Category: Unit 6

I am the principal of a small k-9 independent school.  Both teaching and learning at the school look much different than they did a few short years ago.  With the affordable availability of technology and a shift in educational direction we have been able to pivot quickly in a new educational landscape. We have seen learners who were once passive, following, consumers become students who are engaged, creating, leaders.  Technology has played a major role in this shift.

Platforms such as Google Classroom have allowed for students to interact in a closed social media like environment where they can practice digital citizenship skills. In much the same way many people contribute to professional conversations in Twitter, student have learned to use their Google Classroom stream like a forum to post questions, share digital resources, and create an ongoing conversation which exists beyond the confines of the school timetable.

Parents, teachers and students interact through an app based social media platform designed for education.  Teachers and students are able to share learning activities, presentations and pictures directly with class parents.  These stories are a way to include parents in the learning experiences of their children. Instead of asking the age old questions, “what did you learn at school today?” parents are able to say, “tell me about the activity that I saw on the class story today.” The success of this app developed as  a single teacher successfully used it in her classroom and others saw the benefit of it and incorporated it into their own rooms.  As a leader, I now require all teachers to use it in the elementary grades.

Teachers and support staff are learning to work through Microsoft 365 and/or Google docs to share resources they are developing or to co-create learning resources.   Staff have focused on teaching students rather than teaching lessons, this requires flexible thinking and the necessity to collaborate and problem solve, this process is often supported by technology.

We have seen the positive hybrid organization that has benefited from the union of technology and people ( Kandampully et al., 2016). There are many examples where staff, parents or students speak positively about the school  or demonstrate citizenship behaviour (Kandampully et al., 2016) in conversations with others or through social media.

In many ways combining technology and people together has grown rapidly but organically in our organization. The effect has made a significant impact in the value both employees and customers bring to the organization.  We have successful mechanisms for teacher/student, teacher/parent, and student/parent interaction.  The relationship which could benefit from a formal technology platform is the teacher/teacher (principal) relationship.

An employee development plan for the school would require the further enhancement of an open, trusting, collaborative culture which already exists.  I believe that this could be accomplished by shifting how we already use an internal social media app within the school.  Redesignating  this digital platform for administration and staff  could be used to recognize excellent work being done by co-workers, be a place of encouragement and celebration. It could also be a forum to host conversations for problem solving, linking co-created learning material and developing collaborative idea sharing.

As an administrator, it would not be successful if the redesignation of this app was simply mandated.  Leading conversation and asking key questions for the staff to answer in teams could lead to problem solving in this direction. If I am able to lead this process successfully they could either come to this solution themselves or perhaps present something even better.

Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., & Zhang, T. C. (2016). Developing a people-technology hybrids model to unleash innovation and creativity: The new hospitality frontier. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 29, 154-164.

As this course  got underway in September and I began the journey to understand leadership, I began to notice that something significant had changed.  Since completing  my formal teacher training 18 years ago, I had changed as a learner. Perhaps, it could be fair to say that I have grown up. It has been intriguing to watch myself over the past six weeks to respond to life and learning in a way which was so different now that it once had been. With this in mind, it is interesting to reflect on Knowles’ assumptions about andragogy (https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles).

Timelines and deadlines are still an important part of learning for me.  Where I once needed a deadline so I knew how long I could leave a task or assignment before getting started, they are now important for me to help plan and shape my overall life.  With a busy family life, demanding work responsibilities and academic assignments to complete, I definitely need a plan for each week. I was formally dependent on structure for motivation but now require it so that I can create a framework within my life which allows me to be efficient and effective.

I was invited to the position of principal 10 years ago and since crossing the hallway into the office I have often debated with myself and others how long I should wait before starting a Masters program. I wasn’t sure if I would complete it to legitimize my position or because I was in need of the skills. Now that I am underway, the value of 18 years in a school and 10 years of leadership experience has provided a rich deposit of experiences to draw from and reflect on.  It would be challenging to think about so many of the concepts discussed in this course without the foundation of experiences which I have developed over time.

As my role has continued to grow and requires a greater level of skill and perspective, the timing is right to provide an academic foundation.  It has become important for me to be able to successfully manage, build teams, equip staff and set vision.  I am internally motivated to do well because of these many external factors. The ability to incorporate learning directly into my work context makes it meaningful, powerful and exciting.