Back to Reality

The 1st day of school is quickly approaching. Next week I will complete 14 hours of professional development and the following Monday I will arrive at my school for 3 days of in-service training. I can't wait :) We will receive training on implementing our new reading program along with other important skills that would be beneficial to our students. Then once I arrive to my campus I will be coached on the new teacher expectations as outlined in our Campus Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP will also outline the student expectations for the upcoming school year. It will be to no surprise that we have a challenging year ahead of us. Each school has a goal that is supposed to be met by 2010 and our campus has fallen short of meeting this goal in previous years, so we have a lot of catching up to do. Every teacher in the building will be charged with the challenge of meeting the needs of every student that walks into our classroom doors regardless of the circumstances that come attached with them. Everyone will be called to the challenge, but when the bell rings and the classroom doors close it will be up to each teacher to except the challenges. I am ready to accept the challenge and I hope you are too!

Testing Preferences

After reading the content for this course and taking Differentiated Instruction during the first session I have become sensitive to the learning styles of students. In my opinion project-based learning and performance assessments are a much better tool to measure a students' learning than a traditional assessment. Multiple-guess, true/false, matching, and even essay questions usually only require a student to regurgitate the information that they have received during a particular course. Project-based learning and performance based assessments allow students to apply the concepts to real-life situations and allows teachers to measure students' mastery of the objectives that were taught. In the real-world companies have to develop projects to obtain solutions for whatever tasks are at hand, and I believe that students should be practicing what will be expected of them when they enter the workforce. Really, what does the traditional form of assessment really tell us? Okay, traditional assessments may tell us that the student studied/read the required material, but isn't the point for the student to gain knowledge and apply that knowledge to real world instances? I think that assessments should be given in the format that is best appropriate for measuring the objectives that are being assessed. For instance in my last class students who had an "A" average prior to the final were exempt from taking the final exam. Truly, if you had earned an "A" in the course by that point you had a solid understanding of the objectives that had been covered in the class. What more could an exam prove about the students' learning? What is your opinion on testing?

Application of Course Content

I am ecstatic that I will be receiving more than a Master's degree when I complete this program. Just in the short time that I have been in the program I have learned so much that can be put into practice. I will be applying many of the assessment techniques and technology skills that I've learned so far. I will be implementing formative assessments on a more frequent basis and slowly integrating technology into the curriculum. I have fell in love with Kidspiration and if I have to purchase it out-of-pocket I will begin using it in the fall. I will probably integrate it into whole group instruction initially to get my students acclimated with the program. I will also be using animations and Soft Chalk. I can create lessons using Soft Chalk and distribute them to the grade level. I'm not sure what I am going to implement first. Since I have purchased a video camera I know that I will be using it a lot during the school year. I have learned that there are many ways that I can integrate technology even with limited resources. I'm fired up about the beginning phases of my technology integration. Hopefully, I will inspire others in my building to utilize the available resources and see the possibilities that technology has to offer.

Back to School Excitement

I don't know about everyone else, but I am excited about going back to school. I'm not sure how long that excitement will last after school begins, but as of now I am pumped up. I really don't feel like I've slowed down any, therefore I don't feel like I will have to make many back to school adjustments. As far as balancing my school/work schedule I know for a fact that I will have to focus on going to bed at at descent hour and pacing assignments so that I don't get burn out really fast, but other than that everything should flow well. We are getting 2 new teachers to the Kindergarten team this year. One teacher is moving down from 1st grade and the other is coming from 2nd. Last year we also received 2 new teachers, but one of them is moving to 4th grade. This will be my 1st time working with a male teacher in Kinder. I had my work cut out for me last year, because one of the teachers was new to teaching and the other had been moved down from 3rd grade. It was quite an adjustment, because I had been working with the same team members for 3 years prior to the new team being formed. Going into my 5th year of teaching and my 4th year of Kindergarten I feel like I know what to expect going in, and how to handle most of the obstacles ahead. I have gone crazy at the teacher supply stores, Target, and Walmart purchasing anything that I feel will help me better teach concepts to my students, and to help me organize my classroom more effectively. I only have about 3 weeks until I have to assume responsibility for the learning of approximately 22 new 5 yr. old's and I am excited. Are you ready?

Ph.D or Ed.D?

Prior to begining the program I had given vague thought to the possibility of pursuing my doctorate in order to advance my career opportunities beyond what is attainable with a Master's degree; however after taking Interpreting Educational Research I quickly began to lose interest with that possibility. The entire concept conducting qualitative and quantitative studies was not something that I see myself wanting to do at all. The studies are great for synthesizing information to apply in practice, but I have no desire to implement studies or to frequently publish articles. I also don't have the resources to put my career on hold during the completion of a Ph.D program. When I initially began the program I was told that you were able to continue working if you pursued an Ed.D instead of a Ph.D. I wasn't sure about the differences in the programs, but it was also mentioned again during my research class for those who wanted to pursue doctorates and remain practitioners in education. I've been doing some additional research on the two degrees and the Ed.D seems to be more of a practical option for me if I decide to further my education beyond my Master's degree. As of now my focus is on successfully completing the Master's program. Are you considering pursuing your doctorate degree? If so would you choose a Ph.D or Ed.D program. I have attached a link below that compares the two programs.


http://www.coe.wayne.edu/instructionaltechnology/doctoral_distinctions.htm

Achievement Goals

How would you rate your achievement goals? Are you a high achiever or an over achiever? How far do you go to earn an "A"? I consider myself to be a high achiever, but there are many who would rate me as an over achiever. Although I don't agree with that label I will admit that do I have goals and I know that certain sacrifices have to be made in order to meet my goals. This summer I have sacrificed sleep and leisure time. Summer break lasts 10 weeks and I will have spent 8 weeks of my summer in school by the time classes are over. Sometimes I wanted to just complete assignments for the sake of getting them submitted, but my drive would kick in and I would stay up all night to get it done. I've had a few days where I haven't gone to sleep at all and a couple of weeks where my sleep totaled 8-10 hours for the week. I am assured by the end of the summer I will feel like it was all worth it when I notice that I've halfway completed the program after only 7 months. Yes, I will have lost my summer, but I plan on being in education for a while. Therefore, I will have plenty of summer breaks to look forward to. It was only a one time thing. I will not have a load this heavy again. So I would say that it was all well worth the struggle, because I am ready to get this phase behind me and begin focusing on the rest of my life. Starting Tuesday I will begin to relax and take it easy until school starts so that I can be well rested for those bright-eyed Kindergarteners who will be walking into my classroom.

Group Work?

What is your opinion on group projects? Personally due to my experiences during my short time in the MEd. program I am not a fan of group projects. Initially I was quite fond the concept of divide and conquer, but when you are placed under circumstances where you have to conquer and there is not much dividing taking place then it becomes a problem. I'm also not a fan of being responsible for someone else's grade or having someone else actions influencing my grade. I know that it is supposed to be real world practice, but in the real world G.P.A.'s are not involved and you are not given a salary based on someone else's actions. As you may notice I am very bitter about group projects at the moment. I believe from this point out I will be very close to conducting interviews when selecting group partners.

Summer Plans

After summer school and my district staff development training I will be going a short distance away to a close friends wedding for the weekend. After I return my roommates from undergrad and I will be going on a get away trip. We are all teachers so will be an opportunity for us to relax and catch up prior to school starting back. I have cut off almost all socializing and recreation activities for these 8 weeks of summer school so my friends are demanding that I take a break to enjoy some time with them.

What plans do you have after summer school is over?

Summer School Experiences

Despite the lack of sleep and the numerous amount of assignments I'm excited about the fact that I'm getting so many hours out of the way during summer school. Of course the ideal thing would be to enjoy my summer, but I feel that if I go ahead and complete hours during the summer it will expedite the process of getting my life back. My time is precious to me so I'd rather take heavy loads in the summer in order to finish the program quicker than drag it out over longer periods of time. It's a sacrifice of time, but I entered the program in order to have the option of making a career move and if it takes me forever to complete the program then it will take me forever to make the career move that I have in mind. So with all of that said I'm taking a total of 12 hours over the course of the summer. That means I'm taking 9 hours in both summer I and summer II, because I'm taking a face-to-face class during each session and 2 MTT classes that are in summer III. This is the only time I will have to take on such a heavy load so it's not that bad. I actually prefer the fast paced nature of summer school, because you can get many course hours completed in a short amount of time. Right now I'm very busy, but Aug. 4th when it is all over I think it will be worth the sacrifices.



How is your summer school experience? How many hours are you taking? Would you do it again? Do you prefer the compacted curriculum of summer school or the traditional 16 week semester?

Your Production Experiences

I gained a lot of experience completing the production assignments in the course. I will be utilizing many of the technologies in my classroom this upcoming school year. Once you get over the trial and error issues associated with implementing and learning new technologies you can see the benefits they can have with enhancing instruction.

Please share the good and not so good experiences you had with creating any of the production assignments. Did you learn anything new? Will you be taking what you have learned and implementing it in your classroom? Any ideas you want to share?

District Data Strategies

With Dallas ISD being such a large district it is quite difficult to reach the correct contacts when searching for specific information regarding district procedures. My partner and I ran into similar difficulties when we were trying to receive information about the districts' assistive technology offerings. After being transferred to many departments we didn't receive any information as a result of the quest. However, I have a little knowledge of some of the data strategies that the district uses. I will describe them with the best detail possible and will update my post if I receive any additional information. I know that student assessment data, and student records are stored digitally.

Student Standardized Assessment Data: Student assessment data is stored on a web-based infrastructure titled My Data Portal. My Data Portal is a password protected website and teachers only have access to their students' testing data. It does allow teachers to look at their testing data from previous school years in order to compare student performance, but it is still only limited to the students who were on their rosters when the assessment was administered. Specialist have access to the data of those students they serve. School administrators and counselors have access to the testing data to all of the students enrolled in the school. District administrators access varies according to their position. District administrators that serve specific learning communities only have access to the data of schools in the learning community that they serve. Central office administrators have access to the testing data of the entire school district. My Data Portal is a powerful tool for comparing student data and measuring the effectiveness of teaching strategies.

Diagnostic Testing Data: Our district's diagnostic testing data is also stored on a web-based infrastructure through Wireless Generation. Wireless generation is also password protected and the data accessibility is similar to My Data Portal, but in addition to administrators schools have a Reading Technology Advisor (RTA) that has access to staff passwords and student data for each teacher in the building. In my schools case I am the RTA and I am responsible for distributing passwords, and training teachers on using the Wireless Generation system. This is a much more effective way of monitoring student progress than the original pencil/paper method. The past method did not allow anyone access to the student data other than the teachers and they usually did not use the data to influence their teaching practices.

Student Enrollment Data: Student enrollment data is also stored on a web-based infrastructure. However, only the school counselor and administrators have access to the digital version of students' enrollment data. I'm not sure why this is the case. Teachers only have access to students' paper records, which are kept in cumulative boxes (cum boxes) in the registrar's (CRC's) office. Each teacher has a cum box that includes the enrollment folders of each student on their roster. The cum boxes are not in a secure location and sometimes anyone can have access to them if they chose to look in a box.

Questions Regarding Data Storage:

• How many servers does the district use in order to maintain its volume of users?
• Many times during certain times of the day you are unable to access the data, because the servers are busy. Does the district plan on adding additional servers to support the growing number of users?
• Does the district plan on going completely digital with student enrollment data? If so would classroom teachers have access to this information? Would parents have access to their child's information in order to add any updates? Would parents be able to complete enrollment forms online and the data be stored on a web-based infrastructure?

Video Production Experiences

Video I

Producing Video I was fun and much simpler than I expected. It only took me a few hours to film and edit. I assume my final product meets the expectations of the assignment. The fact that it took others a much longer time to produce has me second guessing myself. It was also very interesting since I couldn't find any "live" actors I used 2 teddy bears and filmed in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I know all of my neighbors think I'm nuts, because I received a few strange looks. I think they were trying to figure out what I was doing. Whenever I get some free time I will be editing some personal videos. Window Movie Maker was very user friendly and self explanatory. I practiced editing other videos prior to editing Video I so that I could have a feel for navigating the software's tools so that may be the reason it didn't take as long for me to complete the assignment.

Video II
Creating the content video was an interesting experience. It was hard for me to come up with a topic that I actually had the time and resources to accomplish. I had a lot of grand ideas in the beginning and I was actually planning on going to the zoo yesterday, but the thunderstorms ended that idea. The idea of going to the Dallas World Aquarium was really cool, but they want $18.95 for adult admission these days. Of course I wouldn't want to go alone so I would have to cover the bill for any guest that came along to help out. Since I have been there a few times it didn't seem like something that I wanted to invest $40 in. The next idea I had was going to the Joe Pool Marina, but I came up with an even better idea and went to a pet store. They had several animals that were in their natural habitats and the store manager loved the idea that I was doing a content video for school.

Audio and Animiation File Production Experiences

Audio Production Experiences:

Creating my audio production was an interesting experience. I conducted a read-aloud of a non-fiction book illustrating the life cycle of a frog. Overall it was a simple project to complete. The editing portion was a little time consuming, because I made several edits after recording. However, it was very user friendly. I like the ability to go back and delete sound clips and re-record into the specific areas that mistakes were made. In the past I recorded stories on tape and if I made a mistake it was very difficult to edit without having to start over. I had to use Atomic Learning to receive assistance on converting the audacity file into an mp3 file, but that wasn't so bad once I thought of using Atomic Learning to help me out.

I will be using audacity in my classroom for the purpose of read-alouds. I will burn the mp3 files to a CD and store them with the books currently in my library. I also downloaded the mp3 file of my audio production onto my iPod just to test it out. It sounds great and I'm sure my students will benfit from having more books to choose from in the listening center.

Animation Production Experiences:

I discovered how much I didn't know about creating animations in PowerPoint while working on the animation assignment. I've had previous experiences with creating animation effects, but it was on a much more basic level. The animation I created demonstrating the stages of the life cycle of a frog was truly completed based on trial and error. Initially I attemped several formats unitl I found one that was compatible with the way I wanted to manipulate the images and shapes. Once I got all of the images and shapes set up on the slide it was a chore to get all of the animations timed correctly and for me to choose the correct effects that would be best for what I wanted to illustrate. I'm pretty satisfied with my final product, although it took more time than I expected. Of course after I toiled with various features I realized easier ways I could have achieved what I wanted to accomplish. Overall I think I did decent for someone who hasn't used animations for more than displaying simple effects. However, I am questioning if my animation met the requirements of the assignment. Even though it took a while for me to complete the assignment it seems to be more simple than complex when you see the final product.

Lesson Accelerators

Kidspiration 2: The Four Seasons

How would you use this with a classroom?

I would use Kidspiration in the classroom as a tool for assisting students comprehension and helping them to organize information. The features that I like best about the software are its picture view and writing view options. This is a great tool for differentiating instruction based on readiness levels. In the beginning of the year I could teach my students to use the picture view for organizing information and as the year progressed I could scaffold their learning towards using the writing view as an outline to create simple sentences. My students that are more advanced could use the writing view in earlier lessons. I would use the lesson accelerator as a guide to teaching my students how to use the software.

How would you use this as staff development?

I would have staff members view the lesson accelerator as my hook to illustrate how implementing the software could be valuable to students. Then I would have them view the tutorials so teachers could have a basic understanding of navigating through the software. Finally I would have the staff create a graphic organizer of their choice in both the picture and writing views and print their final products. As a exit pass they would have to share with the group how they could implement Kidspiration into their lessons.

How would you adapt, change or modify the lesson in any way?
I would modify the lesson for younger students. The word bank used in the lesson accelerator had too many word choices in the word bank. This option could confuse younger students so I would use fewer words. I would also color code the words based on the colors assigned to each small group so students could choose from the word list on their readiness level.

Excel 2007: Average Kid

How would you use this with a classroom?

I would use the ideas gained from this lesson accelerator for collecting, comparing, and reporting student assessment data. Our school implements common assessments, and benchmarks. Excel will be a useful tool for organizing and reviewing the data. Staff members would easily be able to see students' achievement levels and the trends in the data over a period of time.

How would you use this as staff development?

I would use the ideas in a staff development to demonstrate how Excel could be used to efficiently calculate and compare student data, and to illustrate trends in student progress. I believe the majority of the teachers in my building currently use a paper/pencil method to collect this data.

How would you adapt, change or modify the lesson in any way?

I wouldn't make any changes to the lesson itself, but I would make changes in how I would use the lessons ideas to benefit my staff members. I am in a very data driven school district and I believe a training that will allow staff members to understand the full benefits of using a spreadsheet to convey the data efficiently and effectively would be more useful.

My Ideal Classroom of the Future

Well when visioning the classroom of the future I have to say that I had the same sentiments as Beth. My first thought was that my ideas may be very futuristic in my world, but are probably common place in a lot of schools. However, the first step of implementing my ideas of a classroom of the future would be to receive funding in order to utilize technology in every way that could be effective in improving instruction. This would be improving the level of student exposure to technology as well as implementing some efficient classroom management tools for teachers. Classroom centers and record keeping would take on a whole new meaning in my classroom of the future. These following technologies would be a must have in my futuristic classroom: full classroom theater system which includes an amplification/surround sound system; multiple student computers( at least 10) with touch screen monitors; high speed wireless Internet on all computers; a teacher computer workstation; an intercom system that allowed teachers to communicate to various classrooms; a 42" ceiling mounted flat panel television; multiple projectors and projector screens; cable; a digital library, and an OCR scanner just to name a few. There would also be a control panel room in the classroom that would house all of the equipment necessary to implement the technologies such as the volume controls for the amplification system, dvd/cd player and all of the other hardware. The classroom would also have some level of sound proofness to minimize the level of noise that neighboring classes could hear.
Space would not be an issue in my classroom. There would be enough space available for students to be mobile during project based learning activities, and to house all of the amenities. All of my furniture would include locking casters so that it could easily be moved to accomodate for various activities. Also, I would have at least ten working student computers with touch screen monitors in various pods throughout the classroom so they could be accessible for group or independent work. I would also have a teacher computer workstation that allowed access to all of the students computers. Students could download their files and I could easily upload them to my computer. Of course there would be at least 2 ceiling mounted projectors and screens that would allow multiple activities to take place at one time. For example, one group of students could be in a small group watching a virtual field trip on one screen and another group of students could be receiving small group instruction from the teacher on the other screen using a digital classroom response system. There would also be at least a 42" flat panel television mounted to the ceiling that was connected to the classrooms computer and audio system, the Internet, and cable to allow students to view educational programing, and to display student work samples. There would be no paper books in the class library. All of the books would be in digital format that included the books images and audio. Students could listen and follow along on the computer screen.
This classroom would also be very effective and efficient for the teacher. The teacher would have control over all of the technologies in their classroom via the control room. This would allow teachers to have easy access to what they need without needing assistance from the tech. teacher. The intercom system would end the need for teachers to send students out of the classroom to communitcate information with other staff members. The amplification system would help save the teachers' voice and quickly get students attention. This will be a large classroom that incorporates cooperative learning so the noise level could be high at times. There would also be some sort of technology that allowed all of the students work to be scanned, graded, and the grades downloaded into the teachers grade book. At the end of the six weeks the teacher could generate report cards at the click of a button without having to calculate averages and grade lots of papers.
As I said in the beginning a lot of the technologies that I would implement into my classroom are currently being used in classrooms throughout the world, but to me they are futuristic ideas.