Being a leader in the area of Computer and Information Technology Integration (often referred to as ICT) is much like being a leader and many other areas of education today: It is less about knowledge in a particular area and more about mindset, interpersonal skills, proactivity, a willingness to learn and an ability to listen deeply.

The Ontario Leadership Framework (OLF) defines leadership as “the exercise of influence on organizational members and other stakeholders toward the identification and achievement of the organization’s vision and goals.”  Its success is measured by “significant and positive contributions to the progress of the organization,” particularly when those contributions and that progress are achieved ethically, i.e. supportive and facilitative in nature.

Leaders can be both formal and informal within a school system, and while the OLF is usually thought of as a document for school/district administrators, the Core Leadership Capacities and Personal Leadership Resources are worthwhile areas for all school stakeholders to aspire to.

The five Core Leadership Capacities (CLCs) are:

1. Setting Goals – This capacity refers to working with others to help ensure that goals are strategic, specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound (SMART) and lead to improved teaching and learning.

As an ICT leader, it is important to set, understand and communicate the goals and purpose of technology integration, so that the focus is on the value of new pedagogical approaches rather than the need to have the latest gadgets.  

2. Aligning Resources with Priorities – This capacity focuses on ensuring that financial, capital, human resources, curriculum and teaching resources, professional learning resources and program allocations are tied to priorities, with student achievement and well-being as the central, unambiguous focus.

ICT leaders need to think about how money is spent for purchases of new equipment, the equitable distribution of that equipment, how professional development funds are used, and how coaches and consultants spend their time, for the betterment of the system.  

3. Promoting Collaborative Learning Cultures – This capacity is about enabling schools, school communities and districts to work together and to learn from each other with a central focus on improved teaching quality and student achievement and well-being.

ICT leaders can play a significant role in this area, encouraging online PLNs (Professional Learning Networks) through the use of Twitter, Google+ communities, Digital Lead Learners (DLLs) and more.  

4. Using Data – This capacity is about leading and engaging school teams in gathering and analyzing provincial, district, school and classroom data to identify trends, strengths and weaknesses that will inform specific actions for improvement focused on teaching and learning.

A lot of money is being spent on ICT infrastructure and it is important to have data that can be analysed to determine the effect that ICT integration is having on student achievement and well-being, and the extent to which current distribution models help close access and achievement gaps among different subsets of students.

5. Engaging in Courageous Conversations – This capacity relates to challenging current practices and fostering innovation through conversation, to listen and to act on feedback, and to provide feedback that will lead to improvements in student achievement and well-being.

ICT leaders often come up against educators who do not want to change their practice because they feel (and often rightly so) that they are already doing a great job.  Helping to move a system or person from great to excellent can be challenging and having courageous conversations is part of that challenge.  Conversely, many classroom educators have particular expectations with regards to the ICT support they receive from coaches and other ICT leaders.  Taking in negative feedback is often not easy, making listening deeply and with generosity the other important part of having courageous conversations.  Effective communication is essential for ICT leaders, who are often teachers that consult with and/or mentor-coach other teachers, principals and superintendents.

These Core Leadership Capacities, as well as the Personal Leadership Resources outlined in the chart below, outline the essential skills, competencies and attributes necessary for the continued development of school and district level ICT leaders.

A Specialist level Additional Qualification in Integration of Information and Computer Technology in Instruction could help too! :P

**This post was written as an assigned blog post for the AQ course, Integration of Information and Computer Technology in the Classroom Part 3.**

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