Explore how technology imporves school administration.
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Friday, July 13, 2012
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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.
Ford, T. (2010). Elementary principals’ use of 21st
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
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