Leadership in
Teaching
Jefferson Elementary School
Title I Math & Science Computer Lab
Middletown, OH
Description
During the summer of 1996, Middletown City School District commissioned the creation of a computer lab at Jefferson Elementary School, which was funded through a schoolwide Title I allocation, with the specific aim of elevating student achievement results in both math and science. I was tasked with the responsibility of designing the entire lab and equipping it with all of the necessary hardware and software and then using it on a daily basis to support the instructional needs of the school. The digital learning lab was the first for the school and for most students, it was their first experience of using a computer. Teachers and students in all grades, K-6, rotated through the lab on a weekly schedule and received supplemental digital instruction primarily in both math and science through the Jostens Learning course management system.
Analysis
From my first experiences in the classroom, I was captivated by the power of technology to transform learning. As a first-year teacher, the opportunity to design a computer lab from the ground up was a unique leadership challenge, which enabled me to utilize my passion for technology and its ability to inspire students for their future. When I was hired for the position, my principal, Sherry Gaston, provided me an empty classroom and gave me a mandate that I was to create a technology lab prior to the start of the new school year. Everything from the tables and chairs to the computers, printers, networking, and software, including the Jostens Learning system, had to be planned, budgeted, ordered, and eventually implemented in a very short time span. This learning experience at Jefferson Elementary School laid the foundation and provided me the knowledge base to successfully develop other large scale digital implementations later in my career.
Transformation
Technology, by design, is always transforming and it's important to keep up with the latest trends. As the school’s computer lab teacher, I learned a great deal. Along the way, I acquired important skills, especially those related to digital learning, which would impact my future. Specifically, I managed all day to day aspects of a computer lab, while successfully combining it with my teaching responsibilities. For my students, it served as a much earlier and more rudimentary version of personalized learning. At that time, when educational technology was still very much in its infancy, I believed that the technology was central to helping students improve their learning; however, I now believe it is imperative that we personalize the learning experience around the needs of the student, combining it with great teaching, and enhancing it with excellent digital learning tools. Doing so, will enable students, like those of Jefferson Elementary School develop a love of learning.