Branding Yourself as a Digital Leader

I am ecstatic to blog about my final project in which my classmate and colleague, Kelli Kelsoe, and I have just completed for our Instructional Design class we are taking through an online program at UNT. It was designed as a two day training which addresses the problem that many administrators today lack the knowledge to lead and implement a vision for using technology to promote excellence and support transformation throughout their campus, department, and district. The advancements in technology, and its use in our everyday lives, have changed how students communicate and learn. In order to keep students engaged in their own learning, administrators must embrace the new technology innovations to optimize the potential that digital devices and their resources can bring to the educational environment. 

Although all teachers in Castleberry have a professional development plan which includes the infusion of technology, all administrators have not been afforded training opportunities on how to utilize and model the use of technology to transform their campus or department into a 21^st Century digital-age learning environment. The burst in growth of free Web 2.0 applications has provided new ways to improve public relations through two-way communications, receive personalized professional development, brand yourself, increase student engagement, and take advantage of new opportunities by leveraging connections made through the use of technology. Because of this burst, it is an ideal time to train administrators on how to use technology tools to transform their campus or department and become a digital leader.

The format of the training includes face-to-face instruction along with collaborative group time. Electronic resources have been provided through a shared livebinder titled, Branding Yourself as a Digital Leader. This format meets the needs of both the participants and the trainers by providing all resources in one shared online location that can be accessed both during and after the training. The livebinder provides multiple formats of training materials including: Prezi’s, Slideshares, Google Slides, YouTube tutorial videos, links to Web applications, interactive surveys, links to documents, blog posts, scholarly articles, online classroom management tools, embedded interactive and/or collaborative Web applications, and activity rubrics. The selected format provides adequate face-to-face time to introduce concepts, collaborative activities so participants will have time to implement what they have learned, and time to reflect on how to implement and apply what they have learned.

A link to an emaze presentation is available that summarizes the project, the implementation of the project, sample products created during training, and key topics to consider in future training. In addition, videos of several administrators and their testimonials describing what they have learned about branding themselves and how to be a digital leader on their campus are provided in the presentation. As new administrators enter the district each year, they will complete this training on, Branding Yourself as a Digital Leader.