Session 3 Nebula

Requirement: Develop and articulate ideas for describing leading change in an organization of your choice.

Leading change of ICT integration to school:

Besides the technical provision of access to computer, network and Internet, the challenge to school leadership when introduce ICT into organizational change also needs to involve the training of professional staff, the accumulation of ICT-based curriculum resources and the coordination among students, teachers and leaders.

Yuen (2000) examined a number of schools that were successful in ICT implementation in teaching and learning, and categorized the schools into three models of technology adoption

Ø Technological adoption model:

In this model, school most focuses on the ICT as an effective educational tool in current teaching practice. Leading change always happens in acquisition of adequate technology infrastructure. Technology skills with ICT-based curriculum take priority in change process.

My college can be classified into this group, because the impact of ICT implementation is minimal. Use of such information technology is mainly confined to multimedia presentation and assignment transmission. Organization still remains in a traditional system as a whole.

Ø Catalytic integration model:

This model often is characterized as a track of educational revolution to school. In this stage, school leadership is prized with visionary plan, which empowers teacher more opportunities for further innovative pedagogy. Student-centered teaching and learning was emphasized in leading change program, which combined with the cultivation of use ICT for social constructivist collaborative problem-solution task.

As I know, some experienced schools in Shanghai start to introduce this model in their organizational change. The school leadership put more time and money into professional staff development within elective courses whose curriculums have more ICT support. Flexible task empowers students more individual arrangement and collaborative solution methods.

Ø Cultural integration model:

This model is described to have a distinctive school culture with ICT use and student-center system. The school in this category requires a large range of pedagogical approaches of ICT implementation. The leading change will more give an emphasis of empowerment of teachers and students.

Fullan (2001) cited five components of leadership in organizational change: moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making.

i. Moral purpose: a clear and visionary strategy about ICT integration, and this plan needs a strong cognitive and constructive theory for culture infiltration.

ii. Understanding change: a timely communication from top-bottom, which leads teachers and students an acceptance and adoption of organization change.

iii. Relationship building: collaborative work and more student-centered teaching and learning.

iv. Knowledge creation and sharing: ICT-based curriculum created for offering students more approaches in problem solving.

v. Coherence making: seeking a balance between innovation shock and culture rejection in order to get non side-effect culture immigration.

Reference:

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change.San Francisco. Jossey-Bass.

Yuen, H. K. (2000). ICT Implementation at the School Level.In. N. Law, Yuen, H.K.,Ki, W.W., Li, S.C., Lee, Y. & Chow, Y.(Ed.). Changing Classrooms and Changing Schools: a study of good practices in using ICT in Hong Kong Schools. (pp.119-124).Hong Kong. CITE, University of Hong Kong.