Week 9: Case Study Presentations

All of the case studies that were presented in class this week were fantastic. The one that really stood out for me though was the case study regarding the integration of blended learning in a college. I am teaching grade 12 college chemistry next semester, and this case study has made me critically look at how I plan to teach this course. If my students need to be prepared for a blended learning model, then I want to ensure that I'm preparing them as much as possible while they are still in high school. I know that most colleges use an LMS (Learning Management System) so I'm wondering if I should use an LMS (Brightspace by D2L is used by most Ontario school boards) instead of Google classroom?

The Bigger Picture

I have noticed that all of the case studies so far are focused around one major topic: change and resistance to that change. Leadership is really all about relationships and cultivating those relationships to break down the barriers and fears around change. In my current leadership role, I've also noticed that building and maintaining relationships with your team members MUST be a priority in order to build an environment where people are willing to take risks and try something new. I think this really speaks to how profound the Diffusion of Innovations theory by Rogers is to leadership. It is also intertwined with communities of practice, and Bransford's "How People Learn". I suspect that these themes will continue in the case studies that will be presented in class next week; I'll be interested to see if this hypothesis is correct.

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Week 4: Theory Presentations

This week in class, we reviewed several leadership theories through presentations that were facilitated by groups of three or four. It was really interesting how Lorayne set up this assignment and the presentations; we had to post our more "dry" content, in the form of an infographic or video, the weekend prior to class. The presentations were then focused on discussions around those leadership theories. I really appreciated this format as it was more student-centred and involved active rather than passive learning. I think I would have screamed if I had to sit through almost two hours of presentations! All of the groups did a really great job and I was engaged and eager to participate for the entire class. It's great timing that this topic has come up as one of my goals in my annual learning plan is to focus on creating a more student-centred learning environment in my classroom. It's so easy to fall into the typical "chalk and talk" mode, espe...

Week 6: An Introvert's Perspective on Class

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Week 12: Blue Sky Thinking

I have seen a general theme running through both this course and my practice in my leadership role. Technology leadership, or really any leadership, always comes back to RELATIONSHIPS. Fostering good relationships with staff and students creates a positive environment which is key to gaining trust and buy-in. This, in turn, allows for risk-taking and innovation. As I look back on the course, relationships were seen interwoven throughout the course content. For example, relationships were central to many of the leadership theories that I examined early on in the course. As a leader, using and modelling the use of technology can influence attitudes, as seen in social learning behaviour, which can then influence behaviours. This is linked to the theory of reasoned action, which describes how attitudes as well as norms can influence behaviour. Both attitudes and beliefs about the usefulness of introducing and adopting a new technology will influence the adoption. Communities o...

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