EDLD 5363: Week 3 Web Conference (November 29, 2011)

On Tuesday, November 29, 2011 I attended a very small web conference. There might have been 10 students in attendance. I don’t think this was a scheduled conference, but since there were connection problems the night before, Dr. Abernathy decided to squeeze this one in. I really like the web conferences with smaller attendance. There is more room for individualized questions and instruction. This is a lot like my classes. I find that if I have 24 students in a classroom, it is harder on instruction time and classroom management versus having 12 to 15 in a classroom.

Dr. Abernathy was still in New Orleans at a conference. She went back through an explained the assignment for weeks 3-5 and clarified questions. She stressed that we needed to be working collaboratively with all people in our groups. She also suggested using GoogleDocs with different colors to identify each person and their contributions. Since we did have a small group, we were able to ask and answer questions among ourselves. I like being able to help fellow classmates and actually knew the answers to some of the questions.

Unfortunately about 20 minutes into the conference, Dr. Abernathy had to take a phone call. During the phone call she lost her connection and never returned to the conference. The rest of us hung out for about 10 minutes talking and helping each other, but once we decided that Dr. Abernathy wasn’t going to be able to return, we decided as a class to end the session.

EDLD 5363: Week 2: Web conference

Week 2 web conference went a little better than week 1. Week 1 there were a lot of participants and it was difficult to keep up with all the conversations and questions. There were fewer participants this time so it was easier for me to keep up.  There still seems to be a bandwidth problem either on Dr. Abernathy’s end or mine. For at least half of the web conference, the audio was stuttering and breaking up. This makes it very difficult to understand and follow what is being said when I am only getting half of the information. Some others commented on the stuttering also, so I wonder if the problem is really with my Internet connection and bandwidth.

Dr. Abernathy clarified several questions concerning Week 1 and 2 assignments. I’m glad I am not the only one that didn’t understand all the instructions given in the homework assignment. Sometimes there is so much information given in the assignments that it becomes overwhelming. Also, I think the assignments sometimes assume that we already know how to use some of this technology when we really don’t know how. I am not the kind of person that can be given something and told, “Here go play with this and learn.” I am the kind of person that needs instructions to know what to do.

I am enjoying the web conferences more and I participate in them. I still can’t get my lighting right, so most of the time I do not use my cam. I also find that if I try to use my microphone, everything has a tendency to freeze. I guess I need to fork out the money and buy some better equipment.

EDLD 5363: Digital Story: A Girl and Her Daddy

I am now in EDLD 5363: Multimedia and Video Technology, which is my fifth class at Lamar University. For our week 1 assignment we had to create a digital story. This is another first for something I have never done. Basically after reading the weekly assignments, I figured out we were suppose to create a digital story using still photos to tell a story. How appropriately named: a digital story. Anyway, I began thinking about what kind of story I wanted to tell. Would it be funny, sad, romantic, or devastating? I thought about telling a story about old houses. If they could talk, what stories would they tell? I thought about my dad who passed away very unexpectedly a little over a year ago. Maybe I should tell a story in his honor for my family to remember him by. I knew that I would have to use pictures that I already possessed since I didn’t have time to go around taking pictures or searching for them on the Internet. I began looking through my files of pictures and realized I really began starting pictures about five years ago when my daughter was born. So from that point, I knew the story would be about my daughter. I quickly began uploading funny pictures to a file since my daughter has turned out to be quite the little comedian. When I was finished uploading, I realized my story was over ten minutes long. Whew!! I love my daughter. Since my story could only be two minutes, I realized I needed to cut out a lot, but deciding what to remove was harder than I imagined. When I began looking at the pictures, I started seeing something a lot of the photos had in common. There were pictures of my daughter and my husband. I thought about the special bond I had with my dad and soon realized there’s no greater relationship than the one that exists between a girl and her daddy. So all of a sudden I have a title for my story, “A Girl and Her Daddy.”

I used Photo Story 3, which was another first, to create my video. I worked for several hours deciding on photos and getting them in the right order. Then I decided instead of me narrating the story I would have my daughter do it. I think it adds a little extra sincerity. We went through the script one picture at a time and she loved it. She kept asking if we could do them over even though the narration sounded great. I think she liked having the headset with microphone on. In completing my story, I decided to add music. Once the project was complete, I had to upload it to a public free video hosting site. I have a little bit of a problem with this since it has private photos of my family, so I plan to either make it private or delete it once I am finished with my degree. I decided to use Teacher Tube. I set up my account but when I uploaded the video I kept receiving a message that said, “generic failure.” For 45 minutes I tried to upload my video and couldn’t get it to work. I got frustrated with Teacher Tube and decided to move on over to You Tube. I created an account on there and uploaded the digital story. This one work, but when I went back to search on the title and key words, I couldn’t find it. I included the URL on my homework assignment and when you click on the URL the video comes up. I don’t understand that one either.

Anyway, all in all I am pleased with the video. Even though it was more time consuming than I thought it would be I am proud of it. It might not be perfect, but my husband likes it and my daughter had a blast helping me make it. I have included the URL to YouTube for your enjoyment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh2lWKGJ2l4&feature=youtu.be

Action Plan - Teacher Training

I can’t believe that we have been in school for two weeks. Time flies when you are having fun, or in my case when you are so snowed under by classroom teaching, Science lab preparations, faculty meetings, Lamar classes and homework, family, and anything else that might come along. I can’t breath because I haven’t set aside specific times for breathing. I think I should do that right now, and schedule bathroom breaks. Those are pretty important too. (lol) Anyhow, I like so many of my classmates, are barely treading and keeping my head above water. All I can do is follows Dori’s lead and say, “Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.” This is a reference from Finding Nemo for those of you who don’t have kids, and I know that’s not the correct APA format but it’s my blog.

One of the MANY projects I have to work on for my Lamar degree is an Action Research Plan. My plan questions if using Explore Learning Gizmos in 7th grade Science increases motivation and desire to perform Science lab activities. To get this party started, I and the other junior high science teachers talked with our principal and curriculum director about Explore Learning Gizmos since it is a subscription based website. They were delighted with the idea and believed the interactive online learning environment would captivate the kids and reinforce Science concepts. This will be used as a trail period for Science since there are also Gizmos for Math. If all goes well, the Math department might begin using them also.

Once we received the okay, the subscription was paid and we were off and running. There are three teachers who teach 7th grade Science, so the curriculum director had to request three logins and passwords. Since this is a project of mine, I took my information and figured out how to use the Explore Learning website. I created my profile, and watched the tutorials on the website. I wanted to discover as much about the site that I could so I could train the other two teachers during in-service. As in-service rolled around, my principal scheduled time for a subject based meeting among the 7th grade Science teachers. I used this time to introduce the other teachers to Gizmos and as a demonstration period. I showed the teachers how to access the site and create the profile pages. I then instructed them on how to set up individual classes with student rosters for each class. Once the rosters were created, student login and passwords were assigned. We decided that the student logins and passwords would be given to the students to be placed in the front of their Science journals.

Once the rosters were created, it was time to explore the Gizmos and start playing around. I showed the teachers how to search for specific Gizmos including but not limited to heredity, photosynthesis, renewable/nonrenewable resources, solar system, food chains/webs, lunar phases, rock cycle, and force/motion. They were amazed at how many different Gizmos there were pertaining to our curriculum. Once they were comfortable with searching for Gizmos, I demonstrated how the students and teachers would download and access the Gizmos. Along with each Gizmo there is also a teacher guide, vocabulary, student evaluation, and answer key. As the other teachers read some of the questions on the Gizmo, they were amazed as what higher level of thinking skills the students were going to have to use to perform the different activities and answer the questions. I reminded the teachers that the online learning activities created an atmosphere that we could only recreate if we had unlimited funds and equipment. The Gizmos will be used as excellent representations for labs that we are not able to create on small or nonexistent budgets such as ours.

At this point, it seemed as though everyone had a pretty good idea of how to get started using the Gizmos. I answered any final questions and we adjourned the meeting. I will continue to remain in contact with the teachers to answer any questions they have or help them work through any problems they make incur. The next step is to conduct a pre-survey with the 7th grade students to find out prior knowledge and the level of use of Gizmos. I am excited. I just hope the kids enjoy doing the activities as much as I have.

EDLD 5301: Research: Reflection

When I first began this class, EDLD 5301 Research, I had no idea what action research or action inquiry was. “Simply stated, administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009). I have been one who has sat for long hours in a library sorting through mountains of data in order to perform research and write a research paper. I had never though of developing an action plan from a question or wondering happening within my work area. The need for inquiry is an essential component in order to establish a firm foundation for school improvement. During this class, it was our objective to learn about and develop an action inquiry to implement over the course of our program.

Understanding what action inquiry is was my first obstacle. “Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posting questions or “wonderings,” collecting data to gain insights into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed inquiry, and sharing findings with others” (Dana, 2009). Once I understood the purpose, I had to begin thinking of action topics that would eventually develop into my wondering. Being a new teacher, I don’t have any experience to bring to the table. I was able to think of a few wonderings I would have liked to explore, but they all had to do with administration. Since I am a technology student, my question had to be technology related. I began thinking about technology and how it is used in my classroom. We are participating in a pilot program to implement Explore Learning Gizmos into our Science curriculum. Since I teach Science, I thought this would be an excellent time to see if Gizmos increased student’s motivation in Science.

I took this idea to my site supervisor who is also my principal and asked her opinion. She agreed that studying the use of technology in the classroom was too broad of a topic. When she learned about my question involving the Gizmos, she became excited. She too, wondered if the students enjoyed using the Gizmos since it is a subscription based program. With the school district having to cut the budget, stakeholders wonder if the added expense of Gizmos is worth the money. Together, we decided to make Explore Learning Gizmos the focus of my action inquiry. So, my action question was formed. “Does using Explore Learning Gizmos for 7th grade Science students increase motivation and desire to perform Science lab activities?”

Once my action question was established, the next step was to develop the action plan. With the guidance of my site mentor, I created a template of activities and a timeline in order to implement my plan. During this process, I was also blogging and posting discussions on the discussion board to express concerns and developments along the way. Fellow classmates commented on my blog and discussion posts and remained encouraging as I developed my plan. Within my action plan, I arranged for teacher and student training of the Gizmos. I will also continue training and hold monthly teacher meetings in case any problems or questions arise. Data collection is important in order to support the findings. “Using multiple sources of data can enhance your inquiry as you gain different perspectives from different strategies” (Dana, 2009) In order to use multiple collection strategies, I plan to use a pre and post survey at the beginning and end of school, reflective journaling, random interviews, collect student work samples, and perform literature reviews. With my tentative action plan complete, I posted it to my blog and awaited comments from my classmates. The comments I received were very supportive in that the plan looks very efficient and the action research sounds very exciting. With this information in hand, I once again met with my site supervisor to reach a final consensus on my plan. With both of us agreeing on my question and plan, I posted my final SIP plan to my blog.

I have to admit, I am nervous about being able to complete this action plan. I know that I can become a better teacher if I continually reflect on how I am teaching in order to better benefit the students. “A major benefit inherent in the process is the improvement of teaching when focusing on improving student achievement” (Ringler, 2007). Between still being a new teacher, attending classes for my master’s degree, and being a wife and mother, I have a lot of demands upon me. I also have two other projects from my previous class, Principal Competencies and the Internship Plan; I will be responsible for completing within the next year. I will really have to use good time management and remember to blog weekly on the progress of my action plan. I want to be the best teacher I can possibly be to help better my students, and action inquiry can make that happen. “When we improve schools, we improve the lives of our students, and thus, we improve the future for all of us” (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010).


Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Harris, S. Edmonson, S. & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Ringler, M. (2007). Action research and effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 4(1), 27-42.

SIP Action Plan

EDLD 5301: Week 4: Questions and Revisions

During this week, I met with my site supervisor to once again discuss my action research plan. She still thinks I’m crazy. I am starting my second year of teaching and I have taken on a master’s degree program. Occasionally she looks at me and laughs. We have to keep our humor in this or else I’m liable to have a nervous breakdown. I am really nervous about how I am going to accomplish everything I have on my plate within the next year. Already I have an Internship Plan, activities in Principal Competencies, and now I am adding an action research plan. I wish we could start and finish everything within a class in the five weeks rather than having something to finish once the class has ended. How am I going to remember to blog weekly on my action plan and respond to other people’s blogs? I am sure I’m going to have so much going on with being a wife and mother, teaching 6th and 7th grade Science, performing the action plan, internship plan, and principal competencies, continuing with the classes in the program, and anything else that might come along. Oh my goodness…just thinking about it scares me and makes me nervous. I am definitely going to have to create a schedule of some sort or learn how to use the calendar and alert features on my phone. :)

As I met with my site supervisor, she once again commented on how wonderful and thought out my plan was. Since I don’t have a lot of experience in education, I was worried and still am that I really don’t know what I’m doing. To receive her respect and praise on a job well done makes me feel wonderful. As she looked over my plan she commented that it seem to be well developed. She liked the fact that I was willing to continue any type of training or help the teachers after the initial training. We all know how it feels to learn something new and then we told to go and use the new information and never receive another ounce of support. Talk about feeling like one if thrown to the dogs. The one suggestion she did make was to have sporadic meetings to check with the teachers to make sure there are no lingering questions or problems that need to be handled. So, with this in mind, I revised my action plan and added monthly meetings with teachers. Other than the one suggestion, we both agreed that the plan was on the right track.

On a personal note, I am really scared and nervous about being able to do everything that will be required personally and professionally. I believe I am very good with time management, but there is only a certain number of hours in the day. I know I will do my best, but how to keep my sanity and not drive my husband and daughter crazy will be the question. :)

EDLD 5301: Week 3 Reflection: Decision Time

As you can see, I finally narrowed down my action topics and actually came up with an action research question. How does using Explore Learning Gizmos for 7th grade Science students increase motivation and desire to perform Science lab activities? At least I think this is what my question will be. I have sat and thought for countless hours trying to decide on my question. It had to be technology based since I am a technology student even though I came up with several ideas from an administration viewpoint. Oh well. Maybe within time I can do some of the other ones I thought of. During this week, it was time to develop our draft action plan. I can honestly say, "What?" We are given a template and told, "Go forth. Fill in blanks." At least that's how I felt. We were given examples in our reading, but those seemed to be in final report format and not in a draft template. So again, I say, "What?" I sat and thought about the different steps I would take to develop my research and gather data. Basically, I drafted those steps into the template. So I don't know if I did mine right or wrong, but I guess I will find out when I get my grade. Hopefully, I will at least be close. Enjoy and "Always Forward" preferably with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.

EDLD 5301: Action Research: Reflection for Week 2

The process of action research is beginning to make a little more sense to me. As I talk to classmates, my site mentor, and friends I am receiving examples of action research topics and how they have been used. I have not only received topics that have been put into effect in education, but also in business settings and homes. Until recently, I never knew that discussing the financial situation of a family could be turned into action inquiry. This family decided to make a major shift in how they were saving for retirement. They established their wondering, reviewed financial literature to arm themselves with knowledge, and have decided to change the direction of their retirement funds. When I began talking to them, they already had six months into this project. They reminded me that a stable financial future was nothing to joke about. These examples are what helped me understand that action research can be used in any manner in which there is a question or wondering that needs to be answered. In reflecting on wonderings that affect my school, I seem to come up with several ideas from an administration viewpoint, but I have to keep reminding myself that since I am a technology student, my plan must be technology based. Since I do not have a lot of experience as an educator or with using technology, this is where I have trouble. Hopefully if I continue to talk to people, something somewhere will eventually turn on a light bulb in my head.

EDLD 5301: How educational leaders might use blogs

Different people from professionals to housewives are increasingly using Blogs for various reasons. From an educational leadership standpoint, blogs provide a communication space for teachers, administrators, students, and stakeholders to post information, questions, and comments concerning the school and classroom.

EDLD 5301: Action Research

I have to be honest; before I began reading the text I had no idea what action research was much less how it could be used. After beginning to read Leading With Passion and Knowledge by Nancy Fichtman Dana, I began to embark on a comprehension of action research and its purpose. Everyone, no matter what business in which they work, should constantly strive to do the best job possible for all involved. Action research can facilitate in professional development in order to continue or modify a course of action. “Inquiring professionals seek out change and reflect on their practice by posing questions or “wonderings,” collecting data to gain insights into their wonderings, analyzing the data along with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings with others” (Dana, 2009). There are typically three types of research currently used in education. The major difference when comparing action research to the other two methods is the person(s) presenting the questions are the ones following through with the research rather than the research being conducted by an outsider.  This allows those working within the day-to-day functions of the profession to be best equipped to make certain the best job is being performed.

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

EDLD 5306: What I learned from this course.

I learned so much about myself. I learned that even though I know how to turn a computer on, I actually know nothing about the different types of 21^st technology or how to implement them into my classroom. This course was completely overwhelming and I wonder if I will be able to finish the program. I met some really great people who reached out to me when I was having difficulty. They offered help and advice and most importantly they encouraged me to not give up. I just completed my first year of teaching so I do not have any educational background experience from which to draw. At this point, I do not believe I am even able to lead in technology much less be a facilitator. I realize I have so much to learn. I am eager to learn about different types of technology and hope I can have fun while going through this program.  I also hope this program will provide me with useful technology information I can incorporate into my classroom rather than just trying to cram so much into five week spurts that I learn nothing other than how to fill out paperwork and write papers.

EDLD 5306: Course assignment success

I was successful in carrying out the course assignments within the allotted time, but I have to admit it was very difficult and was accomplished through a lot of crying and worrying. I know that these courses are accelerated and not abbreviated and I want to receive a degree from a reputable college, but the workload was overwhelming. Most institutions understand that we are people with lives outside of college courses. I have a family to take care of and a job that is demanding of my time. At this time school is out for summer vacation, but I worry that if the course load remains the same if I will be able to devote as much time to my studies after I go back to work. Also, some the assignments that included websites or step-by-step instructions for setting something up need to be reviewed on a regular basis. Some of instructions were incorrect or unclear and I spent large amounts of time trying to figure out what to do. For instance, I had never developed a video before so I chose to follow the instructions for Animoto.  The website has changed how videos are made so the instructions given were not correct. It’s one thing to be able to follow instructions and finish a task in a timely manner, but it is something totally different to have to sit for an extra hour or two and figure it out on your own. I discovered this course and possibly this program believe the student uses different types of technology on a regular basis. For someone like me who doesn’t, it made finishing the assignments very difficult.

EDLD 5306: Outcomes not achieved

Since I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what this class would be about, I don’t believe I had any outcomes that I didn’t achieve. I do wish there might have been a few more types of technology used in the course assignments. I look back and see areas that I need to continue to work on for improvement. APA style of writing is used in professional writings and reports. I need to continue to study the APA style so I can create superior writings. One day, I might actually write a professional paper to be published and I want it to be high quality. I found that I do not know as much about technology as I thought and I know nothing about current 21^st century technology. I also just finished my first year of teaching, so I do not have any education knowledge to bring to the table. This makes achieving any outcomes difficult.

EDLD 5306: Outcome achievement and relevance in my school

I really enjoyed learning about the various types of technology in EDLD 5306. I thought I knew about technology, but I soon learned I truly am a digital immigrant in the technology world. Working with RSS feeds, blogs, wikis, Wordle, SlideShare presentations,and Animoto videos was fun and enlightening. Interpreting the information from LoTi, Multiple Intelligences and the StaR chart helped me realize I know nothing about current technology but they did help me see what level I am at. I discovered I was mostly at the bottom levels and have a lot of room to grow. Knowing this information gives me a foundation on which to grow, as I become more of a technology facilitator. As I grow in technology knowledge, I will be able to take what I learn and incorporate the information into my classroom and curriculum. I believe my students will enjoy learning about the technology as I am learning it, and some of my students may already be using the technology. They can become facilitators of the class and help bring their classmates into the 21^st century of technology.

EDLD 5306: Outcomes envisioned

To be perfectly honest, I don’t know if I had envisioned any outcomes for this course. I didn’t know what to expect. I was eager to get started and excited that I would actually be working on a Master’s degree. I suppose I thought this was going to be an introduction course for the entire program. This course would be used to introduce how technology has changed over the years and how it has been integrated into the school system and classrooms. I never knew there were so many visions, standards, and competencies dealing with educational technology. In addition to receiving a Master’s degree, I did not know this program would prepare me for principal certification. I am really not interested in principal certification or working in administration. It probably looks good on a vita to have a principal certification, but I am more concerned with learning about different types of technology and how I can integrate technology into my classroom. In my thinking there should be two different tracks. One track should lead to Master’s degree only and the second track could acquire Master’s degree and principal certification.

Final Webconference for EDLD 5306

As I sit here reflecting on the last web conference of EDLD 5306 held Thursday, June 23, 2011, I wonder what I have gotten myself in to. I still am not able to get the lighting for my web cam correct and basically chose not to use it. Also, I can’t seem to get it at an appropriate distance, so I have a major frontal view of my face. This isn’t something else that I want to necessarily share with my classmates. In the final week of the class we are to create our Internship Plan along with the Principal Competencies. During the web conference, all of my classmates gave good information and suggestions on how to develop these two projects, but I am still totally lost. Everyone has been so helpful and I am grateful. I am glad that I couldn’t get my webcam or mic to work properly, because it would have been embarrassing for everyone to see me crying uncontrollably throughout the web conference at the overwhelming thoughts of completing these projects in the next 3 days. I just finished my first year of teaching so I have no educational experience to help me plan activities. I am also finding out that I don’t have a lot of technology experience and technology isn’t readily shared or used at my school, so this creates another huge disadvantage for me. I do not even know how to create an activity when I don’t know anything about the technology that can be used or the technology already being used in my school. What have I gotten myself into?

Second Web Conference

On Thursday, June 9, 2011 I attended my second web conference. Once again we got off to a bumpy start with technical and lighting difficulties. Audio streaming was choppy and difficult to understand. Once again, most of us resorted to typing questions and answers rather than using the microphones. Web cam still freak me out, but with more practice I am sure I will get more comfortable. I did enjoy being able to communicate with my classmates. There are those that are very serious about what we are doing, but then there are others that have chosen to tackle this huge undertaking with humor. I like the fact that we can learn and laugh together. I have noticed that there are people from different areas and states that can contribute different ideas and points of view to the conversations. Since we are three weeks into the course, there were several people with the same questions. Rather than posting a question in the virtual office hours and waiting for a response, the web conference answered those questions for all of us at one time. This has also proven to be a way for our classmates to help one another. We were able to answer some of the questions since we had already encountered the problem and found a solution. I am beginning to understand the purpose and usefulness of web conferencing.

Technology at West Rusk County Consolidated ISD

http://www.slideshare.net/angelmc43/wrccisd-technology-plan-8211108

http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/8211108

Web Conference: First Ever!!

On Tuesday, May 31, 2011, I attended my very first web conference. I have to admit that web cams freak me out. It’s a little strange to me to be able to see people on a camera in real time/live motion. I suppose that my comfort level will increase with more exposure to using video/web conferencing. It is like that will all technology. I might be afraid to use it only because I am not familiar with it. The web conference started out bumpy and we were approximately 20 minutes late getting started. The professor was having trouble with her microphone and for the longest no one could hear her. I had trouble with my lighting. Even though I had every light in the room on and all the shades up to let sunlight in, I could not get enough light. My camera displayed a very dark room. I was using a headset with a microphone, but when I muted my microphone, everyone could still hear me. It was only when I disconnected my microphone that the others in the conference could not hear me. I noticed that I was not the only one experiencing problems. Some were having trouble with the room lighting, while others could not get their equipment to work. This is the fate of technology. It is wonderful and great when it is working, but when it’s not working properly we are at technology’s mercy.

I believe that everyone who participated in the web conference needs to learn room etiquette. There were people with background noise (children in the room, eating food, drinking beverages, televisions, radios, etc…) that contributed to not being able to hear and concentrate on the information being given in the room. This became frustrating since the information being given was important. I also noticed that when the room was opened up to discussion and questions that most people chose not to use the “raise hand” function or their microphones. Questions were typed in the chat box. This made it difficult to follow the conversations and there were some questions that did not get answered. Overall the web conference was an interesting experience, and I’m sure that once I get the “technical bugs” worked out I will have a great time.

EDLD 5306: Blog Posting #3: National Educational Technology Plan

In today’s word, technology has become a central focal point for everyone. Technology is used is just about ever aspect of a person’s life from social to career. Unfortunately, The United States is lagging behind in the “technology race” that has been established by other countries. In order to catch up and be able to compete in the global technology department, some fine minds in Washington and sat down and spent countless hours on a new plan that will get everyone up to speed and able to use technology proficiently. In reading this 79-page plan, I wonder just how much time these folks devoted to visiting various schools around the country to see the diversity of not only our learners, but the schools themselves.

The plan is very optimistic in wanting to accomplish a higher two and four year college graduate rate and closing the gap so that all students “regardless of race, income, or neighborhood graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers” (Atkins, 2010). In the plan, there are various goals which include teaching, learning, professional development, and training.

Learning should be engaging and empowering both inside and outside of school. With this said, since children have unlimited access to technology, they should be learning at all times. This makes me wonder about the “perfect world” scenario. Not all children have access to technology after school. There are many children or varying races, economic status, and geographic locations that go home to bad home environments wondering if they will have food, electricity, and running water; the basic necessities. It’s hard to think about homework and advancing technology if your stomach is growling or you can’t take a bath or have clean clothes.

Another topic for the plan is teaching and training. The plan supports the concept of team collaboration rather than individualism. This allows teachers to access others by way of technology to learn, ask questions, and extended learning through a plethora of resources. With extended learning comes plenty of room for professional development. The “professional development is replaced by professional learning that is collaborative, coherent, and continuous that blends with more effective in-person courses and workshops with the expanded opportunities, immediacy, and convenience enabled by online environments full of resources and opportunities for collaboration” (Atkins, 2010).

The plan within itself is a wonderful set of goals to try to attain for our children and the future of our country, but maybe instead of trying to get us technologically above the rest of the world, we should concentrate on meeting the basic needs of our citizens. Homeless people don’t care about email and texting, and some of our students are barely one step above homeless.

Atkins, D.E., et. al. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf

EDLD 5306: Blog Posting #2: District Technology Plan

 The purpose of our technology plan is to alternate instructional strategies to engage all types of learners, enhance resources 24-7 for all stakeholders, student assistance in developing high-skills in technology, curriculum essential for academic and workplace success, ability for all teachers to integrate technology effectively into teaching and learning.

Goals include:

·        #1 - All students and teachers will utilize interactive technologies and a variety of digital resources to support research-based instructional strategies and interventions to improve student learning and meet diverse learning needs.

Strategies: All students will experience a technology rich learning environment, be held accountable for Technology Application skills and knowledge as well as Internet Safety curriculum, and utilization of Internet2 tools. Teachers will utilize online benchmark testing, develop instructional strategies that integrate digital/online content, utilize online course management, and integrate technology planning into classroom instructional plans.

·        #2 – All stakeholders will benefit from the district’s rich network.

Strategies: All stakeholders will be able to access district network resources 24/7, will be offered technology literacy, and be offered free access to online technologies. Out-dated infrastructure will be removed.

·        #3 – All instructional staff will receive ongoing professional development.

Strategies: Multiple assessments methods will be utilized. Instructional staff will be provided professional development with the intention of support and integration of technology.

·        #4 – All community stakeholders will be provided opportunities for increased access to technology and school-based information to promote parental and community involvement in planning and learning 24/7.

Strategies: All stakeholders will have the opportunity to contribute planning for technology through surveys, suggestions, interviews, presentations, and focus groups.

·        #5 – District technology department will increase the amount of technical assistance to staff, classroom implementation, help desk support, applications online, administrative software effectiveness, and remote deployment of updates and roll-outs.

Strategies: Technology department will maintain automated maintenance records and requests, help desk, and remote deployment of district software with improved turn-around response time.

·        #6 – District technology infrastructure will be evaluated, updated, and maintained on a scheduled basis for maximum instructional and informational support.

Strategies: Provide and maintain equitable access of high quality technology resources, Intranet, and online resources for all campuses & for all stakeholders to have access to instructional online curriculum and professional development 24/7.

The District Technology Committee and the Technology Department will monitor and document the progress made in the implementations of this plan. Monitoring takes place on a daily basis and guarantees the health of the network and all services. The evaluation method employs a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods using document reviews, interviews, focus groups, classroom observations; teacher and student technology proficiency assessments; technology use logs, student, teacher, and parent surveys; and school and student data.

EDLD 5306: Blog Posting #1: Technology Assessments

“As we become increasingly overwhelmed by information, we must work hard to decide which information we are going to use, and which information we are going to ignore” (Warlick, 2007).  Students and educators are faced with the day-to-day question of what information is important and what can be placed on the back burner for the time being. We are already limited to what we can teach because of TEKS and standardized testing. Sometimes I feel like I’m teaching kids how to take a test rather than teaching them how the information pertains and is important to their lives. When students get into the real world, most employers will not make modifications or accommodations to job responsibilities because of how the student was classified with regards to learning in school. Sometimes I think we are putting too much emphasis on testing to make sure educators and students know what they are learning rather than how it can be applied to their life. When testing students, we have to make accommodations and modifications depending on their learning ability. If teachers were tested on their leadership knowledge and skills, would there be accommodations or modifications since teachers also learn in different ways?  Who would decide what information would be on an assessment? Would this lead to standardized programs being used by technology leaders? What would happen to all the great technology that would never be used because it would be on the assessment? We need to stop being so concerned with passing a test and start worrying about whether our students are going to be able survive when they get out of school. “Rather than simply learning the basics of how to use a technology tool, teachers must learn how to use the tool to improve teaching and learning in their classrooms.” (Jones, 2007)

Jones, E. (2007). Strategies to put instruction ahead of technology. Principal Leadership, 7(6), 35-38.

Warlick, D. (2007). Literacy in the new information landscape. Library Media Connection, 26(1), 20-21.

First Blog

Welcome to my first blog ever. I hope you enjoy this journey with me as I learn more about blogging.