We Have A Blog What Now...

I know there has been a push to integrate technology in the classroom and I have been slow to do this.  As I considered this activity I thought back to when I taught Biology and we would do lab activities.  I think it could be possible to use things such as blogs as an avenue for students to share ideas and learning experiences with others.  In addition, I think the district could use a blog when major projects are under way as a means of sharing information and allowing the community to follow progress.  I am sure as I continue to learn more about 2.0 tools I can be a visionary leader for the future in my school district.

This is my second opportunity to use a blog as an educational support.  The first of mine came in the Lamar University Master’s Program when I created a blog for my action research project.  I decided to maintain the same blog address to keep my work in order.  As I progress in my career as an educator my new school district is interested in my pursuing a similar action research project here.  They are curious if we can get the same results of increasing extracurricular participation at this rural area school as we were able to get in a suburban San Antonio school.  In the past I used the blog as a way to share my work on my action research progress.  I enjoyed the opportunity to get feedback from others regarding my action research project as well as track their progress and provide them insight and feedback as well.  The blog could provide an avenue to share my internship activities with others to help us all learn from different experiences we have during this program.  As for professional development I am wondering if a blog could provide a place for us to share what is learned in professional development with others.  In this day and age with budgets getting tighter and less staff being able to travel for professional development we need to find creative ways to begin sharing our learning with our colleagues.  Us as educational leaders need to continue to find ways to use resources that are available to collaborate with others and learn from their actions and experiences.

Action Plan EDLD 5352

Goal: Improve Technology Integration and Use in the Classroom
            

            Person (s)     Timeline:     Needed        
Action Step(s) Responsible     Start / End     Resources        Evaluation    

1. Provide whole school training on promethean board system upgrades and new uses.	Campus Administration, Technology Director, Regional Service Center	Spring 2012	Time, Money, similar technology in all classrooms.	Have all staff complete a basic competency assessment on use of promethean board. Provide additional training to individuals.
2. Begin a mentoring program that pairs teachers up to observe each other and collaborate regarding technology in the classroom.	Campus Administration, Department Coordinators, Teachers	Fall 2012	Scheduled observation periods, Time for meaningful collaboration	Use survey data to determine the effectiveness of the mentor program.
3. Develop professional learning communities and provide time for meaningful collaboration to evaluate the curriculum.	Campus Administration, Teachers	Fall 2012	Scheduled late start dates to accommodate PLC's. Commitment from the teachers, support from administration.	Use survey data to determine the effectiveness of PLC's on curriculum changes, technology use in the classroom, and collaboration.
4. Administrators meet with department heads to discuss possible changes to the curriculum and technologies needed to be successful.	Campus Administration, District Curriculum Coordinators, Department Coordinators	Summer 2012	In-service training days in the summer to allow for collaboration, and curriculums to evaluate.	Compare previous curriculum to the revised curriculum to track the changes made and evaluate their effectiveness.

Goal: Improve Technology Integration and Use in the Classroom
            

            Person (s)     Timeline:     Needed        
Action Step(s) Responsible     Start / End     Resources        Evaluation    

5. Technology and training needs are presented to the site based team to be included in the campus improvement plan.	Campus Administration, Site based team	Fall 2012	Current CIP, goals for the future as established by the faculty, requests for technology by the departments.	Ensure the revised CIP includes specific target areas for technology in the classroom that impacts student learning.
6. Administrators develop a comprehensive professional development plan surrounding new technologies to be in place for next school year.	Campus Administration, District Curriculum and professional development coordinators.	Spring 2013	Review STaR Chart data. Conduct a needs assessment with department coordinators. Administrators receive training on new technology.	Evaluate the PD plan to ensure it teaches and measures learning of teachers being able to apply new technology. Teachers create samples.
7. Expand the mentor program to go across departments to improve the connections between subject areas.	Campus Administrators, Department Coordinators, Teachers	Spring 2013	Common planning and observation time across the core areas.	Do we see common themes and use of technology in all departments that are correlated so students are seeing things reinforced in all classes.
8. Evaluate data from the STaR chart and observed use of technology in the classroom and curriculum to check and plan for improvement	Campus Administration, District Administration	Fall 2013	STaR Chart Data from Fall 2013 and Fall 2012.	Has our technology proficiency improved in all four areas of the STaR Chart as a campus and as a district.

Texas STaR Chart

Week 2 ppt star chart Christopher Granger

View more presentations from txtrnr1979

EDLD 5352 Web Conference - Week 1

I attended the web conference on Saturday January 20th briefly before losing a connection to the room.  Since I was unable to get back in I decided to listen to the recording and reflect on that.  As with several other web conferences I have attended the main questions dealt with EPIC and TK20 as there still seems to be quite a bit of confusion as to the expectations for posting portfolio items.  It is my hope that this gets resolved as soon as possible and there is some clarity provided.  This serves as a great reminder of how our students feel if we provide them with an assignment and their is not a clearly communicated plan.  As educational leaders we all will be tasked with leading groups to get tasks done and we must make our expectations clear and offer support when needed to address concerns.  Even Dr. Abernathy made the comment that as leaders of the campus we should be able to provide help to a teacher that asks about techniques they could use to implement web 2.0 tools in their classsroom.  Therefore, we must model life long learning and continual improvement so our teachers will be expected to do the same. 
On a more personal note I was excited to hear that we would have a reception and graduation ceremony that will be a celebration of all of our hard work.  This is an exciting time for all of us who are getting close to the end and it made it sink in that it will be here before we know it. 

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

I chose to focus on the area of infrastructure for technology because I feel it has a direct impact on the ability to meet all components of the long range plan.  This part of the plan calls for a high performance infrastructure to be in place to take advantage of new technologies aimed at improving student success and improving communication and collaboration among all stakeholders.  While this seems to be a simple take the facts are that not all districts in the state have the same infrastructure in place to adequately meet the needs of Texas students.  The inequity of technology products across the state has really hindered the state from achieving their maximum potential.  I have been in districts of all sizes and have come to realize that smaller districts in rural areas are struggling to get the needed infrastructure in place.  I am sure this is happening in other areas across the country which is causing us to fall behind in the global technology race.  If this continues in Texas and across the nation I am afraid for my children and the students I teach that they will not be equipped to be successful in the global workforce and that should be motivation enough to change our current approach.  I believe technology should be a statewide commitment and all districts show work in collaboration to ensure all students can have equitable technology.  I know there are larger districts that have technology departments that could assist the smaller rural districts in this endeavor.  If we can require collaboration amongst our teachers why can’t we require it of our districts to collaborate for the betterment of our students in this state and nation so that our students can have ample tools and resources need to ensure there is technology available for all learners so they can be successful in the global workforce?

Action Research Update

Ok well seems like I am moving through mud but I am making progress.  I believe I will finally get approval to distribute the teacher questionaire this week.  I have moved to a more informal collection of student data to meet the requirements of the school district.  Thanks to all my classmates for the great recommendations and support.  Good Luck to all! Summer is almost here!