My portfolio uses the National Technology Standards for Administrators1 as a framework.
Examples of my work (with interpretation) are linked beneath each of the six standards. 
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I. Leadership and Vision.

Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
Seamlessly integrating technology into the culture of a school requires a carefully planned approach including administrative leadership, faculty involvement, and parental support. The technology leader is responsible for setting strategy, engaging the talent within the institution, creating operational efficiency, and generating return on investment. This leader should communicate a concrete vision for improving student learning and business operations, and be able to build collaborative relationships among key stakeholders. Being grounded in both educational pedagogy and the intricacies of network technology are critical. Understanding research and best practices is useful, 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 progress are: planning, stakeholder involvement, data-driven decision-making, ongoing assessment, and authentic professional development.

Examples

1.1 Providing Vision
Rationale: Leaders should articulate a concrete vision of goals and objectives so stakeholders can understand and work towards the institutional mission. I developed a slide-show of technology examples in order to highlight a culture of seamless integration we are working towards. It includes more than 60 examples of technology-integration in our  classrooms. I used it as a framework for discussion when colleagues from other schools came to a workshop we hosted to discuss technology integration. Various slides illustrate differentiated instruction, problem-based learning, scaffolding, higher-order thinking skills, multimedia engagement, and assistive technology. I also wrote a "Day in the Life" scenario as part of our technology plan to describe how technology becomes an integral part of the educational experience of our students.
 

1.2 Technology Planning
Rationale: At Norwood, I was responsible for overseeing the educational success of the one-to-one computing initiative.  Leading that ubiquitous use of technology gave me extensive experience with curricular integration, professional development, and network infrastructure. This technology plan from 2004 shows how we approached using technology, long-term goals, and overall vision. I worked with all  departments, and also the curriculum and professional development committees, to implement the technology plans. Having widespread stakeholder involvement is a critical factor for success.


 1.3 Project Management
Rationale: In 2005 I concluded a major upgrade to Norwood School's primary website which I planned and managed over 18 months. I developed a 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. Each teacher also has a web page that can be easily edited. I also helped teachers and departments create their own custom websites, such as the Art Department Websites.


1.4 University Teaching
Rationale: Teaching at the graduate level gave me new insight into leadership, because working with these students requires management expertise based on adult learning theory. Interpersonal skills and rapport-building take on more importance.   I have taught the following courses for Johns Hopkins in the graduate program for ed-tech: 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 use wikis, blogs, and other online tools with these classes.

1.5 Supervision & Evaluation
As an ed-tech leader, webmaster, technology director, and university instructor I have been responsible for the work and professional development of many teachers and staff members. I currently collaborate with a six-person technology team, leading the planning and implementation of educational technology. Our team includes a network administrator, help desk, laptop specialist, database administrator, librarians, web, and A/V support. In working with the information resources department I believe it is crucial to establish a service-oriented, team-based approach. Each individual has an area of expertise, priorities, and goals. We meet weekly to communicate issues, set priorities, make decisions, and solve problems. I believe each team-member should write short monthly progress reports related to tech plan goals. Coordinating this team-effort requires a leader who is respected and who models working towards excellence. I believe in establishing clear expectations, open lines of communication, and positive approaches to assessment. I have helped interview, hire, and train new teachers and staff members. I contributed to our staff evaluation instrument, building a technology goal into each employee's professional development plan. Overseeing an entire faculty's progress towards technology integration has been an interesting challenge. I helped establish technology "liaisons" at each grade level and academic department to ensure open lines of communication and to enable a distributed approach to support. I am currently promulgating a grass-roots approach to professional development, implementing a series of faculty meetings in which colleagues share examples of best practice.

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II. Learning and Teaching.

Educational leaders ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
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.

Examples

2.1 Online Multimedia Instruction
Rationale: I created this website to introduce middle school students to notebook computing. It delivers content through audio, video, tip sheets, and links to resources. Students engage in collaborative teams to accomplish assignments. Each chapter includes an introduction from the students' homeroom teachers as an avatar. This engaging online environment demonstrates constructivist pedagogy by including elements of student choice, active learning, creating a product, and an authentic task-oriented approach.

2.2 Digital Video in the Classroom
Rationale: Students are extremely motivated to create and use video projects because it is a powerfully evocative medium. In my work I mentor and support students and teachers using digital video. The link provided here is to a few examples of student and teacher products, as well as video of me teaching.

2.3 WebQuests as Instructional Tools
Rationale: I created this unit to demonstrate how a webquest aids the learning process by encouraging problem-based-learning and higher-order thinking skills. By providing teacher-selected internet resources we avoid wasted instructional time from surfing. Directions, templates, guidelines, and checklists scaffold the experience towards self-guided learning. After creating this webquest, I used the structure to create a webquest template which I used for a workshop I presented to teachers on creating webquests.


2.4 Teaching Online With Elluminate
Rationale: 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.
 

2.5 PBL Unit on Media Bias
Rationale: 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.

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III. Productivity and Professional Development

Educational leaders apply technology to enhance their professional practice and to increase their own productivity and that of others.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
I help students, teachers, administrators, and parents gain mastery over technology tools which help them achieve their goals in efficient and engaging ways.   I recognize that each person is at his/her own level of readiness to adopt and use various technologies, and I help each one work to full potential. I guide learners as they use a variety of productivity and educational applications.  We communicate with email, phone, online, and face-to-face meetings.  We collaborate on projects using shared electronic workspaces on the intranet. I help colleagues create and maintain web pages to communicate information to students and parents. I use my own websites as a knowledge-management system to communicate school information, organize my instructional documents, and promote my professional development. I work with a state association to address technology needs and professional development of independent school colleagues in the state. I also participate in several educational email lists since they broaden communication to include colleagues around the nation and world.

Examples

3.1 Designing & Delivering Professional Development
Rationale: I have developed and delivered professional development in a variety of formats. In my daily practice I work with teachers and administrators one-on-one or in small teams. I have also developed and led workshops ranging from single-day to week-long which focus on learning how to integrate technology into curricular projects or for personal productivity. I occasionally do workshops for other schools. I have also helped plan several state-wide conferences. This example is a link to the list of presentations in my vita. Dr. Moersch's Level's of Technology Integration is a useful taxonomy for planning and assessing educational impact.
 

3.2 Technology Help Site
Rationale: I created this extensive website based on the most common questions that people ask me, in order to provide "just-in-time" performance-support for my school community. It also serves as a "knowledge-management" repository allowing me to store, organize, and easily update all of my help sheets. I differentiated it into areas tailored to three constituencies: students, parents, & faculty. I divided the help into sections on hardware, software, and home computing. 


3.3 Professional Collaboration
Rationale: In 2006 I served on an NAIS task force to publish a national guidelines document titled "Principles of Good Practice" for technology use at independent schools. I led the team in collaboratively using a wiki to document editing drafts and publish our work.

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. 

I also developed a website for the Computer Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington - CAISGW - to serve as a knowledge-base of resources; this has since shifted to the SchoolComputing wiki which I administer.

I also served on the executive board of the Maryland Instructional Computer Coordinators' Association - MICCA.
 

3.4 Staying Current with RSS & Blogs
Rationale: I use the Bloglines RSS aggregator to subscribe to a number of blog feeds from colleagues and news sources. Using RSS allows me to easily keep track of new ideas in a number of areas including educational technology, tablets, and eLearning. I also incorporate and support the use of blogging with my students from lower school to graduate school.



3.5 Tablet Computing
Rationale: 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 link leads to the tablet rationale I developed. After piloting tablets with some teachers in 2005, we transitioned all teachers and our middle school students to tablets in 06-07. 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 very impressive. In addition to being valuable tools, I believe the combination of tablet computing and voice recognition will help alleviate the growing problem of repetitive stress injuries.
 

3.6 Emailed "Tech Tips"
Rationale: In order to promote faculty awareness and interaction with technology I send an email newsletter once a month that has a variety of tips ranging from mundane technical notes to new ways of improving teaching & learning. I also archive these emails on my website which serves as a useful knowledge base.
 

3.7 Virtual Reality Educational Applications
Rationale: 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.

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IV. Support, Management, Budgeting, and Operations.

Educational leaders ensure the integration of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
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 over 500 wired and wireless clients [full list] requiring constant monitoring. I think the educational environment is in fact more taxing on technology infrastructure than corporate environments due to the nature of classrooms full of roaming wireless laptops 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. I work with a six-person department supporting this complex network. My current position as ed-tech specialist has segmented me from network administration, allowing me time to focus on curricular and educational issues.

Examples

4.1 Budgeting for Technology
Rationale: In my current position I manage the technology budget. I research and select vendors, make purchasing decisions, track invoices, and ensure accountability. Our overall budget is split between operating costs [administrative software, network software, non-capitalized hardware, maintenance agreements, website, and telecommunications] and capital costs [infrastructure, network switches, laptop leases, and hardware].  Other than specific software training, professional development for technology is included within the school's overall professional development budget.


4.2 Directing Technology at North Country School
Rationale: I was the technology director for North Country School & Camp Treetops in Lake Placid, NY for five years. In that role I was responsible for all aspects of that institution's technology. This artifact lists 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.


4.3 Curriculum Mapping Database
Rationale: 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 have implemented a mapping database for administrative functions to document the procedures and recurring events of an administrative nature.

4.4 Norwood School Intranet
Rationale: Norwood's internal network provides individual and shared file storage. I worked to establish a consistent and logical structure so that users can find the resources they seek. In addition to individual "home" directories, each employee has access to a department workspace, personal storage, individual public directory, email archives, and a shared institution 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.

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V. Assessment and Evaluation.

Educational leaders use technology to plan and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
One of technology's most powerful uses is to track student achievement, because it enables data-driven decision-making to improve and differentiate instruction. In my work with teachers I help them use electronic gradebooks, narrative reporting databases, skills checklists, and educational software with built-in assessment. These tools help teachers measure and analyze student learning in a variety of contexts. I also use spreadsheets and databases to track and manipulate information on both students and teachers.

Examples

5.1 Professional Development Database
Rationale: 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. In the schools where I work, I make an effort to develop relationships based on trust and shared goals. This collaborative approach allows me to work with each individual to improve their practice and productivity.

5.2 Evaluation Plan
Rationale: I wrote this evaluation plan to assess the impact of ubiquitous computing at Norwood School in its seventh year of 1:1 laptop computing. This plan builds on the work of two previous Norwood studies, one conducted by an external evaluator, and another conducted internally. During the writing of this plan I studied the meaning of "meta-analysis" as it relates to research, and created a PowerPoint Presentation to share this learning with classmates in my graduate program.

 

5.3 Research Review
Rationale: In order 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.

5.4 Technology Skills Matrix
Rationale: 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.

5.5 AIMS Accreditation Committees
Rationale: As part of my work with the Association of Independent Maryland Schools I have served on three accreditation committees doing ten-year evaluation/accreditation visits to Maryland schools. A team of several teachers and administrators 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.

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VI. Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues

Educational leaders understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible decision-making related to these issues.
Performance Indicators...  

My interpretation...
Because digital resources are so easy to download and copy from, it is all-the-more important to teach our students about intellectual property, fair use laws, and the appropriate use of school technology. I set policies and protocols to ensure that students and teachers gather and use information ethically, and access network resources appropriately. Intellectual property is an abstract concept for younger children, but students can grasp it within the context of their own work. I've been in many classrooms during a creative assignment when a student will cry to another indignantly, "Hey, you're copying from me!" This is the example I use to activate prior knowledge when teaching about intellectual property. The safety of children using the Internet is also a key area of concern, especially in our laptop school with wireless Internet access. There are excellent curricular resources available from the iSafe organization which I am working to embed within the school's character education program.

Examples

6.1 Safety & Ethics Unit
Rationale: This learning unit is part of my online course "Notebook Driver's Ed." designed for our fifth and sixth grade students. Topics include Internet safety, netiquette, and intellectual property. The assignment for this unit asks students to work in teams to analyze and present one part of the school's Acceptable Use Policy (see below).


6.2 Acceptable Use Policy
Rationale: I collaborated with colleagues to create the Norwood School AUP. 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, our Community Agreement. Inappropriate behavior is governed by this Community Agreement regardless of whether the behavior occurs in conjunction with technology use.

6.3 Keeping Children Safe Online
Rationale: I created this area of our website to educate parents about online safety. It suggests setting family rules and guidelines for Internet use, helps parents understand instant-messaging, and provides links to a good resources on the web.



6.4 Robin Raskin Presentation
Rationale: In October, 2004, we brought author and columnist Robin Raskin, "The Internet Mom" to speak at Norwood to groups of both students and parents. We conducted a student survey of our 7th & 8th graders that sheds light on student Internet habits. The students were quite interested to discuss the results.

6.5 Copyright & Fair Use Guidelines
Rationale: 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.

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"There is almost no limit to what can be accomplished if it doesn't matter who gets the credit."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It's not about technology, it's about information and communication"
~ Alan November