Week 5 Reflections... The End of the Road, The Beginning of the Journey

• 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 title of the course, I had thought that I would learn about ways to improve instruction and curriculum on my campus. After reading the syllabus, I found that I had thought wrong, that, yes I would be learning about curriculum and instruction, but that the emphasis would be on incorporation technology – in specific Web 2.0 tools – into the curriculum and instruction. As I am pretty much an idiot when it comes to technology, I went into this course with great trepidation.
I had hoped that by the end of this course, I would at least become cognizant of the technological tools to which our students need to be exposed. By the end of the course, I was not feeling quite so nervous about technology, and feel that I can probably integrate some of the things that I learned pretty easily. My feelings have also changed; I no longer feel that I have to be an expert in technology to integrate it into my lessons. It is OK to have the students try something new, and it is also OK if it doesn’t work out just as planned.
I believe that what I have taken from this course, is just about what I expected from the syllabus. I am heartened that I believe that I can incorporate Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts into my lessons successfully. In fact, I plan to incorporate at least one of these ideas into my class this year. I came into this class as a skeptic, and an leaving as a believer. I think that if more educators were exposed to these tools, they would also be more apt to use them.

• 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?

Although I found this course very difficult as it was unfamiliar territory, I believed that I was able to achieve the outcomes of this course. These technology tools are very relevant to the work that I do in my school. I am the Department Chair of the Special Education Department and we are always looking for new and better ways to bring the curriculum to our students. Many of the technologies that we learned about are tools for Universal Design for Learning. During this course, I had the opportunity to learn about and use podcasts. I can see how I can podcast the text for the students to listen (or re-listen) and free myself up from the actual reading of the text every class period. I also had my students podcast themselves (using Audacity) reading the texts. I would like to try a wiki with my students next. I would like to compare what I get from the students in the classroom vs. what I can get from the students on the Wiki. My fellow teachers have told me that I will be pleasantly surprised at the results. I plan to continue to learn more about new technology tools and integrate as much as possible into my classroom. I also plan to “push” these tools on my campus. I will model them for my fellow teachers in the hopes that these technologies will “catch on”.

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

While I found some of the outcomes assignments very difficult, I was able to “muddle through” with help from my fellow students and also teachers at my school. Whenever I felt discouraged, I was able to find someone who could explain the technology and its purpose. They would also give me examples of what the technology would look like in the classroom.

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

I was successful in carrying out the course assignments, although I did find most of them very difficult. Creating the blog was a new experience. I am, by nature, a very private person and it was very difficult to put my thoughts and feelings on the web for all to see. I was also very frustrated with the powerpoint assignment. While I found it very easy to create the powerpoint, the process of getting the powerpoint to my blog was very frustrating. The first site that I tried took hours to convert the powerpoint and then I was never able to get it to connect to the blog. The second site converted the powerpoint quickly, but then I couldn’t figure out how to upload to my blog. After perusing the HELP function for awhile, I was able to figure it out. But I did spend a very frustrating day trying to get this assignment accomplished. However, I did try it again. I used the site to convert my technology flow chart and action plan and upload it to my blog. (If at first you don’t success, try, try again!)
It was also frustrating having to depend on my fellow students on the discussion board. My personality doesn’t usually allow me to wait to the last minute to complete my assignments. It was very scary to have to wait (and sometimes wait some more) for quotes to be posted so that I could respond.

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

This course taught me much about myself. It taught me that “you can teach an old dog new tricks”. I am definitely a digital immigrant. I use technology to create documents, make a simple spreadsheet, create an easy powerpoint. I use the internet to find information and do a little bit of communicating with friends throughout the world. But I found that I can blog, I can podcast, and I am willing to try to build a wiki. I also found that I began to be excited about technology and all that it has to offer. I found myself talking to my fellow teachers about what I was learning. I went into this class with kind of a bad attitude… thinking, why do I have to learn all this?? But I came out of this class with a new way of thinking and all kinds of ideas.

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

Blogs are of great education value. They can be used to communicate with the students, parents, fellow educators, etc. 24/7. Blogs are extremely important to the 21st century learner. They are going to be expected to be able to communicate with an extremely global society. Blogging allows are students access to information from across the world, as well as a world-wide audience. It is no longer just the teacher and the fellow students who are giving feedback; the student can receive feedback from people around the world. In fact, I would like to find a school somewhere outside the United States with which my geography students can create a blog (or Wiki). I would love for my students (many of whom feel they are entitled) to hear different perspectives.

• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?

I do have concerns about blogs and blogging in education, especially when it comes to our students. Our students are often naïve, and do not see the problem in “putting it all on the web”. They do not realize that there are “bad people” out there who will take advantage of this information. If we are going to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into our schools, then it becomes the school’s responsibility to teach students about internet safety. I am also concerned about how easy cyber-bullying could become. I could see where it would be very easy for a student to post something negative or mean about other students behind the safety of the internet. We need to be sure that we are teaching the students the consequences of doing so. But more importantly, we need to be sure that we are teaching our students who to turn to if they are on the receiving end of such cyber-bullying or negative/mean posts.

• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?

I can see many ways to use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders. I would like to see a blog put in place for Special Ed Administration to communicate with the various Department Chairs. It would be nice to have all of the information we might need at our fingertips, and not have to rely on someone answering a phone or email to obtain an answer. I can see that as the Department Chair, I can set up a blog for my teachers with important information (that way I don’t have to send 100’s of emails a week). As a teacher, I can set up a blog for my students and parents that can communicate the daily happenings in class. I can remind them of assignments, due dates, etc. I can post my lectures / notes for the students. I can post test reviews. I can also use it to answer questions that my parents / students might have. I am sure that there are many more uses that I can have for a blog, but these are the ones that “pop into mind” at this time….Like I said before, baby steps.

I am happy to say that upon completion of this class, I find myself “not so much” a technological idiot. I can carry on a meaningful conversation regarding Web 2.0 tools, I can implement some of these tools in my classroom, and I can model them for my fellow students. The journey hasn’t been very easy, and it has felt very long, but I have made it!

Role of the Principal

Role of the Principal
It is the responsibility of the principal to assure that all the necessary parties are collaborating to ensure that technology is available on their campus. The principal will bring concerns from the campus to the Chief Information Officer. He will then collaborate with the CIO in order to determine what technology solutions will help to resolve these concerns. The campus administrator then works with the Director of Customer services to order the products and the Director of Enterprise Application to ensure that the hardware / software is compatible with the district’s technology package. The principal then collaborates with the Director of Technical Applications will send out his staff to install and troubleshoot the hardware and software. Once all the necessary hardware and software is in place, the principal and the Director of Instructional Technology will collaborate to offer staff development to the teaching staff. Technology Instructional Specialists will work with the Curriculum Principal and other campus administrators in scheduling the appropriate staff development sessions. The principal will monitor the effectiveness of these trainings by visiting classrooms to see how the technology is being integrated into the different subjects. The principal will also schedule Technology Instructional Specialists to come to campus to model lessons for teachers and also to do hands-on teaching with the students. It is the principal that is responsible for ensuring that all stakeholders work together to make it all happen in a timely and efficient manner.

Technology Action Plan

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Technology Action Plan

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Tech Flow Chart

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Tech Flow Chart

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Analysis Of Texas S Ta R Chart

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Analysis Of Texas S Ta R Chart

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Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

I think that the most important area of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 is that of teaching and learning. I believe that this is the area that will have the greatest impact on student success. Educators need to provide students with an education that will allow for them to be successful members of society; this future will definitely incorporate an ever-changing technology. This means that we must teach students to become lifelong learners in order to stay current with the trends.

Teaching and Learning is everything that teachers do to present the curriculum. Traditional education is more teacher-led, while the education of today and definitely the education of the future needs to be more student-centered. Education needs to be always evolving - with the end being that the students are active participants in their education. Teachers need to be sure that their lessons are connected to students' lives and experiences. Lessons must be based in research based best-practices.

I believe that my campus is making progress in incorporating technolgy into teaching and learning. While there are still a great many teacher-led lectures happening, there are more and more student-centered activities being incoroporated as well. The adminstration on my campus allows for teachers to take risks in order to incorporate technology and it celebrates the many successes of the students. Technology is being integrated into all courses (core and electives). I believe that progress is being make in Texas as well. Nearly 70% of respondents indicated that students regularly use technology on an individual basis to access electronic information and develop communication and presentation projects. Nearly 26% of respondents in Texas stated that instruction is teacher - facilitated and students are collaborating with peers to problem-solve; they are also integrating the Technology TEKS into the core courses. Less than 1% of respondents stated that students have on-demand access to all appropriate technologies to complete activities that have been seamlessly integrated into all core content areas. This is unacceptable, our students' futures demand that we prepare them for a technologically based world. We, as educators, need to be working toward this end.

The trend on my campus is toward more student-centered activities, and less teacher-led lectures. The trend is toward technology being incorporated in all areas. There is more collaboration within the classroom. The teacher is becoming a facilitator and mentor, and learning from and with the students. Administration expects that teachers will incorporate technology on an almost daily basis, and that lessons become more student-centered and differentiated to meet the needs of the individual student. The trend in the state of Texas is that teachers are beginning to use technology in the foundation courses. Classes still tend to be teacher-directed, however, students do have access to technology. The schools of Texas are moving toward more student-centered activities, and more implementation of the technology TEKS into the core courses. While they are making progress, educators in Texas still have along way to go.

My recommendation is that teachers need to take risks. They need to allow students to collaborate with each other, and with students in other cities, states, countries. Teachers need to be willing to take the emphasis off them as teachers, and allow the students to direct the learning. Teachers need to implement current technology into their lessons and connect these lessons to their students' lives. Teachers need to take advantage of staff development opportunities in technology, and they need to collaborate and plan with each other and they need to stay current on the trends. Teachers need to prepared to prepare their students for the global and digital world that they are about to enter.

Technology Application TEKS

The Pre-K TEKS lay the proper foundation for school success. In Pre-K, the student will open and navigate through programs that promote development of appropriate concepts. The Pre-K student will use a variety of computer input devices (mouse, touch screen, CD-Rom, etc). The Pre-K student will operate such devices as voice/sound recorders and touch screens. The Pre-K student will create and express their own ideas through the use of technology. The Pre-K student will recognize that technology can be used to access information. These skills are spiraled through the rest of the Technology Applications TEKS. Students will have many opportunities to master and build upon these TEKS through the 8th grade. By the end of the 8th grade year the student should have had enough opportunities to practice the TEKS that he / she has achieved mastery of the Tech Apps TEKS. At the high school level, students will be expected incorporate the Tech Apps TEKS into the foundation courses, as well as expand their knowledge of technology through specialized technology courses.

It is the responsibility of every teacher to be teaching the technology applications TEKS. Each teacher needs to be incorporating these TEKS into their lessons whenever possible.

There are four strands to the technology applications TEKs. The first strand is foundation. The student needs to be able to choose the appropriate application for the task at hand and while doing so they also need to comply with all of the laws. The second strand is information acquistion. The student needs to be able to identify the task requirements, and plan search strategies (the student not only needs to access the information, he / she needs to be able to analyze and evaluate the information). The student needs to be able to find electronic information in all sorts of formats (audio, video, text, etc). The third strand is problem solving - the student needs to synthesize knowledge, create a solution, and analyze results. The students will use the information that they find to create new knowledge using a variety of programs and processes. Students will evaluate their work and seek evaluation from others (peers, teachers, professionals). The last strand is communication. The student will choose the correct technology to communicate with their audience. They will ensure that the technology they choose to communicate through meets the needs of their intended audience. They will ask for feedback to ensure that they have done so.

The Technology Application TEKS are described as a dynamic, spiraling curriculum. This denotes a curriculum that is continously assessed and changed according to the needs of the students and society. The students are given multiple opportunities to master the required knowledge and skills. For example, my US History class just finished a project on the Roaring 20's. The product for this project was a radio broadcast (using Audacity). The students had numerous opportunities to master the knowledge and skills. Each student was assigned a topic from the 1920's. They had to use technology to locate resources within the library. They also had to use technology to locate resources on the Internet. (Each student had to have at least one library resource, and one Internet resource). After finding the resources, the student had to write their script using MS Word. (The student had to cite their sources at the end of the project.) Once each student had their script they collaborated with 3 other students to produce their radio broadcast. Each group of 4 had to determine the best way to present their material (for example, interview, reporting of the news, etc). Each group then had to combine their scripts to get the best flow for their broadcast. Then using this script, each group had to record their broadcast using Audacity. Each member of the group had multiple opportunities to apply the four strands of the technology applications in their US History class.

Analysis of Long-Range Plan

The state of Texas has mandated that all teachers must master the SBEC technology applications objectives. School Districts must offer staff development that allow teachers opportunities to master these objectives. We as educators, must be able to prepare our students for their futures, futures that are going to be increasingly global and based in technology. We need to prepare our students to be flexible, dynamic, and lifelong learners. Our students are "digital natives", that is they have been born into a world of technology. We must use technology to make learning engaging, interactive, and most of all differentiated for each learner.

Teachers report that they are using increasingly using technology in their lessons. They also report that barriers to incorporating more technology are time and skills. Teachers would like to see more time for planning and collaborating, and also more time for staff development opportunities that will advance their technology skills.

Our students deserve to learn in engaging and meaningful ways that meet the needs of each student. Teachers need to prepare their students to “live, think, and communicate in the 21st century". Teachers need to extend the classroom beyond the 4 walls of the classroom.

Administrators of schools must have a vision for their school that encourages the integration of technology into the classroom. Adminstrators must foster a culture in which teachers feel that they are safe to take risks. Administrators must allocate the necessary resources (money, time, staff development) for technology.

“Texas students deserve and need fully integrated access to technology in order to gain the skills that they need to learn and work in the 21st Century.” In order for this to happen, we need to be sure that every student has access to technology. The state must ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place for every student.

As a leader in my school, I must model the use of technology. It is not enough that I ask the teachers in my school to integrate technology, the teachers must see that I use it as well. I must "put the money where my mouth is"; that is I must give the teachers the resources that they need to easily integrate technology. I must allocate money for resources (computers, programs, etc), time for planning and collaboration, and staff development opportunities. I need to stay current on the trends. I need to talk to the students - they are the experts in technology.

Technology Assessment

As part of the EDLD 5352 class, I have had to assess my technology level. As I had thought, I am not that proficient in technology. I am familiar with and use the basics of technology on a daily basis. That is I can create a basic document in word, excel, or powerpoint (but basic is about it) and I can find what I need (usually) on the Internet. However, that is about it. I do not know how to create a document that uses multimedia aspects (ie, a document that contains video, sound, etc). I do integrate the technology that "I" know into my classroom, but I only know and am comforable with the basics, where my students know and are comfortable using so much more.

After completing the assessments, I determined (what I already knew) that I am not much of a technology leader on my campus. My strengths in technology are that I do use what I know, and I am willing to learn (and use) new things. I have no problem attending staff development opportunities to broaden my skills. I am also open to learning from my students. My weakness is that I only know the basics of the most basic programs.

The Technology Applications Inventory indicated that I am proficient in the foundations (however, there is still room for improvement). In Information Acquisition and Solving Problems with Technology Tools I am on my way to becoming proficient, but I still have a long road to travel (50% yes / no responses). The Communication Domain is my downfall (1 yes / 11 no's). I need to find and attend professional development opportunities to attend in order to become more proficient.

The SETDA Teacher Survey indicated that I no-intermediate skills on technology in which my students have excellent skills. I use the technology that is available in which I feel comfortable using. My campus has made a huge push to incorporate technology into our students daily learning (almost every classroom has a smartboard) however, I feel that I have alot to learn in order to be able to use the available technology proficiently.

After evaluating the results of my technology assessments, I feel that I can benefit from any and all technology development opportunities that I can. In order to be an effective campus leader, I need to be able to "walk the talk"; that is, if I will expect my teachers to be proficient in the use of available technology, that I need to be proficient in the available technology as well.