EDLD 5352 WEEK 5 ASSIGNMENT

As I read over the assignments each week, I began to gain an understanding of what direction this course was heading. I learned that I was going to learn state mandated plans for technology use, learn and use new sources of technology that I was not familiar with, rules and laws pertaining to technology use, and how to protect students in the area of technology. I feel that I have received a good foundation in these areas to better enhance student learning and aid in my progression of future administrational skills. This course not only met my expectations as a graduate student, but also challenged my abilities in the field of technology.
I use technology in an educational setting every day that I go to work. Our district or school is constantly changing software programs or installing new hardware in order to achieve our goals. We are expected to learn and become experts in the use of these new technological advances. The information that I obtained through this course was consistent with the demands of my job. As technology is rapidly transforming the way we educate our students, educators must adapt and respond quickly in order to succeed in our profession. This course forced me, as my job does, to overcome obstacles and problem-solve in a manner that is conducive to our fast paced society.
During the progression of this course, a new technology tool was introduced to me. Though I had some knowledge and experience of podcasts, it was very limited with few details. I became interested in learning different ways to use podcasts. Podcasts were briefly mentioned in some articles that we read for this course. Going into this subject in more detail would have provided me with more ways to use podcasts. Learning to use podcasts for communication with students, parents, administrators, teachers, and the outside community would have been beneficial for future use. I understand that technology for this course is limited, not on the university’s part, but it’s students and that this idea is next to impossible to accomplish.
I found that all five assignments that I was responsible for during this course to be challenging. These assignments tested my technology skills and presented me with new ideas for my future in education or administration. I was able to meet the rigorous demands of the class each week as I strived to do my very best. During week four, we were asked to make a chart for our action plans and post it on our blog. I was discouraged to find that my blog would not accept the assignment the way that it was when I attempted to place it in there. It would not allow the chart to be on the blog. The words were present, but the chart had been omitted. I posted the assignment regardless, however, it did not reflect the hardwork that I put into the assignment.
Reflecting on my experiences of this course, I have learned to take on technology with a different attitude than I ever have before. I am no longer timid about trying new ideas of technology in my area of profession. Technology is here to stay and we must be able to handle the changes that it presents to us as educators. District leaders, administrators, and teachers should be willing to take risks in technology as we attempt to increase student learning. We should not be afraid to fail because a technology fad does not work. Instead, we should know that we will fail and be quick to try other technologies that we feel will benefit all stakeholders.
If there is only one thing that I will take from this course, it is the fact that 21st century learners starve for information through the use of technology. Blogging is one such technological resource that students can use to gain information. Blogs allow teachers to post assignments, articles, or classroom lectures for students or parents to view at their convenience. Blogging takes the classroom outside of the walls of the school and brings it into living rooms all across the world. If a parent or student has a question about an assignment, they can go to the blog and view the lecture, directions, or other information that may be of use.
As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, blogging brings the classroom into living rooms all over the world. As much as I view this as a positive use for education, it also can be quite negative. We do not want certain information to fall in some of these living rooms because they consist of predators. These predators lie in ambush for our children to give dangerous information online. They pose a risk or threat to our vulnerable students. I have learned that we must be educated as teachers about what information to blog and learn various ways to educate our students of the dangers of blogging harmful information. Before this class, I was very unfamiliar with the process and uses of blogging. I had never posted a blog or knew the benefits of a blog. I learned through the reading and assignments in this course many ways to use blogs. One such way is the idea that blogs can be used to keep information posted for weeks, months, or years at a time. Every one gets hundereds or even thousands of emails a year. These emails, when saved, fill up storage on one’s computer. What happens when your computer is full? You go through and delete emails to make room for more storage. This process often deletes emails that many stakeholders would rather keep. With a blog, stakeholders can logon to view information as needed and without using up storage on their computers. New blogs can be posted as needed to spread new information to stackholders.

ACTION PLAN FOR WEEK 4 EDLD 5352 ASSIGNMENT

Integration of Technology Plan


Title
Job Description
Technology Director
Implement technologies within the district to ensure campuses are meeting STaR criteria.
Technology Assistant
Install technologies and perform maintenance as needed on resources within the campus/classroom.
Campus Technology Assistant
Aid and assist campus administrators/teachers in the use of technology resources.
Site-Based Technology Committee
Provide information and technology needs to the principal to ensure resource efficiency. The committee will meet monthly and consist of all department heads/representative on campus.
*The principal will collaborate with site-based committee and the campus technology assistant on technology use and performance in the classroom. Principal will change teacher evaluations to include technology use in the classroom.





Professional Development Plan

Plan
Action
Assessment
All faculty and staff members will participate in professional development activities in which enhance technology use.
Attendance of approved seminars, workshops, and courses designed to improve technology use.
Self-assessments, certificates, and surveys
Increase technology training for faculty and staff from nine hours to twelve hours.
Faculty and staff will complete twelve hours of approved professional development activities.
Training logs
In-service/staff development annually or as needed for faculty and staff on new technology resources and updates on software/programs.
Faculty and staff will attend in-service/staff development meetings on dates to be chosen by the campus principal for technology updates or new software/programs.
Self-assessments and participation surveys.
Representatives for each campus department and one campus administrator will attend a state technology conference annually.
Participants will attend an annual technology-based state conference or seminar annually.
Surveys, assessments, and travel documents.


Evaluation Plan

Plan
Action
Faculty and staff will review and assess the annual Texas STaR Chart submissions each year.
The Texas STaR Chart submissions will be reviewed by the campus principal with the faculty through in-service, meetings, or on-line reviews.
All faculty and staff will complete a self-assessment of technology skills annually.
Faculty and staff will be given approved surveys that require them to evaluate themselves on their technology skills.
Campus administrators will evaluate teachers on their use of technology in the classroom.
Principals will include technology use in the classroom on teacher evaluation forms.
All teachers will score “proficient” or higher in the use of technology on campus evaluations.
Principals will evaluate teachers. Teachers are required to score “proficient” on appraisal forms.

Kilgore High School Texas STaR Chart

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EDLD 5352 WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT- EDUCATOR PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020 is a plan that is shared by school districts across the state to implement technology in the classroom for student learning. The plan has different areas of focus in which to attain goals. I belive that the area of Educator Preparation and Development is one of the most important areas in which to improve upon. Professional development is vital to classroom teachers in order for them to better understand technology and find ways to incorporate it in their classrooms for student learning.
In this area, my campus was assessed and given a developing technology level of progress. This means that technology is used for adminstrative tasks and classroom management. There are minimal use of online resources and administrators expect teachers to use technology. Seventy-four percent of campuses in the state of Texas fall in this category. Nationally, states have set the bar high in this area through the use of professional development. Our state and our campus are currently improving professional development for educators in order to keep up with the progress of the nation.
My campus is trying improve upon this area through means of professional development for teachers. We understand how important it is for teachers to learn new technology as it is fast changing and student demanding. The state has provided districts with standards for professional development. Educators and Leaders alike are required to attain a recommended amount of hours per year for professional development and growth. This tends to be the trend as a nation as states struggle to meet the demands of the No Child Left Behind Laws.
I believe that in order for my campus to improve in this area that our professional development should be more specific oriented. We are required by the state to attend professional development training courses and workshops. We are not required to attend technology workshops nor do we have to have a certain amount of hours in the area of technology. This would really be beneficial to my campus, educators, and to the state in order to keep up with nationally and more importantly worldly trends. This would contribute to reaching our goals as a campus, as a state, and as a nation.

Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS for EDLD 5352 Week 1

The Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS give students the foundation they need for student performance in future grades. Students will understand and learn how to use the mouse, keyboard, and touch screens. They will also use applications such as software that uses audio,video, and graphics to listen to storybooks. In addition, they will learn the very basic units of a computer and some of its terminology.
A spiraling curriculum is one where the basic needs are learned and a foundation is set for future classes. These classes build upon each other so that the student can achieve greater and more advanced learning. The Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS do just that. They give pre-k students pre-requisite skills to meet the challenges of kindergarten. Kindergarten will give skills to students that they will need in first grade and so on.
Students can master a series of TEKS because they have multiple opportunities to do so. For example, A child uses a program for storytelling. The student will next learn how to use the mouse to open that same program. This is followed by the student learning to open a different program that allows the student to draw with the mouse. The learners ability of using a mouse is being perfected and getting more challenging in order to master this skill.

Long-Range Plan Summary for EDLD 5352 Week 1

I acquired much needed information from the readings of the Long-Range Plan. I found that technology is the foundation for the future of education. We must provide access and attain technological resources for our students in order for them to succeed in tomorrow's world. We are lagging behind as a nation because every school or classroom is not made available to the strategies for the advancement of technology. Our children are computer savvy and want to learn to communicate through the use of technology.
The Long-Range Plan introduces a vision to get this process started. It is designed to get leaders,teachers, and communities on the same page. It also defines the roles and lists requirements for each particpant. A time frame is established along with phases within the plan to help keep everyone on pace to reach the vision.
My new learning can assist me in several ways as an instructional leader for technology use. I have learned that I must get community involvement in order to achieve the Long-Range Plan. Community members can help to provide the resources and funding needed for technology in the classroom and schools. I also understand that professional development plays a major role for leaders and teachers to be effective in the 21st century. Technology is moving at such a rapid pace that we must constantly be learning new tools in order to create successful learners in the future.

Technology Assessments for EDLD 5352 Week 1

After taking the Technology Applications Inventory survey, I found my greatest strength to be in the communications domain. I use technology on a daily basis to communicate with colleagues among our campus. I use multiple tools and programs to effectively share and obtain information. Our district has just implemented a new software program district wide. This program has enhanced my technological skills in this area. The poorest area of the assessment was in the problem solving domain. I believe the explanation of this outcome lies in the fact that I do not integrate other subject areas in my technology products nor do I have the background to do so. I was average in the areas of foundations and information acquisition. Though I have experience in these areas, it is minimal and needs improvement.
The SETDA Teacher Survey exposed areas of my campus/district that needs improvement in the technology field. Although my district is working hard to improve technological skills with introduction of new software programs, updated computers, and classroom equipment, we do not research enough data about how technology is impacting overall student performance. Our approach to technology is more about giving teachers and students the means but not the way. Technology is deemed very high upon our list of objectives and goals. Leaders explore and innovate new technological ideas. We are in the beginning process and our skills are getting stronger. We have ways to communicate via internet with parents and the community. Programs have been installed for parents to obtain grades, assignments, and a course syllabus for their child's class by way of computers.
I agree to a certain extent of the outcome of both surveys. I believe that they are only partially accurate and do not entail the overall success of technological skills. There were areas that I know I need to improve upon, but do not feel that I will be unsuccessful if they are not perfected. Teachers should be given the option of how much technology to place in the classroom. All students are different and learn in many different ways. However, it is vital for the teacher to take into consideration of what skills students need to know to be effective 21st century learners.