VCU Course of Technology for School Leaders, Conclusions and a Technology Plan!

   When taking the course of Technology for leaders, very often, one cannot avoid feeling that you wished you had been more conscious about Technology implementation in education. You start seeing how your technology fantasies must start becoming a reality in classrooms around the world. Education is calling for an urgent renovation and reconsideration of school practices, and also it has made evident the need for a redirection of views about technology, not like just a simple supportive source to display somenthing, but as a basic component of instruction from the elementary school and through Superior Education that empowers students with the ability to understand better, think better, analyse better, and create better.

   Today's world is one that requires individuals to possess technology literacy in order to be successful and efficient. Information technology has become the corner stone for Multinationals and Corporations and hence more and more jobs require that potential employees be trained in the effective use of computers and other information technology. This reality is making it imperative for education institutions to implement emerging technologies in the education process of out future generations. Furthermore, Students need to be trained to face change, to solve problems, and to visualize information with a critical approach. See this video about how students must be trained today:

 


   As a future education administrator, I will make sure I am always pushing for more and more technology being used in classrooms. Teachers will be trained to use pograms and  technologies that not only will make their job more interesting, but their outcomes more comendable and desirable. I do believe teachers are still underprepared and need to be provided with the necessary technology tools they need in order to positively impact the instruction they provide day by day at schools. I do believe that thousands and thousands of students still need to get engaged. I do believe in change,  not for the sake of change but for the sake of a better world for everyone.


    A more diverse world will always be richer. Technology allows diversity. Diversity of tools, ways, modes, presentations, formats and outcomes. We want to stimulate creativity, we want to instill the seeds of innovation, improvement, advancement and the protection of important social values like respect and dignity. We teachers can do all of this by using a friendlier and more engaging approach when educating our children. Let's talk to students in their own language, let's approach students with knowledge served in their favorite flavors, let us teach them rocket science by using the toys they play with. Let us get closer to them and our thoughts will certainly reach them deep in their minds, hearts and souls. Let us be the inspiration  our future generations need; let us be the guides they so many times rely on. Let us be the spark that ignites their potential, let us be providers of hope for a better world.


   There is a saying by a Colombian Educator ( Agustin Nieto Caballero 1889-1975 ) that always accompanies me in my teaching job every day, his words are my inspiration when definig what a great teacher is : " Un Buen Maestro es Aquel que Hace las Cosas Dificiles Faciles!" "A Good Teacher is That Who Makes Hard Things Easy!" This is certainly true. I  do believe that a good teacher will ensure instruction is delivered in a friendly language for young minds. I do believe students can learn even hard things if they have a loving teacher who is demanding but at the same time aware of complexities. A good teacher is someone who grabs complexities and chop them down, in front of students, so they can all take the easy smaller chunks to analyze them and understand them better. That involves talent, preparation, design and the ability to implement technology as a powerful learning tool in classrooms. Let us inspire our children!

   Throughout the course, my peers and I were exposed to many different web 2.0 tools that teachers can use for instruction, and we started using them more confidently in our schools. That is commendable! At the end of it all, we even came up with  Technology Implementation Plans! Personally, I worked with Karen Robinson and Noemy Rosales to design a plan to implement in a High School. Take a look at it and let us know your opinion, your suggestions and your recommendations. Thanks, dear readers for following us! Thanks, dear Professor Britt Watwood for your patience and guidance throughout the course! We hope you can find the plan helpful for your future experience as School Administrators! You can see it either at a slideshare, or as a screencast video, and even as a wordle! Remember you make your own decision! Enjoy it.

SLIDESHARE:

Technology Implementation Plan.

View more presentations from Miguel Perdomo.

SCREENCAST VIDEO:

WORDLE: