Web Confernece

I attended my second web conference yesterday morning with Dr. Abernathy. This experience was not anything like my first conference. The first web conference that I was in started off badly with not sound at all. Although we still had the text to read, there were over 50 people on at this time and it made it very difficult to follow along and read and answer questions. The script text and video box would move in and out getting small then large a good portion of the time. This made it very frustrating and not ever want to do a conference again. I decided after this that I would give another one a try. The second conference with Dr. Abernathy was great. I like the fact that it was limited to 25 people. This made it very easy to follow along and get a bit more personal with the other students involved. We were able to her voices that made it very nice and easy to get responses. Although I did not have a web cam or microphone, I was still able to actively participate in the conference with text. I learned more about web2.0 and also that it sounds like I am going to have to do a lot of studying for the LCE. It was great getting the different opinions and advice from fellow students on what they thought about the course and some of the ideas that they are using in their classrooms now.

Overall I had a very good experience the second conference that I attended. I am very glad that I gave it another try and was able to see the potential in using this technology in the schools. I do plan on talking with my principal and asking about using more web conferences to communicate with parents and stakeholders in our district. I can see that this tool will be very useful and become part of every school very soon.

Action Plan and Evaluation

Action plan and Evaluation

To begin a professional development, my plan would be to first evaluate last year’s STaR Chart to see what areas need to be addressed. I would also address the campus plan to see where we need to be. A survey out to the teachers would be another direction to go. We could see what technology the teachers would like to use more in their classes, what they feel they would like to be trained on. This professional development could be separated into an afternoon for either grade level, subject level, or interest level. Once I determined what areas were to be covered, how it would be spread out, and how long it needed to take, I would then seek out who could do our training. We may have teachers on our campus who are qualified in that area of technology and use it on a regular basis and would like to teach their peers. We could also look within our district for presenters. Equipment would be needed for teaching each area and it would be beneficial if teachers brought with them an idea of a lesson they would like to use with this technology. They would need to be given the opportunity to apply what they have been taught to do at the end or during their training. We would want them comfortable using this technology before they left the professional development.

For evaluation the Action Plan for the professional development, we need to get feedback from the individuals in the PD. One good way to get feedback in mass is www.surveymonkey.com. We can put in questions to directly see what worked for the teachers, what they would like to be done differently, and how we could improve the next one. In the following year, we can go back and compare the STaR Chart results to see if any improvement was made.

Texas s ta r chart powerpoint

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Texas s ta r chart powerpoint

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Transforming American Education EDLD 5352

In the technology draft plan for 2010 there were several issues that were brought up about educating and bringing our students up to date with the technology that is out in the world today. This plan reviewed 5 major goals that needed to be accomplished by teachers and students in schools today. One of the first goals was learning. We need to create and adopt learning standards that reflect 21st century expertise. Develop and adopt resources that show the flexibility of technology and how it can reach all learners. The second goal was assessment. Development of ways to give feedback in more timely manor was a concern. This goal also looked at the different ways in which assessment could be given besides your typical tests...such as gaming, simulations or virtual worlds. The third goal was teaching. In meeting this goal we need to be able to design and develop technology based content. I feel that what they really want from this is to make everything online learning...to be able to collaborate with others no matter where they are to learn and not just rely on the teacher for all the answers. The fourth goal was infrastructure. This goal was meant to make sure that all students and teachers has access to the internet and/or wireless connectivity inside and outside of school. To go along with this all students and educators need to have access to a device that will allow this connectivity. The last goal was productivity. Design, implement technology-powered programs and interventions to ensure that students progress will prepare them for the workplace of today's world. This plan has many great ideas and I think should be viewed by many people. I like that fact that through this plan teachers are able to become learners through it and not just sit through hours of training to learn. The idea that teachers are encouraged to use video sharing and social networking to observe others in classrooms is a brilliant idea. I feel that teachers watching others work can learn more from that than sitting through presentations of "how technology should be used". Overall I like the thought behind this plan but I do not feel that many of the older teachers would be on board. Another area I see problems with is providing all with devices to access the internet at any time. It seems as budgets are getting cut, so are the opportunities to get ahead with technology.