Monday, September 6, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Action research seems to be a very powerful form of professional development that is underused by educators. What is action research you ask? Well, I have recently learned about this process and have defined it and compared it to traditional research. (see above)
I am very anxious to begin my very own action research project. I have listed a few ideas for topics.
I believe that a blog can be a very valuable tool for data collection in an action research project. This Web 2.0 tool allows for a ongoing forum for discussion and collaboration between stakeholders. Furthermore, feedback can be obtained from the people involved in the research or others researchers.
Also, this "digital journaling" provides practitioners opportunities for reflection of ideas and insight into the thinking process. Through blogging, a action researcher can not only record thoughts and reflections using text but also images and links to other sites of intrest and connections that arise throughout this cyclical process.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Summary & Reflection of NETP Draft
Summary and Reflection of the National Educational Technology Plan
Summary:
The National Education Technology Plan (NETP) was released in the form of a draft on March 5, 2010 in response to a national agenda for education improvement and reform. This document is a declaration to the imperative integration of technology into the national education system. The plan prioritizes two main goals: (1) raise the proportion of college graduates, and (2) close the achievement gap among students of different race, income, or neighborhood. The document clearly states that “just as technology is a core of virtually every aspect of our daily lives and work, we must leverage it to provide engaging and powerful learning experiences, content, and resources and assessments that measure student achievement in more complete, authentic, and meaningful ways.”
Five fundamental areas are presented with goals and recommendations for states, districts, the federal government, and other stakeholders in our education system that addresses learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.
Learning should be personalized and focused on relevant/real-world knowledge and facilitated and supported by technology available to all students
Teaching should shift to a model of “connected teaching” in which educators have continuous support and access to resources, data, and critical collaborative dialogue via technological avenues
Assessment should be technology-based applications that provide immediate insight into the active learning process of a student
Infrastructure should be a continuous effort to provide and sustain the availability of technology to all students and educators
Productivity combines the learning, teaching, assessment, and infrastructure into a systemic initiative to attain the indicated goals
Reflection:
The experience of reading and analyzing this document has provided me an opportunity to view efforts above and beyond a familiar state level of educational reform. A clear message of needed change and a strong sense of urgency of the magnitude of the importance of technology into learning, teaching, and assessment resonate in my daily thoughts as I work with teachers to improve student achievement in science.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Summary of Huntsville ISD Technology Plan
Summary of Huntsville ISD Technology Plan
The Huntsville ISD Technology Plan is a very comprehensive document that begins with a declaration of what technology is, what technology should do, and finally, how technology will be embraced by all stakeholders in the organization. This clarification ensures that all readers of the document, and more importantly those involved in implementing the plan, have a clear understanding and a common definition from which to begin implementation of the plan.
The goals of this plan are noble in effort and clear in design. First and foremost, is the recurring theme throughout all educational initiatives, to increase student achievement. Hunstville ISD however, added an additional component to this resolute goal, to narrow the gap between all subgroup populations. This to me adds a fundamental issue of equality intended to be directly addressed through technological integration.
Strategies included in the technology plan are as follows:
Technology Acquisition Plan (TAP) was developed to address teacher technology competencies
Administrative Directives to Teachers to ADD Technology into Classroom Instruction
Technology Trainings for All New Equipment Purchased
Availability/Employment of Five Instructional Technologist
A significant portion of this plan is dedicated to specifying and clarifying the critical need for effective and sustained professional development for administrators, teachers, and staff members. Strategies for professional development include:
Staff Development is Ongoing and Systematic
All staff members are provided with technology trainings that promote progress from functional computer use to advance levels of proficiency
Trainings and Workshops will include examples of model lessons that demonstrate integration of technology in the content areas
The Technology Director will be responsible for the evaluation of the progress of this plan that will include formative and summative assessments that will be communicated to the Superintendent at mid-year and at the end of the budget year.
Budget resources include:
· Software is purchased at the campus level through site-based budgeting procedures
· Teaching and Learning
· Educator Preparation and Development
· Administrative and Support Services
· Infrastructure for Technology
Ongoing evaluation will be formative assessments that ask the following questions:
Are we meeting our defined objective?
Are the activities listed in the plan adequate to meet the objectives?
What changes should be made in the technology plan?
The Huntsville ISD Technology Plan is a very comprehensive document that begins with a declaration of what technology is, what technology should do, and finally, how technology will be embraced by all stakeholders in the organization. This clarification ensures that all readers of the document, and more importantly those involved in implementing the plan, have a clear understanding and a common definition from which to begin implementation of the plan.
The goals of this plan are noble in effort and clear in design. First and foremost, is the recurring theme throughout all educational initiatives, to increase student achievement. Hunstville ISD however, added an additional component to this resolute goal, to narrow the gap between all subgroup populations. This to me adds a fundamental issue of equality intended to be directly addressed through technological integration.
Strategies included in the technology plan are as follows:
Technology Acquisition Plan (TAP) was developed to address teacher technology competencies
Administrative Directives to Teachers to ADD Technology into Classroom Instruction
Technology Trainings for All New Equipment Purchased
Availability/Employment of Five Instructional Technologist
A significant portion of this plan is dedicated to specifying and clarifying the critical need for effective and sustained professional development for administrators, teachers, and staff members. Strategies for professional development include:
Staff Development is Ongoing and Systematic
All staff members are provided with technology trainings that promote progress from functional computer use to advance levels of proficiency
Trainings and Workshops will include examples of model lessons that demonstrate integration of technology in the content areas
The Technology Director will be responsible for the evaluation of the progress of this plan that will include formative and summative assessments that will be communicated to the Superintendent at mid-year and at the end of the budget year.
Budget resources include:
· Software is purchased at the campus level through site-based budgeting procedures
· Teaching and Learning
· Educator Preparation and Development
· Administrative and Support Services
· Infrastructure for Technology
Ongoing evaluation will be formative assessments that ask the following questions:
Are we meeting our defined objective?
Are the activities listed in the plan adequate to meet the objectives?
What changes should be made in the technology plan?
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