EDLD 5363 ET8036 Week 5 Web Conference Reflection

In the previous three classes I’ve taken, I really enjoyed the web conference experience. In the class, I have found the experience more frustrating than anything else. For some reason, I have had trouble connecting to the web conference every week. The only times I have been able to participate actively, as opposed to watching the recording at a later date, was when I logged in an hour before the scheduled time and waited patiently. I don’t know what the problem has been but what I have discovered is that a web conference is nearly as comforting when you can’t ask the questions that you want answered. As I have watched the recorded web conferences, I have found myself trying to type questions into the chat box! Talk about frustrating. I have still managed to get the answers to all of my questions from the recorded conferences but I have felt much more isolated than in the past.

Never the less, my partners and I have collected all of the answers to all of our questions and have had a really good time working together on this project. We have really benefitted from the web conference recordings as we have doubted ourselves on several occassions and have gone back to either the chat log or the videos themselves.

EDLD 5363 ET8036 Week 2 Web Conference Reflection

In the past the web conferences have been a critical part of my course work. I have found them to be insightful and stress relieving. In this course, however, I have had quite a different feeling. Until tonight, I have not been able to get into the web conferences even though I have signed in well before the scheduled start time. This week it may have been partially due to the fact that I was in east Egypt which is just west of nobody-ever-goes-there Texas with my parents for the Thanksgiving holiday. To say that their internet service is slow would be giving it a little to much credit. I believe it is one step about dial-up but it is a very small step.

Tonight, I signed into the the conference two hours early and just kept the window open on my laptop. I figured that one way or another I was getting in tonight. And I guess it was worth the wait because did get some of my questions answered before we lost Dr. Abernathy.

For some reason this week's assignment has been a very confusing for me. I was glade to have at least one other person say the same thing.

EDLD 5363 ET8036 Week 2 Assignment – Video Editing Software

In the Desktop-Video Guide this week it said that creating a digital video is really simple if you break it down into five steps: Buying equipment, shooting, capturing, editing and sharing. I have to laugh at the fact that they think it is simple probably because they’ve done it a million times.

Buying equipment is probably the hardest thing I can think of. Even when I do the research, talk to the sales people and seek the advice of those who seem to know; I still I end up with something that I paid way too much for and doesn’t do what I expected it to do. And capturing? What’s capturing? Never even heard that phrase until this week!
I can now handle editing. With Movie Maker it’s pretty easy. Time consuming, but easy. I had an old film strip from 1975 that had the cassette tape that beeps to tell you when to change the slide. About 8 years ago, I took digital pictures of each slide and turned it into a PowerPoint show. Unfortunately, the beeps could still be heard at times and it created havoc in the classroom when I had to try to explain to the natives how filmstrips used to work. This week, I put the PowerPoint into Movie Maker and after a great deal of effort, and about 2 hours, I had a 14 minute Windows Media Video (.wmv) with no beeps. Unfortunately, a few important words are missing too. I suppose that means that step two will be to add those words back in.
I have several projects that I want to tackle now and can't wait to get started.

Desktop-Video-Guide. (n.d.). The various stages of creating a digital video. Retrieved on November 24, 2011, from http://www.desktop-video-guide.com/video-creation.html

EDLD 5363 ET8036 Week 1 Assignment – Digital Story Reflection

Creating this digital story was much more time consuming than I had anticipated. My first idea was to do a story of how we got my daughter, Kate, when she was eight. I wrote the script but then changed my mind. It might have tugged at the heart strings but I wanted something with more energy.

Then I decided to do my story on my two brothers, Steven and Danny. They both died within the last 10 years and I thought it would be a nice tribute to them. But there was too much good stuff to narrow down to anywhere close to two minutes. In order to do either one of them justice, I knew I had to let one go. My daughter made it easy. She said, “Do Uncle Steve, you liked him best.” Ouch. But it was true. In the end, he was the one I was closest too.

From there it should have gotten easier but it didn’t. The pictures I have of Steve were scanned in 2002 and the quality wasn't very good. I wish I had enough time to get the originals from my parents’ house, the quality of the story would have been much better. While I’m at their house over Thanksgiving, I'm going to start scanning in all the old family photos. Then I will redo the story so that it does justice to my brother.

The last issue was how to end it. I had to have an upbeat ending. Steven wouldn’t have it any other way. So, I decided that the music and the stories I told must be fun right down to the last one.

I wish I didn’t sound so nasal and I wish I could have made it longer (Grrrr!); but, all in all, I’m pleased with the outcome. I hope you will be too http://youtu.be/3GBSpH_seHE

EDLD5301 Section ET8036 Week 5 Course Highlights

As I complete this course, I am a bit surprised by the personal growth I have felt. Perhaps it’s the fact that I spend most of my time with 8th graders and sometimes feel more like one of them than like an adult or that raising a strong willed child as a single parent had taken its toll on me; but, when I started this course I really didn’t have much confidence in anything anymore except my ability as a teacher. I had struggled through my first course feeling inadequate because I was taking far more time to complete my assignments than I felt I should and was questioning my sanity for wanting to continue the program.

This course has been quite the opposite. I see my confidence returning, even in the way I respond to my 20 year old when she, in typical 20 year old “I know everything and you are an idiot” fashion, reminds me that she is smarter than me. I also have noticed that my administrators, who have always held my teaching ability in high regard, seem to respond to me in a slightly different way. Almost with a new level of respect. It, of course, could just be my imagination or my own confidence level allowing me to see things in a new light; but, nevertheless, I’m enjoying the change.  

Sherri's Action Research Plan

EDLD 5301 Section 8306 Week 2 Assignment Reflection

This week I learned that it is not only okay; but, it is actually encouraged to do action research studies on topics that interest the researcher. That means me!

It is also ok to take an idea that has been successfully done at another school and use it as an action research project at your own school. I was very happy to hear that every action research doesn’t have to be a new idea that I have come up with. It takes a bit of the pressure off. My plan is, however, my own.

I am very excited about my action research study. I will be comparing end of chapter test results from last year to test results from this year. The difference will be that students this year will have feedback for every question given on daily assessments. The goal is to show that by providing immediate feedback, even if that feedback is delivered electronically, students will do better on the end of chapter tests.

In this scenario, students will take a ten minute online quiz at the beginning of each period that mirrors the most significant questions from the prior day’s assignment. The assessment will be set so that, after each question, the student will be told if his answer was correct. They will not be given the correct answer but will, whether his answer was correct of incorrect, be given a short explanation of the correct answer.  For the results to be meaningful, the students must read the feedback. Therefore, students will be strongly encouraged to read the explanation before going on to the next question. Students will benefit from immediate feedback and reinforcement of learner objectives.

I can’t wait to get started!  

EDLD 5301 Section 8306 Week 1 Assignment, Part 3 – Action Research

This week I learned a new phrase - action research. A more accurate descriptor might be “Research in Action.” The whole concept centers on identifying an area that could be improved, deciding what changes need to be made, and then putting a plan into action to accomplish that goal. Did you catch that? “Could be improved.” Beginning an action research project does not necessarily mean there is something wrong with how it’s being done now. It simply means that someone is willing to take a serious look at the current procedure and decide if there might be a better way of doing it.

Every area in a school is a possibility for an action research project. Custodial duties, carpool lane, classroom procedures, even the procedure for distributing standardized tests to teachers could benefit from an action research plan. Ironically, the easiest areas to impact are most likely the ones we are less likely to be willing to change because they involve our daily routines and our comfort zones. We are all guilty of wanting to change everyone else’s corner of the world before we change our own, even if those changes could be for the better.

While discussing my action research project with my site mentor this week he said, “That’s the beauty of scientific inquiry. You don’t have to be right. You just have to be honest about the results.” I believe that applies to action research inquiries as well.

How might educational leaders use blogs – 

Just as students are connecting with and making new friends around the world via online games and Facebook, educational leaders are doing the same with blogs. As life becomes more hectic, both at work and at home, blogging may literally become the educational leader’s most trusted professional resource and new best friend.

Web Conference #5 (8:00 PM, Tuesday, August 9, 2011)

I tried desperately to finish the work for this week ahead of time. I downloaded the Week 5 Assignment and then sat there overwhelmed. I read and re-read the instructions for the Internship Plan Draft and the Principal Competencies but I did not understand the assignment. Had it not been for the web conference and the Professor Borel’s explanations, examples, and patience I would still be staring at a blank computer screen. As soon as the web conference ended I was able to very quickly produce a fairly thorough draft of both plans. When I met with my mentor at 9:00 the next morning he was pleased with my progress.

Week 5 Assignment, Part 2: Course Reflections

What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

As I entered this course I had no idea what to expect. I had two desires. That I would not flunk out; and, that I would know for sure, after twenty-five years, if I was grad school material. After the first two weeks of crying myself to sleep and a lengthy conversation with Professor Borel, I made it! From that perspective, this class has been everything I had hoped.

What I did not expect was to understand how my students feel when they receive a 92 instead of a 99. Twenty-five years ago, an “A” was an “A” and a “B” was good enough! I didn’t know I had become a grade perfectionist until Professor Borel pointed it out. Thank you!

I also did not expect to learn so much so quickly. I never imagined that Concepts of Educational
Technology (which quite frankly sounds rather boring) would include so many hands on “create your own wiki” “make your own blog” activities. I have been pleasantly surprised.

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?

Everything that I have learned in this course will easily transfer to what I do at my school. As a one-to-one campus there are endless possibilities for tasks stemming from what I have learned in the last five weeks. As usual, my concern remains the time constraints associated with meeting standardized testing requirements. I will have to look for opportunities to implement more “Target Tech” type activities into my curriculum in such a way that they are not too time-consuming.

My biggest concern will, as usual, be with my classes that are made up largely of special needs and ESL students. Any deviation from a standard daily routine causes many of my students to shut down. They often become step-by-step teacher led instructional activities that frustrate students who are asked to assist those who are struggling. I will continue to work with my co-teacher so that she can help me more by troubleshooting atypical computer issues.

What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

There are two areas that I do not feel I have achieved the outcome I was hoping for in this course. The first has to do with my comfort level when working with my blog and wiki. I am fully capable in adding content to both. However, as I look at the blogs and wikis of others, mine is boring. I would like to know more about, and be comfortable with, changing the look and style of my pages. As I have time, which has been at a premium throughout this course, I will use the Internet as a resource to learn more about changing the look of my pages.

Citations are not my friend! I have a constant fear that I am not properly citing my work. I have read the APA textbook, searched the APA website, explored the sites listed on the Weekly Overviews, Googled for specific formats, and compared citations created at Easybib.com to those by Son of Citation Machine. I even swallowed my pride and sought advice from my English major daughter who politely told me she only knows MLA. I can only hope that practice will make perfect.

Were you successful in carryig out the course assignments? In not, what prevented or discouraged you?

Throughout this course I have successfully accomplished each task. At times, however, the instructions seemed both vague and thorough at the same time. I understand now that the instructions are meant only as a guide; but, for those of us who are avid instruction followers, they were sometimes a source of great frustration.  When Professor Borel told me to check YouTube for more help it made a huge difference. (Perhaps they should say that in the Week 1 Overview!)

If I had it to do over again, I would send out a mass email as soon as my cohort mates posted their email addresses giving them my cell phone number with instructions to call or text anytime day or night. It helped immensely to learn that I was not the only one struggling.  

To add to my frustration, someone advised me that, in their experience, most professors do not want to speak to their students other than via email. When I finally gave in and asked Professor Borel to call me, the entire course changed and my stress level diminished substantially. For me, the web conferences were the highlight of the course!  

What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I am a writer who has learned from this course that I put too much thought into what I write. I know what I want to say but I am so concerned that I am not conveying my message correctly that I spend, literally, hours writing, re-writing, and re-re-writing. I would rather do the discussions board by way of a web conference. I also have a great deal of trouble keeping my “personality” out of my writing. That is one of the many reasons that APA is going to drive me crazy. It’s okay, though, because after I finish my degree I will write my own book using only my own ideas and thoughts (so I will not have to cite anything) and I’ll have a few new letters to put after my name on the cover.  

The Internet scares me. The idea that the entire world can see anything I say is a bit ominous. That will be the biggest hurdle for me from a technology leadership perspective. Given enough time, I can master most software and hardware; however, I need to build my confidence when it comes to the World Wide Web.

Web Conference #3 (8:00 PM, Thursday, July 28, 2011)

Monday night I hit a wall. The instructions for the Week 3 Assignment didn’t make sense to me. I felt totally alone and was seriously considering whether I should drop out of the program. I couldn’t see how I would keep up once school starts back. After talking to Professor Borel on Tuesday, I felt a little bit better. The web conference on Thursday sealed the deal. As I sat reading the comments and questions in the chat pod, my classmates began to take on personalities and I started to feel less alone. Members of the class were addressing questions and concerns of other members. The isolation of being in an online course stated to dissipate. As it turns out, I’m actually doing better than many others in cohort 22! That shouldn’t make me happy, but it does. I offered my phone number to others and today I received a call from a new friend and classmate. The web conferences are providing an opportunity to connect in a way that brings cohesion to our class. And now I am sure that, even after school begins, I can be successful in this program.

E-Rate and Technology Plan Presentation

More PowerPoint presentations from Sherri Heathcock

Blog Posting #3 – National Educational Technology Plan

The National Educational Technology Plan, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, provides guidelines and recommendations that they (the NETP) believe will move American education forward in the technology domain. There are five areas addressed in the document - learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity—that they say must be addressed if America is to have any chance of competing with other countries in the professional and technological world.

The NETP says that, first and foremost, we must use technology. We must also use the scientific information we have on brain function to guide us as we change the way we approach education. It states that the time has come to “rethink basic assumptions of the education system. Some of these include measurement of educational attainment through seat time, organization of students into age-determined groups, the structure of separate academic disciplines, the organization of learning into classes of roughly equal size, and the use of time blocks.” It recommends the use of technology based assessments that provide faster more achievement based feedback. The document also encourages more distance learning and open source instructional material. It, also, suggests that teachers have online access to professional development resources.

My favorite recommendation is found in section 3.5 “Develop a teaching force skilled in online instruction”.  I would ask also that they be skilled in not putting students to sleep! Not only are technology skills required to conduct an online class; but, there is a need for a great deal of presentation talent as well. I teach 8th grade US History. My students say they do not get as much out of my recorded lectures as they do from being in the classroom even if they were in the room when the recording was made. The personal interaction makes a great deal of difference. To compensate for that personal touch, an online teacher, especially of younger students, must possess a great deal of “stage appeal.”

The recommendations go on to say that all students must have access to the Internet and Wi-Fi (in and out of school) and to the hardware and software that go with it.

Every one of these items brings me back to the same two questions. Where is the money coming from and how can we expect teachers to take on one, or twenty, more responsibilities? Perhaps the answer is to find one really good, animated teacher in each subject area and video them. Students could sit in their living rooms and “watch” school.

Blog Posting #2 – School or District Technology Plan

The Executive Summary of the Klein ISD Technology Plan states that "Klein ISD's mission is to embrace the future and provide engaging learning experiences and resources in a safe and nurturing environment." To accomplish this all educational stakeholders (educators, students, parents and others in the community) will be encouraged to adopt an attitude that all technology should enhance teaching and learning; and, that learning about technology will take place only as a step in mastering the instructional objectives.

The Klein ISD technology plan includes the following four goals:

• Implement teaching and learning strategies that incorporate 21st century tools, context and content.
• Implement and sustain a high quality, on-going, systemic, job-embedded professional development program for all staff.
• Increase student and staff productivity through the use of technology.
• Provide a stable and secure infrastructure to deliver appropriate content and allow for growth.

Within those 4 goals there are 30 objectives and 83 strategies (77 of which are currently underway or are complete) for accomplishing the goals by the year 2013.

Currently, the district has 38 campuses and a student enrollment of 44746 with just over 1/3 of those students qualifying as economically disadvantaged. 100% of our classrooms already have direct connection to the Internet and, while the goal is to have a student to computers ratio of 1:1, our current student to computer ratio is fairly high at 3:1. The district’s economically disadvantaged factor presents an added issue in meeting our goals in that, as we implement our 1:1 platform district wide, we must also find a way to assure that all students have Internet access at home.

The district is committed to continuing the allocation of at least 30% of the technology budget allotment to technology professional development. However, the focus of professional development will move from using the computer as a tool to produce an end product, such as a PowerPoint, to using it as a way of transforming the teaching and learning process. Of course with the increase in the number of computers and applications being used, the need for more technology support personnel and technology staff development facilitators will increase as well.

A budget of $48,926,722 has been approved for Technology Expenditures. The breakdown by STAR chart summary areas is as follows:

- Teaching and Learning Budget: $12,741,200.00

- Educator Preparation and Development Budget: $4,045,000.00

- Leadership, Administration and Support Budget: $2,174,266.00

- Infrastructure for Technology Budget: $29,966,256.00

That translates to $1,093.43 allocated toward the technology needs of each student.

While we are ahead of most districts in meeting the Texas long range goals, there is still much work to be done.  The Klein ISD Technology plan ascertains that will know that we have fulfilled our responsibilities because “Our students will demonstrate academic achievement, productive citizenship, career development, a healthy lifestyle, and lifelong learning.”

Blog Posting #1 – Technology Assessments

How does a school, district, or state know just where it stands on technology skills? It’s simple, they assess. They assess administrators, teachers, librarians, and students. They ask the same question in a multitude of different ways. Always hoping that, in the end, the data produced will reflect some measure of truth and accuracy. In order to make wise decisions we must know what skills are already strong and which ones need to be improved. Asking the ones who are working with the technology seems to be the most accurate and least expensive avenue.

Technology questionnaires, however, are often long and wordy. Teachers, at least the one’s that I eat lunch with, do not appreciate being asked to add another 20 minute task to their already overcrowded schedules. Therefore, they complete the survey (to keep the administration at bay) but do not take the assessments seriously and often answer at random.

The answer choices on the surveys sometime do not seem to fit. For instance the LoTi Digital-Age Questionnaire uses the following scale, "Never, At least once a year, At least once a semester, At least once a month, A few times a month, A least once a week, A few times a week, and At least once a day." Those answers seem to cover all situations, until you ask, “Does it mean once a day or does it really want to know if I do it every day that we use technology?” The surveyie, if there is such a word, then finds themselves second guessing and changing their answers. In reality, few teachers use technology every day. Some days are, as my department head says, “Sit and Git” days. Note taking on paper or reading from an old fashioned textbook one day a week would change my answer from “once a day” to “a few times a week”, thus decreasing the validity of the assessment.

My LoTi survey said that I “may not have the confidence or feel comfortable troubleshooting simple “technology” problems or glitches as they arise. At school, their use of computers may be limited to a grade book or attendance program.” I am one of a handful of people in my school that others come to when they need help troubleshooting technology issues. Because the survey results appear so far off in one area, at least in my mind, the validity of all of the results become suspect.

There are too many variables to have much confidence in the results obtained from these questionnaires. 

Web Conference #2 (8:00 PM, Wednesday, July 20, 2011)

Last week, I fixed my hair, checked my make-up, and at 7:30, with an odd combination of anticipation and trepidation, settled into my Lazyboy for my very first web conference. Much to my chagrin I quickly discovered that the web camera adds 50 pounds and 10 years! I easily found the conference room and was delighted when my camera and microphone worked exactly as they should on the first try. At the end of the hour I felt like an old pro and was ready for the “required” conference this week.

On Wednesday, I, again, fixed the hair and make-up. This week, however, I sought out a shirt that would be a bit more flattering for the camera. Much to my disdain, we didn’t even need the camera. This time, the process of getting into the room didn’t prove quite as flawless as before. Each time I entered the room I was met with a message stating “The host has ended this meeting. Thank you for attending.” I tried again and again with no luck. I was about to panic when, just before 8:00, I remembered the original Information for Web Conference document. There it was! “Sometimes clicking the URL or ‘Cut and Paste’ does not work. You may need to TYPE the URL.” I quickly typed in the URL and, presto, I was in!

I think I’m going to like web conferences. It's a good way to share potentially tedious information. The ability to clarify instruction and ask questions in real time is helpful. Also, seeing Professor Borel's monitor as she explains where to find a link or how to use a function on a website is a tremendous asset. I can’t wait for the next web conference.