Course Reflections - EDLD 5306

It has been seven years since I graduated from Texas Tech with my BBA and what a journey it has been. I have been contemplating a Graduate Degree for several years now, but most of the degrees offered were in School Administration. I really have no desire to become a Vice Principal or Principal. I left the business world, because I did not like politics, and I do not want to move into school politics. When I saw the Educational Technology Leadership degree from Lamar Univ., I got very excited. This was the first degree I had seen that focused on technology. The first course was Intro to Ed Tech. I was nervous about going back to "school" and all the things that come with it like the books and tuition, the research papers and everything else. I was excited though and I thought this will be great. The class should teach me about using technology in the classroom and how to lead other people in using technology. The class was slightly different than I thought. I did learn some new technologies and have already started incorporating them into my class. But the class discussed much more than specific technologies. The topics ranged from national technology standards to budgets to performance indicators and an internship. Come to find out, this degree is an administration degree with an emphasis on technology. It's not exactly what I had in mind, but I think it will work. At the end of the class, I will be able to test for my administration certificate. Again, I have no plans to become a school administrator, but I do think this will open doors for jobs of technology facilitator or leader at the District level. The pace of the course is very fast, and my head is still spinning. They have crammed a semesters worth of material into five weeks. I will definitely have to get used to work quickly and efficiently on my assignments, so that I do not get behind.

There have been several assignments in this course that have been useful and some that will eventually be useful. At first, I did not enjoy creating a Wordle (www.wordle.net) or an Animoto (www.animoto.com). I felt these activities were basically used in ELA classes and they were a waste of time for me since I teach Math. However, I have already incorporated a Wordle into a vocabulary activity for my math improvement class. I haven't touched Animoto again, but it will be in the back of my mind for later use. There were also the research assignments on the national technology standards and other budgetary things. In my current position as a math teacher, these topics don't help me that much. But, I eventually want to transition to a higher level job in the district and these topics should be very useful then and show that I am a knowledgeable and qualified candidate. I also found it very interesting in the technology standards that are written for administration. We have several administrators that are very knowledgeable in these, and we have some "old school" administrators that have some work to do.

One of the assignments in this course was to write a brief two-page paper on a given topic. I chose to write about cyber ethics, but the paper did not really ever get written. I basically ran out of time. With the class only being five weeks long, we have a new assignment every week. And these are multiple part assignments. Some weeks were a little easier than others. But this paper came at the end of a longer assignment and it just didn't happen. I analyzed the rubric for the assignment and figured that this paper wasn't as important as the other parts of the assignment and it got pushed to a back burner. This is completely my fault and caused by my lack of time management skills. This is definitely something I will have to work on in my next class. I do think cyber ethics are an important part of the technology learning process, but I dropped the ball on completing this paper.

However, I would say I was successful at carrying out 90% of the course assignments. I have an A in the class so far, and I feel I have done a decent job. It was a very steep learning curve and I am writing this last part of the Week 5 assignment at 8:45pm on Sunday. This class officially ends at 11:59pm this evening. And this is how most of my assignments have gone. It has been very hard juggling a full time teaching job, with a wife and a 14-month-old daughter. So far it has been work all week, have family time on Saturday and cram the assignments in on Sunday, then rinse and repeat. I am still trying to figure out how to juggle all these things and still be successful. I will definitely need to start working on the assignments during the week so that it is not all crammed into the weekend. What scares me now are all the Internship Requirements. When am I going to have time to go to School Board meetings and everything else? Luckily I have a very loving and supportive wife and an extended family that will step in and help whenever we need it.

The lack of time management skills aside, I have learned much about the technology landscape and myself. I have learned that I really do know a lot about technology and that I should be a great resource in helping others incorporate technology into their classes. I have also learned that I am lacking in skills at seeing the broader picture. In meeting with my site mentor, I am always focusing on the implementation level, and not on the leadership level. My site mentor has been great at making my look at the bigger picture. He has suggested to me "to find an area of change, get involved, and then to ride that wave...There will be voids in these areas [of technology], and if you position yourself correctly, you will have some great opportunities to learn and grow." I know I also need to work on my leadership skills. I typically shy away from responsibility and do not like being in charge. I really like being a support person. I will definitely be "pushed" throughout this program. But, I am riding this wave to end. Hopefully I end up on a nice cushy beach and not being slammed into the corral reef by the wave.

Web Conference - EDLD 5306 Wk5

This weeks web conference was moved to Tuesday at 8pm. And I actually had 2 back-to-back conferences that night. The first web conf was from my school and discussed specific social media technologies and how to incorporate them into the classroom. it was very informative and I have already tried using Cover-It-Live.

The EDLD 5306 conference this week was VERY helpful. Ms. Borel showed us how to break down the Internship Plan and the Principal Competencies into manageable pieces. This assignment had 8 areas broken into 33 topics and 78 activities, which makes you cringe just thinking about where to start. But, she gave a document which showed a breakdown of each activity and what page number to look up in the textbook. After that it was fairly easy. We also discussed the 300 hours required in the internship. 150 hours are embedded in the classes and 150 hours are on our own and the activities are laid out in the Internship Plan and Principal Competencies. There was also a document that had a to-do list for upcoming classes and activities. I was also able to share my Wordle activity I did in class with my students finding all the vocabulary words they did not know from the TAKS test. All in all it was very informative and helped me better understand the upcoming assignment.

Web Conference - EDLD 5306 Wk4

I missed last weeks web conference, but I am glad I attended this one. The conference discussed the requirements and benefits of the TK20 system. I have poked around it a little and noticed that it will be a good tool to build and maintain a portfolio of my work throughout Grad School. I am also glad that the professor broke down the Internship documents. Just reading over them, they are quite scary. But after the explanation, they are pretty simple. This must be how my students feel. They must see Algebra for the first time and run away in fear. Hopefully I am there to break it down into small manageable chunks.

I also received information on my wiki site. I asked if I could put all of my Grad School stuff under one link, so that I could start building the site for use at school with my Algebra 1 class. Unfortunately, they have a specific way they want to see the wiki, and suggested that I develop another site for use with Algebra 1 class. I'm not all that thrilled about this, but it probably won't be that hard to make another site.

Introducing Me

Introducing Me

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

E-Rate and Irving ISD

National Education Technology Plan - NETP - Wk 2 Assignment

The National Education Technology Plan (NETP) was developed to achieve the goal of having the U.S., again, leading the world in college graduates.  By leveraging technology and fostering a community of life-long learners, this goal is attainable.  The plan is broken up into five categories: Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure and Productivity.

For learning, the NETP expects all students to have a "engaging and empowering learning experiences" (National Education Technology Plan [NETP], 2010).  There should be a core set of standards that form the basis of what should be learn.  And from those standards, students and educators should have the option to design whatever type of engaging instruction needed to accomplish this goal.

For assessment, the NETP expects the education system to develop more authentic and timely ways to measure a student’s success and adjust as needed.  This includes the use of data to drive decisions and continually improve learning.

For teaching, the NETP expects all educators to leverage technology to improve learning and assessment and connect students to 24/7 resources.  The NETP addresses the technology gap between educators and the 21st century professionals, and expects the education system to develop programs to teach educators how to incorporate relevant technology and integrate connected learning environments.

For infrastructure, the NETP expects all students and educators to have access to a robust and diverse set of technology and access to the various networks needed for successful connected learning environments.

For productivity, the NETP expects the education system to redesign the processes and structures, at all levels, to leverage the power of technology to transform the learning environment to meet the needs of a new generation of learners.

The NETP is a very well defined plan to increase the use of technology to improve the overall learning environment for all stakeholders.  One limiting factor that I do not see addressed and is a problem I experience in my own teaching career deals with access in low income populations.  My students all have laptop computers provided by the school and have full access to the internet and outside communities while at school.  But many of my student's families cannot afford broadband internet access at home and this limits the 24/7 connected learning environments these students can be involved in.  I understand that students' home lives may lie outside the purview of the NETP, but until this aspect is addressed, the success of many of the initiatives may be limited.  One solution to this problem has worked in my community.  The school district has partnered with many local businesses to provide free Wi-Fi access to the students.  So, the students may not have broadband at home, but they can visit many businesses around the community to maintain access to their 24/7 connected learning environments.

National Education Technology Plan [NETP], 2010 - Transforming American Education,  Learning Powered by Technology - National Education Technology Plan 2010 - U.S. Department of Education - 

http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf

School District Technology Plan - Wk 2 Assignment

The Irving Independent School District (Irving ISD) understands that to ensure their students will be successful in the 21st century, they must be provided a technologically diverse learning environment.  To plan for this learning environment, Irving ISD has developed a Long Range Technology Plan (LRTP) that sets out several goals and encompasses four components: "Teaching and Learning, Professional Development, Administrative and Support Services, and Infrastructure for Technology" (Irving ISD, 2010). 

Under Teaching and Learning, Irving ISD has developed these goals:

• GOAL 1: Infuse higher level thinking with technology and quality instruction to ensure engaging learning experiences for all teachers and students. 
• GOAL 2: Support assessment and planning through the use of technology. 
• GOAL 3: Educate all students and teachers in responsible technology use.

Under Professional Development, Irving ISD has developed this goal:

• GOAL 4: Ensure educator professional development is on‐going, high quality, based on the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), and increasing in rigor so that student learning and 21st century skills are increased.

Under Administrative and Support Services, Irving ISD has developed these goals:

• GOAL 5: Ensure 100% administrative participation in appropriate, current and new software programs. 
• GOAL 6: Provide leadership to leverage technology for the improvement of teaching and learning in every classroom daily.

And, under Infrastructure for Technology, Irving ISD has developed this goal:

• GOAL 7: Ensure a stable and robust infrastructure for technology use.

Each of these goals is broken into subsections and lists specific strategies, timelines, stakeholders, and evidence of progress.  It is a very robust and complete plan, with goals attainable in the timelines set.  The plan also includes a breakdown of the budget requirements and specific funding sources needed for each goal.

One of the main aspects of the plan is the Professional Development guidelines listed in Goal 4.  There are 18 sub-categories and a budget of $4.3 million over the three year plan.  Many of the aspects of the plan are continuations of existing staff development programs that include: Levels of Technology Implementation (LoTI) training, professional learning communities through shared environments (i.e. Blackboard, wikis, online tools), and others programs.  The staff development plan does not discuss too many specific software programs or equipment, but rather focuses types of technology and their successful implementation in the class room.  Trainings are available for all stakeholders in the school district, from the classroom teacher to the school administrators and district-level support staff.

Each goal and sub-categories have specific criterion listed for evidence of successful implementation and completion.  Many of these criterions are data driven, like an increase of 10% in the attendance of certain staff developments.  The other criterions are based on visual inspection of the training sessions.  Professional development is the responsibility of Content Coordinators, the Director of Staff Development, the Director of Instructional Technology and the Technology Coordinators.

Irving ISD has researched and developed a contingency plan if the "E-rate" program is discontinued. (Goal 7, Strategy 7.2.9, Irving ISD, 2010).  They have developed the plan to monitor the progress of the LRTP by utilizing usage data and STaR Charts from the Texas Education Agency.

Irving ISD, 2010 - Long Range Technology Plan 2010-2013 - http://www.irvingisd.net/technology/documents/lrtp.pdf