Week 5 Assignment 5352

1. The outcomes that I envisioned for this course included learning about the different types of technology and how to implement them in the classroom, technology TEKS for various grade levels, and how to use technology as an administrator. I was very apprehensive about this course because technology can be so overwhelming to me and I was worried about implementing new technology through the course. The outcomes I envisioned were achieved as well as many new skills that I learned about during this course. It is sometimes hard to imagine what you don’t know so envisioning outcomes was a little difficult for me at the beginning of this course because of my lack of knowledge. Technology is definitely my weakness so I was not quite sure what I expected. There were many things that I learned that I find very valuable now but was unaware of before the course. Those include things like blogs, wikis, and technology plans that have been developed for technology from the district and state level. The actual course outcomes aligned and surpassed those that I envisioned.

2. The outcomes from this class that I hoped to achieve and still other skills that I learned are very applicable to my classroom. The long term plan written by TEA was very interesting and has totally changed my thinking in the classroom about how technology should be implemented. I have used technology in my classroom but it was quite helpful to see where the state was expecting teachers and school districts to go in the next few years and to see defined expectations. I have already started using blogging in my classroom and my students love it! The biggest lesson I learned and now apply to my classroom is that I need to integrate technology to help teach the lesson or concept. I think so many times technology is being used as a practice tool or enrichment activity. There are many programs out there that will help teach the curriculum so as to connect to students and help create 21st century learners.

3. I don’t think that there were any outcomes that I did not achieve during this course. With my limited technology skills, it was almost like a surprise each week to see what I was going to be doing. I actually surprised myself with what I learned and how easy it was to actually do some of the things required. I know when I first saw some of the assignments it was a little overwhelming because I didn’t even understand the assignment. By the end of the course, I did not only understand what was asked of me but was also able to take what I learned and apply it directly to my classroom.

4. I was quite successful in carrying out the course assignments however not without many hours of work and using the technology coordinator at our school. Setting up the blog was a big challenge just because of my lack of understanding, especially when it came to posting the power point. I was quite unclear as to what a blog was, how it was used, and how it was supposed to be set up. I did manage to set it up following the directions that were given but am not sure that I could do that on my own. It was very discouraging to spend that amount of time setting up the blogs but encouraging to final complete and utilize them. It made me realize the importance of the technology coordinator at our school. After completing the assignment, I went to her to for assistance in setting up a class blog. She makes it look so easy but after the experience of setting one up I know it wasn’t as easy as she made it look. As an administrator, I now know the importance of a strong technology leader at the schools to help teachers continue using technology in the classroom as a resource for teaching the required curriculum.
5. I learned much about technology and myself in this course. Things like blogs, wiki, and even posting a power point were always things that I wanted to learn and use in the classroom but never thought I could do. I think that the one thing that my students don’t have that I wish I did not have is fear. That is fear of pushing the wrong button or doing something wrong. I tell my students all the time that we can fix it but I don’t apply that to myself when it comes to working on the computer. They will just sit down and push a button and see what happens. I know this has caused grief at times in class but most of the time they discover something new or find something interesting just by exploring the possibilities. I have also learned that I am capable of using technology in my classroom not just for enrichment but for the teaching of curriculum.
6. The educational value of blogs is not measureable especially to the 21st century learner. Not even knowing what a blog really was before this class, I have learned not only what it is but how to use it for myself and also how to apply it to my classroom. As technology becomes more and more integrated in the classroom, blogging opens the door for communication in education from the poor to the rich. It allows students to communicate outside their classroom, city, state, and even nation. I found it fascinating that children in New York were communicating with children in England. It is the perfect way to bring experiences to children that might not otherwise have a chance. I have brought blogs to my classroom to allow children at all three elementary schools to communicate about a project called “Travel Across Texas”. Students are posting their journals to their blog and responding to each other’s postings. It is a great tool to have in the classroom, not to mention a way to meet the goals of the technology long term plan.
7. There are of course concerns about using blogs in the classroom. The obvious one to me is that the blog is live on the internet and open for everyone to see and to post. Students may come across information that they do not want to see or perhaps that you do not want them to see. In order to help that, you have to teach students what to do should that happen to them while blogging or reading a blog. However security is always a topic of conversation with the students and between the teachers. I think by keeping a watch on your students and constantly monitoring what they are doing and saying can prevent much of this from happening. In my class, we set up one blog and gave them pen names so as not to be identified by others. They all blog to the same site so that others can see what they are saying and responding. This also allows me to monitor what is being said and what is being written. Despite the concerns and hazards of blogging, I think the pros far outweigh the cons.
8. Blogging can be a great way to communicate with school stakeholders. We recently visited a nursing home and gave them gifts as a service project. We responded to what we did in a journal. If we had posted to the blog instead and then shared the address and name with the school board members and superintendent, they could have seen firsthand the reactions of the students rather than me sending them an email and summarizing how the students reacted. It would also be a great way to get input from teachers, parents, and the community about controversial subjects. Parents could respond and react in a very safe environment without having everyone meet at a local place and feeling like they can’t say what they would like to say. Blogging could also be a great place for a book study within a grade level, school, or across district.

Week 4 Assignment

Campus Goals:
• The campus will integrate technology to provide instruction that communicates to learners effectively and follows “best practices”.

Strategies:
• Ensure that Technology TEKS are integrated into content areas at each grade level.
• Provide support in lesson planning to ensure technology supports best practices.
• Provide staff development based on the needs assessment of the annual technology audit.
• Teachers will use research-based high-yield strategies for differentiated instruction, which meet the needs of all learners.
• Teachers will use data from district and/or campus curriculum based assessments given to students at regular intervals to guide instructional practices.
• Provide staff development to help teachers stay highly qualified
• Develop a systematic mentoring program for new teachers.

Training Attending Opportunities for Training Responsible Person Assessment
Basic Computer Skills (Saving documents, creating folders, use of a server, use of the internet, adding bookmarks, setting a printer default) Entire Staff After School, PLC’s, Extra Training Technology Instructional Coordinator None Needed
Advanced Computer Skills Entire Staff After School, PLC’s, Extra Training Technology Instructional Coordinator STaR Chart
Skyward Educator Access New Staff New Teacher Training Technology Instructional Coordinator None Needed
Overview of Technology TEKS Entire Staff PLC’s, Professional Development Days Technology Instructional Coordinator Documented on
Lesson Plans
Curriculum Implementation
(Kidspiration/SRA/ Think Central) Classroom Teacher Professional Development Days Technology Instructional Coordinator Documented in Lesson Plans, STaR chart
Technology products (Doc Camera, Digital Camera, Projector) Classroom Teachers, Special Education Teachers After School, PLC’s Technology Instructional Coordinator STaR chart, Data Walks

Instructional Technology (iMovie, Podcasts, iPhoto, Power Points, Garage Band) Classroom Teacher, Special Education Teacher, Support Staff After School, PLC’s, Professional Development Days Technology Instructional Coordinator STaR chart, Documented in lesson plans,
Committee review
Internet Instruction Entire Staff After School, PLC’s Technology Instructional Coordinator, Librarian STaR chart
Technology Integration Classroom Teacher, Special Education Teachers Professional Development days, After School, PLC’s Instructional Facilitator, Teacher Mentors, Technology Instructional Coordinator STaR Chart, Data Walks
On Line Learning Entire Staff After School, PLC’s Technology Instructional Coordinator QUIA, STaR Chart






Jennifer Murray EDLD 5352
Week 4 Assignment, Part 3: Evaluation Planning for Action Plan
The technology action plan integrating instructional an organizational leadership must include evaluation components that provide measurable outcomes designed to address the following:

• Uses data and other analysis from the Week 3 report, including using the campus and district improvement plans, and local or state technology plans;
• Provides assessments and/or monitoring reports measuring professional development designed to use technology to improve the gathering, analysis and use of data from a variety of sources;
• Provides assessments and/or monitoring evaluating professional development to improve decision making in the integration of technology with instructional and organizational leadership.

1. The evaluation process uses data from several sources including:
• STaR Chart Data from past 3 years
• AEIS data
• TAKS
• Data Walks
• Teacher Surveys
• Administrator Surveys
• Parent Surveys
• QUIA surveys
2. The evaluation process will be implemented by the administrators, SIT committee, and leadership team.
3. The evaluation information will affect Campus Improvement Plan, Best Teaching Strategies, and future Professional Development.

Part 2, Assignment 2

My school prides itself on being an Academically Recognized school, starting new programs, and having several advanced ratings on the STaR chart. With that said, I believe it is very difficult to maintain such a high level of achievement while continuing to do what we have always done in the past. The learning and teaching is changing everyday so we need teachers that are changing with those trends. The area of the STaR chart that I am going to focus on is the Educator Preparations and Development. This area includes improving the skills of students currently in the education programs at universities as well as providing professional development for current teachers.

Currently progress with most districts is at the developing stage in this area and the progress from year to year has not been raised at a significant rate (<1%). The number of districts at the early stage has continued to decrease each year but the number of districts at the target area has dropped and only includes about .7% of all schools. About 24% of the budget of a district is used in this area. Although that is a great deal of the budget, it appears that the amount of money spent has not helped to raise the use of technology in the classroom. My district has continued to make progress in this area each year but needs to continue to focus on this area in order to reach the Target area.

Part of why we have continued to improve is because of the new technology that has been installed at our school and the training that has been provided. I believe this is directly related to the type of professional development that is being offered at a school and at the district level. We must get away from professional developments that are product based and begin having professional developments that are student based. In addition, these professional developments need to be hands on and focused on how we can use the product in the classroom. Having the technology at our school is great but many of the products were introduced to us at the beginning of the year and we were simply taught how to use them. Ideally, we need a day to "play" with the equipment so that we are even aware of the capabilites of the products and how we can apply that to our classroom. At some point the number of products we buy needs to slow down and we need to utilize what we have to continue challenging students and seeing technology as an instrument to help us teach, not as another class to teach.

In order to get to that Target area we need to align the TEKS with the technology and continue to write curriculum that has regular technology-supported learner-centered projects. The amount of money used for professional development also needs to increase to 30% of the budget.

Power Point For Star Chart

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Power Point For Star Chart

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Pre-K Technology Application TEKS

The Pre-K TEKS are written to prepare children to become 21st century learners. The TEKS include using and navigating through a variety of software, accessing information through technology, and using vocabulary such as mouse, keyboard, touch screen, and CD. These are the basic skills that allow children to begin using the technology that is available to them and to prepare them for their future use with technology.

One of the TEKS that is repeated grades PK - 8 is the keyboard. The foundation is set in PK where they show mastery by just knowing and identifying the keyboard. In grades K-2 they begin using the keyboard by inputting information through the keyboard. This allows multiple opportunities throughout the years to acquired the necessary skills for the next skill. In grades 3-5 students are required to use proper keyboarding techniques and again are given three years to master their skills. Grades 6-8 require students to demonstrate keyboarding proficiency in technique and posture while building speed. Each year the skills scaffold from the previous year with several years to master the skill.

Long Range Plan

The long range plan is a very comprehensive and data driven plan. As a teacher, I knew there were TEKS but had no idea of the thought that had put into the writing of the TEKS. The long term plan is very detailed and is written as a vision for the learner of the 21st century. It is divided into sections that detail the recommendations of the four major areas of the plan. That is the teaching and learning; educator preparation and development; leadership, administration, and instructional support; and infrastructure for technology. Each of these groups have goals to help achieve learners that are prepared for the 21st century.

This plan would help me as an administrator because it identifies ways in which a variety of people are able to help prepare learners in technology. It divides duties per say, for each group so that we are able to achieve the goals that are presented in the long term plan. As a teacher, we don't often see the whole picture but more of just our job. This plan opens up that window to help me see that their are a multitude of people responsible for creating 21st century learners.

Technology Assessments

Being a teacher for over 15 years, I thought that I had learned many aspects of technology and had been kept "up to date" with professional development and self training. I am also a very TEKS driven teacher so am aware of the technology TEKS. However, after taking the SETDA and the Rubric for Technology Use, I realize that I have some weaknesses in the technology area and that the TEKS are much broader then I first thought.

The Technology Applications Inventory is divided into four areas of Foundations, Information Acquistion, Solving Problems with Technology Tools, and Communication. My strength was in the area of Foundations. These are primarily the tools that I use on a daily basis and teach my students. Therefore, I have the greatest amount of confidence and tend to get better at what I know rather than learning new things.

The area in which I am weakest was Solving Problems with Technology Tools. This area uses many specific products to help create and integrate. There were many products that I was not familiar with and I'm not sure if that is because our school doesn't do much with those products or I have just chosen not to learn them.

The SETDA survey had more to do with technology at our school than what I know. Overall, we have a great technology department but we still lack professional development. We are like the school in the article that let products drive our professional development. We are starting to collect data for technology but are still in the beginning stages of collecting that data. I thought an interesting word in the survey was "expectation". The question referred to how much teachers are expected to use the computers and what products the teachers are expected to use. Our administration and district buys many products but as of yet has not set any expectations for teachers usage.

Overall, I believe that these surveys are a very accurate picture of what I know about technology and what are school is doing with technology. It also shows me that I have much to learn about technology and that in order to lead a school, I have a great deal more to learn.