PSA: Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

December 3, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

I was so glad that I was able to attend today’s web chat.  It turns out that the week 2 rubric had some errors, so everyone will see a zero in the gradebook.  Dr. Abernathy plans to average it as a 100 as long as the podcast was done.  I'm so glad I was at the conference to hear this, or I would have had a panic attack when I saw the zero!

I learned a lot today about copyrights.  We need to copyright our video in Creative Commons because we own it.  If we use stock photos or anyone else's material, we need to put the credits at the end.  Royalty free music needs to be attributed, too.  I always thought that if it was royalty-free, it didn't need to be cited.  I am so glad to know better now!  Dr. Abernathy also said the most common error made by students with their PSA is not giving the credits enough screen time to be read.  She said this is huge.  I was very worried about this since we only have a minute for our PSA.  I had visions of the credits screaming past.  As it turns out, the credits do not count towards our one minute limit.  We can have an extra minute for credits.  Copyright info is not necessary on drafts .... just the final product. 

Another very important thing I learned is that we need to give Dr. Abernathy and our IA (Linda Marshall) rights to our Drop Box so they can see our collaboration.  We should also be writing some kind of documentation of everytime we "meet".  We are in constant collaboration, but we have not been documenting it.  I am planning to add a document in our Drop Box to keep track of our "meetings".  

Google docs was suggested for the storyboard.  It can also be drawn by hand, scanned, and uploaded.  Julia Evans has volunteered to do this part of our project, for which I am very thankful.

Our group is very proactive.  We have lots of pictures, video, and scripts.  So far, we have worked well together and it has been a positive experience.

November 27, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

Dr. Abernathy reiterated that students need  to work in teams of 3 to 5 people.  She suggested that students post in the discussion board notify their IA if they are not yet in a group.  You should have a team within your own section.  99.9% of students say that working in groups was a wonderful experience, even though they wanted to do it themselves originally. 

The Week Two podcast only requires audio, but we do need to have an embed code for our eportfolios.  We are supposed to use Audacity for the podcast.  I felt better after learning that I am not the only teacher that has not ever made a podcast or used Audacity.  It was suggested that we search YouTube for Podbean tutorials.  These are free web 2.0 tools.  We should be sharing with our administrators that there are valuable instructional tools that are available and free.  We should be leaders on our campuses and share our expertise and knowledge of web 2.0 tools. 

Dr. Abernathy mentioned that Google sites are great for eportfolios, but we should make our own decision on what we want to use.  I've decided to use Google sites.  I also just learned about Drop Box, which has been invaluable for my group to sharing files.

Probably the most important thing I learned today is that we need to document our original work with Creative Commons – including our podcast, digital story, and PSA.  Dr. Abernathy  and the faculty believe that we should have our students register their work at Creative Commons, as well.

The web conference was very informative, as usual.

November 22, 2011 Web Conference Reflection

Today's conference centered around week two's assignment.  There was a lot of confusion about the podcast and whether it should include video as well as audio.  Dr. Abernathy clarified for us that it did not have to include video, but it could if we desired.  There was also a lot of confusion on how long the podcast should be.  Some students thought it was supposed to be one minute, others thought two minutes. I have not used Audacity before, so I was interested to learn about LAME, and that it should only need to be downloaded once.  Some students found groups to join during the web conference.  Andres Chavez and I have been helping each other since the first course, so we decided to continue working together.  He met two more ladies during a web conference, and the four of us are going to work together on our project.

EDLD 536 3Web Conference Reflection - December 3, 2011

I learned some very important information from this morning's web conference.  Probably the most important thing was that the rubric for week two was incorrect, and so even though our grade is showing as a zero, we will not be receiving that grade.  Whew!  Dr. Abernathy said that as long as we submitted the assignment and did a podcast, that we would receive a 100.  I'm thrilled to receive the 100, but I am proud of  my podcast and had hoped for some feedback from the IA.

I also learned that we will need to register our completed PSA with Creative Commons since it is something that we have created.  In addition to that, Dr. Abernathy stressed how important it is to leave the credits on the screen long enough to be read.  She said that a lot of groups have it flash by too quickly.  Until this discussion, I was thinking that since we only are alotted one minute for our PSA, we would be forced limit the credits to a brief flash, as well.  I found out this morning that the credits are not included in our one minute time limit.  We are allowed an extra minute for the credits.

Another benefit of this morning's web conference was that someone asked about Drop Box.  Our group is using Drop Box and it had not occurred to me that we needed to invite Dr. Abernathy and Linda Marshall.  We are keeping all our collaboration documents in Drop Box.

This was my 4th web conference this week, and yet I still learned something valuable.  I will make it a practice to attend as many as I can throughout my program.

Reflection of Web Conferences - EDLD 5363

Tonight I attended my third web conference for EDLD 5363. I have noticed that as the students have become accustomed to web conferences, there are not as many problems with feedback. The students have figured out to mute their microphones as soon as possible. The first conference I attended for this course was on Sunday, November 20th. This was a good conference with a lot of information from Dr. Abernathy about this course. Quite of few of us needed some time to digest the information, so we planned to meet again the next evening. Unfortunately, there was some bad weather and Dr. Abernathy was not able to get a connection. I logged in early tonight only to find out I am still having issues with Adobe Connect. I was so glad I was early because it gave me time to switch to another computer. If there's one thing I've learned with technology, it's to always have another plan and to be flexible. Our conference was cut short again due to technical difficulties, but I did learn something important tonight. I did not realize that I needed to license my podcast. It doesn't contain pictures or video, so I didn't think it was necessary. I was glad to learn that so I could add the license to my podcast before submitting my assignment. Another thing that I like about web conferences is that it creates a sense of community among the cohort. I look forward to the web conferences!

Evaluation of Free Video Editing Software

This week I set out to learn a video editing software program. I've heard a lot of great things about iMovie, but since I do not have a Mac, it wasn't an option. I read a review of Movie Maker that stated it was comparable with iMovie, and since it was also preloaded on my netbook, I decided that I would give it a try.

Unfortunately, I immediately started having some challenges with Movie Maker not loading properly. I decided to uninstall it and then reinstall it. Uninstalling, of course, was easy. When I tried to reinstall it though, it would not complete the process due to a missing file. To make a long story short, I spent hours trying to troubleshoot the problem. I eventually gave up and started looking for other options. I read many reviews and found that some people preferred the original Movie Maker, while others preferred Windows Live Movie Maker 2011. I decided to try to install WLMM 2011, and thankfully did not encounter any problems.

After downloading the software, I opened it and began to "feel" my way around. It was easy to import my pictures and video clips by dragging and dropping them. I was able to figure out how to use the trim tool, too. I found that I needed to watch a few tutorials if I was going to learn how to use the software efficiently. It was actually easy to use once I knew the process. I learned that the video clips could be moved around simply by dragging them, and also that they could easily be copied. Something else that is an important step is to make sure to set the video volume to none before adding audio. I did not do that with the first video I made and the wind noise and talking on a few of the the original clips was very distracting. To narrate, I just used my sound recorder with an external microphone. I found the sound to be much cleaner and consistent than the method used for Microsoft's Photo Story 3. Of course, using a program such as audacity gives you more control. I downloaded Audacity, but ended up having to use the beta version. I didn't have any trouble with it, however. Adding transitions and filters in WLMM was easy simply by the click of a button on the menu bar. One thing to keep in mind is that just because you CAN use a filter or fancy transition does not mean you SHOULD.

One problem I encountered with WLMM 2011 was having the ability to add music and a voice over. It only has the capability of adding one audio track. I found an extremely useful YouTube video that showed me a great work around. Simply add one track, and then save and close the video. Import the saved video into WLMM and then add the second tract. This worked well for me. Another nice feature of this program is the ability to manage the volume of the video and the added audio.

Once the movie is how you want it, you can immediately share it on Facebook or YouTube with convenient buttons on the toolbar. WLMM saves to .wmv format.

Overall, I was glad that I already possessed knowlege of making movies from stills, but I found that editing video is much more involved than using still photographs in programs such as Animoto or Photo Story 3.   I think that at this time I would be more likely to use video editing software to produce videos as teaching tools rather than asking the kids to create videos with editing software.  I have used Photo Story 3 very effectively with students.  Possibly, once I am more comfortable with video editing myself, I might want to introduce it to students as a highly engaging learning activity.  I can imagine having students create a video as an alternative to a traditional research paper.  To get started, I like an idea that I gleened from one of this week's reading, "Video Basics and Production Products for the Classsroom".   In this article, Garrison suggests having students script and video alternate ending to stories.  I think this would be a fun way for students to become familiar with the equipment and software while showing their creativity and collaborative work.

I liked Windows Live Movie Maker 2011, but I think I would like to also look into other programs so that I will have a basis for comparison. 

Garrison, A. (1999, Winter). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/aritcle3.html

Podcast - Windows Live Movie Maker 2011

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Podcast - Windows Live Movie Maker 2011 by Suzanne Manzano is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Week 1 Reflection - EDLD 5366 Multimedia and Video Technology

In the first week of EDLD 5363 Multimedia and Video Technology I made a digital photo story. We were given our choice of open source software programs to use. Since I had never used Windows Live Movie Maker, I thought I'd give it a try. I don't have it on my computer, so I tried the free download. I tried three times before giving up. Apparently I am missing something on my computer that it needs to install it with. I tried repairing with no sucess. I decided to borrow my roommate's laptop to make the video. I was able to download it fine. By this time, I had already invested several hours just trying to get the program to work. Once I began working with Movie Maker, it seems fairly intuitive. I loaded all my pictures and my music only to run into another roadblock. Every time I added my narration, my music disappeared. My goal was to have soft music playing in the background while I narrated the story. I was unsucessful. I began to wish I could just use Animoto because it is so easy to use and creates a professional looking product.

I started over for a third time, switching back to my own laptop. I decided to use Photo Story 3. I found this very easy to work with, but I had a hard time finding music that I felt conveyed the feeling of the story. In fact, I ended up just settling. The options for creating music were very limited, and the songs that were appropriate to upload had lyrics that overpowered the narration.

I also had difficulty maintaining my voice volume throughout. Since each slide is narrated invidually, it was hard to maintain a consistent rate, volume, and tone. Some slides are louder than others.

I am going to continue experimenting with various programs. So far, Animoto is my favorite. The one negative is that, as far as I know, there is not a way to add voice over narration. I am still learning something new every day!

Digital Photo Story

Reflection of EDLD 5301 - Action Research

I was dreading having to take a class, an entire class, on nothing but research.  Just the word research made an involuntary shudder shake my entire body and brought to mind agonizing hours in a library slaving over 3x5 index cards.  As it turned out, though, not only did I learn a lot from this course, but I actually enjoyed aspects of it!  Action Research is nothing like what I recall from my high school experiences with research papers.  The key word is action.  It’s a method of inquiry which is cyclical rather than linear.  In the Dana text (2009), Principal Lynette Langford from Trenton Middle/High School in Trenton, Florida stated, “The best thing about inquiry is that it never stops; one wondering leads to another, and we are always finding ways to help our students.” (148) 

To me, the most important aspect of action research is that it is continuous questioning, continuous data gathering, and continuous reflection.  Decisions are made and action is taken based on the analysis of the findings, which are supported by data, but improvement is sustained by continuing to question and gather data, and reflecting on the outcomes.  Relevant experiences and related literature also come in to play, as well as collaboration among colleagues.  Action research is meant to be shared, and collaboration is encouraged. 

When confronted with a research “project” that was intended to span over several months to a year or more, I felt completely overwhelmed and out of my element.  The related readings for the course, especially the text by Harris et al (2010), and the templates provided both in the book and in our class resources were extremely helpful in breaking it down into manageable pieces.  Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins videos, presented in question and answer format, were also very helpful for explaining inquiry or action research.  I appreciated the ability to both listen and read about the topic to further my own understanding.  Meeting with my site mentor, Dr. Lori Broughton, was also very calming.  She helped to explain that the action research should be based on something I might already be doing in my classroom, rather than adding something else to my “to do” list.  She also helped me narrow down my topic and reassured me that I was on the right track.  I am very fortunate to have a site supervisor/mentor that is supportive and encouraging in my desire to further my learning and education.

I’ve learned that an action plan is likely to change or evolve over time as more questions develop or insight is gained through reflective thinking.  The one aspect that I feel makes action research the best choice for teachers and leaders, is that the research is conducted by person that has the question, rather than by an outside consultant or someone that may not be as familiar with the context of the research.  There is a greater chance of “buy-in” if the recommendation is coming from one of the stakeholders in the school or district instead of someone from outside the organization.

Dana, N. F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: the principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press, a Joint Publication with the American Association of School Administrators.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. P. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education.

Possible Problems with Action Plan - 10/28/11

The questions my action plan addresses are: can cell phones be used to motivate and engage learners resulting in higher rates of homework completion and higher achievement? Does the use of cell phones in class increase the incidence of off task behavior, cyber-bullying, and or cheating?


Other than the obvious issue of time, I can foresee several issues with my action research plan. I believe both of them may be overcome fairly easily. The first concern is alienating my coworkers. My plan requires student use of cell phones, and most of my coworkers are against allowing the students to have cell phones in school. I'm afraid that, since they so obviously disapprove, they are going to think I am working against them. They may think that what I am doing in my classroom will encourage students to break the rules in their classrooms. I think I can overcome this problem by having a dialog with the faculty. I will share with them that only one of my classes will be using cell phones, and that they have signed agreements that they will not have their celll phones on and/or visible in the hallways, other teachers classrooms, or anywhere other than in my classroom. Additionally, they are not even allowed to use cell phones in my classroom without my permission, and only for educational purposes. I dont think the faculty will have a problem with me personally as long as they know that I am not giving students permission to have "free reign" and that I will fully support them in enforcing the rules of their own classrooms and in the hallways.   I have already, of course, secured my principals permission and support of my action plan and use of cell phones for learning.


The other problem I foresee is parent perception of what is happening in my classroom. Again, I believe this possible problem can also be overcome with communication and dialog. Additionally, some parents may worry about the safety issues involved with students having the ability to text and take pictures with smart phones. I'm not exactly sure how to overcome this fear, if it does arise. The first step is to ensure all the students are taught about their digital footprints and ethics and safety when using technology. The only difference between using a cell phone and a computer with Internet is the concern of students uploading pictures without my knowledge. If anyone has any suggestions about this issue, I'd be glad to hear them. I feel like I have a good handle on my students and I don't think they would do anything like this, but .... I am not sure that is a good plan.


Thoughts anyone?

Action Research Plan

Action Planning
Goal: To determine if student use of cell phones is effective for classroom instruction and improving communication between school and home thereby increasing student achievement.  What are the pros and cons of student use of cell phones for learning? Do the pros outweigh the cons, or do the cons outweigh the pros?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with school principal (site mentor) to identify the needs or topics for action research	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	October 2011	List of concerns, problems, or wonderings	Are the topics discussed important to the campus?   Do the topics under consideration lead to improvement of student and/or campus performance?
Analyze data	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton Debbie Boehm	October 2011	NetDay Speak Up Survey Data for students in grades 6-8 Parent survey results from the two classes that will be involved in the action research project	Has understanding of the data increased?  Have additional questions or ideas been sparked by the data review?
Develop deeper understanding via additional data collection and examining qualitative data	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – November 2011 and revisited throughout the action research project	Follow blogs by Dr. Liz Kolb – leader of utilizing cell phone technology as a learning tool Subscribe to tech learning  RSS feeds Search the Internet for pros and cons of using cell phones in school Perform additional interviews and possibly surveys
Engaging in Self-Reflection to summarize activity and engage in metacognition to develop a deeper  understanding of the problems, solutions, and benefits of using cell phones in education	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – end of project	Blog and reflection forms	Have reflections caused deeper understanding and identification of problems, solutions, and benefits derived from the use of cell phones for learning? Are choices and consequences of policy decisions addressed in reflections?
Explore Programmatic Patterns including asking questions, identifying data patterns and gaps, and addressing equity issues	Suzanne Manzano	October 2011 – end of project	Reflections, blogs, surveys, interviews, AWARE data, observation of student behavior, grade trends	Are identifiable patterns visible?  Are connections drawn between data and use of cell phones?  What are the grade trends for the group utilizing cell phones versus the group not using cell phones?  Does the data help drive policy decisions?
Determine direction: Work collaboratively to address action research questions, monitoring progress, and assessing achievement	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton Debbie Boehm	October 2011 – end of project	Action Research Plan	Are the research questions clear? Are the timelines realistic? How will the success of the plan be evaluated?
Take action for school improvement.  Monitor action plan (formative evaluation) and prepare a summary report (summative evaluation) to recommend campus policy for student use of cell phones for educational  purposes.	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	November 2011 – end of project	Data and reflections gathered during the course of the project	Based on the data, was the original action plan question effectively (goal) answered?
Sustain improvement	Suzanne Manzano Dr. Lori Broughton	Ongoing during and after action research project	Findings of action research Share via blogs, team meetings, department meetings, faculty meetings, and at TCEA in February 2012 (proposal has been accepted by TCEA)	Have the findings of the action research project been appreciated and maintained over time?  Have the findings been shared with others?

Week 3 - Action Research

The question to be answered by my action research is: What are the pros and cons of using cell phones as teaching tools? Specifically, does using cell phone technology increase student motivation, engagement, or achievement? Does using cell phone technology increase the instances of off-task behavior, cyber-bullying, or cheating?

The target population is a group of twenty-seven sixth grade students. Data will be collected from two classes of similar make up before, during, and after the action plan. Neither group has special education students, but both groups have similar numbers of Section 504 students, boys and girls, diverse ethnicities, varied learning styles, and levels of achievement. I plan to begin with collecting baseline data by administering a survey (anonymously) about instances of (or firsthand knowledge of) cheating and cyber-bullying. I would also collect baseline data on the percentage of homework completion by both classes prior to the implementation of utilizing cell phones in lessons for only one of the classes.

During the implementation of cell phone activities, I would collect data on the percentage of students actively engaged in the lessons/activities for both classes. Some of this data collection would be by teacher observation, and some by percentage of homework completed in both classes. The level of student achievement will also be measured by administering assessments of the content and TEKS that are taught and comparing the two classes. Another measurement used as a possible indicator will be trends in grades of the class before and after the implementation of cell phone technology.

Parent permission must be obtained prior to any students being allowed to participate in any activities utilizing a cell phone. Additionally, and Cell Phone Acceptable Use Policy must be developed and signed by both parents and students.

In order to make an informed and wise decision about the use of cell phones, one must also consider the negative effects of students’ use of cell phones in class. Off task behavior related to having cell phones available to students, such as surfing the Internet, texting friends, and any other inappropriate or off task behavior, will be monitored very closely and data will be collected. All forms of off-task behavior will be monitored and recorded for both classes.

Obviously, during the course of the action plan, unforeseen benefits or problems may arise, which would also become part of the data.

Finally, at the conclusion of the study, another survey will be conducted to ascertain students’ knowledge of, or participation in, cyber-bullying and cheating. This surrvey will be compared with the survey conducted prior to the use of cell phones in class.

The results of this study are significant to our campus and our district as leaders are grappling with decisions about putting technology into the hands of students. The risks must be weighed against the benefits to students. In these difficult financial times, cell phones are a cost-efficient method for integrating technology and 21st century tools in education.

EDLD Research Week Two Reflection

The additional readings, the discussion board, and the web conference made a huge difference in my understanding of action research this week.  I am beginning to have a much deeper understanding of what it actually is and I am feeling much more comfortable about this course.  Reading about the various action research in Chapter Two of the Dana book helped a lot, and also sharing ideas in the discussion board was very helpful.  I am still a bit confused about the various logs and reflections that we are to be keeping for our Internship Plan and Principal Competencies, however.  I hope to get these questions resolved in the next web chat.

What I've Learned About Action Research

Administrative inquiry or action research is an evaluation of current practice by the leader, rather than from an outside source.  Two of the key components of action research are reflection and evaluation from within.  It is the leader constantly questioning himself/herself and looking for ways to evolve and improve current systems.   Action research is not viewed as linear, but rather as cyclical.  Action research should be continuous in so much that we are constantly reviewing and reflecting upon current practice in an effort to make improvements.  One challenge to action research is having the discipline to set aside the time necessary to implement the research strategies.  I've also learned that action research should not be performed in a bubble, but shared with colleagues or professional learning communities.

In contrast, traditional educational research views the role of the teacher or leader as a technician, and the research and call for change comes from an outside source rather than from thoughtful inquiry and reflection by the teacher or leader.  The danger of this kind of research is that there may not be buy-in by the teacher or leader, since they do not have input into the process and the solutions.

One way that I may benefit from action research is with classroom management.  While I pride myself on classroom management and have wonderful classes, I have one class that I am having trouble keeping them on task and acting appropriately.  There are so many students that are acting out at the same time that is has been difficult to handle. 

I am also very curious about the use of cell phones for learning. I'd like to know the pros and cons of allowing phones in the classroom.  It would be interesting to determine if there is any measurable difference in student achievement by utilizing activities that require the use of student cell phones,

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Blogs are a useful tool for collaboration among leaders.  The use of a blog for collaboration can save travel expenditures, and allow leaders to learn and contribute with each other at their convenience. Blogs also provide a vehicle for leaders to put their thoughts into writing and think reflectively about them.  A leadership blog can provide a model for teachers and and other faculty members.  Only through systematic information gathering and reflection can improvements be made upon existing systems.  Yet another use for a blog would simply be information sharing among faculty members, parents, and students.  Lastly, blogs are useful for sharing action research projects.

Week 5 Assignment, Part 2: Course Reflections

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

Going into the course, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Since I knew that this was the first class for all students in the program, I hoped it would be an introduction to what educational technology leadership would entail.  I did indeed learn the qualities an educational technology leader should possess.  In that vein, the course did align with what I had envisioned, although the depth of research in the subject area and scope of information was much broader than I ever had anticipated.  Locating and evaluating district level technology plans and governmental programs was a challenging endeavor.  The amount of time delving into areas of which I am not familiar proved to be a very time consuming task.  I found myself wondering in the first two weeks whether or not this program was right for me.  I was finding out that knowledge and utilization of educational technology does not translate into knowledge of technology leadership.  After thinking it over, I decided that this program is exactly right for me.  The true question is, with all the other obligations I have, is this the right time for me?


2. 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?

I do believe that the outcomes are relevant to the work that I do.  Although I have taken it upon myself to embed computer skills into my content, I was not aware of the TEKS that all students are supposed to master by the 8^th grade.  I remember when we had a dedicated class called Technology Applications.  All 8^th graders were required to take it for one semester.  It was eliminated approximately seven years ago, but I do not recall anyone making it known that the skills that were taught in that course were to be embedded into the content areas.  I learned this by researching the district’s technology plan and the technology TEKS as required in this course.  Another area that I learned a lot was in the area of ethics, safety and legal issues.  I now realize how important it is to educate the staff so that we can educate our students and parents.3. What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

I believe that I did achieve the expected outcomes; however, I wish that I had more time to spend on the assignments.   I was not able to linger in thought on the readings as I would have liked.  I was not able to spend as much time rereading, evaluating, and reflecting as I would have liked.  This course is very fast paced, and the work is somewhat cumbersome and time consuming.  I felt that all the activities were valuable, but there was not enough time to absorb as much of the information as I would have liked.  Since Week 2, I have learned some time management skills that have made the assignments much more manageable.  I’ve also had to learn that I cannot control how many hours there are in a day and that I have to just do my best in the amount of time available, and then let it go. 

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

I was successful in carrying out the class assignments.  As mentioned before, I almost was not able to complete the first two weeks’ assignments due to problems with time management and other obligations.  Luckily, I have been able to adjust my schedule to accommodate the required work.  I was not expecting the assignments to be so time consuming.  I was very concerned about not being able to perform my job adequately and also fulfill the requirements for this program.  I find it very stressful because I am not comfortable doing sloppy work, whether it be as a teacher, a leader, or a student.  I do feel this is the perfect program for me, but it is a big sacrifice.  Knowing that I will have a week off every five weeks is something that keeps me going.  I will have that week to hone my classroom lessons and my online class that I teach for the virtual high school.  I also need this time to spend with loved ones, take care of household chores, and rejuvenate before the next class.5. What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I’ve learned how much I do not know, especially about the leadership side of technology.  I feel like I know a lot about using technology and integrating it into my curriculum, but I don’t know much about district level and state level plans and initiatives.  During the first two weeks of this course, I felt as if I was drinking water from a fire house.  I thought that because I have been a district trainer, a department chair, lead mentor, and team leader that I have a lot of leadership experience.  I had no idea how much more there is to being a school leader than just managing people.  I also found that I am a bit of a control freak and tend to take on too many responsibilities. I need to work on trusting others and delegating more.  Most importantly, I learned that time management is essential to be successful in this class.

E-Rate and CCISD Technology Plan

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National Education Technology Plan (NETP)

The National Education Technology Plan is a plan for transforming American education rather than reforming American education.   It calls for a bold new way of thinking that empowers students to be part of the creative and collaborative learning process.  The model calls for communities of learners that have access to not just information, but to other learners 24/7.   The NETP has two goals: to raise the existing proportion of college graduates from approximately 40% to a goal of 60%; and to close the high school achievement gap so that all high school graduates are prepared and able to be successful in careers or college.   The Obama administration has made education a priority, as it is believed that education is necessary for democracy and to stay competitive in the global sense.  The plan includes goals for learning powered by technology in five areas.  These areas are learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.  In respect to the learners, we must allow the students to contribute to their own learning by enabling them through the use continuous availability of technology.  Real world information gathering methods and learning opportunities must be provided to cultivate thinkers in this modern age.   Continuous assessment is required for monitoring and measuring performance.   The plan calls for replacing “episodic and ineffective” professional development for teachers with collaborative and continuous learning.  The plan also states the infrastructure should allow for “always on” learning.  Students should have access to not just information from multiple sources, but also to online communities and each other so that learning is intertwined rather than transferred from one to another.  This access must be not just within the confines of a classroom, but anywhere at any time from a variety of devices.  The NETP is an ambitious plan to move us forward into the 21^st century and enable our greatest natural resource, our children, to remain competitive in this global economy.

CCISD Technology Plan

The Clear Creek ISD long range technology plan is composed of four goals.  These goals are to improve student learning and achievement through the integration of technology into instruction across the curriculum; work with the department of instruction to provide district-wide professional development to ensure efficient and effective use of technologies; to support district wide strategic planning initiatives by providing technology solutions to ensure efficient and effective management of resources, improved processes, and community collaboration; and to support integration of technology into instruction by providing and maintaining network connectivity, hardware, and software.  

Each of these goals also has between two to four objectives and each objective has between five and thirteen strategies for reaching the goals and objectives.  Goal 1 Objectives includes increased student access to 24/7 learning; increased collaboration between instruction and technology; and improved academic achievement across the curriculum through the of technology and library services.  Goal 2 Objectives include expanding and providing professional development opportunities through the use of distance learning that is collaborative, interactive, and differentiated.  The Goal 3 Objectives are to promote a shared vision that ensures planning is collaborative and technology rich; communicate the vision with a variety of media to interact and collaborate; and improve processes to promote efficient and effective management of district resources.  The objectives of the fourth and final goal are to provide the infrastructure to allow the district to meet district goals, and to develop the infrastructure to prepare for and address emerging technologies and future needs.

The district uses an on-going and systematic process for evaluating and monitoring the progress towards these specific goals, some of which include the utilizing data collected from the Texas STaR chart, annual surveys/needs assessments, annual interviews with campus principals, librarians and other campus staff; student focus group meetings; Net Day’s Speak Up Event data; feedback from monthly technology specialist meetings; records in participation in technology in professional development; number of staff members within each of their levels of TSDP; monitoring of usage for all digital and online instructional resources, student performance on the technology TEKS; and many other sources for data collection too numerous to list.  The point is that the district is using multiple forms of assessment along the path of implementation. 

Technology Assessments

There’s an old adage that says, “You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where you are”.   An illustration of this adage, taken to the simplest level, would be a road map.  If one does not know the beginning point, it is impossible to know which path to take to get to the destination.  Metaphorically speaking, technology assessment is the beginning point for making a plan to reach our targets in technology.  It is vital to know our current level of technological understanding and usage in order to make a plan for moving forward.  It would not be of any value to have a plan for patterns of classroom use without first providing educator preparation and development or the Infrastructure to support the teaching and learning.  Just like in the classroom, pre-assessment is necessary to drive instruction.  Technology cannot be learned and implemented in isolation.  It is a process in which skills, understanding, and implementation are built upon.  Once a district or campus has a clear view of the current technological status of its educators, a plan can be developed which will provide a solid foundation upon which to build.  Staff development should not be offered without first considering the needs of those attending.  These assessments will allow decision makers to provide the most meaningful staff development possible.  It’s my opinion that assessments should continue during the implementation of a technology plan to ensure that growth is taking place.  The only con in my view is that some technologically illiterate teachers may feel overwhelmed when discovering the daunting task ahead of them.  It’s a fact that educators are behind in technology in comparison with their business world counterparts.  If educators are to remain in education, they must grow in technology to keep up with student demand.

Web Conference August 31, 2011

I attended my first ever web conference on Wednesday, August 31, 2011.  The conference was with the professor of a graduate class I am taking online.  This was an incredible learning experience for me as I hope to hold web conferences of my own for an online that I am teaching myself.  I read somewhere once that real learning is noisy and sometimes may resemble mayhem.  I wouldn’t exactly call our class’ first web conference mayhem, but it certainly took a while for the participants, mostly whom were new to web conferencing, to learn how to use the conference software and their own webcams and microphones.  I arrived early to allow myself time to play with the equipment I had never used, either.  Many other students had the same idea.  For the first few minutes of the conference there was a lot of squeaking and squawking feedback due to too many microphones at the same time.  It did not take long for us to learn that only one microphone should be open at a time.  Our professor was very patient with us as we learned how to operate in this medium new to us.  After the initial problems were resolved, the conference ran very smoothly.  We were able to actually see what our instructor looked and sounded like, as well as see and hear each other.  We were given a short overview of the program, which includes an internship and culminates with the opportunity to sit for the principal’s certification and technology examinations.  After discussing the requirements of the program, we were given time to ask questions.  It was a remarkable experience, and one that we are offered on a weekly basis.  A recording of the conference is also available in our course software.

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