How Your
Nominee Has Shown Leadership Successfully Implementing Technology into Instruction?
Dr. Shabbi Luthra has vision, clear plan for
implementation, ability to identify resources, and unswerving passion. We have
accomplished excellent high quality integration of technology because of her
leadership.
She has put in place specific mechanisms that motivate
other people to lead and innovate in their own spheres. She started the Tech Leadership Team, a cross
section of the ASB community, including a faculty member from every grade-level
or department plus parents and students.
This team collaboratively writes our tech integration plan and works in
sub-committees to pursue related tasks.
This represents the development of a shared vision for technology
leadership that involves a wide variety of perspectives. Work in this group has led to the values of a
21st century education being woven into the fabric of the school.
She also founded the Tech Integration Group in the
Elementary School which pursues best practices for a few different digital-age
teaching and learning methods each year.
Tech tools aside, the group’s primary focus is to build another layer of
leadership at each grade level. Shabbi’s hands-on style fostered individual
teachers and teams of teachers trying out new technologies and tools in various
ways. In the Middle and High School, Shabbi worked closely with Principals to
design a process for teachers from each discipline to pilot, document and share
the best digital tools for their discipline. As a result, many of our teachers
have jumped into using Web 2.0 tools within their classes; Teachers use blogs,
wikis, nings and various purchased software to encouraging one another in
informal ways to try out new tools. We definitely have an environment where
technology use is a common and everyday practice.
Shabbi regularly encourages teachers to share their
knowledge with others. A major example of this is the ASB Unplugged conference,
which she organizes every other year with the help of the Tech Leadership Team.
It is viewed as a much applauded event, a global conference held on our ASB campus,
dedicated to giving educators insights into how students can thrive in a 1:1
laptop environment. Many of our
teachers, administrators, staff, students and even parents were featured at the
conference, sharing their use of technology within the educational environment.
Shabbi connects people with one another in order to
foster areas of interest and development. She saw the need for additional
training for teachers new to our school to introduce them to our laptop
environment and organized a series of orientation sessions for them. She does
the same for students new to our school. This year, to support parents new to
our school in the use of technology, Shabbi organized a series of parent tech
workshops which slowly evolved into workshops that are now led by parents for
other parents.
Shabbi was
instrumental in bringing several inspiring speakers for three different TEDx
events in 2009-10. She worked with
others to set up a plan for hosting and organizing the events, which received
rave reviews every time in terms of inspiring our community to action across
several areas - improving the lives of others, 21st century innovation and
learning, responsibility and action.
Shabbi has a strong understanding of the role of tech
integration that enhances instruction, and champions that by sharing current
relevant articles from the professional literature out there. She makes sure we
are well-read in the area of the impact of technology on learning and ideas for
best uses of technology within the curriculum. She has also led our
understanding of digital citizenship for students, teachers and parents.
Overall, Dr. Luthra’s vision is defined by a drive to
build leadership in others at all levels to inspire innovation and
collaboration. She continues to find ways to nudge, cajole and corral educators
towards using technology appropriately, creatively, and innovatively. Her
passion for improving teaching and learning with technology iis unparalleled
and our school is a unique place because of her drive and passion.
Through the active and engaged use of several different
technology committees, such as the Tech Leadership Team and the Tech
Integration Group, Shabbi has provided a system method of implementation,
reflection, and accountability that reaches across grade levels and teams. The recognizes leaders at all levels and
enables them to achieve transformational learning with technology. She has championed 21st century learning by
setting in motion several different initiatives that have led teachers to
rethink how the teach and assess. She has installed a biannual conference that
is among the best anywhere that features students, teachers and parents in an
authentic context. In my humble opinion,
Shabbi truly deserves this award.
Web Resources
Displaying Nominee's Work:
http://www.asbindia.org
http://asbunplugged.ning.com/
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