Leadership Initiatives for Cyberlearning in STEM Education

在该项目中，NSDL资源中心与学校网络联盟(CoSN)合作，开发和实施K-12技术领导者认证计划，重点是首席技术官(CTO)，即各州和学区内最负责教育技术系统愿景、规划和运营的专业人员。该项目的学术价值在于它认识到，为了利用信息和通信技术(ICT)的进步，鼓励国家教育系统进行变革，迫切需要在K-12学校内培养领导力，以创新和有效地使用STEM学科的网络学习工具和资源。此外，CoSN是K-12技术管理领域的重要领导者，这项工作建立在CoSN在帮助美国学区技术CTO建设能力方面的18年经验以及在确定和制定K-12 CTO基本技能框架方面的实质性工作的基础上。通过建立一个严格的认证系统，使地区技术领导者具备将他们定位为教育领导者(不仅仅是技术领导者)所需的技能和能力，NSDL和CoSN正在提供一种在州和地区学校系统的现有框架内工作的机制：i)有效地运作CTO的领导技能，ii)提升和认证CTO的专业敏锐度和专业知识，以及iii)帮助K-12教育的管理人员、教师和学生整合创新和有效地使用网络学习工具、资源和能力建设技能。该项目正在对CTO专业社区产生广泛影响，帮助确定正在获得人际、技术和教育技能和能力的领导者，这些技能和能力有助于实例化有效和创新的技术使用。此外，该项目为课程主管、图书馆和媒体专家、职前教育教师以及整个K-16 STEM教育企业的其他关键组成部分开发和评估类似的领导力课程提供了一个潜在的模式。

In this project the NSDL Resource Center is partnering with the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) to develop and implement a K-12 Technology Leadership Certification Program focused on Chief Technology Officers (CTOs), the professionals within states and school districts most responsible for the vision, planning, and operations of educational technology systems. The intellectual merit of this project lies in its recognition that to take advantage of advances in information and communications technologies (ICT) that encourage transformative-enabling changes in the nation's education systems, there is a critical need to develop leadership within K-12 schools for innovative and effective use of cyberlearning tools and resources for STEM disciplines. Furthermore, CoSN is a critical leader in the field of K-12 technology administration and the work builds on CoSN's 18 years of experience in helping to build capacity for US school district technology CTOs and its substantive work in identifying and developing a Framework of Essential Skills of the K-12 CTOs. Through the establishment of a rigorous credentialing system that equips and empowers district technology leaders with the skills and abilities needed to position them as educational leaders (not just technology leaders), NSDL and CoSN are providing a mechanism that works within existing frameworks of state and district school systems: i) to effectively operationalize the leadership skills of the CTO, ii) to elevate and certify the CTO's professional acumen and expertise, and iii) to help administrators, teachers, and students in K-12 education integrate innovative and effective use of cyberlearning tools, resources, and capacity-building skills. The project is exerting a broad impact on the CTO professional community by helping identify leaders who are gaining interpersonal, technical, and educational skills and abilities that help instantiate effective and innovative technology use. Furthermore, this project offers a potential model for developing and evaluating similar leadership programs for curriculum supervisors, library and media specialists, pre-service education faculty, and other key constituents of the full K-16 STEM education enterprise.