Week 5 Assignment: Course Reflection
The components of the Instructional Leadership course proved to be very interesting throughout the past five weeks. I was impressed with the amount of literature that our course professors provided and was a little overwhelmed at times. Although it was very time consuming, the literature provided masses of useful information to the technology side of our educational system. The discussions with our colleagues also proved to be very beneficial in answering questions or concerns regarding the technology plan. I really expected to do some form of project in this course integrating classroom lessons with technological devices. I did not expect to spend the majority of the course posting comments on the discussion board about the various components of the technology plan. This learning objective proved to be very beneficial in order for me to gain knowledge of certain items related to educational technology. I really thought the creation of the power point presentations and my own blog site helped bridge the gap between my thoughts on the course and the actual outcomes. This course proved to be very beneficial for my current job because our new superintendent is very adamant about incorporating more phases of technology into our school system. He fully supports blogging, twitter, and the use of cell phone technology for educational purposes. I really reflected on his words and visions for our school district while I navigated through this course.
The only negative aspect of this course is that I felt I did not fully engage in the four domains of technology applications. There is a lot of content involved and a school leader must research and stay current with that content in order to be an effective campus administrator. I also felt like I could’ve learned more about the Technology Application TEKS and what must be covered by specific grade levels. As I navigated through each week of this course, I felt overwhelmed at times because I didn’t know if I was tying all of the information together. After the completion of some of my assignments, I questioned whether I did them right or not. I tried to cover the information and follow the course rubrics to the best of my abilities and finalize a product that could benefit the students and teachers on my campus.
This course allowed me to realize that I have a lot to learn about educational technology applications. Technology is reaching new heights in our society and our schools are falling behind because of financial burdens, lack of knowledge from campus leaders and teachers, and stakeholder differences. I have learned that we must find new and creative ways to integrate technology into our schools. Our students are gaining knowledge outside of school at a rapid pace and we need to apply that knowledge to every campus curriculum. I feel like I have become a more innovative thinker after the past five weeks. I am already thinking of ways to improve the technology in my Physical Education classes. This past week I purchased a Nintendo Wii in hopes to improve the physical activity of our unmotivated students. The excitement of playing computer games at school has really caught fire and with the installation of the Wii the students will be able to physically exercise while playing. Some administrators may look down upon this approach to Physical Education, but I believe it is solving the problem of lack of participation in these classes.
My attitude has changed towards the way we use technological devices in education. I am still against using cell phones in the classroom and I am not convinced that twitter is a productive tool, but I do like the idea of blogging. I didn’t think I would until I completed the assignment and created my own blog. Blogging seems to be a fast and easy way to provide information to a large number of people who are interested in the related content. Community stakeholders and school districts can benefit from educational blogging. I intend on posting all my basketball and golf information to my blog for anyone to follow. Newspaper reporters can follow the blog and get updated information on game reports and stats and parents can get important information while communicating with their coach. The same would work for classroom teachers as well. Students could collaborate with one another on projects and assignment through blogging. The only concern is the monitoring of the student sites to make sure they are following acceptable use policy guidelines. The possibilities are great, but require extensive work and effort by school personnel. Parents must also be willing to put in the time to help our educators integrate the proper technology into our schools. Technology will continue to grow and be a vital part of our educational system and we must continue to learn and educate one another while we implement it into our schools.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Action Plan Power Point
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Action Plan Power Point
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Sunday, November 29, 2009
TEXAS STaR CHART POWER POINT
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Texas S Ta R Chart Power Point
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WEEK 2: STaR Chart Analysis (Teaching & Learning)
I chose this area of the STaR Chart because I feel that our campus needs the most improvement in integrating technology as a whole into our classrooms. Our campus has several fascinating teachers who utilize resources and integrate technology on a daily basis. Our campus also has teachers who are set in their ways and refuse to apply technology integration into their classroom. After conducting the analysis, our campus needs improvement in the TL1 and TL6 areas. To get to the target tech phase, we must continue to improve with the integration of student-centered learning and technology. Online learning must continue as well. The three year trend shows that our campus can only reach the advanced tech phase. We must strive to improve in these weak areas to reach the target phase so our campus may reach the goals of the long range technology plan.
One way to improve the patterns of classroom use is to work collaboratively with our communities businesses, industries, and higher education institutions. Having the support of these stakeholders will allow our students to apply technology in real world application. We must challenge our students to become problem solvers. Textbooks are a good start, but collaborating with other stakeholders will allow students an wider range of opportunities to become real world problem solvers.
One way to improve our online learning is to continue to educate our teachers on web-based lesson planning and teaching. Providing our teachers time to implement this technology into their daily lessons is the key to successfully improving this area in the STaR chart. Most teachers are willing and eager to implement technology into their classrooms, but few want to spend hours away from their families doing that. Our campus must find ways to utilize time to allow those teachers the opportunities to integrate that technology into their lessons.
One way to improve the patterns of classroom use is to work collaboratively with our communities businesses, industries, and higher education institutions. Having the support of these stakeholders will allow our students to apply technology in real world application. We must challenge our students to become problem solvers. Textbooks are a good start, but collaborating with other stakeholders will allow students an wider range of opportunities to become real world problem solvers.
One way to improve our online learning is to continue to educate our teachers on web-based lesson planning and teaching. Providing our teachers time to implement this technology into their daily lessons is the key to successfully improving this area in the STaR chart. Most teachers are willing and eager to implement technology into their classrooms, but few want to spend hours away from their families doing that. Our campus must find ways to utilize time to allow those teachers the opportunities to integrate that technology into their lessons.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS Summary
The Pre-K technology applications TEKS are composed of ten different domains. These domains include social and emotional development, language and communication, emergent literacy reading and writing, math, science, social studies, fine arts, physical development, and technology. Each of these domains contains skill areas and six of those domains include expectations for the child by 48 months of age and end of year outcomes for Prekindergarten students. The domains also include examples of child behavior and instructional strategies.
The social and emotional development domain are composed of self concept skills, self control skills, social competence skills, and social awareness skills. This domain describes childrens' transformation from the toddler stage and they start to identify feelings, thoughts, ideas, and become aware of their body in space. This domain also describes how rules and routines help students improve their self control skills. Organized classrooms are key components to developing this skill. Students also start to develop their social competence skills by developing special relationships with adults and other students.
In the language and communication domain, listening comprehension skills, speaking skills, speech production skills, vocabulary skills, and sentence and structure skills are described. This domain is very important because this is where the child understands what is being said and how to respons appropriately. The child also starts using language for different purposes and engages in conversation. Adults start to understand the child's speech and the child perceives differences between similar sounding words. In addition to these skills, the child develops a vocabulary to describe people, places, things, and actions. These first two domains set the tone for the following domains where students become motivated to read and learn the alphabet. They begin to retell stories and compare and contrast. The student begins to scribble and write to convey meaning.
In the mathematics domain, the student can identify objects and count up to ten with number words. The child begins to indentify the objects to be counted. The student can also indentify shapes and measure objects appropriately. In the science domain, the main objective for students is to describe, observe, and investigate properties and characteristics of common objects. In the social studies domain, the student identifies similarities and differences in people and families. They also organize their life around events, time, and routines. The child also identifies the flags of the United States and Texas and begins to learn the Pledge of Allegiance. In the fine arts domain, the student explores a wide variety of materials and make discoveries about color, shape, and texture through art experiences. In the physcial development domain, the student develops motor skills through action. This is done by using manipulatives and participating in activites. The technology domain exposes the student to new technologies and introduces them to computers. They learn how to use devices such as keyboards, mouse pads, software, sound recorders, and other devices.
The Pre-K TEKS are very instrumental in laying the foundation for student performance in future grades. These guidelines are the basis for learning. Students must be able to master these TEKS before they can move on to the next grade levels. Knowing how to read, write, associate words, count, identify events, collect data, and use technology all have to be improved on and mastered to meet the expectations of the future grades.
The social and emotional development domain are composed of self concept skills, self control skills, social competence skills, and social awareness skills. This domain describes childrens' transformation from the toddler stage and they start to identify feelings, thoughts, ideas, and become aware of their body in space. This domain also describes how rules and routines help students improve their self control skills. Organized classrooms are key components to developing this skill. Students also start to develop their social competence skills by developing special relationships with adults and other students.
In the language and communication domain, listening comprehension skills, speaking skills, speech production skills, vocabulary skills, and sentence and structure skills are described. This domain is very important because this is where the child understands what is being said and how to respons appropriately. The child also starts using language for different purposes and engages in conversation. Adults start to understand the child's speech and the child perceives differences between similar sounding words. In addition to these skills, the child develops a vocabulary to describe people, places, things, and actions. These first two domains set the tone for the following domains where students become motivated to read and learn the alphabet. They begin to retell stories and compare and contrast. The student begins to scribble and write to convey meaning.
In the mathematics domain, the student can identify objects and count up to ten with number words. The child begins to indentify the objects to be counted. The student can also indentify shapes and measure objects appropriately. In the science domain, the main objective for students is to describe, observe, and investigate properties and characteristics of common objects. In the social studies domain, the student identifies similarities and differences in people and families. They also organize their life around events, time, and routines. The child also identifies the flags of the United States and Texas and begins to learn the Pledge of Allegiance. In the fine arts domain, the student explores a wide variety of materials and make discoveries about color, shape, and texture through art experiences. In the physcial development domain, the student develops motor skills through action. This is done by using manipulatives and participating in activites. The technology domain exposes the student to new technologies and introduces them to computers. They learn how to use devices such as keyboards, mouse pads, software, sound recorders, and other devices.
The Pre-K TEKS are very instrumental in laying the foundation for student performance in future grades. These guidelines are the basis for learning. Students must be able to master these TEKS before they can move on to the next grade levels. Knowing how to read, write, associate words, count, identify events, collect data, and use technology all have to be improved on and mastered to meet the expectations of the future grades.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Technology Long Range Plan
I just completed reviewing the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology for 2006-2020. This plan was divided into four domains and broken down into different segments for our assignment. The vision for this plan is quite simple. Digital tools and resources should be provided by the educational system to all students, educators, parents, and stakeholders. This vision is also broken down into three phases throughout the fourteen years. The area of vision include educator preparation, leadership, professional development, teaching and learning, infrastructure, and administration and instructional support.
The state of our global economic system is causing the need for technological change in our schools. State leadership is responsible for providing direction, equitable access, and resources to close the gap with other countries. The 21st century learner is more than likely technology savvy. It is the educational system's responsibility to provide content that relates to the student's learning style. Personal and portable learning devices need to be integrated into our learning environments because they are coming a primary means of communication in our global world.
Teachers need to a voice in the technology advancement of their campuses. From previous surveys, most teachers believe that schools need fast, wireless internet and laptop computers for every student in order to be successful. These two components are the highest ranked in building a school. Another component is providing teachers time to participate in technology professional development opportunities.
Schools want each student to be involved in engaging and meaningful lessons. In order to achieve this, students must have availability in schools, libraries, homes, and communities to stimulate their engagement. Distance learning and online learning are key components in the educational technology system.
In order to provide engaging lessons, teachers must be allowed ample time to complete professional development opportunities. Professional development must ensure that all teachers understand the importance of educational technology and its uses. Distance learning is key for professional growth.
Public education must involve a transformation to meet the demands of the 21st century. Our schools must prepare our students for the workforce. Administrators must embrace technology for daily task and data driven decision making. Leaders must be aware of all regulations regarding technology in schools and be able to implement different strategies in relation to the district's technology plan.
The infrastructure is the critical element for all four areas of the long range plan. The infrastructure must be safe, flexible, scalable, and reliable. It will provide easy access for teachers and students to information, resources, materials, and collaborative work. It will also provide easy access to student data for parents, teachers, and administrators.
The long range plan is great tool for leaders to use when implementing technology on their campuses. The star chart is a tool used by most districts to determine the levels of technology in the classroom. Each area has recommendations by the appropriate agencies as well. The main goal is maintain cohesion between the state and local agencies.
The state of our global economic system is causing the need for technological change in our schools. State leadership is responsible for providing direction, equitable access, and resources to close the gap with other countries. The 21st century learner is more than likely technology savvy. It is the educational system's responsibility to provide content that relates to the student's learning style. Personal and portable learning devices need to be integrated into our learning environments because they are coming a primary means of communication in our global world.
Teachers need to a voice in the technology advancement of their campuses. From previous surveys, most teachers believe that schools need fast, wireless internet and laptop computers for every student in order to be successful. These two components are the highest ranked in building a school. Another component is providing teachers time to participate in technology professional development opportunities.
Schools want each student to be involved in engaging and meaningful lessons. In order to achieve this, students must have availability in schools, libraries, homes, and communities to stimulate their engagement. Distance learning and online learning are key components in the educational technology system.
In order to provide engaging lessons, teachers must be allowed ample time to complete professional development opportunities. Professional development must ensure that all teachers understand the importance of educational technology and its uses. Distance learning is key for professional growth.
Public education must involve a transformation to meet the demands of the 21st century. Our schools must prepare our students for the workforce. Administrators must embrace technology for daily task and data driven decision making. Leaders must be aware of all regulations regarding technology in schools and be able to implement different strategies in relation to the district's technology plan.
The infrastructure is the critical element for all four areas of the long range plan. The infrastructure must be safe, flexible, scalable, and reliable. It will provide easy access for teachers and students to information, resources, materials, and collaborative work. It will also provide easy access to student data for parents, teachers, and administrators.
The long range plan is great tool for leaders to use when implementing technology on their campuses. The star chart is a tool used by most districts to determine the levels of technology in the classroom. Each area has recommendations by the appropriate agencies as well. The main goal is maintain cohesion between the state and local agencies.
Technology Assessments
Both of these assessments reflect the impact of technology and the effects it has on our school systems. One of the assessments is geared towards the knowledge base that one might have about computer systems and the other assessment is geared towards finding out the state of your district's technology plan.
In the first assessment (Technology Applications Inventory), I rarely answered no to any of the questions. I answered yes to all of the questions in the foundation domain. I still lack knowledge in these areas, but I know enough to figure things out in those specific areas. I would say my biggest weakness in the foundation domain is delineateing between the various digital file formats. In the information acquistion domain, I need some extended knowledge in understanding the difference between and use appropriately vector graphic files and bit-mapped graphic files. In the problem solving with technology tools domain, I chose to pursue extra information pertaining to creating linear and non-linear multimedia projects and using interactive virtual environments, such as virtual reality or simulations. In the communications domain, I chose to gain knowledge in tracking trends, setting timelines, and evaluating products using technology tools such as database managers, planners, and project management tools. This assessment was a very good gauge of my computer literacy skills.
In the second assessment (State Educational Technology Directors Association), I tried to answer the survey questions to the best of my ability in relation to the technoloy goals and objectives within my school district. I feel like our school district provides this information to a certain extent to our students. Our students are using technology resources on a daily basis, but I do feel like they could spend more time utilizing technology resources. I teach PE so it is hard for me to get a good idea of how much technology is being used in the classrooms. I do know that I am in the process of implementing a fitness and game program into my PE curriculum that will allow me to utilize a Nintendo Wii system. I hope to enhance student learning and engagement by providing them with a fun and technology based environment. I would love to some day create a virtual exercise reality center for our PE students. For example, we could compet in the Tour de France on a stationary bike or run the Boston Marathon on the treadmill.
These assessments are very accurate for the progress of technology in school districts. I have started thinking of ways to enhance technology in my PE classes after taking these assessments.
In the first assessment (Technology Applications Inventory), I rarely answered no to any of the questions. I answered yes to all of the questions in the foundation domain. I still lack knowledge in these areas, but I know enough to figure things out in those specific areas. I would say my biggest weakness in the foundation domain is delineateing between the various digital file formats. In the information acquistion domain, I need some extended knowledge in understanding the difference between and use appropriately vector graphic files and bit-mapped graphic files. In the problem solving with technology tools domain, I chose to pursue extra information pertaining to creating linear and non-linear multimedia projects and using interactive virtual environments, such as virtual reality or simulations. In the communications domain, I chose to gain knowledge in tracking trends, setting timelines, and evaluating products using technology tools such as database managers, planners, and project management tools. This assessment was a very good gauge of my computer literacy skills.
In the second assessment (State Educational Technology Directors Association), I tried to answer the survey questions to the best of my ability in relation to the technoloy goals and objectives within my school district. I feel like our school district provides this information to a certain extent to our students. Our students are using technology resources on a daily basis, but I do feel like they could spend more time utilizing technology resources. I teach PE so it is hard for me to get a good idea of how much technology is being used in the classrooms. I do know that I am in the process of implementing a fitness and game program into my PE curriculum that will allow me to utilize a Nintendo Wii system. I hope to enhance student learning and engagement by providing them with a fun and technology based environment. I would love to some day create a virtual exercise reality center for our PE students. For example, we could compet in the Tour de France on a stationary bike or run the Boston Marathon on the treadmill.
These assessments are very accurate for the progress of technology in school districts. I have started thinking of ways to enhance technology in my PE classes after taking these assessments.
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