My Course EDLD 5306 Reflection

I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect as I entered this course.  I suspected that there would be information on Web 2.o tools.  I also expected to learn about the ethics and safety of using the Internet and I really enjoyed all of these topics.  However, I was not even aware that my state or district had a technology plan, but I’m glad that I am now aware and that I have learned so much about these plans.  Since I am still a classroom teacher, I was hoping to learn more about integrating technology into the classroom and glad when we studied articles and issues about doing so.  Overall, after completing this course I find myself much more aware of the issues that go along with integrating technology into education.  I understand how this knowledge will help me when I obtain a district-level position in technology.  I feel much more knowledgeable, confident, and sure of the job that I would like to do someday.

I feel that I will be able to use all of the information that I obtained through this course in my present job.  I am still a classroom teacher and I am anxious to use more Web 2.0 tools in my lessons.  I also plan to incorporate some Internet safety and correct use policies into my everyday classroom routines.  Also, I have volunteered to act as one of my campus’ technology leaders and I plan to deliver and employ the information that I’ve learned throughout this course.  I hope to make my fellow teachers aware of the policies and standards that we should be following when using technology and, overall, I hope to encourage them to use all of the wonderful resources that I have found throughout the years and that I have learned about in this course.  I believe that this course has strengthened my ideas of using technology as a classroom teacher and will greatly impact my new role as a campus technology leader.

I never really possessed any specific ideas of what I’d be learning in this first course.  Of course, by the time I am finished with my degree I expect to be expertly knowledgeable in all aspects of educational technology.  That being said, I feel that this course was a great starting off point for my end goal.  I feel like we covered a wide variety of educational technology topics and expect to go into each further as the degree plan progresses.  I did have some trouble at times within this course with the pace and my time management, but I see the progress that I’ve made with these issues since week one.  I am anxious to see what our future courses hold for us and to learn more about the topics we were introduced to in this first course.

Overall, I was able to successfully carry out all of the assignments given.  Although, they were not all carried out smoothly.  I found it very difficult to contact my site mentor, as she was on vacation these past few weeks.  The way our summer fell this year put her out of school when I needed feedback or signatures.  For my internship plan, I was forced to send the document to her via email and she made the necessary comments.  I was also a little discouraged at the beginning of each week by the workload and would have to space out my projects throughout the week.  This caused me to find myself in a rush during the weekend and prevented me from obtaining our district technology plan, since our technology coordinator could not be reached toward the end of the week.  But, I find that it all worked out in the end.  I learned how to better manage my time and what to expect out of my future courses.

Compared to my first college experience, I have become much more self-disciplined.  I am also more excited to learn and strive to know more about the information provided.  I believe that I have a much more mature attitude toward my courses and my career goals.  I also find that my attitude has changed toward technology integration in our schools.  I used to believe that technology was only a tool to strengthen my everyday lessons.  I now see that it has become a necessity to education and I will strive to encourage others to realize this.  I hope to help teachers with any hurdles and provide them with new strategies, ideas, and tools that I discover.  I also had a policy in my classroom that students had very limited access to the technology tools.  This course has taught me that my students should have more contact with these tools and I am excited to practice this in the upcoming year.

Transforming American Education?

Since technology has become such a big part of our daily lives, the U.S. Department of Education has drafted an education technology plan for the nation’s educational institutions to follow.  Calling education an “urgent priority,” the Department of Education has identified two goals for it:  Raising the proportion of college graduates, and closing the achievement gap.  To do so, the government has acknowledged four major areas where their efforts will have the greatest impact.  These areas call for states to:  adopt standards and assessments that prepare students for college and the workplace, build a data system that measures student growth and informs educators about how they can improve instruction, recruit and retain effective educators, and turn around their lowest achieving schools.

The Department of Education has called upon educational institutions to embrace learning powered by technology to succeed in these areas.  The goals set forth by the technology plan are in the areas of learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.   

With regard to the area of teaching, the plan states that teachers should become “connected teachers,” with 24/7 access to tools to help them improve student data.  Connected teaching offers teachers the opportunity to connect with, not only information, but people, too.  Teachers could set up virtual classrooms and online learning communities for their students.  Professional development for these teachers would consist of collaborative and continuous professional learning that would combine more effective courses and workshops with all of the conveniences and opportunities of online learning.

Although the National Education Technology Plan has many good qualities, I find that the plan is vague in how to implement some of these components.  I also noticed that there was not much talk of a national budget in regard to executing this plan.  

Overall, I think that this plan is a great starting point for states and school districts to being incorporating technology into their instructional facilities.

District Technology Plan

            The main goal of this district’s plan is that all Louisiana educators will benefit from technology-rich environments that support student achievement and produce life long learners able to succeed in an information society.  The district plans to achieve this goal by following four steps:  Strengthening leadership, improving teacher training, supporting e-learning and virtual schools, and encouraging improved access and technology use. 

            To achieve each of these steps, a current status update is given, followed by benchmarks to be completed by the year 2014.  Also, a list of evaluation strategies is given with a timelines for each.  Every strategy is to be evaluated annually, which will help to monitor progress toward each goal or allow for any changes to be made, if need be. 

In order to evaluate teachers’ knowledge and use of technology, they will be given school and district surveys annually.  Teachers are also to complete at professional development portfolio and provide records of participation in technology workshops.

            Technology leadership will be performed by administrators and school designees.  Administrators will attend trainings and become proficient in using different technologies daily.  Also, a designee will be assigned at each school to act as the technology leader.  Their job will be to monitor all technology equipment at the school and seek out opportunities for staff to experience new technology.  The district also employs a technology director.  His job is to serve all district personnel as a technology consultant, communicate technology policies, conduct training, and develop standards for purchasing technology. 

            In order to evaluate teachers’ knowledge and use of technology, they will be given school and district surveys annually.  Teachers are also to complete at professional development portfolio and provide records of participation in technology workshops.

            A budget for each goal is outlined that provides an amount for the district’s share and the source for each amount.  

Technology Pre-Assessments: Are They A Good Idea?

When writing a technology plan, assessing the prior knowledge of an educator and their students could be a help or a hindrance.  There are advantages and disadvantages to this idea.

I feel that it is important in any technology plan to first and foremost assess the knowledge and skills of the learners involved, whether it is an educator or a student in a classroom.  Once an instructor can gauge how much his/her pupils know, then they can identify where to begin their lessons.  If students don’t know how to turn on a computer, then the instructor must start with the basics.  If the learners are already using the technology on a daily basis and know a good deal about what they are doing, then this will save valuable time for the instructor and the students.  Another advantage of pre-assessing technology prior knowledge is that it shows strengths and weaknesses.  A learner may be highly skilled at searching the internet for information and creating digital reports and projects, but lack the skills to  locate and organize their work on the computer.  This student would need different training than a student who shows proficiency in utilizing their computer to create and organize, but has no experience navigating the internet.  A pre-assessment of technology skills would show where instruction would begin for each of these students.  It would also show that these pupils could benefit from working together, since one thrives where the other is weak.

Valuing technology knowledge and skills is not without its drawbacks.  Pre-assessment may be overwhelming or discouraging to some technology learners.  With so many elements within technology, beginners may become overwhelmed by all that there is to learn about it.  And because technology is growing and changing everyday, new concepts and components are always appearing.  Even experienced tech users may come across components that they are not familiar with and may become discouraged.  I was disappointed in myself when I was not familiar with all of the concepts in the self-assessments of week one.     

Overall, I feel that valuing knowledge of technology leaders and students is an asset to any technology plan.

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