Tonight I attended the web conference hosted by Dr. Abernathy. It was hosted through Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro. It was a little bit out of control, since I don't think that they were prepared for the large number of students that attended. Dr. Abernathy said at one point that she had expected 25-30, but when I logged on there were already 97 people in the room, with room for only 3 more. Since there were so many people in the room, all trying to contribute to the conversation and ask questions, the script was moving very quickly and it was extremely hard to keep up with. It would be better if next time we participated in smaller groups.
Although it was a little bit oerwhelming, it was also a very neat experience that I look forward to trying again. It was also very cool to be able to speak in real time with one of our professors, a luxury that I have never had in this program.
I would love to someday be able to use this at school, either as a teacher or as an administrator. One person in the chat room mentioned that she would love to have parent conferences like that. I am not currently at a school where that would be possible, due to large numbers of families of low socioeconomic status who do not have access to computers and/or internet. However, maybe sometime in the future these things will become more available or I will work in a different setting.
I am the teacher representative for the PTA board of directors at my school, and I think that having our meetings via web conferencing would be a much more efficient way to meet than the monthly meetings we currently have in the school library. That way, all of the mothers could stay home with their families and we would probably have greater participation in each meeting.
Those are my thoughts on the web conferencing experience!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Educator Preparation and Development in Technology - My Opinion
As a teacher, there are certain areas where I feel that I am an expert in what I do. Differentiating instruction in reading and math, and providing challenging, meaningful work for my gifted and talented students are two of these areas. Part of the reason that I feel so prepared to do these things is because I can rely on technology to help me. There are software programs available for teaching and reinforcing remedial skills, there are databases available for my students to learn and research on their own, and there are programs that let me track my students’ progress and ability levels in data tables and other presentation styles.
The reason that I am so prepared to do these things is because I had a recent, very enriching college experience which taught me how to incorporate technology into my classroom. In college, I took online classes, participated in webinars and other online learning opportunities, compiled an internet portfolio of all of my work throughout the four years, and did numerous smaller projects to reinforce these skills.
What about the teachers who graduated from college 20 years ago, or more? How have they been taught to use technology in their classrooms? Where will I be 20 years from now when technology has changed and evolved and I am out of the loop?
This is what is happening across our state and at my campus specifically. According to the STaR Chart, a technology survey for campuses across our state, this is an area that is in need of improvement. While the scores at my campus and in the state have improved over the last 3 years, it is not a significant improvement. More than anything, this area seems to be a little stagnant of growth. Teachers do not feel as though they are receiving enough staff development to help them be competent in facilitating the integration of technology into their classrooms. Many teachers feel that the staff development that they actually are receiving is not of the caliber that it should be. While teaching teachers how to use it themselves is important, what we are really lacking are sessions that teacher them how to let their students use it. Teachers need meaningful, hands-on staff development in which they can learn how to integrate technology on a regular basis and across all subject areas. This training needs to extend beyond their teacher preparation programs and into their continuing education through district-provided staff development. If we had more of this, there would be less “fear of the unknown,” and our students would benefit greatly.
The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. (2006). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.
School technology and readiness. (2009). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://starchart.esc12.net/.
The reason that I am so prepared to do these things is because I had a recent, very enriching college experience which taught me how to incorporate technology into my classroom. In college, I took online classes, participated in webinars and other online learning opportunities, compiled an internet portfolio of all of my work throughout the four years, and did numerous smaller projects to reinforce these skills.
What about the teachers who graduated from college 20 years ago, or more? How have they been taught to use technology in their classrooms? Where will I be 20 years from now when technology has changed and evolved and I am out of the loop?
This is what is happening across our state and at my campus specifically. According to the STaR Chart, a technology survey for campuses across our state, this is an area that is in need of improvement. While the scores at my campus and in the state have improved over the last 3 years, it is not a significant improvement. More than anything, this area seems to be a little stagnant of growth. Teachers do not feel as though they are receiving enough staff development to help them be competent in facilitating the integration of technology into their classrooms. Many teachers feel that the staff development that they actually are receiving is not of the caliber that it should be. While teaching teachers how to use it themselves is important, what we are really lacking are sessions that teacher them how to let their students use it. Teachers need meaningful, hands-on staff development in which they can learn how to integrate technology on a regular basis and across all subject areas. This training needs to extend beyond their teacher preparation programs and into their continuing education through district-provided staff development. If we had more of this, there would be less “fear of the unknown,” and our students would benefit greatly.
The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. (2006). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.
School technology and readiness. (2009). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://starchart.esc12.net/.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Technology Applications TEKS
The Pre-K Technology Applications TEKS lay the foundation for future learning. The child is expected to learn how to start and exit programs, use a variety of basic input devices, use basic technology terminology, operate programs successfully by following oral or pictoral cues, interact with electronic text such as storybooks, and use a variety of software programs to enhance learning. (Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS, 2005)
These TEKS lay the foundation for learning in the future grades because they help the child become familiar with the basis parts of a computer and the process of operating one. They also provide the child with an introduction to how important technology is to their learning. (Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS, 2005)
There are many examples in the Technology Applications TEKS of how they are a scaffolded, spiraling curriculum. Students have multiple opportunities throughout their schooling to master the skills. Take the Foundations strand, for example: This begins in Pre-K when the student is first introduced to the parts of the computer, technical terminology, and starting and exiting programs. In K-2, the student is expected to build on these skills by being able to produce and edit products, save, and print. They also build their vocabulary and use more input devices. In 3-5, the student builds on these skills even further by being timed on their production, being able to delete files, and knowing how to access files on a network. Their vocabulary also continues to expand. In 6-8, the student is still expected to do all of the same things, but they must show greater understanding by being able to compare and contrast input, output, and storage devices; analog and digital systems; and LANs, WANs, internet, and intranet. They must also develop and exhibit more specific keyboarding and grammatical skills, such as one space after punctuation and dashes. Finally, in grades 9-12 the student is expected to continue to build on these skills. They must do all of the same things, but also use information to select software and digital formats appropriate to their tasks, understand programming languages, and use much more diverse input devices to produce their products (including touch-screen, voice recorders, etc). (Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS, 2005)
Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS. (2005). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/ta/stustd.html.
These TEKS lay the foundation for learning in the future grades because they help the child become familiar with the basis parts of a computer and the process of operating one. They also provide the child with an introduction to how important technology is to their learning. (Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS, 2005)
There are many examples in the Technology Applications TEKS of how they are a scaffolded, spiraling curriculum. Students have multiple opportunities throughout their schooling to master the skills. Take the Foundations strand, for example: This begins in Pre-K when the student is first introduced to the parts of the computer, technical terminology, and starting and exiting programs. In K-2, the student is expected to build on these skills by being able to produce and edit products, save, and print. They also build their vocabulary and use more input devices. In 3-5, the student builds on these skills even further by being timed on their production, being able to delete files, and knowing how to access files on a network. Their vocabulary also continues to expand. In 6-8, the student is still expected to do all of the same things, but they must show greater understanding by being able to compare and contrast input, output, and storage devices; analog and digital systems; and LANs, WANs, internet, and intranet. They must also develop and exhibit more specific keyboarding and grammatical skills, such as one space after punctuation and dashes. Finally, in grades 9-12 the student is expected to continue to build on these skills. They must do all of the same things, but also use information to select software and digital formats appropriate to their tasks, understand programming languages, and use much more diverse input devices to produce their products (including touch-screen, voice recorders, etc). (Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS, 2005)
Technology Applications Student Standards for EC-12: Prekindergarten Guidelines and K-12 TEKS. (2005). Texas Education Agency. Retrieved from
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/ta/stustd.html.
Long Range Plan for Technology
Educators, administrators, students, and community members will one day be able to communicate and learn in a much more rich way. In order for this to happen, educators must emphasize the new technology TEKS, and participate in staff development to enhance their own abilities and teaching skills. Also, appropriate funds and resources for technology must be available to all schools. In order to accomplish this vision by 2020, a plan has been developed. This plan emphasizes four key areas: learners, educators, leaders, and infrastructure. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Over the last several years, most parts of our community have become much more technological and modern. This is not the case for most school districts and schools in the United States. This is a problem because other countries are surpassing us in this area, and thus are having more successful students after high school graduation. Additionally, our country’s demographics are rapidly changing and technology must be integrated and applied to instruction on a daily basis in order to best serve all of our diverse students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Students are much more familiar and comfortable with technology than they were a number or years ago. They need to be challenged with it on an individual basis. Teachers need to introduce and reinforce key skills, and then tailor assignments to where each and every student is challenged. These technological activities can be independent or collaborative, or both. Educators need to apply the students’ familiarity with and use of technology on a daily basis to their learning in order to make it beneficial to their education and their futures. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Across the board, the vast majority of teachers agree that technology is both important and beneficial to their students’ education. Most teachers also use email, internet search engines, and news websites on a regular basis at work. Teachers feel that the main barriers to technology in the classroom are lack of time, lack of support at home, and lack of materials. Teachers would like to see additional staff development focused primarily on how to integrate technology into their lessons more regularly. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Teachers should no longer rely on the “one size fits all” philosophy of education. They need to understand that students need technology to use as tools for different things. Technology should be used to bridge the ability gap between students. Many students need distance learning opportunities for a multitude of reasons, most of which are to help bridge the gap mentioned above. The roles that teachers and students play must change, and they must be equal partners in education. Technology will help to accomplish this by expanding learning opportunities for all students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Teachers must be taught prior to entering their first job how to integrate technology in their classrooms. Therefore, all teacher preparation programs should model effective integration of technology. Many programs have already chosen to transition to some classes being distance learning, or online courses, to fulfill this requirement. Teachers must not only understand how to use technology, but also how to integrate it on a daily basis into their instruction to the benefit of their students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Administrators must emphasize the importance of technology in a variety of ways. They must budget money for both materials and equipment, and also for staff development as a teacher support. Also, they must set an example of technology use in the school. They can do this by using data in decision making and by relying on technology themselves. Administrators must hold teachers accountable for meeting technological goals, just as they do in other content areas. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
A good infrastructure is imperative to the achievement of all four of the goals above. Schools should have equitable access to all e-learning technologies through ubiquitous broadband resources 24/7 for all users. They should also provide quick technical assistance to support teaching and learning. Also, they should measure data securely and accurately, and set standards for accessibility for all users. If all of these things are there, then students can receive a rich, tailored educational experience within their school curriculum. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
The immediate issues that need to be addressed in order for student needs to be met are a realistic and stable funding model for all aspects of technology, leadership and support in the area of educational technology, strategies to measure the progress of students and teachers in meeting technology proficiencies, and software standards to ensure the proper use of funds for technology. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
My new learning can assist me as an instructional leader who is guiding technology use and integration at a campus. I am now more familiar with specific technology goals and how they must be addressed. I also now have information which will guide me toward addressing teacher concerns and helping them to move past them. Lastly, now that I have a greater understanding of the importance of the integration of technology in a student's education, I will be more supportive and hold my teachers more accountable in this area. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. (2006). Texas Education Agency.
Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.
Over the last several years, most parts of our community have become much more technological and modern. This is not the case for most school districts and schools in the United States. This is a problem because other countries are surpassing us in this area, and thus are having more successful students after high school graduation. Additionally, our country’s demographics are rapidly changing and technology must be integrated and applied to instruction on a daily basis in order to best serve all of our diverse students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Students are much more familiar and comfortable with technology than they were a number or years ago. They need to be challenged with it on an individual basis. Teachers need to introduce and reinforce key skills, and then tailor assignments to where each and every student is challenged. These technological activities can be independent or collaborative, or both. Educators need to apply the students’ familiarity with and use of technology on a daily basis to their learning in order to make it beneficial to their education and their futures. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Across the board, the vast majority of teachers agree that technology is both important and beneficial to their students’ education. Most teachers also use email, internet search engines, and news websites on a regular basis at work. Teachers feel that the main barriers to technology in the classroom are lack of time, lack of support at home, and lack of materials. Teachers would like to see additional staff development focused primarily on how to integrate technology into their lessons more regularly. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Teachers should no longer rely on the “one size fits all” philosophy of education. They need to understand that students need technology to use as tools for different things. Technology should be used to bridge the ability gap between students. Many students need distance learning opportunities for a multitude of reasons, most of which are to help bridge the gap mentioned above. The roles that teachers and students play must change, and they must be equal partners in education. Technology will help to accomplish this by expanding learning opportunities for all students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Teachers must be taught prior to entering their first job how to integrate technology in their classrooms. Therefore, all teacher preparation programs should model effective integration of technology. Many programs have already chosen to transition to some classes being distance learning, or online courses, to fulfill this requirement. Teachers must not only understand how to use technology, but also how to integrate it on a daily basis into their instruction to the benefit of their students. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
Administrators must emphasize the importance of technology in a variety of ways. They must budget money for both materials and equipment, and also for staff development as a teacher support. Also, they must set an example of technology use in the school. They can do this by using data in decision making and by relying on technology themselves. Administrators must hold teachers accountable for meeting technological goals, just as they do in other content areas. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
A good infrastructure is imperative to the achievement of all four of the goals above. Schools should have equitable access to all e-learning technologies through ubiquitous broadband resources 24/7 for all users. They should also provide quick technical assistance to support teaching and learning. Also, they should measure data securely and accurately, and set standards for accessibility for all users. If all of these things are there, then students can receive a rich, tailored educational experience within their school curriculum. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
The immediate issues that need to be addressed in order for student needs to be met are a realistic and stable funding model for all aspects of technology, leadership and support in the area of educational technology, strategies to measure the progress of students and teachers in meeting technology proficiencies, and software standards to ensure the proper use of funds for technology. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
My new learning can assist me as an instructional leader who is guiding technology use and integration at a campus. I am now more familiar with specific technology goals and how they must be addressed. I also now have information which will guide me toward addressing teacher concerns and helping them to move past them. Lastly, now that I have a greater understanding of the importance of the integration of technology in a student's education, I will be more supportive and hold my teachers more accountable in this area. (The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020, 2006)
The Long-range plan for technology, 2006-2020. (2006). Texas Education Agency.
Retrieved from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/technology/lrpt/lrpt_lrpt.html.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Reflections of Technology Assessments
After completing the three technology assessments, I have learned a lot about my own range of skills in technology. I also now have a better defined set of goals for me to improve upon before I become a school leader.
From the Technology Applications Inventory, I learned that my biggest areas of need are “Foundations” and “Solving Problems.” While I understand the basic elements of these things, I have some gaps in my knowledge. For example, I am not very good at using Excel to make spreadsheets and I usually fall back on using a word processor to create everything instead.
From the SEDTA Teacher Survey, I found areas of need to address at my school. For example, technology use in encouraged but not required or rewarded. More teachers would use technology more freely in their classrooms if one or both of these things were happening. I also realized that, while teachers have access to a lot of technology, many of our teachers do not. This is something that I hope to improve upon as a future administrator.
From the Rubric for Leadership in technology, I learned that I am on “Level 3” of most of the skill areas. This is good because I am capable of teaching others in those areas. Unfortunately, however, my school does not have many opportunities for teachers to help each other like this. This is another way that I hope to improve through my leadership.
I agree with these assessments because I think that they are a good overall indicator of the strength of technology use on my campus. I also agree that I need to strengthen my skills in the areas that they called to my attention. These include html coding, data spreadsheets, and other complicated things that I need to learn.
From the Technology Applications Inventory, I learned that my biggest areas of need are “Foundations” and “Solving Problems.” While I understand the basic elements of these things, I have some gaps in my knowledge. For example, I am not very good at using Excel to make spreadsheets and I usually fall back on using a word processor to create everything instead.
From the SEDTA Teacher Survey, I found areas of need to address at my school. For example, technology use in encouraged but not required or rewarded. More teachers would use technology more freely in their classrooms if one or both of these things were happening. I also realized that, while teachers have access to a lot of technology, many of our teachers do not. This is something that I hope to improve upon as a future administrator.
From the Rubric for Leadership in technology, I learned that I am on “Level 3” of most of the skill areas. This is good because I am capable of teaching others in those areas. Unfortunately, however, my school does not have many opportunities for teachers to help each other like this. This is another way that I hope to improve through my leadership.
I agree with these assessments because I think that they are a good overall indicator of the strength of technology use on my campus. I also agree that I need to strengthen my skills in the areas that they called to my attention. These include html coding, data spreadsheets, and other complicated things that I need to learn.
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