Web Conference Reflections

I attended the first web conference for this course. It was a new experience for me. I have not used this feature in any of my previous courses and other than playing around with video chat on a few occasions when setting up a new computer, haven't used the web cam at all. I honestly saw no benefit for this type of equipment. I was mistaken. I did not extensively participate in the web discussion, but I can see how it could be used effectively. One of the reasons for my lack of action in the first conference was because of the large audience. I spent so much time looking at other peoples questions that I did not pose many of my own. Other students were asking questions that I was interested in so I saw no need to crowd up the board any more that it already was. I think that the best way to maximize participation in students would be to reduce the number of participant to a more manageable size. To use this in the classroom setting would be easy to do. I can see it being a weekly assignment that the students could participate in. I think they would welcome a chance to use this technology and would be willing to spend some of their free time to ask questions and be socially active at the same time. I think school is headed this way and the sooner teachers become comfortable with this type of learning the better they will be able to guide their students in the proper directions.

Superintendent

Leader of School. His responsibility is to direct the district in the proper direction. He has the ultimate decisive skills. He must communicate the vision and direction for the entire school.

Director of Technology

His responsibility is to provide support and knowledge for all involved within the school. He must provide necessary support in terms of the technology being implemented. He must be able to troubleshoot and diagnose hardware and software issues as well as direct the purchase of proper equipment.

Principal

The principal is responsible for implementing technology at the campus level. As a leader, the principal has to communicate the vision and make sure that everyone is educated as to how to implement that vision. The greatest responsibility falls on the principal as far as I can see. They take the vision that the superintendent and director of technology have and put it into practice as the campus level. They have to have a good working relationship with the central administration and the campus personnel.

Teachers/Staff

The responsibilities of the teachers and staff include the classroom implementation of the district vision. This can be challenging because they are so far removed from the primary decision making process. They have to take the information they are given and put it into practice in a way that helps the students the most.

Professional development planning is critical to being able to integrate technology into the classroom. Teachers are notorious for resisting change. The only way to effectively change what is happening in the classroom is to make sure that there is the training and support for them to feel comfortable with what they are doing.

The technology use detailed within the STAR report for our school showed a gap in the confidence level within many of the teachers. Our campus is working to improve professional development in this area. We are constantly seeking out new ways to teach our teachers. Some of the personnel on campus are very familiar with the new technologies that are being implemented. Whenever possible, those people are encouraged to lead the other teachers in the learning about these technologies. Many times teachers take instruction from people they are familiar with more quickly than they do with strangers. Other ways we educate our teachers is by bringing in trained personnel so that they can use the equipment on our campus to instruct the teachers on its use.

Our leadership is always looking for ways to make the process of modernization more comfortable. They understand that if teachers are uncomfortable they will not be effective. The principal and superintendent gather feedback about the staff developments and use it to identify whether resources are being used effectively to train everyone. They realize that training is useless if it does not address expressed needs.

 

Evaluation of the action plan is a multi-step process. One of the key components to making sure that the action plan is effective is to identify checkpoints for success. The first stage is determining the current level of implementation. This is most effectively done by analyzing results from the Star Report. It provides a benchmark for a clear picture of what is going on. The next stage is to evaluate the state plan compared to the districts technology plan. To make sure that the district is achieving the proper progress, it has to make sure that keep track of how it compares with the state plan. The third step in evaluating the action plan is making sure that the staff development priorities fit with the needs that the staff has. By evaluating the staff development plan, we can tailor the trainings so that they provide the proper skills to enable teachers to best reach the students.

Star chart

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Star chart

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Progress report

I was unable to find the progress report for the long range plan on technology. The links provided did not work and I was unable to locate it on the TEA website. I did look at the state summary for the STAR report and saw what I expected to find. Most districts view themselves in the developing stages of technology. This is expected because funding is not adequate to equip everyone with the necessary technology and training to use it. Very few people see themselves at the target for technology. The issue is that the technology changes at such a rapid pace that even if you are at the target area today, tomorrow you are two steps behind.

Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology

The idea of this plan is broad and complex. The basic idea is that all students will have access and availability to technology to enhance the learning environment. The composers of this plan state that technology is an integral part of students lives and that to be effective learners, they must effectively engage this technology in the classroom. The goals of the plan are to increase student learning and preparedness by more actively engaging them in the classroom with the technologies that they are immersed in on a daily basis. The idea that students will be better prepared for the job market and higher education through increases in technological learning is accurate in my own opinion. We have to use the available tools to reach the students. The plan gives specific instructions on how technology should be incorporated into the classroom environment. It discusses the infrastructure that should be put into place to allow everyone to access important information. The plan also incorporates business and government into effectively implementing the target goals. It is impossible for the schools to be solely responsible for making the adjustments to instruction. Without guidance and funding from the government, the plan will not be successful. Also, businesses are innovators in technology and the things that they have learned would be invaluable to the education system in making these changes to its methods.

The issue I have with this plan has nothing to do with incorporating technology into learning. I feel that part of it is necessary and beneficial. The issue I have is that the plan mentions that the one size fits all approach to education is not the best way to accomplish our goals and yet we have our hands tied by NCLB. If the government realizes that different methods and teaching strategies can be effective based on student backgrounds, why are we using AYP and standardized testing as a rating scale for accountability? It seems that we have two different philosophies battling for supremacy and the teachers and students are caught in the middle and suffering the most casualties.

Assignment 1

Infrastructure for technology—This section of the Texas long range plan is the most important to me. I feel that this particular section of the plan is the one which gets the least amount of attention and requires the most. This section of the plan addresses the access and availability of technology to students. This seems like a straight forward and easy section. That's where most people get it wrong. In my mind this is the most difficult. I see this section as more than just buying a bunch of computers and putting them out there for the students to use. The issue is the actual infrastructure support for those computers. Most schools are running a very inadequate server and bandwidth. One of the things that my current school has issues with is the bandwidth required to run all of our computers. It seems that we are really using technology until the server and bandwidth limitations start to hamper our efforts. When too many people throughout the district start using the internet, it locks everyone down and no one can use it. This is where we have to focus on infrastructure. Before students can have this instant and constant access to technology for learning, we have to make sure that it is reliable and dependable. The state says we are supposed to make sure the students have access to computers, but the more important thing is that they can use the available computers effectively.

Reflections

Reflection: As I mentioned in my blog and discussion postings, I was dreading the “research” of this course. I was sure that this would be a time intensive and difficult course. I was not looking forward to trying to keep my head above water while preparing for the upcoming school year. Thankfully, it was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined. Action research has a need in today’s schools. I see that as teacher and administrators, it can provide the support we need to make changes at our school while providing the all too important documentation that everyone is always clamoring for. As an administrator, I hope that I am able to dedicate the time that I need to, to continually use this technique. The readings in the Dana text indicated something that I had always associated with principals. “In the harried, everyday firefighting experience of the principal, a definite and very real impediment to engaging in inquiry is time!” (Dana p.15)This quote hit a nerve with me. I have been under the impression that the principal could be associated with a king or judge. He/she kind of sits atop the mountain and directs the ones below to complete the labors. However, I am coming to realize that this is not a fair or valid depiction. As a teacher I have been guilty of resentment toward principals who assigned tasks that I felt were a waste of my time. However, as I have worked through this course as well as the others in this program, I have learned that a principal could be in the least enviable position within a school. Many times the tasks that are assigned by the principal are not necessarily their own creations. They are directed by the central office to make these things happen. Also, as an aspiring principal, I have heard the way some teachers pay lip service to the principal and then the story changes depending upon the audience. I also see that I don’t have nearly enough experience for all the different projects that a principal has to direct and complete on a daily basis. Maybe that is what the quote brought forward for me.
Also, as an aspiring administrator, I see through this course that it takes a special calling to lead a group of type A personality people to help some of the most difficult beneficiaries. Realistically, most students don’t see the real need for school. They view it as a chore where teachers see it as a golden opportunity. I truly enjoy teaching. I just hope that I can lead a school with the same enthusiasm that I currently hold for teaching. This course has been a reality check for me. I am starting to see that there is so much more to being an administrator that I had not previously considered. The good news is that I am still very enthusiastic about completing this program and earning my degree. The bad news is that I now am starting to realize the scope of this undertaking and it is daunting.
As a final reflection, I must mention the assignments. I am undecided on the validity of some of the assignments. I just have to mention this because there have been times during this course where I was unsure of the reasoning behind the assignment. It may be due to the proximity of the beginning of the next school year and the stress that is associated with that. However, there are times when I question whether the assignment is “busy work” just to make the students feel as though the money is well spent. I know that this is probably an unfair evaluation of the assignments. But, this is also something that I have struggled with during the completion of this course.