This chapter discusses the importance of technology infrastructure in schools and outlines the roles and responsibilities of educational leaders in developing and supporting that infrastructure. It provides examples of how principals and superintendents in New Hampshire have integrated technology into communication, collaboration, operations, and data-driven decision making. The chapter also includes a self-assessment for leaders to evaluate their skills and professional development needs related to technology.

1. EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN TECHNOLOGY:
PREPARING SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS FOR A
DIGITAL AGE
BY
VIRGINIA E. GARLAND AND CHESTER TADEJA
–Chapter 4: The Technology Infrastructure

2. CHAPTER 4: SYNOPSIS
• NETP Goal 4: “Infrastructure: Access and Enable”
• NETS.A Standard 3: “Excellence in Professional
Practice”
• Technology resources for school improvement
• Databases and management systems
• Communication and collaboration tools
• Leader survey for Chapter 4 skill sets
• Discussion questions

3. CHAPTER 4: LEADER REFLECTION
Key points in this case study come from both a school
principal and a superintendent of schools in Hopkinton,
New Hampshire:
• Technology needs to be interwoven into every aspect of district
operations:
o Communication
o Collaboration
o Operations
o Data-based decision-making
• Time is the currency of school improvement
• Technology has the power to simultaneously improve all aspects
of schooling while forcing increased efficiency

4. CHAPTER 4: LEADER REFLECTION
(CONTINUED)
• These examples are all simple but highly effective ways
of using social networking technologies to communicate
with students, parents, teachers, and community
members:
o The classroom teacher uses Skype to teach a home-bound student
o The students use an updated website to reference homework and
handouts
o The principal’s blog or digital newsletter celebrates the school’s or an
individual student’s achievements
• In the Maine Consolidated School District, there is a
“culture change” of all professional educators embracing
technology

5. CHAPTER 4: INTRODUCTION
• Explanation of NETP Goal 4 and NETS.A Standard 3
• Technology-enhanced school district infrastructure
• Databases of school and district information
• Roles of the principal, technology coordinator, and
superintendent in modeling collaborative technology
tools
• Principal and superintendent as educational
technology researchers and implementers

6. CHAPTER 4: INTRODUCTION
• Practical applications
• Connected research: advances in school inter-
operability standards and using emerging
technologies effectively
• Four key technology trends to improve student
learning
• Value of Professional Learning Communities
(PLCs)

7. NETP GOAL 4: PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE
• Four new technology trends to improve education:
o E-Rate discounts
o Internet access device proliferation
o Open educational resources (OERs)
o Cloud computing
•E-Rate discounts:
o Designed in 2010 in order to provide a framework for connecting
students to high-speed Internet access
o Creates financial data transparency

8. NETP GOAL 4: PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE
Internet access device proliferation
• The need for wireless platforms in education is recognized by the
National Education Technology Plan (NETP Goal 4.2)
• According to the technology plan, Internet access devices can
include “desktop computers, laptops, netbooks, public access
kiosks, mobile phones, portable digital players, and wireless
readers” (U.S. Department of Education, 2010, p54)

9. Open educational resources (OERs):
• OERs take the form of podcasts, e-books, digital libraries, and
online courses
• Web 2.0 tools are cost-effective, reusable learning objects
• Administrators are urged to implement this next generation of
technology systems by reducing the number of servers and
purchasing Software as a Service (SaaS) and Web applications
from cloud-based data centers
NETP GOAL 4: PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE

10. Cloud computing:
• Cloudware is a powerful collaborative tool
• Resources are 24/7
• Access to data is programmable
• Private clouds can be designed
• Both academic and administrative functions for P-12 education
are supported by cloudware
NETP GOAL 4: PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE

11. Interoperability standards:
• Standardizes student data between the state and local education
authorities
• Starts with pilot programs
• Standardizes financial data, which can increase productivity and
school improvement, especially with the purchase of emerging,
cost-effective technologies, training, and tech support
NETP GOAL 4: PROFESSIONAL
PRACTICE AND TECHNOLOGY
INFRASTRUCTURE

12. ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 3: EXCELLENCE
IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
• Administrators and teacher leaders have to take personal
responsibility for understanding changes in technology
integration
• Time and resources should be committed to professional
growth in technology integration in instruction
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs),
communication, and collaboration are essential
components
• Educational leaders are researchers and implementers of
new technologies

13. ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 3: EXCELLENCE
IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
• Networked professional communities:
o Linked to professionals both regionally and globally
o Share valuable resources
o Serve multiple student populations
• Emerging technologies as communication tools:
o Blogs, twitters and social networking sites
o Opportunities for administrators to share with the larger community how educational
technology helps to attain school goals and learning objectives

14. • Other communication tools:
o Screencasting
o Podcasting
o Lifecasting
• Collaborating with parents:
o Grade book programs keep parents and students informed of academic progress
o Classroom management systems link parents, students, and educators to non-
academic data
o Superintendents and executive cabinet use aggregated data to communicate with
stakeholders
ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 3: EXCELLENCE
IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

15. • Collaborative tools:
o Synchronous real-time platforms
o Technology studios
o Linked presentation tools
• Media centers and libraries:
o Literacy improved with electronic learning tools
o Librarians and media specialists need professional development for
integrating technology in the classroom, sharing information about new
resources, and demonstrating innovative instructional tools (Dees et al,
2010)
ISTE NETS.A STANDARD 3: EXCELLENCE
IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

16. CHAPTER 4: TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP
SELF-ASSESSMENT SURVEY
• Self-scoring survey
• Based on National Education Technology Plan (NETP)
Goal 4 (NETP 4.1 to 4.6) and National Educational
Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for
Administrators (NETS.A) Standard 3 (NETS.A 3.a, 3.b,
3.c, 3.d, 3.e)
• Ratings of 1 or 2 indicate areas of needed professional
growth
• Assessment can also be used to create an individualized
e-portfolio

17. CHAPTER 4: TIPS FOR LEADERS
1. In order to enable a technology-enhanced school district infrastructure, give
easy but appropriate access to data for students, educators, and
parents/guardians.
2. Communicate with your district’s parents and community members through
digital-age tools such as Podcasts, Twitter accounts, email listservs, wiki
websites, screencasts, or automatic call systems.
3. Use cloudware such as Google documents to develop and share policies,
technology plans, or project work.
4. Increase the efficiency of your district’s operations with web-based
applications for tracking and revising purchase orders, federal and state grants,
and other financial reports.
5. Use data-based decision-making to improve student achievement through
technologies that will assist you in dis-aggregating data on the state test, in
differentiating instruction according to individual scores on tests, and in giving
teachers data for planning intervention strategies while instruction occurs.

18. CHAPTER 4: TIPS FOR LEADERS
6. Be aware of the E-Rate changes that encourage districts to adopt electronic
learning records, to improve financial data transparency, and to fund wireless
connectivity to portable devices for students.
7. Improve your operational efficiency and security by reducing the number of
servers and purchasing Software as a Service (SaaS) and Web applications
from cloud-based data centers.
8. Implement a technology-powered management information system (MIS) to
input, access, and organize school district financial data.
9. Communicate with parents through newer grade and student behavior
management programs in order for them to access their children’s grades,
behavioral issues, and school notices about upcoming events.
10. Keep updated on the latest educational technology research through district-
level subscriptions to statewide and national databases.

19. CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. In what ways can you develop networked learning
communities in your own school or district? How might you draw
from various experts? Create a graphic visual to describe how
this process would look and share in a group or with a partner.
2. Real-time collaboration is an essential key to facilitate learning
and to propel the uses of today’s modern technology. How can
pre-service and in-service administrators develop real-time
collaborative activities? What would these look like in your own
Professional Learning Communities?
3. How can the sharing of student-learning data be improved in
your school or district? Discuss the accessibility of assessment
information to various stakeholders in the education process,
such as teachers, parents, students, and administrators.

20. 4. Does your school or district ensure that all teachers and students have
at least one Internet access device? If not, how can the obstacles to “one
computer per student” be overcome?
5. In referring to the list of websites and professional organizations for
educators on the companion website for this book, which websites do
you frequent and to which organizations do you belong? Explain how
your professional use of emerging technologies is enhanced by your
membership to these organizations or to other connected groups of
educators.
6. In the leader reflection for Chapter 4, a New Hampshire
superintendent and his elementary principal discuss their widespread
use of emerging technologies for communication, collaboration,
operations, and data-based decision-making. How do these two
administrators link their district’s cyber-infrastructure to improved
instructional practices? Compare the effectiveness of the digital tools
used in the Hopkinton School District, New Hampshire, with those used
in your school or district.
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

21. 7. In the leader reflection section of Chapter 3, a Maine secondary-
level administrator focuses on “culture change” with digital
communication tools and providing meaningful technology
workshops for parents (Maine has a one laptop per secondary level
student policy). In what ways can communication with colleagues,
students, parents, community members, and others be improved
through the use of social networking tools such as blogs, Twitter,
Facebook, or other interactive websites in your district? What might
be the advantages and disadvantages of a one mobile device per
child policy?
8. Based on your responses to the self-assessment for Chapter 4,
what are the next steps you might take to enhance professional
development in the use of digital-age technologies in your school or
district? What technology resources would you need in your own
professional e-portfolio in order to assist you in achieving your
goals?
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS