Web Conference

I had an opportunity to participate in the class web conference on March 12th, 2011. This conference was the first web conference I have ever participated. It was a very enlightening experience. I think this would be a wonderful tool for instructional leaders and administrators. With rising cost of gas, school leaders from throughout the district could use this tool to discuss issues on their campus and other business. It would save time and money. It would also allow the administrator to remain on campus in case of any unforeseen circumstances. It would also allow for instructional leaders to meet with other leaders throughout the state, country, or even internationally. IT is a wonderful tool and I look forward to using it again in the near future.

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The National Educational Technology Plan from March 2010 calls for a "revolutionary transformation rather than evolution tinkering" on education ("Transforming American Education, 2010). The core of our lives in integrated in technology which needs to connect to teaching and learning in American classrooms. The main failure of education is the failure to engage students in this manner. The plan lists two main goals: to increase college graduates from 39% of the population to 60% and to decreased the achievement gaps between various racial groups. Education needs to close the disparities between students' lives in and out of school. "What should learning in the 21st century look like? ("Transforming American Education, 2010)." The technology plan analyzes five key areas that need to be addressed: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Overall, education is no longer a one size fits all. Technology needs to be utilized to individualize instruction, assess thinking and learning in new formats, develop capacity with teachers through collaboration and professional learning, build new and better resources for our schools, an d maximize productivity within the educational system. The new research and development in this field needs to integrate learning science, technology, and education.
This plan is an excellent assessment of the current status of education and technology and outlines attainable goals in order to prepare our students to be 21st century citizens in the United States. Most teachers would acknowledge the plan presented as a necessity for their field, but the question becomes how do we put this plan into action and impact my classroom? The schools need the budget, resources, capacity, and leadership in order to implement change. It is going take a shift in all levels of education and government in order for this transformation to occur.

texas star chart

More PowerPoint presentations from Sue

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Since the first long range plan was created, technology has developed which has allowed an increase of technology innovation within the classroom environment and student learning. The growth of online learning, digital content, digital curriculum, complex data management systems, and online professional development has allowed schools and teachers to prepare for the 21st century work force more effectively. The 2008 Progress Report on the Texas Long Range Technology Plan analyzes several state initiatives to promote technology in Texas education. One initiative is the Texas Virtual Schools Network which is to allow Texas students greater access to online courses. This school network will allow flexibility to students with regards to taking courses as well as the pace of the courses. Based on this report, the network is reviewing courses and establishing online registration for this initiative. They are doing electronic course pilots with charter schools. Another initiative is the Technology Immersion Schools Pilot which is to explore the relationship between educational technology and students performance. They began the process with forty-four (44) middle schools. Twenty-two were immersion schools and the other twenty-two were control groups. They have since moved some control groups to limited immersion groups. The findings reveal so far that this immersion of educational technology has an impact on staff and students. Technology proficiency has increased as well as students score on the state assessment. Students have increased their Math scores particularly with the economically disadvantaged and high achieving students. They also saw an increase in reading scores because of their access to computers.
This 2008 report also gave a summary of the progress of each of the components of the STaR chart. All areas seem to be improving in technology integration and innovation for teaching and learning. The last section of the report reviews the twenty region service centers in the state. It shows their support and initiatives with regards to the Texas Long Range Technology Plan.

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Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support is one area of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-2020. This area focus on the leadership in order to implement and sustain technology innovation and improvement. The leadership of the campus and the district are the key players in order to create a shared vision and culture of change for the 21st century learner. At the national level in 2000, NCLB Title II Part D called for the enhancement of education through technology. Texas had already created a long term technology plan in 1996. In their updated 2006-2020 plan, they compared the campus levels of this area of leadership and administration. In 2005, 65% of the campuses were at the developing level of technology, 29% were at the advanced level, and 4%were at the target level. In the updated report in 2008, 49% of the campuses were at the developing level of technology, 45% were at the advanced technology level, and 4% were at the target level. In three years, there has been a 3% increase at the advanced level. Locally, we have had a difficult time with technology. We have struggled with our vision overall and whether the outcomes for integration are valid. Today, leadership and administration have wonderful ideas and vision for technology innovation, but they generally have roadblocks, such as funding, for implementation. Overall, the leadership, administration, and instructional support area seems to be growing in their vision, for technology but the report continues to comment about their lack of budgetary support. Without the proper resources, it is hard for campuses and districts to reach their vision for technology and learning.

Week Four

This week was easier than previous weeks. I enjoy getting feedback from my peers and from my colleagues at work. I wish I had an opportunity to speak to my site supervisor but these weeks before school starts are so hectic. I have an appointment for next week. I look forward to beginning the process of gathering data.

Week Three

This week was quite full but I worked hard to complete the action research plan. I had the opportunity to have two of my supervisors read the plan and I received very insightful feedback. I am looking forward to hearing other feedback.

Here is a link to my action research plan:
http://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=12JthUDk0XhlRqEyon_Cq54yN6jPG-7RRBSvOiwLO0ug&hl=en&authkey=CMzPlvsF