EDLD 5363 Links

Wiki (E-portfolio) 


PSA

Documentation/Collaboration Link

EDLD 5363 - Week 5 Web Conference

It's hard to believe this is our last week in this course. It has gone by very quickly!! Of course, adding in the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays helped to speed things along.

This week, Dr. Abernathy shared quite a bit of very important information regarding our assignments and what is actually due to complete this course.  First, there is no discussion board assignment for this week.  We are to spend the entire week working on our video, and will have a break from discussion board requirements.  Second, there is no final exam reflection paper due.  There was some miscommunication between EPIC and Lamar, and EPIC lost the assignment information.  Third, we do need to post reflections from 3 different web conferences to either our blog or or wiki.  Some sources said two, we will need to post three.  All three can be included in the same post if needed.

Again, we were encouraged to make use of different Web 2.0 tools.  Take time to explore and find out what works for our needs, what we like/dislike, and make sure and share all information with our principals.  Our e-portfolio should include all artifacts and information from classes.  We can use whatever Web 2.0 tool we want, blog or wiki, but we need to make the decision on which one to use.  We are making decisions as leaders!  I've enjoyed the opportunity to discover new Web 2.0 tools and to use them during this course.  www.dropbox.com is an amazing tool for saving and sharing files, and www.docs.google.com is perfect for collaboration between peers and colleagues. 

Questions were asked about the Principal Certification part of our program.  If you want principal certification, then during the last course, you will take the LCE.  You must make an 80 on the exam.  Then, you pay money and take the ILD at the Region 10 Center.  We will take the LCE as part of this program anyway.

EDLD 5363 Week 4 Web Conference

This web conference provided a lot of information about out PSA assignment, and what is due for weeks 3, 4, and 5.  Week 3 is all about planning and pre-production, week 4 is to be spent working on filming and putting together the PSA, and week 5 is post-production.  The total length of PSA should be one minute, plus about 20 seconds for credits.  The week 5 assignment is due Friday, December 16th.

Several tips were given by Dr. Abernathy in regard to filming our PSA.  When filming, shoot at least a couple of minutes on each shot so that you will have way more film than you need.  Then, when piecing together, you will have different shots to pick and choose from to create a final product.  We are encouraged to use as many different programs as we can when producing. For example, use www.audacity.com for the narration and sound, and use a different video editing tool to produce the video.  Be careful when adding music, it may be louder than your narration.  We will also need to include creative commons copyright information on final video product.

Several questions were asked about our e-portfolio and what documents should be included.  Basically, our e-portfolio is a Web 2.0 tool that we use to document all of our work for all of our classes.  It should include documentation and artifacts that lead up to the final product for each course.  Our final video needs to be uploaded to TK20 and posted to our wiki.  Group collaboration and documentation should be posted to our wiki as well.

EDLD 5363 Web Conference Week 2

I wasn't in as much of a rush this week, so was able to log in with plenty of time to spare. I'm so thankful that there are plenty of conferences scheduled so that I am able to listen, learn, and participate.  The web conferences are wonderful for answering my questions and calming my nerves.  Knowing that my other colleagues are in the exact same boat as I am is very comforting.

This weeks conference was very informative.  I appreciate the fact that Dr. Abernathy gives us the facts, but she always gives us some background information as well.  One of the comments she made tonight is one I need to remember. She reminded us that the professors are not teaching these courses and grading us on a "gotcha" scale. We are all here to collaborate together, learn together, and make sure we get the right information to our kiddos.

Dr. Abernathy also discussed our assignment for the week.  Our discussion board posts will remain the same. We will need to post one relevant quote and respond to one other quote. I find myself really enjoying the articles that are posted for us to read.  They are a wealth of information! In addition, Dawn has been awesome about emailing additional reading material.  I feel like I am learning so much and will keep these documents to use as personal resources.  Our assignment involves the review of a free video editing software program, and creating a podcast on how to use the software.  Our podcast is audio only, and a good source for recording is www.audacity.com  Since I used audacity for my personal story, I'll be pretty comfortable using it for the podcast.  She emphasized the use of file extensions several times!  Our PSA will be developed over weeks 3-5. We need to have our teams together by tomorrow so that we will be ready to begin.  We must work in teams! Collaboration and teamwork are important for your individual growth.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Reflection

To be honest, it took a little more work that previous classes to actually get started on this week's assignment. But, once I took the time to read through the assignment, attend the web conference, and decide on my topic, things started rolling rather quickly. As I narrowed down my topic, it was hard to choose between a couple of subjects.  I finally decided to work with a childhood memory and discuss our family move when I was in 1st grade.  I still have vivid memories about the move, which in the end, turned out to be great for our family.  I was also worried that two minutes would be a lot of time to fill. But, when I started to write down ideas, and answer questions from my partner, I realized that two minutes was actually going to be a very short period of time! 

I enjoyed this assignment for many reasons.  I worked with a great partner, Meredith Diebler, who came up with some wonderful questions and suggestions.  I loved looking back at pictures and creating a story about my childhood.  I will definitely be sharing this with family, friends, and most importantly, my two daughters.  I'm also looking forward to working with colleagues for the next four weeks, and collaborating on our group project.

For this project, we used google docs, texts and email to communicate. I was impressed with the ease of use of google.docs.  It worked great as a collaboration tool for us to quickly ask questions and get answers. We also both used Photo Story 3 as our video editing tool.  Again, I was pleased with the ease of navigation of Photo Story 3. I'll definitely be using Photo Story 3 for classroom projects, and have already started setting up a google doc for our campus 3rd grade team collaboration.

EDLD 5363: Assignment 1 - Personal Story Using Photo Story

http://youtu.be/7ZLZZfJ2hW8

EDLD 5363 Week 1 Web Conference 11-13-11

It was a little bit of a rush to attend this conference, but I made it! And, I'm so glad I did. For some reason, the assignments for this course were confusing to me. After listening to Dr. Abernathy and seeing some other students post the same questions that I had, I felt a little more relaxed. My audio didn't work as well as it has in previous conferences, but I was still able to follow along.

Dr. Abernathy discussed the requirements of posting on the discussion board and that we should use it for all conversations and not just quotes about the readings.  She also mentioned that we just need to respond to one quote instead of two, and I'm grateful for this change. Also, a few changes have been made to our digital story.  Instead of 3-4 minutes, it should now be 2 minutes. Which is basically a one page, double spaced, typed page of narration.  The main reason behind this change is the size of the files.  www.Dropbox.com was recommended as a way to share our video files.

During the first two weeks, we will be collaborating with one person in our section. During weeks 3-5, we will be forming groups of up to five students for collaboration and completion of our Public Service Announcement.  Google docs were recommended as an excellent way to collaborate online, with each user typing in a different color.  All members of the group must contribute and be an active part of the project. I'm excited and nervous about getting started. Working with a partner online is going to be very different than working with someone sitting next to you.  We'll need to make use of several online tools, such as www.google.docs.com, www.dropbox.com, as well as texts and email.

EDLD 5301: Week 5 Reflections

As I reflect on the assignments and projects that were part of EDLD 5301, I realize how much I have learned about Action Research planning.  As we began the course, I was unsure about action research and didn't know where to begin.  With the advice of my mentor, I gradually began to formulate a plan for my action research. Reading classroom materials, participating on the discussion board, and watching the weekly videos also helped to clarify my action research process.  As this course ends, I am confident that I have an action research plan that will provide positive results for my classroom and campus.

EDLD 5301 - Week 3 Reflections

As I continue to work on my action research plan, I am making changes to narrow down and really focus on one issue instead of having a broad subject.  I'm anticipating that my results will show that ipod use in the classroom is beneficial, and we can expand the program to other grade levels on our campus.  I have also enjoyed reading other action plans, and am looking forward to following their action research as well. 

Draft Action Research Plan - Week 3 EDLD 5301

Action Planning Template

Goal:  To determine how ipods can be used in a third grade classroom to increase student performance rates in Math.

                       

                                     Person               Timeline:                Needed     

Action Step(s)          Responsible          Start/End              Resources          Evaluation

1.  Create a pre and posttest Math fluency survey/assessment to use to determine individual students Math fluency.	Melanie Starnes Third Grade Team Principal	November 2011	C-scope Aware Internet Resources Math TEKS	n/a
2. Administer a pre-test Math fluency survey/assessment to the 4 third grade classrooms at Davis Elementary (approximately 88 students).  This survey/assessment will include questions aligned to TEKS.	Melanie Starnes Third grade team	November 2011	Pre-test survey/Assessment	Ensure that I have sufficient data before beginning student use of Math apps on ipods.
3. Begin use of selected Math fluency apps with students in my two math classrooms.  These apps will be used daily, by approx. 44 students.	Melanie Starnes Students	November 2011 December 2011 January 2012	Ipods Math apps	Monitor student use of ipods in classroom.
4.  Literature Review	Melanie Starnes Carol Campbell	November 2011- January 2012	Internet Literature	Review current literature and data regarding use of ipods in elementary classrooms in other similar districts.
5. Administer a post-test Math fluency survey/assessment to the 4 third grade classrooms at Davis Elementary (approximately 88 students).  This survey/assessment will include questions aligned to TEKS	Melanie Starnes Third Grade Team	January 2012	Posttest survey/assessment
6.  Compile all completed data and research into an action research plan presentation.	Melanie Starnes Carol Campbell	January/February 2012	Pre-test data Post-test data Literature data Ipod monitoring data	Using pre and post test data, determine if ipod application use by students increased their fluency rates in Math.

EDLD 5301 - Week 2 Reflections

As I listened to the videos of leaders in Texas, and how they use action research, it helped to clarify pieces of the action research process. One of the suggestions made by Dr. Kirk continues to influence my choices when looking at my action research plan. That suggestion is to make sure the plan is practical and relevant. As I narrow down my research plan, I am trying to make sure that the end result is research and data that is beneficial to my classroom and my campus.

EDLD 5301: How can Educational Leaders Use Blogs?

There are many ways in which Educational Leaders can use blogs. Superintendents can use them to share information with district principals, district teachers, and parents. Principals can use blogs to share information with campus staff, such as upcoming events, links to relevant websites, and campus news. Teachers can use them to stay connected with their parents and other teachers. Blogs provide a way for various groups to stay connected, share information and provide feedback, and eliminates the need to schedule meetings.

EDLD 5301 Action Research - Week 1

Action research is exactly what it's name implies, taking action and gathering information and research about a defined problem. As I've read our selections this week, I've learned that action research is an continuing, ongoing process. It is not something that you can just do once and then leave it alone. You will need to monitor and update the project based on the data and information gathered. Using action research also allows us to gather information that is relevant to our individual campus and team. By researching and gathering data about our campus, we are able to make changes that will allow our students and staff to grow in the right direction.

I'm looking forward to using action research as we begin to incorporate more technology into our classrooms, and use the research and information to monitor the positive and negative aspects of this change. Time will be a major challenge, as we struggle to actually find time to not only learn how to use the technology, but manage to incorporate it into our lessons and daily activities. I think we will definitely see many benefits of our students using various types of technology daily. I know our students will be excited about the new technology and will embrace the change that it brings to our campus.

Relections - EDLD5306 Concepts of Educational Technology

When I started the first class towards my Master's degree, Concepts of Educational Technology, I wasn't really sure what to expect from the class. I had been putting off going back to school for a long time, so I was really just hoping I would survive the course. As a single mom, working full time and raising two daughters, I was nervous about the time commitment and organization of the course, especially after viewing the first assignment. As each week passed, my fears eased a bit, and I adjusted to the assignment deadlines and requirements. I still had the occasional thought that this was just too much to handle, but I was determined to finish. As far as technology, I expected that I would learn more about technology and digital tools, and how to use them in an educational setting. And, I did gain experience using many different tools, such as blogs, wikis, wordle, and animoto.

The experience that I have gained from this course is incredibly relevant to the work that I do as a third grade teacher at Davis Elementary. As a classroom teacher, I have already incorporated many of the tools that I used in this course into my classroom and into my lesson planning. I have also shared many ideas and suggestions with other educators on my campus. Learning about our campus technology ratings and the Star chart have given me needed insight into technology areas that need to be strengthened on our campus. The weekly readings provided information and knowledge about ethics, safety and copyright laws, which I have used when teaching my classroom students about Internet safety and also when creating assignments. And, as I have juggled school work, family life and my full time job, I have become more confident in my ability to organize and manage all three.

I don't think that there were any specific outcomes that I did not achieve upon completion of this course. I feel like I accomplished what I set out to achieve when I began the course, which was to gain more knowlege about technology, technology assessments, and digital tools, and their use in an educational setting. I know that I will probably need to go back periodically and review the weekly assignments, just to gain more knowledge and also to be confident when discussing and sharing the information with other individuals and groups. I do feel like there were some challenges that I had to overcome after beginning the course, that I either was not aware of or had not realized prior to starting the class. For example, I had some technical difficulties with my personal computer, and needed to make some minor adjustments in order to complete the course assignments.

I feel like I was very successful in completing the assignments and meeting all of the required deadlines. To be honest, when I looked at the first weeks assignment, I was worried that I would have trouble finishing in the required time frame. There were a lot of requirements contained in the written assignments, but I discovered that for me it was all about organization and scheduling my time wisely. Once I realized that I was capable of doing the work, I was able to focus on creating a schedule that would blend my work load and classwork. Taking a class online is quite a bit different that taking a course on a college campus, and requires a lot of self motivation. As far as actual assignments, I found I enjoyed creating both the blog and the wiki, and have used my knowledge from the class and started a blog and wiki for my classroom.

I have learned quite a bit from this course, both about myself and about my abilities. First, I have learned to have more confidence in myself. And, I have discovered leadership qualities that I didn't know existed. I have had to step outside of my comfort zone in quite a few situations, and discovered that I would succeed, and in some cases, actually enjoy the experience. A big surprise to me is a new interest in the possibility of becoming a principal. It's never even been something I've thought of before, but as I put myself in leadership situations, I am finding that I enjoy the experience and the challenge. I've learned that I underestimated my technology experience, and that I need to take ownership of what I know and share the knowledge with others. I enjoy teaching and sharing technology, and am becoming more confident about sharing with my campus and team members.

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National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan has two specific goals.  The first goal is to raise the number of college graduates who hold either a two year or four year degree, and the second is to close our achievement gap so that all of our high school graduates are prepared for college and future careers. 

Five strategies have been identified to help reach these goals.  The first strategy is learning.  We must give our students the power and flexibility to take control of their own learning.  This means making a huge change from our traditional classroom and how we are used to instructing.   Instead, students should be given options and different opportunities for learning, such as allowing them to work in small groups, tailoring the work to their own unique learning style, and using each student's prior experience to engage them in the process. We also need to realize the impact our community can have as a learning resource and use them as a tool.

The second strategy is assessment.  We need to utilize technology based assessments that give us a true measure of student knowledge, and our assessments should involve higher level thinking skills.  The third strategy is teaching. Teaching should be a team activity, not individual.  Professional development should be a collaborative effort between teams, and also immediate and convenient. Online learning and 24/7 access will be used to provide learning opportunities for teachers.  Strategy number four is Infrastructure.  Every student and teacher should be provided with the resources they need, when and where they need them.  Infrastructure is vital in allowing us to leave the traditional model of teaching behind and move forward into the future.  The last strategy is productivity.  We need to ensure that our students are making progress, and group them according to ability and skill level. We need to change and adjust our classrooms to reflect the world that we live in today.

It will take work and dedication to make this plan work. It's success will depend on everyone working together. 

Melanie Starnes
EDLD 5306/ET8038 

District Technology Plan

The Royse City ISD Technology Plan's primary focus is on integrating technology with our core curriculum and campus operations. Not only will this will allow us to utilize the highest level of staff and student performance, but it will also lead to increased productivity throughout our district. Our technology plan addresses several goals and components for a successful technology program.  These include the integration of technology, professional development for all employees, a high level of community involvement, incorporation of 21st Century Skills, trained and quality personnel, consistent technology access, and a management plan for the infrastructure. Growth challenges do exist for our school district, in the form of new buildings and expansions.  This is causing a large strain on our technology department and infrastructure, as they continue to try and keep up with the growth of our schools.

RCISD has formed a District Technology Improvement Committee, which consists of teachers, technology personnel and campus administration.  This committee is responsible for performing an assessment of the current condition of our district and schools, and to use that information to help prepare for our future and make/adjust goals as necessary. 

RCISD recognizes that they must provide more opportunities for professional development in the area of technology.  This year, our district has made available several professional development opportunities for technology learning, utilizing technology experts within our own staff.  The coordination of our professional development is handled by our Director of Technology. Technology integration is a priority on our campus and our classrooms. There are limited financial resources for professional development, and time is always a very limited resource.  Our Director of Technology and other staff members do a great job in keeping us up to date with new technology information.

Multiple assessments are used to ensure that learning is student centered and continues to improve.  Some of these assessments include:  Technology Advisory Committee assessment, technology integration planning meetings, material and equipment inventories, STaR Chart data, online assessments, and formal technology skills testing.

I did not find information relating to having a sufficient district budget to support and acquire the non-discount part of the plan. But, considering the financial situation our state is currently in, I would have to say no, we do not. You can have a beautiful, well created and thought out plan, but without financial support it doesn't happen.

Melanie Starnes
EDLD5306/ET8038

Technology Assessments

I believe that it is very important to have a thorough assessment of both educators' and students' technology skills and knowledge.  There are obviously pros and cons to the assessment process, but I feel the pros outweigh the cons.

Technology assessments enable you to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to show where to focus teaching and learning.  We all learn at different rates and are on different levels.  By using the assessment results, you are able to individualize your teaching, concentrate on needed areas and to refresh those skills that have been mastered. Using assessments in the classroom can quickly inform you of a student's mastery of the skill. The assessment also provides year to year comparisons and shows the areas where growth was accomplished. It shows areas of decline, and allows you to quickly narrow down areas where additional teaching and assistance is needed.  As a teacher, you are able to concentrate on professional development to build knowledge and skill in needed areas.

Technology assessments have many benefits, yet there are also cons to the assessment process.  Students tend to rush through testing, not realizing the importance of the results.  Although we stress that they take their time and encourage them to think through their answers, they still try to finish as quickly as possible.  I also feel that a majority of our assessments are given too early in the school year. Kids haven't quite adapted to the school schedule yet, and this can impact their testing results.  Educators often have the same problem, just wanting to finish so they can wrap up other projects. An example is the Star Chart assessment. We are told to finish the assessment by a certain date, so we rush to meet the deadline. Then, we are not officially presented with the results and what they mean for our campus.  Until this course, I hadn't read and/or examined our campus Star chart results.

Although we can see both pros and cons in using technology assessments, conducting assessments and using the results to increase knowledge is a benefit to any classroom or campus.

Melanie Starnes
EDLD 5306/ET8038

Web Conference, Week 2

I attended my first web conference for EDLD 5306 on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.  I was a little nervous and was worried that I hadn't installed equipment right, or that I would wind up being totally late for the conference. But, everything worked out beautifully and I was actually early!!
It was so nice to put faces with names that I recognized and to have some face-to-face interaction.  I enjoyed hearing and seeing information giving more details about the entire Instructional Technology Program. I also welcomed the information about the TK20 program.  All of the information shared and the questions asked answered my own personal questions.
I was very excited to learn about the opportunity to take the principal certification exam after completion of the Instructional Technology Program.  I honestly haven't given much thought to obtaining my certification, but I like knowing that the option is available should I decided to pursue that route.
I'm looking forward to the next web conference!

Melanie Starnes
EDLD 5306/ET8038