Week 5 Assignment

What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

From the course title and syllabus, I was under the impression that we would be learning how to integrate technology on campus. I felt that I learned a little about this, but not as much as I needed to. Learning how to use the Web 2.0 tools and what they could be used for was interesting and fun, but I need to know how to integrate them on campus. This is especially important, not to mention difficult, for me because my campus is not open minded about technology. The tools we learned about are very useful, but I need to know how to utilize them on a campus that is in the Early Tech stages of technology use. The action plan helped me to brainstorm ways that we could remedy a lot of the problems we are currently facing, and I hope that some day these technology problems will be solved. I did learn about new technologies and was able to experience digital technology in a way I never had before, which was a great outcome of this course. If everyone were able to experience these technology tools, then I believe schools would have more enthusiasm about technology. I wish we had a way to make that experience happen.


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?

Learning how to use the Web 2.0 tools will help to advance my communication with staff, students and parents as an administrator. Blogs can be used to send out data, bulletins and announcements. In addition, teacher trainings and meetings can be held online through the use of podcasts and video clips within blogs. Students can use these tools at home to improve their homework completion and understanding. Podcasts and blogs can be used by teachers to reinforce and reteach lessons. Teachers can also use these tools to collaborate with each other on campus and district, state or even nationwide. This would be great for administrators too. Whenever they wanted another person's insight on a subject, they could blog, podcast or video conference with them and have almost instant feedback. These tools are very applicable to schools and should be used as often as possible. Student exposure to these tools is absolutely necessary in order for students to succeed. With today’s students we can’t expect to teach in the same old ways and get new and better results, if we want to improve student learning we have to change the way we teach these students. Currently in my role as a teacher, I am not able to use these tools because we do not have the technology available to utilize them. Many students do not have computers or Internet access at home and many staff members are not comfortable with technology use.


What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

My district and school do not currently have technology plans in place that apply to the integration of technology in schools. Because of this, I was unable to analyze a district plan to determine what is positive or negative about the plan. I had hoped to do this so that I would be able to build upon and improve the plan. Also, I was unable to find out how technology is truly used to form the Campus Improvement Plan. When I asked my interviewees, they all mentioned Item Analysis, but no one seemed to mention anything else. Technology has to be used for more than simply Item Analysis when creating the Campus Improvement Plan. I would like to visit and observe a campus that is optimaly integrating technology because I have never been able to do that. It would be interesting to know how the teachers, students and administrators are utilizing technology each day. Comparing student achievement data from a technology-driven school and a traditional school would also be interesting so that the effects of technology on student learning could be seen.


Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I successfully completed the course assignments although some of them proved to be more frustrating and challenging than others. When the assignments only depended on my technology ability, I completed these assignments with ease because I am very familiar with many forms of technology. I experienced no problems analyzing the Texas Long Range Plan and Technology Applications TEKS. Creating a blog and PowerPoint presentation also came easy to me because I have previously received trainings and have used these tools on many occasions. The other assignments that involved my campus technology plans and campus usage proved to be more difficult. Technology is not readily available on my campus and my administrator does not see much value in technology. This made information gathering very difficult and I usually had to rely on my own observations and conclusions to fill in the areas that were left blank by the lack of administrator knowledge. Creating an action plan was also complicated because there is no existing technology plan on my campus, so I had to start from scratch. This action plan had to be developed without help from administration because they are unfamiliar with many of the aspects of technology and technology requirements.


What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned that while I am skilled in a lot of technology areas, there are still a lot of things I have to learn. I had no idea the Texas Long Range Plan existed and was not familiar with the NETS, ITSE or Technology Applications TEKS. Continual learning of technology tools and Web 2.0 tools will be vital to my success as an administrator. I can’t rest on what I know now and expect that to carry me through, I have to stay up-to-date on current trends and the ever-changing world of digital technology. My attitudes about technology have changed because now I feel more positive about technology use. I have always felt negative towards technology because my campus does not utilize technology in the classroom. When I found out this class was about technology, I was immediately discouraged because I knew I lacked experience with classroom technology integration. To find out that many schools nationwide are implementing technology in the classroom was refreshing and has changed my view. I hope that when I am an administrator, I can make positive changes for the integration of technology on my campus. I want to be the leader who is innovation and encourages teachers to experiment with technology to improve student learning.


What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

Blogs can be very valuable communication tools for students and teachers. Teachers can post assignments, lessons and instructions for students who can then view these at home or anywhere they have access to the Internet. This will help students to accomplish more on their homework assignments if they get confused or forget what they are supposed to do. If they run into obstacles, they can check the blog to overcome these challenges.
Students can also create blogs to express themselves and publish their work. Web 2.0 tools are something that students need to be familiar with today, and blogging could be the first step to opening many digital technology avenues. Through blogging, students can communicate with others who live outside of their communities and in different cultures. Students can be exposed to many different opinions and viewpoints by reading blogs written by others. These diverse viewpoints can also be evaluated by the student through comments left on the student’s blog. Students who do not like to read novels or textbooks may enjoy reading what people have written in their blogs which will give them a more wordly view which is needed to be productive citizens in today’s society.


What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

As with everything, blogs can be abused when used by the wrong people. Adults, teachers included, can make inappropriate comments about a students blog. Or the student may make improper comments about another person’s blog. Students, teachers or administrators may post blogs about subjects that are inappropriate for someone in the education field to discuss publically. This is why blog users must be taught what is ethical and unethical, and use their better judgement to determine if something would be deemed unsuitable for reading by other users and especially stakeholder.
Another concern is determining what is truthful and what is fraudulent when evaluating information in blogs. Some blogs provide factual information for readers, while others are meant to express opinions. Readers have to analyze these blogs and determine if the information is accurate or biased in some way. A lot of blogs are not meant to be used as factual resources because they are used to express the opinion of the writer. However, new blog users, especially students, may not fully understand this and mistake an opinion for a fact.


How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

Blogging can be an effective form of communication when trying to keep stakeholders up-to-date on assignments, changes in policy or schedules or school bulletins. Teachers can post the course syllabus, six weeks lesson plans and assignment names with due dates online for parents and students to read at home. This will allow parents to take an active role in their child’s education and help the student to make certain they have completed all of their assignments. Other teachers and administrators can also read the blogs to assess what the teacher is planning to accomplish. Changes or updates in school rules and regulations can also be posted in the blog so that stakeholder can receive that information in a timely manner. To achieve this, the blog must be updated by the school and monitored by stakeholders on a regular basis. When the school needs to send home a note or bulletin to the parents, they can post this information in the blog as well. This prevents the communication line from being broken if the note is misplaced and is not received by the parents. Parents can read the information online which would still allow them to stay informed if they don’t received the notice.

Week 4 Assignment Part 3

Objective: Evaluation to measure professional development
Complete by August 2010


Responsible Parties: Instructional Technology Supervisor, Campus Technologist, Campus Administrators, Teachers, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Department Supervisors (Central Office), Department Heads (Campus), Curriculum Coordinators

Resources: Development of evaluations, surveys, computers with Internet access, funds for professional developments, access to the PIEMS system

Monitoring and Evaluation

• 
  Evaluations must go beyond the Level 1 phase of measuring participant satisfaction.
  Set up goals for each professional development session and use evaluations to determine if those goals have been reached. For instance, if the goal is for teachers to create a personal website, then each teacher must demonstrate that they can complete this task before the session can be seen as successful.
• 
  Survey teachers and administrators about their areas of concern focusing on organization support and change and use of technology, using questionnaires, interviews or personal reflections to gather data. (Guskey, 40)
• 
  Evaluate the outcomes of previously held technology based professional development by examining the trends and changes in student achievement data before and after these sessions were held.
• 
  Campus and central office administrators must conduct walk-through evaluations and formal observations to determine if the new skills are being used properly. This will also help to determine which professional development sessions were the most effective and improve the value of upcoming sessions.
• 
  Evaluate the effectiveness of the professional developments by analyzing student benchmark data through the Item Analysis program. Look at your control group (before the sessions) and your variable group (after the sessions) to verify if these sessions have had the intended results. Also, be aware of “unintended outcomes” as well. (Guskey, 40)

• Analyze “affective and psychomotor outcomes” (Guskey, 41) of students before and after professional developments and technology integration. We will use PIEMS to monitor these trends.

Objective: Evaluations to improve decision making in the integration of technology

Complete by August 2010

Responsible Parties: Instructional Technology Supervisor, Campus Technologist, Campus Administrators, Assistant Superintendent, Department Supervisors (Central Office), Department Heads (Campus), Curriculum Coordinators, Teachers, Superintendent

Resources: Access to the STaR chart data for the past years, access to the statewide STaR chart data from past years, Item Analysis data, AEIS data, computers with Internet access, time and location to conduct analysis research, time to conduct campus visits and walk-thru evaluations

Monitoring and Evaluation

• 
  Analyze Campus Improvement Plans and technology plans to determine the needs of each campus.
• 
  Analyze STaR Chart data to determine the skill level of each campus to plan appropriate campus-based professional developments. (From research conducted using the website data, many campuses in my district did not complete their charts, which must also be addressed.)
  Compare state-wide technology integration data (STaR Chart website) with the district technology integration data to determine areas that need improvement.
• 
  Analyze data from technology driven districts to compare with district data to determine how technology can improve student achievement.
• 
  Survey stakeholders (teachers, students, parents) about their areas of concern and use of technology, using questionnaires, interviews or personal reflections to gather data. (Guskey, 40)
• 
  Evaluate the outcomes of previously held technology based professional development by examining the trends and changes in student achievement data before and after these sessions were held.
• 
  Campus and central office administrators must conduct walk-through evaluations and formal observations to determine if the new skills are being used properly. This will also help to determine which professional development sessions were the most effective.
• 
  Factors from ineffective sessions must be considered to decide why those sessions did not have the desired effect. Improvements should be made to professional development sessions based on the information and data.

Week 4 Assignment Part 2

Professional Development Need
Teachers need to receive professional developments that they can utilize in the classroom.

• Plan of Action
  Present professional developments in small groups in a classroom setting, as opposed to large groups in a lab. (currently)
• 
  Insure that teachers have the appropriate equipment available to them
• 
  Allow teachers planning time to create a lesson plan with their collaboration team and have them use that plan in the classroom (The principal will have to set up a time to observe this lesson in the teacher’s classroom.)
• 
  Principals will give constructive feedback to teachers after observing their technology lessons

Professional Development Need
Provide trainings on how to analyze data from AEIS, AYP and the district’s Item Analysis. (Standard 4)
Plan of Action

• 
  Make teachers aware of these data gathering sources and teach them how to locate the information on their computers
• 
  Allow teachers to have an opportunity to collaborate with their department in analyzing this data to determine weaknesses and strengths.
• 
  Demonstrate the different uses of the Item Analysis program for teachers and allow them time to become familiar with these tools. Teachers should base their teaching strategies and content on this data. The data shows which areas need to be refocused on and which areas are areas that need more attention, so teachers should analyze and use this data to improve their student achievement.

Professional Development Need

Teach administrators about the Texas Long Range Plan, ITSE, and NETS*A standards. This professional development should be ongoing and will spread to the campus teachers and technology staff. (Very weak area in my district.)

Plan of Action

• 
  Superintendent and Instructional Technology Supervisor will hold sessions with campus administrators and the Assistant Superintendents to inform them of the TLRP, ITSE, and NETS*A standards.
• 
  Fulfilling the duties of these state standards and striving to meet the state goals will become areas that will be evaluated by the designated Superintendent during the campus administrator’s evaluation. The campus administrator must show that they are trying to meet these standards and are familiar with them.
• Campus administrators must provide staff developments for their staff members to educate them on the TLRP, ITSE, NETS*T and NETS*S. It is encouraged that these staff developments be held using a Web 2.0 tool such as Podcast, Wiki, or Blog. (Standard 5)

Professional Development Need

Professional development focusing on the using of NETS*S Standard 5 Problem Solving.

Plan of Action

• 
  Give teachers idea on how to create activities that focus on Standard 5.
• 
  Provide teachers with a sample Standard 5 lesson that they can analyze and study.
• 
  Have teachers create a lesson that they can use in their classrooms that focuses on Standard 5.
• Determine the goals for this lesson.

Professional Development Need

Transforming “digital immigrants” into “digital citizens”.

Plan of Action

• 
  Analyze STaR chart data from previous years to provide teachers with professional developments that are on their ability level.
• 
  Monitor the teacher’s progress throughout the year using observations.
• 
  Hold technology staff development (using Web 2.0 tools) on a regular basis. (Monthly is possible)
  
• Analyze STaR chart data from the present year to determine if progress of that teacher/campus has been made. If the professional development was effective, then improvement should have been made.
• Hire a full-time technologist on each campus to assist teachers in their transformation and help them with any problems they may have. (This is currently in the Campus Improvement Plan, but not being fulfilled.) The technologist will also be in charge of developing the monthly staff developments by using the information he/she has gathered about teacher needs.

Professional Development Need
Align professional developments with the NETS*T standards for teacher technology learning.

Plan of Action

• 
  Teachers must meet these standards to be in compliance with state mandated requirements.
• Use the NETS*T standards to plan professional developments.
• Make sure that each session addresses all 5 standards, especially Standard 1.