My portfolio uses ISTE's 2009 Technology Standards for Administrators1
as a framework for presenting examples of my work. I offer my interpretations
with examples for each standard below. (The links embedded within the text open new windows
- please close those windows to return here.)
Click to play or stop
I. Leadership
Performance Indicators:
Educational Administrators inspire and lead development and implementation of a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology to promote excellence and support transformation throughout the organization.
a. inspire and facilitate among all stakeholders a shared vision of purposeful change that maximizes use of digital-age resources to meet and exceed learning goals, support effective instructional practice, and maximize performance of district and school leaders.
b. engage in an ongoing process to develop, implement, and communicate technology-infused strategic plans aligned with a shared vision.
c. advocate on local, state and national levels for policies, programs, and funding to support implementation of a technology-infused vision and strategic plan.
Achieving comprehensive integration of technology requires
skilled leadership, serious professional development, and
student/parent buy-in. The Chief Information Officer is responsible for setting
strategy, engaging talent within the institution, creating
operational efficiency, and generating an educational return on the investment. The CIO should communicate a concrete vision for improving learning and institutional operations, and be able to
build collaborative relationships among key
stakeholders. Being grounded in the intricacies of both teaching and technology is critical. Understanding
research and best practices is important,
as is familiarity with
leaders and theorists
in the discipline. Evaluating and drawing on the demonstrated
successes of other schools saves time and money. The key
elements for leadership success are: vision, planning,
budgeting, stakeholder buy-in, effective professional development, data-driven decision-making, and ongoing assessment.
My examples
Articulating Vision Leaders must articulate a concrete vision of goals and
objectives so stakeholders can understand and work towards the institutional
mission. I developed this slide-show of technology integration examples in
order to show real examples of the "seamless integration of technology" that we are
working towards in our one-to-one tablet computing initiative at Battle Ground Academy and at my previous position at Norwood School. Various slides illustrate differentiated
instruction from upper school down to kindergaten with unique tablet capabilities, multimedia engagement, and educational software.
I have presented this vision for trustees, faculty, and civic groups. I also created online videos of teachers talking about the tablet initiative, in order for stakeholders to better understand our educational goals. When I was working at the Norwood School I wrote a
"Day in the Life" scenario as part of our technology plan to
describe a vision of how technology becomes an integral part of the educational
experience.
Planning Technology & Documenting Processes At Battle Ground
Academy there was virtually no technology planning, budgeting, or infrastructure documentation when I arrived. I implemented the use of a wiki to document our plans, goals, meetings, and all processes. It grew into a comprehensive site that includes all critical information on annual processes. This screen-shot of our private wiki shows its table of contents. Besides being collaborative, the wiki allowed us to hyperlink between relevant documents. I also established the use of a server share for our department to have a central location for internal files which related to the entire department (rather than having each individual keep their own documents that no one else could access.) Based on a similar document from Norwood School, I developed our network documentation, the table of contents of which is viewable here. I also oversaw the virtualization of our core servers and ensured the integrity of our back-up processes. I also facilitated consultants in analyzing our network to improve throughput.
Leading the
educational integration of the one-to-one tablet program at Norwood School gave me extensive experience with curricular integration and professional development. This technology plan from 2004 shows how we approached using technology, long-term goals, and overall vision. I worked with all departments and the curriculum and professional development committees to implement the technology plans. Having widespread stakeholder involvement was a critical factor for success.
Budgeting Technology: ROI vs. TCO In my current position I manage all aspects of the technology budget. Based on a spreadsheet created by Susan Stadnik at Norwood School, I developed
this
budgeting spreadsheet to accurately track technology spending
in all areas, and to forecast expenditures three years out. [If you are interested in using an Excel version of this PDF file, please contact me.] I research and select
vendors, make purchasing decisions, track invoices, and reconcile
spending with the general ledger. The budget
is split between operating costs [administrative software,
network software, non-capitalized hardware, maintenance agreements, website,
and telecommunications] and capital costs [infrastructure, cabling, servers, PCs, network switches, and other hardware assets]. Analyzing
the total cost of ownership of equipment and initiatives is
critical to long-term planning and execution. Weighing the TCO
against return on investment is more challenging in education
than business because educational "returns" are less tangible.
Managing Employee Teams
At BGA I supervised an eight-person technology team which included the network administrator, imaging specialist, hardware repair specialist, help desk staff, educational technologists, and computer instructors. I also facilitated the technology-related professional development of 120
teachers and staff. In leading the technology department I
believe it is crucial to establish a service-oriented,
team-based approach. Each individual has an area of expertise,
goals, and objectives. We meet weekly to communicate issues, set
priorities, make decisions, and solve problems. Facilitating this team-effort requires significant organizational and interpersonal skills. I believe in
managing by objectives, establishing clear expectations, open
lines of communication, and positive approaches to employee assessment. I
also help interview and train new teachers and staff
members. I helped write our staff evaluation instruments,
and have incorporated technology goals into each employee's professional development plan.
Mentoring "Teachers of the Future"
During the 08-09 and 09-10 school years I have been serving as the mentor for the National Association of Independent Schools
"Teachers of the Future" project.
These two cohorts of teachers were selected from across the country to help seed a new online community for NAIS.
Each teacher is doing innovative work and achieving excellence in his/her classroom. The Teachers of the Future website
includes a collaborative blog and
profiles of each teacher with embedded videos. It is intended to share these teachers' knowledge and experience more broadly.
I mentor the teachers through email, phone, and online conferencing.
Leading this project has given me new insight into building
online community, and working with teachers integrating technology
in a variety of school settings.
Teaching Teachers Teaching at the
graduate level has given me new insight into leadership, because
working with these students requires
facilitation based on
adult learning theory
in order to achieve buy-in. In
this setting, interpersonal skills and rapport-building
take on greater importance. I taught the
following courses
for Johns Hopkins in the graduate program for educational-technology:
Integrating Technology into Teaching,
Instructional Design of Multimedia,
Web-Based Mentoring &
Coaching, and
Designing & Delivering eLearning Environments. Developing and delivering these courses has
raised my ability to plan, implement, and assess long-term
professional development. I used
wikis, blogs, and other online tools with these classes.
I used the Blackboard course management system and Johns Hopkins "Electronic
Learning Community" for "hybrid" and fully online delivery
of these courses.
Administering Apple Computers I was the technology
coordinator for North Country School & Camp Treetops in Lake
Placid, NY from 1995-2000. In that role I was responsible for all aspects
of that institution's technology on an Apple-Macintosh platform. This list
shows some
of the major projects I executed in that position. For example, I
successfully applied for and secured eRate funding over multiple years. That process includes
technology plan development and approval, vendor RFP and
selection, eligibility determination, receipt, and invoicing of
services. The extensive website which I built for NCS was used from 1996 until
2006. It is accessible from the Archive.org site. The current website can be viewed
here.
Educational Administrators create, promote, and sustain a dynamic, digital-age learning culture that provides a rigorous, relevant, and engaging education for all students.
a. ensure instructional innovation focused on continuous improvement of digital-age learning.
b. model and promote the frequent and effective use of technology for learning.
c. provide learner-centered environments equipped with technology and learning resources to meet the individual, diverse needs of all learners.
d. ensure effective practice in the study of technology and its infusion across the curriculum.
e. promote and participate in local, national, and global learning communities that stimulate innovation, creativity, and digital-age collaboration.
I have worked with teachers in every subject area,
planning and
implementing technology-enhanced lessons to
support core curricula to maximize student
learning outcomes. The challenge in managing a classroom of students, each with a
computer,
is to channel their engagement with the technology
into effective learning experiences. Our students often work
on multimedia projects to address
learning objectives in diverse ways. As students
engage in this creative process they make
decisions, solve problems, and synthesize
information to achieve project goals. Well-designed
educational
applications and lessons deliver differentiated instruction by
allowing students to take divergent and self-paced paths to
success. We strive towards active learning, collaboration,
and knowledge-construction with an emphasis on higher-order thinking skills. I develop a strong understanding of each
teacher's goals and curriculum, and then support and
bolster these goals through the use of educational
technology.
Digital-age learning tools extend and enrich the instructional
process, enabling new ways of delivering content,
demonstrating learning, and assessing performance.
My Examples
Teaching Online With Elluminate Teaching online requires new skills
and competencies of both the instructor and the students. This
2-minute video clip shows me facilitating an online
classroom. It is from one of my synchronous online classes
for Johns Hopkins. It illustrates some of the capabilities
of the Elluminate software which include: video of the
instructor, participant feedback, audio, whiteboard,
web-tour, etc.
Tablet Computing
I began piloting a tablet computer in
2004 to determine its educational value. I decided that it is a
superior device because in many situations pen-based
entry is easier than keyboarding to record notes or
enter data. This
wiki page has the tablet rationale I developed. At Norwood School after piloting tablets with some teachers in 2005, we transitioned
all teachers and our middle school students to tablets in
06-07. At BGA all of our upper school students use tablets. I've also been using Dragon Systems Naturally
Speaking
voice recognition software to dictate text. In fact, I'm using it right now! It's accuracy and speed are impressive.
Virtual Reality Educational Applications
One of the
emerging technologies for education is the use of virtual
reality environments. I researched and created
this web page to identify
current offerings in this area and to evaluate their potential
for improving student learning. I used Inspiration software to create a concept map on this topic while creating my report.
WebQuests as Instructional Tools I created this webquest template for teachers to use, and have presented webquest workshops for teachers to create their own webquests. Guided web inquiry with pre-selected sources is a useful learning tool, and teamed quests can support cooperative learning. Directions, templates, guidelines, and checklists scaffold the experience towards self-guided learning.
PBL Unit on Media Bias
This
instructional unit plan which I wrote uses a problem-based-learning
approach to engage teams of students in exploring the
issue of media bias from both liberal and conservative
perspectives. As with all of my instructional materials,
students learn by actively participating with the content
material in collaboration with other students. The teacher
is the facilitator of this process, and utilizes Gagné's Nine Events of Instruction.
Educational Administrators promote an environment of professional learning and innovation that empowers educators to enhance student learning through the infusion of contemporary technologies and digital resources.
a. allocate time, resources, and access to ensure ongoing professional growth in technology fluency and integration.
b. facilitate and participate in learning communities that stimulate, nurture and support administrators, faculty, and staff in the study and use of technology.
c. promote and model effective communication and collaboration among stakeholders using digital-age tools.
d. stay abreast of educational research and emerging trends regarding effective use of technology and encourage evaluation of new technologies for their potential to improve student learning.
The growth of "web 2.0" tools has allowed "communities of professional practice" to grow and prosper online.
I
facilitate the use of these websites as communications hubs and knowledge-management systems to
synthesize educational-technology information and to promote professional
development. I work with state
and national associations to address technology needs and
professional development of
independent school educators.
My Examples
National Networking Site for Educators In 2007 I created the "Independent School Educators" ning site as a way to connect with other technology using educators across the country and around the world. This site has grown to over 2700 members in the past two years. The site includes discussion boards, blogs, twitter, and much more. There are teachers, administrators, and heads of schools on this network. It includes "groups" for each subject area and for each grade level and administrative function.
Independent School Educators Wiki In 2006 I started organizing a wiki for school computing to document technology information being shared on the ISED-L list-serve. This collaborative knowledge-repository has grown to include 625 articles on topics including teaching with technology and technology infrastructure I've made 4,000 contributions to this wiki, and used it with one of my graduate classes to document technology integration.
Professional Collaboration
In 2006 I began working with the NAIS
21st century curriculum
task force. In 2007 we published a national guidelines document titled "Principles
of Good Practice" for technology use at independent schools. I led
the team in collaboratively using the School Computing wiki to brainstorm and edit through five iterations of this document. We are currently working on a project to provide guidance for schools moving towards online instruction.
I served for four years on the technology committee of the Association of
Independent Maryland Schools - AIMS. One of the
main functions of the committee was to plan an annual 3-day conference for professional development
[2004,
2005,
2006] . Some of the keynote
speakers whom we've featured include: Kathy Schrock, Tim Magner, Jim Moulton,
and David Warlick. As part of my work with AIMS I served on several accreditation committee teams doing the ten-year
accreditation visits
to Maryland schools. The team visits the school for three days to
evaluate all aspects of its curricula, program, and
governance to determine whether the school is
accomplishing its mission.
Technology Help Site I created
this website based on common questions
that people ask, in order to provide "just-in-time"
performance-support for my school community. It also links directly to Atomic Learning online tutorials for each of our software applications. At my previous school I set up a help site to address similar issues.
Educational Administrators provide digital-age leadership and management to continuously improve the organization through the effective use of information and technology resources.
a. lead purposeful change to maximize the achievement of learning goals through the appropriate use of technology and media-rich resources.
b. collaborate to establish metrics, collect and analyze data, interpret results, and share findings to improve staff performance and student learning.
c. recruit and retain highly competent personnel who use technology creatively and proficiently to advance academic and operational goals.
d. establish and leverage strategic partnerships to support systemic improvement.
e. establish and maintain a robust infrastructure for technology including integrated, interoperable technology systems to support management, operations, teaching, and learning.
I take an organized approach to systemic improvement using data and
organizational tools to implement policy and vision. In my current
role I work on improving both the hardware and the "human-ware" of the school. In other words, I work on
both the network infrastructure and also the professional development of faculty
and administrators. Supporting and managing school technology has become very demanding as it includes complex voice, data, and security networks. Our infrastructure includes an extensive network of servers with 1,000 wired and wireless clients requiring constant monitoring.
The educational environment is more taxing on technology infrastructure than corporate environments
because we have buildings full of roaming clients in a dense wireless environment, and a user-base of students and faculty who require flawless performance and extensive support. Our technology infrastructure enables the school's day-to-day operations by providing integrated communications and information on demand.
My Examples
Professional Development Database
I created
this database to track and assess professional development in
educational technology for all faculty and staff at
Norwood School. Data include technology training/workshops, self-reported goals, notes from meetings, proficiency level indicators,
degree info, etc.
I sort and analyze the data to identify strengths &
weaknesses and to guide planning for future professional
development. I
develop relationships based on shared goals. This
collaborative approach allows me to work with each individual to
improve practice and productivity.
Evaluation Plan&Research Review I wrote this evaluation plan ('05) to assess the impact of
ubiquitous computing at my school in its seventh year
of 1:1 laptop computing. In
writing this plan I studied the meaning of "meta-analysis" and created this presentation to share with
classmates in my graduate program. I wrote this research review to inform decisions regarding the direction of the technology program. I conducted this extensive literature review to ensure that all choices would be consistent with research on best practices and evidence-based conclusions.
Technology Skills Matrix I developed
this matrix of skills based on the
ISTE NETS for
Students, using each standard as a framework for
identifying and placing specific skill sets from grades
K-8. The matrix has helped me communicate the scope &
sequence of these skills to each set of grade level
teachers so that we can assess these skills. As we move forward with curriculum mapping we
intend to map these skills to specific projects that
happen at each grade level.
Curriculum Mapping Database
I worked with all stakeholders to initiate and implement
Norwood School's curriculum-mapping process using the
web-based application Rubicon Atlas. In addition to this database
for curriculum, we implemented a mapping database for
administrative functions to document the procedures and
recurring events of an administrative nature.
Project Management
In 2005 I concluded a major upgrade to Norwood School's primary
website
which I planned and managed over 18 months. I developed this
planning document
to specify goals and details, and also documented the
design chronology. The website integrated with
Active Directory for user authentication, Exchange
servers for calendaring, athletic system for
scheduling, and our student-information-system. I implemented an e-mail broadcast to all
families of
the school's weekly newsletter which
is also
integrated into the site.
Teachers post all homework assignments by emailing them to
a
Homework Website
which is a public folder on the Exchange server.
Intranet Organization Organized access to
individual and shared file storage on internal networks enables more efficient workflow. I worked to establish a
consistent and logical structure so that users can find the
resources they seek, and so that they will take advantage of file-sharing and collaboration rather than sharing all files via email. In addition to a "My Documents" directory, each teacher needs access to a department workspace, archival storage, individual public directory, email archives, and a shared institutional
workspace. Teachers can access their students' files and save
templates and resources for student use. Students have access to individual and shared
grade level workspace. I also established an organized
central repository for digital media and archives.
Educational Administrators model and facilitate understanding of social, ethical and legal issues and responsibilities related to an evolving digital culture.
a. ensure equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources to meet the needs of all learners.
b. promote, model and establish policies for safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology.
c. promote and model responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
d. model and facilitate the development of a shared cultural understanding and involvement in global issues through the use of contemporary communication and collaboration tools.
Since
digital resources are easy to download, copy, and distribute, it is important to teach our communities about intellectual property, fair use, and appropriate use of technology resources. I set policies and protocols to ensure that students and teachers gather and use information ethically, and access network resources appropriately. The safety of children using the Internet is also a key area of concern, especially in our one-to-one schools with wireless Internet access.
My Examples
Responsible Use Policy
I collaborated with colleagues to create "Responsible Use" policies for the schools where I've worked. My goal was to be comprehensive yet concise, and to use language that was easy to understand. We also wanted to complement the school's general expectation for behavior. Inappropriate behavior is governed by these expectations regardless of whether the behavior occurs in conjunction with technology use.
Keeping Children Safe Online
I created this area of the Norwood website to educate parents about online safety, and this page on the BGA website for the same purpose. There are suggestions for family rules, guidelines for Internet use, tips to help parents understand risks, and links to good resources on the web.
Copyright & Fair Use Guidelines
I compiled this web page from several sources to assist teachers and students in learning about intellectual property issues. Part of the challenge is simplifying information and presenting it in a way that people can grasp. Too often the key points are buried deep in a web page. One of my
information-literacy skills is the ability to filter out the important pieces, synthesize them, and present them in an easily understandable format.
In 2006 I began working with the 
