Running head: SYNTHESIZING CURRENT CONDITIONS

Synthesizing Current Conditions

Matthew C. Tyler
Coastal Carolina University

SYNTHESIZING CURRENT CONDITIONS

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Administrators focuses on

creating visionary leadership, a digital age learning culture, an excellence in professional
practice, systemic improvement, and digital citizenship. Visionary leadership is established when
educational leaders facilitate a shared vision for innovative technology use with all stakeholders.
The vision is not only communicated to the stakeholders, but it is also reviewed and evaluated.
When a culture of digital age learning is established, all of those involved share in the vision.
Their way of thinking, behaving, or working is a reflection of this vision. Staying abreast of
evolving technologies in a supportive work environment that promotes collaboration and
differentiation integrated through technology innovation is a necessity. An allocation of time and
resources, as well as technology integration, must be in place. The instructor must be able to
improve the achievement of learning goals through effective technology use. Data collection and
interpretation to improve student learning, as well as faculty and staff development, must be
ongoing (International Society for Technology in Education, 2009).
I performed research regarding the application of the National Educational Technology
Standards at ______, __________. I have served as a graduate assistant for this department for
the last year, so my personal working knowledge of the department was utilized. The primary
method for obtaining additional information was through the use of interviews. I interviewed the
following people who work in the ____ department: 1) Director of _____, _____ Ph.D. 2) ____,
Instructional Designer for _____, and 3) Jennifer _____, Assistant Director of ____. In addition,
consultations with the following people outside of the ____ department were most helpful: 1)
______, Information Resource Consultant 2) ______, Information Resource Consultant, and 3)
____________, Assistant Provost for Special Projects. Along with the _____ staff and previously
referenced employees who deal with campus technology, a variety of documents were reviewed

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including: _______ Online assessment data (a departmental self-assessment that is part of the
university-wide assessment plan), the University Strategic Plan, ______ Faculty Needs
Assessment data, ______ faculty development session surveys, _____ newsletters, and the
departmental website.
Once I conducted an inquiry of the National Educational Technology Standards for
Administrators Analysis in regards to _____ and the faculty at ________, concerns were noted
regarding various overarching issues that were observed. Four overarching issues that were most
concerning include the following: 1) No university wide policies are in place that require
technology integration and varying instructional strategies, so faculty are not accountable for
utilizing engaging teaching strategies with technology. 2) Student input in regards to technology
integration in the classroom is not present. 3) Possibly not all stakeholders are aware of the full
extent of the services that ____ offers, and the Vision and Mission Statements which support
these services because thirty percent of the faculty do not participate in learning communities
that stimulate, nurture, and support the study and use of technology. 4) An institution-wide
digital age learning culture is not fully established.
It is of great concern that there is not a university-wide policy in place that requires
technology integration and varying instructional strategies across all colleges. Because it is not a
university wide requirement, there is no accountability piece in place for instructors. As a result,
some instructors choose to initiate innovative technology strategies to improve effectiveness in
the classroom. Others continue teaching the way they taught ten or twenty years ago while using
much of the same materials and strategies.
As a ______ at _____, I am an Online Course Design Coach and a Quality Assurance
Inventory Reviewer, so I have been able to become aware of the variance in instructional and

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technology innovation strategies across departments. I have observed great inconsistencies. For
example, at _____, the Master of Business Administration program utilizes technology in many
ways. In one specific class, students are given a stock market challenge. This offers students the
opportunity to participate in a realistic stock market simulation. Students compete in managing a
portfolio of stocks. Instead of just learning theory that will be applied later as a stock broker, they
apply their knowledge in class through a virtual stock market challenge game which is based on
real time market data. Another teacher in the college of business utilizes a supplementary virtual
mini lecture through Adobe Connect. All students in the class can attend this recorded minilecture and ask questions. In order to accommodate the needs of learners who would like to
review the material and have additional processing time, a recording of the Adobe Connect
lesson is available in Moodle. Students are able to learn material through Adobe Connect minilectures and PowerPoints posted on Moodle, the text, and in class activities. However, some
teachers in other departments utilize technology minimally. I received by bachelors degree in
history. As an undergraduate, only one of my history teachers utilized technology. We
participated in weekly Moodle discussions concerning what was learned in class the previous
day. Most of the information that I learned was through lecture and assigned readings. The
teacher stood at the front of the room and talked for an hour and a half. On occasion, a question
or two was asked, and a few students responded. The other students were not engaged nor held
accountable. The grades for the class came from the midterm and final. As part of an
improvement plan, I would like to see students from all departments receive the same level of
engagement and exposure to innovative technology.
Standard one, indicator two, also causes concern. Since this indicator makes reference to
having knowledge concerning how the existing plans affect students academic performance in

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any fashion, I feel that a true representation of currently enrolled students perspectives needs to
be presented. This is not available at this point in time. Instead, a student advisor represents the
students. Presently, ___ who is a student advisor for the college of education, represents the
students. However, she only receives student input from education majors. As noted earlier,
departments vary greatly in their instructional strategies. Therefore, the information that she
receives from education students represents only a small fraction of the students who attend
online, hybrid, and face to face classes. Since the university is a customer service based
institution, with the students being the primary customer, it is imperative that a representation of
all of the students true voices are heard.
Another concern with using a single student advisor, as opposed to a panel of students, deals
with how the advisor is obtaining student input to represent the entire student body. I am not
aware of the usage of a formal method for collecting information regarding how instructional
strategies in the classroom affect students academic performances. This is a concern.
The purpose of ______ is to help instructors become more effective in the classrooms. In
regards to standard three, possibly not all stakeholders are aware of the full extent of the services
that ______ offers, and the Vision and Mission Statements which support these services because
thirty percent of the faculty do not participate in learning communities that stimulate, nurture,
and support the study and use of technology. Therefore standard three is a concern due to lack of
participation in learning communities that encourage technology use.
The Mission Statement for ___ is as follows:
The ____seeks to promote a culture of excellence in teaching and learning at ___ University by
facilitating the integration of proven pedagogical techniques into the instructional process and
encouraging the development of a university-wide community of reflective practitioners. The

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vision statement is as follows: To be a strength-based collaborative group of faculty developers

who provide an inclusive, safe space and a dynamic center to engage, inspire and motivate all
faculty to innovate in teaching, research and leadership. Goals used to accomplish this include:
1. __ will provide faculty development sessions and resources to improve student
learning outcomes.
2. Develop and provide sessions to support faculty in scholarship/research.
3. ___will provide Quality Matters (QM) aligned distance learning training,
resources, and support for faculty.
4. Provide training on innovative technologies to improve faculty instruction to improve
student learning.
5. Develop and maintain highly qualified staff who are recognized as leaders and
resources in faculty development.
6. ____ will effectively market its services and resources to manage growth.
(___, 2016)
According to Dr. Dodi Hodges, director of ____, during the 2014-2015 academic year ___
worked with approximately 60.64 percent of the ____ Universitys faculty members. The faculty
members attended sessions on teaching effectiveness, scholarship, leadership, and other specific
needs of the faculty. Faculty appeared to register for one class and then register for other classes
that meet their interests. This may be something we track at a later date. Most sessions were one
time sessions that did not require multiple visits. However, there were some programs that
required multiple visits to complete the program. ____ has offered 363 sessions during the 20142015 academic school year, excluding online and cancelled sessions. The majority of sessions
were primarily face to face. Although 60.64 percent of the faculty participate in ___ sessions,
39.36 percent of the faculty are not involved (personal communication, June 29, 2016).

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It is concerning that almost 40 percent do not fully participate. I feel that this may be due to
instructors feeling that their departmental needs may not be met. In the future, consistent
departmentalized sessions in which digital integrated content, designed specific to attendees
colleges, may improve attendance. Instructors would feel like the sessions were more applicable
to their content area. Often times, when a hesitant instructor sees a technology tool modeled
using content different than his own, he may have trouble applying it within his own discipline
and feel that it is not applicable to his needs thus resulting in lack of classroom implementation
and lack of attendance at sessions. The fact that sessions are not always departmentalized with
content specific to the attendees needs is a concern that when rectified could result in increased
attendance.
A final concern among ______Universitys faculty is that an institution-wide digital age
learning culture is not uniformly established. The concept of a digital age learning culture is
vital and overlaps among a variety of The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS)
for Administrators. Based on my personal observational data, deans of various colleges and
chairs of each department have a large impact on the functionality of the college. Chairs and
deans are highly respected and their opinions are valued. Presently, the deans of the various
colleges and the chairs of each department do not share a common vision in regards to the digital
integration of technology. This is evidenced by the technology usage among the various
departments. Some colleges such as the College of Business fully implement digital integration
while other departments, such as history, use very little to no technology during class instruction.
In some instances, the deans and department chairs discourage the integration of educational
technology as well as the development of an online presence in specific fields of study. The
underlying condition may be due to a lack of information regarding ways that technology can be

SYNTHESIZING CURRENT CONDITIONS

integrated effectively within their colleges in order to address student learning outcomes and
meet the diverse needs of the learners. Some faculty members feel uncomfortable integrating
technology into their courses because they are uncertain of the most effective way to present the
material through technology. The seamless integration of technology that enhances the content
material so that it is processed easier, applied, and retained in long term memory is only possible
when a digital learning culture is established.
In order to effectively implement the National Educational Technology Standards for
Administrators there are some overarching concerns that must be addressed. The lack of
institution-wide support and consistency in innovative technology implementation is a major
concern that was evident as I inquired about each standard and gained information through
interviews of various stakeholders in the learning community. Long term repercussions are likely
to occur if changes at the university do not occur. Presently, no university-wide policies are in
place that require technology integration and varying instructional strategies, so faculty are not
accountable for utilizing engaging teaching strategies with technology. If this concern is not
addressed, long term repercussions include the fact that some instructors will continue to utilize
passive lectures. This will result in students receiving variance in regards to the quality level of
their instruction. An additional concern is with the student input regarding technology integration
in the classroom. Presently student views concerning the effective integration of instructional
technology to meet student needs is not a part of the current plan. Instead, a _____ Advisory
Board representative for the students shares her ideas on student views. Over time this could lead
to misrepresentation of student opinions and the effectiveness of technology implementation
resulting in incomprehensive data to improve instruction. In regards to the services that ___
offers, it is possible that not all stakeholders are aware of the full extent of services offered by

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___. As a result, instructors who are not aware of ____ may continue implementing less
effective instructional practices. Lastly, an institution-wide digital age learning culture is not
fully established. A digital age learning culture drives instructors to utilize tools on their own
initiative within a safe supporting network of peers who are willing to listen and bounce ideas off
each other. The byproduct of this could be instructors who are reluctant to try innovative
technology tools and are unaware of the network of support that is available when integrating
technology.
In conclusion, I feel that the _____ standards are a well laid out plan that can help ______
take their technology initiative to the next level. In this time of rapid change, university
administrative decisions are more important than ever. The NETS standards for administration
are a guide to support digital age learning. Creating technology rich learning environments and
leading the transformation of the technological landscape at Coastal Carolina University is a task
that is most obtainable when a support network of colleagues share a vision of research based
innovative technology integration. This task can be accomplished by addressing the following
concerns: 1) ensuring faculty accountability in reference to utilizing engaging teaching strategies
with technology 2) including student input in regards to technology integration in the classroom
3) communicating with stakeholders about the full extent of services that ____ offers in an effort
to increase faculty attendance at sessions and 4) establishing an institution wide digital learning
culture at _______ University.

References

SYNTHESIZING CURRENT CONDITIONS

________________ (2016). CeTEAL Mission Statement, Vision, and Departmental Goals.
Retrieved from https://www.coastal.edu/ ceteal/ aboutceteal/
International Society for Technology in Education (2009). National Educational Technology
Standards for Administrators. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/ISTEstandards/standards-for-administrators

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