Horizon Report - Are we Prepared?

YouTube - Mobile Computing : 2010 NMC Horizon Report


This is just one aspect of the efffectiveness of the Horizon Report. In a word - stupendous! I am really awed with what the future holds - What a great and bright future for our kids? I feel honored that I'm able to begin sharing from the many interesting web 2.0 tools I learned about in this course.  But how many educators are really ready for this transition?

I look @ the Web 2.0 tools that we are now using in 2010 and I question  myself - 'Will these tools still be in existence in 2020?' 'Are we preparing our students for the technological revolution? The above video gives us a taste of what the future holds. Are we as upcoming administrators ready to chart the waters and make sure the Net-Gen kids are not ahead of us?
I look back at where we were as educators when we began this course and look at us now! Confident, self-assured, motivated - to teach and share knowledge using none other than web 2.0 tools. What a transition!We have become futuristic, visionary leaders who are more than prepared to share technology with our staff and students. What growth - who would have imagined we would have come so far so quickly? I view the impact of the Horizon Report the same way I viewed this course as I entered - as a challenge. The onus is on us to prepare our students to click, swipe and scroll , because that's the way of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8

This short but powerful video reminds us of what we are up against as educators and how important technology is to the world as we know it!
To close my blog this week I leave you with a video on the 21st Century Learner. This is where we're at right now - did the Horizon Report prepare you for the future?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1srP6J7f9kY

The School Board and Technology

A school board according to Encarta World English Dictionary (North American Edition) is a local body overseeing schools: in the U.S , a group of people elected or appointed in each county or local school system to make decisions about education in public schools.

Quite a mouthful but there's more. In order to examine the role of the school board with technology support, I'd first  like to examine the roles and responsibility of the school board.

Roles and Responsibilities

Local school boards function as legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial agencies. They must develop, implement, and assess policy; institute sound employee relations; conduct open meetings; recognize and conform to the legal mandates imposed by state and federal laws; and govern within the limits of a delegation of state authority. Additionally, the board has an obligation to assess its successes and failures; inform the public of all deliberations and decisions; promote accountability; avoid abuse of power; enhance public understanding of its mission; conform to standards of ethical behavior; provide a framework for setting goals; and develop strategic plans for the accomplishment of those goals.

Finally, school boards provide leadership for the local school system, adopting a unifying vision and mission, soliciting and balancing the participation and input of members of the community, and advocating on behalf of the educational needs of children at the local, state, and national levels.

Educating the School Board about Internet in Schools

Although a school board consists of persons with varying educational backgrounds, I believe it is vitally important that school boards be introduced to, and be made aware of the technology programs and tools being used in schools.  Just recently a team of Elementary teachers in my county were charged with making a Technology Presentation to the school board. This was designed to serve two purposes - to exhibit the web tools and sites being used in the advancement of the children's education and to give the new incoming board an idea of just how important technology is to the schools in the district.

To say it served its purpose would be an understatement. The Board Members were quite impressed with the high level of technology that was being used in the schools and I was quite pleased to see two of our Web 2.0 tutorial tools - Slideshare and Photo Story - being used. I do believe that this presentation had a positive effect on the board. There were persons on the board who did not think students should be as exposed to technology in the classroom as they were, and it served to stop these negative thoughts right in their tracks. Embedded in the presentation were students' artifacts showing the practical use of the web in class to enhance learning. Suffice it to say ,that this inclusion  stopped the naysayers right in their tracks.

Board's Role in Technology Planning

   There is now a new board in place - they were inaugurated last evening - and I do believe the approach to technology in schools will be very different. There should be a concerted  effort  on the part of the board to make sure that more Web 2.0 tools are integrated in the classrooms geared at enhancing learning.     I was privileged to have a conversation with one member who has a 'powerful voice' on the board and he is determined to bring back to the High and Middle schools a lap-top program where every child has a lap-top for classes. Some schools are so privileged but there are still a few who are not as fortunate. He stated that the presentation gave him a renewed focus to seek as much funding as possible to assist in this venture.

 There are school boards who believe, as I do, that technology should play a vital role in meeting the needs of the wide range of abilities, disabilities, cultural backgrounds and ethnic populations present in school districts.

 School Boards should ensure that technology is appropriately and equitably integrated into instruction and management and used by all students and staff as an integral part of school improvement and student success. If the board has the best interest of the schools in mind; they should focus on students performance and achievement, increasing staff productivity and also ensuring the efficient day-to-day operations of the school system.