Web Conference Angst?

I have to confess I was a bit nervous about today’s web conference. For one reason or another I had missed the previous ones and I was getting anxious about being ready for it and on time. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with my peers and sharing our doubts, concerns and feelings. The overall sentiment of everyone that attended was how shocked we all are at the load of work we have to complete each week. Personally, I feel I had forgotten what attending school was!

Contrary to this feeling, I am very pleased to be able to share this experience with such talented people. I find myself growing and improving just by reading everyone’s ideas and reflections. During the conference I was able to meet other students that work near or in the same district that I work at. I am sure that this will allow for richer interactions and the development of new friendships. 

Being able to meet simultaneously and synchronously added an extra value to our student experience. Not only putting a face to a name, but also realizing that we are all sharing the same feelings and having to balance out our “normal” lives to meeting the course’s expectations. A Sunday afternoon in the lives of all the attendees was enriched and eased by encouraging words from our professor and peers.

EDLD 5306 – Cohort 17- Here we go!

Getting to Know E-rate

The following presentation explains briefly The Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund, or "E-Rate."

Also included is a description of the Garland ISD Technology Plan and the technology infrastructure of Park Crest Elementary.

GettingtoKnow E-rate

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National Educational Technology Plan 2010 - DRAFT

Reflections

From the cover and title selection the National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) for 2010 leaves a comforting feeling in my mind. Transforming American Education: Learning Powered By Technology, starts the draft off right. Transformation and change is what we need to step up to the future’s challenges and life styles. The model presented by the NETP clearly defines goals and recommendations for five different areas, all geared towards implementing technology to empower content-based knowledge.

It proposes a new research and development organization to meet the needs and requirements of the ever changing society, having the objective of designing and implementing a more efficient and effective education system.  

With the priority in mind of transforming the educational system in America, the NETP proposes the recommendations and goals for the following areas:

• ·         Learning - All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.
•       Assessment - Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
•       Teaching  - Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners. 
•       Infrastructure - All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
•        Productivity - Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.

One of the areas that stroke a cord was a proposition to reorganize teaching and learning. Moving from the 1800’s and 1900’s model of teaching where transitions and use of time were structured towards standardizing instruction and allowing for a general learning pace, the plan describes an ideal change to meet the learning styles and needs of individual students. Much like a college structure where students have electives and mandatory classes, I envision the school system allowing for personal growth depending on each students’ interests and natural skills.

For the past months I have been reading a book that explains this phenomenon quite simply:

Human beings and human communities are the same. We need the right conditions for growth, in our schools, businesses and communities, and in our individual lives. If the conditions are right, people grow in synergy with the people around them and the environments they create. … some of the elements of our own growth are inside us. They include the need to develop our unique natural aptitudes and personal passions. Finding and nurturing them is the surest way to ensure our growth and fulfillment as individuals.”

“If we discover the Element in ourselves and encourage others to find theirs, the opportunities of growth are infinite.” Robinson, K, & Aronica, L. (2009). The element: how finding your passion changes everything. Penguin Publishing. eBook Version.

Another interesting topic mentioned in the NETP is how technology can empower learners by extending the learning time and allowing them to reach the resources needed for their academic achievement.

“As we seek ways to extend learning time, in addition to considering the amount of time students spend in school, we should also look at whether we can provide engaging and powerful learning experiences through other means.”  U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Office of Educational Technology. National Educational Technology Plan, Draft. 85. Retrieved from: http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf

Besides a change in the teaching and learning structure and style the plan projects the need to move from isolation to connection. In the years I’ve been teaching I have been in contact and worked with teachers with many varied personalities. One thing I noticed in the past years is how teachers that have a more open-style tend to thrive in the new educational system, while teachers that are more “self-contained” struggle to fit in and open to change. The NETP focuses the need for a better professional development in the connection, personal and digital, among teachers and trainers. Interactions, connections, collaborations are the base for an improvement of staff knowledge and skills.

Globalization is the key!

District Technology Plan

When faced with this assignment I initially thought it was going to be difficult to find the School District’s Plan for Technology. I was wrong... I had to just type a simple search online and the very first link that appeared was a .pdf file published by the district. It showed the proposed plan for Garland ISD for the years 2010-2013. 
 
I was happy to find out that our school district is on top of things. From the introduction of the plan to the presentation of the goals and strategies to the explanation of the evaluation process, it all seems to be in compliance with the Long Range Plan for Technology (LRPT), the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the e-RATE requirements.

“The Garland ISD “Technology Strategic Plan 2010-2013” is a continuation of strategic planning which began in June of 1999. This Plan is closely aligned with the overall District Strategies to ensure that the Technology Goals and Objectives actually help accomplish both short-and long-term District instructional and administrative goals.” Garland ISD Technology Plan, (2010). Garland Independent School District. Retrieved from: http://www.garlandisd.net/departments/technology/documents/Garland%20ISD%20Technology%20Plan_%202010%20-%202013.pdf

Garland ISD uses a method to pilot technology in specific campuses before full district-wide implementation. The campus I work at has in many occasions been selected to pilot new technology. Usually after a year of said technology, being used in a small group of selected schools, and if it proved to be effective in improving instruction, the rest of the schools in the district start implementing it.

The plan clearly defines the process by which technological services, software and hardware is assessed to determine the needs of the school district. The current conditions of Administrative Buildings, Elementary, Middle and High School campuses and other district support buildings is defined and serves as a basis for the Technology Plan layout for the coming three years.

“Testing technology in a learning environment ensures that it corresponds with statewide directives, appropriate national initiatives, and supports the district’s overall instructional strategic plan.” Garland ISD Technology Plan, (2010). Garland Independent School District. Retrieved from: http://www.garlandisd.net/departments/technology/documents/Garland%20ISD%20Technology%20Plan_%202010%20-%202013.pdf

The Garland ISD Technology Plan establishes eight goals with well defined strategies, clearly correlated to the four key areas of LRPT, the requirements of the NCLB Act and e-RATE objectives and requirements that I include at the bottom of this post.

  

Also,  clear professional development strategies for each of the goals and the employees involved in carry them out to completion are described and established in the plan.

The budget for each year is itemized, showing realistic costs and funding sources with percentages per source. There is sufficient budget to acquire and support the non-discount element of the plan and it is clearly established by the percentages shown in the budget description chart.

As an on-going evaluation process GISD, has in diverse evaluation stages, and committees from the Superintendent’s Cabinet to Technology, Software and Campus evaluations. The Technology Department evaluates resources weekly, bi-weekly and monthly, while campuses review technology programs annually and respond to the TEA’s STaR Chart for the data to be charted and submitted. This, together with the pilot program for implementing technology, allows the district to to monitor the progress toward the specified goals, objectives and strategies and make on-going corrections in response to new developments and opportunities as needed.

In regards to professional development opportunities available for all employees, teachers and paraprofessionals, the GISD Technology Plan includes several objectives that provide on-going and continuous Technology Training of at least 15 hours of courses offered per month. Under the coordination of the Technology Department personnel, particularly the full time manager of technology staff development offerings.

Reflecting on this subject, and based on personal observations and experience, I believe many of the teachers would not attempt to attend, nor register for these trainings unless they are mandatory.  The majority of the staff, who could be categorized as “digital-immigrants”, feels technology is not a must, but an extra part of the curriculum. They do not see the imperative need to “catch up” with the future.

Altogether, the Garland ISD Plan for Technology is a well thought, clearly evaluated and planned layout for implementation of technology in the coming years. Student needs are a priority, as well as meeting the requirements of the state and federal institutions. I not only learned about it while reading the district's published document, but I experience it everyday in the working environment. 

GISD Technology Plan

GOALS

1-  Increase effectiveness and productivity of administrators, faculty, and staff by automating existing manual processes and procedures.

                Including, but not limited to, Strategies:

·         Improve the Employee Class Registration Site to allow online class registration.

·         Create a new Intranet using a Content Management System to allow for easy editable access for contributors

·         Implement automated indexing of Cold Storage for transcripts, report cards, payroll records, IEPs and ARDs.

2- Improve communications, learning & flexibility for students, parents/guardians, community members, and district personnel.

·         Provide Intranet/Internet student information for authorized GISD users.

·         Provide learning opportunities utilizing teleconferencing, Internet, video, distance learning, cable TV and other electronic media.

3-Enable broader access to District Technology Resources within the district and GISD community.

·         Upgrade network operating system (NOS) to prepare for portal access, gateways and meta data systems.

·         Determine staffing requirements.

4-Provide additional and new technology tools for educators, students, and staff to enhance effective classroom learning.

·         Create a decision making team to develop an implementation plan and prioritize the allocation and

deployment of projection devices.

·         Provide digital TV Broadcast video via the computer from Direct TV to every classroom.

·         Upgrade online curriculum lesson planner to Moodle for teachers, students and parent/guardian access.

·         Increase the number of Elementary Instructional Coaches at the campus level and technology specialists at the secondary level

5-  Enhance the home/school connection by providing communication between school, classroom, parents and community.

·         Implement an educational portal which allows, teachers, students and parents access to pertinent instructional information such as, grades, homework activities, online classes etc.

·         Broadcasting school programming to the community.

6-   Increase time on task for students and all district personnel by providing efficient networking and convenient remote access.

·         Interconnect all GISD locations with fiber optic technology.

·         Design myGISD and Intranet Profile for mobile devices

·         Find solution for myGISD portal use by students

7-  Provide all users with effective, reliable, and secure technology solutions.

·         Establish a standard of high quality personnel through hiring practices, training, certification requirements, and continuing education opportunities.

·         Analyze on-going project status, time lines, priorities, budgets, and software usage statistics for  technology implementations throughout the district.

8-  Maintain and enhance users’ efficiency by keeping technology systems (equipment and software) up to date.

·         Implement an on-going Technology 5 to 7 year “end-of-life” funding and replacement cycle for all computers, classroom projectors, Cisco network infrastructure, servers and related technology throughout the district.

Technology Assessments

Technology Savvy Teachers VS Students – Closing the Gap

Assessing students’ needs is the motto of modern school systems. Assessments, either formal or informal, are the core of the education systems of today. Standardized assessments constitute the most important element in assessing student knowledge by the system, if not by the teachers. Students are tested in all content areas, but seldom in their technology skills. We know their skill level mostly because they are able to teach us in the matters of the digital world.

Even though teachers are also being held increasingly more accountable than in previous decades; we are still far from knowing what their needs are regarding technology. Due in part to the fact that more than half the teaching population of the state does not know their own skill level and even refuse to improve their knowledge, refuting arguments with phrases such as: “In my days we did not have a computer, we wrote it all by hand…”

There is an embedded value in having access to the knowledge and skills of both teachers and students. Both for the individual and for the organization, this value increases exponentially with the accuracy of assessment results. When and if, assessment provides reliable results, we can easily determine the real needs of students and teachers, as well as target those needs and improve upon the base results. Accessing the technology knowledge and skills of teachers and students alike is somewhat of a blessing and a way to jumpstart our engines to the journey into the digital future. Education systems should be able to know where to start, but is the information we are obtaining from these assessments reliable?

Technology Assessment, as it is used in the State of Texas, could be improved for accuracy. The STaR Chart is a source for reliable data provided every teacher that submitted the chart understood and objectively answered the survey. As I recall answering it every year, there is always a co-worker asking for clarification on a term or a question. Do we really know what we are being asked? Are we capable of total objectivity when submitting our responses? 

I believe online-based self-assessments should be preceded by a short overview and discussion of the questions at hand. Every school should hold a small group session where every teacher can reflect on the questions before answering them to avoid confusion and the misuse of terminology. 

We cannot reach a middle ground between what teachers and students’ needs are without accurate assessment results. To close the gap between the knowledge and skills of a teacher and those of her students, we need to be able to compare and contrast accurate data. We, as teachers, can administer formal and informal assessments of our students, but we surely don’t ask them to self-assess their own knowledge. Who is watching us; Administrators? In few instances they are themselves technology savvy. 

It is easy for administrators and school officials to provide the infrastructure necessary for technological advancement, but can they provide and monitor the knowledge required by teachers to implement technology? I believe we need better methods of measuring knowledge and skills of technology among teachers. We have a good first step, but it can surely be improved.

Educational Technology, what?

Many people has asked me what am I doing my Master's Degree in, and give me a blank look when I answer: In Educational Technology. They immediately think of web design and blogging, but do not see the difference between learning how to teach technology and learning how to use it.

When I explain a little bit more about what this degree implies, they broaden their eyes and even roll them up as if they were saying: Oh, there is no way all students will have access to technological devices and internet!

In the mind of adults today, who have learned their ways with computers and other devices late in life, there is no room for change. They understand the need for such knowledge and skills but fail to recognize that teaching and learning technology is part of an individual from the time he or she is born.

To meet the needs of the work positions of the future, many that have not yet been invented or created, we need to prepare students to thrive and succeed through the use of technology. Many job descriptions nowadays include computer and technological skills beyond the basics, imagine then the requirements needed to fill the vacant positions of an unknown, unpredictable future!

I equal this challenge to those faced by schools and colleges early in the 20th century, when radio and television were first invented. Who was going to teach the new producers, camera men, switchers and other technicians? Who was qualified to use and maintain the new equipment being developed? What was Television as an industry?

The same holds true now than new technologies are being created, invented and developed. Who is capable of using them, improve them and more so, who can teach the new generations? But it is not these new technologies that are now available to us that create the need for new ways of teaching and learning, it is the fact that many of the technologies have not yet been invented and we cannot possible imagine what they are. It is the need to teach students to teach themselves, and keep the self-motivation to learn through the resources available to them. These resources we know: eReaders, Satellites, hand-held devices, including portable game systems; smart phones, portable electronic notebooks, internet access, social connectivity, etc.

Educational Technology is more than what it sounds like, it is a new way of learning, one that includes all intelligences in one!