Sabbatical 2010 Prop

Professional Improvement Leave Request Spring 2010

Prepared by: James Petersen, Vice-Principal, Mililani High School November 2, 2008

James Petersen

95-1008 Koliliko St. Mililani, HI 96789

T 627.7747 X2226

[email protected]

James Petersen

Request for Professional Improvement Leave Rationale and Description of Program of Study

Preface The world in which my father lived and worked was vastly different from the world in which I live and work. The world in which our students currently in the Hawaii Public Schools will live and work ten to twenty years from now is only just being conceptualized. It is our duty as educators to provide our schools with the tools to impart to our students the knowledge, the skills, and the habits of mind that our students will require to be successful citizens of the future. Objective If my request for Educational Officers Professional Improvement Leave for SY2009-10 is approved, I propose to undertake and complete 12 semester credits at the graduate level in the Dept. of Educational Technology at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa College of Education as an integral portion of my on-going program of Professional Improvement. Goals The ultimate goal of my professional improvement program is to satisfy the programmatic requirements leading to a M.Ed. and subsequently, a Ph.D in the field of Educational Technology. I hope to satisfy the Masters-level requirements during the 2010-11 school year and embark directly upon completing my doctoral studies. Benefit to the Department In a rapidly changing society, it is a necessity that educational officers in the Department be able to direct schools in making the choices that will provide students with the appropriate skills and aptitudes for success in their future endeavors. Currently we are faced with an economic environment that requires us to make informed decisions concerning the allocation of scarce school resources. Both at the Department level and at individual schools, more and more resources are being directed for digital technology tools for educational management and for teaching and learning. In order to make good decisions regarding technology expenditures, it is

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James Petersen

necessary that those with decision-making authority understand the role of the tools of contemporary technologies in education and in preparing our students for the future. In my duties as a school administrator, I am often involved in the decision-making process concerning the acquisition of new technologies and the implementation of new programs. My proposed program of study will provide me with the theoretical framework that will assist me in my capacity as an Educational Officer in the Department of Education of the State of Hawaii both in the near-term as a school-level administrator and in the future wherever my career in public education may take me. Relationship I have been involved with the role of digital technologies in the classroom and in the school since I began my career in education in 1990. In 1998, as a classroom teacher, I was named the Hawaii State Microsoft-Technology and Learning Teacher of the Year. I have since expanded on my involvement with educational technologies in the schools in my role as a school-level administrator. At Mililani High School, I began the Curricular Digital Media program. ( http:// www.mililanihs.k12.hi.us/mhs_it_files/cdm/cdm.htm ) The CDM program seeks to encourage teachers in the core curricular areas to infuse the tools of digital technologies in their curricula. The Curricular Digital Media program has provided classroom teachers and students with the resources to create a 21st century learning environment at Mililani High School. I have additionally been responsible for a number of other initiatives utilizing various technologies. I have managed the MHS website since 2002. ( http://www.mililanihs.k12.hi.us/ ) I often work with both teachers and students to further their use of contemporary technologies in teaching and learning. This past Summer, I taught a portion of the MHS “Brain Camp” concerned with providing prospective AP and Pre-AP students with the tools to produce websites and digital documentary videos for the National History Day competition. Involvement I have been in contact with Dr. Curtis P. Ho, Chair, Educational Technology Dept., UHM/COE and I plan on beginning my coursework in the Department during the Spring semester, 2009. I will be also undertaking coursework during the Fall semester 2009. Approval of my request for Professional Development leave will allow me to fast-track my course of study in order that I might be prepared to apply my professional knowledge to my duties as an educational officer as soon as possible.

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James Petersen

Course of Study ETEC Required Courses (8 courses) Of the seven (7) required courses, four comprise the core of the Educational Technology program. Students are required to complete the core courses in sequence during the first year. The program is designed as a cohort system in which students admitted at the same time take initial courses together to build a sense of support and professional community. The remaining required courses are completed after the core based on a timeline selected by individual students in consultation with their advisor for completing the program. Core courses are usually conducted on campus or in hybrid formats (part on campus, part online) in the ETEC program. The following table lists the seven required courses in their sequence, together with the semester in which each course is offered. ETEC Required Courses ETEC 602: Teaching/Training Technologies - Fall (first semester in program) ETEC 600: Theory & Practice in ET - Fall (first semester in program) ETEC 601:ET Research Review - Spring (second semester in program) ETEC 603: Instructional Design & Development - Spring (second semester in program) ETEC 687: Instructional Development Practicum - Fall (after first year) ETEC 750: Seminar in ET Issues - Fall (after advancement to candidacy) ETEC 690: Seminar in Educational Technology Leadership - Spring (exit course, final semester)

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