Technology is constantly changing, and it’s making its way into our schools like never before. In his article “21st Century Schools Require Media Literate Leaders”, Eric Anctil (2014) recognizes the rapid technological advancements of society but points out that “many schools have been slow to grasp the importance of technology and media literacy” (p. 110). While it is important that schools become more media literate, the burden of this responsibility falls on preparation programs for school administrators. Many schools encourage teachers and students to develop their media literacy skills; however, “there is currently little or no formal media literacy education targeted at aspiring or practical school leaders” (Anctil, 2014, p.111). This article places as much importance on media literate leaders as school leaders knowing school law.
I would define media literacy as the ability to effectively use, interpret, and troubleshoot multiple forms of technology. Thoman (1999) defines media literacy as “the ability to create personal meaning from the verbal and visual symbols we take in every day through television, radio, computer, newspapers and magazines, and, of course, advertising” (as cited in Anctil, 2014, p.111). I would consider myself fairly media literate. I am the go-to-girl for technology at my school, and I am comfortable using many different forms of media. I am constantly researching new educational technologies and am willing to try most things at least once. Even though I would consider myself proficient using technology, I feel it is something that I could always be improving on since technology changes so rapidly.
Quinn (2003) identifies “the First Amendment, harassment, privacy, special education, plagiarism, and copyright concerns” (as cited in Anctil, 2014, p. 112) as media and technology issues that school leaders must face. In my current sphere of influence, I believe that the legal issues of plagiarism and copyright laws are the most critical, not only to teach students but also to teachers. I think that schools need to place a bigger emphasis on the severity of plagiarism and copyright infringement. If teachers are not complying with the law, how are they supposed to model good behavior to students? As a whole, I feel that policies, curricular and legal aspects of my current leaders are being handled well. Out technology curriculum needs to be strengthened, but I feel we are doing the best we can given the resources that we have available to us.
If I were to design a media literacy course for a teacher/leader preparation course, I curriculum would be very hands on. We would spend time discovering how to develop anti-bullying campaigns and how to address cyberbullying. In addition, the topic of professional and personal personas would be addressed. It is very important for teachers and leaders to keep their personal persona online separate from their professional one. I personally believe that teachers and administrators should not be online “friends” with parents or students while the child is enrolled at the school. The one exception would be a family member who is enrolled at your school. The class would also include basic technology skills such as Google Apps and other popular educational tools. I am shocked at the number of teachers at my school who do not know how to use Google products. The technology skills section of the course would need to be recertified every 3 years. For my local audience, I would put an emphasis on modern technology tools likes Google Apps, with a recertification every 2 years. I think it would be very difficult to keep up a detailed program like this. I took two educational technology classes for my undergrad program, and I either a) already knew the material or b )I learned new material, but it was outdated by the time I started teaching.
References
Anctil, E. J. (2014). 21st century schools require media literate leaders. In Curriculum leadership: Readings for developing quality educational program (10th ed., pp. 109-114). Boston, MA: Peason.
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