Naturalizing Digital Immigrants - by Katie Alaniz & Dawn Wilson (Paperback)

About the Book

This guidebook details the process of collegial coaching for technology integration within educational environments and is intended for use within a variety of settings, from primary classrooms through high schools to graduate educational leadership and instructional technology courses and beyond.

Book Synopsis

Effective educational leadership entails continuously seeking and implementing innovative professional development opportunities for teachers and support staff. In today's age of rapid technology expansion within educational settings, professional development targeting technology integration remains an area of tremendous need. This guidebook details the process of collegial coaching for technology integration within educational environments and is intended for use within a variety of settings, from primary classrooms through high schools to graduate educational leadership and instructional technology courses and beyond.

Review Quotes

"This book provides a practical, flexible roadmap for school leaders who would like to help teachers begin to successfully use technology to increase student learning - or increase the effectiveness of their current technology integrations. Based on a sound philosophical and empirical foundation, the authors describe a practical process that is likely to work much better than traditional in-service. They provide sufficient detail so that someone could actually implement their suggestions." --Linda Brupbacher, professor emerita, taught for 44 years at both the elementary and university level, 2008 Texas Piper Professor

"What I liked most about this book is the pairing of collegial coaching and technology. Although I have heard about some of the 'best practices' and processes in which instructional technologists engage as well as actively sought them out myself (however poorly), I have seldom seen a guidebook or a roadmap to success that fundamentally addresses the issues so well." --Miguel Guhlin, author and director of technology operations, Texas, recipient of the ISTE "Making IT Happen" Award, president of Technology Education Coordinators

"[This book] helped me refocus on what the essential goal of technology integration is. I completely agree with [the book's assertion] that coaches need to be able to personalize their work. Their strategies for helping peers integrate technology are going to vary from colleague to colleague based on their peers' needs. And I think [the book is] right on the target when [it] talk[s] about focusing on student learning as the key to effective tech integration." --Dr. Les Foltos, author of "Peer Coaching: Unlocking the Power of Collaboration; architect of the Peer Coaching Program"; previous director of Instructional Technology for Seattle public schools

[This book] helped me refocus on what the essential goal of technology integration is. I completely agree with [the book's assertion] that coaches need to be able to personalize their work. Their strategies for helping peers integrate technology are going to vary from colleague to colleague based on their peers' needs. And I think [the book is] right on the target when [it] talk[s] about focusing on student learning as the key to effective tech integration.

This book provides a practical, flexible roadmap for school leaders who would like to help teachers begin to successfully use technology to increase student learning - or increase the effectiveness of their current technology integrations. Based on a sound philosophical and empirical foundation, the authors describe a practical process that is likely to work much better than traditional in-service. They provide sufficient detail so that someone could actually implement their suggestions.

What I liked most about this book is the pairing of collegial coaching and technology. Although I have heard about some of the 'best practices' and processes in which instructional technologists engage as well as actively sought them out myself (however poorly), I have seldom seen a guidebook or a roadmap to success that fundamentally addresses the issues so well.

About the Author

Katie Alaniz is an instructor of graduate education courses at Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas, where she works with master's level students seeking to make a positive impact in schools and society. Additionally, as an instructional technologist and computer teacher at River Oaks Baptist School in Houston, Katie guides and supports fellow faculty members in incorporating educationally enriching technological tools within their classroom learning environments. Her research and writing interests include instructional technology, collegial coaching, and teacher education.

Dawn Wilson taught middle school math for sixteen years before becoming a full time faculty member and professor of educational technology at Houston Baptist University for the last twelve years. In this position, she has mentored university and K12 teachers as they learn how to integrate instructional technology in the classroom across a variety of disciplines. Her research and writing interests include coaching for technology integration, teaching online, and flipping classroom instruction.