Week 5 Reflections

To be perfectly honest, I really had not envisioned any outcomes for this course at the beginning. After I started, I began to envision learning about all the new technology that is available. I most certainly achieved that! Through the readings, discussions, and videos, I discovered a world of technology that I didn't know existed. I knew that my school as a little behind in technology, but I didn't know how much There is so much technology out there that I know about now that my school could benefit from. For example, keeping an online portfolio for every child would be awesome. I also learned more about social networking. I never would have started a blog if it had not been for this class. Until now, I had thought of blogs, twitter, facebook, etc. as something frivolous and useless for the classroom. I know better now. These social networks are not just for fun. They can be used for learning in the classroom (even the elementary classroom). I also began to envision how much of an impact the right kind of technology could have in and out of the classroom.
I believe that the outcomes of this course are very relevant to the work I do in school. The kindergarten students I taught nine years ago are different from the ones I teach now. My current students are technology saturated. They know how to start and navigate the web sites I allow them to go to whereas my students from nine years ago never were allowed to access the web. Each year my students get more tech smart. In some ways they know more than I do. My cell phone is what one called a "dinosaur." I don't know how to work the new touch screen cell phones and some of my students do. In the technology age that we are living in, we all must continue to learn about and implement new and beneficial technology. I realize that I have a long way to go, but because of this course I feel better prepared to face all the technology that is out there.
Since I really had no outcomes at the beginning of this class, I do not feel that there were any unachieved outcomes.
I was successful in carrying out the course assignments. This time of year is extremely busy in a kindergarten classroom and I found myself bringing a lot of things to complete at home. This took away from the time I spent online with this course. It was a little difficult for me to balance work, home, and this course. I was late on my 4th assignment because of this. Several days would go by without me checking my email which ultimately resulted in this assignment being late. It was my own fault and I take full responsibility for it.
This course taught me a lot about myself. I thought I was fairly competent with technology, but I realize that I am actually very archaic. I am behind the times in regard to social networking and other media outlets. The technology that I use at school is OK, but could use updating. Because of this class, I realize that my attitude towards certain types of technology such as blogging was biased and wrong. My attitude has undergone a tremendous change. I am much more interested in and fascinated by ways of instantly keeping in touch with others. I don't fear technology as much anymore. I know that there is lot for me to learn, but at least I am willing to learn it. I wouldn't say that I could not be a leader in this area. I think that I could because I have a willingness to learn and use new technology. This is good modeling behavior. I would never require my teachers to use technology that I was not prepared to use myself. I also understand the importance of keeping up to date and would provide, if not require, professional development in technology for my staff. There has to be a priority placed on technology and I know that I would do this as an administrator.
Blogging is something I had no knowledge of until this class. I had heard the term, but never fully understood what it was. It was fun learning how to create and insert a PowerPoint presentation into my blog. Of course at the time I had a few choice words for the computer, but we seem to be getting along well now. I can see some educational benefit from blogging such as access to homework and notes, but there are some concerns as well. Students and teachers could post something inappropriate or harmful to another person. A teacher could very well be fired for posting something inappropriate and she was unaware that it was. This is why the administrator needs to be current on laws and keeps the faculty and staff aware also. Blogging is a good way for an adminstrator to keep up with businesses that are school stakeholders. One must be careful though. Whatever you say or publish on the web is always out there. No one is able to hide or completely erase what has already been posted to the web.

Texas S Ta R Chart Presentation

Elysian Fields has room for improvement in the Educator Preparation and Development. We have made no improvement for the last 3 years. It's time to move forward.

Texas S Ta R Chart

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STaR Chart Technolgy Plans

I believe the area that should be targeted the most by my campus is the area of Educator Preparation and Development. According to the STaR Chart, the trend for my school has been to sit still and go nowhere. In order to reach Target Tech in this area there has to be regular technology-supported learner-centered projects, vertical alignment of Technology Application TEKS, and anytime, anywhere use of online resources. Our school is not as close to that goal as we should be. For the past three years we have made no improvement at all. We are in the same category as 74.2% of other Texas schools.
Our regional service center is less than 100 miles from our school. Our school leaders are willing to permit and pay for any teacher to attend a technology workshop that he/she wants. However, we are never told that we have to attend certain kinds of workshops or even given updates on what workshops are available. It is up to the teacher to browse through the list of workshops and sign up for whatever suits his/her needs the best.
I have a couple of suggestions to improve this area. My first suggestion is for our teachers to get training on how to use the technology we already have in our classrooms. We all have projectors that could project an interactive powerpoint lesson. Several of us have a StarBoard that we could use more. The second is for the administration to require teachers to attend at least one technology workshop per school year. With technology changing as fast as it is, we all need regular updates. Our regional service center has done a great job of keeping workshops up-to-date and user friendly. We should take advange of all the resources that are available to us.

Long-Range Plan

This assignment really opened my eyes to what Texas has planned in technology for all schools. It sounds very ambitious, but I truly believe we can reach its goals. I was very impressed with the recommendations given for each area: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. Being familiar with the plan will allow me as an adminstrator to make sure my school is working towards the goal. I will be able to assess progress and make plans accordingly.

Spiral and Scaffolding Curriculum

A spiral curriculum involves periodically revisiting key skills throughout a curriculum. Each time an idea is revisited it is done at a higher level of difficulty that is consistent with the learner's prior knowledge and abilities. It tries to not only build on that knowledge but also to go deeper. Students are encouraged to explore their own learning and eventually take responsibility for their own individual learning process. Scaffolding deals with the guidance provided by more skilled learners. It usually involves a three-step sequence. It starts by the adults or more skilled learners taking on most of the responsibility to complete a task. The second step calls for the adult or more skilled learner to contribute equally with the learner to complete a task. In the last step, the learner is responsible for completing a task on their own.

I chose to review the TEKS for the K-2 grade cluster. In the Foundations Domain, students will revisit the key skill of language skills including capitalization, punctuation, spelling, word division, and use of numbers and symbols throughout each grade level. They will improve each time as they acquire new knowledge and skills.

Pre-K Guidelines

Pre-K students will be able to use the computer to perform basic operations such as opening and navigating through software programs. They will use the mouse correctly and be able to name computer input devices. Students will use a CD/tape player, voice/sound recordings, and touch screen devices appropriately. They will use software applications to create and express their own ideas and recognize that technology allows them to access information.

This is the foundation of all learning to come. Students know what a computer does and what it is used for. They are able to use it to perform basic operations. This allows them in future grades to move beyond the bare bones functioning of the computer to more creative and interactive aspects.

Survey

The Technology Applications Inventory and the SETDA survey results honestly surprised me. I thought that I was fairly computer literate, but after taking these surveys I feel like I am in the Stone Age of computer knowledge.

On the Foundations domain, I had 5 "yes" responses and 13 "no" responses. I had no idea what it was talking about with some of the questions such as interfacing digital and analog technology. I had 4 "yes" responses out of 10 in the Information Acquisition Domain, 9 "yes" responses out of 18 in the Solving Problems with Techology Tools, and 6 "yes" responses out of 12 in the Communication Domain. It is very humbling to feel you know next to nothing about technology. What is pretty sad is I am considered to know more about computers than many of our other faculty members. Obviously I have to strengthen all four domains since I am weak in all of them.

I chose to take the SETDA teacher survey. This was an interesting survey to take because it asked questions about technology that I had not thought about before. The general outcome of the survey revealed a couple of things to me. First, I have room to grow with technology both personally and in my classroom. I knew we had Kindergarten technology standards, but they had never really been talked about or given priority. I've already started looking at ways to integrate more technology into my classroom. Second, my school is trying to grow in technology use, but there are many areas such as access and funding issues that need to be addressed. I have the same computers from 9 years ago when I first began teaching. Another area my school can grow in is technology professional development. We rely heavily on Region 7 to address this area. It would be great to have workshops that really are tailored specifically for our school.

So, in a nutshell, my school district and I have plenty of room to grow in technology.