PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES in ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: Before entering the Two Summer’s Program, I had the incredible opportunity to lead my upper school’s IT Professional Development sessions, providing instruction in school-wide software and digital tools. I also served on the school’s Strategic Planning Committee to advocate for the role of technology in our classrooms as an essential element for improving our school’s academic rigor and sustainability. I was instrumental in the research, planning and budgeting necessary to implement the strategic initiatives established, including a 1:1 laptop program, a new student information database, and upgrading classrooms to include modern, digital tools, in tandem with a year-long professional development program based on ISTE’s NETS-T. By August 2011, I had launched the 1:1 Apple-based Laptop Program for all Grade 6 students, with an implementation plan for a full upper-school roll-out by December 2012.
PURSUING GRADUATE EDUCATION: As an agent of digital transformation at my school in the Netherlands, I had found my calling within the field of education. Inspired by my successes, I entered UCONN’s Two Summer’s Program with the intention of fortifying my experiences with the theoretical and pedagogical grounding necessary to further institutional change as a member of my school community. Initially, the Clark and Kozma debate struck me as a decision-making framework for the intentional and consequential use of technology for learning. Effecting change and leading professional development in technology does not mean utilizing technology for its own sake, but rather empowering professional teachers, through meaningful education on best practices, to determine the best tool for the learning task. This debate has clarified that I can still be an avid enthusiast for the role of technology in the classroom and still use “traditional” best practices, as long as I am intentional in my decision-making. I hope to continue to work as a change facilitator in the future. I particularly found the content on Professional Development interesting and look forward to the opportunity to continue serving my fellow teachers in such a role.
NEW SCHOOL, NEW ROLE: As my personal life required a relocation to Rhode Island, I began this academic year at a new school, in the role of History teacher. As a new member of the community at The Greene School, I joined Edmodo in support of the school’s attempt to stream teachers to one online platform, developing several online tutorials to share school-wide in support of its successful implementation. Given my previous experiences, I developed a reservation system to ensure the equitable and efficient distribution of resources to address double-booking and miscommunications over the shared "Computer on Wheels (COWs)". To ensure the success of the new circulation program, I empowered several digitally-advanced student experts through the establishment of a Student-Led Help Desk. I also relentlessly (and successfully) advocated for the purchase of Turnitin to encourage students to develop authentic writing skills and the development of a strategic technology plan. While I will miss the development of a strategic technology plan (as it will be written during the administrative summer session), I am encouraged that my commitment to the change process has been contagious in such a short period of time.
IT Leadership and the Student-Led HelpDesk: Managing the change process for more equitable access to digital resources, I formed a Student-Led HelpDesk to support the newly-created circulation program. Students also served as trouble-shooting experts, addressing issues ranging from personal BYOD questions to wifi connectivity challenges.
Left on the Table: Given the task to convince administrators to implement a BYOD policy, we developed a short video to describe how students are sold short when they are prevented from leveraging their digital devices in their learning.
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