Into the Cloud: How Professional Development and Leadership Relate to Technology Implementation

<p>The skills necessary for 21st century society and the information age require that schools reevaluate their mission, vision, and goals to reflect how they will prepare students for the demands of a world in which immediate access to droves of information has led to increased value placed on what Tony Wagner (2008) has defined as the “seven survival skills”: critical thinking and problem-solving; collaboration and leading by influence; agility and adaptability; initiative and entrepreneurship; effective communication; accessing and analyzing information; and curiosity and imagination. For many districts and schools, the response has been adding technology to the menu of initiatives. Though on the surface adopting technology presents itself as a technical issue, the real challenge of technology implementation is alignment with learning goals and targets as a way to impact teaching and learning. It is this aspect of technology implementation that still remains a mystery as efforts fall short due to a lack of purpose, inadequate goal-setting, insufficient professional development (PD) and personalized supports, and a failure to evaluate progress. This program evaluation follows Modern Mind CUSD through its efforts in a districtwide 1:1 technology initiative and evaluates the relationship between professional development, leadership, and technology implementation. Through the analysis of multiple data types and sources, strategies in the arenas of context, conditions, culture, and competencies (Wagner et al., 2006) were identified alongside a policy recommendation to rebuild the evaluation process and tools in order to provide targeted feedback and support for teachers and administrators. By doing so, Modern Mind CUSD will have the capacity to sustain the use of technology as a way to support personalized learning goals not only for students but for all stakeholders involved.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Public Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Iovinelli, Jessica

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Elizabeth Minor
• Dr. Angela Elkordy
• Dr. Don Angelaccio

• technology
• integration
• professional development
• leadership
• 21st century skills
• Educational Technology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/441

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1473