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 found that I was “aware” of many of the items in the pre-course self evaluation, but only at surface level. As far as what I envisioned I would be learning in this course, I feel I have a much better understanding of the Texas Long Range Plan, Technology TEKS, STaR Chart, cyber bullying, copyright information, and acceptable use policies. While these were all aspects that I thought I would be learning, I would have liked to learn more specifics about how to use technology in the classroom. The discussion board with my classmates was helpful in learning some things that you might do with technology in the classroom, but as a technology leader on my campus, I would need to continue my efforts in life-long learning in this area. For example, the creation of a “blog” was a bit of a stretch for me. Not the actual task of creating it, but the need for it. I do not see myself continuing it for personal reasons and would need to examine how others are using it for educational purposes before I would continue posting. Most importantly, I understand the importance of keeping up with “digital natives” as a “digital immigrant.”
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?
The outcomes I achieved in this class are very relevant to the work I do in my school. Knowledge in the key components of Texas Long Range Plan, Technology TEKS, and both district and campus STaR charts is vital in the planning aspect of technology in my school. The information gleaned from these resources gives focus to needs and goals for my campus. It would be an irresponsible use of time and money to provide unnecessary materials or professional development to my staff. These tools will help me make decisions that will move my campus forward towards “advanced technology” standards. In addition, as a technology leader it is my responsibility to model and uphold the criteria in acceptable use policies and copyright laws that I expect my faculty and students to maintain. As a key stakeholder in the success of my campus, I am charged to create a culture that all members feel supported in becoming digital citizens.
What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
I feel that I may need to do more research in the areas of “patterns of classroom use” as indicated in the focus area of the teacher STaR chart and copyright laws and their integration into classroom instruction. While I am aware of the importance of these aspects, the details of implementation are not solid for me. As a technology leader, I should be able to make recommendations to classroom teachers about how they can use technology in their class. What prevented me from achieving this goal at this point is just the novelty of technology in general for purposes other than communication through email, or research. I would like to know more about student collaboration and computer use for things other than games or concept drill and repetition. As far as copyright laws and acceptable use policies, I would need to do more research to ensure my knowledge is current and accurate. This is important because of my expectations that our campus follow the laws and acceptable use policies.
Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
I felt successful in carrying out the assignments in this course and actually felt the article readings were the most interesting of all the classes I have taken. The articles were shorter, yet they were packed full of useful information. The only part of the assignments that I thought was frustrating was the posting on the blog and through the discussion boards. I understand the purpose of posting in both places, but it seemed repetitive. I know the purpose of posting on a blog was to get practice in doing so and the purpose of posting on the discussion board was to get our classmates opinions about our work. The need to comment on every article and the responses of two classmate’s postings seemed to be repetitious. I think it would have felt better to have a more natural discussion take place, but I understand the challenges in making that happen on its own with people posting at various times during the week. Unfortunately, the established timelines for posting only created more frustration for me because of the time constraints I have at the beginning of the week. But, all in all, the assignments were doable and helpful in mastering the objectives set out in this course.
What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
This technology course has taught me a few things about myself. First, I agree with the need for educators to educate themselves about the needs of the 21st century learner. I feel it is my job as a leader to motivate my staff to want to learn how to better equip their students for their future. I believe I have a positive attitude about change and would use data as reported in reports from AEIS and STaR charts to show my staff the need for change. I believe I can help my staff make these changes by showing them the technology TEKS and giving them support through budgeting for materials, personnel, and training. I also realize that I am learning too, and I can support them by learning along with them. My goal is to encourage small steps of change towards the larger picture. I would like to see my teachers participate in webcasts, blogs, and wikis as learning tools.
What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?
Blogs are a communication tool that can help educators by creating an interactive discussion group about a topic of choice. Educators can use blogs to inform, discuss, create, and display personal or student work to the world. It can be used to bridge the gap between school and home, school and community, and school and the world. Blogs can bring distance learning to the home of the blogger. Student use of a blog can assist them in mastering grade level state requirements and create a community of learners. Blogs can be of great interest to the 21st century learner and can create a sense of ownership in a student’s own learning thus motivating them to achieve. When blogging, teachers and students need to take safety precautions to ensure the safety of all children while on the internet.
When done correctly, a blog can be a successful learning tool for both teachers and students.
What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
While there are many beneficial uses for blogs in the world of education, it is important to take safety precautions as a protection for students. There are many ways predators will seek out information from students on the web and it is important that students are aware of the dangers of posting personal information for the world to see. They need to be mindful of posting anything that could identify them, their family, or their school. Schools have a responsibility to protect students from these predators. Another concern about blogging in education is accessibility to blogging. Many school districts install filters that might cause issues with accessing their blog site, may not have enough work stations to be effective use of time on a blog site, or may have teachers who assign projects to students who do not have the technology at home to complete these assignments. Another concern is the teacher’s ability to monitor appropriate use of the blog. Schools, parents, and the community must work together to teach students acceptable use policies and federal and state laws regarding documentation of borrow materials. Being aware of these guidelines will help ensure that teachers and students are using technology for appropriate purposes.
How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
School stakeholders are each important pieces of a successful school and include students, parents, teachers, administrators, and community members. Communication among these stakeholders is vital to a school’s momentum and can enhance collaborative efforts. Any stakeholder can begin communication with another stakeholder through the use of blogging. Minutes from meetings, calendars with upcoming events, summaries from activities, future needs, newsletters, question and answer sessions, and many more things can be posted on blogs for all members of a blog. The use of a blog can get information out to stakeholders in a timelier manner and can include all people who participate in the blog. Blogging can cut down on paper usage and creates documentation of what has been said for future usage. Blogging can give each participant a voice which may not be heard in typical face to face format. When used correctly, blogging is a useful tool for all.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Action Plan
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT/ ACTION PLAN
After analyzing the information from three consecutive years of STaR chart data, I have noticed deficits in the area of “Teaching and Learning.” Within that category, there are three focus areas that have remained stagnant over the three year study: Patterns of Classroom Use, Content Area Connections, and Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation. Based on this data, I believe the focus of improvement needs to be on students solving real-world problems through the use of technology in the classroom. Teachers can monitor student progress through programs like Pearson Inform and the use of Compass Learning or Examview. These regular checks of student progress will give a clearer picture of the expected achievement of students as reported in AEIS and AYP data from TAKS results.
The first effort in the action plan will be in establishing a campus technology leadership team that will analyze data to create and support a vision for campus technology improvement. The members of this team should include campus administration (principal, assistant principal, counselor), technology facilitator, and representatives from each grade level and support area in order to establish a vertical team that includes all aspects of our campus. The team should begin a PDSA in order to determine campus needs and create a survey through a service like “Survey Monkey” to be distributed to all campus staff. The results from this survey will expose the awareness level of the need for improvement as well as desires for specific areas of need. After rating the results, the committee should determine the 3 greatest areas of need and make a professional development plan for each area for required staff development sessions throughout the year.
One of the most crucial areas that should be addressed is the knowledge of the actual Technology Applications TEKS. This could be done through capacity matrices of the requirements at each grade level. Teachers should complete these matrices with the help of the technology facilitator to determine the greatest area of need for each grade level. The technology team should then determine the professional development opportunities based on this data. The needs may be different for each grade level, so there should be professional development set up during grade level conference periods as well as general sessions after school for wide spread learning opportunities. This group training offers opportunities for collaboration and mentoring from peers. The use of learning from these trainings can be documented through the collection of lesson plans and collaborative team agendas. Training is also available through our Region 13 Distance Learning resources and PD360, a web-based professional development tool. The technology team should participate in a variety of these trainings in advance in order to support their team members throughout the year. The principal must allocate time and funds needed to allow the technology team to participate in these trainings.
Next, the campus professional development should include specific content area usage that teachers would be able to incorporate into their classes such as the “clicker” system (Classroom Performance System). The training should include hands-on application with the teachers, and might include training with the students with the assistance of the technology facilitator. They could use this CPS system to question the student’s knowledge about Science, Social Studies, Math, or Language Arts in order to observe the content area connections. Also, the technology facilitator and instruction coach should demonstrate how the district’s curriculum documents have technology embedded into the lesson plans and assistance should be continued throughout the year as the units of study change each nine weeks.
The assessment of this professional development could be in the collection of teacher lesson plans or viewing lesson plans through the electronic website “Eduphoria,” a new web-based lesson planning program to our district. The principal’s role is to allot time in the day for this collaboration and planning among teams to ensure that teachers are planning for and using the tools they are learning. Another assessment of patterns of classroom use would be through the campus Snapshot data. Administrators in our building perform two-minute walk throughs in each teacher’s classroom. They are documenting specific areas such as learner engagement, TEKS based teaching, higher level questioning, use of high yield strategies and technology usage. The data is compiled by grade level and campus level and can be used to document efforts made by teachers and analyze the patterns of classroom use of technology.
An important task of the technology team is to uphold the vision of the use of technology. The team must demonstrate its commitment to technology by modeling the use of technology. The administrative team must convey the need for improvement by making requests for the usage of technology and then following through with the expectations for that usage. One way for the administration to do that is to incorporate a technology component to the teacher’s portfolio. By establishing expectations at the beginning of the year, teachers can work on improvement throughout the year. They can document usage and responses to usage and still have time to make changes and try again. The goal for our campus technology improvement is that, improvement.
After analyzing the information from three consecutive years of STaR chart data, I have noticed deficits in the area of “Teaching and Learning.” Within that category, there are three focus areas that have remained stagnant over the three year study: Patterns of Classroom Use, Content Area Connections, and Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation. Based on this data, I believe the focus of improvement needs to be on students solving real-world problems through the use of technology in the classroom. Teachers can monitor student progress through programs like Pearson Inform and the use of Compass Learning or Examview. These regular checks of student progress will give a clearer picture of the expected achievement of students as reported in AEIS and AYP data from TAKS results.
The first effort in the action plan will be in establishing a campus technology leadership team that will analyze data to create and support a vision for campus technology improvement. The members of this team should include campus administration (principal, assistant principal, counselor), technology facilitator, and representatives from each grade level and support area in order to establish a vertical team that includes all aspects of our campus. The team should begin a PDSA in order to determine campus needs and create a survey through a service like “Survey Monkey” to be distributed to all campus staff. The results from this survey will expose the awareness level of the need for improvement as well as desires for specific areas of need. After rating the results, the committee should determine the 3 greatest areas of need and make a professional development plan for each area for required staff development sessions throughout the year.
One of the most crucial areas that should be addressed is the knowledge of the actual Technology Applications TEKS. This could be done through capacity matrices of the requirements at each grade level. Teachers should complete these matrices with the help of the technology facilitator to determine the greatest area of need for each grade level. The technology team should then determine the professional development opportunities based on this data. The needs may be different for each grade level, so there should be professional development set up during grade level conference periods as well as general sessions after school for wide spread learning opportunities. This group training offers opportunities for collaboration and mentoring from peers. The use of learning from these trainings can be documented through the collection of lesson plans and collaborative team agendas. Training is also available through our Region 13 Distance Learning resources and PD360, a web-based professional development tool. The technology team should participate in a variety of these trainings in advance in order to support their team members throughout the year. The principal must allocate time and funds needed to allow the technology team to participate in these trainings.
Next, the campus professional development should include specific content area usage that teachers would be able to incorporate into their classes such as the “clicker” system (Classroom Performance System). The training should include hands-on application with the teachers, and might include training with the students with the assistance of the technology facilitator. They could use this CPS system to question the student’s knowledge about Science, Social Studies, Math, or Language Arts in order to observe the content area connections. Also, the technology facilitator and instruction coach should demonstrate how the district’s curriculum documents have technology embedded into the lesson plans and assistance should be continued throughout the year as the units of study change each nine weeks.
The assessment of this professional development could be in the collection of teacher lesson plans or viewing lesson plans through the electronic website “Eduphoria,” a new web-based lesson planning program to our district. The principal’s role is to allot time in the day for this collaboration and planning among teams to ensure that teachers are planning for and using the tools they are learning. Another assessment of patterns of classroom use would be through the campus Snapshot data. Administrators in our building perform two-minute walk throughs in each teacher’s classroom. They are documenting specific areas such as learner engagement, TEKS based teaching, higher level questioning, use of high yield strategies and technology usage. The data is compiled by grade level and campus level and can be used to document efforts made by teachers and analyze the patterns of classroom use of technology.
An important task of the technology team is to uphold the vision of the use of technology. The team must demonstrate its commitment to technology by modeling the use of technology. The administrative team must convey the need for improvement by making requests for the usage of technology and then following through with the expectations for that usage. One way for the administration to do that is to incorporate a technology component to the teacher’s portfolio. By establishing expectations at the beginning of the year, teachers can work on improvement throughout the year. They can document usage and responses to usage and still have time to make changes and try again. The goal for our campus technology improvement is that, improvement.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Week 2, Part 2
As part of this week's assignment, I would like to focus on the first key area of the Texas School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart, Teaching & Learning. This focus area includes: Patterns of Classroom Use, Frequency/Design of Instructional Setting Using Digital Content, Content Area Connections, Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation (TAC Chapter 126), Student Mastery of Technology Applications (TA) TEKS, and Online Learning. I am choosing to focus on this area because I think it reflects what teachers are actually doing with the technology they have access to on their campuses.
First, Patterns of Classroom Use indicates how a teacher is using technology in the classroom. Early Tech scores would have teachers being the primary users of technology for management purposes with the students using mostly skill reinforcement software. At my campus, we are currently performing at the next range which is "Developing Tech." This includes using technology for direct instruction with modeling for students and directing them to use technology to communicate and present information. We tend to use technology for presentation and research which tend to be in this level. When comparing to my previous school, the scores are the same in this area. We would like to improve to the next level, Advanced Tech, which would include using technology for higher order thinking skills and collaboration to evaluate information, analyze data, and solve problems.
The "Patterns of Classroom Use" is the most important aspect in this area because the second area of Frequency/Design of Instructional Setting Using Digital Content merely establishes the availability of technology in different learning environments, but not how it is used. Another area that I think correlates to the patterns of classroom use is the focus area of Content Area Connections. I believe this is important because of how technology can be used within different content areas. It can be used for research and presentation, as well as analyzing and comparing information about specific grade level TEKS. To use technology at this level would give our school a rating of Advanced Tech. When comparing to another school in the district, both campuses received a 2 in this area.
In both local campuses, the score for Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation is a "2." This indicates that the teachers are aware of the TA TEKS for different content areas and occasionally include them in planning and implementing instruction. In my opinion, this indicates the TA TEKS are included as an afterthought. As a result, the next area "Student Mastery of Technology Applications (TA) TEKS is low. This describes the percentage of students who have mastered the TA TEKS. If students are not being exposed to the TA TEKS and/or using them regularly, they probably have a low percentage of student with mastery. The ideas go hand in hand.
The final section under "Teaching and Learning" includes Online Learning. Both local campuses scored low in that area. I believe using online resources to improve student learning is available but needs to be accessed. This is why I chose this area. Teachers have access to so many tools, but are unsure of how it can coorelate to what they are supposed to be teaching in the class. I am afraid that so many teachers are overly focused on the TAKS test and can not see outside of TAKS test format to allow learning on a broader more in depth level.
When comparing my local campuses with the statewide summary, our scores fall in line with most of the state scores. I feel that the infrastructure is strong in our state indicating that we recognize the need for technology instruction and usage, but we are still weak on how to implement the technology strategies effectively. There are very low percentages in the "Early Tech" stage with the highest being 5.4%, which indicates that the state of Texas is making concentrated efforts on improving technology usage in the classroom. I believe Texas may be at the forefront of technology usage tracking because according to the National Assessment Governing Board, WestEd, a 40 year old educational research group, is to construct a test that will assess the use of technology in schools nationwide. This test is supposed to be released in 2012. (Jones, J. (2009). Education Department Commissions First Nationwide Technolgy Assessment. Convergemag.com/literacy, Business Week. (p.1).
My recommendations for improvement in our scores in the Texas STaR chart are to establish specific expectations of technology usage with specific follow up dates to discuss progress. I would like to see our tech facilitators in the classroom modeling specific strategies and getting the students involved. I believe it is important to give the teachers opportunites to see how it can work with real students and then let them reflect on what worked and didn't work to see where they can improve. I also think specific strategies to align the technology with the core content areas will be more accepted than random technology skills that may "look" interesting, but won't be used because of lack of time to explore them.
First, Patterns of Classroom Use indicates how a teacher is using technology in the classroom. Early Tech scores would have teachers being the primary users of technology for management purposes with the students using mostly skill reinforcement software. At my campus, we are currently performing at the next range which is "Developing Tech." This includes using technology for direct instruction with modeling for students and directing them to use technology to communicate and present information. We tend to use technology for presentation and research which tend to be in this level. When comparing to my previous school, the scores are the same in this area. We would like to improve to the next level, Advanced Tech, which would include using technology for higher order thinking skills and collaboration to evaluate information, analyze data, and solve problems.
The "Patterns of Classroom Use" is the most important aspect in this area because the second area of Frequency/Design of Instructional Setting Using Digital Content merely establishes the availability of technology in different learning environments, but not how it is used. Another area that I think correlates to the patterns of classroom use is the focus area of Content Area Connections. I believe this is important because of how technology can be used within different content areas. It can be used for research and presentation, as well as analyzing and comparing information about specific grade level TEKS. To use technology at this level would give our school a rating of Advanced Tech. When comparing to another school in the district, both campuses received a 2 in this area.
In both local campuses, the score for Technology Applications (TA) TEKS Implementation is a "2." This indicates that the teachers are aware of the TA TEKS for different content areas and occasionally include them in planning and implementing instruction. In my opinion, this indicates the TA TEKS are included as an afterthought. As a result, the next area "Student Mastery of Technology Applications (TA) TEKS is low. This describes the percentage of students who have mastered the TA TEKS. If students are not being exposed to the TA TEKS and/or using them regularly, they probably have a low percentage of student with mastery. The ideas go hand in hand.
The final section under "Teaching and Learning" includes Online Learning. Both local campuses scored low in that area. I believe using online resources to improve student learning is available but needs to be accessed. This is why I chose this area. Teachers have access to so many tools, but are unsure of how it can coorelate to what they are supposed to be teaching in the class. I am afraid that so many teachers are overly focused on the TAKS test and can not see outside of TAKS test format to allow learning on a broader more in depth level.
When comparing my local campuses with the statewide summary, our scores fall in line with most of the state scores. I feel that the infrastructure is strong in our state indicating that we recognize the need for technology instruction and usage, but we are still weak on how to implement the technology strategies effectively. There are very low percentages in the "Early Tech" stage with the highest being 5.4%, which indicates that the state of Texas is making concentrated efforts on improving technology usage in the classroom. I believe Texas may be at the forefront of technology usage tracking because according to the National Assessment Governing Board, WestEd, a 40 year old educational research group, is to construct a test that will assess the use of technology in schools nationwide. This test is supposed to be released in 2012. (Jones, J. (2009). Education Department Commissions First Nationwide Technolgy Assessment. Convergemag.com/literacy, Business Week. (p.1).
My recommendations for improvement in our scores in the Texas STaR chart are to establish specific expectations of technology usage with specific follow up dates to discuss progress. I would like to see our tech facilitators in the classroom modeling specific strategies and getting the students involved. I believe it is important to give the teachers opportunites to see how it can work with real students and then let them reflect on what worked and didn't work to see where they can improve. I also think specific strategies to align the technology with the core content areas will be more accepted than random technology skills that may "look" interesting, but won't be used because of lack of time to explore them.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Week 1, Part 4
The PreK TEKS most definitely lay a foundation for learning in all grade levels. The TEKS are actually continued throughout all grade levels just at deeper levels of understanding. The five foundations of Social and Emotional Development, Language and Communication, Emergent Literacy, Reading and Writing, and Math are all skills that students revisit each year. First, the Social and Emotional Development strand includes self concept, self control, and social competence. This is most important and possibly overlooked as students get older. Many students struggle with aspects of this strand such as relationships with others and awareness of feelings or even difficulty with rules and routines, but teachers feel they should have learned it already or do not have the tools to revisit these needs at upper grade levels. The Language and Communication strand is often revisited as students level of listening, speaking, and vocabulary usage intensifies. One aspect that is evident in the remaining three strands of Emergent Literacy, Reading and Writing, and Math that I feel is so important is motivation. I believe that that is so necessary for academic success and possibly where the technology perspective comes into play. Technology offers so many different levels of participation that can motivate children to achieve. The different levels allow us to focus on individual needs and abilities and can help move all children forward.
All of the skills in the Pre-K strands are revisited throughout a child's education. One specific example is in the area of math. The Pre-K strand for math includes: counting, adding/subtracting, geometry and spatial reasoning, measurement, classification and patterning. These skills are added to each year in all the grade levels with a deeper understanding. We continue to spiral the curriculum and offer multiple opportunities to master by connecting to previous learning. Really we just add to the difficulty by increasing vocabulary or adding another aspect of the skill. Where this can be a problem is when a grade level teacher is faced with a large amount of students who have not mastered pre-requisites to their current year's curriculum and the teacher needs to take a large step back to ensure the foundation is there before moving on. The good thing about a spiraling curriculum is that a teacher can look back to and know what the prerequisites are to the skills they are teaching and if a student is struggling, they know where to go to find out what they should have learned to that point.
All of the skills in the Pre-K strands are revisited throughout a child's education. One specific example is in the area of math. The Pre-K strand for math includes: counting, adding/subtracting, geometry and spatial reasoning, measurement, classification and patterning. These skills are added to each year in all the grade levels with a deeper understanding. We continue to spiral the curriculum and offer multiple opportunities to master by connecting to previous learning. Really we just add to the difficulty by increasing vocabulary or adding another aspect of the skill. Where this can be a problem is when a grade level teacher is faced with a large amount of students who have not mastered pre-requisites to their current year's curriculum and the teacher needs to take a large step back to ensure the foundation is there before moving on. The good thing about a spiraling curriculum is that a teacher can look back to and know what the prerequisites are to the skills they are teaching and if a student is struggling, they know where to go to find out what they should have learned to that point.
Week 1, part 3
After reviewing all of the components of the Long Range Plan, I better realize the necessity of leadership in seeing all parts of the plan implemented. I definitely am aware of the need for change because of our societal changes. We are in the information age in a global community. Technology is in all aspects of our lives, known and unknown. I believe that it is our duty as educators to be involved in this change as we are producing our leaders of tomorrow. Educators are doing a disservice to our students if we are not modeling, using, or expecting technology in our classrooms. The students of today have positive feelings about technology and see it as fun and necessary. The teachers should respond to that excitement and engage the learners in their curriculum and instruction which will help increase student ownership of learning. Many teachers do not have the confidence to give up the techniques they know in order to try something that is new to them. As a leader in education, I must recognize that fear and provide time and resources to allow teachers to try something new. I can support professional development and then establish expectations for usage of that learning. I can model technology usage and showcase the possibilities. One of the most important things I learned in reading the Long Range Plan is the development of the technology committee on campus. I believe that is an excellent place to focus development. I also think I can build community awareness by incorporating technology into our afterschool programs and inviting parents to participate.
I am aware of a variety of technology tools on our campus, but I need to have a better understanding of who is using what and give opportunities for teachers to share how they are using that in their classroom. One part of the plan shows results from a NetDay Speak Up survey that reveals teachers want to know more about how to integrate technology into core instruction. I believe that will be a focus for me and our technology committee.
I am aware of a variety of technology tools on our campus, but I need to have a better understanding of who is using what and give opportunities for teachers to share how they are using that in their classroom. One part of the plan shows results from a NetDay Speak Up survey that reveals teachers want to know more about how to integrate technology into core instruction. I believe that will be a focus for me and our technology committee.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Week 1: Part 1
After finishing the surveys, I wanted to post my reflections and thoughts about my technology proficiency. First of all, I thought I was pretty comfortable around a computer until I took these surveys. I still think I am decent with a computer, but I am not familiar with the formal jargon or specifics involved with it. I would have to say the primary usage for computers in my life is for email. I use it for work and for personal use. All teachers on my campus have email accounts. The second technology usage that is common among the people I know is the use of Facebook for personal use and Excel and Powerpoint for presentation usage. In regards to the "Technology Applications Inventory," I would say that the communciation component is the strongest on my campus. The Foundations component is an area of weakness for me as I am not famililar with the specifics of how my computer operates. I feel more comfortable with information acquisition and problem solving with technology. As far as in our school, I do feel that we have many technology pieces available and my district has done a good job at offering training to use these tools. Unfortunately, I think that the technology is only as good as the user using it and if it is not used regularly, then those skills are not as sharp as they could be.
Teachers in my school have access to many forms of technology such as computers (both desktop and laptop) and computer programs, digital cameras, PDA's, and document cameras. Most commonly used are programs such as Compass Learning, Eduphoria (Aware and Forethought components), Comic Life, Kidspiration/Inspiration, and online textbook resources. We also have access to "clicker systems," and smartboards, but these tools are most commonly used by the same teachers over and over again.
Our teachers are expected to maintain a webpage that is updated regularly, and our students do have keyboarding requirements at certain grade levels. Computers are used for accessing the library resources, teacher and student portfolios, research, and various district access sites such as payroll, ITTCS, and RTI databases. As far as data is concerned, I do feel that we are a data rich district, but I feel like our teachers are weak in using that data to make changes in instructional practices.
I am aware of the TEKS for technology, but I do not feel that we are doing our best to integrate those skills into our core subjects in the classroom. I think technology is still viewed as a separate skill even though many of our students are more proficient that our teachers. I think the teacher's insecurity in using technology is what holds back a student's success in using it.
Teachers in my school have access to many forms of technology such as computers (both desktop and laptop) and computer programs, digital cameras, PDA's, and document cameras. Most commonly used are programs such as Compass Learning, Eduphoria (Aware and Forethought components), Comic Life, Kidspiration/Inspiration, and online textbook resources. We also have access to "clicker systems," and smartboards, but these tools are most commonly used by the same teachers over and over again.
Our teachers are expected to maintain a webpage that is updated regularly, and our students do have keyboarding requirements at certain grade levels. Computers are used for accessing the library resources, teacher and student portfolios, research, and various district access sites such as payroll, ITTCS, and RTI databases. As far as data is concerned, I do feel that we are a data rich district, but I feel like our teachers are weak in using that data to make changes in instructional practices.
I am aware of the TEKS for technology, but I do not feel that we are doing our best to integrate those skills into our core subjects in the classroom. I think technology is still viewed as a separate skill even though many of our students are more proficient that our teachers. I think the teacher's insecurity in using technology is what holds back a student's success in using it.
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