Soul in the Machine

These past eight weeks have really flown by. I have to admit this has probably been one of the most enjoyable classes I have had in our Ed.D program. Unlike some of my colleagues, I expected this class to proceed pretty much how it has. Not material wise by any means, but how technology and leadership 'play off' one another definitely.

Over the last seven weeks, I found the repartee to always be probing and thought provoking. After reading everyone's posts, I always was left with the feeling that I learned a little bit more about each of you. While I have struggled some with the lack of face-to-face interaction this learning format provides, I have found that reading the writings of many of you has been akin to glimpsing into your souls. The soul in the machine so to speak?

By no means am I a technological guru like my friend Pat Chadd. However, I do feel like I know a little more than the 'average joe' or at least enough to get myself in trouble? Anyway, coming from a cash poor state like Alabama and working in a very narrow field such as special education for children with sensory impairments, I have always felt like the benefits of technology have been underrepresented for the end-users I serve.

As far as technology in a leadership capacity goes in a setting like mine? "Et tu, Brute?" It is underrepresented as well. It is underrepresented in how we deal with our stakeholders. Some of the children we serve come from very underprivileged backgrounds, so the 'technological face' we present to them is not relevant. However, the 'technological face' we present to the rest of the world is woeful at best. Our website is unfinished with 'links to nowhere.' We do not have a Facebook or Twitter page. For a connected society we might as well not even exist! This is intolerable in this day and age. Especially for an institution that so desperately has to 'panhandle' the state legislature for funds and is in constant need for boosting enrollment.

Why am I pondering this problem now you may ask? Well, Creighton and its Jesuit tradition of self reflection makes me question a lot of things; not only in my life, but in my courses in our Ed.D program as well. I have two words for you: societal revolution. Last week, those two words completely blew my mind. I had been thinking of this technological revolution we are amidst purely from the machine side of things, not the societal impact it has had and continues to have.

As a leader, it is my responsibility to serve my internal stakeholders and my community to the best of my ability. That means using any tool necessary to meet the needs of those internal stakeholders and the communities from which those stakeholders originate and to which they will eventually return. That means embracing and using the soul in the machine to touch souls in need: multiple disabled children of Alabama with sensory impairments.

Step Up or Get Out of the Way

I am a geek. A big science fiction geek. I have been most of my life. So, when I think of the future of technology I primarily think of Gene Roddenberry. For those of you who are not a sci-fi geek like me, Gene Roddenberry is the creator of Star Trek. While I do not consider myself a Trekkie or Trekker (Star Wars is my mea culpa), I have always admired the technological vision of the Star Trek universe.

While maybe not solely responsible for inventing the mobile phone, it is difficult to imagine how the modern hand-held mobile phone could not have been patterned after the hand-held communication devices depicted in the early television series. In fact, Rob Haitani designed the first user interface for the operating system of the Palm in 1993 after the user interface panels on the bridge of the USS Enterprise (Evangelista, 2004).

It is with this sense of wonder (as I imagine many technological innovators and gurus influenced by serials such as Star Trek have) that I imagine how technology will shape the near and future world before us. It is both with excitement and trepidation.

Technology is constantly changing and evolving. Take the mobile phone industry as an example. I bought the latest iPhone 5S last fall. Less than a year later, iPhone 6 will be released promising to include a faster processor and lots more bells and whistles. Computers are no different. New processors promising faster speed and larger memory capacity roll off the assembly line almost monthly. A computer is obsolete as soon as you walk out the door with it.

Technology is here to stay and its reach will continue to creep further into our lives. Home life, schooling, even work will never be the same. As a leader, it is crucial to stay abreast of current trends in technology impacting an industry. While it may be impossible know every technological advancement being developed in a particular field, it would be fairly easy to pick up on technological trends. This can be easily achieved by attending conferences and workshops and by reading industry journals and periodicals.

Technological connectivity is more prevalent than any other time in human history. So much information is available and in so many different formats that work (and play for that matter) can be done almost anywhere and nearly everywhere. What does this mean for companies and organizations? It means a telecommuting will become much more prevalent. While the benefits of telecommuting can be debated, it is already being practiced in numerous fields and will become more more prevalent over time. Fueling this workplace revolution will be technology.

What does all of this mean? Well, it means leaders must 'step-up' or 'get out of the way.' Organizations and companies that embrace and utilize available and developing technologies will stay on the cutting edge of their field. Those who fail to do so face losing their market share or certain death.

A New Age of Bullying

*This is based on a true story; all names have been changed to protect those involved.

In Fall 2009, Claire was a very intelligent high school freshman. She was president of the Junior National Honor Society. Also, she was very popular. Popular enough to make the homecoming court. She was very outgoing and was involved in numerous school activities.

During one summer, she met a young man, Roger. They discovered they had a lot in common. A young budding romance began. Because they were only 15 years old, they were only allowed to 'date' over the phone. They talked a lot during the summer, strengthening their bond. Soon summer was over and they both had to return to school.

When school began, Claire was unable to spend as much time with Roger as he liked. He became extremely possessive and jealous. Roger's new behavior scared Claire and she began to pull away. This enraged Roger and he began a technological assault on Claire and her reputation.

Roger began his assault by making numerous Facebook pages under the guise of being Claire. He stole pictures and information from Claire's page and put them on the nefarious pages he created. On these pages Roger would post as if he was Claire. He would say Claire had sexually transmitted diseases, she was pregnant, and she was a lesbian. Utilizing the messaging feature he would call out individuals and groups of upperclassmen in Claire's name and try to pick fights with them. Roger set up MySpace pages for the same purpose.

At school, Claire was living a nightmare. Students would physically confront her and try to fight her. Because of the lies Roger posted on these pages, Claire's classmates and friends began to distance themselves from her. When her closest friends tried to defend her, Roger made false Facebook and MySpace pages about them to discredit them.

The physical and emotional toll on Claire was devastating. Claire was a petite young lady to begin with, but the trauma of the technological assault caused her to lose precious weight she could not afford to lose. The young extroverted Claire began to retreat inward. The once confident, outgoing young lady was slowly being replaced by a more demure and insecure shell of a young woman.

Her mother noticed the changes in her daughter and when questioned Claire told her mother about how she was being bullied over Facebook and MySpace by Roger. Claire's mother met with school administrators regarding the bullying and they were not willing to address the problem. Instead, the told her to change schools or to home school Claire. Claire's mother even met with the superintendent of the school system. He too told her to change schools. The legal system would not address Claire's cyber bullying either. When Claire's mother had Roger arrested for threatening texts, the judge refused to even consider the more vicious attacks that took place on Facebook and MySpace. There was not place for Claire and her mother to turn.

As a result, Claire's mother moved her, at great cost to herself and her family, to another school district.

There is no question the school district failed Claire and her mother. Had they intervened, Claire would not have had to change school systems, nor would she still carry the lingering effects of being cyber bullied. The problem is in 2009, laws against cyber bullying were just being drawn up and enacted. Alabama's Student Harassment Prevention Act was signed into law on May 29, 2009 by then Governor Bob Riley. This law resulted in the development of the Alabama Department of Education's Model Anti-Harassment Policy which was disseminated to city and county school districts across Alabama by memorandum on October 20, 2009. Both the act and the policy laid out procedures for dealing with and definitive consequences for cyber bullying. So why were Claire and her mother not provided help? Why was their situation not remedied? Why was there no justice?

After examining this case, it seems ignorance of the new law and of cyber bullying in general is the culprit. Neither is an acceptable excuse for Claire and her mother. Neither is an acceptable excuse for others who have had to endure the emotional and physical torment of this new age of bullying.

Technology, technology everywhere...blurring lines

Technology is everywhere. The evolution of the handheld device has allowed email and networking to be portable, convenient, and easier than ever before. Once only for personal use it now has further evolved for use in the workplace. These type of networking has blurred the lines between personal space and workplace.

While the benefits of networking are numerous. The most important and impactful benefit is flexibility. Networking allows for work times and workloads to be flexible. Having a freely available internet for workers allows tasks to be accomplished on a convenient timetable and almost anywhere. This type of arrangement is called teleworking. Teleworking allows workers to work from home instead of commuting to and from work everyday. This type of arrangement allows for workers with families to meet familial obligations and still perform their work duties at the highest level possible. The by product of teleworking is happier employees which results in higher quality work and better results. The downside of teleworking is it is not a viable option in every professional situation. For example, as a special education teacher I would not be able to teach my class from afar as my job requires a lot of hand-over-hand instruction and activities. However, as this program attests, educating this way is not completely out of the question.

Another benefit of this type of networking is bringing in talent from almost anywhere. Generally, an organization or business is limited to a pool of applicants or employees that is geographically close to said organization or business. Unless an applicant or employee wants to relocate and uproot their family this is not always the best way for attracting and acquiring the best talent. Networking allows work to be done anywhere there is an internet connection; therefore allowing for top talent to be drawn to an organization or business. Networking in this way directly benefits organizations and businesses by increasing quality and results.

An unintended benefit of this type of networking drawing in top talent is the visibility it provides an organization. People talk and organizations and businesses get reputations. Successful networking and teleworking, that is allowing workers to take full advantage of the benefits of the medium, gets out to competitors and job seekers. This talk, especially if it is positive, can be a boon for an organization or company. This brings notoriety and can create or embellish an organization or businesses reputation.

So as to not only look at the networking with only 'rose-colored' glasses. There is the issue of self-motivation versus manager driven productivity. Does networking (or teleworking, specifically) allow for workers to be lazy? While the nature of individuals (good vs evil) can be debated. Laziness comes in all shapes and sizes and can be done here, there, or anywhere. Not all workers are self-motivated. That being said, some workers would not be ideal candidates for teleworking. Much like for other situations, personality tests can be administered to assure organizations that employees are placed appropriately to ensure the success of the teleworking process and ultimately the success of the organization or company.

Regardless of where you stand on networking or teleworking. Technology changes and develops at light speed. Further technological development will streamline networking and teleworking making it easier and more practical. Both are here to stay. This will just further blur the lines between personal space and the workplace.

Technology's Imprint

Braille is a tactile, symbol-based imprinted language. In grade one Braille, the symbols are made up of an a systematic arrangement of six dots arranged in various cells. These dots are imprinted on paper for the blind or visually impaired individual to read. Braille was created nearly 200 years ago and it was a revolutionary invention changing the lives of the blind and visually impaired forever.

The power of technology is evident all around us. It permeates every aspect of our life. It has revolutionized many parts of our daily lives, for instance, nearly instantaneous communication with family members and loved ones half a world away. From my perspective, in the realm of public education, while the benefits of technology are ever evident, acquisition of technology has occurred at a snail's pace.

Computers and email have greatly benefited the transmission of information between the internal and external stakeholders. Teachers are notified in real-time when changes to daily schedules are necessary. State and federally required paperwork creation and transmission has been streamlined thanks to state-mandated, monitored, and regulated databases. All of which helps make educating children with multiple disabilities a little easier.

In the classroom, SmartBoards, closed circuit televisions, and table-side computerized magnifiers are beneficial for students with blindness and visual impairments. Additional computer software that read and magnify the visual output of computers are available. Also, available are computerized note takers that utilize braille-like input and output. All are great technological developments.

The problem is the cost of these technological advancements. Because these items benefit only a small group of individuals, the cost of these devices and software is astronomical. For public schools relying on limited public-generated revenues, this a very big problem and the biggest reason why the implementation of technology for students with visual impairments has moved at a snail's pace.

To keep the imprint of technology available for everyone, there must be a way to remedy this problem? Maybe technology holds the answer? 

Knowledge is Power?

Francis Bacon is famous for saying, "knowledge is power." This is quite evident in that individuals, entities, companies, and even countries fight to control the flow and access to knowledge (see China). Knowledge is indeed precious. Before the technological age, knowledge was scarce and more often than not pertinent. After the invention of the Internet, knowledge became more plentiful. To further complicate things was the social media boom. Social media has made everyday mundane errands 'news.' Today there is an (almost) over-saturation of knowledge and the majority of it is unimportant.

What exactly does this mean for organizations where knowledge is free flowing and so crucial for business? Well, organizations want knowledge to flow internally. The free flow of experiential knowledge can help an organization run smoother and products to be developed and produced more efficiently. The job of the knowledge manager is to make sure this knowledge is transferred in a useable, manageable way. In a large organization too much knowledge transferred haphazardly means that the pertinent knowledge 'falls through the cracks.' The responsibility of the knowledge manager is to make sure knowledge is transferred timely and efficiently through work groups. Maybe through the creation of small group emails or bulletin boards or blogs where the knowledge manager culls through the information and passes it along to her or his manager.

The 'publish-then-filter' phenomenon is an interesting one. While an asset during the recent Egyptian revolution where there was so much data it could not be filtered out by the government. It can be the death knell for an organization who may not want its secrets and operational strategies to made public. It is the knowledge manager's responsibility to maintain organizational policies to make sure company secrets are securely kept within the aforementioned email network, bulletin boards, or blogs. Security is the key here. There must be the implementation of a security network for keeping company knowledge in-house. Because this type of knowledge is where the true power of an organization lies.

Accessibility for All

Traditionally, the blind and visually impaired have depended on expensive accessibility software for using computers and other technologies. Software such as JAWS and WindowEyes are screen-reading software the blind and visually impaired use for reading and interpreting what is displayed on computer screens. The software essential reads what is read on the screen and then the information is presented to the user through either text-to-speech or Braille or both.

Apple, primarily through its operating system used on all of its devices including the revolutionary iPad, has made accessibility not only easier, but also very affordable. The current retail price for the standard version of JAWS is nearly $900 and historically WindowsEyes is just as expensive. In contrast, screen-reading software comes integrated in iOS, Apple’s operating system. There are no additional costs for blind and visually impaired users to access the full capabilities of an iPad, iPhone, or iPod.

In an interesting twist, and in an effort to keep pace with or at the very least take a bigger portion out of Apple’s market share, Microsoft now offers screen reading software available with newer versions of their Microsoft Office software. Beginning in early 2014 GW Micro, the creator of WindowEyes, and Microsoft collaborated to offer WindowEyes free of charge to Microsoft Office 2010 and 2013 users. However, this still cannot compete with the functionality and integration of the iOS accessibility software on the iPad, iPhone, and iPod.

In addition, there are dozens of applications (or apps) available (and being developed almost daily) on Apple’s App Store used on iOS devices, including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod to further accessibility options of these devices. Such apps include ViA, an app developed by Braille Institute. ViA identifies other apps that can be used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired or possess other types of disabilities. Apps benefiting individuals with other types of disabilities include Verbally by Intuary. Verbally is a communication app used with augmentative and alternative communication devices (such as a switch or communication board) giving speech to children and adults who may not normally possess discernible communication skills at all? Most of these accessibility apps are free or low-cost.

In this current era, where boundaries seem nigh near boundless, it is time to make technology accessible to all!