In today's dynamic educational environment it is no longer acceptable for a leader to be a Luddite. Leaders cannot hide from technology. They must not only embrace tools that can make the work of schools more efficient, but must also lead schools and districts to make sound educational technology choices. Too often schools embrace the newest, shiniest bit of technology without a purposeful plan as to its implementation and support. Like so many other educational promises, technology initiatives are announced with great fanfare and then quietly disappear when they are found to be inefficient or no longer a good fit for their intended purpose.
In Educational Leadership and Technology, Garland and Tadeja discuss models of exemplary use of developing technologies for leading in a digital age. In addition to the important role more commonly used applications play in leading a school, the authors include how Cloudware, social media, virtual manipulatives, and e-games can be used to enhance student learning. Not stopping at merely discussing the features and benefits of technologies, they investigate how leaders can support meaningful technology integration. The National Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS.A) and the National Education Technology Plan (NETP) are strategically integrated throughout this text, creating a useful resource for new and aspiring elementary-, middle-, and high school principals as well as superintendents and technology coordinators. In addition, reflections from practicing school administrators are included to provide a real-world context for today's emerging technology, while emphasizing the need for collaboration among parents, community, and students to implement the new technologies effectively.
Garland is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Graduate Programs in Educational Administration and Supervision at the University of New Hampshire, USA. She has also been a visiting professor in the cross-cultural studies department of Kobe University, Japan and the Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin Institutes of Education, China. Her teaching and research interests include technology integration and international education, positioning her to address educational technology integration through a more holistic leadership lens. Tadeja is Adjunct Professor in Education at the University of La Verne, USA. He not only teaches traditional and online classes, using a variety of learning management systems, but also researches student perceptions of blended learning. Together, Garland and Tadeja have found that there is a great need for effective classroom instruction that is driven by and embedded with technology, and school principals, district superintendents, and technology coordinators are increasingly evaluated by performance criteria that are based on the NETS.A standards. The authors’ work has led them to the conclusion that “transformational leadership is needed to infuse emerging technologies in the key functions of educational administrators: planning, communicating, and advocating for cost effective technology implementation in curriculum and instruction, assessment, and professional development” (p. 3). In order to lead effectively in the digital age, they have found that educational administrators need to participate in the wireless revolution and be prepared for its effects on the infrastructure of school districts. Garland and Tadeja's analyses, which feature sagacious text-based strategies for accessing technological content, in Educational Leadership and Technology provide practical advice for educators on implementing the NETS.A technology standards and the NETP national education goals.
Garland and Tadeja point out the importance of administrators’ understanding of the potential of computer applications to support teachers’ use of varied instructional models to align with each student's optimal learning modality. Furthermore, they assert that educational leaders need to acquire the same technology skills as their teachers and students in order to have the ability to support them, provide them with challenges, and offer guidance when a solution is needed. Educational Leadership and Technology emphasizes the need for emerging technologies in the daily instructional practices of educators; however, it also mentions that not all teachers, administrators, and learners have access to these tools and discusses the importance of finding ways to provide that access. Garland and Tadeja remind leaders, that although technology alone does not provide effective instruction, digital age tools can inspire the creativity of each child.
Beyond the leader's role in securing access to digital tools for their faculty and staff, the authors emphasize the crucial roles of school principals, program directors, and superintendents to serve as models of the effective use of technology as well as to support and to go beyond passive modeling by encouraging training in digital age tools. To facilitate this, they provide multiple suggestions of new products that allow leaders in education to be successful. One example is a new data collection tool the authors describe called Teachscape Walk. This handheld, wireless device, used during classroom observations, is based on a seven-stage classroom observation process and provides administrators with an easy, consistent reporting system for administrative walkthroughs. Beyond encouraging readers to facilitate data collection, Garland and Tadeja implore leaders to strive to be technology-adept by incorporating an effective technology plan in their vision as administrators, fostering innovation through modeling the use of new technology in daily practices, and becoming change agents and data-driven decision makers. Overall, the technology-based suggestions that Garland and Tadeja incorporate throughout Educational Leadership and Technology are useful to an aspiring administrator immersed in the digital age.
While Garland and Tadeja entreat all educational leaders to purposefully integrate technology to improve learning outcomes, some of the language used within the text requires a background in technology or the analysis of a tech savvy individual. There are a few parts of the book that could be difficult to fully understand for those who are still novices, but Garland and Tadeja offer different tools within the book to ease confusion. The leader reflections throughout the text provide some clarity, as they present a context of real-world scenarios that allow readers to visualize how a particular tool or resource could be applied in the field. Recognizing that school leaders cannot address gaps in their background without assessing it, each chapter also contains a “School Administrator's Technology Leadership Self-Assessment.” These self-assessments provide insight into readiness for the implementation of the technology resources discussed in a particular chapter. The authors also include End-of-Chapter questions motivating readers to interact and engage with the text resulting in a deeper understanding of the information provided in each chapter. The “Tips for School Leaders” sections at the end of each chapter are a great resource for novice administrators to use as a guide during the integration of new technology tools into daily practices. Additionally, a companion web site provides readers with PowerPoint slides, useful strategies, and links to web site and video resources which highlight current advances in technology, policy, and practice and how they interconnect with the ever-changing world of education. All the tools provided by Garland and Tadeja can be integrated to support an educational leader who is less comfortable with the language of technology, reinforcing that technology should be a means by which the work of leadership and educating students is made easier and more effective, not another burdensome task to master. The format of the text and the companion web site model how technology should be infused into the practice of education, and should not be a separate focus that an educator is required to address.
Ultimately, Educational Leadership and Technology serves as a relevant resource to aspiring administrators, current administrators in the midst of integrating more technology into their leadership role, or technology coordinators planning professional development for a school district. As the world flattens through technology, school administrators must be more than the leaders of instruction, they must be the leaders of educational innovation. Garland and Tadeja provide the foundation necessary for the preparation of school administrators in the digital age in which we live.
