The Hi-Tech Teacher

This past weekend, my husband decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and wash our camper. This is quite a process and took ALL day. When he stopped to have lunch, I asked him if he was going to put on some sunscreen. He thought about it, but decided he would probably be alright. Boy did he regret that decision! You see, because it wasn't very hot, he didn't realize how much sun he was actually getting. By the end of a full day of sun exposure, he had a terrible sunburn! That evening, he said, "I should have worn sunscreen". When the weather is nice, you don't think about all the dangerous UV rays that you are being exposed to. I shared this story about my poor husband's sunburn as an analogy as to why we must intentionally protect our students when they are using the internet and creating their digital footprints. If we don't, someone could get burned! I think CoSN Standard 3D aligns with this. It states that educational leaders should model an...

Which field experience had the most significant positive impact on my growth as a technology leader? Hands down, it was the use of Twitter to develop a PLN! The CoSN standard that I felt aligned with this was Standard 4D - Promote standards for innovative teaching and learning that develop student proficiency in 21st century skills. By developing a PLN with Twitter, I was able to connect with experts in the field of educational technology. I learned about some fantastic tools and lesson ideas that I was able to implement in my classroom immediately. Here's a little more to my story... I used to think that social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, were just a way to connect with family and friends. Honestly, I can say that scrolling through Facebook had become one of those mindless things I did while waiting at the doctor's office or watching TV. I thought it was fun to see everyone's vacation pictures or to see what kinds of fancy food people were eating on their d...

Picure it. You are the technology coordinator for your school district. An administrator from one of the schools in your district has raised money for "technology" and would like to purchase student devices that are not on the approved list. The administrator is very excited about the purchase because by choosing this particular device, he feels that he is going to be getting a good deal.  There are some very difficult realities. The devices in question  are not part of the district's technology plan will not stay connected to the current wifi are not compatible with the mobile device manager would require a significant amount of time to set up and manage What do you do? Qualities of a successful technology coordinator include "being an effective communicator, successfully managing personnel, solving problems, seeing the big picture and effective time management" (Frazier and Hearrington, 2017, p. 148). Effective communication will be crucial in this particular ...