What a difference five weeks can make. When I began to download and go through the syllabus for this class, I came to realize that Instructional Leadership had a different meaning. I was pleasantly surprised that the course was about technology and how we could implement technology into our educational systems. The class was certainly a challenge, but I gained a wealth of knowledge and useful information that will benefit me as an instructional leader. I enjoyed creating the Blog and collaborating with my peers. It gave the class a more personal touch and made me feel like part of an actual class. I had no expectations because I was not aware that the class was based on technology, but feel that I am now more prepared to include technology in my vision and have realized the importance of technology, and the impact it can have on our students. I felt like I was in tune with technology and quickly found out how much of a digital immigrant I really was. I feel like I am armed with information that will not only help my teaching, but other teachers as well. I will now be a strong advocate for integrating technology into classroom practices.

The opportunities I received in this class are certainly applicable to my teaching. I now feel like I can incorporate teaching, learning and technology. I feel like I can better understand why students today learn so differently, and can strive to meet their technological needs. I am more in tune with the TA TEKS and standards and feel like, as an instructional leader, I can make some productive changes toward integrating technology. I feel more comfortable with the information I give and receive from the STaR Chart, and learned it was not just another thing to do, but it is important and the data is used for a real purpose. There has never been much emphasis on technology within my campus, and I felt that I was not at all preparing my student for their future. I have limited resources, but plan to utilize them to the best of my ability in the future.

I would like to have more up-to-date articles. I found them very informative, but thought some of them may have been a bit outdated. I thought the discussion board assignment was long and frustrating at times, but came to realize that it is yet another way to collaborate and communicate with fellow educators. I realized that the tools we need to impact education are few and far between and funding is going to have be reallocated to accommodate our students. We are really doing students a disservice by not integrating technology and preparing them for the digital-age.

I was successful in producing what I perceived as the expectations of the professors. At times I felt a bit confused and needed clarification, but I accomplished my goals. The assignments were very involved and took time, preparation, and research, but provided a way to learn these Web 2.0 strategies first hand. We applied skills that were new and had the opportunity to be hands-on with the assignments. I enjoyed the blog and I have used PowerPoints in many of my professional development presentations. Through my collaboration with my classmates, I now have many more ideas on how to make by presentations more attractive, applicable and informative. I had never used SlideShare and it was an extremely useful tool as well. There were many aspects of the assignments that I found to be helpful, and after I got it all figured out, were actually fun.

I learned a great deal in this class. In fact, it was frustrating how much I was not aware of in terms of technology. Campus leaders are not preparing veteran teachers with the knowledge we need to be successful models with technology. I was not aware of what the STaR Chart was used for nor did I know how much impact it had on campuses. I don’t know there was a Technology Plan for the district and our Campus Plan had very little mention of technology. My attitude changed several times throughout the class, I felt like I was informed when I started, then quickly found out I was not. This was frustrating to me, but also motivated me to get behind technology and push for more resources and incorporation of technology in the classrooms, especially with my English as Second Language students. As a leader, I plan to make technology a priority and implement an environment that works together to integrate our resources in an effective way.

I can easily see how a blog can make a huge difference with communication on a campus and have great value to the 21st century learner. Having a place to communicate with students and parents can benefit the educational system as a whole. Students can post information and receive information from peers otherwise unknown and teachers can keep parents informed about what is happening in the classroom. It is a place to localize information that pertains to school activities, class assignments, or school and classroom rules. You could also include tips for parents and students on how to stay safe using technology and sites that can be helpful for preparing for assessments and other educational endeavors. I plan to continue using my blog and have come to the realization that blogging is a resource that can open up a whole new realm of positive opportunities for education.

As a secondary teacher, I feel that I have the responsibility to expose my students to proper ethics on the computer. I think that I will begin by setting up the blog and we will check it as a class with me guiding my students as they learn their responsibilities with technology. I will encourage parents to blog information together with their children until they feel confident that they are ready to contribute on their own. This will give the students the experience, but provide supervision as students become aware of the possibilities the internet can provide. Teachers need to keep in mind their responsibility as well, and never post information such as student names or discuss student information in a blog. We have to have policies in place to protect our students and that must and will start with teachers.

Blogging can be very beneficial in communicating with key stakeholders. Stakeholders can be informed about what events are taking place on a campus as well as district activities. It can be a great place to create positive interaction between school and home. Often times, educational leaders get bogged down in the day-to-day responsibilities of the educational system, but a blog can be a quick and easy way to keep all stakeholders informed. It can certainly be encouraging to have constant connection with people that are invested in education. Many of the things I learned through this class will be very useful as an administrator and provide a connection between students, parents, peers and stakeholders.

Edld 5352 Week 4 Blog Upload

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Valley View High School and STaR Chart Analysis

Hello all, This is my first time using SlideShare, and I hope that you find my presentation informative and usefull.
Best Wishes,

jimi

Week 2 Valley View Ppt

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Week 1 - Long Range Plan Analysis

Before this assignment, I did not know what Long-Range Plan was. Currently, I have meet some of the requirements of the plan. For example, in my classroom I am a facilitator and provide opportunities for the student to gain their own knowledge using technology. My students create PowerPoint’s, videos, and complete Web Quest activities.
I learned what the purpose of the Star Chart is. At school we must complete this chart, but we do not know for what and what exactly it is.

Pre-K TEKS w/Spiraling and Scafolding Curriculum

Pre-K students can benefit from the use of technology in the classroom. Children who engage in age-appropriate and challenging software will extend their knowledge and reinforce the curriculum. Children are taught the basic functions and key vocabulary terms. They become proficient in handling output devices and establish a comfort level with technology.
Pre-K TEKS lay the foundation for student performance in the future grades by introducing and applying procedures, equipment, vocabulary, and variety of software packages with audio, video and graphics to enhance learning experience.
Students have multiple opportunities to master texts, audio, video and graphics. It is located in 3rd-5th (1) Foundation (A)-terminology, (5) Information Acquisition (A)-acquiring information including text, audio, video and graphics, (7) Solving Problems (A)-using software problems with audio, video and graphics to enhance learning experiences, (11) Communication (A)-publish information in a variety of media, including not limited to printed copy, monitor display, Internet Documents, and video and presentation software (B).
The other Knowledge and Skills that spirals vertically are (11) Communication (A) and (B). It is taught from the K-2 to High School.

Texas Long Range Plan for Technology

The Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 is a very extensive plan that involves all stakeholders, including but not limited to teachers, students, administration, school board, and parents. The vision is one that has all students being technologically masters by the time they leave high school and teachers receiving professional development that will allow them to be technologically proficient so that they can prepare the students for mastery. In order to create this plan the ETAC committee did extensive research and surveying to gather data. In 2005, over 5,000 teachers in Texas responded to a survey that compared their answers to a nationwide teacher response. The teachers in Texas showed that the majority of teachers use technology to make their job easier and life easier. They responded that student application is the biggest key to the success of students. So this plan combines the two, to make student success and the teaching job easier. Since the plan is so extensive, a very precise timeline has been implemented. The goal is to create a 21st Century learner that is able to compete with the rest of the world for success.The need for change in terms of the technology that the United States requires proficiency in, is seen in it's comparison to other countries. The United States is seeing less students graduate high school and go to college. India had almost a million more students graduate with a bachelors degree in 2001 than the United States. That is proof that we needed to do something to regain a competitive edge and give our students a competitive role in the emerging economic progress of the world.The 21st Century learner has a positive outlook on technology and uses it to perform everyday tasks. This type of learner is able to leanr in ways that are effective to them and know that learning can be tailored to fit his/her needs. Students must learn to think analytically by problem solving/reasoning skills, experimenting, and applying information. This student takes responsibility and learns to interact/communicate with the digital world. As technology changes, the 21st Century learner collaborates and adapts according to his/her personal learning requirements.The state of Texas has such a diverse mix of people that we as educators have to ensure that we are reaching all of the students we teach. Technology allows Texas to reach students from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Technology brings the outside world into the classroom and allows districts access to unlimited resources. Technology can also level the playing field for students with special needs, low socio-economic status, or districts limited resources. Teaching with technology not only provides an engaging environment but also gets students ready to be active members of the 21st century. The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology has set guidelines for technology in the state of Texas. All students should have access to technology and the used this technology to collaborate and construct knowledge to solve real world problems. No Child Left Behind required technology integration in the 8th grade curriculum and that all 8th graders must be technology literate. Technology must be seamless integrated into curriculum.In order to ensure a seamless integration of the technology application into the curriculum, we have to make sure that teachers are prepared to teach our students and push them to success. Therefore extensive professional development must be offered as well as expected so that our teachers are able to adapt to the changing times. Not only do the teachers need to be up to date on the latest technology, administrators need to acquire the knowledge as well. This way there is support and knowledge throughout the school. As well as having a leader who knows how quickly technology is changing, it will allow for better budgeting of funds to ensure technology has the funding needed to advance.The 21st century infrastructure will be able to keep up with changing technologies. However, this requires funding. Unfortunately for public schools, funding is based on many different aspects and money is needed for all areas of running and maintaining a school. With technology, the more advanced it becomes, the more expensive it becomes as well. This plan was created to help create an enviroment where all stakeholders are involved and allow for the collaborative communication of the stakeholders to ensure the best for the students. As a leader and someone who uses technology frequently, I want to be able to continue to learn and have the competitive edge and be able to pass that to my staff and students. I want to continue to learn daily and keep up with the world as it changes. I have high expectations for myself and as a leader, i would expect the same of my students and staff.

Survey Analysis

There were two assessments to be completed for week 1 and both of them were geared toward my knowlege of technology. The first assessment was Technology Applications Inventory found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/technology/techapp/assess/teksurv.pdf. As I completed the survey, I found that I had plenty answers with a yes and hardly any with a no. It was a general survey that looked at my technology skill level. On the other hand, the other survey was more personable. It asked more questions about data and student achievement. This survey is called SETDA. The questions that were asked were more specific to my technology knowledge.

Each one of these surveys can serve a purpose for ensuring that technolgy is being integrated into the classroom, how often it is being implemented, and what is the result of the technology usage.