Introduction
This internship proposal will be aligned with Technology Facilitator Standards (TFS) to address the major aspects of the Internship work that is Leadership, Needs Assessment, Professional Development, Shadowing, and Reflection. TFS is educational technology standard that provides services and leadership to enhance teaching and learning by incorporating computers, the internet, and other associated technologies into the schools. These standards are meant to make learners access information easily, accelerate learning, enable students to practice what they learn as they explore deepen their understanding of subjects.
Leadership Goal
The activities here will be focused on leadership and vision for the school. The facilitator will strive to contribute to the shared vision of the school of integrating technology in the teaching and learning environment and inculcate a school culture conducive for achieving the vision ((“ISTE,” n.d.). Secondly, the technology will initiate strategies for using technical knowledge to manage the changes in the school ((“ISTE,” n.d.)). The goal will be for the technology facilitator to lead in the development and evaluation of school planning and implementation of technology integration (“ISTE,” n.d.). Lastly, the goal will be to supervise classroom-based experiences as teachers implement technology integration in the school.
Needs Assessment Goal
The activities under this goal will concentrate on technology concepts and operations. The objective will be for the facilitators to show in-depth technology operations and concepts, both in the management of school programs and classroom applications (“ISTE,” n.d.). Further, the educators will be able to implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for using technology to maximize students learning process, skills and knowledge development, results, and outcomes. The teachers will be able to organize strategies to manage the students learning process in technology-enhanced classrooms.
Professional Development Goal
The teachers will be able to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and understanding of concepts correlated with technology. Secondly, the educators will be able to apply research on teaching and learning when planning educational experiences in the school (“ISTE,” n.d.). The teachers will also be able to develop an appropriate learning environment that uses technology to support instructional methods that meet the diverse individual differences and needs of the students (“ISTE,” n.d.). This goal should also enable the educators to participate in professional development activities related to the management of school facilities, technology, resources, and purchases. In addition, the educators will apply technology and implement curriculum strategies that include methods and strategies for utilizing technology to maximize students’ learning outcomes.
Shadowing Goal
On this goal, the aim will be to make teachers use the school technology facilities and recourses to implement classroom instruction. In addition, the educators will be in a position to use technology recourses to empower all students irrespective of their diverse backgrounds, individual differences, abilities, and characteristics (“ISTE,” n.d.). This goal will also make educators continuously assess and reflect on their professional practices before making decisions regarding the best technology to support the learning process (“ISTE,” n.d.). Further, the facilitators will be able to assess the learners’ appropriate use of technology resources for learning, communication, and productivity; as well as using various technological techniques to examine learning outcomes (“ISTE,” n.d.). Finally, this goal will aim to make teachers manage students learning activities, skills, and creativity in a technology-improved environment.
Reflection Goal
The goal will focus on the assessment, as it will concentrate on enabling educators to use technology to facilitate a number of effective and efficient evaluation methods on students’ performances. It will apply many technological techniques in assessing the learners’ understanding of the subject matter (“ISTE,” n.d.) The goal will aim to advance teachers’ technological skills to collect and analyze data, interpret results, and communicate the findings to enhance and maximize the learning process (“ISTE,” n.d.). Lastly, the reflection goal will use many techniques to evaluate to ascertain the students’ levels in using technological resources for productive learning and communication.
Rationale
Technology is a critical component of every society in the world today. In education, it enhances the delivery of instructions in classrooms as well as the management of school activities and programs. This proposal is meant to bridge the gap in technology use in schools by offering a clear strategy to enable teachers to incorporate technological techniques in their school management and instructional delivery for students in classes. Through this internship, the technology facilitator will strive to increase the knowledge and make the teachers comfortable in using technology in their school activities. Further, the lead technologist will provide teachers and instructional assistants with technological tools to help them solve current problems in the classroom. Additionally, the internship would provide the educators with strong leadership for them to feel like leaders of technology in their classes. This should be reflected by the end of this program, as teachers will have new knowledge and tools that will help their everyday lives as educators.
Leadership
Leadership in technology assists teachers to create the most ideal environment for students to learn. During this internship program, the intern will play the role of the lead technology facilitator in the school. To actualize this, the leader must first establish a vision for technology in the school. The lead facilitator should create the context and how technology will be used to restructure the learning process in school. The leader will therefore need to take steps to empower teachers on technology application and integration in teaching. Secondly, as the key figure, the leader will have to adopt technology in all they do in the school to encourage other teachers to follow in their footsteps. The leader should be the role model for others using technology in their work and so they set the example to others on how efficient and effective things are done with the aid of technology. Further, the lead facilitator of the technology must always be ready to attend training on technology integration in teaching, practices skills learned in school, and identify training opportunities for teachers.
The leader must also give chance for teachers to apply technology tools to assess student achievement and attainment of learning objectives. They should organize school meetings, plan for training programs where they demonstrate how these tools are used. When demonstrating the lead facilitator must give insights on how the technology tools are used to report the learners’ progress. The leader must ensure that the right technology resources that meet the school’s needs and specifications like hardware, software, and other supportive devices are made available to all teachers. It is also critical that the leader explains and communicates the importance of technology in improving students’ learning experiences to all the teachers and other school stakeholders. Benchmarking with other schools with a good reputation of technology establishment, to help them import good practices for the learning, teaching, and management of their school.
Needs Assessment
Technology provides instant access to information and so it is important for teachers and students as well. It is crucial for the need for technology devices and applications in schools and classrooms to be assessed to get the right learning experiences for students from diverse backgrounds and abilities. Currently, the school lacks the right specifications of computers, internet connectivity and human resources that can support technology integration. At this point, there is no infrastructure both hardware and software to support the full integration of the school. The school administration and management are supporting the idea of integration full of enough financial resources to roll out the right technological system for the process. Additionally, technical support for the full implementation of technology in teaching and learning at the school is weak. All teachers, assistant teachers, and school administrators who are supposed to implement the technology do not have the right skills and knowledge to implement the integration strategy.
First and foremost, the school administration and management must fully support the process of technology integration by allocating the right financial support to purchase the hardware and software infrastructure. Administrators must also construct network coordination rooms and install high-speed internet capabilities in the school. The school should also employ at least two technicians who will do the daily maintenance of the whole computer system in the institution. Lastly, all teachers who will be the facilitators of the technology integration must go for capacity building and training on relevant Technology to assist them to implement the process.
Professional Development Module
In the current teaching environment, all teachers and their assistants are not proficient in the use of technology. This was ascertained at the time of needs assessment using the International Society for Technology in Education (“ISTE,” n.d.). These standards show the required performance profile for technology-literate teachers. Therefore, all the teachers and their assistants will have to go through a professional development module to enhance their technology literacy. The module will be based on the Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) of Virginia (Cordes, 2019). This approach has eight teacher technology competencies that are divided into two competency sections. The first part is the operational standards which state that: technology instructor must demonstrate effective use of a computer system. Secondly, they must apply knowledge of terms associated with educational computing technology. Thirdly, instructors should be able to apply computer productivity tools for professional use. Lastly, the instructor should use electronic technologies to access and exchange information.
The next part of the professional development module will incorporate the instruction standards. According to FCPS, instructional personnel must identify, locate, evaluate, and use the right hardware and software to support the learning process (Cordes, 2019). Additionally, teachers must be able to use technologies for data collection, information management, problem solving, decision making communication, and presentation. Further, the educators should be able to plan and implement lessons that integrate technology to meet the diverse needs of students in several educational settings (Cordes, 2019). It is also important that teachers demonstrate knowledge of the ethical and legal ussies relating to the use of technology.
Based on these standards, the teachers’ professional development module will have units on Introduction to computers, Computer hardware devices, and operating systems. They will also cover basic computer applications including Word processing, Spreadsheets, Database management, Desktop publishing, and Presentation (McNulty, 2021). There will also be a competent in basic networking and Internet use including how to surf the internet, send and receive an email, and how to download and upload data over the internet. The module for teachers will also cover the use of video streaming, virtual classrooms, education applications like Brightspace, and Moodle where they can post assignments for students (McNulty, 2021). Online grading systems such as PowerSchool where teachers can post grades, analyze students’ attendance patterns, and manage transcript data also be part of module training. The last bit of this professional development will be piloting the system with teachers as they implement the technology with a few selected students. During this phase of the training, the leader who is the facilitator of the process will evaluate the process and make adjustments or corrections before the full implementation of the technology in teaching and learning.
Shadowing Activities
A realistic implementation plan will take into account the number and needs of all students in the school. All the stakeholders including education officers, teachers, and parents will be involved (Kurt, 2017). Two meetings will be arranged with all stakeholders or their representatives to brainstorm and explain to them what is required for the successful integration of technology in teaching and learning in the school (Kurt, 2017). The lead facilitator and the school administration will seek the approval of the school administration to set up a network coordination room, purchase 980 tablets for all the students at all levels of learning, install high-speed internet connections. The stakeholders will also have to approve a budget for buying 120 laptops for all teachers, assistant teachers, and senior school administrators. Further, there will be a need to buy applications that support the instructional transfer of knowledge online.
In the meeting, the lead facilitator will explain to stakeholders the school vision and philosophy behind technology integration and how it will be employed to improve the educative process of both teachers and students. After the purchasing of the system infrastructure and training of the teachers and school administrators, the lead facilitator will oversee the installation of the system and trial phase of the technology. This will be accompanied by an evaluation of the whole process to detect the weaknesses and errors for correction before the full implementation. Being a critical section of the project, the internee will incorporate the services of two mentors from the faculty to help with their input on system trials and implementation. There will be a final report produced that will be shared with all the stakeholders about the trial and implementation phases of the program. However, there will be no technology workshops or professional development (PD) to attend during the 110 hours internship period.
Reflection
In the course of this internship, the author intends to develop and enhance their team-building skills and to be able to work with people from diverse cultures. The intern will seek to learn to take responsibility as a leader, develop problem-solving skills, work ethics, how to adapt to different situations, time management, how to coordinate activities, and communication strategies. This will give the internee the experience through putting what they learned into practice and learning skills and management skills on technology integration brought positive changes on academic performance of the students. The author expects to gain insightful experience in assessing and evaluating technology integration programs for future use in other learning institutions. Additionally, by leading this project of technology integration, the intern is looking forward to completing challenging activities of the program, seeing through them to the end, detecting and correcting errors for the program’s success.
Timelines
References
Atabek,.O. (2019). Challenges in Integrating Technology into Education. ResearchGate. Web.
Cordes, A. (2019). How we diffuse Innovation to personalize instruction at FCPS. Schoology Exchange. Web.
Gupta, P. (2016). Role & responsibility of a school leader in technology integration. EdTechReview. Web.
ISTE. (n.d.). Technology facilitation standards. International Society for Technology in Education. Web.
Kurt, S. (2017). Planning for educational technology integration. Education Technology.
McNulty, N. (2017). Top teachers integrate technology in the classroom – this is how!. Web.