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Transcript:
Hello! I have chosen Option 1 for the Discussion Board this week. It states “In terms of your professional experience, discuss the six elements that Sheninger suggests drives change. As a leader in educational technology, how could you apply this information to drive change in your district? What role, if any, does data play on driving change?? In Eric Sheninger’s Digital Leadership (2014), he explains the 6 elements as follows: connectedness matters, vision, value, support, professional development, and embracement. Although each school is unique, and there is no one-size-fits all, these small changes can have major influences on teaching, learning, and school community.
First, connectedness matters. In order to integrate and use technology efficiently and appropriately, one must first understand the knowledge, tools, and ideas that can come from connecting with social media. Social media offers an endless amount of information, tools, and ideas on a global scale. Staying connected through social platforms can be a great initial step forward in driving change. Second, vision. It’s obvious that in order to drive success and change, a vision must be shared among stakeholders. As Sheninger (2014) mentions, without the crucial why and how, any vision plan will fail”. The third element that drives change is value. “The true value of technology rests on how it is used to support learning and create experiences that students find meaningful and relevant” (Sheninger, 2014, p. 65). There is much value to learning and using technology and often times the stakeholders experience it for themselves before perceiving it as such. Fourth, support. Support in change is priceless, especially when change takes a direction that many are unexperienced or uncomfortable with. Support looks like staff working together to overcome fears and barriers about the new changes, in this case, technological changes. Fueling an environment of supportive people who share alike values and a vision for learning can lead to incredible changes. Fifth, professional development. Quality professional development on the use of digital technologies and literacies is crucial to driving change. These opportunities allow teachers to learn how to effectively use and implement the technologies. The final step of driving change is embracement. I really like the way Sheninger describes embracement. Sheninger discusses the difference between buying in and really embracing the change; empowering teachers to shift their instructional practices to integrate in technology has to come through intrinsic motivation and of course the other 5 elements of driving change.
My instructional coach always uses the phrase: There are two things that don’t lie and that’s DNA and DATA. Data can have a huge impact on driving change. For example, if an educator sees an approach or an integration that is working through proof of data, that teacher is more empowered to take on that approach as well because all educators want, is to see students be successful. I could apply this information through PLCs, Data Dig’s and staff meetings. I would discuss my personal experiences and results using data from the barriers that impede to the changes I had to make within myself to become technologically literate. Change doesn’t happen overnight, but one cannot do the same things and expect different results. Thanks so much for watching.
Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital leadership: Changing paradigms for changing times. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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