EDLD 5352 Week 4 – Sheila Hyde ORGANIZATION CHART FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

 

Name	Title	Responsibility
Josh Eason	Administrator	Oversee the stages of implementation
Kim Carlton	Instructional Support Specialist	Work directly with departments to help integrate technology into everday teaching experiences.
Talandra Griffen	Administrator	Oversee the STaR chart and monitor the growth of technology usage in the classroom.
Julie Delafield	Instructional Technology Support Specialist	Assist teachers with training and answering questions about how specific technology works.

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

 

ACTION	STAFF	PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDED
Teachers and students will increase the use of companion software. One note software and Air Slates in conjunction with other technology applications and new online textbook resources.	Teachers and Instructional Technology Specialist	Districtwide training is provided on the new software and Air Slates. Mandatory before equipment can be checked out and used in class. ITS will assist in campus utilization.
Teachers will be trained on the National Geographic ELPS software and will use the software in lesson creation.	Teachers, Instructional Support Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist	ISS and ITS will create staff development
The math department will use technology to increase student engagement.	Teachers, Instructional Support Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist

 

EVALUATION TOOL FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

The true evaluation tool I would use to monitor the progress of the technology action plan would be a survey on surveymonkey.com

Sample questions would include:

1. How many days a week did you utilize technology in the classroom before attending the professional development
   
2. How many days a week do you utilize technology in the classroom after the professional development class?
   
3. On a scale of 1-5, how comfortable are you with technology?
   
4. On a scale of 1-5, how comfortable do you believe your students are with technology?
   
5. Do you feel your students are more engaged when utilizing technology in the classroom?
   

   
    

 

 

EDLD 5352 – Blog Post #3

The Texas long range plan for technology as a whole has some wonderful ideas that, on paper, seem to have answers to many challenges. They suggest virtual museum tours to save money on buses, web conferencing to increase collaboration, and increase teacher professional development to help teachers stay on top of new technology.

The challenge that I see with this plan is the same challenge I see in almost every document written by the government regarding education – lack of funding. To implement many of the ideas, which would be fantastic, the cost would be extraordinary! One of the TIPS calls for equipping every student with a wireless device to access the internet and reference material. For the virtual tours to take place the schools must have a full computer lab, which are extremely costly for rural districts with lower tax income systems. Why are we requiring teachers to become more tech savvy, when we no longer require technology as a requirement for graduation? While many of the students appear to be basically tech savvy because they can work a cell phone, if you peel back one layer you will see that many more students cannot attach items to emails, use many of the functions in Word, or even make a basic Excel spreadsheet.

In this day and age when we are trying to decide if the district can buy paper or keep a teacher, I do not think that spending excess funds on equipping students with handheld devices is not the best use of our limited resources. If the government is going to require this level of technology commitment, then the government needs to supply the funds instead of forcing already strapped districts to pull money that is needed for more teachers to reduce already overcrowded classrooms.

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology

EDLD 5352 - Blog Posting #2

Standards and planning are essential parts to the Texas Long Range Plan, without them there is no way to measure grown or deficiencies in specific areas. Having statewide standards help reduce the subjectivity of the measurements and give us the abilitity to create meausureable goals.

"Course content and presentation design must be flexible and editable" this allows content to change with the invention of new technology. Having the standards and measures in place will ensure that all students, across the state, are being exposed to the same thought patterns of increasing technology in the classroom.

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Blog Post #1

My response to the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, part IV – Communication.

 

Description: Students communicate information in diverse formats and to diverse audiences. A variety of technologies will be used. Students will analyze and review the results.

 

The information listed in the TEXAS LONG RANGE PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGY is very ambitious, yet it is making a positive impact in the daily learning environments in the schools today. Since the inception of the plan, the data shows the steady increase in technology use in schools. In my school, I personally have seen an increase in the variety of ways that students are utilizing diverse formats to reach their audiences. The students in the Developmental Programs use switches, voice output devices, and computer programs to "talk" to adults and their peers. In the General Education classes, the students use PowerPoint, Word, Publisher, and Adobe to create many different types of assignments instead of just "writing a paper". The use of technology has been proven to increase the students level of engagement in the classroom. My recommendations in this area would be to return the graduation requirements to include at least 1 technology credit to ensure that students are continuing to learn more in depth applications of the software available.

 

 

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology

Reflection on Web Conferencing

Web conferencing is a tool that can either be very effective or a complete waste of time. During my course on technology through Lamar University, I have experienced both scenarios.

The first time I attended a web conference I was very pleased to learn that I had done the assignment correctly. This was a blessing because I was having severe computer challenges (with both my internet and Lamar's library) and had contacted my teacher assistant to talk about the challenges and my concerns about being able to complete the class. The webinar helped me better understand what was being asked of me and clarify the assignment that I had recently turned in.

The second time I attempted to attend a web conference, there seemed to be a lot of technical difficulties not just from me, but from the other students as well. I did not have a lot of time that particular evening and after several attempts at the webinar, I simply chose not to participate.

In the business world I have utilized webinars for national training events, product upgrades, and simply to teach or learn more about a topic that was being offered at my company. The benefit is there; however, it is important that the host be prepared and the technology backbone be in place before the webinar can be as successful as the host intended.

EDLD 5352 Week 4 – Sheila Hyde - ORGANIZATION CHART FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

 

Name	Title	Responsibility
Josh Eason	Administrator	Oversee the stages of implementation
Kim Carlton	Instructional Support Specialist	Work directly with departments to help integrate technology into everday teaching experiences.
Talandra Griffen	Administrator	Oversee the STaR chart and monitor the growth of technology usage in the classroom.
Julie Delafield	Instructional Technology Support Specialist	Assist teachers with training and answering questions about how specific technology works.

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING

 

ACTION	STAFF	PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDED
Teachers and students will increase the use of companion software. One note software and Air Slates in conjunction with other technology applications and new online textbook resources.	Teachers and Instructional Technology Specialist	Districtwide training is provided on the new software and Air Slates. Mandatory before equipment can be checked out and used in class. ITS will assist in campus utilization.
Teachers will be trained on the National Geographic ELPS software and will use the software in lesson creation.	Teachers, Instructional Support Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist	ISS and ITS will create staff development
The math department will use technology to increase student engagement.	Teachers, Instructional Support Specialist, Instructional Technology Specialist

 

EVALUATION TOOL FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION

The true evaluation tool I would use to monitor the progress of the technology action plan would be a survey on surveymonkey.com

Sample questions would include:

1. How many days a week did you utilize technology in the classroom before attending the professional development
   
2. How many days a week do you utilize technology in the classroom after the professional development class?
   
3. On a scale of 1-5, how comfortable are you with technology?
   
4. On a scale of 1-5, how comfortable do you believe your students are with technology?
   
5. Do you feel your students are more engaged when utilizing technology in the classroom?