Why Become an Educational Technology Leader?

 

Three years ago, I decided to pursue a career to build my foundation to become a leader in the educational field. After years of traveling around the globe training staff, I concluded there is still a wide discrepancy among the way students learned. Many students did not have the opportunity to immerse in the growing field of technological tools. Technology should be available for all students; giving students the opportunity to excel in their learning and supporting them to develop skills helpful for their future endeavors. 

           

I have three steps that I envisioned myself taking to achieve my long-term goals to make a difference and to have a meaningful impact on society. First, I set out to become a lecturer; I became an adjunct professor at Saint Peter’s University to improve my teaching techniques, to learn from my students and to listen to their growing concerns.  Second, I have enrolled in the New Jersey City University doctoral program to learn about the fundamentals of educational technology leadership, theory and practice, and research. I want to be familiar with all the necessary standards and guidelines in the academic setting. Third, my goal will be to be part of an educational think tank to promote awareness and to encourage policies for funding to underserve organizations. I intend to focus my research on homeless youth, where I feel much attention is needed. 

 

Educational Leadership Philosophy

 

Transformational leadership best describes me. Northouse (2018) stated, “transformational leadership is the process whereby a person engages with others and creates a connection that raises the level of motivation and morality in both the leader and the followers” (p.186).  Continually, encouraging my students to go beyond what they are capable of, motivating them never to give up when situations are getting tough and providing comfort when needed. I offer my students with as many resources as possible for them to make fully informed decisions. At times, I feel frustrated; likewise, my students provide the moral support I need to overcome my challenges.

 

 

 

 

 

Timeline

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Goals 2018 – 2019:

 

• Plan to attend the World Maker Faire New York at the New York Hall of Science in September  2018. Completed 

• Continue to mentor middle school students for the Future City Projects. September 2018 to January 2019. Completed

• Volunteer as a judge during the regional Future City New York competition. Completed 

• Attend two conferences: 2018 Hunterdon County EdTech Fest & ISTE 2019 Philadelphia   Completed

• Provide support to my colleagues to help them integrate technology into their curriculums.  Completed

• Become a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City. Canceled

• Attend as a judge at the Design-a-thon at PS 126 MAT in Fall 2019. Completed

 

Goals 2019 – 2020: 

 

• Attend the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), Washington, DC, November 2-5, 2019. Canceled

• Work on starting a Raspberry Pi Meetup.  1st seminar meetup in Spring 2019 @ PS 126 Manhattan Academy of Technology.​​ Completed,

• Volunteer / Mentor at the Covenant House. (Location TBA)  Canceled

• Work with other cohorts to present at a conference. Presented with Justine Krawiec at the 2019 Hunterdon County EdTech Fest on Aug 7, 2019. Completed 

• Attend the Amazon Web Services NY Summit @ Jacob Javits Center in July 11, 2019. Completed

• Present a session on the use of Google applications at the Hoboken Homeless Shelter.  Spring 2019  Canceled

• Graduate with a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Global Transportation and Public Management. Completed  Summer 2019

• Participate in the Tunnel to Tower Climb at the Freedom Tower, NYC in Spring 2019. Completed. ​

• Teaching Assistant for the Graduate Summer Blockchain Course at Saint Peter's University. Completed Summer 2019

• Participate in the 5K Run from Battery Tunnel to Freedom Tower, NYC in Fall 2019.  ​- Canceled

• Register to attend Splunk Live NYC August 28, 2019, https://live.splunk.com/NewYork  Completed.

• Form SPU Workgroup to enhance work training on new technological tools.  Completed Summer 2019.

• Test out Instagram: a possible dissertation topic.  Canceled 

• Test out the Social Scavenger app. Completed May 2020.

• Prepare for audit certification: Certified Information Systems Auditor (March 2020). Pending 

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• Goals 2020 – 2021:

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• Successfully defend my dissertation. 

• Re-volunteer as a judge during the regional Future City New York competition. Uncertain if I can continue to volunteer for the three months weekend commitment to assist with student projects.  I will try to commit if possible to one month if it will work out with them. Canceled

• Publish an article for an academic journal. 

• Work with other cohorts to develop the framework for a Python coding camp. Move ahead of the schedule, instead worked with SPU graduate students on using Python to code Raspberry Pi projects - from August - Nov 2019. Completed

• Attend two conferences (TBA). Attended virtually Cyber Summit New England. May 13, 2020. & ISACA NY Metropolitan and NY Metro InfraGard Joint Virtual Event  May 28, 2020. Completed

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Organizations 

• Audit Holiday Committee - participate in bake events, ice cream social, pretzel, and empanadas sales to cover the departmental holiday party.

• Charity Committee - fundraising events to contribute to various charities during the holiday seasons.

• PA Abilities Network - increasing awareness across the agency about the contributions of people with disabilities and establishing a diverse and inclusive work environment that embraces employees for their abilities.

• Parents Working Group - finding ways to improve the work and family life balance within the agency.

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Graduate Certificates 

• Public Management - Fairleigh Dickinson University Completed Dec 2018

• Global Transportation Fairleigh Dickinson University Completed Dec 2018

• Data Mining - New Jersey Institute of Technology Expecting completion June 2020  Completed June 2020

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Presentations

• Co-present with Justine Krawiec at 2019 Hunterdon County EdTech Fest: Breakout EDU: August 2019  http://bit.ly/CodingBreakoutPresentation Completed Aug 2019.

• Co-present with Samantha Bahna at NJCU for the Quzhou, China delegation: Raspberry PI in Sep 2019

       ​https://bit.ly/2AdBiZe Completed Sep 2019.

• Submit a Raspberry Pi proposal with graduate TA to NJASL for Dec 2019 speed learning session. I presented in Dec 2019 along with Ghenaj Sanih, Rumana Syed, and Juan Taracena https://bit.ly/3dzTQAs. Completed Dec 2019.

 

Updated in June 2020.

 

References

 

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th edition). SAGE Publications, Inc. 

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