Reflections Standard VI

Standard VI states “Educational technology facilitators understand the social, ethical, legal, and human issues surrounding the use of technology in PK-12 schools and assist teachers in applying that understanding in their practice” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.136). One way to meet this standard is to utilize technology with diverse abilities. I met with behavioral skills teacher on my campus to help utilize software to create lessons on behavior skills. Most of the students receiving the services of this class are students with Autism. Many of the behavioral skills teachers on my campus are interested in the iPad for their Autistic students. I began researching iPads in education and started sharing the information with the resource team.  I have shared those resources with many interested teachers: http://www.diigo.com/list/leanneknight/iPad-resources.  I truly appreciated several “Live Binders” that specified iPad resources for special education students and teachers such as: http://livebinders.com/play/play/89854.  We are in the process of allocating funding and getting approval to implement iPads at our school. We already use a 1-1 PC laptop environment in our third and fourth grades. This would benefit a specific population of students who might benefit more from this tactile piece of equipment.

Another way to meet the requirements of Technology Standard VI is to “Identify and use technology resources that affirm diversity” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.137). I worked with global partners designing lessons. Throughout the month of September, 2010, I worked with Sudha Penu, a global partner in India, to create lessons for our physical education connection. Sudha and I conversed regularly via email due to time difference on different aspects of the lessons. I also trained Sudha on the use of Moodle via Skype.  Our school created many educational videos expressing popular ways of exercise and sports in the U.S. Her students created videos about India. We conversed via email and sometimes via Skype the lesson objectives and possible ways to create a positive end result. Our students from both countries were able to appreciate the differences and similarities between our two cultures during this lesson enforcing global connections.

One way to perform the skills in Standard VI is to “promote safe and healthy use of technology resources” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.137). On many occasions I have shown teachers  correct researching tools and sites. "Web filters are a must for school districts, no matter what their size" (Careless, 2007, para. 22). Since most students do not have filtering services for their personal technology devices it is important to also teach students skills for navigating the web safely. My favorite though is when I am able to work with students so they truly understand the importance of appropriate technology usage. Too often teachers will tell their students to do a safe search so that the children will not find inappropriate contents. Unfortunately, too often, students will go home and try an unfiltered search to see what kind of inappropriate things they can find. I often try to put the lesson in a different perspective. I show the students that often times Google finds sites that are written in language that adults understand with really long words. I show the students a children’s safe search site, such as http://searchypants.com, and let the students see that the site is kid friendly. The students also appreciate the readability of the websites that kid friendly search engines find.  hard to read many of the sites that Google pulls up. Internet filtering in schools is a necessary means by which to keep students safe from inappropriate sites and materials.

"A district can take many steps to ensure that its students are protected from harmful, obscene, or otherwise unworthy websites. It can establish guidelines for appropriate Internet usage, create acceptable use policies, or provide training for teachers" (Ullman, 2009, para. 1). Throughout the last few years I worked with different classes on web literacy. With the team effort of the media specialist on my campus, we worked with teachers on age appropriate researching techniques. We also held after school training on the Big 6 and Super 3 research models. I created a poster for teachers to post in their classrooms that posts the top search engines for children with public domain images. Making web literacy and safe searching more accessible and acceptable helps to keep our students safe online.

References

Careless, J. (2007). The filtering challenge. Tech & Learning. Retrieved on May 7, 2011 from http://www.techlearning.com/article/7212

Ullman, E. (2009). Web Filtering that Works. Tech and Learning. Retrieved on May 11, 2011, from http://www.techlearning.com/article/22092

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE’s technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Reflections Standard V

Standard V states “Educational technology facilitators apply technology to enhance and improve personal productivity and professional practice” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.112). One are of this standard is when I Work with district campus instructional technologists at district meetings to grow professionally. As a member of the district technology team, I meet regularly with the district technology staff. At our May meeting, I worked with another technologist and we wrote an Acceptable Use Policy for students who Bring Their/Your Own Device.  I think this policy will be beneficial especially in the time of budget crisis. My school district is rather affluent but our tax revenue is recaptured for districts whose tax revenues are not doing well. Since we do not have any funding outside of what parents raise, having children bring their own technology device to school would be advantageous. If a student has the device, our district should support that decision. The policy I helped write, has many areas of focus ,but liability was, understandably, extremely important. I researched other districts policy in this area and met with our district instructional technology leader while writing the policy. I found it helpful to discuss the topic with a fellow Campus Technologist. We worked through the policy together and submitted it to our administration. They took the policy and edited a few sections. The board did not care for the title of Bring Your Own Device, since it has a connotation too closely linked to BYOB otherwise known as bring you own beverages. The Board is still in the process of making its final decision about the policy but it is looking positive.

Another area in Standard V is “apply technology to increase productivity” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.112). On several occasions I utilized distance learning software to train global partners. A class in India was going to connect with our school to learn different culturally specific games. Our school was going to create videos and discussion forums in Moodle. Her school would then log into our Moodle to upload their own videos and create forums. She did not know who to use Moodle. On November 8, 2010, at 8:30 AM, I conducted a video conference via Skype with Sudha Penu from India which was 7:30 PM for her. Using Skype, I was able to “share” my screen with her. I logged in to the Moodle site, and showed her specifically how to edit, upload, and other basic functions of Moodle. I also shared my Moodle manual that I use with teachers. We had a very beneficial training time until a storm hit her area and we lost internet connection. Luckily, though, we were through with the training part of the Skype call. Without the use of Skype, the teacher in India would have been less likely to work with my school. The ability to train someone via web conference was extremely beneficial for the teacher in India. It was also extremely positive for me because I was able to get feedback from her on the areas she felt she needed to focus.

Within Standard V we are to “use technology to communicate and collaborate with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg. 113). I am the coordinator of our campus web page and as such I must maintain the entire site. Since I began working at University Park, I have been the web master. I update the page before school starts with new information, create new teachers pages, delete old pages, and basic file management. I add announcements throughout the year. Every Thursday I upload and link, what our school terms, “Thursday Folder” handouts to the specified web page. I help train teachers on creating their web pages. I also update my school webpage regularly.

At the beginning of the 2011-12 school year we encountered some major problems with our school website. I had to visit every teacher’s website and update their links. Many of the teachers’ web pages had to be renamed and their links again updated. The problems continued occurring but I was finally able to get the school’s website working correctly.

I also utilize a section of the campus website for specific information for the teachers on my campus. When our district went to using Outlook, I posted many informative videos to help the teachers with this change. Keeping our families well informed is more than just a nicety but is a wonderful way to encourage public relations. I sometimes get annoyed at all the tedious areas I must maintain within the site but then I keep in mind the  Community Relations course from Lamar and am reminded of the importance of keeping stakeholders informed. From Epstein’s Framework of Six types of Involvement, one area of importance is learning at home. We need to “provide information and ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning” (Epstein, Coates, Salinas, Sanders, & Simon, 1997, pg. 4). Creating an atmosphere of partnership is important to ensure the value of learning in a cooperative environment. Sanders & Lewis point out that, at the schools where partnerships experienced success, “partnership leaders…encouraged schools interested in community partnership development to promote ownership among community partners" (2005, p. 9).

 References:

Epstein, J. L., Coates, L., Salinas, K. C, Sanders, M. G., & Simon, B. S. (1997). Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement. School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sanders, M., & Lewis, K. (2005). Building bridges toward excellence: Community involvement in high schools. The High School Journal, 88(3), 1-10.

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE’s technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Relfections on EDLD 5326

 During my course in EDLD 5326 Community Relations, I learned the importance of positive relationships with stakeholders within my school community. Stakeholders can be students, parents, teachers and staff, and the community. The purpose of a school community is to have an expressed objective of helping students learn. EDLD 5326 encouraged the students to apply approaches to develop vital partnerships between school sand stakeholders for the benefit of students. One of the areas I specifically worked on was to increase the involvement of the ESL population within my school.

In the last three years, the ESL population, specifically the Spanish speaking population, in our district has grown. My school, University Park Elementary School, specifically has seen the growth since we are the only elementary in our district with an ESL program. The other three elementary schools in my district transfer their ESL students to our campus. Since this growth has started to take place, we do not have any specific committees assist in the education of our ESL population and even our website does not have information for ELS parents and students.

Using the AIES report from 2009-2010, I recorded information that was rather eye-opening. Our school did not have a large enough Hispanic population to even be considered a sub-population until 2010 in grades three and four. On the 2010 fourth grade reading TAKS only 80% of our Hispanic population passed reading. This is a large discrepancy since the campus average is 99% passing. Only 25% of the Hispanic population received commended on TAKS whereas the campus average was 75% earning commended performance. The middle school and high school in our district do not have any testing data on their Hispanic population since they have not encountered a growth in students. They still do not have enough students to count as a sub-population.

Encouraging parents and teachers to utilize the school’s website for meaningful two way communication will assist in increasing the level of student achievement. Parents can leave comments via the Facebook fanpage which is often less intimidating for some parents than meeting face to face. Using 21st century skills will also keep parents informed in real time instead of having to wait until the once a week news day when parents are bombarded with a mass amount of information that is difficult to sift and find important information. If parents are kept up to date on upcoming events, student successes, and help at the time of student limitations, then students will succeed.

Sharing with stakeholders the innovative means of communication with parents is a winning appeal for everyone. If communication is heightened for our ESL population then all of our populations will benefit. We also have many families in our district with relations in other countries. Their relatives will be able to utilize the resources and translation bar as needed. Since everyone benefits when communication is heightened then this proposal will be an easy “sell” to the stakeholders.

The stakeholders on my campus are extremely supportive of parent communication. Since my proposal is to help create an atmosphere where more parents feel comfortable working with teachers, volunteering, and being more informed of the happenings at the school, the stakeholders will be extremely positive and supportive. Rutherford and Billig (1995) suggest that continuous parent/family participation and community involvement depend on active support by leaders. Teachers and other school personnel are key players in family involvement and that families are connected to the services provided by the school or the community.

Epstein’s Framework (Epstein, et al., 1997) suggests that in communicating language translators are beneficial to assist families as needed. With a translator on the website, parents who speak other languages will benefit from the translation assistance.  For “learning at home” Epstein suggests having a regular schedule for notices and other communications. Utilizing Twitter and the Facebook fanpage will help keep parents up to date on the activities of the school and specific ways to assist students. I plan on using a Spanish website that utilizes the Google Translate Widget so members can easily see how the translation works. The stakeholders can translate the page and see how their ability to understand the page is heightened. I will also show the stakeholders the security measures in place with the Facebook fanpage. I will have several members try to find and view the page without permissions and then give those same people later in the meeting permissions. They will see the difference in availability and how security for the page will be handled.

Pena (2001) recommends making the parents feel more welcomed. School staff must communicate regularly with parents though various methods in order to meet the educational and language needs of parents. Information must be available in the parents’ native language and teachers need to use social networks to keep parents informed. To increase parent involvement, teachers and parents should first begin with a shared understanding of parent involvement, as well as each others' strengths and weaknesses (Pena, 2001, pg. 42).

The implementation of this partnership would be rather simple. I would first need the ESL teacher’s permission to discuss implications and to confer on details. I would then need to ensure the principal approved of the venture. Since the Facebook fanpage would only be for those parents interested in utilizing that means of social media, we would be following the age requirements of Facebook. I would send out permission forms to parents in case photos were posted on the Fanpage. After those areas are approved, I would then venture into discussions with teachers to make sure they were well informed and trained so they feel positive about the undertaking.

The partnership is not very expensive. All the fundamentals are without cost. Since the social media platforms chosen, the website, Google translator, and parent volunteers are without cost, funding is not necessary. If we find that funding may be necessary the principal has discretionary funding or the Gift Committee might want to allocate funding. I would need to make sure that the links provided are up to date. The ESL teacher and I would need to confer on the best resources to utilize for our parent communication and student links. I would need to train the ESL teacher on proper utilization of Facebook and security features. Updating the school’s website to have the Google translation bar would be a needed piece for the website. Since the translator gadget is a simple HTML code to add to the website it would be important to ensure that the webmaster is able to update page with a working translator. Since I am the webmaster on my campus, it would not be a problem.

To reach my audience I must make several specific considerations. I must reiterate the importance of communication to all parents. I must also focus on the importance of getting our parents of ESL involved in the school.

Epstein, J. L., Coates, L., Salinas, K. C, Sanders, M. G., & Simon, B. S. (1997). Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement. School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Pena, D. (2001). Parent involvement: Influencing factors and implications. The Journal of Education Research. 94(1), 42.

Rutherford, B., & Billig, S. H. (1995). Eight lessons of parent, family, and community involvement in the middle grades. Phi Delta Kappan, 77I(1), 64-66, 68.

Reflection Technology Standard IV

Standard four for technology facilitators is to, “apply technology to facilitate a variety of effective assessment and evaluation strategies” (Williamson & Redish, 2009, pg.90). Our district implements MAPs (Measures of Academic Process) and TPRI state primary reading inventory. MAPs for our school is mandatory for Beginning of year and end of year. Teachers choose which students to test during the middle of the year. TPRI is tested three times a year. With both testing systems the results are uploaded/synced with a corresponding website. Those websites create reports. I send each teacher their reports username and password for each test administration so they can run their own reports. I have also helped many teachers choose the correct report which groups students into specific math and reading groups which help aid in differentiated instruction.

Once MAPs finishes, the results are uploaded onto the NWEA website. I send each teacher their reports’ username and password for each test administration so they can run their own reports. I have also helped many teachers choose the correct report which groups students into specific math and reading groups which help aid in differentiated instruction. Teachers run these reports three times a year.

Action research is more than just having a topic and finding information to prove what you already knew. “As school leaders, it is important to understand the action research process as an effective tool for improving teaching and learning” (Ringler, 2007, pg. 27). With action research you consider a topic of interest that will benefit further study that will have an impact on your school community. Action research is not a passive form of research. You can find and utilize different types of action research. Four types of action research for principals in an educational setting are through university coursework, superintendent/district meetings, leadership teams, and professional learning communities.

Blogging can be utilized by educational leaders to not only address their own learning but to share their learning with others. Blogs are a wonderful resource for reflection. If a leader wrote their reflection only a few others could benefit from their journal, whereas on a blog, anyone with internet connection can benefit from the leaders perspective. We must think more globally in education and even in our own reflections.

A few years ago my principal and I discussed the utilization of a one-to-one environment for our school. I have been researching the technologies available. Previously I was never impressed with a laptop that could be financially feasible and sustain the technologies utilized. Recently I found the Dell 2110 and net-workable cart. After finding the Dell Netbook I was eager to find ways to implement this technology. Working with my principal, we designed a 5 year vision along with getting parent approval for purchasing using gifted money to our school. We decided that utilizing a one to one environment was more practical cognitively and financially with our third and fourth graders at our school that teachers Kindergarten through fourth grade students.

Since we decided on third and fourth grades to begin the one to one laptop initiative we thought it was important to begin with piloting the laptops in two of the six fourth grade classrooms and two of the six third grade classrooms. Since third and fourth are pivotal years in language arts testing, I wanted to ensure the proper implementation of these tools. I have decided to do an action research into how can the utilization of a one to one laptop environment help improve Language Arts in third and fourth grade classrooms.

In the course discussion board, I received several comments concerning my topic of research. Most people were very excited to learn the results of my study. One colleague posed a question that I had not considered. She asked if I planned to survey the students concerning their perceptions of the one to one laptop initiative. After reading her post, I have added a survey component to my action research where I will survey the student in third and fourth grades both students in the pilot and those not in the pilot program.

Since I am doing my research with third and fourth grades, they have many benchmarks and preliminary tests that are similar to TAKS. We also utilize MAPs (Measures of Academic Progress) testing which has a reading section. Third and fourth grade classrooms also do benchmarks and progress monitors throughout the year to assess students skills attained. To collect quantitative data I am going to compare results between classes utilizing 1-1 and classes not utilizing 1-1 at the same school. For qualitative data, I will discuss with teachers their utilization and their perceptions. I want to also work with the classes and try different Web 2.0 sites for collaboration.

During my action research project I will ensure that I disseminate the information learned. I plan to blog about my findings within my blogger site to ensure that whoever wishes to learn the findings can easily attain the information. In Leading with Passion and Knowledge, Fichman (2009) states that it is important when sharing information from action research to include four components, “1-providing background information, 2-sharing the design of the inquiry, 3-stating the learning and supporting the statements with date, and 4-providing concluding thoughts” (p.163).

I learned that planned action research will give me an opportunity to organize my findings and to steer me in the correct direction. I will be able to more easily work with my teachers now that I have a stated goal of research.

Reference:

Fichman, N. D. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Ringler, M. C. (2007) Action research an effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice  4 (1) 27-37.

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). ISTE’s technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.