When digital technology first arrived in schools most principals delegated the responsibility for it to an interested staff member, in much the same way as responsibilities such as EOTC or financial literacy are distributed today. As time has passed and the influence of digital technologies has become more pervasive across nearly every activity in which a school is involved, it is now necessary for all principals to have a knowledgeable and strategic oversight of this extremely important aspect of 21st century schooling. A knowledgeable and strategic oversight does not require principals to become digital technologists. It is enough for principals to understand enough about ICT to lead from an informed position with a clear understanding about how technology can transform learning and what a school needs to do to become digitally competent. The rapidity of technological development makes this a big ‘ask’ and this article attempts to capture some of the key understandings that principals and school leaders need in order to successfully lead the digital journey in their schools. We all know how engaging digital technology can be, but from the outset we need to be clear in our understanding that engagement
does not necessarily lead to increased student achievement. Today’s effective principals and school leaders cross match their pedagogical understanding of how to raise student achievement, with their growing knowledge of what digital technology can deliver, to lead a school-wide curriculum that engages students and leads to increased achievement. The following six keys, developed from observing digital practice across New Zealand and synthesizing current research, provide strategies to help principals and school leaders to become more strategic with digital technology. Key 1: Immersion in digital environments matters In the early 21st century the digital immigrant/digital native theory, which linked digital competency with age, found widespread acceptance across the education sector. Prensky (2001) theorised that those born prior to 1980 would always operate as digital immigrants using technology with an ‘accent’. Many educators used this theory as an excuse not to engage with technology, believing themselves doomed to failure before they had even started! In recent years research has been carried out to test this theory with Helsper and Eynon (2010) concluding
that “ . . . immersion in a digital environment (ie. the breadth of activities that people carry out online) tends to be the most important variable in predicting if someone is a digital native in the way they interact with technology . . . ” (p.515) So the first key understanding is that if you want to raise both your own and your organisation’s overall technological capability spend more time online. And there are some really smart ways to do this. Identify everyday tasks that could be easily transferred to a digital environment with an example being calendars and diaries. Many educationalists still run paper diaries, supplemented by the whiteboard year planner on staff room walls. Moving to electronic calendaring will not only increase your efficiency it will subtly teach staff to think in a more digital way. Support teachers to move their planning onto a digital platform and look at how you might employ the digital tools used in classrooms for school administration. Once again you’ll experience an efficiency gain and an increase in digital competence as staff go about their daily tasks. Key 2: Technology-rich schools are not just about technology Some exciting research is starting to appear about what contributes to a successful technology-rich school. Drawn from an analysis of case studies of high achieving schools from across the United States, Levin and Schrum (2012) identified eight keys that were present in all these technologically-rich schools. These were: Vision
Have a clear vision for where technology integration is headed
Leadership
Ensure that schools have strong and distributed leadership
Technology
Provide good tech support for teachers
Professional Development
Provide ongoing differentiated professional development
Curriculum and Instruction
Revise the curriculum to promote 21st century knowledge and skills
School Culture
Focus on making school culture collaborative
Funding
Identify realistic, sustainable funding sources for technology
Partnerships
Forge partnerships with families, universities and community businesses
Interestingly most of Levin and Schrum’s keys draw on the wider principles of effective leadership rather than a direct focus on technology itself. They conclude: “These schools
achieved their results by focusing on learning-centred goals like making learning relevant, providing new opportunities to close achievement gaps, and improving graduation rates and college readiness. In other words, their goal was to educate students for work and life in the 21st century, not just add technology” (Levin & Schrum, 2013, p.51) Key 3: Technology needs to do more than just mirror your existing practice Puentedura’s (2014) SAMR model provides a framework to help us understand how digital technology might be used in teaching and learning. At the lowest end of the model technology is used as a direct substitute for existing practice. The second stage, augmentation is when technology offers a functional improvement to existing practice. Stage three, modification is when technology is used to significantly redesign learning, with
In New Zealand Improve the depth, breadth and rigour of your school’s thinking, learning and inquiry programs. Engage your learners in powerful curricula that directly connects to authentic real-world contexts. Design rigorous, significant, authentic learning experiences for your students that promote deep knowledge and deep understanding.
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the final stage redefinition being the creation of new tasks which are only possible because of the technology. BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) programmes and other digital initiatives are only of benefit if they enable students to learn in ways that would be impossible without the technology. The challenge for schools is to keep thinking about the possibilities digital technology offers. Key 4: Create the conditions for innovation One of the current Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI) projects led by Julie Mackey of the University of Canterbury, in collaboration with leaders of four collaborating schools (Tawa Intermediate, Levin Intermediate, Belfast Primary and Churton Park Primary) is looking at how innovative leadership enables e-learning for better student outcomes in primary schools (http://www.tlri.org.nz/tlri-research/researchprogress/school-sector/extending-innovative-leadership-enablee-learning). A more detailed article about this project will appear in the January issue of NZ Principal magazine but some of the emerging findings are encapsulated in the following diagram:
Reminiscent of a child’s spinning top, authentic relationships are the pivotal point of the organisation. Coming from the centre are shared vision and values leading to future-focussed expectations. Trust in people and trust in process are the next layer out, with trust in process leading to a willingness to comply and trust in people permitting freedom to innovate. Finally the momentum which keeps the top spinning is inquiry-based practice. It is important to note that the tension between the willingness to comply and the freedom to innovate gives the spinning top balance. Too much compliance will lead to bored disengagement, but innovation without the structure that compliance brings, will cause an organisation to get the speed wobbles. Spinning tops with speed wobbles career away on unpredictable paths. Key 5: Sort out content ownership Online environments have made it really easy for teachers to share resources with each other. Most educators do so unaware that the content they produce in the course of their job, is actually owned by the school’s Board of Trustees. Schools can resolve this issue by passing a policy that makes it possible for teachers to legally share the resources they have created. This has also become a strategy adopted by the Ministry of Education. Creative Commons NZ have resources on their website to help schools with this. Many Boards give teachers advanced permission for sharing.
Key 6: Dip in the Pond When I started teaching more than 30 years ago, the on-going challenge was to find enough resources to deliver the curriculum effectively. Often you chose a topic of study based on the number of books and other resources you could procure for your students to use. Today we face the opposite problem with the challenge now being to navigate the myriad resources delivered via the internet to find suitable content in a timely fashion. The internet which has created this challenge for teachers is also the tool with which teachers can solve it. Enter Pond . . . Pond is an exciting New Zealand-owned asset, available free to every New Zealand educator. Pond is an online environment in which educators can discover and share curriculum resources, whilst connecting and collaborating with each other in new and powerful ways. Students will begin to have access to Pond during 2015. Whilst Pond is only one, albeit very important new digital tool, it also serves as a reminder of the need for principals and school leaders to continually apprise themselves of ways to use technology to solve the challenges which technology brings. A Final Word During the 1500s, the mechanical printing press enabled knowledge to be more widely and rapidly disseminated than had ever been possible whilst books were reproduced by hand. The outcome of this was a vast increase in knowledge and understanding in all areas of human endeavour as people were more easily able to build on the ideas of others. Today we are experiencing a similar acceleration of knowledge and understanding enabled by digital technologies. Times of great change require great leadership. Digital technology will enable schools and students to do more, learn more and achieve more than ever before. Wise leaders who understand enough about digital technologies to lead strategically are now required in every school, and the great thing about this is that digital technology is the vehicle that will enable us to do this together. Tēnā koutou, he waka eke noa! References: Helsper, E., & Eynon, R. (2010). Digital Natives: where is the evidence? British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 503–520. Puentedura, R. (2014). SAMR in the classroom. Retrieved 10 October 2014 from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/2014/08/27/ SAMRInTheClassroom.pdf Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives Digital Immigrants. On the horizon (MCB University Press, 9(5) Retrieved 10 October 2014 from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20 Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf Schrum, L., & Levin, B. (2012). Evidence-based strategies for leading 21st century schools. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Schrum, L., & Levin, B. (2013). Technology– Rich Schools Up Close. Educational Leadership, (March) 51–55 Mackey, J. (2013). TLRI Project: Extending innovative leadership to enable e-learning for better student outcomes in primary schools. Retrieved 10 October 2014 from http://www.tlri.org.nz/tlri-research/ research-progress/school-sector/extending-innovative-leadershipenable-e-learning
www.pond.co.nz
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Launch your school into Pond in 2015 with Make a Splash Pond; where educators make learning ideas happen, together. Make a Splash is a self-managed
Pond can help your teachers streamline their planning by
six week programme designed
of like-minded educators while providing a platform to share
to guide your whole staff (or a group of them) through Pond. Each week participants will receive an instructional video via email which focuses on a specific feature in Pond. These videos will direct your team through a series of tasks, each task building on the last and specifically designed to aid them in their use of Pond and planning.
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helping them find resources and lesson ideas from a community best practices and the great resources they discover. Independent of N4L’s Managed Network, Pond is free to all educators.
You can enrol your staff quickly and easily by following the steps below: 1. Complete the registration form found at www.n4l.co.nz/makeasplash 2. Choose when you’ll start the programme 3. Get your participating staff to complete their form (which we’ll send you) 4. Get your staff Education Sector Logons with Pond entitlements from the Ministry of Education Service Desk 5. Jump into Pond!