Web Conference 3

    The final web conference of the course was on Tuesday, December 13, 2011. This web conference was informative because it was the last chance to ask questions about internship requirements and end of course assignment questions.

    The professor discussed detailed information regarding our internship plan, course reflections, the week 5 assignment, and submissions within Tk20.

    We also learned of upcoming events for our next course 5301-Research and we were told that we needed to buy our books.

    I am glad I had an opportunity to attend this web conference. It was informative and it was nice to say goodbye to classmates and wish them well for the holiday break.

Course Reflections: EDLD 5306 Concepts of Educational Technology

1.       What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

I envisioned this course to demonstrate an overview of the foundations and concepts of Educational Technology. In my opinion this class did just that. It covered many topics associated with educational technology and technology in general. Through the readings, lecture videos, and assignments I have gained a better understanding of the role of technology in education. There are concepts that I have learned in this class that I have already implemented in my classroom. I thought that this class was informative and easily understandable as directions and grading rubrics were clear and well written. I feel that I have done well in this course and I want to continue to the next section of this degree plan. I am pleased that I learned concepts by actually performing tasks that led to knowledge instead of just reading about topics. I know that this class has set the foundation for my further development in Educational Technology Leadership.

2.       To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

I feel as though the outcomes from this class have helped me tremendously. The knowledge that I have gained from this class will help me not only in future courses but within my internship plan and my classroom and school. I am excited about the knowledge that I have learned and have already shared information with other teachers and students. I am glad that I have learned web tools such as Animoto and Wordle. These tools will help my students learn that learning is a good thing and can be fun as well. The outcomes from this class are relevant at my school because a few teachers have heard some of these tools and concepts, but it is rare to see teachers use them within their plans. I feel as though everything that I have learned in the course with help my students become better participants and learners.

3.       What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

The outcome that I did not achieve during this course was working on my stress management skills. With time being so slim and hard to manage there is a great deal of pressure upon the student. The time period in which this course was delivered came at a difficult time. End of the year activities at my school are numerous as am a choir director. Concerts and performing tours were on the agenda during this first class. I did the best I could to manage stress. I do wish I had been able to attend at least one more of the scheduled web conferences. My choir’s concert fell on one of the scheduled dates and so I had to miss one of the web conferences. I feel like I still need to work on stress management throughout my next course and entire degree. This will help me not only within my educational goals but within my career goals as well. To be able to keep stress maintained at low level will help me become a better students and teacher.

4.       Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I feel as though I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. I actually liked the assignments and thought that learning new skills was fun. I enjoyed the readings and lecture videos. I also enjoyed conversing with other classmates throughout the courseware and through the wiki site and blog postings. I learned how to pace myself though this course and I know that will help me throughout this degree program. I enjoyed this class and am ready to learn more. Sometimes the new technologies such as wikis, blogs, and other tools took some time to master but I have been learning throughout the entire class. I was a little bit discouraged about some family time that I had to miss, but I know that this is for a brief time only. My degree will be worth every second. I have learned so much in just five weeks. I look forward to learning more.

5.       What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I feel as though this first course really helped me to learn and improve my time management skills. Not only did I learn to manage my time weekly but I was able to manage my time based on the entire length course. I was scared of this degree plan and all of the requirements. I have to admit I am still a bit nervous about the workload and content. But I do not want to be a person that is held back by fear. I have learned that I know more than I sometimes think that I do. I also have learned to trust my initial instincts. Even though my internship plan is very detailed and in depth I truly believe I can accomplish this. I believe the Master of Education in Educational Technology Leadership is within my grasp and I will reach in the end of the program, along with my classmates, in only 18 months!

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EDLD 5306 Blog #3- National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) illustrates that education is the key to America’s competitiveness in this global economy and that there should be reform as the nation and the world grows technologically.

The plan covers several points has many goals and recommendations for the present time to enable the future. These goals and recommendations are for five different areas within the education system. The areas include: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.

Within Learning there are several different recommendations including that the states should continue to revise, create, and implement standards and learning objectives using technology for all content areas and that states and districts should develop and implement learning resources that implement technology. (United States Department of Education [USDE], 2010)

Assessment recommendations include timely feedback and conducting research to see how embedded assessment technologies can motivate, engage, and assess the learner. (USDE, 2010)

Teaching recommendations include opportunities for educators to have access to technology based content, provide all learners with online access, and provide professional learning opportunities for the educator. (USDE, 2010)

Infrastructure recommendations include ensuring that students and teachers have connectivity, open educational resources, and building and developing infrastructure for learning. (USDE, 2010)

Recommendations for productivity include adopting a common definition of productivity in education and design and implement technology based programs so that the learner will be ready for college or professional work. (USDE, 2010)

The Department of Education is planning to implement these practices and recommendations now as our world is technologically advancing every moment. I believe that technology is constantly changing so we as educators and a nation must constantly and consistently assess our students to ensure that they will be ready for the next technological advancements.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology 2010. (2010). Transforming American education: Learning powered by technology. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf

EDLD 5306 Blog #2- District Technology Plan

The premier goal of the Pasadena Independent School District is the marketability of students and that they will improve annually to ensure success in the academic and business world. Strategies include: Integrating real world experiences (including technology applications) into all content areas and increasing awareness of career opportunities and attributes necessary for success in the working world. Other strategies include expanding school -to -work and technology preparatory opportunities, providing Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) testing information to all students to encourage early college registration, and data analysis on all PISD graduates. (Pasadena Independent School District [PISD}, 2007)

The district’s professional development strategy includes courses that are made available to faculty. The courses are subdivided into three categories: Awareness, Application, and Integration. Awareness courses include skills that are needed such as basic operations of computers, email, the use of the internet, internet searches, technology planning, and policies and procedures.  Application courses include skills that are needed to acquire the productivity skills they would need for word processing, spreadsheets, databases, thinking maps, and web design. Integration courses include skills to provide teachers with resources and modeling on how to integrate technology into curriculum and instruction. Workshops are also provided through six district Instructional Technology Specialists as well as fifty-four trained and certified campus technology liaisons. (PISD, 2007)

The assessment of telecommunication services, hardware, software, and other services was held by the district. The assessment was divided into four areas that include: Campus Technology, District Technology, Information Capital Portfolio Analysis, and Professional Development. The district used a variety of tools during this assessment including: district equipment inventory, campus equipment and peripheral inventory, campus software inventory, the Three Year School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart Longitudinal Assessment, principal surveys, library technology assessment, classroom standard model, and a new campus standard model. (PISD, 2007)

Budgeting for the technology plan is divided into four categories: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration, and Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. The allotment for monies for Teaching and Learning is $38,043,592.00, which is 52% of the total technology budget.  Educator Preparation and Development is given $4,844,334.00, which is 7% of the total budget. Leadership, Administration, and Support is allotted $3,359,380.00, which is 37% of the total budget for technology. The final category is Infrastructure for Technology which is given $27,560,947.00, utilizing 37% of the budget for technology. The total budget for the Pasadena Independent School District Technology Plan (2007-2010) is $73,808,280.00. (PISD, 2007)

The Pasadena Independent School District’s evaluation process is ongoing at many levels including the status of the plan implementation based on scheduled implementation dates and indicators of completion, impact of the plan based on re-evaluating the district plan utilizing tools not used in the original assessment. The evaluation will also include gap analysis from National Education Technology Plan goals, No Child Left Behind technology requirements, Texas Long Range Technology Plan, State Board of Education Certification (SBEC), and best practice. (PISD, 2007)

Pasadena Independent School District, 2007-2010 PISD Learning & Technology Plan. (2007) Retrieved from http://www1.pasadenaisd.org/education/staff/staff.php?sectiondetailid=10673&

EDLD 5306 Blog #1 Technology Assessments

    Assessing an educator’s technology leadership, knowledge, and skills is imperative as the nation and the world progresses in technological advances.

    The STaR Chart was developed around Texas’ Long-Range Plan for Technology (2006-2020) so it is centered on the goals that the state of Texas has implemented for school and districts.

    The Texas Teacher STaR Chart can be helpful because it gives teachers questions to ask themselves so that they may reflect on what they are doing right, what they need to improve on, and where their professional development may need to lead them in the future.

     Assessing the knowledge and skills of students is crucial in determining where the needs of the students lie. This can help the educator determine what skill or tool the student needs to develop to ensure that they will be ready to join the workforce and are college ready.

     The STaR chart is beneficial because it can provide detailed school data assessments regarding technology, funding, classroom technology needs, and information needed to provide documentation for certain grants, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title II, Part D formula, and discretionary funds. (Texas Education Agency [TEA], n.d.)

     The cons of the technology assessment is that it needs to be certain and accurate data. Therefore there needs to be 100% participation from teachers, schools and districts. Also some questions may be subjective as they are geared more to core classroom content and not other content areas such as physical education and fine arts thus manufacturing distorted data.

Texas Education Agency. STaR Chart. Texas STaR chart history. Retrieved
from http://starchart.epsilen.com/history.html

Web Conference 2

    The second web conference that I attended was on November 17, 2011. It was extremely informative because I was able to begin to learn about the internship requirements for my degree plan. Although there is so much information to absorb, I am hoping that focusing on a few steps at a time will make this journey a little easier. I feel like I keep learning little things along the way in this program, and I hope that by the end my anxieties will have dissipated!

    During this web conference I learned about the TK20 electronic portfolio that Lamar University uses and field based activity hours that I must accumulate for degree completion. I also learned about how my cohort will move and the arrangement of the classes for my degree plan. I like the fact that this degree offers web conferences because I think it is important to feel comfortable with distance learning and collaboration.

Web Conference 1

    On November 16, 2011 I attended my first web conference. This web conference was the first of many dealing with Educational Technology as I am seeking the degree of Master of Education in Educational Technology Leadership at Lamar University.

    During this web conference our class was able to test our equipment to make sure that we would be able to hear and see the web conference correctly. We also began to learn about the people we would spend an ample amount of time with as this cohort moves together to work towards the completion of our degrees. It was nice to finally put faces with the names that I have seen so much throughout the discussion boards.

    This web conference was informative as we were able to ask questions about our assignments, class, and degree plan. We were also told that soon we would be creating blogs!