Leadership

July 10, 2008 at 10:30 am · Filed under 21st Century Skills, Leadership, NECC, Technology, Toolbox for learning

During the last three years I have learned the value of using a variety of tools to engage students in learning not just content but also the 21st century skills.   Employers are looking for employees who have a different skill set then they did even ten years ago and schools need to prepare their students for this reality.  To help me better understand how to do so I joined the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and attended NECC in Atlanta last summer.  I was very excited to bring what I had learned in Atlanta to St. Raphael last school year and I saw how it benefited our students.

As I have learned the value of embracing the 21st century skills, I realized that many of my principal colleagues are not fully prepared to lead their schools through the changes needed to expand the teaching of the 21st century skills.  During our Springfling and Techtober-fest I heard from various Archdiocesan teachers and principals their lack of training or knowledge on the 21st century skills.  They expressed they felt unprepared to begin the journey their school needed.  These experiences helped me to be elected to the Communications Chair position of the ISTE subgroup -Special Interest Group Administration (SIGAdmin) this past spring.

At NECC in San Antonio the newly elected chair, vice chair and I met for the first time. These two individuals and I are excited to be in the leadership role to help other administrators gain the knowledge and resources needed to make changes in their schools and districts.  On Tuesday July 1, we led the SIGAdmin annual meeting.  The meeting was attended by 23 of our members and we began to select the most important goals for our special interest group to accomplish in the next year.  School administrators have the largest impact on the climate and learning that takes place in schools.  Our special interest group is made up of over 4000 members so we know our leadership will have the opportunity to impact students all over the world.  I find this exciting and look forward to working closely with other administrators who want to share their knowledge with the goal of preparing students around the world for their future.

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Summer Learning

June 30, 2007 at 11:50 am · Filed under NECC, NECC 07, Technology, Uncategorized

In June, Mrs. Sjogren, Mrs. Juetten and I went to the National Educational Computing Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. This was a wonderful experience for us.

The conference was attended by educators from around the world. I met principals from many different states and countries including Australia.

Two of the most interesting people we talked to were Dominican Sisters. These two are avid proponents of using technology to help prepare their students for adult life and also to help them understand the impact they can make on society. These two sisters also help train other Dominican Sisters to be teachers. As a regular part of teacher training all Dominican Sisters are trained in technology integration.

Classes and seminars focused on many different uses of technology to help students to become global citizens. The conference centered on developing instructional strategies that help the students to expand their thinking beyond learning rote material.

We were truly challenged to help our students reach out to the world an make an impact. There were many examples of how young students are doing just this with the aid of technology and fabulous teachers.

One particularly inspiring session was taught by a middle school social studies teacher. The name of the session was “This is Not Your Grannie’s Classroom.“

This teacher made her subject come alive with music, maps, and video clips that helped her 6th grade students not just learn about the topics but understand how their lives are impacted by those topics.

This teacher understood the value of having students engaged in their learning. It made me want to return to 6th grade.

I came home with many ideas of how to help St. Raphael continue to educate the students in a way that is meaningful and will prepare them to be productive members of the 21st Century. I am looking forward to the new school year.

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