Web Conference Reflection

I just had my second web conference experience.  I like that during a web conference you can see and hear participants as well as type (chat style) your concerns if the video and audio do not work.  One of the advantages of web conferences is that it allows for anytime, anywhere learning where you are not bound to learning face to face only. I believe it could be a very effective tool to deliver professional development to teachers.  I think in this era of budget cuts, district's should take advantage of this tool to develop their educators as well as use it to enhance classroom  instruction.  Tonight's web conference experience was a little overwhelming because I was unable to hear or see the participants however the conversations were very helpful and definitely provided me with additional guidance.

Technology Action Plan

During the past four weeks I have been able to evaluate the technology needs of my school according to the STaR chart results. Based on the results I can safely conclude that we are very rich in technology tools such as Promethean boards, digital projectors in every classroom, clickers, document cameras and Probe ware technology. Although training has been provided to us on how to use this technology, not all teachers effectively implement these resources in their daily instruction. I have developed a technology action plan to address the need to provide technology integration training and support to our teachers. In order to evaluate the success of the professional development provided, the STaR Chart will be used to monitor progress and growth in technology for our teachers.

Shoemaker HS Texas STaR Chart Presentation

National Educational Technology Plan: Transforming American Education

The National Educational Technology Plan: Transforming American Education describes the goals and recommendations to prepare our schools nationwide for 21^st century learning driven by technology. There are five essential areas covered in this plan:  learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure and productivity.

In the area of learning the plan states that “we focus what and how we teach to match what people need to know, how they learn, where and when they will learn, and who needs to learn”. In other words it calls for alignment between what and how we teach to the specific needs of the learners.  The plan makes technology the power behind achieving this goal by providing personalized instruction.

In the area of teaching and training the plan calls for technology to be used to build the capacity of teachers through increased collaboration with their peers and provided with tools that will allow them to give students relevant and engaging learning experiences.  The plan calls this “connected teaching”.  The plan states “in connected teaching, teaching is a team activity”. Teachers will no longer be isolated. They will build online learning communities with students, parents, other educators and the community to communicate and enhance learning.  I think Texas Project Share has already started with this goal of connected teaching.

I truly enjoyed reading about this plan.  I believe our Texas Long Range Plan is well aligned to the goals of the National Educational Technology Plan. Both plans address the need to prepare our educational system for the challenges facing our 21^st century learners. 

Texas Long Range Technology Plan Progress Report

The Texas Long Range Technology Plan Progress Report reveals that Texas schools have come a long way in preparing our students and teachers for 21^st century classroom needs.  All four key areas of the plan Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Administration Support, and Infrastructure have shown significant improvement from 2008-2010.

In the area of Teaching and Learning classroom teachers are integrating more technology into their curriculum for increased student learning and engagement.   A lot of this progress is due to the many technology grants awarded by the state.  For example, my district last year was awarded a T3 Technology grant that provided all of the science departments for all four high schools Pasco Probe ware technology.  This grant allowed our teachers and students engage in meaningful learning through the use of technology.

Educator Preparation and Development has been a priority across the school districts in the State.  Teachers have many opportunities for growth in technology by attending trainings offered by the Education Service Centers.  One of the most meaningful advances in this area is the creation of Project Share.  I personally love it.  It allows teachers all over Texas attend online courses as well as share ideas, join groups of particular interests, etc.  Project Share is a great online tool that enhances collaboration between teachers and allows us to continue growing in our content areas as well as technology skills.

In the area of Administration support, school leaders continue to use the STaR Chart to evaluate their campus’ readiness towards technology goals and for continued improvement. 

Finally, the area of Infrastructure reveals that many students in our classroom have access to computers.  There is high speed internet and all classrooms have wireless access.  This is one of the strongest areas across the State.

After reading this report I feel confident that every year we move one step closer to meeting our technology goals.  As a teacher and future instructional leader I see the need to continue building my technology skills and embracing all of the great things to come.

Week 2 Blog 1: Educator Preparation and Development

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology maps the goals for educational technology for the 21^st century learners in Texas schools. The plan also provides recommendations for creating technology rich classrooms by focusing in the areas of Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology.  When I did the STaR chart analysis for my school I noticed that we are strong in the area of infrastructure for technology. I agree with this result because we do have a very technology rich District.  We have mobile computer labs, clickers, promethean boards, and digital projectors in each classroom as well as document cameras.  Though we are strong in infrastructure we are behind in the areas of Teaching and Learning and Educator Preparation and Development.  I would like to focus in the area of Educator Preparation and Development because I believe that if we do a better job of training our teachers to use the technology we will improve in Teaching and Learning.

According to the Texas Long Range Plan the goals for Educator Preparation and Development is for all educators to develop learning environments that use and integrate technology throughout the curriculum as a tool for learning  in a collaborative, interactive and customized manner. It also calls for educator preparation programs to train teachers how to effectively implement technology in their classrooms. This is the area that in the past three years teachers at my campus, district and across the state have been classified as developing tech.  This is also the reason why in the area of Teaching and Learning we are classified as early tech.  The technology in the classroom is mostly teacher-centered instead of learner-centered.  I believe that we can improve in the area of Educator Preparation and Development by providing teachers with sustainable professional development that models the implementation of technology in the classroom.  We need to move from “how does it work and how can I fix it” to how do I integrate this in my classroom to meet my students educational needs.  We need to encourage teachers to attend professional development in the area of integration of technology in their daily instruction and monitor their progress as well as provide them with the support they need for their efforts in creating technology rich classrooms.  By doing this we will make significant improvements in the area of Teaching and Learning and our 21^st century learners will be better prepared to succeed in our digital world.

More reflections...

As I reflect on this course the first thing that comes to mind is the importance of doing action research to improve schools.  According to Harris (2009), “… inquiry is an essential component in order to establish a firm foundation for school improvement.”  It is seen as a tool that engages practitioners to seek answers to their concerns and results in improvement of their practices.  During the process of looking for an area to do my research, I was surprised to discover that there are many areas at my school that can benefit greatly from action research. I questioned why we aren’t doing more of it if it is a process that results not only in self growth but also in increased student achievement.  It also helps to increase collaboration among school leaders and teachers.Another aspect I liked about this course was reading some of the chapters in the book Leading with Passion and Knowledge. The book is very informative, engaging and easy to understand. Having learned about the definition of administrator inquiry/action research and the nine areas of major wondering for leaders, truly provided me with the needed guidance and knowledge to understand what action research is all about as well as reflect on the areas that interest me.  This allowed me to choose my topic of interest. I also liked reading about the different strategies to sustain improvement: Field Force Analysis, Delphi Method, CARE model and Normal Group Technique.  These strategies can easily be implemented at schools to help leaders to continue to improve those initiatives that are working or to implement new ones.What I found most valuable during this course was creating the blog and being able to collaborate with other teachers. The blog has allowed me to become more reflective and truly look at the issues that need change at my school.  Receiving and providing feedback to others through the blog and discussion boards have helped me grow more as a transformational leader.

In order to continue to build on the knowledge gained during this course I plan to involve the science teachers in one of the strategies to sustain improvement I learned about to sort of reflect/evaluate different programs that our department currently has in place to increase student achievement. I look forward to utilizing many of the ideas learned in this course to continue my personal growth as a leader and collaborating with others to improve my school.

 

Dana, N.F.(2009).  Leading with Passion and Knowledge:  The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks.CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009).  Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps from analysis to action. Larchmont, N.Y.: Eye on Education.