Action Research Plan Update

This weeks assignment provided me an opportunity to reflect on my research and begin the process of reporting the results.  The project will utilize data over a 3 year period, starting in May 2010 and concluding in May 2013.  The draft of my Action Research Report an be found on my wiki page, Wiki My Education.

https://sites.google.com/site/wikimyeducation/

Reflections from Digital Media EDLD 5366

Our team created a collaborative website using C.R.A.P. design concepts.
It can be viewed from this link.  Team Digital Techs 

This course introduced new terminology to me. The concepts were not new; I have been using design concepts in my current position as a Career and Technical Education program manager.  In addition, I utilized design principles in my past position as a classroom teacher (photo-journalism, web development, yearbook sponsor, computer applications and graphic design).  I took classes in college, taught design practices in the classroom, and utilized it in my personal business.  However, I have never heard it referred to as C.R.A.P.  I found this acronym very amusing and will use it often with my co-workers and when mentoring teachers that need some help with the concept.

One of our assigned readings for this course was “How crap is your site design?” by M. Rundle.  I really enjoyed this author’s personality as it came through his writings.   “We learned that good design is based on the C.R.A.P. principles where C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast Repetition Alignment Proximity, and when Creative Directors tell you that your design is crap, they’re actually giving you positive reinforcement.”   I think students and teachers will enjoy this play on words. I could envision this word as a ‘hook’ to gain the interest of hard to reach high school students. A note of caution, some may take offense or misunderstand the acronym.  The explanation should appear simultaneously when using it as a catchy title of an assignment.

For some, the concept seems to be intuitive and the efficient placement of information on a flyer, web page or other graphic project is  easy.  For others, the end product appears to be result of the lack of planning. Their design has too much information and it is difficult to determine interest.  Many times poorly designed web pages or flyers will cause viewers to “move on” because there is too much information to determine its value. Another possible outcome of no C.R.A.P., the viewer may have interest, but limited time, or attention span, to find the important information.  Educators teaching or using graphic design can easily remember the C.R.A.P. acronym and put the technique to good use when utilizing or teaching the basic design concepts. (I would add that using C.R.A.P. concepts would be helpful in some email correspondence.)

Wiki pages or other web based pages can be used for distance learning or blended learning environments.  Teachers post their assignments on their web page.  Students that are absent can see new assignments, read announcements and comment or ask questions.  This could also be used in an extended absence situation where a student is prevented from attending classes for medical or behavior problems.  Teacher's web pages are an excellent communication tool for parents, homework is clearly stated and assignment due dates are posted.  Parents can keep tabs on their students’ homework and due dates, on demand, anytime of day or night. In addition, classes can collaborate with students within the district or around the country.  Their work can be posted for feedback and brainstorming ideas for projects and problem solving.

Another useful tool when designing a class website project, or any classroom activity, is reflection and feedback.  We should step away from the project and look at the page with a fresh outlook and self reflect. Or ask a colleague to review and be open to an honest critique.  In an article, Feedback that fits, S. Brookhart offered some wise advice, “To craft teacher feedback that leads to learning, put yourself in the student's shoes.” She expanded the comment by saying, “But feedback is only effective when it translates into a clear, positive message that students can hear.”

Reflection and feedback can also be used by students in the classroom to analysis their own learning.  Educators can begin at an early age introducing the concept of reflection and feedback in the elementary classes.  The “Think, Pair, Share” activity is good for every age of learner, from kindergarten to career professionals.  Educational leaders and teachers use reflection as a tool for planning, staffing decisions, scheduling, discipline; every activity of their school day or event.  By reflecting on the past or planning for a future event, we can avoid many conflicts and crisis.  Educators can teach elementary age students to use reflection with simple open ended questioning techniques and graduate to the pairing and sharing, as they begin to master self reflection.

 On a website, “Exploring the Environment”, T. Herbert was quoted as saying, “The teacher must also be able to vary his or her approach in helping the students analyze what has taken place. The methods are dependent on the personalities and situations involved.”

Every learning environment has its unique situations, depending on the learners and participants.  A good educational leader takes time to know their audience and tailor self reflection and feedback activities to foster a safe learning environment.  This was evident to me as I worked with my classmates on our website for this class.  I was forced from my control comfort zone and into a collaborative environment.  I was fortunate in that I had team members that created that safe environment to express conflicting ideas and move to a consensus in a non threatening manner.  Occasionally, we have to work on a projects where we may not feel safe.  This is not conducive to a collaborative project because it causes some to have too much input and some to have too little.

As an example, I would like to tell a personal experience. I recently participated in training where a group of 20 district leaders (administrators and curriculum specialist) were in asked to participate in a desert plane crash situation.  Everyone with any information, as to location, died in the crash.  We were given a list of items that were salvaged from the plane. As a group, we had to decide our course of action, what to use and how to use it.  In addition, we were to rank the items in order of importance.  Trained observers were in the room taking notes on our problem solving techniques.

 I had some experience in survival training, as my son was an Eagle Scout and he (with my help) earned the survival badge.  After a few of my suggestions were shot down by an aggressive principal, I stopped making suggestions. After the all groups made their rescue plans, we reconvened as a large group (5 plane crashes) to compare our plans to those of an expert on desert survival.  The outcome of these group collaborations was interesting.  Let me say, most of the plane crash survivors, did not survive their rescue plans.  (A word of warning, when lost in the desert, facing dehydration, if someone tells you to take salt tablets and you obey, you will die before being rescued.)

The results of the impartial observer, showed many of the rules of collaboration were broken; some with good ideas were never heard, and those with bad ideas, but were outspoken, lead the group into disaster.  I liked the activity and will use it in the future when conducting collaboration training, with students or adults.

The skills we acquired or improved during the course of this class will improve my effectiveness as an educational leader.  As I reflect on the events, I have learned the importance of listening more and talking less, as well as, being open to other viewpoints. It is important to recognize that everyone has a voice in the decision and the outcome, even if you agree to disagree, it’s important to find the middle ground.  It is important for us to remember the one important factor in all our efforts; it’s not about the teacher, it’s about the students.

Rundle, M, How C.R.A.P is Your Site Design?, April 2006, retrieved from http://thinkvitamin.com/design/how-crap-is-your-site-design/

Brookhart, S. M., Feedback that fits, (Dec 2007/Jan 2008), Volume 65, Number 4
Informative Assessment, Pages 54-59, retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec07/vol65/num04/Feedback-That-Fits.aspx

Herbert, T., (1995), Experiential learning: A teacher's perspective, retrieved from http://www.cotf.edu/ete/teacher/reflect.html

TEAM DIGITAL TECHS

We have just completed week 4 of Digital Media 5366. This was another collaborative project that I participated as a team member with "Team Digital Techs". The team members are Tanya Henslee from Austin, Ericka Turner from Beaumont, Randy Clements from Killeen Mary Angel from Austin. You can view our web sites by following the link to TEAM DIGITAL TECHS.

Digital Graphics 5366 - Animation Project Week 3

Digital Graphics 5366
See my silly animation on You Tube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIeaO5GW-2E&feature=youtu.be

Evidence of the use of Design Principles in ancient manuscripts

“Bible from Ethiopia, Commissioned by Emperor Iyasu in around 1700.

By examining the ancient works of authors in the 1700, one can see that they recognized and followed many of the same principles of design that we observe today in modern digital graphics.  The manuscript used to demonstrate these similarities is,  “Bible from Ethiopia, Commissioned by Emperor Iyasu in around 1700.

By viewing pages 2 and 3, one will notice the use of an illustration on the left page and some writing on the right page.  The writing is in Hebrew, however, some of the text is in red ink and some is in black.  If we compare to our modern day bible, we can assume the red text is important and is set out from the majority of the other words.  This demonstrates the use of the first design principle, Contrast.

As we look at these pages and following pages, you will see that Repetition is demonstrated in the use of images to illustrate acts, and the use of graphics to surround the text on the following pages.  These graphics are different, but share repeated designs using columns, leaves, trees, birds and arches.

Alignment is shown by keeping the text evenly spread between the “cells” of the graphics containing text.  No indention or spacing is used in the text.

Proximity can be assumed (unless one could read Hebrew).  The drawings of people on the one page relate to the text that is in reference to the action of the men. On following pages, the description of the page, further supports Proximity by describing what is found on both pages, “The left page contains the rest of Eusebius' Letter to Carpianus followed on the right by his first canon table, which sets out the parallels and variations in the Synoptic Gospels.”

Digital Graphic 5366 - Four Design Principles teaching tool

This document can be used to teach or demonstrate the design principle in a classroom.

Action Research Plan - update as of July 6, 2012

I re-posted my original Action Research Plan from March 17, 2012 so the updates would be more meaningful to readers.
In our Course EDLD 5301 we were asked to formulate an Action Research project and work on it throughout our internship. Periodically, other classes ask that we report on our progress and document the work being done and what impact our plan may have on our campus or in our district.

I am very happy with the outcome of my work on district committees to improve the 8th grade Technology Proficiency in Austin ISD.  When I began my research, I discovered that less than half of all 8th grade students passed the proficiency test adopted by our district.  While looking for an explanation for these dismal results, I discovered that only about 60% of students even took the exam.

The details are included in my Action Research document, however, I will outline the work briefly.
Questions: What can the district do to increase the proficiency test scores of 8th grade students in AISD to meet the requirements of NCLB, the Texas Long Range Technology Plan, and AISD eRateTechnology Plan.
 by 2013
Evidence 1.4.1 - 100% of 5th and 8th grade students take the online TLA in May. 70% of students will receive a "proficient" score.


Austin ISD has 19 middle schools.
May 2011 - Results

• approximately <60% of all 8th grade students were tested 

(2011-12 enrollment of 9th grades students compared to total number of students reported  test results.)

• <50% were proficient

While dissecting the data, these questions were raised.

• Why did some campuses successfully test the majority of their students and some campuses tested none of their students?
• Why did some campuses only test 20- 50% of their students?
• Why did <50% of the tested students pass the proficiency test?

I contacted several members of our technology support team and found that most had no idea why we were testing 8th grade students.  There was a large turnover of personal in that department and the lead person had left the district.
Once I provide key people with the actual details of our AISD tech plan, a committee was formed, I was invited to join, and we began meeting and formulating a plan for the 2012 testing period.

Our lead members from Instructional Technology, Josie Hughes and Deborah Rang led the charge by getting a document blessed by upper administration that was sent to all principals at the middle school campus.  This document outlined the importance of the testing and that is was not an "optional" test.
Counselors had been using the "busy" test for low performing students.

The 2012  preliminary results are very favorable and I will be analyzing the data later this summer.
However, the good news is that :

• every campus administered the test
• almost 75% of all students were tested

I expect that our proficiency rate increased as well. 

 Our committee will begin meeting earlier next year to implement a plan to use 5th grade student results to determine electives choices for students entering middle school.  

Recommendations from my Action Research Plan:

• that a technology rich CTE course be mandatory for students not demonstrating 5th grade proficiency.
• proficiency test administered in the fall and students not demonstrating proficiency be place in additional technology rich CTE course.

More details to follow.

Mary Angel - Lamar University Grad Student- Lifelong Learner: 8th grade Technology Proficiency - Action Research...

Mary Angel - Lamar University Grad Student- Lifelong Learner: 8th grade Technology Proficiency - Action Research...: Action Research Planning –   8 th  Grade Technology Proficiency Mary Angel – Education Technology Intern Goal:    What can Austin Inde...

Multimedia EDLD 5363 Week 5 Final Video

Our team includes Tanya Hensley (Austin,Tx), Randy Clements (Killeen, Tx), Ericka Turner (Beaumont, Tx) and myself, Mary Angel (Austin, Tx).  We have worked for 3 weeks to use online collaboration to produce a lesson video for our Multimedia Class.  We utilized Web 2.0 tools, such as Audacity, iMovie, Adobe Premier Elements, Dropbox, Google Docs, and Google Hangouts.  We joined web conferences with our professor and fellow classmates on Adobe Connect.  We were able to shoot, record, edit, review, re-shoot/record, plan, share and collaborate without ever meeting in person.  This was a very educational experience.


The final result of our efforts is posted on YouTube and can be seen at the following link:

"Scientific Method Made Easy"
http://youtu.be/GFW4jl6eQCg

Multimedia class Web Conference Reflections

I have participated in at least four web conferences for this course, June 4, June 16, June 18, and June 30.  I have enjoyed the opportunity to see the other students in my classes. I am always please to see the students in my peer group, digital immigrants.  I benefit emotionally and educationally as we share our frustrations, successes and  how we have overcome the challenges. I receive validation when I hear that others are having some technical issues with the Web 2.0 tools we are using.

In my earlier reflection on web conferences, I remarked that some students are not paying attention in the conference.  I would like to repeat that today.  Fellow students, what makes the conferences productive is everyone using the active listening skills that we insist from our own students.

I have experienced, while conducting professional development, that teachers are the worst students.  And we are the worst role models when it comes to paying attention and participating.  There seems to be a shared mentality,  "Do as I say, not as I do".  I would suggest, that we work to change that in future classes and web conferences.  Technical problems aside, it is very disrespectful to waste the professor's time, as well as the other students, when they have to repeat themself or answer the same question multiple times.

I have concerns and we have not really addressed them in our conversations.  In my personal experiences, when downloading "free" or shareware, there are add-ons, tool bars, and unwanted programs attached to the download.  Another sneaky tactics used by some download sights, the "download" button is disguised or confusing and you can end up downloading programs that you did want or need. I have noticed a marked slowdown in my computer boot up and processing speed.  I need to take some time and go through my program files and delete some of the added programs. In our haste to complete assignments, I would just caution students (as they take these tools to the classroom) to be extremely careful with "free" downloads and remember the advice, "there are no free lunches".

Overall, the conferences are helpful, insightful and meaningful.  As technology improves and our behavior improves, web conferences will continue to make the online course taking experience a very valuable part of education.

Group Project update

Our group has completed most of the task in Week 4.  Randy completed editing the video and posting in Dropbox.  He did a good job, but I was inspired to try to fill some of the dead air that occurred while we did our egg wraps and drops. In addition, we had not documented the use of audacity or other voice recording except for Randy and his voice-over corrections.
Ericka recorded in audacity a couple of lines, which I added in our 4.2 assignment, and put it in the Dropbox. I recorded myself as a narration in Adobe Premier Element software.
After splitting and placing appropriately in the video, I rendered it to an .avi file and named it Scientific Method Made Easy 3, as it took me a few attempts to finish the task.  I moved it into our shared folder and sent emails to my cohorts for approval.
If acceptable, we can load to Youtube tomorrow.
I feel as if I have grown as an educator and a leader in this project. Learning when to follow is a difficult lesson.

Web Conference 6-30-12

We had a large group of students on today's web conference.  I will venture a guess that many students were  "multitasking" during the conference.  Many questions were asked in the chat bar, that had already been answered by Dr. Abernathy.  It was as if, every student wanted the question answered directly to the individual student.  I would encourage students to give up the 30-45 minutes of their time to pay attention during the web conference.
Apparently, Dr. Abernathy was experiencing some technical difficulty today with the Adobe Connect software, and her web cam was not working.  However, for  the most part, audio was fine, and it was recorded.

Some student grumble about the web conferences, but I enjoy the 'one on one' experience, even if I do not participate in chat or ask questions.
Listening to the students and observing the professors' responses will help me grow in the area of distance learning.  I have aspirations of conducting distance learning courses in the future.  By observing as many of these conferences as I can, the experience will help me gain ideas of the "ideal" situations.

Update on group video project

    We have had some fun making the different parts of our video.  Each of us provided parts (short video or still shots) shared them in Dropbox.  We have meetings about 2 times a week on Google hangouts.  That is an awesome app.  If you haven't tried it, you should.  You can go to Google and sign in and then open Google +.  If you do a Google search, it will, of course take you right to it.
   Back to our project...it is interesting trying to collaborate on a 90 second finished product. But, it can be done.  We have an awesome number of Web 2.0 tools to help us work together.

Multimedia Class EDLD 5363 Week 3 - Google Doc

Our group has meet 3 times on Google Hangouts this week.  We have made a lot of progress on our project.
When I copied and pasted our Google Doc (collaboration documentation)  into the assignment document, the graphics did not load into the table.  Therefore, I am including a link in this blog to the Google doc. Here you should be able to the process in its entirety.

Week 3 Documentation - Clements, Henslee, Turner, Angel

Video Editing and Video Podcast

Create Video Lesson with TopViewSoft by Mary Angel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

This assignment was a challenge. But one I have enjoyed and have learned many new tricks.  I am not completely convinced that what I created is exactly what was asked for, and I know I went over 2 minutes. However, I like the product and plan to share my experiences this week with my teachers and colleagues.  It is exactly what we have been needing. On demand training, with specific tasks for them to finish by deadlines. This was much easier that the PowerPoints I have created in the past with dozens of screen shots.

During this process, I have downloaded a million free software titles and had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of which program does which tasks.  And I hope I didn't download too many spyware in the process.

I am a little confused about the Creative Common bug that we are to add to our work.  Youtube has a the option to select the Creative Common Attribution license and to select the Educational Category.  Is that sufficient for uploading to their site?
So many questions, so little time!

Multimedia Podcast Assignment 2.1

Boy, this course is coming at us hard and fast.  It is a challenge to keep up with the assignments.  I used to consider myself pretty tech savvy, but there is still so much to learn and so little time to play.
However, this is fun.  Check this out on You Tube!

A Digital Story

A Digital Story - Tech Time Travel with a Baby Boomer

Script for a digital story"Travel through tech time with a Baby Boomer"

Digital Story – Travel through tech time with a Baby Boomer

Slide 1 - It’s a brave new world…how did we get here?  Let’s travel back in time and I will tell you a story of my journey from the Land o’ Low Tech, through the land of Rising’ Tech and into the domain of NOW!

Slide 2- I was born to the post war era of 1946 – 1964. Our generation is called “the Baby Boomers”

Follow my migration across the great Technological Divide, be amazed (an amused) as I cross Generation X and Y and Generation Next and encounter their offspring, Generation Net.

Slide 5- My daddy had “car phone” in his truck.  The truck horn would honk when his boss was calling him!

Slide 6 - We had one phone in our house, but children were not allowed to use it

Slide 7 - We shared a phone line with 4 other families – a party line! 

Slide 13 - I did my first data input on one of these

Slide 15 - We had to learn a language called “DOS”

Slide 19 - There was a lot of money made by programmers and scammers alike! But we survived….and technology thrived.

Slide 21 -At our in service, there was not a computer in sight

But now….

Slide 22 - Technology….

Slide 23 - Is changing….

Slide 24- ….how we teach and learn!

Slide 25 - “What lies ahead for this Boomer? Stay tuned for the sequel, “The next 50 years”

Reflection of Frustration

I have edited my script, a few times, and finished my powerpoint slide show 3 days ago.
I have my slideshow ready with pictures, narration and music.  I have been to authorStream to convert it to a video and have hit a brick wall. It will keep the timing, narration, and starts the music on the correct slide, but stops when it advances to the next slide.  And yes, the settings are correct in PowerPoint software.   I have tried iSpring and converted to a .swf, and that didn't work for uploading to YouTube or Blogger.
I tried two other conversion programs on the Cool Tools for Schools website, with equal lack of success.

The only software that has worked is,  PPT2Video Pros. It has free trial download and it worked beautifully, but, it puts a watermark on the video.  It's not the effect I was looking for, but I am out of time and out of patience. I have been doing this for 15 hours.

So I am going to make one more attempt and then submit what I have, and learn my lesson: don't start in PowerPoint if you are trying to layer audio tracks.  :-)

Starting a new class this week... Multimedia
I will tell a digital story about my journey from Land o' LowTech, through the Kindgom of Risin'Tech to finish the trip in the domain of GenNet !

Local, State and National Technology Plan

AustinISD Tech Plan - M Angel ET8044

More PowerPoint presentations from Mary Angel

Need to amended Action Plan

Thank you for commenting.  It would help to post a little more information about my plan.  I guess I overlooked that minor detail.  I edited the previous post with the whole plan. - Angel

Reflections of the Action Research Plan

I have so many note pages on my computer, where I have written and rewritten the questions, scope, and the topic of my action research.  I am still not completely clear on the projected outcomes because I need to meet with my mentor (and my boss) to be sure I am asking the right questions.

We were able to meet briefly before spring break and we have corresponded via email, but I am looking forward to getting her feedback, her wisdom and her guidance.  I tend to jump in and start plowing before I examine the field for boulders.  She helps me see the boulders.

I was relieved to hear Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Arterbury say in the week 4 video, that our research may change or could even hit a roadblock and we may have to change it completely. I don't anticipate that happening, however, it is comforting to know, it would be okay.

I am looking forward to my colleagues comments and suggestions.

8th grade Technology Proficiency - Action Research

Action Research Planning –   8^th Grade Technology Proficiency

Mary Angel – Education Technology Intern

Goal:  What can Austin Independent School District do to assure that all 8^th grade students have an opportunity to complete the 21^st Century Skills Assessment (technology proficiency test) and to increase the scores of the 8^th grade students in order to meet the goals set in the AISD E-plan and AISD Strategic Plan?

Background

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology states, “No Child Left Behind Title II, Part D Requirements—all students must be technology literate by the end of 8th grade …” 

In order to meet the requirement set by No Child Left Behind legislation and the Texas Long Range Technology Plan, the Austin ISD E-Plan offers objectives, strategies and evidence to address technology literacy of all learners by the 8^th grade.

The Austin ISD E-Plan’s Goal 1 states, “Teaching and learning focuses on the instructional needs of teachers and the learning needs of students in meeting the vision of technology in education.   All Learners have access to relevant, 508-compliant technologies, tools, resources and services for individualized instruction 24/7; use 508-compliant information and communication technologies to collaborate, construct knowledge and provide solutions to real-world problems use research based strategies in all subject areas to improve academic achievement;  communicate effectively in a variety of formats for diverse audiences.” 

The plan continues by listing objectives, strategies, timelines, and evidence to assure the goal will be achieved.  There are several such evidences that pertain to this action research topic.

Objective 1.1 – “Integrate the Technology Applications TEKS and ISTE/NETS within the core curriculum at each grade level.”

 Timeline – 2010-2013

Strategy 1.1.3: “Campus Improvement Plan/Campus Tech Plan details plans for Tech Literacy instruction, for all students, including students with disabilities, across the grade levels and subjects within a campus.”

Evidence 1.1.3 –- Students in Elem K-5 and MS 6-8 are tech literate by the time they reach 5th or 8th grade. Tech Literacy Assessment given at 5^th and 8^th grade validates proficiency

Objective 1.4 - Develop strategies to monitor and document progress of technology integration and to monitor and report student proficiency to state and federal agencies.

 Timeline - 2010-2013

Strategy 1.4.1 – Require all 5th and 8th grade students to take the online Technology Literacy Assessment developed by a previous grant in partnership with Learning.com.

Comments: Currently approximately 50% of students were proficient.

Evidence 1.4.1 - 100% of 5th and 8th grade students take the online TLA in May. 70% of students will receive a "proficient" score.

Strategy 1.4.2 – Report and analyze results of 5th and 8th grade Technology Literacy Assessment paying attention to performance gaps between student groups.

Comments: Gaps have been identified. Students with higher levels of poverty do not perform as well on the Tech Literacy Assessment. Extra effort will be made to increase tech access at these campuses.

Evidence1.4.2 - Results of performance reported to campuses and district leadership including annual report to the Board of Trustees. TLA Result available online via AIMS reports

Strategy 1.4.4 - Students use EasyTech online curriculum to learn and master Technology Applications TEKS. Suggested scope and sequence provided for all teachers K-8.

Strategy 1.4.4 - Campus Technology Plans published annually and available for review. Plans detail approach for integration of Technology Application TEKS in foundation courses.

The Plan:

Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Copies of: ·       AISD Strategic Plan ·       AISD E-plan ·       Status Reports ·       Results of 2011- 5th and 8th grade technology tests results	Mary Angel Josephina Hughes	March 2012-March 2012	Copies, records, time	·       Not all 8th students completed the test ·       Not all 8th grade students were Proficient
2. Interviews: ·       Information Systems Administration ·       Network Support ·       Technology committee members ·       Education Technology staff ·       Executive Director of Career and Technical Education	Mary Angel John Alawneh Josephina Hughes Guy Butler Annette Gregory	March 2012- May 2012	Copies, data records, time	·       Does the district Technology Committee have a plan to address concerns of the research? ·       Does the Technology Committee see a value in this study? ·       Does the Technology Committee approve this research and the quantitative data that will be used? ·       How much time is allowed for a student to work on the assessment ·       What is the district policy and plan for the 8th grade Technology test? ·       What is the procedure for testing? ·       What is the plan for completing unfinished tests?  ·       Should those students be counted as “not proficient”?  Since they did not complete in allotted time? ·       Who is responsible for making sure the student completes the test? (Teacher/administrator  or student ) ·       What is the accountability for not testing “all 8th grade students?” ·       How many students were counted absent during testing? ·       How many started and did not finish? ·       How many never started? ·       How many were considered exempt? ·       Should students be exempted?  How is that addressed in Texas Long Range Plan or by NCLB?  ·       How many students were unable to test because of lack adaptive technology?
3. Historical data:  5th grade / 8th grade enrollment Technology/21st Century Skills tests	Mary Angel Carol Pazera Josephina Hughes	March – April 2012	Copies, records. time	·       Compare enrollment and attendance on days of testing.

How does your district test 8th grade technology literacy?

Does your district have a Technology Plan to address NCLB requirement for all 8th grade students be technology proficient?

More on Action or Inquiry Research - Week 2 Reflection

The last 2 weeks have really enlightened me and increased my vocabulary to include action or inquiry research.  As I expressed earlier, the practice of "wondering" has been a part of my life for a very long time.  I am always interested in knowing "why" something is or how something works or how someone thinks.  Unfortunately, many of my friends and colleagues think I ask too many questions or that I ask questions with no real or easy answers.  Many times I am asked, "What difference does it make?"
I am surprised when I am asked that question, because the obvious answer (at least to me)  is "It could make a lot of difference. How do we know, if we don't ask?"

Much of our readings and the interviews of various educational leaders has allowed me to see how my natural 'wondering" can be used to implement change or open some controversial topics with the spirit of collaboration and not confrontation.  Also by using data and research to introduce new thoughts or viewpoints it can diffuse a situation.

Everything I need to know, I learn from Action Research

     Action research was a term that I was not familiar with when I started this class.  However, it is a practice that I employ in all aspects of my professional and personal life.  I have always asked “Why?” or “What was your thought process?” or “What made you say that?” or “What was their response?”

Quite frankly, it annoys many people, because they did not think to ask, or it was not relevant to their conversation or storytelling or they just didn’t think it was important.  For me, understanding the decision making process or the reasons for a decision makes it easier for me to accept and live with the outcome or see the flaws and become an agent for change.

     I was comforted to learn that not only was my burning 'need to know' validated, but it may actually be useful while I am continuing my education and benefit me professionally.

     As I continue to read the books and articles outlined in the course syllabus, I find myself thinking of the various committees on which I serve and the scope of our work.  In many instances, we are utilizing action research methods during our meetings.  Our superintendent is implementing many changes in policies and procedures.  One change was to develop a Strategic Plan that is printed and published for our community to access on demand.  All of our department work plans, at the district office, are driven by the goals on that Strategic Plan.  Departments are expected to have members serving on all the district initiatives and administrative inquiry and measureable outcomes are paramount to the process.  I now have a better understanding of that process and will be able to justify and utilize my "why?" personality. 

Administrators and Blogging

To be an effective educational leader, communication and relationship building are key components.  Blogging could be a useful tool for both of those tasks.  Having a Principal's Blog, or a Superintendent's Blog is a way to keep the lines of communication open and make parents, community and teachers feel connected to their leader.

 Course Reflections


When I made the decision to return to academia and began working on my Masters degree; I did not even consider the program’s content. My focus was getting accepted and finding money in my budget. As a classroom teacher and single mother, there was no time or money to go back to school, nor was there monetary motivation in my district. I was fortunate to be selected for my current position based on my previous industry and teaching experiences; a Masters Degree was recommended but not required. Twenty years have passed since I was enrolled in a university and I expected to face some challenges. My expectation was to learn better techniques and current technology trends. I attend many workshops and conferences with keynote motivational speakers. I considered myself aware of current trends, data and studies about education and learners in the 21st Century. I wanted to learn ways to motivate teachers and techniques for moving teachers in Career and Technology Education into the 21st Century. I was hoping for methods of teaching diverse learners and emerging technology. I did not anticipate that I would need many of those tools myself. I was resistant to wiki, blogs and social networking as learning and teaching tools.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn how easy they were to use and the potential value of collaboration. Of course, I still have concerns for personal and student safety on the internet. I believe that our teachers, particularly digital immigrants, must embed digital citizenship and safety into the curriculum. It is definitely one of the missing links in technology education.

Putting aside my struggles and challenges, this course’s outcome far exceeded my expectation or vision. I did not anticipate the wealth of information that came with the Concepts of Educational Technology. I have been able to use many of the theories and quotes in my daily work. The readings have given me new perspectives in my work, and explain many of the “unexplained” directives that flow down the administrative pipeline. I find myself better armed to answer questions from teachers and participate in discussions with other departments. While planning my recent presentation for high school CTE teachers, I was able to model the Web 2.0 tools I learned and encourage them to utilize the tools as well. In spring of 2010, Austin ISD moved to Cloud technology and I foresee myself taking advantage of the collaboration tools by moving some of our our office communication to those venues. One of my responsibilities is to update our department news on our internal and external web pages. By utilizing these Web 2.0 tools it will make it easier to update the information in a timely manner, as opposed to our current “controlled” district website.

I viewed myself as a Tech savvy individual and was confident I could handle the lessons in Technology Leadership course work. I expected to breeze through the assignments. I was mistaken. I faced challenges and difficulties in completing assignments on time, balancing work and family and I struggled with the technology of online coursework delivery system. TK20 was foreign to me and proved somewhat of a time consumer to comprehend. This last week has been particularly difficult. I was delivering training and much of my week was spent planning and developing my presentation. I was not able to put sufficient time into planning my Draft Internship Plan or Principals Competency Chart. I feel I could have a done better job, if I had more of that valuable commodity, time.

 I was hesitant to commit to a brick and mortar program that required seat or face time with an instructor. Many times I am required to work late hours to meet deadlines for our department. I had concerns about meeting the attendance obligation. I witnessed colleagues and teachers, start programs and have to drop out because of time commitments. The online option offered at Lamar University seems to be a good fit for me. I have the support from my family to continue for the next 16-17 months. I am more confident now than I was the first 2 weeks.

 As I reflect on the past 5 weeks, I am proud of myself. I was able to overcome the challenges and my shortcomings. I will always remember Sarah’s advise to me during that first week, “Remember to focus on scholarly writing.” That was probably the most helpful lesson I learned on this path I have chosen. Her words helped me focus on what I was attempting to accomplish. We as a society have become accustomed to casual conversation and casual communication. I am guilty of using time saving language and writing styles. I was not always completing or developing thoughts. I expect everyone to “know” what I am talking about, and I forget to develop the work. I may not have mastered the art of scholarly writing; however, I plan to grow the skill during this process.

E-Rate and AustinISD

E-rate - makes Internet Affordable for Education

View more presentations from iammaryangel.

National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Techonolgy Plan, (NETP),

Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology

There are two goals that the Obama Administration has identified as “urgent” :

·        Raise college graduates from 41% to 60% of population (2 or 4 year degree) by 2020

·        Close achievement gap so that all students graduate from high school college and career ready

To accomplish these aggressive goals, when most states and federal government are reducing funding to education, there must be a radical transformation in education. 

A statement found in the Executive Summary was very profound. “To shorten our learning curve, we should look to other kinds of enterprises, such as business and entertainment that have used technology to improve outcomes while increasing productivity.”  What better way to help students make a real world connection than mirroring the entertainment business?   Consider film making, digital imaging, gaming industry, sports, virtual worlds and music, all have embraced the use of technology to create the digital world in which the 21^st Century learner thrives.   If education would borrow their methods and create a learning environment that is as attractive to the student, as their entertainment environment, all the educational goals may be more easily met.

The NETP identifies five goals:

·        Learning

·        Assessment

·        Teaching

·        Infrastructure

·        Productivity

States are required to create, revise and implement learning objectives utilizing technology that reflects the needs of the 21st Century learner.   The power of technology can be exploited to reach the diverse population in the school, regardless of the discipline.  Today’s leaner has the advantage of “always on” Internet and communication.  That flexibility allows educators to design learning experiences that can extend to any time, any place.

Currently, technology is measure in how much money and how many computers are in the schools.  The data for how that technology affects teaching and learning is not measured.  If effective technology data is gathered and analyzed, a determination of where and how the technology is impacting education could be made.  The data could help determine what, how and where technology could be the most effective.

A challenge for technology integration lies in the fact that many existing educators, administrators and stakeholders have not been able to transition into 21^st Century technology.  The resulting gap prevents those decision makers from including technology into instructional practices.  Targeted professional development for these educators and leaders is critical to move them into the 21^st Century.

Technology Assessments for all.

     Education is evolving at a rapid pace.  Teaching practices that worked 5 years ago are “old school” today.  The cost of technology has come down, availability has gone up and students are born into it. Teachers must stay abreast of these changes in order to effectively guide students into an education.  Accessing the educators’ technology skill levels gives the campus leadership the opportunity to develop appropriate professional development and training opportunities. 

    No Child Left Behind legislation requires that all students be technology literate by the time they leave 8^th grade.  If our educators are not technology literate, they will not be equipped to provide integration of technology into the learning environment?  Technology can be taught in a specialized class, but the skills should be incorporated into every classroom.

     In my district, 8^th grade students are given a Technology Skill assessment in the spring. The resulting data is not used for high school course selection.   The passing rate, at some middle schools,  for the Technology Skills test is below 50%.  That does not meet the requirement, yet those students move on the high school technology illiterate.  The “next step” is missing.  It has been my recommendation that the test be given in the 7^th grade and the data used to place students in a course that will give them the skills they need.  An alternative would be to utilize 5^th grade test data by a campus to enroll students in a technology classes during the middle school years. 

Web Conferences

 I participated in the first web conference to be sure my laptop webcam and headset were working properly.  I was able to enter the room, activate my camera, mute my mic, and participate in the chat.  There were problems with speaker feedback into microphones. After all microphones were muted, the conference proceeded and I felt confident I could repeat the process during the 2nd required conference.

Jan 25, 2012

My confidence was shattered as I tried to log into the room the next time, and was not successful.  I received  a message indicating my credentials had expired and ‘it’ would not allow me to enter the room.

After many attempts and with time running out, I quickly opened Mozilla.  I was able to connect and enter the room with 5 minutes to spare.  It was a stressful experience, however,  I was able to relax and close the door of my little room to keep the barking dogs from disturbing the process.  I began to scan the names of people in the room, and I discovered Mary Angel was already in the room!  I was Mary Angel 2 (on Firefox).   I quickly closed out the IE version and reduced the number of Mary Angels to 1.

With my microphone muted, I watched 15 faces of my cohort26 group.  We are a very diverse group and I am looking forward to forming long lasting bonds with many of them.

As I am more comfortable blogging, I can visualize using this in a classroom.  I  also see blogging as a communication tool for a committee on which I serve.  We are working on a project to lobby for change in language in an existing bill to include accessibility for K-12 education.  Because we live and work in all parts of the city, meetings are difficult to plan.  In order to increase communication and decrease the need to meet face to face, we are sharing documents and information in Dropbox.  However, collaboration may be easier on a blog.   Because I am gaining experience in this process, I am more comfortable with the tool. Next meeting, I  will revisit the idea with the committee.

Blogging

Today’s web conference had a shaky start.  The video was great, but there were issues with the audio.

It was interesting to put faces with names and to see that many of us have things in common.

After the conference, I was telling my husband about the sound problems.  He said that, in his experience with streaming audio and streaming chats, headsets are a must.  If participants do not use headsets, the speakers feed back into microphone on the laptop, causing delays and feedback issues.

Hopefully, it will be resolved on next conference.

On a side note - I am a virgin blogger.  I have never been one to 'journal' in public forum.  So I am glad you are all here to guide me.  :-)

Just for fun - That is K'Cee and Me