Six-Year Professional Growth Plan (PGP)

Last updated August 11, 2020

Educational Technology Leadership: Vision and Goals

Technology and innovation has transformed nearly every aspect of business (Bessen, 2015; Satell, 2013) and has been a critical driver behind our economic growth (Margolis, Goode, & Bernier, 2011). Technology holds tremendous potential to transform K12 education to provide personalized learning opportunities for all students (Duffey & Fox, 2012; NMC & CoSN, 2017; U.S. Department of Education, 2017) and better prepare students with the computational thinking and digital literacy skills necessary to meet the growing demand for computer science (CS) jobs (Kessler, 2017). Unfortunately, the current strategies utilized in classrooms and schools throughout the world “have seen no noticeable improvement in their performances” (OECD, 2015). Furthermore, underrepresented minorities and females have dramatically limited access and enrollment to a computer science (CS) in K12 education (Wang, Hong, Ravitz, & Moghadam, 2016).

My educational technology leadership goal is to assist educators help students struggling to meet state and national standards reap the benefits of educational technology and provide ubiquitous access to robust CS programs. Throughout my twenty-five-year career in education, I have worked at the nexus of education and technology beginning in 1995 when I taught third and fourth grade students to write HTML code for a school web site during my student teaching experience. I have subsequentially held numerous roles leading large scale educational technology initiatives including serving as the Chief Innovation Officer with the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE), the Executive Director for Educational Technology and Computer Science with the Newark Public Schools (NPS), the Director of Technology with the Passaic City Public Schools, and the Manager for Professional Development for the Center for Innovation and Engineering Education at Stevens Institute of Technology. In each of these roles, I have planned, led, and implemented large scale education technology initiatives focused on increasing student achievement and engagement at a school, district, state, and international levels.

After working directly with schools and districts, I plan to transition to higher education to share the knowledge and wisdom I’ve developed with future teachers ideally in a tenure track position in a college of education at a local state university. I would also like to write in journals and author and/or collaborate on a book and continue to present at local, regional, and national educational technology conferences. I recognize that I do not have college teaching experience so will focus on applying for an adjunct position over the next two years.

Educational Technology LeadershiP philosophy

I have had the fortune to work directly with many great leaders over the past twenty years working in public education at the classroom, school, district, and university, state and federal level, as well as a few not so great leaders. Each experience has provided me with opportunities to learn how to think strategically, inspire people, solve complex problems, collaborate effectively, make tough decisions, and equally important, what not do. These experiences have shaped my educational leadership philosophy, which can be summed in three simple principles: always do the right thing, lead by example, and most importantly live by the golden rule, “do to others as you would have them do to you” (“Golden Rule”, n.d.).

My first principle, always do the right thing, has served as my moral compass and guided my decision-making process. When undertaking a project or presented with an issue or problem, I ask myself which approach will lead to the best outcome for the children I serve and lead accordingly. At times, there is a lack of consensus for what is the best outcome, however I have learned to trust my core instincts, a leadership approach Northouse defines as authentic in that “it incorporates the leader’s self-knowledge, self-regulation, and self-concept” (2013, p. 254).

My second principle, lead by example, can be defined as a willingness to undertake anything I would ask of my staff and expect others to act accordingly. Leaders whose actions match their words have earned my loyalty and trust. Conversely, I have learned what not to do from those whose actions diverge dramatically from their statements.

Finally, my third principle living by the golden rule is the most important. I like to be treated with respect and a genuine interest in my well-being and opinions, always trying to be “attentive to the needs and motives of followers and … help followers reach their full potential”, matching Northouse’s transformational leadership approach (2013, p. 186). Similarly, I would like both my concerns to be addressed and a leader to be interested in nurturing my professional goals, an approach Northouse defines as servant leadership. A common misconception with this parable is that it conflicts with making hard decisions that lead to negative consequences, such as closing a department causing the layoffs of staff members. In this example, I would like to be addressed with honesty about the motivation behind this decision and provided the opportunity to continue with the organization in a different capacity and would therefore lead accordingly.

Educational Technology Leadership: A SIX-Year Plan

References

Bessen, J. (2015, April 29). How Technology Has Affected Wages for the Last 200 Years. Retrieved August 12, 2018, from https://hbr.org/2015/04/how-technology-has-affected-wages-for-the-last-200-years

Duffey, D. R., & Fox, C. (2012). National educational technology trends 2012: State leadership empowers educators, transforms teaching and learning. (Rep.). Retrieved August 12, 2018, from State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) website: http://www.setda.org/master/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/National_Trends_Web-11.pdf

Golden Rule. (n.d.). Retrieved August 12, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golden%20rule

Kessler, S. (2017, March 09). 2015 college computer science graduates v. open computing jobs. Retrieved August 10, 2018, from https://www.theatlas.com/charts/B1rFqVkjl

Margolis, J., Goode, J., & Bernier, D. (2011). The Need for Computer Science. Educational Leadership, 68(5), 68-72.

New Media Consortium (NMC), & Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). (2017). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report 2017 K–12 Edition. Retrieved August 12, 2018, from New Media Consortium (NMC) website: https://cdn.nmc.org/media/2017-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf

Northouse, P. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2015, September 15). Education, New approach needed to deliver on technology’s potential in schools. Retrieved August 11, 2018, from http://www.oecd.org/education/new-approach-needed-to-deliver-on-technologys-potential-in-schools.htm

Satell, G. (2013, April 10). 4 Ways In Which Technology Is Transforming Business. Retrieved August 12, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/04/02/4-ways-in-which-technology-is-transforming-business/#655e101ad9c7

U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Education website: https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf

Downloadable PGP

• Six-Year Professional Growth Plan (2018-2024) – Joshua Koen.pdf (last updated August, 2020)