https://www.edutopia.org/article/leading-way-technology-integration/
3 K E Y R E AS O N S T O B E A T E C H N O L O G Y L E AD E R
1. Being a technology leader helps you craft your school’s
mission and vision around technology. Many administrators
want their schools to lead the way with technology, but
there’s a disconnect if the administrators themselves don’t
know how to use the technology.
It can be extremely frustrating for teachers when there’s an
expectation for them to use technology in their classrooms
and administrators don’t use it themselves during staff
meetings, etc. Consider being a technology leader so that
you can model and explain how to use different tools on your
campus.
Routinely working with the same tools that your faculty and
staff use gives you the opportunity to craft realistic
expectations for how hardware (tablets and computers) and
software (word processors and multimedia presentations)
can be used. If you find that technology use doesn’t align
with your school’s mission and vision, consider meeting with
teachers to find out what support they need in order to use
technology in a way that connects to your school’s goals.
2. Being a technology leader clues you in to what your
faculty and staff are doing with technology in their
classrooms. I once spoke to a principal who had no idea that
an entire grade level purchased a personal license for a
video-creation service despite the fact that one was already
available in the school’s set of tools. Both the teachers and
the principal were unaware of the existing service, and I was
the one who informed both parties that the district had
already paid for a tool that they could have been using.
That was a disappointing and avoidable situation given the
multiple (and often expensive) technology licenses that
some schools buy; it was especially upsetting due to the
realization that a principal didn’t know about an important
project that an entire grade level was working on.
Awareness of the lessons and activities happening on
campus helps administrators figure out how teachers can
effectively use the technology that’s already available to
them.
3. Knowing the technology tools that your faculty/staff uses
helps you assess their needs. The positive outcome of the
previous scenario was that the principal realized there was a
campus need for a service and was able to renew the
license for the platform that the school already had. The
principal also invested in training so that teachers kne w how
to use the tool. Now, that principal conducts an annual
technology needs assessment and ensures that there is time
for teachers to explore the tools that are available to them.
AS K 3 Q U E S T I O N S T O B E C O M E A T E C H N O LO G Y L E AD E R
1. How can technology help to innovate at our
school? Administrators play a big role in setting expectations
for technology use on campus. However, technology is not
just about the tools that your teachers use—it’s also about
how technology can elevate academic instruction.
Think about the different types of tools that your teachers
are using—or can use—to enhance learning goals and
outcomes. For example, instead of waiting for students to
raise their hands to share their thoughts, teachers could use
a tool like Pear Deck for anonymous responses to increase
student engagement during class discussions.
2. How do I want my teachers and students to be using
technology? As you are your school’s instructional leader,
this is perhaps the most important question to ask yourself.
How does the use of educational technology align with
curriculum, student learning goals, and assessment? How
can educators use educational technology to improve
learning goals?
This may require additional support, and that’s OK! Consider
assembling a team of teachers, families, other
administrators, and students to determine how technology is
currently used and how they would like to use it in the future.
The team can start with class visits to identify the technology
teacher leaders in the school—those who innovate their
instruction with technology. Next, consider sending a survey
to students and families to gauge their feelings about current
technology use and to ask if they’d be interested in joining a
team to identify how to best use it in the school.
Questions can include the following:

How do I/my students best learn using technology?

What three things do you like about how technology is
used at our school?

What three things would you change about how
technology is used at our school?
3. How can I model best practices as an administrator? If
there’s an expectation for your faculty and staff to use
technology, it’s also important for you to model best
practices for it. Consider conducting an assessment to learn
what types of tools your teachers are using so that you can
begin to use them during professional development, staff
meetings, and faculty discussions. This helps to build up the
school community through intentional action and
demonstrates a consistent unified approach to technology
tools that ultimately provide educational benefits for
students.
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2006/10/6-strategies-help-principals-become-technologyleaders
Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on computers and training during the past
few years, technology is still the instructional stepchild in many of our schools. It’s valued
as an enrichment tool, but is used only as time allows and after the “real” instruction is
finished.
Though the classroom teacher obviously plays an essential role in a successful technology
integration, the principal’s support and leadership are crucial for technology to be
integrated into a school’s instructional program and culture.
How can a principal become a technology leader? Many principals have difficulty finding
enough time to become the instructional leader of their school, much less a technology
promoter. Some principals may also doubt their technology knowledge and skills, and
others may question whether classroom technology can really improve test scores.
The following are some key strategies that can help to overcome these barriers.
ESTABLISH THE TEAM
The principal should first identify teachers who have already embraced technology and are
excited by its potential.
Pam Quebodeaux, principal of Dolby Elementary School in Lake Charles, La., established a
technology leadership team and “asked two or three of the most technology-savvy teachers
to serve on the committee [with] representation from all grade levels and departments.”
ASSESS FACULTY’S NEEDS
The next step is to assess the faculty’s technology strengths and needs, which will drive the
school’s staff development efforts. Several online educational technology skill surveys can
provide such information. The leadership team can then target the areas of need and
provide appropriate staff development and follow-up.
MODEL TECHNOLOGY USE AND PRACTICES
The traditional role of the principal has been to manage the school’s day-to-day operations.
But in today’s world, principals are also expected to be architects of change by modeling
and encouraging effective practices.
As Curt Anderson, the instructional technology specialist for the Millard Public Schools in
Omaha, Neb., points out, “Principals still need all the other qualities that have always been
associated with leadership, but if they don’t stay current with technology, principals may
lose the respect of those around them.”
Some principals may be unsure about their own technology knowledge and skills. Although
technology training for teachers is an integral part of most school districts’ staff
development efforts, similar programs for principals are rare.
One program that has been very successful is the Louisiana Department of Education’s
LEADTech model. This is an intensive, technology-rich staff development program for
Louisiana administrators.
Principals should model effective technology use on a daily basis. That demonstrates to the
faculty that they value the efficacy of technology in performing everyday tasks and makes it
evident that the principals are personally embracing the initiative.
Principals can model technology by using presentation software such as Microsoft
PowerPoint for faculty meeting presentations. Quebodeaux of Dolby Elementary takes an
active role in modeling technology by personally providing training.
“When I first became principal,” she recalls, “I taught snippets of technology through
‘Techie Moments’ at faculty meetings.”
Alison Andrews, principal of W. O. Hall Magnet Elementary School in Alexandria, La., says
that “the principal should spend time in the class assisting, even if it is just passing out
computers or helping students log on.”
Karl Carpenter, the principal of Carter C. Raymond Middle School in Lecompte, La., takes
that approach one step further. He uses a Tablet PC to perform walk-through classroom
observations and then e-mails the completed observations to the teachers.
RECOGNIZE EFFECTIVE I.T. USE
Some principals doubt the effectiveness of classroom technology in improving learning and
test scores, so they need to be assured that IT can effectively support curriculum standards.
“Even if the electronic lesson mirrors a lesson already taught through conventional means,
more learning styles are stimulated using visuals or hands-on opportunities,” Carpenter
says.
Staff development programs such as LEADTech can help principals recognize effective
technology integration, giving them the confidence they need to go into the classroom and
evaluate technology usage.
If the principal sees a multimedia presentation, can he or she assume that technology is
being used effectively? The first rule is to make sure that lessons focus on student
outcomes and not on the technology by asking, “Would the lesson still be good without the
technology?” While technology can make a good lesson better, a poor lesson with
technology components is still a poor lesson.
Len Scrogan, director of instructional technology for Boulder Valley School District in
Boulder, Colo.,
points out that principals may not always view technology as an effective instructional tool.
“There is often a disconnect between the priority learning goals in a school and how
technology is being used,” he says. “If and when the gap between technology use and the
academic priorities of the school is bridged, more principals will get on board.”
ENCOURAGING EXCELLENCE
The principal has a major role in ensuring that the culture of the school is one of change
and innovation that values both technology and teaching excellence. To encourage
excellence, the principal may ask a teacher to present a good lesson or, even better, a video
snip of a good technology-supported lesson at a faculty meeting. (For other suggestions to
encourage excellence, see “Want Tech-Savvy Teachers? Try These Tips ” on page 20.)
Principals should make an effort to encourage teachers to integrate technology into the
classroom, and they should do it in a nonthreatening manner. Andrews of W. O. Hall
Magnet Elementary School says the principal “needs the faculty to know that they have a
window of opportunity to explore, make mistakes and ask for assistance without
reprimands or evaluations from an administrator.”
Furthermore, the principal should help stressed teachers understand that technology is not
one more thing to do on top of what they are already doing. Rather, it is a more engaging
and effective way of teaching certain content and reaching more students.
PROVIDE SUPPORT AND TRAINING
Andrews stresses the importance of support and follow-up training: “The most damaging
mistake when asking faculty to implement a new technology program is to provide training
and then throw it out there with a directive to ‘do this,’” she says.
“In most cases, those who can, will try it to some extent. Those who can’t will drown, and
eventually the whole program begins to fade.”
To avoid this, she adds, “the ongoing support must be long-lasting, useful and readily
available to the teacher — not three days after the lesson is over.”
Regardless of its form, support should be ongoing. Principals must help the faculty realize
that they have the full support of the administration and that technology use in school is
not just another passing fad.
The path to a successful technology implementation is neither easy nor short. However, by
adhering to these guidelines, principals can help to ensure a successful initiative. It’s well
worth the effort to create a collegial atmosphere in which the highest quality of teaching
and technology is both exercised and valued.
Bill Morrison is the director of technology for Rapides Parish School District in Alexandria, La.
He’s also the project coordinator for the Regional Teaching, Learning and Technology Center.
https://bricksteambuilding.com/top-5-
leadership-principles/