This workshop will provide school administrators and all leaders knowledge of easy-to-use and affordable multimedia tools and strategies to support communication of their vision, to build community, and to extend visible leadership in educational technology.

All participants will explore innovative ideas to help them effectively use cameras, microphones, computers, scanners, and other peripherals. Familiarity with these tools and “toys” will enable them to lead colleagues in the development of multimedia presentations.

Project ideas ranging from digital slideshows to publishing to the web will be presented. Strategies to build school or district teams will be emphasized. Collaborative efforts are crucial to maximize the message, enhance creativity, and optimize the time commitment. Any participants attending the workshop as a team (administrators, teachers, technologists, or interested community members) would benefit when taking the next steps “back home”.

Basic techniques of audio and video programming will be presented. Principles of photography, sound recording, video editing, as well as transition effects and titling are included in the skills introduced.

The foremost objective of this seminar is to inspire a shared vision for the comprehensive integration of technology, the first of the NETS*A goals. Practicing administrators and teacher leaders will be provided the knowledge and skills to model the powerful use of technology in communicating that vision. The actual utilization of innovative tools will greatly foster and nurture a culture of responsible risk taking.

The strategies promoted in this seminar can be more fully implemented through collaboration and teamwork. Within the goal of developing learning environments that integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching, project based learning and cooperative efforts should be promoted.

The building blocks of this approach encourage administrators to facilitate the use of technology-enriched learning environments that support creativity, higher-level thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

Outline

Outline:

I. Overview - 15 minutes
• Communicating a Vision of Technological Leadership through Modeling
• Technology - The Administrator's Friend & Companion – Striving to Stay Somewhere Near the Leading Edge of Resources and Research (TICAL & other SETS projects)
• Building Technology Enriched Learning Communities which actively promote their own Very Important Work

II. Demonstration & Guided Practice- 40 minutes
• Telling Inspirational Stories through Mulitmedia Technology
• An Introduction and Review of Easy to Use and Affordable Multimedia Software, including some of the basics of digital photography, audio, blogging, and podcasting.

III. Activity - 90 minutes
• Hands-on Lab Session to practice use of these Digital Tools & “Toys”
• Independent Creation Period - Team Projects

IV. Demonstration - 20 minutes
• Mini Multimedia Festival – Sharing of Projects in Process by Participants

V. Closure and Evaluation - 15 minutes
• Participant Insights & Emerging Ideas for Projects “Back Home”

Supporting Research

Q: What can school leaders do to enable teachers to make effective use of technology?
A: School leaders need to use technology in their own work and to communicate electronically with teachers.
RESEARCH EVIDENCE
Ready access to communications and information technology is a requirement for teachers and school administrators. Long-term planning for technology-rich learning environments envision technology infused in almost all activities. For example, in Ontario, Canada a principal conducted all logistical communications with his staff via email, thus eliminating the need for administrative discussions in staff meetings. (CEO Forum, 1999, p. 12). "Ongoing support…can enable all teachers to master new methods and operations, explore new techniques and applications, and observe the effects on student performance" (p.13).

Training administrators alongside teachers and engaging other stakeholders in the use of technology supports technology use in the classroom. The (Office of Technology Assessment, 1995) emphasizes the importance of an innovative school culture that encourages teachers to experiment and collaborate as they learn to use and integrate technology with curricula. When administrators use electronic technology to communicate with teachers, they model a willingness to innovate and they begin to identify with the challenges, frustrations, and expectations that teachers develop as they learn to use technology. Rapid feedback on curriculum planning, facilities and computer repair, and just-in-time learning is possible when administrators and teachers communicate online.

Email increases communication between administrators and teachers and extends dissemination of vital information. Observations and interviews with teachers, administrators, and staff at an elementary school that encompasses an entire city block in the Central Valley of California illustrates the contribution of technology for increasing communication and making better use of valuable teacher time. (Cradler, 2002) reports on the experience of teachers whose classrooms were so far away from the school office that they could not walk to get their mail or receive messages during breaks. As the teachers began to receive email from the office they were able to remain informed of vital information and to provide feedback to the principal and other staff without leaving their classrooms.
REFERENCES
* = Reviewed in CARET
Cradler, R. (2002). Netschools evaluation. San Mateo, CA: Educational Support Systems.

The CEO Forum on Education and Technology, (1999). Professional development: A link to better learning. The CEO Forum School Technology and Readiness Report. Retrieved February 11, 2002, from http://www.ceoforum.org.

U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (1995). Teachers & technology: Making the connection. OTA-HER-616. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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Reeves (1998) reviews current literature examining the effectiveness of technology and media as educational tools. An impressive number of studies are cited in this article. The information is organized along two dimensions: Studies which examine the use of technology to convey instructional material (e.g., instructional television, computer-based instruction), and studies that examine the use of technology as cognitive tools (e.g., databases, multimedia presentation software) to support the development of high-order mental skills.

The author concludes that there is ample evidence supporting the effectiveness of television as a conveyer of educational material.

Likewise, computer-based instruction programs are effective applications of media and technology in the classroom. The use of computer-based cognitive tools is also shown to be an effective aid in the development of higher-order learning skills. This is particularly true when the cognitive tools are employed within a constructivist classroom context.

Reeves (1998) suggests a number of areas where further research is indicated. He particularly advocates more longitudinal research programs that examine the use of cognitive tools in constructivist educational contexts. Reeves also points out that more research is required to examine the underlying principles of effective educational applications of media and technology. Too much current research focuses on demonstrating the effectiveness of various technology applications, without examining the specific details of the application itself.

Cognitive tools are very useful in helping students to design person-specific knowledge representations.
• The use of cognitive tools promotes the development of reflective thinking.
• The use of cognitive tools not only provides support for the development of higher-order mental skills, but it also provides expertise with the use of the actual tools themselves.
• Cognitive tools are effectively employed on tasks that take place within ‘real-life’ contexts.
• Multimedia presentation software can support development of a wide range of student abilities, including time management, organizational, presentation, and reflective thinking skills.
Computerized simulations, collaborative research activities, and virtual constructivist learning environments are particularly effective educational applications of media and technology.

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Multimedia projects motivate students. Students and teachers reported a positive change in student motivation for class assignments when the use of multimedia was incorporated into classroom instruction. Improved student motivation was the most frequently cited change by
all the teachers (Cradler & Cradler, 1999).

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Rovai, A., Cristol, D. S., & Lucking, R. (2001). Building classroom community at a distance.
Paper presented at American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA,
April 12, 2001.

Summary:
The purpose of this study was to explore the dynamics of community influencing learner involvement in online learning environments and the pedagogical strategies used to create a sense of community among students. Classroom community is defined in the paper in terms of
four dimensions, which are spirit, trust, interaction and learning.
The researchers found a significant relationship between classroom community and the number of messages posted by the subjects, indicating a relationship between feelings of community and the flow of information among learners.

Major implications for educators/decision makers:
This research study confirms previous research findings that interactions and collaboration among students increases classroom community which in turn facilitates effective student learning.

Presenter Background

Thom Dunks is the recently retired Director of Technology at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education in California. Previously, he was a school principal in Santa Cruz County for 25 years. During the nineties, he served as a District Technology Coordinator for 5 years.
He is a technology staff development presenter and was one of the 20 founding cadre members of the Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership (TICAL) in the state of California.

Thom served on the Regional Council of the California Technology Assistance Project(CTAP)-Region 5. He was active as a Trainer of Trainers in the Institute for Intelligent Behaviors with Arthur Costa and Robert Garmston in the late eighties with a special emphasis on
developing strategies to teach higher-order thinking skills.

His undergraduate major at San Jose State University was Broadcast Communications. He studied radio, television, and film. Thom holds a Masters Degree in School Administration from the University of San Francisco.

In his former school district, Thom created a school wide closed circuit broadcast system and a multi-media center. A rather sophisticated video studio was developed for elementary students and staff.

Thom leads trainings and activities in all areas of technology. Specifically, in multimedia technology, he trains others in the use of computers, video, and digital photography. He has provided training
in many multimedia presentations, desktop publishing, video production, digital editing, podcasting, and Internet research.

The relationship between our schools and the community is among Thom’s highest professional priorities. Technology and the Arts are both phenomenal conduits to nurture and enhance those relationships. We, in education, have a great story to tell and we have awesome tools at
our fingertips to do just that.