Course Reflection

• What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
  I honestly had no outcomes envisioned for this course; my goal was to finally start my Masters in technology and I accepted all the struggles that were associated with that endeavor. With that being said I found the course to be both challenging and enlightening. The course has prepared me for what is expected of me in a master's program, also what I should expect to gain in each class as I further my education. EDLD 5306 has taught many applications that can be immediately integrated into to the curriculum. Although I felt that there were too many surveys in the first week I also saw how those assignments can be useful when assessing student learning styles. I intend to use the http://lth3.k12.il.us/rhampton/mi/mi.html survey as a way to assess the learning styles of my diverse learners and hope to use the results to integrate the use of technology.
  The web-conferences I found especially motivating it allowed student to address concerns and receive immediate responses. I have taken online courses prior to this and the advancement of technology has made online leaning easier and more in-depth. I must mention the Instructional Associate, Sarah, has been helpful in all aspects. If any questions arise they were answered immediately "kudos to Sarah." Although difficult, time consuming, and fast I learned a lot in my short time, enjoyed the course and welcome the next.
  
   
  
   
• 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?
  The outcomes has far superseded my expectations, and YES they are relevant to my position as a language arts teacher, the use of Wordle for example has allowed for me to instruct the students in picking out key words and become creative with the information they have internalized. I also intend on starting a Wikipage for the students that will allow them to be able to access class assignments and resources on a 24/7 basis.
  This course brought light to the different aspects that technology has to offer. As educators we must constantly educate ourselves in order to continually stimulate the minds of our students. I have always been told "Don't reinvent the wheel," Although I still agree with that statement we must frequently make improvements to the wheel in order to stay ahead of the game. I defiantly did not expect but was immensely excited to have the use of web conferences. They were one of the most useful tools of the course it allowed for personalization of the student/teacher it also allowed for the collaboration of students in regards to questions and concern of the assignments.
  
   

 

• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
  I believe that I achieved all the goals that I set for myself. Completing all assignment in the allotted time was extremely challenging, however being that I enjoy technology and my learning style is Intrapersonal the course was inline with my personal preferences. One major issue I experienced due to what I recently found out as my learning style, and not OCD, was the constant reworking of assignments that had already completed and turned in resulting in me falling behind on the more current assignments.
  
   
  
   
• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
  I was successful in completing all assignments; calendars, to do list, and the use of my Android helped to keep me organized. Trying to figure out how to incorporate the assignments along with my family life proved challenging at times. With UIL classes, choir practices, piano lessons, church activities and the list goes on and on; finding time became my biggest obstacle. Followed by the sheer number of assignments each week I tried to preview, research, and collect details before actually embarking on each project. Using this strategy was the only way that I survived this course. Although I was relieved by week three the excitement was short lived, when I realized that I needed to complete a book that I had yet to pick from the library, and write a summary of the work that allowed for my fellow classmates to understand the key points of the book without the privilege of reading it.
  
   
  
   
• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
  This course offered so many new and interesting aspects about technology that I was not aware of. My positive attitude towards the integration of more technology into schools has now increased ten folds. I must say I have no regrets, the information although essential was offered at a fast and sometimes overwhelming pace. Everything that I acquired in this course has proven to be useful and I am thrilled to start the spring semester. I have found many uses for the information received and have started incorporating my knowledge into the classroom. I am determined, now more than ever, to incorporate more technology in my class and to request more support from the administrators. I am excited to hold my first staff development in January to share with my coworkers a small part of the knowledge that I have acquired while taking this course. I know that they will be as excited as I am and will embrace the use of these new resources such as RSS feeds and Blogs.

National Educational Technology Plan

A transformation in education must take place so that as a country we will continue to lead in the global economy. The percentage of students' graduating with higher level education needs to increase from 39% to a minimum of 60%, in order for to grow the 21^st century learner to succeed they will need to be taught and learn real live application and information based on the continually changing global market. By allowing the use technology in schools for creating, finding information and resources, the traditional classroom with transform allowing students to take control of their education. In a connected teaching model, connection replaces isolation.

Classroom educators are fully connected to learning data and tools for using the data; to content, resources, and systems that empower them to create, manage, and assess engaging and relevant learning experiences. (U.S. Department of, 2010). With the inclusion of into the plan it allows for funds to be released for professional development, often the educators may not receave the necessary training allow fir the technology to not be used appropriately or not at all.

U.S. Department of Education, National Educational Technology Plan. (2010). Transforming american education: learning powered by technology Retrieved from www.ed.gov/technology

 

Campus Tchnology Plan Presentation

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District Technology Plan

     The goals included in the technology plan for Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District (GCCISD) are as follows, "GCCISD will provide technology for literacy, integration and transformative learning to prepare students to successfully live, learn and work in the Digital Age. Our wireless infrastructure provides connectivity for ultra mobile devices, laptops, smart tablets, interactive white boards, classroom performance systems, iPods, document cameras, and more. Technology will be incorporated in all areas of the curriculum. Staff development will focus on teaching the existing curriculum with technology. Curriculum and Instruction will continue to build the Information Management System that will provide stakeholders information on student performance and align the curriculum vertically and horizontally. This technology will be used to collect data and to analyze it to best serve each student's individual needs." (York)

     With a total budget 3,144,643.00, the district intends to provide professional development opportunities for teachers by adding additional classroom interactive hardware and software with a budget of 470,000.00. Also provide all instructional staff with training in teaching with technology the budget for this objective: $816,642.00. Person(s) Responsible: Director TMS Director.

     To ensure that the plan is working effectively it must be evaluated GCCISD has devised a system with includes mentoring and documenting progress results. Timelines will also be established for a variety of projects. Constant evaluation on the plans effectiveness and usefulness for the students with in our district. The people responsible for these tasks are Director of Educational Technology, Director of Technology Management Services, Director of Maintenance and Operations, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, the Superintendent's executive council and the board of trustees. With the use of Texas Star chart teachers and principals, benchmarks, educational Technology assessment GCCISD intends to correctly assess the progress and make any necessary modifications to the plan..

York, T. Department of Education, GCCISD. (n.d.). Goose creek cisd technology plan for e-rate year 12 Retrieved from http://schools.gccisd.net/docs/38-Tech%20e-Plan%202009-2012.pdf

Technology Assessment

     Gone is the day of assessing technology literacy with questions such as, are you familiar with word processing and the ten-key. Educator must now be familiar with software that is able to compose, modify, and adapt to the change of the 21^st Century Learner. Of course we must start with ourselves as educators, in order to use technology we must first understand its usefulness. Educators are offered many in-service professional developments however I have yet to one that offers the use of basic software application such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel etc… Hmmmn, don't we all know how to use these software application? NO, many are only familiar with the basic function of Word; PowerPoint blows their mind, not to mention what the "boxes" in Excel means.

     Assessing or educators is very important, school districts must be aware of level of technology efficiency that an educator has. This information will allow IT to determine level of assistance they may need to accommodate the 21^st Century Educator followed by the 21^st Century Learner. Once we have assessed the teachers and educated them, then technology can be incorporated technology into the lessons allowing for more project-based leaning applications.

     That will afford teacher s the opportunity to assess the students and adjust to accommodate the needs of students. At times the cart is placed before the horse, technology leaders find great new products and purchases them for schools, these schools are used as pilot programs however often training of the educator on its usefulness are not done effectively. Of course the Technology is available but if the training and assess of its usefulness it becomes a waste of funds also a lost opportunity for our students.
Of course there will be pros and cons, one the major pros is in allows the student to be more involved in his/her learning, along with taking ownership of their education. At times when I am lecturing I wonder if the kids feel like Charlie Brown in school listening to his teacher Ms. Donovan going "blah, blah, Blah."
"We can create and publish as easily as we read, and we must teach our students to leverage this ability and add their own work to the global conversation in meaningful ways. If the bulk of what we ask our students to do centers around paper passed back and forth in the classroom we are doing students a grave disservice."


Richardson, W. (2007, March). The online edge. Retrieved from www.DistrictAdministration.com

Web Conference

I have finally started my Masters “yeah me,” this evening I completed my second web conference.  Although it may be a bit difficult at times to schedule time for a web conference, with our lives being as busy as it is, I find that it is resourceful way of connecting with my classmates. It is also very useful to be able to put faces with names and work in a group setting. The  Web Conferences also gave me an opportunity to connect with the instructor in a nontraditional class setting and addressed any questions or concerns that I and many of my fellow classmates may have. Indeed technology is changing, and I for one welcome the change.

Also, during the web conference I received clarity on what is expected of me in a masters program, I did not read an email and assume tone, rather was able to hear clear expectations from the instructor. We were informed of Items that we need to focus on, as well as any  downloads that may be necessary. With class being so fast paced I found the application very useful as we can quickly fall behind, if not careful.