Standard & Element: Shared Vision and Rationale Reflection

The “Shared Vision and Rationale” artifact was created as a part of the course ITEC
7410, Instructional Technology Leadership. This artifact was designed to provide the school,
Hapeville Elementary School (HES), with an understanding and method for integrating
technology into their teaching, learning, and leadership. Though this was an individual
assignment, it was important for me to collaborate with the leadership, specifically the Principal
at Hapeville Elementary to better grasp the need for and emphasis placed on technology in the
classroom. I also communicated with the instructional coach, media specialist and the
instructional technology teacher to get a better insight of the need and direction the school plans
to take.
This artifact illustrates the ability to facilitate the development of a shared vision in
several ways. Hapeville Elementary administrators, and teachers have worked collaboratively to
design a school strategic plan to address several academic concerns. The plan indicates that
technology enhanced personalized learning strategies will be implemented to build students’
confidence in questioning and demonstrating their understanding. HES focused heavily on
including project-based learning that will support student perception of their past, present, and
future world. Additionally, HES will utilize digital tools to promote a rigorous learning
experience that will allow students to make connections inside and outside of the classroom.
The “Rationale” section of this artifact explains the ways that HES can reach the shared
vision, as well as research that supports those methods. Personalized learning was a method the
Principal expresses a desire to see teachers embrace to meet students where they are
academically and transform the learning environment where the teacher becomes the facilitator.
It was important to address how the proper usage of technology as a resource, was crucial to
creating student-centered learning environments that support the components in HES’s vision
statement. Additionally, the severity of teachers receiving proper professional development on a
continuous basis to ensure the vision of the school can is obtained is also addressed within the
artifact.
Project-based learning (PBL) research is provided and aligned with the development of
st
21 century skills such as communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking
(Edutopia, 2018). PBL is also a tool that will assist in closing the achievement gap as well as
provides students of all backgrounds a chance to develop 21st century skills. To foster 21st
century skills and promote rigorous learning environments, the artifact illuminates ways in which
technology and research-based tools, such as Seesaw, Office 365, MackinVia, Safari Montage,
iRead and iReady can be integrated into daily instruction.
Finally, tools such as Nearpod, Skype, and FlipGrid are provided as examples of those
tools that can create opportunities for students to make connections inside and outside of the
classroom. This creates a level of rigor that enriches the learning environment. The “Shared
Vision and Rationale” artifact demonstrates the ability to facilitate the implementation of a
shared vision through the division of responsibilities found in “Stakeholder Roles.” Using the
ISTE Standards and ISTE Essential Conditions as a guide, expectations and roles are defined for
students, teachers/educators, administrators, instructional coaches, parents, and additional
community members. Each party mentioned is given guidelines for how the ISTE Standards or
Essential Conditions can be used to support the school and its ability to meet the shared vision.
These roles, working collaboratively, will lead to a more successful implementation for the
school.
Creating this artifact allowed me to gain a different, yet deeper, perspective of what it
takes to truly create change in education. Prior to this artifact, I have either viewed task such as
this from two perspectives: the teacher or the coach. I have not had the opportunity to be a part of
the planning process of developing such an intricate piece. I gained the skillset of how to
examine an existing plan, analyze it and create something beneficial for an entire school
community. I appreciate the importance of creating a shared vision, because I believe in
partnerships when it comes to doing what is best for students. Having to take what was given in
the School Instructional Plan (SIP), perform a SWOT analysis and develop an Action Plan as a
result, gave me an opportunity to look deeper at what HES had to offer students in the area of
instruction and technology. It also allowed me to help come to a solution of how to strengthen
weaknesses and build on strengths.
If I could change anything about this process, I would have taken more time with more
teachers to gain an even better perspective. Oftentimes, teachers’ input about what direction the
school is taking regarding instruction in overlooked. I would also include parents and students in
the process. I received information from these groups indirectly.
This artifact impacts school improvement by providing ideas and resources to consider
when developing lessons and planning for student learning and proper technology integration.
Teachers are provided deeper understandings of and in what ways they could incorporated
technology into their instruction. They are also provided best practices while using technology to
support students. Walkthroughs, formal and informal, can serve to assess the artifact. Teacher
observations are another way to assess the artifact when focusing on the components that were
addressed. Additionally, lesson plans can be reviewed to determine if teachers are able to
integrate technology into their instruction in a more meaningful and purposeful manner

References:

ISTE Standards. (2017). Retrieved June 30, 2018, from

http://www.iste.org/standards/standards

McKay, F. (29 Jan. 2018). Ensuring That PBL Is Accessible to All. Edutopia. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/article/ensuring-pbl
accessibleall?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkdKdurb_2wIVy7fACh2Z-
A_CEAAYASAAEgLnPvD_BwE