In this course Instructional Leadership: The Technology Link has allowed me to see the importance of technology in schools and the importance to being an active leader in it as an administrator. I must be honest, before this course technology was not on the top of my list as a concern for improvement for my campus until now. As I entered this technology based class I was envisioning myself walking away with ways that a teacher and leader can incorporate digital tools into their classrooms and ways that administration can help support their staff to embrace their visions and goals. This class has aligned with what I have envisioned plus some, but in the same since, this class has left me with an uneasy feeling as I have learned of the Technology Long Range Plan for the 21st century. We are a long way from even beginning to put a dent in that plan. As I trudge forward on my quest as a future administrator the information gained in this class will also help me currently in my classroom today. It has allowed me to see the injustice I am providing my students, by not using digital tools more often in my classroom. I am currently the grade level chair and during curriculum sharing days I am asking teachers to offer ways into incorporate digital tools and technology into lessons. One avenue I would have like to see more explored was way to innovatively pull from other funds to acquire money to improve technology on campuses. Funding always seems to be a major barrier for administrators achieving technology overall visions.
During this course I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I have never done blogging before, so it did take me a little longer to get use to the requirements of uploading documents from different programs, but I learned a lot by trial and error. The most consuming requirement from this course was the discussion forum. I understand that we were promoting communication with other members of the class while analyzing readings, but I just did not benefit from it as much as I did from the actual readings. The PowerPoint presentations allowed me to refresh my skills in the program as well as analyze very important data from the Star Chart. I have never considered myself to being even technology savvy. I have a lot to learn from my peers, students and administration.
As this course drew to an end I acknowledged the importance of technology in the classroom for the 21st century learners. I now have a clear understanding of what Texas Technology Long Range Plan is and the objectives they want to achieve. I have learned to use viable tools like the Star Chart to assess technology goals and improvements for our campus and staff development needs. Incorporating technology and digital tools into our core content areas can boost participation and engagement in classroom assignments. It is our job as educators to keep up with technology and model constant learning in that field. Technology has many avenues that can be beneficial for students ranging from distant education, radio broadcasting, to simple research. The sky is really the limit when it comes to ways we can incorporate it into lessons. We must although keep in mind that we must also teach our children the rules, ethics and procedures to protecting themselves online while staying safe.
Blogging can be very beneficial for the 21st century. It can allow members to post comments over a certain topic related to class. They can be used for book studies, projects and much more. Blogging has many positives and as well as negatives in education. One negative is that anyone can start a blog or post comments to blogs. It is hard to monitor or shall I say control what other say on them. We can teach ethical standards and internet policy, but we cannot control those who we do not have in class. Another issue that we are faced with in our district is that blogs are blocked by our network server. We are unable to access them from anywhere in the district. If we were going to implement blogs we student would have to participate with them from home. Blogging has been known as a good tool to communicate with all stakeholders of the schools, but I feel it would not be beneficial in our district. I teach in a Title 1 School and unfortunately majority of our students do not have access to internet outside of the school, so using blogs to communicate with parents and students almost seems unrealistic. Let’s face it most parents are not as technology competent as their children. They did not grow up in the digital world. To communicate more efficiently with these stakeholders I believe that text messages would be more beneficial than blogging, but even then it would not reach all parents. Is our goal to communicate efficiently with some stakeholders or with all stakeholders?
Overall this class was beneficial for me as a future administrator. I will put technology staff development at a priority for my campus. I plan to participate more on technology committees as I broaden myself with technology applications and software that can be beneficial for our children. We are now living in a digital world full of technology applications; therefore we should be preparing our children for the world that awaits them.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Technology Action Plan
Technology Action Plan For Pleasanton Independent School District
Goal
Produce interactive lessons and incorporate technology into our classrooms to enhance our performance in Math and Science as indicated by the AEIS report.
Objectives
1. Teachers will use technology tools to plan, communicate, prepare, and analysis lessons. Teachers will incorporate interactive tools into classrooms and submit lesson plans weekly showing evidence.
2. Teacher will incorporate Technology Teks into scopes and framework for math and science content.
3. Teachers will increase student engagement in these content areas by incorporating technology into lessons.
4. Students will master technology proficiency through the application of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
5. The District will raise Taks scores in Math & Science to 95% passing standard.
6. Technology management systems will be installed to measure student’s mastery.
Needs
(Based off star chart & Campus Surveys)
1. Funding for ongoing Professional Development in Technology for staff.
2. At least two working computers per classroom.
3. Funding to purchase 5 more Smart Boards per grade level – 2010-2011
2011-2012 Finish supplying all campuses with smart boards.
4. Increased instructional Support
Professional Development
1. All staff, parents and students will be training in internet safety and copyright laws.
2. All staff will participate in ongoing smart board training, online learning opportunities, and integration of technology into specific content areas.
3. Staff will evaluate staff development and how effective the training meant to them and their classroom.
4. Staff will be allowed time weekly to discuss, plan and evaluate technology being used in the classroom with fellow teachers.
Assessment
1. Review and analyze data from the Star Chart and AEIS Report to track success and progression towards meeting the goals of the Technology Long Range Plan.
2. Staff will provide detailed lesson plans on how they incorporated technology into content areas.
3. PDAS evaluations and walk throughs will need to demonstrate the use of technology.
Goal
Produce interactive lessons and incorporate technology into our classrooms to enhance our performance in Math and Science as indicated by the AEIS report.
Objectives
1. Teachers will use technology tools to plan, communicate, prepare, and analysis lessons. Teachers will incorporate interactive tools into classrooms and submit lesson plans weekly showing evidence.
2. Teacher will incorporate Technology Teks into scopes and framework for math and science content.
3. Teachers will increase student engagement in these content areas by incorporating technology into lessons.
4. Students will master technology proficiency through the application of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
5. The District will raise Taks scores in Math & Science to 95% passing standard.
6. Technology management systems will be installed to measure student’s mastery.
Needs
(Based off star chart & Campus Surveys)
1. Funding for ongoing Professional Development in Technology for staff.
2. At least two working computers per classroom.
3. Funding to purchase 5 more Smart Boards per grade level – 2010-2011
2011-2012 Finish supplying all campuses with smart boards.
4. Increased instructional Support
Professional Development
1. All staff, parents and students will be training in internet safety and copyright laws.
2. All staff will participate in ongoing smart board training, online learning opportunities, and integration of technology into specific content areas.
3. Staff will evaluate staff development and how effective the training meant to them and their classroom.
4. Staff will be allowed time weekly to discuss, plan and evaluate technology being used in the classroom with fellow teachers.
Assessment
1. Review and analyze data from the Star Chart and AEIS Report to track success and progression towards meeting the goals of the Technology Long Range Plan.
2. Staff will provide detailed lesson plans on how they incorporated technology into content areas.
3. PDAS evaluations and walk throughs will need to demonstrate the use of technology.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Texas Star Chart Presentation
Summary of Texas Star Chart
Texas Star Chart
View more presentations from smingram.
Texas Star Chart
Texas Star Chart stands for School Technology And Readiness. It is a mandated assessment tool that allows districts to assess their progress towards meeting the Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. The assessment can also be used to determine technology budget, clarify schools technology vision, and determine staff development needs.
The Long Range Plan for Technology is broken down into four key areas: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. From my point of view the most important area is Teaching and Learning. In this area they discuss the patterns of classroom use, frequency, content area connection, TEKS implementation, student mastery of TEKS and online learning. When looking at the statewide assessment we are on target with majority of the state with still developing technology, but our campus has reason to be concerned. Over the past 3 years our scores have decreased from 13 to 9. This should be a red flag to our district. We should be seeing our scores increase not decrease. In order to support teaching and learning in our district I believe that we need to have working computers in our classroom and allow staff profession development in online learning and how the integrate it into content areas. I feel that our score have decrease because of lack of time and computers in our classroom. Most classroom on our campus only have one working computer. Teaching and Learning is a vital key to the implementation of the Long Range Plan for Technology and in order to achieve our goals for the 21st century these issues must be addressed. We need to be exposing these young children to technology at an early age. Technology is apart of our everyday world and it should be apart of our everyday classrooms too.
The Long Range Plan for Technology is broken down into four key areas: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. From my point of view the most important area is Teaching and Learning. In this area they discuss the patterns of classroom use, frequency, content area connection, TEKS implementation, student mastery of TEKS and online learning. When looking at the statewide assessment we are on target with majority of the state with still developing technology, but our campus has reason to be concerned. Over the past 3 years our scores have decreased from 13 to 9. This should be a red flag to our district. We should be seeing our scores increase not decrease. In order to support teaching and learning in our district I believe that we need to have working computers in our classroom and allow staff profession development in online learning and how the integrate it into content areas. I feel that our score have decrease because of lack of time and computers in our classroom. Most classroom on our campus only have one working computer. Teaching and Learning is a vital key to the implementation of the Long Range Plan for Technology and in order to achieve our goals for the 21st century these issues must be addressed. We need to be exposing these young children to technology at an early age. Technology is apart of our everyday world and it should be apart of our everyday classrooms too.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Prek Technology Application TEKS
You would be surprised how many Prek student come into the classroom with more technology skills than some educators. Technology is a major part of these student lives on and off campus. They are constantly surrounded by it. They have digital cameras, MP3 players and much more. The more we can expose children to technology in schools the more sufficient there life will be.
Pre-Kindergarten technology TEKS lay the foundations for later grades to build upon . In Prek students are expected to interact with storybooks online, create writings and drawing using software. Students are also expected to use basic data input skills like controlling the mouse along side with computer vocabulary. By interacting with technology PreK students should strive academically and learn new information.
The Technology Application TEKS are a spiraling curriculum. Every year they review the skill taught in the previous grade and build upon it. As student progress through their academic life in school the spiraling curriculum reassures their understanding of the skills. An example of spiraling curriculum can be seen in in the K-2 TEK where student must be able use appropriate tools to navigate and access information for research. In grades 3-5 students must be able to navigate and access information on local networks and wide area networks.
In closing, it is our jobs as educators to give students the knowledge to be successful in the 21st century. The more we incorporate technology into our skills and lesson the more life we can bring to our students.
Pre-Kindergarten technology TEKS lay the foundations for later grades to build upon . In Prek students are expected to interact with storybooks online, create writings and drawing using software. Students are also expected to use basic data input skills like controlling the mouse along side with computer vocabulary. By interacting with technology PreK students should strive academically and learn new information.
The Technology Application TEKS are a spiraling curriculum. Every year they review the skill taught in the previous grade and build upon it. As student progress through their academic life in school the spiraling curriculum reassures their understanding of the skills. An example of spiraling curriculum can be seen in in the K-2 TEK where student must be able use appropriate tools to navigate and access information for research. In grades 3-5 students must be able to navigate and access information on local networks and wide area networks.
In closing, it is our jobs as educators to give students the knowledge to be successful in the 21st century. The more we incorporate technology into our skills and lesson the more life we can bring to our students.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Technology Vision for 2020
Who knew the State of Texas even had this Long Term Range Plan for Technology. You definitely would not be able to tell it by looking at my campus. I must agree with its overall vision of students being able to access technology 24/7 regardless of barriers in order for them to be successful in the 21st century. Technology is the future and it is forever changing. It almost seems impossible for us to keep up. This plan goes into how it will affect parents, educators and the community. Parents will be able to communicate with staff, access grades and attendance. The plan points out the importance for staff development and distant learning for both staff and students. After all in order to incorporate technology into the classrooms, educators need to be educated themselves on the ever changing technology advances. With schools growing increasingly larger and budgets getting smaller this long term plan just seems to be out of reach. By the time 2020 gets here we will just be getting the technology for all classroom that is needed now and those items will be outdated.
As a future leader it is my goal to provide my staff including myself with the most beneficial technology training that focuses on ways they can implement the concepts, TEKS and new tools into their classrooms. I cannot voice enough the importance of technology for our students now and for their future. I agree we need to pick up the pace and start moving faster towards the technology advances.
As a future leader it is my goal to provide my staff including myself with the most beneficial technology training that focuses on ways they can implement the concepts, TEKS and new tools into their classrooms. I cannot voice enough the importance of technology for our students now and for their future. I agree we need to pick up the pace and start moving faster towards the technology advances.
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