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Welcome to my blogging journey through the EDUC5205G, Leadership and Technology, course.  My name is Rachel Johnson and I am the Head of Science & Information Technology at White Oaks Secondary School in the Halton District School Board.  I am taking this course as part of my M.Ed. program at UOIT.  I've always loved learning; this is evident based on my prior educational background as I have an Honour's B.Sc. in Biochemistry, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, and a B.Ed.  My mom always used to ask me when I would leave school and get a "real job".... guess that's never going to happen!

Feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or comments about this blog.

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Week 6: An Introvert's Perspective on Class

This week, Lorayne has asked us to focus our learning log on what we are doing during class time.  Specifically, what am I doing in class time?  How much is passive learning? And how much is active learning? What I'm Doing During Class Let's start with what I am doing during class time.  I have to admit that most of the time I am listening to the conversation and discussion that is happening in class, especially when we are in a larger group.  As an introvert, I really find class overwhelming in terms of stimulus because I'm trying to take everything in, including the discussion, chat window etc.  I need time to process information... it's just the way that my brain works!  I do participate much more frequently during breakout discussions.  I appreciate it when we do breakouts as it gives me a break from feeling overwhelmed and allows me a bit more time to process and contribute to the discussion. Passive vs. Active Learning In regards to ...
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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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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...
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