Technology and School Administrators

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:29:00 +0000

Explore how technology imporves school administration.
http://feed.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/13768/episodes/70882

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 06:01:00 +0000

Technology and School Administration

Due to the technological advances that have been taking place during the last twenty years, principals have had to learn many other skills their predecessors never even dreamed of. The growth in technology in our society has made it easier to store, compare, and utilize all of the data that is collected in the educational setting. The new-age principal must not only be comfortable and proficient in using the new technology available, but must know how to utilize it for the betterment of their school. In 2001, the Collaborative for Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA Collaborative) developed specific standards that EC-12 school administrators should know and be able to do to optimize the effective use of technology (TSSA, 2001).

Building principals must focus on building technology leadership, going away from the trend of delegating that role to their staff (Ford, 2010). Many times, principals that have held that title for many years are reluctant to learning new concepts. The concept of utilizing technology scares many of them; therefore, in many cases principals tend to delegate certain responsibilities to other staff members. Principals must embrace technology and lead by example. The Technology Standards for School Administrators (TSSA) state that they must be proficient in certain technological skills, because through the use of technology, administrators can enhance learning and schools operations. They must open their eyes and understand that, if it is used correctly, technology can improve the way their schools operate and even their students’ performance.

Technology can allow principals to track student performance more efficiently. When the right programs are utilized, principals can identify students’ needs. Once principals correctly identify students’ needs, then they can work on matching the resources they have at the school level to fill those needs. There are many programs that can help the school track the progress every student is making. In education, there is a trend to ensure that all decisions made by the principal are driven by data. Pressure has been growing in assuring that all decisions are made using the data-driven decision-making process in order to plan instruction, to evaluate programs and to make decisions regarding accountability (Ysseldyke and McLeod, 2007). The use of technology has made the process of collecting, exploring and using data easier than it has ever been. A principal can save their school’s data for several years and retrieve that data whenever they choose. There are programs that will take data and analyze it at the click of a button, technology has enabled us to be more efficient with our time and more accurate with the data we collect. It is imperative that school administrators embrace the use of technology because of all the benefits that come from utilizing it and not alienate it because they do not understand it.

We have come to a time in which technology has become an integral part of our lives. We utilize all sorts of technologies on a daily basis. There are technologies that we have become accustomed to because we have used it for many years. The national government and research shows that the use of technology can only improve student performance and allow principals to be more efficient as they manage their schools. The time has come for administrators to learn and embrace the technology they are so reluctant to use, not only because they are told that they must do so in order to be in compliance with national standards, but because by doing so they improve the chances that students will be successful and that we are servicing them to the best of our ability.

The Networked Administrator

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References

Ford, T. (2010). Elementary principals’ use of 21^st century technology in schools in New York State. Retrieved from Sage.Edu. http://library2.sage.edu/archive/ED/2010ford_t.PDF

Collaborative for Technology Standards for School Administrators. (2001). Technology Standards for School Administrators [Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.kyepsb.net/documents/EduPrep/tssa.pdf

Ysseldyke, J.E. and McLeod, S. (2007). Using technology tools to monitor response to intervention. Retrieved from http://www.kresa.org/cms/lib4/MI01000312/Centricity/Domain/32/Principals%20Institute%20Cohort%201/usingtechnologyarticle.session3.pdf