as we went along. I do not regret some of that coursework but of course it has little bearing on the course I will be taking.  What I view as my strong areas for Leadership in Technology have largely come through collaborations with folks like Lucy Gray, Katie Morrow, Tom James, Susan Smith, and so many others.

Well, this will be another fun challenge and I expect that I will learn more than I teach.