• What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
This course wasn’t anything like I originally thought it would be. When readying the title “Instructional Leadership,” I envisioned that it would have more to do with instruction than technology. This instructional leadership I envisioned also included instructional strategies and leadership to help teachers improve. The course ended up being all about technology. Yes, technology is just a small part of instruction. However, despite my thoughts on what this course was going to be about, I did learn something. Technology will continue to be an important part of our schools. This course did help me toward being a betting technology leader on my campus.
• 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?
As the Science Instructioanl Specialist on my campus, I don’t really work on organizing lessons involving technology. I spend my days coaching teachers to be better classroom teachers. However, I feel that our campus is very behind the times in its technology use. Our district has most of it’s focis on data teams that we are getting further behind other districts in technology use. I believe it is the responsibility of the Instructional Technologist on our campus to lead us in technology use. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that our current IT is a strong enough leader to move us forward. One part of the class that is used on our campus is blogging. Being able to discuss things with other students online is a fun way to open up the discussion to more ideas and opinions. Our students love to blog and discuss novels.
• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
For the most part, I believe I was able to achieve most of the outcomes for this class. I did feel that some of the instructions were vague and open to interpretation. Therefore, although I was a little confused at times as to what I should do, I did what I thought was the best way to answer the questions. The only thing I didn’t like was the required responses to the readings on the discussion board. It was brutal to have to not only post my responses to eight readings but then to respond twice to other people on their readings for a total of 24 postings. It became an exercise in just finishing because it was exhausting instead of something that could have been beneficial. To me a discussion board should be just that…a discussion. That isn’t what happened on this discussion board. We just did what we could to finish.
• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
I was successful at some parts of the assignment and not so successful in some areas. One part that I was successful in completing was the readings. I actually enjoyed the information in the readings. I feel like I was not as successful at giving true responses to those readings on the discussion board. I think it was because I felt like I wasn’t really benefiting from all the discussion posts so it was hard to give it my all. I also enjoyed the roundtable interview with other staff members on my campus. It was very enjoyable to sit with other members on my campus to learn more about their contribution toward technology and professional development. I also enjoyed writing the action plan because it is something the IT on our campus will actually use.
• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
In reflecting on what I learned in this course, I realized how much more needs to be done on my campus for us to continue to move into the 21st century. We have so much technology available on our campus, yet we can’t get teachers to use it. Why? We lack confident teachers in the use of technology. I learned we can changed this through a good action plan that not only teachs the teachers how to use the technology but adding support. I learned that our campus is in great need of support. This support needs to be there for the teachers weeks and months after the initial professional development of new technology. We currently don’t help our teachers enough. As an instructional leader on our campus, I hope I can guide our teachers to where they are confident enough to use new technology or at least use the existing technology.
• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?
Blogging…Facebook…Twitter…these are all the new ways in which a group of people, including students, can be in constant contact with each other. It is hard to believe that when I started teaching back in the early 80’s, no one had a cell phone. Today, almost everyone has a computer in their home as well as a cell phone. Cell phones allows for immediate access to information. This immediate access is also a great way for teachers and students to interact in the classroom and at home.
• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
The biggest concern for blogs at our school is making sure what is said is always appropriate. I teach in a middle school. We all now that middle schoolers can be a little inappropriate at times. Matter of fact, they can be down right mean and they don’t always make the right decisions. It is going to be tough to monitor all of the student blogging as well as making sure they follow the AUP. Despite this, as many classrooms and districts move into the 21st century, this will become one of the main forms of instant communication. My biggest concern is how will we be able to keep all of the instant communication secure. As with all technology, there is always a part that leaves us vulnerable to people that aren’t so nice.
• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
Blogging can be a great way to communicate with all stakeholders in the school. It will allow parents to have immediate access to information. This information might be day-to-day news and announcements at our school. But, this information might play a critical role in disseminating emergency information. It will also allow teachers to quickly communicate with their students. I have had days in my classroom where something changes some time between first and seventh period. Blogging will allow teachers to immediately blog or text these changes without having to wait to see them in class the next day.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Professional Development Plan
Goal: To incorporate more technology into the classroom through the use of learning.com and gaggle into the regular curriculum.
Looking back at week 3’s student surveys, I have concluded that our students are not adequately using technology in the classroom. There are many choices of technology tools in the classroom for teachers to use when giving instruction to students. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities where technology is actually in the hands of the students as they are learning. Meaningful professional development needs to be provided for the teachers. This professional development will include training the teachers so they are comfortable using new software applications in class. Our district goal this year is to train the teachers in using learning.com and gaggle.
In years past, training a teacher in the use of new technology hardware and software was not a problem. The district is constantly providing new opportunities to learn new software. What our district lacks is follow-up and support. To ensure that learning.com and gaggle are actually being used after the training, the instructional technology specialist (IT) on our campus will need to do some follow-up training. This will be in the form of a teacher actually showing the IT finished student products from using the software programs. To encourage teachers to try these new software programs, our IT will provide support through modeling of lessons as well as co-teaching with teachers. This will provide them with immediate support as they present their lessons using new software for the first time. The IT will provide a report to the principal on the required Secondary Campus Staff Development Action Plan form. This form is used to state which technology courses the teachers are required to complete, how they will be delivered and when they must be completed.
Below you will find the Technology Organizational Flowchart for our district. Here are the roles and responsibilities of each member of the organizational chart:
Organization and Development – Prepare an annual budget that is supportive of and aligned with the district strategic goals and objectives
Curriculum Department – Create an instructional management system to ensure all students meet or exceed the state standards
Director of Information Technology – Provide the technology hardware and training required to integrate technology into the curriculum as a tool for teaching and learning.
Principal/School – Develop, implement and evaluate focused sustained professional development for all staff
Instructional Technology Specialist – Develop meaningful professional development for all staff as well as provide support system that facilitates the use of technology hardware and software in the classroom
Goal: To incorporate more technology into the classroom through the use of learning.com and gaggle into the regular curriculum.
Looking back at week 3’s student surveys, I have concluded that our students are not adequately using technology in the classroom. There are many choices of technology tools in the classroom for teachers to use when giving instruction to students. Unfortunately, there are very few opportunities where technology is actually in the hands of the students as they are learning. Meaningful professional development needs to be provided for the teachers. This professional development will include training the teachers so they are comfortable using new software applications in class. Our district goal this year is to train the teachers in using learning.com and gaggle.
In years past, training a teacher in the use of new technology hardware and software was not a problem. The district is constantly providing new opportunities to learn new software. What our district lacks is follow-up and support. To ensure that learning.com and gaggle are actually being used after the training, the instructional technology specialist (IT) on our campus will need to do some follow-up training. This will be in the form of a teacher actually showing the IT finished student products from using the software programs. To encourage teachers to try these new software programs, our IT will provide support through modeling of lessons as well as co-teaching with teachers. This will provide them with immediate support as they present their lessons using new software for the first time. The IT will provide a report to the principal on the required Secondary Campus Staff Development Action Plan form. This form is used to state which technology courses the teachers are required to complete, how they will be delivered and when they must be completed.
Below you will find the Technology Organizational Flowchart for our district. Here are the roles and responsibilities of each member of the organizational chart:
Organization and Development – Prepare an annual budget that is supportive of and aligned with the district strategic goals and objectives
Curriculum Department – Create an instructional management system to ensure all students meet or exceed the state standards
Director of Information Technology – Provide the technology hardware and training required to integrate technology into the curriculum as a tool for teaching and learning.
Principal/School – Develop, implement and evaluate focused sustained professional development for all staff
Instructional Technology Specialist – Develop meaningful professional development for all staff as well as provide support system that facilitates the use of technology hardware and software in the classroom
Technology Flowchart
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Technology Flowchart
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Star Chart
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Star Chart
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Long Range Plan
The Texas Campus STaR Chart was developed around four key areas of the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020. These four areas are Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support and Infrastructure for Technology. The STaR Chart survey assists school districts and schools for future technology plans and staff development.
In today’s blog, I would like to focus on one area of the Texas Campus STaR Chart which is the Teaching and Learning area. I chose this area because my current school, Sartartia Middle School, is showing great improvements in this area over the last couple of years. According to the statewide summary for this key area, the target is a classroom where “the teacher serves as the facilitator, mentor, and co-learner. Students have on-demand access to all appropriate technologies to complete activities that have been seamlessly integrated into all core content areas.” It also includes meeting all the Technology TEKS.
When our school is compared to the rest of the state, we are doing quite well toward our target. Currently, across the state the 70% of the districts are in the developing stage. Our school is at the advanced stage. We were making major progress during 2006-07 by already being at the advanced stage. Then, we got a new IT person on our campus with very little experience compared to our previous highly experienced and enthusiastic IT. During the first year of having a new IT, our school had a dramatic drop in the use of technology among our teachers and students resulting in a drop to the developing stage. However, during the 2008-09 school year we bounced back and moved back into the advancing stage. We continue to see technology being incorporated into the regular lesson plans in all subject areas. We have computer labs throughout our school that must be reserved several months in advance. There is hardly a day that goes by that the computer lab is not being used. Although it is very exciting to watch the students show off all the fun things they are doing in class with technology, it is more exciting to see teachers who were once afraid to use technology get excited about it too!
To continue to move toward our Target, we must continue to train the teachers with a variety of lessons that technology has to offer. We also need to make sure that technology tools are available to use throughout the school. With the increasing use of the computer labs, we may need to look at finding ways to make more labs available to teachers. Our school will be ten years old next year. That is the same age as our computers. We need to update them because we are starting to see many problems with the use. Again, to encourage the use of technology, we must stay up with the times and make sure we have all available technology tools.
In today’s blog, I would like to focus on one area of the Texas Campus STaR Chart which is the Teaching and Learning area. I chose this area because my current school, Sartartia Middle School, is showing great improvements in this area over the last couple of years. According to the statewide summary for this key area, the target is a classroom where “the teacher serves as the facilitator, mentor, and co-learner. Students have on-demand access to all appropriate technologies to complete activities that have been seamlessly integrated into all core content areas.” It also includes meeting all the Technology TEKS.
When our school is compared to the rest of the state, we are doing quite well toward our target. Currently, across the state the 70% of the districts are in the developing stage. Our school is at the advanced stage. We were making major progress during 2006-07 by already being at the advanced stage. Then, we got a new IT person on our campus with very little experience compared to our previous highly experienced and enthusiastic IT. During the first year of having a new IT, our school had a dramatic drop in the use of technology among our teachers and students resulting in a drop to the developing stage. However, during the 2008-09 school year we bounced back and moved back into the advancing stage. We continue to see technology being incorporated into the regular lesson plans in all subject areas. We have computer labs throughout our school that must be reserved several months in advance. There is hardly a day that goes by that the computer lab is not being used. Although it is very exciting to watch the students show off all the fun things they are doing in class with technology, it is more exciting to see teachers who were once afraid to use technology get excited about it too!
To continue to move toward our Target, we must continue to train the teachers with a variety of lessons that technology has to offer. We also need to make sure that technology tools are available to use throughout the school. With the increasing use of the computer labs, we may need to look at finding ways to make more labs available to teachers. Our school will be ten years old next year. That is the same age as our computers. We need to update them because we are starting to see many problems with the use. Again, to encourage the use of technology, we must stay up with the times and make sure we have all available technology tools.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Pre-K Technology Application TEKS
I guess I always knew that TEKS existed for technology. I just never actually saw them...or at least took the time to look at them. I am amazed at how many there are to choose from. Our campus doesn't tell a subject or grade level what needs to be taught. It is basically left up to the teacher to choose whether or not they incorporate some form of technology in their curriculum.
I have seen some spiraling of technology applications in our middle school. It is through the use of Excel and Power Point. Students started learning how to use these programs in 6th...and maybe even in elementary school. As they begin using them in 7th grade, they begin to "try-out" new things within the programs. For example, they begin to try using a variety of backgrounds, fonts and templates within one presentation. The presentation ends up not being very easy on the eyes. Then, when they get into 8th grade, they begin to learn the tricks and tips of the presentation to make it viewer friendly. The backgrounds and fonts are no longer a distraction. It is through this practice year after year that allows the students to continue to learn news ways of using technology.
I have seen some spiraling of technology applications in our middle school. It is through the use of Excel and Power Point. Students started learning how to use these programs in 6th...and maybe even in elementary school. As they begin using them in 7th grade, they begin to "try-out" new things within the programs. For example, they begin to try using a variety of backgrounds, fonts and templates within one presentation. The presentation ends up not being very easy on the eyes. Then, when they get into 8th grade, they begin to learn the tricks and tips of the presentation to make it viewer friendly. The backgrounds and fonts are no longer a distraction. It is through this practice year after year that allows the students to continue to learn news ways of using technology.
Vision 2020 - Big Plan!!
Wow! What a plan and the vision is that it will be complete by 2020. I don't know if I share that vision. When reading the purpose of the plan, I do believe in what it wants to accomplish. I just don't believe we are going to accomplish it. For one reason, I don't think we will be able to fund it. I work in one of the largest districts in Texas. We are making so many budget cuts. How will they be able to pay for all the new required technology. Another reason I don't believe we will accomplish the vision is because we are working toward a vision that will no longer be important in a few years. The reason it won't be important is because we will need to make a new vision to keep up with the quickly changing digital world. The technology I bought today is already a dinosaur before I can unpack it out of the box.
The biggest need on our campus is embedded professional development. We are asking our teachers to incorporate technology in their lessons yet they don't know how to do this or to use the technology. We need to find a way to catch our teachers up with the knowledge our students already know when they walk in the door. It is going to be tough to know more than our students when it comes to technology.
The biggest need on our campus is embedded professional development. We are asking our teachers to incorporate technology in their lessons yet they don't know how to do this or to use the technology. We need to find a way to catch our teachers up with the knowledge our students already know when they walk in the door. It is going to be tough to know more than our students when it comes to technology.
Technology Skills Assessment
Dinosaur. That is what I am. I started teaching when computers weren’t in schools. I remember learning how to use a Radio Shack Tandy computer in college. Technology is changing quickly. Just look at cell phones. Cell phone plans are set up to get an upgrade within a couple of years of the initiation of the contract. Yet, we will spend hundreds of dollars to get the latest and greatest phone before the available upgrade.
Snail. That is what technology is in schools. Even though we know how quickly technology is advancing, schools are not able to keep up. After completing the two surveys, the Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA, I have concluded that our school is in the very beginning stage of implementing technology.
In the Technology Application Inventory, I answered “Yes” to 80% of the questions. This was an inventory of my knowledge and use of technology. The SETDA survey was about where my school was in terms of technology use. We are an exemplary campus for our TAKS rating. But, if we were to get rated on our technology use, we should be unacceptable. The computers in our building are the same computers that were installed when the school opened its doors for the first time in 2001. Students do have access to computers throughout the building. We do have three computer labs with 30 student computers as well as 30 additional computers in the library. Each classroom has three student computers and one teacher computer. The science classrooms have five student computers and one teacher computer. But, it makes me very sad to hear a teacher say that the computers in their classroom are rarely if ever turned on. We have Internet and intranet access but due to reasons unknown our district server is sometimes slow and doesn’t work at all. It can be very frustrating. But, my opinion of our biggest technology problem is the lack of professional development for teachers. Our teachers are afraid of technology because they don’t know how to use it or integrate it into their classroom. We have a long way to go but we better go fast because our current students, the digital immigrants, love and need the technology. Just look at how addicted everyone is to Facebook.
Snail. That is what technology is in schools. Even though we know how quickly technology is advancing, schools are not able to keep up. After completing the two surveys, the Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA, I have concluded that our school is in the very beginning stage of implementing technology.
In the Technology Application Inventory, I answered “Yes” to 80% of the questions. This was an inventory of my knowledge and use of technology. The SETDA survey was about where my school was in terms of technology use. We are an exemplary campus for our TAKS rating. But, if we were to get rated on our technology use, we should be unacceptable. The computers in our building are the same computers that were installed when the school opened its doors for the first time in 2001. Students do have access to computers throughout the building. We do have three computer labs with 30 student computers as well as 30 additional computers in the library. Each classroom has three student computers and one teacher computer. The science classrooms have five student computers and one teacher computer. But, it makes me very sad to hear a teacher say that the computers in their classroom are rarely if ever turned on. We have Internet and intranet access but due to reasons unknown our district server is sometimes slow and doesn’t work at all. It can be very frustrating. But, my opinion of our biggest technology problem is the lack of professional development for teachers. Our teachers are afraid of technology because they don’t know how to use it or integrate it into their classroom. We have a long way to go but we better go fast because our current students, the digital immigrants, love and need the technology. Just look at how addicted everyone is to Facebook.
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