Educ 638

Jacob H. Cook

Liberty University Online

Why is planning important when implementing a district / school-wide initiative?

            When implementing a school/district wide policy, it inherently requires cooperation and collaboration.  When people are involved, it requires a plan to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that they are working together rather than against each other while also assuring that duplicate work is avoided.  Without that plan, there is no vision for where the initiative should go (Sheninger and Yong, 2014).  In order for people to work together, they need a roadmap of sorts to follow, and in order for the initiative to be effective, those same people need to work together towards a common goal.  With this many collaborators, it would be utter chaos if there was no plan to follow.

What did you learn by creating a district technology plan?

            There are a lot of different aspects to factor in and something like this does not happen overnight.  This sort of plan requires buy-in from all of the people involved in order to make this plan effective (Sheninger and Yong, 2014).  Anyone one can create a technology plan, but it is people that will need to make the change, therefore, they need to be involved and they need to embrace the plan.

            Additionally, even with a solid plan, there are still new things to learn, and it is important to be flexible to incorporate new ideas when appropriate.  For example, I did not know what Television white space was prior to the completion of the technology plan (Means, McDowell, Rebmann, and Riedesel, 2019).  With that said, it is certainly a very important part of the overall development plan and a great opportunity would be lost if I was not flexible enough to incorporate it into the overall plan.

Is it important to involve a wide range of individuals such as teachers, administrators, and community stakeholders? Why or why not?

            It is very important to include a wide range of individuals.  As large as an endeavor as incorporating educational technology is, it requires people of various strengths and talents in order to push the plan forward.  It cannot be expected that an individual or a group of people with a specific set of skills to carry forward the entire plan.  Instead, through collaboration, people can work together on different tasks that all support the same vision, but they can each bring their own strengths and skills in order to support said vision.  The sum of each part is greater than the whole and by utilizing the talents of the people instead of shoe horning them into roles that they don’t belong in, the plan is much more likely to take root and be and effective change (Boschee, Jensen, and Whitehead, 2013). 

Describe the difference in cooperation and collaboration. Which is more important? Why?

            Cooperation is the effort of multiple parties to complete a single task.  Collaboration on the other hand is the separation of tasks across multiple domains and handed out to different individuals based on their strengths in order to accomplish a larger plan.  Therefore, collaboration is much more effective at completing larger plans because it creates several focused groups each assigned a different task but each one supports the common goal.  There is probably a lot of cooperation going on in each collaboration group, but the point is that cooperation is a subset to collaboration.

Did your team cooperate, collaborate, or both. Provide specific examples from your team experience to support your response.

            The team cooperated and collaborated.  We had developed a list of tasks and gave them out to individuals of the team to work on individually before meeting back up in order to proof read each other’s work.  With that said, the individuals of the team did not work in a vacuum.  Despite having individual tasks, we were in constant communication with each other.  We helped each other on different tasks and proof read each other’s work to ensure it met the over al flow of the technology plan.  When I finished my portion of the technology plan I formatted the entire document and also proofread everyone’s work.  We cooperated on each task, but collaborated the overall project in order to share the work load.

What are the benefits and challenges of working together? Why is it important to be able to work as a member of a team in education / business / government?

            Working together is not without its challenges.  Communication is key to any endeavor, but sometimes communication will fall through.  Someone would not be available for a phone conference when everyone else is.  Someone would not get the group text about the meeting time.  Sometimes another member of the team would wait until the last minute to complete their portion of the technology plan which made it difficult to proof read their work.  Like any team effort, a certain amount of trust is required and in this situation specifically, the team were relative strangers.  Despite these challenges however, the team was united in purpose in developing the technology plan, and it was this common vision, or goal, that helped us overcome the many obstacles this assignment had for us.  This is yet another example of why having a solid, concrete vision is important with regards to collaboration (Sheninger and Yong, 2014). 

            Outside of this project, working as a team member is incredibly important.  People do not work in solitary confinement.  In fact, it is much more likely that the work they complete will affect another person at some point.  Working in a team reduces the overall work load of any individual while also simultaneously involving them in socially with other members.  People are social creatures by nature and by working in teams it helps the overall morale of the group.  More importantly, people are much more effective when they can be focused on a single task and bring that task completed back to the group and marry the results of that task with the work done by other members of the team.  Working together towards a common goal is much more effective than a bunch of individuals working without communicating together.  It reduces duplicate work and it focuses people towards that end goal.

Why is it important to establish group norms when teams are formed?

            As previously discussed, there are many challenges with working together as a team.  Communication is one big part of it, but also determining who works on what and being on the same page with everyone else when working.  No one wants duplicate work and certainly not one individual wants to do all of the work.  By establishing norms, the team is also establishing expectations for each other.  They determine the rules of engagement with the group and it should clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of each member.  It ensures that the work load is evenly distributed and it also develops a collaboration plan so everyone on the team understands who is working on what in order to reduce duplicate, and therefore wasted, work.

How does technology (wikis, Google docs, OneNote, Prezi, Twitter, web/video conferencing, etc.) contribute to the development of “21st Century” skills: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity?

            21^st century skills, if utilized properly, requires multiple people.  But what if those people are not collocated?  Technology makes it possible for people to work with each other regardless of location (Sheninger and Yond, 2014), and allows them to be effective collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity.  Google docs allows the team to work on a living document instead of multiple individual documents.  This google doc allows the team to see changes made real time and to also suggest edits in order to increase the quality of the work.  Web and video conferencing allows the team to talk to each other in real time about the project regardless of location and allows them to be a team and not just isolated individuals submitting their part of the project.  Twitter allowed the team to share research and therefore share research backed ideas through that medium, and thereby increase critical thinking in the group and also help generate new ideas.

Which of these skills, if any, did you use to complete the Collaborative Technology Plan Project / the individual screencast assignment? (Think in terms of the total assignment–from researching goals, strategies, etc. and working on the collaborative technology plan and completing the individual screencast to learning to navigate new software, if applicable, or resolving scheduling conflicts, etc.)

            The team certainly collaborated on this project.  The initial meeting set up group norms and assignments were made.  The team members individually researched and completed their portion of the assignment.  During this team, the team communicated with each other through text, email, and phone calls in order to cooperate and seek feedback for the work they had done while also providing feedback for other team members.  Additionally, the team was able to make editorial suggestions on google docs in order to provide feedback when real time communication was not available.  This feedback did not remove anything from the document and made it very easy for team members to see what the edit was and gave that member a chance to accept or reject that edit. 

            With that said, critical thinking came into play with regards to how the team was going to tackle some of the challenges faced.  Just because a portion of the assignment was assigned to one team member did not preclude another team member from offering suggestions or ideas for that portion of the assignment.  This ability allowed the team to not only think about their portion of the assignment, but how it fits with the rest of the assignment, increasing critical thinking within the team while also increasing creativity and overall flow of the project.   This encouraged critical thinking, but more directly encouraged the free flow of ideas which also increased creativity within the team.

            Because the team was not collocated, they were required to utilize the second learning space (Chen, 2019).  But when utilized correctly, each of the 21^st century skills were enhanced in some way (Chen, 2019) and made it possible to communicate and collaborate without the restriction of physicality.

Why is skilled communication important?

            When communication is executed properly, school-community relations will improve (Boschee et al., 2013).  This project introduces educational technology to not only the school district but also the community at large via Television white space (Means et al., 2019).  Because the community is involved, they also need to embrace the vision that technology plan is pushing (Sheninger and Yong, 2014).  Communication helps build consensus among the different parties with relation to the technology plan (Boschee et al., 2013).  It makes it possible to collaborate in the first place. 

How can you use the information gained in this course 1) in your current position?  2) in a school or district leadership position?

            Currently I work as a flight commander and as an instructor pilot in the United States Air Force.  It is therefore required that I collaborate with my fellow leaders as well as with my subordinates.  Already we use tools such as one noet and google docs in order to standardize mission products and make sure that instruction is consistent between instructors.  Experimenting with new technology is encouraged and new ideas emerge every day.  Recently I suggested that we purchase Apple TVs in order to modernize the briefing rooms and to streamline the briefing process between student and instructors (briefing being the main form of instruction).  The idea was accepted and Apple TVs were installed in all of the briefing rooms, the point being that innovation is encouraged, and that technology is being seen as a solution to many of the challenges that are currently encountered.

            Those in school and leadership positions should do the same thing.  It is not required that the leader comes up with all of the solutions.  Rather, it is the leader’s responsibility to create an environment where experimenting with new ideas is not only tolerated but encouraged.  If such experiments fail, then no punishment should be given, but instead make it a learning point of what didn’t go well and then push new ideas with the new knowledge derived from the failed experiment. 

Much like my role in the Air Force, leaders must also see to it that teachers and administrators are also professionally developed and trained to use the tools that technology gives us (Sheninger and Yong, 2014).  We have to invest in them, and in doing so, we are encouraging innovation and creativity while also creating leaders that embrace the leader’s vision and will continue to carry that vision forward.

What could I have done differently (if anything) to improve my performance with respect to communication, collaboration, creativity, and / or critical thinking?

            At the beginning of the course, I wanted to make sure that the other team members had a chance to lead.  However, there were some initial communication problems.  Looking back, I should have taken a more active role in the initial meeting in order to improve communication.  I could have leveraged my experience and helped the team communicate more effectively from the start instead of letting the problem surface.  Though the team was able to communicate effectively eventually, I could have stepped in earlier to help and reduce the amount of time wasted.

            Additionally, I could have communicated my feedback a little better.  Though google docs is a great tool, it allows other team members to accept or reject editorial suggestions.  As I proof read the document, I made a number of edits that were ultimately rejected.  Those edits were part of the feedback received from the instructor and if the edit was approved in the first place the feedback probably would have been different.  I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes, but I should have been more clear and honest with some of the edits that I had made in order for the team as a whole to present the best possible product.

References

Boschee, F., Jensen, D., & Whitehead, B. (2013).  Planning for Technology: A Guide for School

Administrators, Technology Coordinators, and Curriculum Leaders.  Thousand Oaks,

CA:Corwin

Chen, Z. (2019).  Exploration of building “the second learning space” education mode.    

Retrieved from https://doi.org/10/1051/itmconf/20192504002

Means, D., McDowell, R., Rebmann, K., & Riedesel, L. (2019).  Addressing the homework gap

with TV white space networking technology.  Teacher Librarian, 46(3), 13-16.  

Sheninger, E. C., & Yong Z. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing

Times. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin. �B

If there is one word that I would choose to describe my professional brand it would be purpose.  Many of you know by now that I work in the Air Force.  A big part of my Air Force career is leadership and what it means to me, and what it should mean to those that follow me.  And this personal definition of leadership hasn’t necessarily changed, but it has certainly evolved and has become more nuanced and defined over the years.  But at its basic foundation, the element of leadership that has stuck out to me most is purpose.

To be clear, choosing one word was difficult to do.  I could have taken this post in any number of directions.  But after reflecting on the matter for some time and also remembering my time as a cadet in training who was required to follow, I was reminded about what makes not just any leader, but any program really effective.  And that is a concrete, specific purpose.

By purpose, what I mean is that every action, every decision has a purpose to it.  In my experience in the Air Force, yelling seems to be a go to disciplinary tool.  With that said, I never appreciated the thought that yelling would be ok in any circumstance.  But then I learned its purpose, which is to induce a level of stress in a training environment and thereby use it as a catalyst to instruct a trainee’s abilities to overcome a number of scenarios.  With this perspective in mind, yelling didn’t seem so bad to me anymore, in fact it almost became a necessity is some situations.  Having said that, this purpose also guided me and helped me decide when to yell and when not to.  It is not always appropriate to yell because there may not be any purpose behind it.

So if our actions are guided by purpose, we are then more likely to ask ourselves, “what am I trying to accomplish here and is this method the most effective way to accomplish that?”  As an MQ-9 instructor, I ask myself this question every day.  I take into account the student’s life experiences, progress in the program, and personality as well.  This thereby creates a tailored made solution to their learning needs.  Instead of creating lesson plans based on the syllabus, I am creating lesson plans based on the student.  Which do you think is more effective?  This form of intentional instruction is highly effective and has numerous benefits that I won’t list here, but suffice it to say, finding that purpose, that intent behind the elicited training regimen has provided far more effective instructional events.

In my professional setting, I can communicate my brand through my actions.  Mainly, I can create detailed lesson plans, make suggestions to changes in the syllabus that will enhance student training, and collaborate with my fellow leaders to determine the purpose of the several programs we are currently engaged and from there we can provide a solution or fixes to problems in that syllabus to senor leaders who in turn can make those changes to improve instruction for the students.

Introduction

            Change usually requires a leader, for without someone to lead that change, change won’t happen.  People tend to be creatures of habit, and become comfortable with routine.  Why wouldn’t they?  It’s comfortable and predictable.  But sometimes, processes are antiquated and therefore become ineffective and change is required.  If change were so easy, than people would do it the moment a new effective way of doing things appeared.  It is because it is not easy that it requires a leader with vision and tenacity to help make the change happen.  Sheninger and Yong (2014), discuss six elements that help drive change.

Connectedness Matters

            Before change can happen, the leader must educate himself on why the change needs to take place and how.  He does this by connecting himself to a greater community then just the one he exists in.  For example I work within the 29^th attack squadron, but I also work with peers in the 6^th and 9^th attack squadron.  By staying connected with them, we can collaborate and share ideas on common problems which in turn prevents duplicate work and produce a more effective organization.  And leaders don’t have to restrict themselves to face-to-face connections anymore.  With the internet and the plethora of tools available, anyone can connect themselves and learn and collaborate with people in any number of languages from any number of countries.  This helps the leader find solutions to his problems, or help affect the change he desires.

Vision

            It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention.  When a leader identifies a problem, or at the very least identifies an area that can be improved, he should then develop a concrete vision of how and why that change should take place.  A concrete, specific vision that answers how and why and is well communicated is much more likely to affect change.

Value

            Vision is not enough however.  People must see the value of the change the leader is trying to affect.  With that said, a well communicated vision should also help people see the value of that change.  The simplest way to show value is to capture data.  In this way, data adds to the value of any endeavor.  This data capture usually is part of some research project, but never the less, this data capture provides proof that the change is needed.  Educational technology, despite its advantages, was growing relatively slowly, and part of that is because people involved with education have not seen the value in it for some time.  Now that there are research backed strategies that have captured the qualitative and quantitative data that shows the benefits, educational technology is growing rapidly. 

Support

            Once a vision has been established, that vision must be supported.  For example, in the squadron where I work, the commander is trying to change the culture of the squadron to be more tactically minded.  He sees the squadron as a place where students come and study alongside instructors, where students collaborate with each other, and support each other through their several events.  This vision has been somewhat difficult to establish because some of the support required to maintain and achieve that vision is missing.  There is no commercial wifi in our building which motivates students to study elsewhere where they can stay connected.  Some of our study materials are out of date and are therefore useless.  With that said, these problems have been identified, and technology is the answer.  Soon we will be getting commercial wifi that not only encourages students to spend their time where they should, but this access allows us to provide all study materials wirelessly throughout the building, circumventing the need to keep paper publications up-to-date.

Professional Development

            Any change requires a culture shift in the work place, and this culture shift will require developing people in the work place to meet the demands of said change.  If technology is changing, then people should be learning how to utilize new technology.  If a new process is pushed, then people must learn how to work with the new process.  Sheninger and Yong (2014) state that professional development must exist if change is to occur.  It requires investing in the people that will support the leader’s vision, and giving them the support they need to execute the new plan.  Developing people also adds to their credibility as instructors and helps them connect more meaningfully with students, at least in my experience as a flight instructor.

Embracement

            All the previous elements discussed should lead to embracement.  From my standpoint as a leader in the Air Force, when people finally embrace an idea from the leader and his vision, then change has taken root.  The culture has shifted and progress can now be made.  In this sense, the people are no longer supporting the leader’s vision and following his policies, but they are now sharing in his vision and are co-collaborators in achieving that vision.  They have been empowered through professional development and are no longer considered followers, but share in the success in the leader and themselves are leaders in pushing this vision.  The key word here is that they share in the leaders vision.  That vision becomes theirs.

References

Sheninger, E. C., & Yong Z. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin C

Sheninger prefaced his book Digital Leadership with seven essential skills that
instructors must use in order to grow and be successful in the digital domain as teachers. He called these the pillars of digital leadership. They are communication, public relations, branding, student engagement/learning, professional growth and development, reenvisioning learning spaces and environments, and opportunity. (Sheninger and Yong, 2014).

Communication

The first pillar that Sheninger and Yong (2014) mention is communication. Any
endeavor that requires a collaboration will of course require all the parties involved to practice good communication. He emphasizes that communication is no longer a one street, but requires active participation by all parties involved (Sheninger and Yong, 2014). It keeps all parties up to date and invested in the project, rather than a one-way top-to-bottom approach that increases the chance that participants will disappear. As such, good communication ought to be practiced throughout the entire collaboration.

Public Relations

heninger and Yong (2014) emphasize that we want to tell our own story. This prevents
others from downplaying our achievements or even spinning them in a negative light, but also encourages others to use the strategies mentioned and to spread tools that work. It’s about sharing the positive and advocating one’s own program if it works. It motivates all parties involved and helps the participants be proud of the work they did. This skill ought to be utilized at the earliest possible opportunity and then continually as people make achievements.

Branding

randing is a way that we can make the participants invested and proud of the work they
have put into the collaboration. It doesn’t have to be big, but it should set the team apart. It gives the team an image and a goal. Digital tools can help build this brand and give everyone involved a sense of pride (Sheninger and Yong, 2014). Because of this, branding should happen early in the collaboration process, preferably the first thing that happens.

Student Engagement and Learning

All the tools discussed has to be for the benefit of the student. Teachers ought to practice
student centered learning because if they don’t, then what is the point of teaching? Ferriter (2011) discusses this in his article and emphasizes that despite the tools that teachers are given, they have to understand what that tool gives them and what benefit it has for the student. If students aren’t engaged or learning, then something needs to change. This process is iterative as it requires constantly evaluating the process and then making fixes as required and is therefore needed throughout the entire process.

Professional Growth and Development

With the tools provided in this digital age, teachers are no longer isolated (Sheninger and Yong, 2014). Teachers can develop themselves and grow and share their success stories with others around the world. It adds to the credibility of that instructor if they do so while also arming them with tools to overcome new and challenging scenarios. The nature of growth and development makes this a constant process if done correctly and should be continually practiced.

Reenvisioning Learning Spaces and Environments

Sheninger and Yong (2014) share that as teachers learn how to effectively use the digital
tools available to them, then they have to start viewing the learning space differently. It is no longer just a classroom with four walls, but rather a worldwide classroom without borders or limits. Though this can be overwhelming, it also removes a number of restrictions placed on traditional schools and allows the instructor to continue teaching outside of the classroom and without actually actively teaching if used correctly. This vision should be in place earlier rather than later if digital tools are to be used to help the classroom adjust and leverage these tools.

Opportunity

Most of the skills that Sheninger and Yong (2014) discuss are iterative in nature and
opportunity is no different. Once the teacher has a taste for what technology can do, it is then incumbent on the teacher to seek new ways to improve existing programs or to find new tools to improve instruction (Sheninger and Yong, 2014). Seeking for opportunities starts day one and should never stop.

Conclusion

A great Teacher once said, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your
servant.” (Matthew 20:27). This is not to place teachers on a pedestal, but rather it should remind all those that instruct that they have an obligation and a solemn duty to serve those they teach. They have critical knowledge to pass onto students. Teachers, as servants, also lead their classrooms, and therefore must have a vision for where they want to take their students. Teachers must therefore look for way to be more efficient and effective in this day and age and work smarter, not harder, in order to give the student what they need.

References

Ferriter, W. M. (2011). Digitally speaking / good teaching trumps good tools. Teaching Screenagers, 68 (5), 84-85.

Sheninger, E. C., & Yong Z. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin.

Hi class, my name is Jacob Cook, and I’m currently pursuing a degree in education with an emphasis on leadership with Liberty University online. I currently reside in New Mexico in the United States. I’m currently stationed at a military base here. I am in the Air Force, I am a Captain in the Air Force. I am a pilot specifically. I fly the MQ-9 Reaper, before that I flew the RC-135. With that said right now, what I do is teach. I’m an instructor in the MQ-9. I teach students how to fly, fight and win in that domain and also how to appropriately release weapons.

So the scripture that came to mind that I feel is associated with my job come from the New Testament. It’s John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” So I feel that I am in a position of leadership as a Captain, and I am also in a position of power for a lack of a better term as a pilot carrying weapons. Because of that I consider my job to be very serious if not necessarily dangerous to myself. With that there is a lot heavy decisions and I use that scripture as a guiding principle to love my fellow man and to prove that I am willing to lay down my life for my friends and my countrymen and more specifically for my family. That is what keeps me going in this career. I love instructing; I love teaching which is why I am in this degree program. When I retire from the Air Force I would like at a High School somewhere and to continue instructing.

Right now I am five course away from graduating, including this course. SO after this course I will only have four courses left until I am awarded with my Master’s degree.

As far as hobbies and interests, I am married and have been for about 11 years. I have three kids. My oldest is nine, my second is six and my youngest is four. So that two boys and my youngest is a girl. So they keep me pretty busy. When I do get time I like to spend time with them and walk the dog, maybe watch a movie or spend time with my wife.

I thought this course had an interesting name to it – technology and leadership. I have taken other technology courses. This isn’t the first one, but I am very interested in how leadership can be portrayed through technology and how leadership can be used to push technology and the benefits that lie there. I’m a student of leadership, I enjoy leadership. That’s one of the main reasons why I joined the Air Force. So I am very interested in how I can learn leadership from a technological aspect.

I look forward to working with you all and wish you good luck in the course.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton