EDLD 5363 Video Conference 6/30/12

I watched the recoding of the video conference on 6/30/12.  It helped to have a better idea of the assignments that are due for week 4.  It seemed like we needed more of a final product which is what we actually did.  We completed our video and the editing in week 4.  Our video was the appropriate 90 seconds, we changed the script a little to fit the time frame but it turns out it would have been ok a little over.  It was useful to understand what our collaborative reflection should be in assignment 5.8.  I was unsure of what it was supposed to be, I’m glad I watched the video to clarify the directions.  Overall these conferences were useful to clarify the directions in the assignments because some of them were a little confusing.

Video Conference 6/17/12

I watched the recoding of the video conference on June 17, 2012.  It was helpful to clarify some of the directions and assignments for this week and the final assignments.  The professor explained that the final assignment will be a classroom lesson rather than a public service announcement.  I was excited to hear this because it seems more relevant to my career.  We were in the middle of forming our groups and Mrs. Abernathy told us that we don’t have to tell our IA’s but that we should just send them to link to our Google doc collaboration.  It was nice to hear that Mrs. Abernathy was also looking at our assignments as well.

EDLD 5363 Web Confernece Week 1

I was unable to attend the first web conference however I watched the video of it.  The web conference that I watched was on June 4th.  It was quite helpful when I was trying to figure out what to do with the assignments in week 1.  It clarified that we did not have to interview another person for assignment just create a digital story.  She explained that the digital story can be about anything that is personal to us.  She also explained what programs that we can use to make the video.  The main thing that was helpful was that she told us that we do not have to quote on the discussion board.  I had read an old version of the syllabus which said that we did.  The conference was very useful because the directions were a little unclear.

Personal Digital Story

It was surprising how easy it was to create the video for this weeks assignment. The software was very easy to use and it was convenient to be able to record sound for each individual picture.  It was fun finding different pictures that would match the place that we went camping.  I just purchased my webcam and it worked very well as the microphone.  The one thing that I did not like was that my voice is a little loud on the video but it was the first time I used the webcam as a microphone.  I think I held it too close to my mouth especially because I have a loud voice as it is.  Overall it was a nice experience.

Action Research Plan (Revised)

Heather Wiley's Action Research Plan
Goal: To Improve student comprehension, retention and test taking abilities using technology.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Develop a topic to conduct an action research inquiry.	Myself	3/1/12 to 4/1/12	Information on performing action research projects.   My draft internship plan.	Does the topic satisfy the internship plan?   Will the topic provide development of my student's and my own skills?
Find websites and resources that can enhance student achievement in mathematics and become proficient at them.	Myself	4/1/12 to 9/1/12	Access to the internet.   Previously used web based materials.	I will be able to easily navigate and use the web based tools.   I will be able to easily explain how to access and use the tools to others.
Provide opportunities for access to technology based assessments and activities to all students.	Myself     Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Web-based assessments that correspond to the curriculum.   Access to technology for the students.	Students will submit the results of the various tasks either through the site, via e-mail, or a paper copy.   I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.
Collect and analyze the student data.	Myself     Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Student test scores.   Student formative assessment data.	I will evaluate student achievement and comprehension through an analysis of their achievements and improvements throughout the year.   I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.   I will speak to the students about their experiences.
Use the student data and input to make improvements on the plan and technology tools.	Myself     Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Student achievement data.   Additional websites or programs.   Student evaluations and input.	I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.   I will evaluate student input and opinions.   I will look at the skill areas that still need improvement and make appropriate changes.

Action Research Planning Template

Action Planning Template
Goal: To Improve student comprehension, retention and test taking abilities using technology.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Develop a topic to conduct an action research inquiry.	Myself	3/1/12 to 4/1/12	Information on performing action research projects.   My draft internship plan.	Does the topic satisfy the internship plan?   Will the topic provide development of my student's and my own skills?
Find websites and resources that can enhance student achievement in mathematics and become proficient at them.	Myself	4/1/12-9/1/12	Access to the internet.   Previously used web based materials.	I will be able to easily navigate and use the web based tools.   I will be able to easily explain how to access and use the tools to others.
Provide opportunities for access to technology based assessments and activities to all students.	Myself   Dawn Auerbach   Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Web-based assessments that correspond to the curriculum.   Access to technology for the students.	Students will submit the results of the various tasks either through the site, via e-mail, or a paper copy.   I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.
Collect and analyze the student data.	Myself   Dawn Auerbach   Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Student test scores.   Student formative assessment data.	I will evaluate student achievement and comprehension through an analysis of their achievements and improvements throughout the year.   I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.   I will speak to the students about their experiences.
Use the student data and input to provide make improvements on the plan and technology tools.	Myself   Dawn Auerbach   Colleagues	Sept. 2012 to May 2013	Student achievement data.   Additional websites or programs.   Student evaluations and input.	I will collaborate with colleagues, keep a journal and post on my blog.   I will evaluate student input and opinions.   I will look at the skill areas that still need improvement and make appropriate changes.

 

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Week 2 Reflection

During this week’s assignment I learned that there are many areas within a school district that can benefit from action research inquiry.  My action research project will focus on helping the individual students to succeed in their mathematics course as well as to help improve their performance on standardized tests.  But action research projects can also help improve parent interactions, school discipline, and access to technology to name a few. 

Action research is a process that is being used all over the country and the results of the various projects are being documented.  The results and logistics of many of the projects are documented online and are available for public viewing.  It is an important part of the process to look and evaluate past research to gain insight into the situation.  Although each district, school, teacher and student is unique, there are similarities that exist between them and we can use research from other projects to help us with ours. 

Educational Leaders and Blogs

Educational leaders can use blogs to communicate with all school stakeholders.  A blog can be created which will allow leaders to make posts that include upcoming events as well as to post questions and concerns they may have within the community.  This will allow for school stakeholders to provide their input and communicate with the school leaders.  In addition, educational leaders can use blogs to collaborate with others leaders within the district as well as outside of the district.  The leaders can post problems and concerns and have discussions with others on possible ways to make improvements.  The leaders can share experiences to gain a better understanding of the issues that arise in other schools and areas.  It can allow for personal, professional and cultural growth.

Action Research

Action research is a process which allows professionals who have personal experience at the school level to determine areas of weakness.   Rather than an outsider, the professionals themselves can create and implement an improvement plan.  Action research is a process in which a person or team study a situation and create questions based on what they find.  These inquiries will point out specific areas that may need improvement.  The teacher or team can then research and create different development plans that will help rectify the issues.  Throughout the plan implementation the teacher must continuously study and question the results.  They must reflect on their actions and the outcomes and adjust accordingly.

 The process of action research is more focused on the teacher or team making an impact on their skills to improve the success of the school stakeholders.  This method seems to be much more effective that the professional development that I am currently exposed to.  When I have a professional development day it is a day in which I sit at meetings and forget half of what I was told.  Action research would get me involved and I would become a facilitator of my development.  I would like to integrate more technology into my classroom.  I think that using the action research model I would be more motivated to try different ways to incorporate technology as well as become more adept in doing so.  I also feel that the concept of self reflection is very important.  With the action research model you must continuously inquire on the outcomes and how to improve them.  This is a habit that I would like to instill in myself to allow me to better myself and my teaching skills.   

Course Reflections EDLD 5306

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?

During this course I wanted to gain a grasp of what I am supposed to accomplish during this program.  I had a very vague idea of what I would get out of this program. After the assignments and the web conference I can see some of the skills and knowledge that I will learn.  In addition, I wanted to get a better understanding of the requirements of the program and how they are going to be implemented.   I knew that I was going to be taking one class every 5 weeks for 18-months, but there was little more that I knew about this program.  Through the creation of the internship plan as well as the principal’s competencies chart, I have a better grasp of the activities that I will complete. 

I also wanted to gain knowledge of different technological resources that I could use in my classroom.  Throughout this course we have used a few different resources that I was unaware of and I feel proficient in my abilities to use them.

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?

With the completion of the draft internship plan and the principal’s competency chart my potential tasks for this program are much clearer.  I will be incorporating these different tasks into my work at school.  I will be incorporating technology into my classroom as well as helping others in my school to achieve technological competency.  I understand the reasons for many of the tasks that I will complete and what it means for my understanding of the school system and technology standards.

The potential usefulness as well as dangers of technology use for education is very relevant for me.  I need to make sure that students are aware of how to use technology safely in order for me to incorporate it into my classroom.  Some of the technologies that we learned about in this course, such as the wordle, I cannot see myself using in a high school math class.  However, it definitely has potential in many other areas.

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

As of yet, I have not incorporated technology any more into my classroom than I have before.  I would like to learn new ways to use technology in a math class to aid in the comprehension and development of the material.  Some of the technologies seem quite useful, but I have not been able to develop specific areas that I can use them in. 

 I have acknowledged that this class was more of an introduction to technology as well as ethical, safety and legal issues that go along with its use.  Throughout this course we learned a lot about technology itself, but not much about how we can incorporate it into the classroom.  It was a misconception of mine that the purpose of this specific course was to help implement technology into the classroom.  I think I would have had different goals if I realized that this course was designed to assess our technological abilities and expose ourselves to technology use.

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

I was able to complete all of the course assignments.  The readings, videos, and assignments allowed a better and more complete understanding of the topics that were developed.  The assignments were laid out clearly and the step by step directions made certain tasks easier to complete.  The rubric made completing the assignments correctly must easier since I knew exactly what I was expected to do.  The directions were clearly modeled after the rubrics.

 I did have some issues with APA formatting.  In the book summary assignment my book was a kindle version which made it difficult to site.  I tried looking up the formatting for this type of book in the manual as well as online but I was unable site it correctly.  It has been a long time since I have had to complete many written assignments; it has been difficult to find all of the mistakes in my grammar.  

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

The first assignment of this course was an assessment on my abilities and aptitude.  I have a good understanding and aptitude for technology.  I am a 21^st century learner; I grew up using computers and video games.  I have recognized that by having a good knowledge of technology it gives me a good base to succeed in this program.  I am excited to improve my technology integration skills.  I want to improve the learning of my students and I think that effectively incorporating technology will help. 

          I would also like to improve my leadership skills outside of the classroom.  I tend to be a little withdrawn when it comes to working with others and I would like to improve that throughout this program.  I feel comfortable taking control of a class, but I am not as comfortable being a leader of my peers.  I am looking forward to improving myself to better help others

Web Conference Wed 1/25 8pm

I found the web conference very helpful. There was quite a bit of information that I had questions about that the conference answered. I knew that there was some sort of internship requirements but I had no idea how many hours we had to do or where we got the hours from. The split hours 150 hours embedded in the courses and 150 hours of field experience make it seem much more manageable over the next year and a half.

It was also nice to have a general idea of what we are working towards. I appreciated the layout of some of the requirements of the final reports and goals in general. I was unaware that this program allowed for the possibility to take the principal certification exam as well as state technology. The location of the updated forms was also very helpful.

I have never used my webcam and it was interesting to see that it worked well in the web conference. It was also enjoyable to see a few of the faces that I will be completing this program with rather than just some random names posted on a screen.

E rate and tech plan

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National Education Technology Plan

The National Education Technology plan has two major goals.  Increase the number of college graduates with either an associates or bachelors degree, and prepare students to succeed in college and/or careers.  In order to achieve these goals we must motivate and encourage students to want to continuously learn.  An educator needs to encourage and teach to each individual student and his or her specific needs.  New ways to assess strengths and weaknesses while there is time for improvement need to be implemented.  Learners should feel empowered in their leaning in order to become productive, ethical and active members of the 21^st century society.  The Educational Technology Plan wants to create a technology based connected learning environment in and out of schools for the educational needs of all school stakeholders.  In order for technology to be effectively incorporated there must be a comprehensive infrastructure that all parties have access to.

Much of the professional development and training will be geared towards teaching to each students needs, and the use of technology to motivate them to succeed.  Online learning will be accessed not just by the students but also by educators to develop their technological competencies and abilities. Training will not just be comprised of workshops and in-services, but will also use online social networks and distance learning to help include technology in an effective and interesting manner.

My main concern is with individualizing instruction for each student.  Part of the plan suggests that we need to move away from structured curriculum pacing to address the needs of each individual.  There are standardized tests the students need to take, we need to prepare them the best we can.  But how are we supposed to do that when we have more curriculum to teach than we do time to cover it?