Technology Tools for Leaders

Reviewed by Dr. Kelly Eckel, Assistant Professor, Director of Field Experiences, University of Saint Francis on 9/26/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

I would have the table of contents list the chapter title (not just number) so the reader can quickly access the information they want to review when navigating between chapters. This would be critical to those referencing this book consistently.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book appears to be up to date on practices and policies. I would suggest expanding on the social media section due to the increase in the number of those utilizing social media in business and education settings.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Technology is the cornerstone of many institutions, businesses and organizations in the 21st Century so the content is extremely relevant. The legislation section may become out of date quickly due to the fast pace of changes across the globe with technology. I was very surprised AI was not addressed or discussed at all. This should be addressed if the content is updated.

Clarity rating: 4

I am not sure who the intended audience is for this since the level of complexity in verbiage and narrative varies across the chapters. At times it felt as if it was written to a college student and at other times to an experienced CEO or sales team.

Consistency rating: 4

Great job overall with this. I did have some difficulty with the various embedded resources. I would attempt to remain consistent with resources. I highly advise against using YouTube videos due to the potential removal of the video from the platform.

Modularity rating: 5

Subheadings were accurate, spaced nicely, and appropriate. Please note some subheadings were bold and some were not. Also, a chapter had an overview section at the beginning, I would make this consistent as well if you are going to include.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This book flowed very well and had a balance of narrative and resources.

Interface rating: 5

I did not see any issues with the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

There were very few resources (videos or pictures) that had minorities or people of color in them. In Chapter 5 it stated "I love your unique outfits" is a positive message and I highly disagree; it is somewhat passive-aggressive.

Comments

Overall, this is an excellent resource for businesses or organizations desiring more information on processes and potential policies relating to integrating new or existing technology into their systems. The resources were accessible and appropriate. I would expand on Chapter 7 that discusses continuous improvement to include information on the Quality Assurance Cycle, the purpose, and who (stakeholders) is involved. Quality planning, quality control, quality improvement, training and development, documentation, and stakeholder notification would be a great addition.

Reviewed by Abby Dutcher, Assistant Professor, University of Saint Francis on 9/10/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Technology Tools for Leaders is a comprehensive textbook that helps the reader reticulate the world and philosophies of leadership and research-based practices of technology. The book addresses everything from creating a program charter for the technological vision to budgets and stakeholder communication.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The authors of the text had great ideas that are accurate and align with basic leadership practices that are used in other disciplines as well.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

With the advancement of technology, institutions and organizations must have a streamlined process for making decisions about technology. It is also important that leaders have processes in place for continuous improvement and checking in through progress reports. This textbook addresses both of those areas.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is easy to read. The integrated videos allow for learners of different learning styles to have access to key concepts of the text. There are also a variety of visuals included as well.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. The text was very easy to follow and simple to navigate.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter took about 10-20 minutes of time to read and watch the videos. The authors created a very simple and scaffolded approach to making the textbook divisible and easy to ready in sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This was one of the most organized OER books that I have read.

Interface rating: 5

The interface was easy to follow with no issues. The images were easy to read. The videos all worked and were easy to follow and listen to.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were no errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text was written to be very inclusive.

Comments

I found that this was a quick read, but I was able to glean a lot of valuable information from it. I loved that I could read a portion of the text and also watch a video. Furthermore, there were many important key ideas that I had not considered about leadership and using technology. The text was written in a way that made me re-think some of the technology systems that I have implemented in the past.