Professional Development Goals | Professional Development Description |
Tech Café What to Use, Why to Use It, When to Use It, & How | Teachers will attend a full-day Tech Café training in which they will travel through 4 different stations lasting approximately a hour and a half each. During this time, they will learn various hardware/software, why they should use it within their classrooms, when such tools would be appropriate for each 9 weeks' specific Essential Units of Study project-based learning, and how to immediately implement these tools into their own classrooms by allowing teachers time to work within each tool. Suggested stations would include:
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Eduphoria! AWARE Getting Your Student Data to Speak to You | Special Ed and General Ed teachers will learn the various reports available within the Eduphoria! Aware curriculum and data management system in a half-day training. They will be able to manipulate their actual student data to determine areas of strength and weakness so they may begin goal setting and planning interventions and enrichment lessons for their students. |
Fab, Fun, & Free Simple On-Line Tools Teachers Really Need | Teachers wil be introduced to over 60 different interactive websites that provide both teacher and student resources in an afterschool special. Such topics as PDF conversion tools, Wordle Art, Spelling City, Quizlet, and many more will be discussed and teachers allowed to explore those that would most benefit their classroom technology integration. |
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Week 4 Assignment, Part 2: Professional Development Planning
Week 4 - Part 3 - Evaluation Planning for Action Plan
Technology Goals | Who will help implement the strategies. | Measurable assessment of the effectiveness of these strategies. |
Students will show ownership of their learning by solving real-world problems through the use of technology. | Principal Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT) Campus Instructional Coach (IC) Teachers Students | * IC and CIT will monitor use of cLc (Uniservity) by participating teachers, as well as aide in the building and monitoring of the teacher cLc sites. * Principal will record technology usage in periodic snapshots / classroom observations. |
Enhanced student and teacher learning will occur through the promotion of technology trainings - both voluntary and mandatory. | Principal Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT) District Technology Curriculum Technology Integration Specialists (TCIS) Campus Instructional Coach (IC) Teachers Students | * After school tutorials will be provided for both interested students and teachers by the IC and/or CIT along with District TCIS on various software and Web 2.0 tools. * Teachers will attend full-day, half-day, and staff meeting mandatory staff development trainings such as the Tech Café, AWARE training, and Fab, Fun, Free. Teacher feedback on such trainings will be reflected through the campus Uniservity Wiki and/or survey tool. * Staff will complete District's Training Marix to determine value in meeting goals.
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Identify and promote curricular technology embedded lessons. | District Curriculum Technology Integration Specialists (TCIS) District Curriculum Coordinators District Curriculum Specialists Campus Instructional Technologists (CIT) Campus Instructional Coach (IC) Teachers | * District-based curriculum documents will reflect natural integration of technology within suggested exemplar lessons. * Essential Units of Study will lend themselves to project-based learning with required technology integration * Up-to-date trainings will be given to all Instructional Services personnel on the latest Web 2.0 tools and other district purchased software for curricular integration. |
Develop a campus leadership team to articulate and support the vision for campus technology improvement. | Principal Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT) Campus Instructional Coach (IC) Teachers Students | * Compile a Technology Vertical Team with at least one member from each grade level and support staff. * Establish collaborative meeting dates with Principal. IC, CIT, and technology vertical team at least once per 9 weeks to address concerns or improvements to the current campus technology and its integration. * Maintain and share agendas with District Technology Services through open communication. * Identify yearly campus goals for technology implementation and/or program improvements * Incorporate technology component into campus-sponsored Family Math, Science, and Literacy Nights. |
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
First Web Conference Reflection
Sunday, March 6, 2011
BLOG #3 - DRAFT: National Educational Technology Plan
“The essential question facing us as we transform
the U.S. education system is this:
What should learning in the 21st century look like?”
- Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology
In today’s technology-driven world, we must work to change out mindset and allow new technologies to drive further change. This includes changes in how and what is taught/learned in school.
The goal of the National Educational Technology Plan for learning is that students must be engaged and the content relevant to today’s digitally connected world. It should be student owned, flexible and cooperative. This style of education must occur both formally in the classroom and informally within society. Either way, the process should be life-long with endless opportunities to access knowledge. To allow for this way of learning, technology standards and learning objectives must be in place for all content areas. Learners should be allowed to utilize technology in order to learn in the way that is best suited for them. They should also have 24/7 mobile access to information and opportunities to participate in STEM (Science Technology Engineering, & Mathematics) Learning to solve complex, real world problems.
Assessing student learning is also critical to any student’s success. Through the force of technology, learning can be measured and data utilized for continuous improvement of both students and schools. Therefore, all assessments should offer immediate feedback to the stakeholders that it pertains to. Technology should be used to drive formative and summative assessments. The institution of virtual environments with simulated circumstances and collaborative environments will motivate and engage learners. Tests should measure the intended target. Technology could help build such appropriate assessments.
Finally, teachers must also have continued support to do their job. Technology can provide the data, content knowledge, resources, and experiences to supply them with best practices for improving student success. By having access to digital resources 24/7 and socially networked sites that promote professional learning, growth, and development, teachers can become more proficient at technology’s implementation. But there is also a growing demand for techno-savy teachers of teachers. Through online courses, more educators than ever are returning to higher education thanks to the convenience and affordability. To be successful, they, too, need personalized teaching to gain their certification.
Technology is not going away as many suggested it would 15 years ago. If anything, it is spiraling into a wild storm of data, information, and immediate gratification. We must prepare not only our students, but ourselves as well, for the future it will bring.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2010). Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010.pdf
BLOG #2 - Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology
Reporting the progress of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology 2006 - 2020 was broken into two parts when presented to the 82nd Texas Legislature by TEA - the four key areas that make up the plan and the services provided by the 20 Education Service Centers that help districts meet the goals of the plan.
The first area of Teaching and Learning works to increase access to technological resources and provide grants in technology. Such grants help with curriculum re-design using technology, best practices with technology in the classroom, and interactive lessons that incorporate technology.
Use of the Texas STaR Chart help teachers, campuses, and districts assess just where users of technology rank. The scale begins at Early Tech, then mores forward to Developing Tech, Advanced Tech, and Target Tech. The majority of Texas schools rank as Developing on this continuum.
Another vital part of the Teaching and Learning component is that of Technology Application. The development of specific technology-based TEKS allows for vertical expectations and specified benchmarks for students to reach in grades 2, 5, and 8. These benchmarks also make meeting the technology literacy goals of No Child Left Behind more obtainable by 8th grade. To keep up with the incredibly fast-moving pace of technology, these TEKS are currently under revision.
Student input has also become a great tool in the development of the digital classroom. Through surveys and help with course design, students have a voice in guiding the direction that their learning needs to go.
Many piloted programs and other initiatives have resulted from a piloted technology assessment that showed most Middle School students were not technologically literate by the time they reached 8th grade. One such program, called the Technology Immersion Pilot, looked at 39 Middle Schools over the course of four years (2004 - 2008) and determined that increased accessibility, assessment tools, ongoing technical support and professional developments for teachers and administrators improved student learning and engagement, increased use of technology across all content areas, and increased student organization and preparedness.
To help with the Educator Preparation and Development of the Long Range Plan, districts, campuses, and Regional Service Centers are proving tools and resources to stakeholders to increase usage and awareness. Again, the majority of campuses and teachers rank as Developed in this area of technology.
When it comes to Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; the state works diligently to provide leaders with strategies on how to establish best practices and expectations for their faculty and staff in the use of technology. They also suggest ways in which to best spend TEA funds for such. When viewed on the STaR Chart results, the majority of the state ranks as Advanced Techs in this area showing greater confidence in leadership roles.
Out of the four core areas in the Long Range Plan, that of Infrastructure is by far the most important in holding the others together. Without the networks, broadband space, or hardware, the rest would be pointless. Therefore, this area is largely funded through numerous grants and pilot programs to ensure all is in working condition.
In the final part of this progress report, each Educational Service Center presented its own summary of the initiatives they have put into place to ensure districts within their service receive on-going professional development, distance learning opportunities, support services, and much more. Without them, much of the progress we have made would have never occurred.
Texas Education Agency. (2007 - 2011). 2010 Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006 - 2020. Retrieved from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menu_id=2147483665
Saturday, March 5, 2011
BLOG #1 - Texas Long Range Plan for Technology
The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology hosts four core areas that track technology usage by teachers and students as well as makes recommendations for future use and application.
Of these four areas: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology, I feel that the area that forms the foundation to support the others is Infrastructure for Technology. This area has also been crucial to the effectiveness of technology implementation on my home campus.
Unfortunately, with the School Budget Crisis of 2011, these very positions that promoted and enhanced technology use within our schools have now come under attack. Everywhere you look, there is talk of technology being such an integral component of 21st Century learning. It has been woven into the curriculum through TEKS-based instruction. However, one of the first areas to loose budgeting is that of technology. My district has already made arrangements to cut the CITs for next year, leaving teachers without a resource person to brainstorm, plan, and problem solve through technology with.
I propose districts find a way to keep these employees because the level of technology to be used within classrooms depends on them. Without them, we hinder the effectiveness of our curriculum and student productivity.
Texas Education Agency. (2007 - 2011). Long Range Plan for Technology (LRPT). Retrieved from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menu_id=2147483665