4th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy

Educational leaders in k-12 schools encounter increasing challenges. To effectively meet such challenges requires the ability to collaborate with multiple leadership roles within the school community. Our department prepares school administrators, media specialists, and technology facilitators to work in k-12 settings. To better prepare students to assume these critical roles, we engage in cross-program collaboration among students within the different program areas. In a virtual world environment students define issues, share resources, and construct solutions beyond the restrictions of physical location and programs of study. Over the course of one summer semester, our students representing two of these programs in educational leadership met online, shared their expertise, and developed proposals for the use of iPads within simulated school settings, with each student playing the role of principal, assistant principal, technology facilitator or teacher as members of a fictional school leadership team. The outcomes of participation based on student perception were examined through electronic survey, student postings on blogs throughout the project, and student reflections at the end of the project. Results indicate positive perceptions of student leadership development.