5630 Assignment 2: The Nature of an Effective IT Leader: Characteristics and Outcomes

Desire2Learn (D2L) is used as a learning management system across the entire Calgary Board of Education(CBE) (Chioreanu, 2005). There are over 100, 000 students and close to 7000 teachers in our system who potentially have access to D2L (CBE, 2009). As part of the Curriculum and Learning Technologies department, we have a D2L Project Manager who coordinates the maintenance, deployment and professional learning associated with this learning environment. She maintains a balance between our technical IT department, and our subject-matter experts; continually focusing on technology and pedagogy.

Her effectiveness as a leader stems from one simple fact that is never overlooked: she’s a Teacher before all else.

As a former classroom teacher, online instructor, and Professional Development facilitator, she remains dedicated to Learning and Teaching. She is skilled in the area of “leading effective staff development opportunities to promote the use of technologies for meaningful instruction” (Hollingsworth et al., 2004). More than just technical support, our Project Manager demonstrates practical and pedagogically sound solutions that meet the needs of teachers within our system, while keeping her focus on student learning.

Our Project Manager ensures that all “leaders and support personnel have consistent access to technology-related professional development for their job assignments” (ISTE, 2002). One of her main outcomes is to provide all teachers within the CBE access to formalized, online professional development, as well as a virtual community and online tutorials for technical and pedagogical concerns. These areas are supervised and maintained by our Project Manager, so she is assured that all teachers within the system are provided with accurate and updated information.

But, to our Project Manager, it’s more than just providing access to high-quality resources and online modules. As Yee (2000) highlights, it is imperative that educational leaders encourage all staff members to “participate in appropriate, individualized ICT professional development activities.” To that end, she has initiated online training for teachers new to the virtual classroom environment. She respects the diversity that teachers bring, and understands that one of the cornerstones of successful PD is offering individualized support, regardless of the teacher’s skill level.

Our Project Manager is completely dedicated to student learning and will continue to lead our department in innovative ways, helping all teachers “create tools to help the different types of learners in their classrooms” (Christensen, 2008). For example, she has been a strong supporter of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and has personally offered workshops and sessions to help others within her department understand the importance of these principles when constructing an online environment.

Her background as an educator, and continued dedication to individual student success has allowed our Project Manager to be an effective leader within our school board. Her position has provided her with the means to achieve her core goal: the advancement of teacher learning and personal development to support all student learning.

References

Calgary Board of Education. (2009). 2008-2009 School Year Fact, figures, questions and answers about the CBE. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from http://www.cbe.ab.ca/media/facts.asp

Chioreanu, J. (2005). Calgary Board of Education Selects Desire2Learn For One of the Largest K12 eLearning Initiatives in North America. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from http://www.desire2learn.com/news/newsdetails_14.asp

Christensen, C., Horn, B. & Johnson C. (2008). Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns. McGraw Hill, New York, NY.

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 June 24, 2009 from http://people.uleth.ca/~m.hollingsworth/itl/itleadership.htm

International Society For Technology in Education. (2002). Essential Condition for Implementing NETS for Administrators. Retrieved June 24, 2009 from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForAdministrators/2002Standards/Conditions/NETS-A_2002_Standards.pdf

Yee, D. (2000). Images of School Principals’ Information and Communications Technology Leadership. Journal of Information Technology for Teacher Education, 9(3), 287-302.

5630 Assignment 2: The Nature of Effective IT Leaders: Characteristics and Outcomes

Think of an IT Leader, or educational leader, who you feel demonstrates excellent leadership qualities. Reflect on these qualities using some of the readings assigned within this course (or additional readings as described below). Using your reflection and the readings describe a core characteristic of this exemplary IT Leader (or educational leader). What is one of the core elements that make this leader effective? It may be a characteristic you have observed, for which the leader is generally known or for which they have been awarded recognition. Be sure to provide supporting evidence of the construct of this leadership characteristic by citing readings that support your observation. In other words, provide both a reflection on your observation and provide supporting evidence using the available literature.

As well, identify outcomes sought by this leader that relate to his/her core leadership characteristic. What are the outcomes sought by this leader? How do they appear to relate to the leader’s fundamental leadership characteristic?

5630 Assignment 1: Background and Interest in IT Leadership

It is difficult for me to separate my educational, technical and leadership background, because all three areas have been an integral part of my experience since I have been working full time. Because of my background, I sincerely feel that this Master's program is the absolute perfect place for me, as it will effectively combine these three areas and give me the continued skills to excel.

After I had graduated from the U of L (the first time – with my BA and BEd), I did not go directly into the teaching profession, but spent approximately two years working as a Manager in a local call centre that provided technical support to internet and cable TV subscribers. This position gave me the chance to explore my technical skills and was when I began to develop my managerial capabilities. Although I enjoyed the position, it was a far cry from what I had gone to University for, and I made the decision to return home to Calgary to pursue my intended career, as a school teacher.

Starting in 2005/2006, I began working at CBe-learn, which is the Calgary Board of Education's online high school. During my time at CBe-learn, I have been involved in teaching and developing online courses from a variety of disciplines, with the exception of Math. I settled into the English department early on, and have been teaching ELA 30-1 or 30-2 consistently for the past six or seven semesters. Because the majority of my student teaching was in elementary classrooms, that's what I had been expecting upon obtaining a full time position. However, when I heard about the unique and exciting program that CBe-learn offered, I knew I had found the perfect place to launch my teaching career.

Since starting my position at CBe-learn, I have had the chance to move into a unique role that allows me to act as the technical and instructional support for all of the teachers in our online educational environment. This has given me the chance to continue exploring my own personal leadership and technical capabilities. Half of my time (0.5 FTE) is dedicated to this role at CBe-learn.

All of the teachers at CBe-learn share in the unique experience of teaching in an online high school, and our talents were quickly realized by the rest of our school board. Therefore, many of us have been deployed into other schools to act as Learning Leaders, assisting with technology and pedagogy on a regular basis. The nature of my support has been extended along with these teachers, so I am able to provide them with the continued help and assistance they need. Over the past two years, I have had the distinctive pleasure of helping teachers in their work facilitating other teachers!

In our summer school session at CBe-learn, we hire approximately 30 teachers. Some of them come from within our school, but we also hire teachers from the entire CBE who may or may not have taught in a distributed online environment. A significant part of my responsibility in Summer School is to mentor these 'new' teachers, and make sure they have the right supports in place. I also act as their liaison, and field any of their questions or concerns about students, technical issues or pedagogical practices. This was an incredible experience last year, and shows promise of being just as rewarding this year. Although I am not acting in an administrative role, I am a Leader to all of our Summer School teachers, and provide them with the technical and instructional support they require.

I am incredibly fortunate to have these possibilities open up to me so early in my teaching career, and approach each new opportunity with optimism and enthusiasm. I strongly believe in the work we're doing at CBe-learn and across the Calgary Board of Education, as I know it is making a significant impact on student learning. By continuing to explore how I can be more thoughtful in my teaching, more skilled with information technology, and stronger and more confident in my leadership, I hope to continue to make an impact on all teachers and students; those who matter most.

-Monti Tanner