Dr. Bette Grey, School Technology Branch, Alberta Education

Dr. Grey presented a number of interesting ideas today.
The first idea presented was Kingdon's model of organized anarchy of policy making. It poses that there are three streams problem, policy, and political. These streams operate independently for the most part. The problem stream tries to "frame" problems, that is to define the problem. Policy stream tries to identify solutions to the problems. This is more rational part, as it compares problems and solutions and tries to logically pair them together. Then there is the political stream which is where politicians operate. They are bound by rules that are not necessarily rational or logically, but it is the reality in which they find themselves.
Every now and then a "convergence window" opens when something large affects one of the streams. This gives an opportunity for the streams to work together to resolve an issue, relieve political pressure, or to implement an exceptional policy. The frame right now is that problems are not about technology, but rather about student learning. If we want a problem to be recognized (to open a window), we must frame it appropriately.These windows close when there is an actual or percieved solution to a problem that is implemented. This lessens the publicity of an issue, and it is no longer needed to be addressed. Also, someltimes key players with a given issue can change roles (ie. minster of education) which changes the focus, thus closing the window.

Theremay be a window opening with regard to the Learning and Technology policy framework.

Does the ICT Outcome POS (Program of Studies) still exist?
Is it too outdated? Is it being implemented well? How are we assessing it? What, if anything, needs to change?

These are the questions coming out of that particular window. We need to think about how we are going to answer these questions. This will become the policy that is the solution to the problem that we are facing.

Her suggestions for future leaders is that the biggest role of leaders is to be able to foster change.

Here is the presentation that Lyle and I presented to our class today.

http://docs.google.com/Presentation?id=dhssqmnb_16d84mgrfq

It was a lot of information, but I think we did well with it.

Mr. Gary Spence, Wolf Creek Assistant Superindendent

Today Gary Spence came in to speak to our class about his perspective of information technology and its implementation within the wolf creek school division. The reoccurring theme throughout his presentation was consistency. At the highest level of organization is the idea of a shared vision with students, staff and parents. This is continued throughout the organization. For example, their websites, designed with Rapid Web Designer, allows a consistent website at all levels. They also use what they call EXfiles, a repository for content that is developed by teachers that can be shared throughout the district allowing for collaboration and consistency across the district. With their 1:1 project, they use software to make the laptops as consistent as possible. When it comes to hardware, they also have consistent hardware that keeps maintenance cost down and allow similar it experiences at their different school.
They also make efficient use of focus groups to make informed decisions. This helps everybody to have input and get on the same page, which again lends itself to the consistency of the district. These groups are made for all of their big projects. The big advantage is that they can get a big picture idea of what the project should be. This takes more time upfront, but helps them to do things right, the first time. Planning is another concept that has come up from a lot of the presentations. David is a strong advocate that we need to plan at least 5 years in advance. This is very important to help maintain a stable financial plan.

David views technology in education as basic literacy in education. He believes that we should learn using technology, not necessarily learn how to use technology. He also thinks that the most foundational part of implementing technology is to first make it reliable, then train how to use, then integrate the technology and evaluate it. David's "fear" in IT in education is that we as educators will be irrelevant to the students with regards to education and technology. Students are the ultimate focus of what David does in his role.

David explicitly referred to the necessity of a leader being committed to kids, staff, excellence, integrity, dignity and respect. A leader, according to David must also be humble and must be a visionary. They must also have some (a lot) of technological and pedagogical knowledge to be able to constantly evaluate technologies in light of student learning.

As far as leadership qualities goes, David has a great ability to evaluate material, technology and communications that come his way. This is reflected in all of the policy that David is involved with. His team is in a constant process of assessing, then evaluating everything they do. This allows him to identify redundancies (making the division more efficient). This also allows him to evaluate where technology fits within the division's vision. David's team constantly is reviewing policy and decisions made on these policies to see that they are in accord with the rest of the division.

Mr. John Percevault

Today we had John Percevault come in a speak to us. He seems like a very motivated individual with not only a vision for technology integration, but also a lot of leadership qualities.
The most striking of these qualities is his ability to look at the future and plan for events. He is able to help others see the future from his perspective and "come on board". This allows him to lead people through his vision. He has worked together with a number of stakeholders to develop a sustainable plan for school district #51 for years to come.
One of the big ideas that I found he stressed in his presentation was equitable access. This seems to be a big deal in all of the schools and school districts that we have examined so far. In the past two years, under his leadership, the school district has been able greatly decrease the digital divide that was a reality in many of their schools. With equitable access to educational technology, the school staff have placed their trust in him and are willing to work alongside him for his plans instead of each school doing whatever seemed right in their own eyes.
John, by implementing an overarching plan for the district. He also provided the schools with a framework that allows them to plan in accordance with the district plan. This systemic planning has been another key in implementing change within the district.
Finally, the last thing that stuck out to me was the commitment for communication and collaboration with a large group of people to constantly reevaluate the plan and make needed changes. I think that since we live in a society where change is the only constant, this will prove to be invaluable. This also allows for lead teachers from school to share best practices and pass them on to other schools in the district.
John really has a lot of great qualities that contribute to his successful leadership. I hope that my university work and future experiences allow me to develop some of the same qualities, so that I may be able to follow his example of leadership.

Presentation from Mr. Barry Litund

We had the pleasure of having Mr. Barry Litun present to our class today. Hi made the priority to be here, when he could have been packing for a trip he was going to take off for later today. Barry has a very interesting background and a real passion for leadership that was clearly shown to all that were present. He is very humble about some of the work that he has done, but here is a little taste of some of the initiatives that he has tackled as superintendent of Lethbridge Public school district # 51.

He has worked together to create a great sense of collaboration between all people involved. He worked with all 19 sets of administration to help implement change in the district that would be accepted from the schools instead of implementing top-down projects. He also involves all conceivable stakeholders in his town hall meetings. This allows him to have a more holistic view of the school district.

He also has a passion for equity for students. This would be a great challenge in any large school district, but he, with the rest of the people he works with, has went through great lengths to ensure that this happens to a more than reasonable degree.

Barry also has adopted, with the rest of the district, a vision for 21st century learning. This is not something that is tacked on to other plans, or is added later, but a concern in the forefront of decisions that are made.

Barry has a combination of foresight and flexibility that help him and the district to look to the future to make sure they are prepared for the unknown that is to come.

LSD 51 has also implemented a loosly coined term "forklift evergreening". This process would see the complete replacement of computers on a very large scale (all middle/high school stations) at once to help keep costs down. This is a great opportunity to keep costs down, and ensure equity of technology at the different schools. This would be a great opportunity, if they were willing (and no, I did not even talk to them about this) to allow smaller schools and or districts to make purchases with them to allow this large scale purchase and consistency of hardware to be passed on to other school districts that do not have the same opportunity for various reasons.

These were the key points that Barry summarized at the end of his presentation
Technology has to be dependable
Technology has to have a central vision
Technology has to be safe and secure
Technology has to have a back up plan
Parents and students have to access information
Technology has to allow for individual technologies (allow for people to bring in their own technology components that they are familiar with)

Overall Barry seems to have a great deal of vision for the district and does a great job of seeing that the vision is shared and accomplished. He has also found many great people and organizations to help him and the district in such pursuits.

Communication in Educational and IT Leadership

Although I have not had the opportunity to work with many IT leaders in my career as a teacher, I have worked with many talented individuals that were involved in educational leadership. One such individual is Rob, the principal of my school. Rob has many talents and abilities that assist him in leading, but the one characteristic that is most outstanding is his communication skills. Communication is a skill that is necessary for a leader of any type.

Communication is much more than words that are heard or read. A leader must carefully choose the method of their communication. It should be consistent with their role and their philosophy within that role. Just as a grade 4 teacher encouraging their students to cursive write should not print instructions on a whiteboard (or Smartboard), an educational leader should not communicate in a way that is inconsistent with their philosophy. One of Rob’s outcomes for our school was to encourage the use of inquiry based learning, which Rob helped the staff achieve by providing engaging activities to help us understand that particular model of education. Also, with regards to IT leadership, the International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE] published a technology leadership standard in 2009 that said that IT leaders should use “technology resources to improve and enhance their productivity and professional practice.” (Technology Leadership Standards, Section TL-V) This means that IT leaders use technology to communicate messages and this in turn communicates uses for technology and encourage others to use it as well.

Rob also realizes that communication is more than conveying ideas to others, but also includes listening to what others have to say. Rob makes a consistent effort to listen to the people he works with. Carey (2005) identifies this as a quality that belongs to the “best leaders”. Rob is very intentional in gathering communications from various groups (students, staff, school board, parents, etc.) which allows him to have a more holistic view of his school. It is also important for an IT leader to be aware of the ideas and perceptions that are prevalent amongst the groups that are connected (directly or indirectly) to the technology that they are responsible for.

Although many leaders have countless good ideas, collaboration with others is often necessary to assist in making good decisions and setting appropriate goals. This collaboration can only be accomplished through communication. Rob’s communication skills allow him to tackle difficult problems by communicating with others involved and also allow him to gain feedback on decisions that he previously made. This allows for a group to take ownership of a school (or any institution) instead of one very motivated individual. Rob, as any other leader, also facilitates collaboration between different groups (ex. teaching staff and school board) through good use of communication.

Hollingsworth et al. (2004) recognizes communication as one of eight “knowledge, skills and attributes (KSAs) that are expected of District IT Leaders in Alberta” (p 24) and that 97% of leaders involved in their study identified communication to be a key attribute for an IT leader. Without communication skills, a person will not have anybody or anything to lead, but with communication skills, a person is able to lead a group of people toward a common goal. Rob’s communication has helped our school be a place where everybody is able and encouraged to work toward a common outcome of educating tomorrow’s leaders.

References

Carey, D. (2005) Some Reflections on Leadership. CIO Canada. November 13(11) p. 6.

Hollingsworth, M., Mrazek, R., Steed, M., Spence, G., Balding, P., Percevault, J. (2004). Information Technology Leadership in Education: An Alberta Needs Assessment. An Alberta Learning funded research project. pp. 1-52. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://people.uleth.ca/~m.hollingsworth/itl/itleadership.htm

International Society For Technology in Education (2009). Technology Leadership Standards. Retrieved June 20, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTechnologyFacilitatorsandLeaders/Technology_Leadership_Standards.htm