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.