I am currently taking course EDLD 5363 which is Multimedia. I wasn't sure what to expect from this class, but after reading the Week 1 Overview, I was hooked. I knew I was going to grow from this course and use some amazing technology! The first week's assignment was to create a digital story about myself or something in my life. My thoughts immediately went to the past three years of my life which included a divorce, the birth of my daughter, and moving to a new state. It really helped me emotionally to share this story with a partner, Melanie. Melanie, as an outsider, was able to ask me questions which helped me add to my story and reflect on the parts that I wasn't always comfortable sharing.
Making this digital photo story was a great addition to my life. I have already shared the project with friends and family because I am so proud of it! The sense of accomplishment of creating something new with technology and also being able to put my life's choices into a photo story was an amazing project!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
EDLD 5301 - Action Research Reflections
Wow, Week 3 sure has been a beating!! Even though I knew what my goals were for my action research plan, actually thinking about them as a researcher was a bit more challenging! I am excited to start my plan and hope as I start collecting data, it all makes sense and is clear! I enjoyed reading more about each of the 8 steps in the Harris book as well as how to share my research. Something that seems so simple (sharing research) requires a lot of prep work to ensure I reach my audience in a researcher type setting! Bring on Week 4!
EDLD 5301 - Action Research Draft
| Action Planning Template | ||||
| Goal: To observe if technology does or does not affect student achievement in fact fluency. To have 3rd graders showing fact fluency mastery before entering 4th grade. | ||||
| Action Steps(s): | Person(s) Responsible: | Timeline: Start/End | Needed Resources | Evaluation |
|
Multiplication and Division Fact Pre-Test (25 Questions)
|
Myself |
October 24, 2011 |
Pre-Test Worksheet |
Grade the pre-test
Record pre-test scores |
|
Establish a list of Internet websites for students to practice their multiplication and division facts.
|
Myself
Computer Tech Aide |
October 24, 2011 |
List of websites
Bookmark websites on student favorites |
Carefully review each worksheet to ensure accuracy, ease of use, and fact fluency |
|
Create and locate various non-electronic multiplication and division games for the control group to use for fact fluency.
|
Myself
Third Grade Math Team |
October 24, 2011 |
Fact Fluency Games |
Organize fact fluency games so that students can easily access and understand the games. |
|
Purchase small, hand-held electronic fact fluency games.
Keep Neo2 Cart in my classroom for easy fact fluency practice.
|
Myself
Principal |
October 31, 2011 |
Electronic fact fluency games
Neo2 Cart |
Ensure purchased hand-held games are easy to use, easy to access, and won’t disrupt learning
Make sure students understand how to access the fact fluency quizzes on the Neo2.
|
|
Implement all internet and electronic fact fluency sources.
Implement all fact fluency games/stations.
|
Myself |
October 31, 2011 – Ongoing throughout research |
Internet websites
Electronic hand-helds
Neo2
Station/Center Games |
Conduct a weekly 25-question quiz over learned multiplication and division facts.
Score quizzes to collect weekly data. |
|
Multiplication and Division Post-Test (25 questions) |
Myself |
May 21, 2012 |
Post Test Worksheet |
Grade the post-test
Record scores |
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
EDLD 5301 - Week 2 and 3 - Reflections
My action research topic is starting to come together nicely! After speaking with my site mentor, we were able to clear up some questions we had for each other. My action research question will be: How does various uses of technology impact student mathematical fact fluency? I will be collecting data on my students and their weekly fact fluency development. One class will be able to use various uses of technology while the other class will only use paper and pencil type activities. I hope I can find enough growth and/or data to actually report on the topic. I'm getting a bit nervous!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
How Can Educational Leaders Use Blogs?
Educational leaders can use blogs to reach their students, faculty, and district stakeholders. Blogging can be a very valuable tool because it reaches people quickly, they are easily accessible, and it becomes an online journal for an educator. Blogging also provides great educational value to students of the 21st century. It provides students the option to have the world at their fingertips. They are able to tour the world through other people’s thoughts, pictures, and facts. Blogging also gives the learners the option to communicate with all kinds of people. As an educator, I will try everything in my power to reach the digital natives; blogging gives me that option while allowing the students to use technology on a daily basis.
Action Research
As a professional educator, I must be constantly willing to change and accept new challenges. If someone would have asked me a week ago to define action research, I would have probably gave them quite the puzzled look. Now that I have embraced the new challenge of creating an action research plan, I feel I can adequately define action research to an 'outsider'. Action research is having a desire to find a problem, dig deep to find research about the problem, plan out steps and strategies on how to resolve the problem, collect data on the strategies put in place, analyze the collected data, and then in the end, reflect on the entire plan to see if the action research did indeed solve/help the problem identified. It seems like a lot of work, which I am sure it will be, but the clue is finding that one topic that sparks the flame and running with any and all ideas that come to mind. I have no doubt that I will definitely be able to use this type of research in my classroom. I believe all educators complete action research on a small scale almost daily. As educators, we always see problems, we quickly try to solve the problem, and then take the time to reflect on the process. Yet, I will definitely use an action research plan in my daily teachings, as well as my professional opportunities in the future. My students are relying on me daily to educate, guide, and increase academic growth - I feel I can do this more adequately by implementing action research plans.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
EDLD 5306 Course Reflections
1. What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
5. What did you learn from this course... about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
Upon making the decision to obtain my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology Leadership, I did not feel very informed as to what exactly I would be learning. Would I be learning more on the curve of software or facilitating technology integration in the classrooms? EDLD 5360 has helped me realize I will be doing it all. The first two weeks of the course were tough, but made more sense the more I practiced what I was accomplishing. I wanted to understand different components of social networking and have a better grasp of how to utilize technology in my classroom. The course exceeded my expectations and envisioned outcomes. I learned so much useful technology information that I hope to continue and prosper above and beyond what was taught. I also wanted to learn more about the Technology Standards. This course, as stated before, helped achieve that desire. I learned much more about the standards than I would have ever sought on my own time.
My classroom is full of very diverse learners. I work hard daily to reach each and every learner. I am teaching the 21st Century digital natives and must realize that my ‘normal’ way of teaching is no longer reaching the rigor that is required of me (and my test scores). The technology I learned in EDLD 5360 is a great jump start in the direction of raising rigor. For example, I am attending training next month over the district’s blogging website. Had I not taken this course, I would not have given blogging a second thought in my classroom; now I can’t wait to get started! I have so many ideas and hope that this ‘digital learning’ will help my students stay motivated, encouraged, and meet all academic standards. Another concept that I mastered/achieved was becoming more aware of Internet safety and ethics. I feel much more prepared to allow my students on the Internet with just the right amount of freedom. I have already developed a lesson that will be presented before any students are allowed to have free reign on the Internet while at school. I feel the information presented in EDLD 5360 was extremely relevant for the work I do in my school.
During this course, I do not feel there were any outcomes I did not achieve. However, I am a life long learner/educator and feel there is always more to learn. I may not have had any specific outcomes not met for this course, but I will always be on the journey to find new ways to teach, to learn, and to provide support. As technology grows in our classrooms and for our students, I feel the need to research and absorb all that I can. If I am always on the hunt for new ways to integrate technology, then I will always have an outcome I am yearning to meet.
I often find myself wondering why in the world I am attempting my Master’s Degree. I am a full time educator, a single Mom, and just trying to survive on a daily basis. If I learned anything during this first Educational Technology course, it was to pace myself and my assignments. My personal motto has become “One day at a time”. I was successful in completing all of my coursework, but not without a few less hours of sleep. I have been out of college for five years, but this course was my first online course. I came to realize there is a big difference between self-teaching online and listening to a lecturer. The coursework had a few ‘heavier’ weeks than others, therefore I tried my best to always look ahead to future weeks and plan accordingly. I am very proud of myself for completing my first course and I hope I can continue my stamina and enthusiasm.
If I was told to classify myself in a technology category, I would place myself in the intermediate level. I am involved with social networking, I blog on a regular basis, and I use mediocre technology in my classroom. Yet, this course made me take a step back and see that what I am doing is not enough to keep up with the digital natives I am teaching. Not only am I going to need to incorporate more rigorous and in depth technology, but I am going to need to step up my leadership skills. My Internship Plan showed me where I need to further develop and where my strengths in leadership already are. My attitude towards my Master’s program is upbeat and motivated, yet I could see myself getting tired and bogged down very easily. I will strive to take one day at a time, be a continual learner, and help to also motivate the technology immigrants (fellow teachers) who surround me on a daily basis.
2. To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
4. Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
5. What did you learn from this course... about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
Upon making the decision to obtain my Master’s Degree in Educational Technology Leadership, I did not feel very informed as to what exactly I would be learning. Would I be learning more on the curve of software or facilitating technology integration in the classrooms? EDLD 5360 has helped me realize I will be doing it all. The first two weeks of the course were tough, but made more sense the more I practiced what I was accomplishing. I wanted to understand different components of social networking and have a better grasp of how to utilize technology in my classroom. The course exceeded my expectations and envisioned outcomes. I learned so much useful technology information that I hope to continue and prosper above and beyond what was taught. I also wanted to learn more about the Technology Standards. This course, as stated before, helped achieve that desire. I learned much more about the standards than I would have ever sought on my own time.
My classroom is full of very diverse learners. I work hard daily to reach each and every learner. I am teaching the 21st Century digital natives and must realize that my ‘normal’ way of teaching is no longer reaching the rigor that is required of me (and my test scores). The technology I learned in EDLD 5360 is a great jump start in the direction of raising rigor. For example, I am attending training next month over the district’s blogging website. Had I not taken this course, I would not have given blogging a second thought in my classroom; now I can’t wait to get started! I have so many ideas and hope that this ‘digital learning’ will help my students stay motivated, encouraged, and meet all academic standards. Another concept that I mastered/achieved was becoming more aware of Internet safety and ethics. I feel much more prepared to allow my students on the Internet with just the right amount of freedom. I have already developed a lesson that will be presented before any students are allowed to have free reign on the Internet while at school. I feel the information presented in EDLD 5360 was extremely relevant for the work I do in my school.
During this course, I do not feel there were any outcomes I did not achieve. However, I am a life long learner/educator and feel there is always more to learn. I may not have had any specific outcomes not met for this course, but I will always be on the journey to find new ways to teach, to learn, and to provide support. As technology grows in our classrooms and for our students, I feel the need to research and absorb all that I can. If I am always on the hunt for new ways to integrate technology, then I will always have an outcome I am yearning to meet.
I often find myself wondering why in the world I am attempting my Master’s Degree. I am a full time educator, a single Mom, and just trying to survive on a daily basis. If I learned anything during this first Educational Technology course, it was to pace myself and my assignments. My personal motto has become “One day at a time”. I was successful in completing all of my coursework, but not without a few less hours of sleep. I have been out of college for five years, but this course was my first online course. I came to realize there is a big difference between self-teaching online and listening to a lecturer. The coursework had a few ‘heavier’ weeks than others, therefore I tried my best to always look ahead to future weeks and plan accordingly. I am very proud of myself for completing my first course and I hope I can continue my stamina and enthusiasm.
If I was told to classify myself in a technology category, I would place myself in the intermediate level. I am involved with social networking, I blog on a regular basis, and I use mediocre technology in my classroom. Yet, this course made me take a step back and see that what I am doing is not enough to keep up with the digital natives I am teaching. Not only am I going to need to incorporate more rigorous and in depth technology, but I am going to need to step up my leadership skills. My Internship Plan showed me where I need to further develop and where my strengths in leadership already are. My attitude towards my Master’s program is upbeat and motivated, yet I could see myself getting tired and bogged down very easily. I will strive to take one day at a time, be a continual learner, and help to also motivate the technology immigrants (fellow teachers) who surround me on a daily basis.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The National Education Technology Plan
The National Education Technology Plan 2010 (NETP) was written to help transform American education. The NETP is a great resource to see what is expected of us educators at the campus, district, and even state levels. The first transformation must happen with the way we teach. The plan states that teaching must happen in such a way to be diversified for all learners. As the 21st Century changes, so do our students’ learning styles. This encompasses how students will learn and where and when students will learn. If this plan is going to be effective, the technology being taught must be motivating, enabling, and captivating. Twenty-first Century learners are networking through social media and have access to such technology 24/7. Therefore, their attention span for sitting in a seat with a textbook open is not going to be great. This is why student learning needs to be technology driven. These students already know how to network, they just need to be given the go-ahead to do it academically.
The NETP also address professional development and training for educators. The plan states all teachers must be fully engaged in their own professional technology research as well as take an active role in what their campus/district is offering. Teaching should be a team activity. Gone are the days where teachers worked alone, didn’t communicate with parents, and tried to create every lesson with pencil and paper. In the technology plan, teachers will work with students to create lessons, help communicate with peers, and also to reach out to the ‘hard-to-reach’ parents. Professional development should no longer be a sit-down and take notes type of presentation. All educators should have hands-on learning experiences, continuous support, and easy to access online environments.
The NETP also address professional development and training for educators. The plan states all teachers must be fully engaged in their own professional technology research as well as take an active role in what their campus/district is offering. Teaching should be a team activity. Gone are the days where teachers worked alone, didn’t communicate with parents, and tried to create every lesson with pencil and paper. In the technology plan, teachers will work with students to create lessons, help communicate with peers, and also to reach out to the ‘hard-to-reach’ parents. Professional development should no longer be a sit-down and take notes type of presentation. All educators should have hands-on learning experiences, continuous support, and easy to access online environments.
Web Conference Summary
Technology is an amazing invention. It is so amazing that it keeps people on their toes at all times. No one can be 100% certain it is going to work all the time. In my experience, it didn't. Tonight's webinar audio only worked for about 15 minutes in my case. Yet, it was quite fun to see everyone's faces and see everyone communicate with one another. I will definitely try out more of the web conferences and hope to have better luck next time! Thank you, Dr. Borel, for typing out some of the questions/answers being said. I now have a better understanding of Tk20. I also learned that I must choose a school mentor during Week 3. All in all, the web conference was a bit aggravating due to audio issues, but I feel it is a very valuable tool/resource.
Monday, August 29, 2011
District Technology Plan
State: Texas
District: Garland Independent School District
When looking at the Garland Independent School District (GISD) Technology Plan, the budget given for Educator Preparation and Development (Professional Development) is $750,000. The district technology plan states they provide ongoing professional development during the school day as well as after. Each month the technology department offers 15-30 hours of professional development in various areas. As a GISD Employee, I feel I am given plenty of professional development opportunities to further my knowledge and to provide an energetic learning environment for my students. Another way Garland ISD provides professional development is by allowing teachers to teach one another. Each campus has at least one Technology Integration Coach. This person provides on-going and on-site help with professional development as well as technology in all curriculum areas. Each campus also has a Campus Technology Assistant (CTA) on-site. This person is in charge of keeping an inventory of all hardware and instructional software. This person is also responsible for repairing minor hardware and software issues. GISD is a very large district and must keep close watch on their technology services in order to provide the best and more up-to-date services for their students. The CTA will also perform assessment data on each student during the school year to ensure student learning. This data is also given to the teacher’s to create their own data spreadsheets. . One way the district evaluates progress of their technology programs is to implement technology into certain classrooms and campuses. Once the pilot is complete, data and assessments are performed. Technology that was high scoring and had a significant positive impact on student learning is then distributed throughout the district. If the technology is negatively evaluated, it is either re-designed or thrown out. As a GISD employee I had no idea our Technology Plan was so well designed and carried out.
District: Garland Independent School District
When looking at the Garland Independent School District (GISD) Technology Plan, the budget given for Educator Preparation and Development (Professional Development) is $750,000. The district technology plan states they provide ongoing professional development during the school day as well as after. Each month the technology department offers 15-30 hours of professional development in various areas. As a GISD Employee, I feel I am given plenty of professional development opportunities to further my knowledge and to provide an energetic learning environment for my students. Another way Garland ISD provides professional development is by allowing teachers to teach one another. Each campus has at least one Technology Integration Coach. This person provides on-going and on-site help with professional development as well as technology in all curriculum areas. Each campus also has a Campus Technology Assistant (CTA) on-site. This person is in charge of keeping an inventory of all hardware and instructional software. This person is also responsible for repairing minor hardware and software issues. GISD is a very large district and must keep close watch on their technology services in order to provide the best and more up-to-date services for their students. The CTA will also perform assessment data on each student during the school year to ensure student learning. This data is also given to the teacher’s to create their own data spreadsheets. . One way the district evaluates progress of their technology programs is to implement technology into certain classrooms and campuses. Once the pilot is complete, data and assessments are performed. Technology that was high scoring and had a significant positive impact on student learning is then distributed throughout the district. If the technology is negatively evaluated, it is either re-designed or thrown out. As a GISD employee I had no idea our Technology Plan was so well designed and carried out.
Assessing Educators' Technology Leadership Knowledge
Who is technology leader? Is it someone who can compose e-mail? Someone who can log their students onto an internet website? A technology leader is someone who transforms an ordinary paper and pencil assignment into a digital whirlwind. How do we know and why is it important to know which campuses have these types of leaders? If we didn’t assess educators’ technology leadership skills we would not know who to rely on, who to go to for information, and who to admire. Each campus has their own advanced ratings. It is important for a campus to find where they are lacking and turn to other campuses for support and guidance. After reviewing my campus’s technology assessment summary, I noticed our school has dropped from Advanced to Developing in Educator Preparation and Development. The good thing about this assessment is the awareness of what is happening and what needs to change. The con is facing the reality. We have so many educators who are still not willing to change their teaching ways to reach every student. This statement is also backed by student data. Students in classrooms of technology-minded teachers usually perform better than those students faced with a daily worksheet. They are challenged more, the objectives are taught in a ‘language’ they understand, and they are generally more involved in their school work. Educator and student technology assessments are valuable assets; they allow one to see change, set-backs, and hopeful growth over time.
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