What a difference five weeks can make. When I began to download and go through the syllabus for this class, I came to realize that Instructional Leadership had a different meaning. I was pleasantly surprised that the course was about technology and how we could implement technology into our educational systems. The class was certainly a challenge, but I gained a wealth of knowledge and useful information that will benefit me as an instructional leader. I enjoyed creating the Blog and collaborating with my peers. It gave the class a more personal touch and made me feel like part of an actual class. I had no expectations because I was not aware that the class was based on technology, but feel that I am now more prepared to include technology in my vision and have realized the importance of technology, and the impact it can have on our students. I felt like I was in tune with technology and quickly found out how much of a digital immigrant I really was. I feel like I am armed with information that will not only help my teaching, but other teachers as well. I will now be a strong advocate for integrating technology into classroom practices.

The opportunities I received in this class are certainly applicable to my teaching. I now feel like I can incorporate teaching, learning and technology. I feel like I can better understand why students today learn so differently, and can strive to meet their technological needs. I am more in tune with the TA TEKS and standards and feel like, as an instructional leader, I can make some productive changes toward integrating technology. I feel more comfortable with the information I give and receive from the STaR Chart, and learned it was not just another thing to do, but it is important and the data is used for a real purpose. There has never been much emphasis on technology within my campus, and I felt that I was not at all preparing my student for their future. I have limited resources, but plan to utilize them to the best of my ability in the future.

I would like to have more up-to-date articles. I found them very informative, but thought some of them may have been a bit outdated. I thought the discussion board assignment was long and frustrating at times, but came to realize that it is yet another way to collaborate and communicate with fellow educators. I realized that the tools we need to impact education are few and far between and funding is going to have be reallocated to accommodate our students. We are really doing students a disservice by not integrating technology and preparing them for the digital-age.

I was successful in producing what I perceived as the expectations of the professors. At times I felt a bit confused and needed clarification, but I accomplished my goals. The assignments were very involved and took time, preparation, and research, but provided a way to learn these Web 2.0 strategies first hand. We applied skills that were new and had the opportunity to be hands-on with the assignments. I enjoyed the blog and I have used PowerPoints in many of my professional development presentations. Through my collaboration with my classmates, I now have many more ideas on how to make by presentations more attractive, applicable and informative. I had never used SlideShare and it was an extremely useful tool as well. There were many aspects of the assignments that I found to be helpful, and after I got it all figured out, were actually fun.

I learned a great deal in this class. In fact, it was frustrating how much I was not aware of in terms of technology. Campus leaders are not preparing veteran teachers with the knowledge we need to be successful models with technology. I was not aware of what the STaR Chart was used for nor did I know how much impact it had on campuses. I don’t know there was a Technology Plan for the district and our Campus Plan had very little mention of technology. My attitude changed several times throughout the class, I felt like I was informed when I started, then quickly found out I was not. This was frustrating to me, but also motivated me to get behind technology and push for more resources and incorporation of technology in the classrooms, especially with my English as Second Language students. As a leader, I plan to make technology a priority and implement an environment that works together to integrate our resources in an effective way.

I can easily see how a blog can make a huge difference with communication on a campus and have great value to the 21st century learner. Having a place to communicate with students and parents can benefit the educational system as a whole. Students can post information and receive information from peers otherwise unknown and teachers can keep parents informed about what is happening in the classroom. It is a place to localize information that pertains to school activities, class assignments, or school and classroom rules. You could also include tips for parents and students on how to stay safe using technology and sites that can be helpful for preparing for assessments and other educational endeavors. I plan to continue using my blog and have come to the realization that blogging is a resource that can open up a whole new realm of positive opportunities for education.

As a secondary teacher, I feel that I have the responsibility to expose my students to proper ethics on the computer. I think that I will begin by setting up the blog and we will check it as a class with me guiding my students as they learn their responsibilities with technology. I will encourage parents to blog information together with their children until they feel confident that they are ready to contribute on their own. This will give the students the experience, but provide supervision as students become aware of the possibilities the internet can provide. Teachers need to keep in mind their responsibility as well, and never post information such as student names or discuss student information in a blog. We have to have policies in place to protect our students and that must and will start with teachers.

Blogging can be very beneficial in communicating with key stakeholders. Stakeholders can be informed about what events are taking place on a campus as well as district activities. It can be a great place to create positive interaction between school and home. Often times, educational leaders get bogged down in the day-to-day responsibilities of the educational system, but a blog can be a quick and easy way to keep all stakeholders informed. It can certainly be encouraging to have constant connection with people that are invested in education. Many of the things I learned through this class will be very useful as an administrator and provide a connection between students, parents, peers and stakeholders.