Course Reflection 5306

I envisioned that I would get an overview of what educational technology leadership was all about. I believe that this course has done just that. We studied everything from ethics, to technology plans, to TEKS. I think I achieved the outcomes that I envisioned and more. I did some things that were difficult, but necessary for my success. I also thought that I would learn a lot about how to do more things on the technology side. I learned how to create a blog and wiki as well as how to attend a web conference. There were some aspects that I didn’t know what to expect or envision, so a lot was new to me. It is hard to say if the actual course outcomes aligned with those I envisioned. I didn’t have a lot envisioned – I didn’t know what to expect. I know that I have learned a lot through this class and improved on the skills that I already had; as well as learning new skills.
The outcomes are somewhat relevant to the work I do in my school in that I am able to think more about incorporating technology into my lessons. I am more aware of what my students are doing on the Internet and how I can teach them about cyber-bullying, ethics, and safety. I also understand why the STaR Chart is important and that Texas has a long-range plan for technology. I used to fill out the STaR Chart because it was a requirement, but now it has meaning to me. I can see how our district is aligned and planning to meet technology goals. I would like to use blogs and wikis in my classroom, but there are strict rules against such use. I never used to think that those things had a place in a classroom, but now I see a need for them. I believe the things I have learned are being applied to how I teach.
There were some outcomes that I did not achieve. When I took some of the self-evaluations in Week 1, I realized that I was lacking in some of the areas. I thought that I would learn how to use certain things like Internet research, web-publishing skills, and graphics usage. Although there were lots of new things I learned, I had hope to touch on those previously listed above. I hope that I do learn those things that I don’t know a lot about. I don’t believe anything in the course prevented me from achieving them; they just weren’t addressed. I have not had time to do those things on my own, to teach myself. I do believe that I will learn how to do these things by the time I finish the program.
I think I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I was able to complete them all to the best of my abilities and followed the rubrics for maximum points. I scored very well on most assignments. On one assignment, Week 3, I scored lower than all other assignments and was unsure why. I had followed all directions as stated in the assignment and read the rubric to make sure I had done everything correctly. I’m not sure what happened. I also struggled to upload my site-mentor agreement to my wikispace. It seemed like a simple task, but took me hours. I had a new computer, new printer/scanner and had never tried to upload a file to a wiki before. After trial and error, I learned how to do it. It was discouraging at first, but when I overcame the barrier, I felt awesome!
I learned a lot about myself and my attitude from this course. I learned that I achieve this goal and dream if I just tried. Long ago, I had envisioned that someday I would get a masters degree. I always had excuses and recently it seemed as if it would never happen. Through much thought and support from my family, I decided to just do it. I have always tried to keep a positive attitude, and this course has encouraged me to keep it up! I have learned and assessed where I am with my technology and leadership skills. I have also taken steps to improve those skills. I have also learned how to rely on others to reach my goal. I always try to do things on my own and don’t ask for help. I was required to secure a site-mentor and in the process I ended up with two of them! Never in my wildest dreams would I have done that on my own. The best thing is that they are both very open to helping me out. Both my mentors are knowledgeable in their areas and are going to teach me and encourage me to meet my goal.

Validation

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Blog Posting #3

The National Educational Technology Plan has goals set in place.  This is great because every plan needs a goal.  The goal in mind is to raise the number of people in the U.S. who have a two or four year college degree, and make sure that all high school students who graduate are prepared for college and careers. There five strategies to get there.  The first strategy is learning. This strategy talks about how we must personalize their learning.  We can do that by figuring our what kind of learners they are, what they need to learn, how will they learn best (in large groups, small groups, etc.), and technology resources should be available for them to utilize.  The community and outside leaders should be involved in their learning as well. The second strategy is assessment. In summary, technology based assessments that use higher-level thinking skills as well as improve student performance.  The third strategy stated is teaching.  It talks about using a “connected teaching model”, where classrooms and teachers are connected to technology learning tools that will enable students to be self-directed learners. Online learning communities are used.  Professional development is no longer necessary because teachers will be collaborating with other teachers and sharing information. Strategy four is infrastructure.  We should provide teachers and students with the resources they require; everything from software to people. In the fifth strategy, productivity, the goal is to repurpose and rethink our system for educating students.  It suggests that students not be grouped by age but by learning pace and content.  Also, online learning is suggested as a way to increase the school year or amount of time devoted to learning. We should redesign the way we think about school and individualize learning to fit the student.  Following these strategies would certainly put the U.S. on the right path to reaching the goal that was previously stated.

Jana Dugas EDLD 5306 Section 8038 August 31, 2011

Blog Posting #2

Our district has a technology plan, but each campus also has one.  I reviewed the district technology plan, which is imbedded in our campus improvement plan.  The most recent plan available online was from 2008-2009.  That is the document I used for this assignment.  Under Goal 6: Vidor ISD will maintain a safe and disciplined environment conductive to student learning, Strategy 2 is Technology- Acceptable Use Policies.  This lines up with having a realistic strategy for using telecommunications and information technology.  Goal 8: Technology will be implemented to increase the effectiveness of student learning, instructional management, staff development and administration at Vidor ISD.  Strategy 1 is Technology and student learning.  It talks about expanding technology into classrooms, expanding the technological infrastructure, increasing the number of teachers using internet and software systems to integrate technology, and students extending their education through electronic resources. This strategy covers the element of an assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services needed. It also addresses professional development strategies. Strategy 2: Technology instructional management; addresses instructional management software tools have been introduced into the classroom. This also goes with the element of an assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services needed. Strategy 3: Technology- staff development; it states that professionals have access to Region V ESC Professional Development programs, as well as that faculty and staff that is comfortable with and proficient in electronic environments.  This supports the professional development strategy element. I did not find any elements of budget resources; there was a part of the plan that stated source of funds, but all strategies listed “none”. All of the strategies had ongoing evaluation process.  Campuses throughout the school year, by a committee, evaluate this plan. The administrators are responsible for making sure that the telecommunication services; hardware, software, and other services are being assessed. The evaluation process occurs when the committee meets every quarter.  They collect data and report on activity, therefore making corrections.

Jana Dugas EDLD 5308 Section 8038 August 31, 2011

Blog Posting #1

It is valuable to assess educators’ technology leadership knowledge and skills.  As an educator, you constantly assess students.  You want to know if they are learning and if there needs to be an intervention.  In the same way that we assess our students, I believe teachers should be assessed as well.  Otherwise, how will we know where we are going or if we are getting there. As the technology leaders in our classroom, we play a vital role in supporting student use of technology.

At the same time, we need to be assessing our student’s technology knowledge and skills.  It is an important part of their education.  If we fail to do this, we are putting our students at a great disadvantage in the job market.  Our students must compete with students around the world.

There are pros to assessing such as finding out where your students are.  It is vital that you not only assess, but that you use that data to drive your instruction.  If you fail to do the later, then you are wasting your time as well as doing a great injustice to your learners. 

On the other hand, the cons of assessment can be in the grading.  You might be grading on a rubric, which can be opinionated.  From experience, I have learned that when you grade using a rubric that you grade all assignments fairly. When grading open-ended responses you must have strict guidelines on what is acceptable and what isn’t.  You always want to make sure everyone is graded on the same scale.

I am all for assessing knowledge and skills.  It is ESSENTIAL to learning!

Jana Dugas EDLD 5306 Section 8038 August 30, 2011

EDLD 5306 Section 8038 Blog Assignment

1. The educational value of blogs and blogging is that it lets students write and be authors about news in their life or things they like.  They can create a community of learning by finding other bloggers that like the same things they do.  Students can comment on each others postings.  This creates a great communication device that they can globally connect with students.
2. I would be concerned about gossip and cyber-bullying.  You would need to teach students etiquette and acceptable use.
3. Blogging would be a great way to communicate with school stakeholders because you could get messages out quickly and accurately.  It would be easily accessible.