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Standard V: Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership (2008)
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers:
A. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
Participation in this online degree program, as evidenced by this Electronic Portfolio, would definitely qualify as being part of a global learning community. I have also developed this Staff Development Plan and this Professional Development Project as ways to assist other Sullivan School District teachers in their efforts to meet the technology goals as stated in our District Technology Plan. Finally, my Action Research Plan will provide me with valuable data so that I can improve keyboarding instruction for my students using the most effective methods to meet their needs.
B. exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.
My goal in pursuing my graduate degrees has always been to advance my own knowledge and become a technology leader, either as a teacher or a technology coordinator. Several years ago, I conducted a Technology Plan Review to evaluate my district's technology plan. I have also created this Staff Development Plan and this Professional Development Project as ways to assist other Sullivan School District teachers in their efforts to meet technology goals. The Technology Support Plan outlines ways to provide additional support and coaching to teachers using technology resources in their classroom and the Technology Budget Request describes how to pay for the additional personnel and the equipment needed to support the plan. Finally, the Technology Needs Assessment evaluates how technology is currently being used at Sullivan Middle School.
C. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
Positive changes in professional practice often start with reflection. I believe that concept maps provide the best visualization of the reflective process and I have developed two in the course of this program: a Concept Map Reflection on the use of a selected learning technology and a Learning Belief Concept Map created for this portfolio. Furthermore, I have also conducted a Technology Plan Review and analysis on Sullivan School District's 2006 Technology Plan and this Acceptable Use Policy Presentation which would be delivered to our District's Technology Committee to encourage some changes to our current policy.
D. contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community.
I chose to pursue degrees in Educational Technology not only because technology is interesting to me, but also because I realized that many other teachers were getting administration degrees and a technology background may be of more benefit to our school and community. I believe this was a wise decision. The Action Research Plan I designed will provide valuable data to help me be a better teacher while the Tips for Online Learning Success Wiki gives advice to other students pursuing online degrees. Finally, I conducted the Technology Needs Assessment to determine how teachers are using technology with students and what training needs to occur to make them more effective. All of this contributes positively to the educational environment in our school and provides a unique viewpoint from a technology perspective.
Jeffrey T. Young ~ jty6w7@mizzou.edu ~ Updated June 2009