SETDA's NLI Toolkit 2003 - Technology Leadership Skills

After more clearly identifying key elements of the role of an effective technology leader as well as a common vision statement about the global import of educational technology, some members of the Technology Leadership Skills for the 21st Century Work Group focused on the specific challenges technology leaders face in interacting with other individuals and groups within the education system in efforts to maximize the potential technology can have on student learning. This group identified the disjointed organizational structure within state departments of education as a major obstacle to doing this. Most cited the fragmentation between specific departments, and the lack of coordination between these departments that results from this, as a major hurdle in integrating technology into all areas of learning. Thus, this subgroup worked to identify strategies to more effectively navigate the structural organization of state departments of education, with the hopes of overcoming such divisions to build productive and mutually beneficial relationships between various departments.

This subgroup identified and developed three key steps intended to guide state educational technology leaders in working towards building and nurturing these relationships:

Building Relationships Within the Education System

In educational environments, technology leaders need strategies that apply to their specific needs and challenges. In order to build partnerships to maximize the potential for education technology, effective leaders need to:

I. Identify leaders/influentials. They are people with established networks and people whose opinion is valued. It is important to note that they are not always those we think of in positions of authority.

II. Interact and collaborate to develop and nurture relationships that result in a shared vision and purpose.

Initiate informal meetings in a non-threatening environment to build alliances (i.e. lunch, coffee).
Attend conferences and meetings of specialists in other areas and invite them to educational technology conferences where applicable (e.g. curriculum, applied tech., accountability, special education).
Encourage collaboration between entities to enhance accessibility to resources for all populations (i.e. distance learning for rural populations; Native American populations; English as a Second Language/English Language Learners).
Work together to broaden the "vision" of curriculum and assessment. Promote the use of appropriate tools and resources to provide new ways to assess and demonstrate learning (i.e. multimedia student products, student portfolios, project-based learning).
Discuss Return on Investment in educational technology (include tangible/intangible costs and benefits).

III. Share and utilize tools and resources that will enhance the teaching and learning process for all students.

Share the compelling reasons for educational technology
Identify and share "success stories" and "best practices".
Incorporate principles of universal design to make tools and resources accessible to all students (i.e. collaboration on design of Web pages for users with disabilities).
Combine efforts to hold conferences or workshops that can be mutually beneficial.
Combine resources (i.e. dollars, professional development, hardware/software), where possible, to provide the best educational solutions.
Collaborate to secure resources to meet educational goals and needs (i.e. joint grant proposals, pilot programs).
Develop mutual informational mediums as a way to share tools and resources for learning (i.e. common calendars, newsletters, listservs, or fliers).
Share the "good news" as it is happening (i.e. Feature best practices on state Website, share with school boards/districts /government).