EDUC 5373: Blog Week #3 (Innovative Leadership Digital)

1. From the Crompton (2023) article, describe at least two best practices to support student learning gains from educational research reflected in the ISTE Educator Standards. How might these connections assist you in guiding the development of a Technology Vision for your district or organization based on the identified digital divide(s) you have identified?

The two practices that I feel supported student learning gains reflected through research based on the ISTE Educator standards are Learner 2.1 Professional Development and Designer 2.5 Learner variability. I chose these two as I feel they connect to my technology vision based on my identified digital divide gap of lack of reliable internet for students and teachers lack of awareness of gaps. 

Learner 2.1 Professional Development 

"In this mixed-methods, three-year study, 20 educators in two schools in neighboring rural, high-poverty school districts took part with 2,230 students. Teachers learned to integrate technologies into their teaching in professions development across three summers and throughout the school year. All educators in the study used technology, but the findings show that when comparing student learning gains in classrooms with educators who received technology, professional development had higher learning gains than those that had not" (Crompton, 2023).

Here we can see that the more [relevant] professional development that teachers receive, the higher the learning gains are for their students. This I find to be especially factual when the focus of the PD is actually rooted in tech resources we can use and integrate into our classes regardless of content. This connects to my tech vision as part of the PD that would be required is the idea of tech integration, standards, frameworks, and tech gap like the digital divide that educators must be made aware of, shown pros and cons, and see how they can better service their students with this new found information. This will make them and their students more conscious and proactive tech users, integrations, and explorers. 

Designer 2.5 Learner variability

"Fernández-Batanero et al. (2022) examined the use of technologies for the inclusion of students with disabilities. Reviewing 216 studies, the findings show that educators often did not fully consider the different needs of this group of learners. Nonetheless, the findings also revealed a variety of technologies that can be used to provide inclusive learning, such as robots, digital boards, and mobile devices. The aggregated findings show that using technologies increased students’ learning gains, social skills, motivation, independence, accessibility, and inclusion" (Crompton, 2023).

Although this point is grounded more in students with disabilities, I believe it overlaps well with the idea that many of our students are low income and have unreliable access to the internet. With the PD from our previous point, I believe teachers will be more aware and consider a wide range of their students and demographics prior to enforcing work at home without knowing the students tech status off campus. It's clearly evident that using technology in class is positively impactful on student learning. However, we must continue to be mindful of the resources students have available to them and see how we can best provide support inside and outside of our classes. 

2. Gonzales (2019) offers perspectives into the challenges that school leaders face as they serve as technology leaders. How might the challenges that arise with a 1:1 initiative be addressed in the Technology Vision and Goals? How might the ISTE Education Leader Standards provide support/guidance for you and your leader(s) as you engage in the process of developing and sustaining a Technology Integration Plan?

Through "School technology leadership vision and challenges: Perspectives from American school administrators. International Journal of Educational Management", we can see that many of the struggles and challenges that arise with 1:1 laptop tech integration seem to come from lack of funds and lack of buy in from teachers through means of unpreparedness they have to integrated the tech (Gonzales, 2020). I will plan to address these concerns in my Technology Vision and Goals plan by having opportunities to raise funds if they cannot be raised or given and the criticalness of having fully informed leaders/admin to support and have their teachers buy in during the professional development time period. Connecting to the ISTE Education Leader Standards, there support/guidance I would give to my leaders during my tech integration plan is first ensuring they are well aware of the educational gaps and digital divide that our students face daily. Admin must believe in an equitable solution for all students. Once we can understand our scholars and families, we can understand the vision that is needed to be create for them; specifically the unreliable internet gap on my campus and hotspot initiative. Admin leaders must also be open, willing, and connected to learning as setting an example for all stakeholders involved in any new potential integration plans. 

3. In what ways might you employ the ISTE Standards for Students, Educators, and Education Leaders as you collaborate with stakeholders to develop a Technology Vision and Goals to address digital inequity in your school or organization?  How might you leverage the ISTE Essential Conditions to support this work?

All ISTE standards, regardless of their coding, have realistic and research based materials and points for those individuals to better themselves and understanding through a tech lens. I believe having the ISTE standards as a foundational pathway will better prepare all stakeholders for future potential issues and misunderstandings. The buy in into new programs, especially for seasoned educators, can be a challenging task. By providing insights to the ISTE Essential Conditions (on top of all other standards), we can see through this research-backed framework that all seven areas are important and critical to relay and engrain in the culture that will be changing for the better with its tech initiatives. By sharing these resources with other stakeholders, they can be open to the new/fresh possibilities provide for students in the future. 

References

Crompton, H. (2023). Evidence of the ISTE standards for educators leading to learning gains. Journal of Digital Learning in Teacher Education, 39(4), 201-219. 

Gonzales, M. M. (2020). School technology leadership vision and challenges: Perspectives from American school administrators. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(4), 697-708. 

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