Leadership Paper

1. EMPOWERING LEADER 1
Standard 3 Brief Paper
Whitney Thompson
wkthompso@coastal.edu
2/20/2023
EDIT 760, Instructional Technology Leadership
Coastal Carolina University

2. EMPOWERING LEADER 2
Introduction
Standard THREE from ISTE addresses leaders creating a culture where teachers and
learners are empowered to use technology in innovative ways to enrich teaching and learning.
The first indicator states education leaders should empower educators to exercise professional
agency, build teacher leadership skills and pursue personalized professional learning. The second
indicator state leaders should build the confidence and competency of educators to put the ISTE
Standards for students and educators into practice. The third indicator states leaders should
inspire a culture of innovation and collaboration that allows the time and space to explore and
experiment with digital tools. The fourth indicator states leaders should support educators in
using technology to advance learning that meets the diverse learning, cultural, and social-
emotional needs of individual students. The fifth indicator states leaders should develop learning
assessments that provide a personalized, actionable view of student progress in real time.
I will analyze the application and implementation of these indicators for Horry County
Schools District. I will gather information from my general observations.
I will evaluate the five indicators for standard three to determine if the district meets the
standard.
Performance Indicators
The first indicator under standard three of the ISTE standards states that educational
leaders should “empower educators to exercise professional agency, build teacher leadership
skills and pursue personalized professional learning.” (ISTE, 2018, Empowering Leader 3.3a).
The district employs a Digital Integration Team, this team supports teachers by creating a group
of teacher leaders called EdTech Task Force. This team develops professional development
sessions that will be available for educators in August and February district professional

3. EMPOWERING LEADER 3
development sessions. The team provide professional development sessions with consultants that
will support hardware and software on pre-existing technologies such as iPads, Microsoft tools,
and others. These goals are measurable by the personalized school long-range plans and other
school reports. Education Leaders will create and promote an environment of professional
learning to enhance student learning through integration of technology by facilitating ongoing
professional development opportunities, modeling communication and collaboration among
stakeholders, and staying abreast of emerging trends and technologies. (Digital Learning Plan,
2023). For indicator one of standard three, I will rate met. The district empowers educators to
exercise professional agency, build teacher leadership skills and provide personalized
professional learning.
The second indicator under standard three of the ISTE standards state empowering
leaders should build the confidence and competency of educators to put the ISTE Standards for
students and educators into practice. (ISTE, 2018, Empowering Leader 3.3b). The Digital
Integration Team aligns professional development efforts to the ISTE National Educational
Technology Students. This team will also work with Learning Services and Curriculum Coaches
to align and support student learning objectives. “Leaders will support systemic improvement
with the effective use of information and technology resources. Leaders will collaborate to
collect and analyze data, interpret results, and share findings to improve growth”. (Digital
Learning Plan, 2023). For indicator two of standard three, I am going to rate met.
The third indicator under standard three of the ISTE standards state empowering leaders
should inspire a culture of innovation and collaboration that allows the time and space to explore
and experiment with digital tools. (ISTE, 2018, Empowering Leader 3.3c). The Personalized
Digital Learning Initiative provides educators with the tools needed to engage students to ensure

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that students are college and career ready. The goal of supporting educators through professional
development will allow students to receive an educational experience that will prepare them for
life. Everyday in the classroom we have set Small Group and Workstations times, and there is an
digital content “station”. Student’s digital content have a required amount of time they need to
complete each week for their digital content. For indicator three, I will rate as met.
The fourth indicator under standard three of the ISTE standards state empowering leaders
should support educators in using technology to advance learning that meets the diverse learning,
cultural, and social-emotional needs of individual students. (ISTE, 2018, Empowering Leader
3.3d). Teachers will use the SAMR model to integrate technology in the classroom. The SAMR
model integrates technology through substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition.
In substitution technology is directly substituted as a more traditional teaching tool. The
augmentation step is where technology is still substituted but with more significance to
enhancing the student’s experience. In modification, you move from enhancing to actually
changing the lesson’s design and its learning outcomes. The last stage is the redefinition stage,
technology tools allow educators to redefine a traditional learning task in a way that would not
be possible without the technology. (PowerSchool, 2021). Educators also use technology daily to
support student learning objectives by adding digital age learning experiences and assessments.
Blended learning instructional models are used to support technology integration into the
classroom. Learning is customized and personalized to address students’ diverse learning styles,
and their abilities using digital tools and resources. I will rate indicator four as met.
The fifth indicator of standard three of the ISTE standard state empowering leaders
should develop learning assessments that provide a personalized, actionable view of student
progress in real time. (ISTE, 2018, Empowering Leader 3.3e). In Kindergarten students use

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Lexia Core 5 as ELA digital content, and Dreambox as Math digital content. I can track student’s
progress, view what areas they are struggling on, and the program creates individualized small
group lessons that can be used to support students in areas they are struggling in. Horry County
School PDL Initiative merges the use of 1:1 devices and a blended learning instructional model.
Hardware and software available to students in Elementary grades are Google Apps for
Education, SmartBoards and Promethean Boards, Achieve 3000, ALEKS Math, ITunesU,
Discovery Education Science Techbook, Discovery Education streaming services, and Lexia
Core 5. Students in Middle grades have: 1:1 Chromebooks, Google Apps for Education,
SmartBoards and Promethean Boards, Achieve 3000, No Red Ink, USA Tech Prep, ALEKS
Math, Discovery Education Science Techbook, and Discovery Education streaming services.
High School grades have access to 1:1 Chromebooks, Google Apps for Education, SmartBoards
and Promethean Boards, No Red Ink, USA Test Prep, Achieve 3000, USA Test Prep, ALEKS
Math, Discovery Education Science Techbook, Discovery Education streaming services, and
Edgenuity.
Educators have a surplus of tools to enhance student’s educational experience using
technology. All applications educators have a real time view to see how students are progressing
and if they aren’t progressing. I am going to rate indicator five as met.
Summary
Standard three from ISTE addresses leaders create a culture where teachers and learners
are empowered to use technology in innovative ways to enrich teaching and learning. Overall, I
feel like Horry County Schools have met Standard 3. The district creates a culture where
educators and students use technology in innovative ways to enrich teaching and learning. As an
educator for the district, we have to include technology in our weekly lesson plans.

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References
Horry County Schools. Horry County Schools Digital Learning Plan 2017-2018. Retrieved
January 31, 2023, from
https://www.horrycountyschools.net/cms/lib/SC02209139/Centricity/Domain/74/HCS_D
igital_Learning_Plan_17-18_Update.pdf
SAMR Model: A practical guide for k-12 classroom technology integration. PowerSchool.com.
2021. Retrieved February 15, 2023, from https://www.powerschool.com/blog/samr-
model-a-practical-guide-for-k-12-classroom-technology-integration/