This course will examine the concept of a “technology leader,” primarily in the context of PK-12 schools. However, the concepts covered are as applicable to any context of education, despite examples being situated within elementary, middle and high schools. The sheer volume of issues and challenges that technology leaders face are immense. Interestingly though, the amount of disciplined research conducted on this topic is rather sparse. We will work our way through levels of leadership that impact the core goal: for technology to be used in meaningful ways by learners.
In the course participants will examine the myriad of ways Internet may function within teaching and learning contexts. The course will focus on the Internet’s capabilities for instructional use, learning, professional development, and research. The course will provide access and experience with a diverse array of Internet-based instructional and learning tools; it will also encourage you to consider these tools with a critical eye, always determining the advantages and disadvantages of particular web-supported or web-based tools.
Technology and school change. In the course, participants will examine the complexity of the change process especially in relation to the introduction of technologies into the K-12 school context. Change and reform in schools has been a challenge, interest, and focus of research at least since the 1950s. Historically, reforms have been generally unsuccessful. With the advent of accessible and portable technologies, many viewed technology as a change agent that might reform K-12 education in ways that other reform attempts had not. In this course, you will delve into this complex world of technology and school change.
This class will engage students in thinking about the role of technology in youth’s lives generally (in society) and specifically (in educational contexts). It will invite you to reflect upon your own technological development, experience, and expectations at home, in communities, and formal and informal learning contexts. The course will engage you in discussing, speaking, and writing about specific sociological, psychological, political, and educational perspectives that shape current controversies concerning youth’s uses of digital technologies.
