The Savvy Edtech Leader - by Sheryl Abshire & Diane W Doersch & Frankie Jackson & Donna Williamson (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides a road map for edtech practitioners looking to advance or pivot in their careers, ensuring they are well-positioned to move forward in their professional journeys.

Book Synopsis

This book provides a road map for edtech practitioners looking to advance or pivot in their careers, ensuring they are well-positioned to move forward in their professional journeys.

Edtech practitioners need pragmatic and applicable strategies to shape and advance their career paths. Written by four prominent edtech leaders, this book addresses this need, guiding readers in how to build effective leadership skills with strategies that encourage creativity, flexibility and adaptability, so they can respond effectively to evolving challenges. In a field as dynamic as educational technology, such a mindset is crucial to being prepared not just to adapt to the present, but to shape the future.

Bridging the gap between theory and practice, the book addresses core topics such as leadership vision, strategic planning, ethics and performance management, so that both budding and seasoned professionals are well-equipped to navigate the diverse challenges they might face. By focusing on strategies that have the potential to transform learning with technology leadership, this book supports educators and leaders in harnessing technology to lead in the most effective ways, directly benefiting students.

The book will help readers:

• Focus on internal motivation and increase confidence in order to become an effective leader.
• Learn how to establish a positive leadership culture at the staff and district levels.
• Cultivate interpersonal and team-building skills to foster collaborative, harmonious work environments.
• Make informed, ethical decisions as the rapid evolution of technology often outpaces the development of ethical guidelines.
• Build strategic planning and performance management skills to prepare to move into top education technology leadership positions.
• Map out a plan to support a school system's vision, and influence others to buy into and support that vision.

Tackling diverse challenges that professionals in educational technology face, this book equips readers with the knowledge and practical strategies needed to bring about meaningful change.

Audience: Leaders and aspiring leaders seeking higher-level education technology leadership positions, including educators, education leaders and coaches.

Review Quotes

"This book centers on succeeding in the field of educational technology leadership through integrity and staying true to one's values. Four authors present a thorough analysis of excellence in leadership, in conjunction with the value of teamwork, using the lens of edtech espoused by the -Consortium for School Networking and the ISTE's Education Leaders Standards section. The Education Leaders section of the ISTE Standards supports the implementation of the Students, Coaches, and Educators sections by targeting the knowledge and behaviors required for leaders to empower teachers and coaches and to boost student learning. The authors provide strategies that acknowledge these leaders' dual roles of being adept managers of -systems and exemplary leaders of individuals. This book is divided into 12 chapters. The first six clearly define what makes an outstanding leader, with examples and practical steps provided for each characteristic, from transparency to authenticity to resilience. Chapters seven through 12 expand on the impact exceptional leadership can make on edtech within schools and divisions, focusing on the significance of leadership on team effort. Each chapter opens by highlighting which standard is -being addressed and continues with key strategies to achieve meaningful edtech leadership growth. An expansive bibliography and index are included for further reading."

VERDICT: A recommended purchase for school libraries with dynamic professional collections, especially where titles such as Vickie F. Echols's AI for School Leaders: 62 Ways to Lighten Your Workload and Focus on What Matters and Dave Durand's Leading Giants: A Leader's Guide to Maximum Influence are popular.

-- Susan Catlett, School Library Journal

About the Author

Diane W. Doersch is the senior director of information technology at Digital Promise. She previously served as a chief technology and information officer for a large Wisconsin School District. Doersch earned a master's in educational technology from Lesley University, and holds a Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL) National Certificate from CoSN. She was a founding member and served as president of the WISEDash Local Consortium, a group of Wisconsin school districts that built their own data warehouse. She's currently president of Northeast Wisconsin Women in Technology (WIT), an organization devoted to attracting, educating and supporting women in the technology field. She's also Consortium for School Networking's (CoSN) national chair and leads the organization's board of directors.