Reflection of Web Conferences

The three web conferences I attended focused on very different things. The first was all about forming groups. Students were asking questions about if they could be together. I already knew who I wanted to be with because of the last course we had groups in. I was happy to be with another new member as well. I learned from the conference that we would need to be ready to post to TK20 at the end of the class and that it ends earlier than usual.
The next conference I attended was more about groups and was making sure everyone knew how to make the videos about themselves not too long. She provided her digital story for us and made sure we knew to go to Resources for all the up to date information.
The last web conference was all about trying to get everything finished before the last day it is due as well as things such as what the next class would be and when it starts. I was excited to hear that we have s longer break than usual on that our class does not start until January 14th.
I also learned that my eportfolio could be my blog or my google site. I was told by an IA that it HAD to be my google site, which I had not updated since the first class. I have always put things on my blog so I consider that my eportfolio. Abernathy said this was fine as long as I just always use the same place to put all of my things.
While there were many web conferences held during this class-much more than usual-I felt good about everything and really didn't feel the need to attend for any clarification. Everything was laid out and very straight forward in this class. The only time I was confused about something is when we actually did not gave to submit an assignment (which was also talked about during our last web conference).

I had to create a movie in my EDLD 5363class and ofcourse it had to be something about us. The most important things to me are my family and friends so that is what I chose. To tell a little about me, means to talk about the people that helped shape me into the person I am today. The background music happens to be the song my husband and I picked as "our song" when we were in junior high.  This turned out to be pretty fun as well as made me very emotional. The fact that it had to be under 2 minutes made it difficult. Being a mom of three beautiful girls, I wanted to show more of them. I will use this in the future. We always do various types of slide shows for the kids birthdays as well as family reunions. I look forward to making many more in the future. I Hope you enjoy!!

My Dream-Classroom in Five Years

The classroom in five years will be one that has open lines of communication between parents, staff, teachers and students. Teachers will be using tools such as Blackboard to house all of the content for the class as well as to form group discussions on a weekly basis. Teachers will make sure that they are fully trained and take pride in making sure they have kept up to date with grades, communication and make sure they are fully vested in what they are using. “Bonnie Meyers has a unique perspective on student-information systems -- that of a teacher and a parent. She teaches history and English to sixth graders at the district's Diablo Vista Middle School, and her daughters go to California. She says she sees the undeniable merit of School Loop when it's used properly, but there are times when it's misused, or not used often enough. Diablo Vista's principal expects that teachers will update student and class information in the system about once a week, says Meyers” (Gronke, 2009).

Parents will not shy away from technology in the future as well. They will become a third part y part of the classroom and given the chance to connect in to answer a question or just to show student what they are doing I they are on a business trip will add to the value to each student and make the parents more involved in the classroom experience. "Once [parents] realize the value of being connected, these challenges are resolved fairly quickly," he says, adding that in all scenarios, however the information is delivered, "when parents are involved in their children's education, the child prospers” (Villano, 2008).

The actual set up of the classroom will include many things the schools of today do not have. Things such as many outlets to plug in phones, computers, USB's, comfortable chairs and couches, as well as cafe style tables to work in groups. The atmosphere will be more like a coffee shop friendly environment instead of sterile. The desks will be replaced with tables, one of the walls will be a LCD screen that can have three separate presentations on or one. They will be used to house anchor charts, wight words, and other things teachers normally hang all over the walls. With a swipe of the finger they can scroll to the screen they need. Students will also have their own ipads, bring their own devices and be able to use them throughout the day in every area. While manipulative and paper pencil are still needed in the primary grades in order to learn how to write and perform math problems, they will be doing most of the work on the tablets. Once they write a story they will take a picture of it, to edit, make changes etc...and type the final paper. While it will take some teachers more convincing than others, this will be the norm in five years.

“Technology continues to profoundly affect the way we work, collaborate, communicate, and succeed. Increasingly, technology skills are critical to success in almost every arena, and those who are more facile with technology will advance while those without access or skills will not. The digital divide, once seen as a factor of wealth, is now seen as a factor of education those who have the opportunity to learn technology skills are in a better position to obtain and make use of technology than those who do not. Evolving occupations, multiple careers, and an increasingly mobile workforce contribute to this trend” (Cummins, 2012).

Communication and socialization is an important part of society, so it will be just as important in the classroom. Students will be required to have a blog, create discussion questions, and respond to each others on a weekly basis.

“Blogging represents one of many tools that pioneering teachers are using to empower students to take more responsibility of managing their own work and adding value to the world. Thousands of teachers are using blogs as educational tolls: they are relatively easy to create, you can create content in minutes, you can publish to large audience or a targeted community , and you can invite almost anyone into a conversation” (November, 2008)

With the help of technology leaders as well as teachers that are ready to actually prepare the students for the real word we live in today and not the world we lived in fifteen years ago, this will happen. Students will desire to come to school to learn instead of daydreaming about what they want to be doing in front of the computer. Which is usually things like, talking to friends, checking social media, and playing games. These are all things that will be done in the classroom in the future, all while learning the academic standards they need to succeed in today’s society.

WoW!!! I made through another class! I have learned a lot about technology and collaboration in this course. I typically do not like working in groups when it comes to my job or now in my graduate studies. I hate it when people are depending on me to finish something and on their time table. That is the whole reason I took online classes. I get to set my pace as well as when I want to work on things. Even if it is at 1:00am. I have three little ones at home and have a full time job. I started the school year as a kindergarten teacher (for the fourth year here) and was moved in the third week of school to a third grade class. While I absolutely love the transition, it has not come without more headache and planning than what I was used to. With that said, my group has been an amazing group of ladies to work with. They are understanding, and most are in the same position I am in. I really wish I could meet them for dinner or something! We have gotten to know each other virtually, but they seem like we could all be friends!

The parts of the course I was most intrigued with dealt with the importance of technology integration in the classroom. The videos I watched each week was looking into each students successes and how they use it in their everyday lives. Writing the e books and UDL lessons also made me think about the lesson I wanted to teach my students in a more focused way. I am actually teaching the unit we came up with in our scenario so having four other lesson plans to pull from while I have been preparing for my days has made it that much easier!

Week 4 reflection:

During this week I have been trying to make sure I have completed each section the absolute correct way as well as give the needed time and planning for my third grade class. It has been one of the most time consuming classes so far and I feel like I am taking time away from my young family. I have a wonderful husband that steps in when needed, but when the 2 and 3 year old only want mommy-it is hard to argue with that. 

During the readings and videos this week there were two things that stuck with me. Keeping technology and learning relevant for students and collaboration. Both of these things are not small ideas and not things we as teachers have never heard of. In fact, we all probably had an entire class teaching us about these things, if not more.

Collaboration is something I completely buy into. A quiet classroom makes me think they are probably not thinking about what they are learning. I like to give the students the opportunity to talk about what we learn, ask questions, and try to solve the problems in their own learning groups before letting them move to the computers to look things up, or lastly, turn to me for the answers.

Keeping technology current and relevant for the students is obviously something I believe in as well. I don’t think I would be perusing my education under the title of Leadership in Technology if not. I have used the idea that we have to meet the students in their learning space in order to make them want to learn. If that space is a form of media, we can do that!  I refer my teachers during staff developments I have facilitated to a website that discusses the ”Five things every Student want their teachers to know  (Nielsen, 2011) these include: “1. Socialization is important,  2. Students want to see each other, 3. Students want to see their teacher, 4. Students want you to know them, and 5. Keep it Relevant”. You can see the entire explanation of these at: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2011/11/five-things-students-want-their.html

Things I from readings, videos and UDL lesson and principals:

The videos from this week were very inspiring. It gave me chill bumps to see all the things some of these young students are doing with technology in their schools as well as in their personal lives. From helping younger students see their potential to one student using his knowledge to make his Hocky swings even better, the future looks very bright for them. It made me start to examine what we do in our school in the way of technology and how we let the students take on what they will and help them reach their full potential. Even though these students are sometimes doing things with technology we may not fully understand, we make sure they have all the tools they need in order to reach their full potential. I am proud of what my school offers all the students as well as how open minded the teachers are when it comes to trying something new in the classroom. I only hope this trend continues so we can make sure we are meeting the students in their learning space as well as not using outdated things to try to inspire them. 

After all the readings and videos from the week the assignment was to create a UDL lesson for the students in my group scenario. We chose to do a third grade reading class and the lesson I tackled was about character traits of the character. The UDL principals are to present information in a variety of ways, differentiate the ways students can express what they know, and stimulate interest and motivation for learning. I don’t know how other teachers are writing their lesson plans, but I know when I do mine, I always take these things into account. I have to try to reach every style of learning so variation in my teaching and outcomes is something I do daily. When I finally learned everything I might need to know about how to create a UDL lesson plan, it was time to actually do so...and wow! It took forever! I have been in the classroom for six years now and consider myself to be a great teacher! I truly now know that while I may not be writing out true UDL lesson plans for each thing I teach, I take into account the principals every time I get up in front of the class. No matter what age, what grade, there are students that are going to have different learning styles, be at different academic readiness, and they will all bring different things to the table when it comes to being able to show me what they have learned. Universal design lessons to me, is how we should all be thinking and teaching everyday! NO-I don’t think we should develop the three page lesson lans for each topic, in fact I think it is a waste of time. In college when I was learning HOW to become a teacher we did these relentlessly! The only reason we did is so that we would actually begin to think about each part of the lesson, how we wanted to convey the information, and how would we differentiate to meet the needs of all learners. I understand how to do this now and do not plan to write or type out another UDL lesson plan. Although, I will stand true to the UDL principals.
Here is a sample of the ebook I created for this weeks assignment as well.
http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=65091&page=1

Here is the UDL lesson I came up with:

 CAST’s UDL LESSON BUILDER

Lesson Overview Title: Character Traits and Feelings

Author: Shanna Hollis

Subject: Reading

Grade Level(s): Third Grade

Duration: 1 hour

Subject Area: Character Traits

Unit Description: Students will learn the difference between feelings and traits in order to understand who the character is in the book.

Lesson Description for Day: Differentiate between character traits and feelings

State Standards: §110.14. English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 3, T EK (5)a & b, (6), (7), (8)a, (10),  (12), (14) NETS-s: 1.b and c; 2.a,b and d; 3.b and c; 5. B and c; 6. a, b, c, and d.

 

 

Goals

Unit Goals: Students will build their story comprehension skills as well as the importance of character traits as well as character development in a story. Students will also gain an understanding of how to use the ipad as well as various apps to present information learned.

Lesson Goals: Students will understand how to pull out the character traits and feelings from the story; both those that are explicitly stated as well as those that are inferred.

 

Methods

Anticipatory Set: We will read the short story Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Students will then get to brainstorm ideas of how they think Lilly felt in the story and try to explain why.

 

Introduce and Model New Knowledge: As a class we will have a picture of Lilly on the interactive white board and we will write the words is…around her. Students will get to put on the board what she is and we will discuss why she is that why.

Provide Guided Practice: Students will take pictures of themselves using their ipads. They will turn in Screen Chomp (an app we use daily to take notes and pictures to put in our interactive notebooks) to write various things around their headshots. For those that choose, they can record the information they want to present of themselves using the record button on this App. The students will share with each other what they made and explain why they either feel a certain way or what the traits they listed for themselves are.

Provide Independent Practice: Students will use the App Toon Doo to create a short story about EllRay. They can use the information we came up with as a class and of course add things to what they think he is feeling or his traits. We will present at the culmination of the activity.

 

 Assessment

Formative/Ongoing Assessment: Teacher observation as well as various checks into their projects to make sure they are including both feelings and traits of EllRay and explaining the difference.

Summative/End of Lesson Assessment: Students will present their final project about the book EllRay Jakes. They will show that they understand how he feels as well as his traits. They can do this by using various modes of delivery. Animoto, Toon Doo, Wordle, anything they would like to show their comprehension of the material we have discussed- Feelings versus Traits of EllRay. They must provide evidence of where in the book they are either getting the information or inferring the information.

Materials: Lap Tops for each student or student group, Microphone for hearing impaired, computer settings larger for student with visual problems, the book Ellray Jakes, online book to be read aloud for students with reading problems, headphones.

 

I feel very passionate about using technology effectvily in the classroom. One of the main issues teachers have these days is keeping it current and relavent.

"The task for educators is to understand how students learn and use the technology available in this digital age to provide selected supports where they are needed and position the challenge appropriately for each learner." (Rose and Meyer, 2002)

Living in Texas we are supposed to follow a little thing called the TEKS. In these TEKS we are now required to teach the technology strands to all grade levels. How to use it, safely,appropriately, how to find out if websites are legit, and numerous other things. If teachers just try to sit by and go with what they have always done and use the technology they alwasy have, then they are not rising to the challenges each year. I came across a website discussing the 5 things students want their teachers to know. The five things included: Socialization is important, students want to see each other, students want to see their teacher, Students want you to know them, and last was to Keep it Relevant. (Nielsen, 2011) This is from the mouths of students. They are wanting the things we should already be giving them. We need to meet them in their learning space and make sure we are making it as relavant as possible.

After discussing all the plans for my group project through Skype, I feel very confident that this is going to be a great end product. While this project is based on a third grade reading class and basically just a scenario,it is still something I will use in my third grade reading class. We are centering it on a Bluebonnet book, Ell Ray Jakes is not a chicken! We are actually reading this in my classes right now so all of the lessons we come up with in my group will be some I will be able to implement in my class. As good teachers, we all differentiate for our various types of students and this is also part of the piece in or scenario. I know my students will enjoy the lessons because we are all going to incorporate technology as well as a reflection each student will have to generate on the blog or website they create. I am excited to see what my other team members come up with. I also can't wait to share with them how it worked in my classes!!
Our plan is laid out on our google site which you can visit at:
https://sites.google.com/site/lamaretlproject/home

Hope you enjoy!

 “Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know About Online Learning” by Lisa Nielsen was originally published on The Innovative Educator. 2011

After presenting a staff development to the teachers in my district, some of the complaints they wanted to discuss were concerning parents. They informed me that some parents say they already have too much "screen time" in front of the TV and are worried that with technology and computers being used so much in the classroom they are making their children lazy. To be honest, I kind of giggled. My first response was to tell those parents to limit the TV time at home then. Knowing that would never happen with so many parents working and trying to make dinner as the students are getting home from school, I told them to try to tell them all the other things we do in school to make sure they are getting enough exercise. I also told them to look at the Texas TEKS where it tells teachers we have to teach using technology. Some parents still (shockingly) don't realize that without the computer skills being taught as well as how to use them safely, their children will not be ready to be productive members of society. I would have loved to direct them to some of the videos and articles I just read for this class.

"Several groups have reviewed the literature on technology and learning and concluded that it has great potential to enhance student achievement and teacher learning, but only if it is used appropriately "(Dede, 1998).

When I read this quote it made me think about my Action Research plan that I created in my last class. My question that I am researching is, How are teachers using technology in the classroom, and is it effective? I want to know if it is having a positive effect on grades, behavior, parent involvement, and time on task in the classroom. Connectivism discuss how it is the ability to stay current with knowledge and learning. We are not the only information sources that we have at our disposal now. Using technology and its resources we can creat a network of people, places, and information in order to make our connections to certain subjects or ideas even stronger. In this day and age we rely more on each other and these networks to gain some of the same information we would have gotten from books articles, and individual experts. We are the experts!!

I made it through another class! My Action Research plan is totally where I wantit to be and I can't wait to get started on it at the school. I feel the teachers I am hoping to include in my research are going to be ready and willing to help out in any way they can. I am also well on my way in earniing the hours I need for my internship plan. I am going to teaching a a professional development class in my district on Tuesday about the best Literacy Apps for teachers to use in the classroom. Having more understanding and articles to back up my research has made me even more prepared than I was to begin with. I can't wait to share how it goes with all of my followers!!

I have been working on my action research plan about 4 weeks now and after meeting with my site mentor I feel even better about it than I did before. As you might already know, she helped me change the direction I was goin a bit after the second week. We meet yesterday and she did not want to change a thing. While I will use certain ways to record data and video classrooms (with permission from parents ofcourse) to help me with my research, my overall plan has not changed. Please know that all of your comments are helping me think deeper about what I am setting out to do and does nothing but help me in my efforts. I look forward to another great class starting in a couple of weeks, but more importantly the start of the 2012-13 school year! I have a first grader this year, and as most of you can relate-it will be one crazy ride for the first few weeks!!! I know I can do it--with the help of my Lamar friends and wonderful professors--we can do anything!!!

ACTION PLANNING TEMPLATE
GOAL:	How are teachers using technology in the classroom and is it effective?
Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Teachers will complete Survey to determine how they use technology and describe if they think it is effective and how.	2 teachers from grades 1, 2, and 3.	9/12-10/12	Survey created in Google docs	I will compare answers from the teachers from the same grade levels.
2. Observe classes to make note of the technology I see being used as well as if the students are engaged and list any behavior problems if I see any.	mentor and 6 teachers involved	9/12-11/12	Notes from observation	I will compare the two classes to see if any correlation between off task behavior and lack of technology resources’.
3. After a period of time I will request scores from assessments or benchmarks.	6 Teachers involved	12/12-2/13	Assessment/Benchmark scores	I will be comparing the two classes on the same grade level to determine if technology played a role in higher scores.
4. Request behavior chart from the first 2 grading periods.	6 Teachers involved	1/13-2/13	Behavior chart for each student.	Compare the classes to determine if the technology kept the students more engaged thus receiving fewer “marks”
5.Try to determine if Parental involvement is related to more technology in the classroom	Secretary	1/13/2/13	Parent sign-in sheets for parties and different events at the school through February.	Determine if parental involvement is due to more technology, making higher scoring students as well as better behavior?
6. Share with the staff	Mentor approval	3/13	I will be using animoto and prezi to present the findings. I will also do a survey using the smart phones to see what teachers want to learn more about.	See if scores go up across the school by including technology as part of daily instruction or behavior management, especially after providing more training.

Action Research topic changing a bit...

For this weeks assignment we had to come up with three choices for action research. The funny thing is-I thought I already knew what I was going to do. Here are the three choices I had:

1. How are teachers using technology in the classroom and is it effective?

2. How can I get more teachers using technology in the classroom and can I require them to take more technology professional development hours each year to learn more?

3. With all the technology we have available in our school, why are some teachers reluctant to use it?

After discussing my three choices for topics it looks like I might be changing my direction of my action research project. I completely understand why my mentor thinks number three should easily be thrown out. I talked to her on the phone to tell her more about what I would be doing with it, but she thinks the staff would still be reluctant to even attend the additional trainings I offer so it would be hard to gather research. She thinks the “reasons” they give will just make me madJ…

For number two-I could easily make this part of what I want to accomplish in my action research plan. I also told her that we could work on an incentive program for attending more hours of technology trainings. Some would do it just for the “prize”. Things we could use for prizes could include; duty free lunch, jeans for the week, or anything else the teachers would love to have.

So after discussing all of this with my mentor, I will take on number one, but I will still do my best to make sure the teachers that need additional training on various technology applications, get it.  I am going to teaching several trainings this year on my campus as well as throughout the district, so I plan to make sure as many of my staff are on board with me as possible about being excited to use technology effectively in the classroom.

What have I Learned about Action Research?

After reading the books and articles Action Research seems pretty basic to me.  Maybe it’s because this is something my principal actively does. I see that and know; that is the way I would want to run my campus.  She bases everything on research she does on the topic, gives reasons why, how, and thoroughly describes what she hopes the outcome will be.  I stumbled across this quote:

"Action research is the process through which teachers collaborate in evaluating their practice jointly; raise awareness of their personal theory; articulate a shared conception of values; try out new strategies to render the values expressed in their practice more consistent with the educational values they espouse; record their work in a form which is readily available to and understandable by other teachers; and thus develop a shared theory of teaching by researching practice." - John Elliott

This accurately describes everything action research is. The key is Reflection and Evaluation. Why wouldn’t you as an educational leader continually evaluate what is going on around the campus in order to make it the best it could be. That is what lead me to what I have planned my action research plan about—Technology in the classroom. Maybe this is something that needs to have more reflection and evaluation in all schools in order to keep as current as possible with the learning styles of our students.

How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

I am sorry to say that I have always made fun of bloggers! I never understood the need for anyone to post things such as how their kids potty trained, how much someone loved their trip overseas, and what the secret is to a healthy diet! I was always told about and invited to participate in them but this is something I NEVER thought I would get into. My question to them was "who really cares?" But, my thinking has changed. Becoming an educational leader is going to come with many decisions to make as well as issues to face. Why would I NOT create a blog to get input, advice, or guidance about things I might be facing on my campus or throughout the district. And as far as who might care-any and everyone that might be in my same position! I understand some use these as portals for families to stay up to date and companies to stay connected. Leaders will use these the same way-to stay connected, stay current and focused on what is important and relevant. They can bounce ideas off each other and be a global support system for each other when they need it.