Letter to Brent Wilson
ILT Program Coordinator
University of Colorado, Denver

Dear Dr. Wilson,

I have grown tremendously during my two years in the ILT Program. When I first started taking classes at UCD, I already had some technology skills, but had little formal training to help my understanding of how to apply these skills to increase student achievement. Thanks to the classes and projects I have completed at UCD, I can now say with confidence that I have become a leader when it comes to technology integration, both in my school and my district. I am now conducting professional development workshops for teachers in my building, supporting teachers through one-on-one coaching (a result of Action Research), and have been invited to conduct district workshops on advanced PowerPoint skills.

My professional goals are to continue learning new ways to help teachers integrate technology into their classroom. Ultimately, I would like to expand my role as technology specialist at my school to one that impacts teachers and schools across our district. To that end, I feel that my enrollment in the ILT program has helped me become a district leader in facilitating technology integration.

The ILT Program has taught me the importance of front-end analysis when beginning a new project. Each project that I’ve created has been based on solving an instructional problem, developing ways to determine whether the problem has been solved through various methods (surveys, online questionnaires, Q&A, etc.), and showing evidence of value to prove that my projects have helped solve an instructional need. By going through the process of thoughtful reflection BEFORE embarking on a new project, I feel that I’ve learned how to create more meaningful activities for teachers and students. In the future, I plan to apply what I’ve learned to help teachers understand the importance of 21st century skills for today’s students.

Activities such as using our newly acquired iBook cart to highlight the benefits of mobile technology, working with teachers to learn how to ask good questions with our CPS grant (Classroom Performance System), and providing technology coaching and support to teachers are all examples of how the ILT program has provided me with the skills to succeed as a technology specialist.

When I was a classroom teacher, my primary focus was on the student. My focus has shifted to one of serving as a “facilitator of change” at our school to help teachers learn to integrate technology. The guiding principles of my journey from teacher to technology specialist have been:

• Technology motivates students to learn.
• Technology integration is only effective when teachers know how to use it properly.

To this end, I plan to continue to support teachers as they learn how to view technology as a learning tool to enhance their teaching.

After attending the TIE Conference in 2003, I wanted to share my enthusiasm and knowledge with educators throughout the country. In 2004 I presented PowerPoint: More Than Just Slide Shows at TIE, sharing new and creative ways to use this application. This is an example of how my skills have changed from being merely a student of technology to one who has the ability to teach others what I have learned.

Eventually I would like to become a leading advocate for technology integration in our district, and I believe that completing the ILT Masters Program has served as an important step in that direction.

Sincerely,
Joel Solomon
Technology Specialist/SAS (Student Achievement Specialist)
Sagebrush Elementary School, Cherry Creek School District