I was extremely successful in carrying out the course assignments. I was either the first or second person to post on the discussion board every week. During most of the week’s discussions, I had to wait until Wednesday for two other people to post so I could respond to their quotes. If I had a question, I emailed for help and got the problem taken care of. I did not feel like this course was difficult. The hardest part was taking the time to sit, read, write, and complete the assignments. The assignments were long and in depth and took more than an afternoon to finish. I successfully managed my time by planning opportunities in the week to work on my course. One challenge as we move forward is finding the time to dedicate to the internship while working full time at school. Teachers put in much more that forty hours each with. They are constantly grading papers and creating assignments. I hope that I will be able to succeed without overworking myself.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Outcomes not Achieved
I did not feel that I didn’t achieve any outcomes. I completed each assignment in the correct manner and in the correct time. I was able to learn about why technology was so important in our society and in our classroom. Looking back on the areas that I was not confident it, I am now capable. One concern that I have will be how to keep up on the course work now that school is in session. I have been in training all week and have a lot on my plate. How will I successfully complete the 18 month internship program, integrate technology, and successfully teach? Will I be able to lesson plan, grade papers, and create fun and engaging lessons? Now that I understand more technology, I find myself struggling with the time it takes to create a technology integrated lesson. It is very easy to fall in the rhythm of worksheets and book work because all the material is available and ready.
Course Outcomes Relevancy
I believe that the extent that I achieved my outcomes is quite relevant to the work that I will do in my classroom. First of all, subscribing to the technology and education RSS news feeds will help cut down on research time when I am looking for updates it the education field. Also, now that I am capable of creating and maintaining a website, I can set up a class website. I envision posting my PowerPoint presentations, notes, homework assignments, and class information on my site. Parents and students can access the site for information. We could also have a class blog. Each student would be responsible for responding to the question prompt just like a journal. This would integrate technology and writing skills. Wordle can be used at the beginning of the year to show the students the main ideas in each subject. Students could also use Animoto to make presentations on countries in World Geography.
Course Outcomes Reflection
This course was a good introduction to technology leadership. Going into the first week, I expected to learn how to create and manage several online applications including websites and blogs. I was slightly confused on what the 18-month internship entailed. I did not quite understand things like a discussion board and submitting online assignments. I was somewhat nervous about the whole process. My web skills were not the greatest and I wanted to improve those with my masters. The course helped me gain an understanding of what it meant to teach technology and the importance of using technology in the classroom. I was please with the assignments that allowed me to create both of those features and I found that they were not as difficult as I had envisioned. I also appreciated learning about tools like Animoto and Wordle. My course outcomes closely aligned with what I had envisioned for the course.
Friday, July 22, 2011
District Technology Plan
The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund is a federally funded organization that grants discounts to school districts seeking less expensive internet access. This is called the E-Rate and schools wishing to take advantage of this program must submit a technology plan. This plan must include five elements: goals and strategies for using telecommunications and information technology, a professional development strategy, an assessment of technology needed, budget resources, and an ongoing evaluation process. After 2011, budget resources will no longer be required in the technology plan. The district’s technology plan shows expenditures of three million dollars in technology with $150,000 set aside for professional development. Training in technology application software is through the Instructional Technology department. There are classes offered Monday through Saturday in the district technology training labs. Special training sessions are available for campuses or teachers that need extra training. This summer, I went to trainings for Google Earth and SmartBoards. I will attend a ProjectShare training next week for Social Studies. This is a collaboration web site for teachers to receive training and share information with one another. The district made note of some needs they need to address. These include increasing community awareness of the use of technology in the classroom, upgrading infrastructure in existing technology, increasing the technology equipment in each campus, and adding more professional development. Assessments in the form of annual technology surveys and self reflections are collected as input for future professional development. From looking at the technology budget, there seems to be enough money to place more computers in each campus and provide opportunities for professional development.
National Educational Technology Plan
The National Educational Technology Plan begins with the belief that education is central to the growth and prosperity of America. Without a high quality education, we will not be able to compete in the global economy. There are two goals of this technology plan. The first is to raise proportion of college graduates from 41% to 60% by the year 2020. The second goal is to equip all high school graduates with the necessary skills to achieve in college. This is a large goal. Many high school graduates get to college and are overwhelmed and not able to complete college. We need to narrow the achievement gap by raising the standards that we have in high school. This will meet resistance from a struggling economy. Many states, including Texas, are cutting budgets and money that goes into education. We must bring up our students with cost effective strategies that require a deeper knowledge. Technology is vital to our everyday lives. If this plan is to succeed, it must incorporate technology. The plan calls for technology based learning and collaboration. Collaboration is crucial for teachers. When we share our best teaching practices, everyone benefits. The best teachers I know tell me that they learned everything from other teachers. Collaborating with our co-teachers improves our teaching ability. We should strive to collaborate as much as possible and share our best lessons. Technology can assist with this collaboration effort. Many school districts have SharePoint sites or blogs that teachers can post links and lessons. With the proper use of technology, we can meet the highest standards we set for our students.
Resources:
Office of Educational Technology. (n.d.). National Education Technology Plan 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2011, from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010-execsumm.pdf
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