Running head: EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP

Educational Technology Leadership

Jaclyn Hruska
University of St. Francis
Managing Educational Technology Services
EEND-681
Karen Harkin
July 25, 2019

Certification of Authorship: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance I
received in its preparation is fully acknowledged and disclosed in the paper. I have also cited
any sources from which I used data, ideas, or words, either quoted directly or paraphrased. I also
certify that this paper was prepared by me specifically for this assignment.

Your Signature: _____J. Hruska ____________________________

Educational Technology Leadership

In recent years education has gone through many changes. Most of these changes are due

to the implementation of technology in the classroom. Being a 21st Century learner means

utilizing technology on a consistent basis. This is not always an easy task. Districts, schools and

educators face many challenges when it comes to the proper implementation of technology. One

of the biggest concerns is the challenge of providing adequate, on-going professional

development on new technologies to assist teachers in integrating these technologies into their

classrooms. This challenge is due to many reasons, which include but are not limited to the lack

of time and money, the constant changes in technology, and, not all teachers attending all
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professional developments. These are a few of the challenges that schools face with providing

adequate technology based professional development.

The biggest factor in providing professional development is time. Schools have a small

percentage of time set aside for this task through late starts, early releases or institute days. The

problem is that this time is then divided up between the many topics teachers need like

standardized testing, reading, SEL implementation, team building and teacher work time, to

name a few. According to Ratcliffee (2013), there are very few rules regarding how much time

schools needs to spend on PD and what needs to be covered. The amount of time that gets spent

educating teachers about technology may be none in some schools. This makes it very difficult

for teachers to implement technology effectively into the classroom.

Another factor that goes along with not having the time for PD is money. Education costs

money. If schools want to learn something new chances are they need to pay someone to come in

and teach the topic. According to Masten (2016), there is a large economic burden in professional

development. Everything from the cost of the presenter, to lodging, food and any materials or

programs needed. If a new app is being taught that is not free, the school will need to purchase a

license for everyone. The money can add up quick. Many schools and districts choose to use the

money elsewhere instead of in on-going professional development for technology

Technology is always changing and some of these changes happen very quickly. This

makes PD challenging when it is not on-going to keep up with the changes. As Stanley (2016)

states ,“by the time I pick some specific form of technology, tell you how to implement it with

students in your classroom, and ways it will make your students better 21stcentury learners, that

technology might already be obsolete.” This makes keeping up with technology very difficult.

Technology professional development would have to be occurring on a consistent basis to keep

up with all the changes. Schools do not have enough time set aside for PD to make this happen.
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Technology is changing education and creating many new challenges. One of the most

important challenges is finding a way to educate teachers on how to effectively implement

technology. According to the US Department of Education (2017), “teacher preparation and

professional development programs fail to prepare teachers to use technology in effective ways.”

Time, money and the rate of change in technology are important factors that need to be taken

into consideration when creating professional development for teachers. On-going PD on

technology needs to take place in order to keep teachers up to date. This is a concern that needs

to be addressed in order for all teachers to effectively implement technology into the classroom.
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References
Masten, M. (2016, September 24). Professional development: a wicked problem in education.

ASCD. Retrieved from http://inservice.ascd.org/professional-development-a-wicked-

problem-in-education/
Ratcliffe, R. (2013, October 7). Professional development in teaching: the challenges,

solutions,and status quo. The Guardian. Retrieved from

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/oct/07/professional-

development-teaching-learning
Stanley, T. (2016, October 21). 5 Suggestions for keeping up with technology. Corwin Connect.

Retrieved from https://corwin-connect.com/2016/10/5-suggestions-keeping-technology/

US Department of Education. (2017, January). Reimagining the role of technology in education:

2017 National education technology update. Retrieved from

https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf