My Blog is Your Blog ...

Instructional Leadership. For some reason when I thought about this course, I thought that it would show me how to help teachers be better teachers. That being said, I also had an archaic view of just what exactly that meant. In my mind, I thought I would learn how to be “insightful” and “motivational” and become better able to “suggest improvements” in teaching styles. Actually, I guess I did learn that. However, not in the way that I thought I would be learning it. This class proved to me that the future of education is in the realm of technology. So really, I did learn how to help teachers improve their teaching abilities. I also learned how to help teachers envision themselves in a new place – a place where students learn regardless of their level or ability or learning style. I learned how to build a new world in a classroom. Therefore, I have come to the end of this class learning what I thought I would learn … just not in the way that I envisioned it!

So how does all of the new technology information help me? As a counselor, I consider part of my job as being a mentor or advisor to teachers when they ask. I have always been somewhat of a technology guru for my friends. I love using new innovations and incorporating new ideas into schools so as to bring students into learning as participants instead of spectators. So, does everything that I’ve learned help me in my current position? Yes it does. Plus, it really has helped prepare me for the day when I become an administrator. Whether it is as a building administrator or a district administrator, I will have knowledge to help make better decisions. I will continue to be a supporter and proponent of technology integration at all levels of education.

Truly I think that I was able to experience and achieve more than I expected at the beginning of the class. There was nothing that I had not either practiced before, had prior training on, or read about in one of the articles. There were so many articles to read! But most of them contained really good information. I was truly amazed at all of the schools out there that are currently using Web 2.0 and having success with their students. I hope that one day we can have that happen at my current district! I know that our technology department is a huge supporter of the new innovations and provides training for anyone who signs up. Plus they are more than willing to come out to classrooms to assist teachers with activities and implementations. So I foresee a really progressive future for us!

I was able to complete all of the course assignments. Even though the first week I experienced some distress about the format of the discussion board not being told to us soon enough. However, I was able to change and conform. The only other problem that I had was the 2nd week when my discussions were deleted after our new groups were formed! That caused me some stress … however I was able to complete my postings and had comments made prior to the deletion. The biggest advantage would have been the webinars. However, due to the way they were set up, I don’t think that they achieved what they were supposed to achieve. I do believe in the webinars and fully support the idea and would love to utilize this type of interaction at my school. Before one takes on this type of undertaking one has to consider all that could conceivably occur and prepare for it or be fast on the spot to revamp. I think that our professors did an excellent job of working through the kinks and trying to be available to all class members. Also, I really enjoyed creating my blog! I love blogging – it’s just so easy to do. Plus, this was a safe environment to have a blog. I am supposed to have one at my campus but I am somewhat apprehensive about creating it and posting to it. I know that I must conquer my fear and just do it. I will take it one step at a time. The thing that was reinforced to me throughout this course was the fact that technology must be used and modeled for students so they can have advantages from our global world.

I consider myself very lucky to have the technology skills that I have. I learned a long time ago that you just have to get in there and try things out so that you can learn and become familiar with different software programs. I have been very fortunate to have worked in different places where I was able to learn various languages and programs and carry these skills with me and build on them in each new job that I have had. I love being able to use technology with students. Even though I am not in the classroom any more, I am still supporting and encouraging teachers on my campus to use whatever equipment we have so as to integrate technology more. We have to begin teaching tomorrow’s leaders today with the skills that they will be using in tomorrow’s world. I look forward to the day where everyone will embrace Web 2.0 and consider it the norm instead of the innovation.

Blogs are important in our future learners’ world because they provide a forum for students to view information and collaborate with others across the world. Blogging brings things and people that are “out there” right into your room. In addition, blogs are set up in the same way as all of the social networking sites that our students use. Students use My Space and Facebook or Twitter to follow things that interest them. Educational blogs provide a community that they can access and learn from if set up the proper way. Blogs have to attention grabbing and interesting. Plus, blogs must be accessible so that students have opportunities to communicate with a broad base of other students. The pool of users has to be wide.

However, the danger of security and hackers breaching that security is still a big concern for school districts. I understand that we want to be able to control sites and who can get in so as to keep our students safe. At some point though, we must take a leap of faith so that we can move ahead. Blogging is one of the social networking tools that provides a venue for students to interact and express their opinions about current events. Blogging also can serve as a venue for spreading information not only to students but to all stakeholders. We must encourage our students and their families to learn internet safety and ethical behavior so as to be able to utilize all of the new technologies that are constantly being developed. Our world is becoming smaller and smaller as new innovations become more common place.

I hope to have my own blog when I become an administrator so that I can maintain open communication and keep all stakeholders involved in the day to day events that occur at school. The importance of the blog will be to make everyone feel like they are a part of our school community. That old saying, “it takes a village” is very true. Blogs are just one way that we can bring our “village” into the school and help us all educate our students and prepare them for the future.

Campus Action Plan

I created a Campus Action Plan based on our District Technology Long Range Plan. However, our technology action plan is currently under construction! So - my plan is based on a "work in progress" and will - needless to say - need some revision and editing.

The process of creating this plan required some research and review of things that we have been studying in this class. I am impressed that our district seems to be moving in the right direction. However, I was somewhat distraught that the students I interviewed did not know more than they did about some Web 2.0 tools.

Perhaps if we continue to focus on integration of technology we can achieve our goals.

Web Conferences

Thank you Dr. Abernathy and Dr. Stephens!
I think the web conferences were a Great Idea!! Once all of the glitches get worked out I can just see what an incredible tool this will be for classes. The opportunity to clarify with professors face to face is really nice!
Thanks again!

"The Stars at Night ... are Big and Bright ..."

The Texas Star Chart was developed by TEA so as to provide schools with feedback about their technology ratings of their campuses and districts compared to other schools in the state. The purpose of the Star Chart is to show how schools are aligned with the long range plan for technology. The Star Chart has four areas:
- Teaching & Learning
- Educator Preparation
- Administration & Support and
- Infrastructure
I checked out the ratings for Eagle Mt Elementary. This school is similar in demographics to my current campus. Plus, many of our students came from this school. My campus is new – last year was our first year to be open. Consequently, we do not have data from three years ago so show any trends or progression in the Star Chart.
I find it interesting that the rating for Educator Preparation has declined ever so slightly each year. This trend was mirrored by other schools in the state as well. Perhaps the growth of technology has not been matched by training of educators. Maybe teachers just feel inept. Maybe teachers feel out of their league. Maybe some of them have the mindset of, “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” I have heard some people in our district lament their inability to do anything on the computer. They fight progress tooth and nail!
Why? One might ask. I think it goes back to self confidence. People who are secure with themselves and not worried about making mistakes embrace new technology and are willing to try new innovations. However, I have observed that people who have only one area of expertise, do not enjoy stepping outside of their realm. They do not feel comfortable trying things that they might not be successful at, so it is much easier to just not try in the first place. Maybe it is that they are just past the age of learning anything that may be difficult for them. Of course, this goes against our district vision of promoting “life-long learning.” I think that it is very easy for teachers to say those words, but maybe not so easy to live them.
Until we, as educators, can learn to “walk the walk” of using, implementing, and embracing technology, our students will never achieve their true potential in our fast growing global world of technology.

The Stars R Bigger N Brighter ...

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The Stars R Bigger N Brighter ...

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TEKS for TECH

Learning about technology begins in the pre-k years. It is amazing that these little ones are able to do what they do! They begin with general intro into the workings of a computer but before the end of the year they must be able to "use a variety of software packages with audio, video and graphics to enhance learning experiences." [Do they even know what enhance means???] This is one of the "problem solving" TEKS that is spiraled throughout all grade levels and just expands as the student gets older and builds more skills. Each grade level has this in their curriculum.

Grades 3-5 have activities in each of the four areas of focus for technology: foundation, information acquisition, solving problems, and communcation. The student in these grades shows that they can open files, save files and use the software to make their projects bigger and better. First they must sign an 'acceptable use policy' that lists proper procedures, legalities and ethical standards for basic computer use in the classroom. Next they build their foundational skills and show basic computing skills. After they learn that, they must also learn how to use search engines and do online research. However, just being able to find material is not all that they do. They must learn to evalaute this material for validity. They must learn how to cite what they find. And then, they must learn how to put it all together so that it is pleasing to the eye! Nobody wants to view an ugly powerpoint! Dress it up! Add some sound and some graphics! Students learn how to do this and each year they add a few more details to their skills.

Vision 2020

Texas has created Vision 2020 as the goal for all of our schools. The plan enumerates how to bring our schools as well as our students into the 21st Century. Every facet of technology is taken into account and discussed. How to implement, what to implement, how to reach students, when to teach specific skills and how our districts should be able to collaborate and communicate is in the plan. The plan goes hand in hand with NCLB. We want to prepare our students to be able to communicate globally and knowledgeably with others in the work force. Our future depends on us making that leap today. We have to keep up with all the new innovations that are being introduced to our children on a daily basis. We have students who are so tech savvy that they can show adults how to work many digital tools! This is our audience. This is our future.

I was glad to see that the committee who worked on the plan will continue to monitor progress and perhaps revise as needed. Our world is ever-changing. So must our teaching be as well. The opportunities are endless - if we take advantage of them. Linking to universities in other countries, talking to other students across the globe, or just observing and then collaborating is the way of the future. We must embrace technology and not just talk about it, but bring into our classes. We need to utilize interactive white boards in classes and demonstrations. We have to allow our students to podcast. We must step up and bring new innovations into the real world that we all live in so that our students feel comfortable and inspired.