Activity 1: Leadership in the Digital Age

Leadership is a very difficult task in today's changing school environment. The advent of technology has brought about new  ideas and new perspectives on leadership. School leaders are faced with the responsibility of initiating and implementing school  change via the use of ICT and facilitating complex decision to integrate ICT into teaching, learning and educational administration. They are sometimes faced with the challenge of leading teachers to change their pedagogy in order to integrate ICT. However, change is sometimes very difficult to bring about especially when persons develop old habits over a period of time. Some are just stuck in their old ways out of fear of the unexpected or not wanting to take on any additional workload. According to Spencer Johnson,“Movement in new direction helps find new cheese.” Therefore, leaders must be tactical enough to gradually introduce change by communicating the desired change and getting the buy -in of all stakeholders so that the change can be meaningful and they can see the positives results from the change.

What I learnt about leadership in the digital age: Digital age leaders must: Take a systems perspective on technology and predict the long-term ramifications of decisions. Ensure that you listen to all groups before making technology decisions. The technology staff may have valid reasons why some- thing can or cannot be done. Be flexible. Have a plan but keep up on where technology is going in education. Promote technology use not as playing with gadgets, but as accessing tools to make educators and learning more effective at motivating, engaging, and preparing students for their futures. Demonstrate how investments in ICT are impacting on learning and attainment.

(Optional) How I feel about the module so far: Very relevant and detailed.