Module 5 Reading Reflection

After reading "5 Considerations for Digital Age Leaders," I had many thoughts. The first suggestion is that each school system needs to have a district wide goal. I agree with this completely, but I think it is very difficult to implement. Being consistent district wide is important because it teaches the students what to expect and what is expected of them. In some respects, our district is on the same page. Each classroom has had a SmartBoard for nearly a decade now. However, I know that there are several teachers who do not use theirs, or do not use it to the fullest. As a high school math department, we try to implement the latest and greatest technology when it comes to graphing calculators. However, this is not the case in the lower grade levels in our district. I believe that technology is an important factor, but like it was stated in the reading, it is difficult to convince teachers to implement more technology when there is such heavy pressure for students to perform well on tests. The article talks about developing yourself professionally in order to do so, but I know that in some districts such as the one I am in, there isn't much money laying around for professional development and therefore it is not a strongly encouraged topic or a high priority for the district.