The Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) Framework outlines the knowledge and skills that technology leaders need to effectively support teaching and learning in schools. The framework emphasizes leadership, collaboration, instructional improvement, and the effective use of technology to enhance student learning (Consortium for School Networking [CoSN], 2024). As I reflected on my work this semester, I selected three artifacts that demonstrate how I am applying these ideas in my classroom and through my professional learning experiences. These artifacts highlight the importance of collaboration, technology integration, and leadership when creating engaging learning opportunities for students. The experiences described below show how technology can support problem-solving, creativity, and student engagement while also helping educators grow as instructional leaders.
The CETL Framework reminds me that technology leadership is not just about using digital tools. It is also about creating opportunities for students to collaborate, solve problems, and engage in meaningful learning experiences. As I continue developing my leadership skills, I hope to keep exploring new ways to integrate technology into instruction while supporting collaboration and innovation in my classroom. My goal is to create learning experiences that not only prepare students academically but also help them develop the skills they need to succeed in the future.
Student Team Challenge and Rubric
One artifact I selected is my Student Team Challenge and Rubric. I am over my school’s engineering team, and we meet once a week for an hour to prepare for an engineering competition and practice teamwork and problem-solving skills. During these meetings, students work in teams and take on different roles while completing engineering challenges. Each team member contributes in a unique way, whether that involves planning the design, building the model, testing ideas, or presenting the final solution. Giving students specific roles helps ensure that everyone participates and learns how to work effectively as part of a team.
The document linked above includes a challenge and a rubric that my DASH teams used to practice while preparing for competition. These challenges helped students build teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. Students had to share ideas, test solutions, and support each other while working through the challenge.
Through this preparation, one of my DASH teams placed 2nd in our local E3 United “We STEAM” competition and received a perfect score on their challenge. I was extremely proud of my students and the hard work they put into preparing each week. Through this experience, I was able to guide students as they collaborated, solved problems, and applied engineering and technology skills in a real-world challenge, which reflects the leadership and collaborative learning principles highlighted in the CETL Framework. This artifact connects to the CETL Framework because it shows how educators can create collaborative learning experiences that encourage teamwork, problem-solving, and the use of technology in meaningful ways (CoSN, 2024).
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| Programming the breakdancer |
Integrating Technology with Curriculum and Instruction
Another artifact that demonstrates my work is a lesson where I integrated technology into instruction using LEGO Spike kits, which I checked out from the county’s Technology Department. I work to create a classroom environment where students feel comfortable and engaged. I also provide different seating options so students can choose a space that helps them focus and learn in a way that works best for them. During this activity, students built a breakdance robot and coded it so the robot’s arms and legs moved together while music played. The students were excited to see how coding could bring their robots to life. Students then used Canva to answer questions and show off their robot’s dance moves. This allowed them to explain their thinking and reflect on what they learned during the activity. The students truly enjoyed the challenge and stayed engaged throughout the lesson. This activity connects to the CETL Framework because it demonstrates how technology can be integrated into instruction to create engaging and meaningful learning experiences for students while encouraging creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration (CoSN, 2024). The video below shows the completed robot and the group demonstrating their code while answering reflection questions about their design and coding process.
Technology and the Interactive Classroom
The third artifact is a Canva presentation that I created with two classmates based on ideas from the book The Interactive Classroom. In this project, we explored how technology tools can support student engagement, communication, and collaboration in the classroom.
Working together on this presentation allowed us to share different ideas about how technology can improve teaching practices. Technology tools allow students to collaborate, communicate, and create in ways that make learning more interactive and engaging.
During this project, we discussed how teachers can use technology to support different learning styles and help students stay engaged in the classroom. We also explored how digital tools can promote communication between teachers and students while supporting a more interactive learning environment.
Collaborating on this presentation helped me see how important it is for educators to share ideas and learn from one another. Professional collaboration allows teachers to discover new strategies and tools that can improve instruction and support student success.
This artifact connects to the CETL framework because it highlights how educators can collaborate with others to explore instructional strategies and promote the effective use of technology to support student learning (CoSN, 2024). The Merrills link is to a fantastic blog that offers several resources to help educators create interactive classrooms. Reflecting on these artifacts helped me see how the CETL Framework connects to the work I am already doing in my classroom. Leading my DASH engineering team, integrating technology into hands-on lessons, and collaborating with classmates to explore instructional strategies have all helped me grow as an educator and technology leader.
Reference
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). (2024). Framework of essential skills of the K–12 CTO. https://www.cosn.org
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