CoSN Certified Educational Technology Leaders in Utah

A couple of years ago, a group of Utah ed tech directors decided to pursue some sort of leadership credential or certification. This effort was spearheaded by Charlie Roberts (Washington district), Cory Stokes (SEDC) and Rick Gaisford (USOE). After much debate, we chose to pursue the CETL program and certification offered by CoSN––the Consortium for School Networking. Rick Gaisford, state ed tech director at USOE helped out with funding to pay for the first cadre to take the course and sit for the examinations. About 18-20 of us began in the fall of 2014. In June 2015, 11 hardy pioneers sat for the written examination. Those who passed then had one week to compose answers to four questions relating to ed tech leadership; the emphasis was on education, technology and management. A second group of eleven took the written exam in October; about half passed. Each of us had different areas of strength. To date, of the original group, eleven have passed both parts of the exams to become Certified Educational Technology Leaders:

Alan Gibbons, CETL
Jim Langston, CETL
David Long, CETL
Sam Quantz, CETL
Charlie Roberts, CETL
Tim Smith, CETL
Mark Sowa, CETL
Cody Spendlove, CETL
Cory Stokes, CETL
Kathleen Webb, CETL
Guy Durrant, CETL

Several of the original group are still studying or taking the exams; a second group has met for several weeks and will continue to meet through the winter and spring.

Those of us who have passed are proud of our accomplishment, and encourage you to achieve this milestone. We are confident that this will enhance our standing with the legislature and our districts' administrators.