Sunday, March 20, 2011
Web Conference Reflection
I do not believe the web conference was successful this time. The screen kept flashing between different views and the comments were redundant and excessive. Dr. Abernathy said someone was altering the view and therefore we were unable to continue. It did appear a number of people were having difficulty posting the Action Plan on the Blog. I assumed the conference could be controlled by one person, but apparently the program does not have that capability. It was also mentioned there were over 100 people on the conference and like in any situation 100 people cannot communicate effectively all at once.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Texas star chart
Mansfield Summit STAR Chart
Texas star chart
View more presentations from annmariedev.
Friday, March 4, 2011
National Education Technology Plan
The goals of the Draft Plan include:
• 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.
• Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
• Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that can empower and inspire them to provide more effective teaching for all learners.
• All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
I find it very intriguing in the comparison of educator preparation time in regards to technology applications. Countries with better performance on the international exams have more time for professional learning. In practice this is evident in schools across the state. Teachers are enthusiastic and want to integrate technology into teaching and learning, but lack the time and resources to fully implement the practices. Collaboration and comprehensive teacher preparation programs will incorporate the core technology principles into best practices.
Another area of concern is access to technology. Across the nation there is not equal access to technology and students in economically disadvantaged areas need the financial support to attain these resources. The high cost of evolving technology creates challenges for school districts to provide safe, appropriate, and secure access to all students.
Reference:
United States Department of Education. (2010). Transforming American Education:
Learning Powered by Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf
• 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.
• Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.
• Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that can empower and inspire them to provide more effective teaching for all learners.
• All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.
I find it very intriguing in the comparison of educator preparation time in regards to technology applications. Countries with better performance on the international exams have more time for professional learning. In practice this is evident in schools across the state. Teachers are enthusiastic and want to integrate technology into teaching and learning, but lack the time and resources to fully implement the practices. Collaboration and comprehensive teacher preparation programs will incorporate the core technology principles into best practices.
Another area of concern is access to technology. Across the nation there is not equal access to technology and students in economically disadvantaged areas need the financial support to attain these resources. The high cost of evolving technology creates challenges for school districts to provide safe, appropriate, and secure access to all students.
Reference:
United States Department of Education. (2010). Transforming American Education:
Learning Powered by Technology. Retrieved from
http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Progress Report
The state reflects it philosophy on technology in education of technology being an effective tool to promote positive change in the four key areas of the Long-Range Plan. The progress report indicates a 6.4% growth in the area of teaching and learning from Developing Tech and 7.3 % growth from Advanced Tech between the 2008-2009 and the 2009-2010 reports. The technology requirements in state graduation plans have grown to a higher level of integration from previous technology application or computer science courses. The report indicates a need to equalize technology applications across all subpopulations to help all eighth grade to students meet the TechLiteracy Assessment standards.
The state is addressing needs of schools in rural areas or with limited funding through a variety of grants and programs. In the initial stages, the programs appear to be reaching some levels of success, but are in need of trouble shooting. The Immersion strand seemed to be a worthwhile program, but it is no longer being funded. With current budget limitations I believe it will be challenging for districts to enhance technology funding without sufficient grants. Virtual schools could provide financial relief for some districts and enable more students to take dual credit courses.
The teachers and students are prepared to integrate more technology into teaching and learning. Students respond positively to using technology for research and presentations and would like to be able to download textbook information to their cell phones. I have been surprised by the ways students use technology through their cell phones and other technology applications.
The state is addressing needs of schools in rural areas or with limited funding through a variety of grants and programs. In the initial stages, the programs appear to be reaching some levels of success, but are in need of trouble shooting. The Immersion strand seemed to be a worthwhile program, but it is no longer being funded. With current budget limitations I believe it will be challenging for districts to enhance technology funding without sufficient grants. Virtual schools could provide financial relief for some districts and enable more students to take dual credit courses.
The teachers and students are prepared to integrate more technology into teaching and learning. Students respond positively to using technology for research and presentations and would like to be able to download textbook information to their cell phones. I have been surprised by the ways students use technology through their cell phones and other technology applications.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Distance Learning
The area of Teaching and Learning of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology equalizes education in ways such as distance learning to provide access to classes for students in which there is not a teacher available or funding for an entire class. Educational technology creates opportunities for students to be active in their learning. The benefits reach the diverse population of the state and better prepare students for the skills needed in the 21st century workplace. This area of the state plan is based upon standards and plans for development and implementation of technology use of the NCLB legislation.
One trend the district is implementing is more distance learning opportunities for the secondary students. One of the obstacles in this is the lack of equipment and support for the programs. The district has implemented some AP course work as others at the national level are doing. The issues to resolve remain to be having supervisory teachers understand their role and provide support for the students in addition to their standard class loads.
This is allowing more students access to a wider variety of courses and schedules. The district has not experienced significant success in this are in comparison to the student achievement scores on the AP exams with a traditional teacher taught class. I believe the program needs more structure and communication between the supervising teachers, program coordinators, and students participating in the courses. The potential for the application of this program is great, but the implementation is still in the formation period.
One trend the district is implementing is more distance learning opportunities for the secondary students. One of the obstacles in this is the lack of equipment and support for the programs. The district has implemented some AP course work as others at the national level are doing. The issues to resolve remain to be having supervisory teachers understand their role and provide support for the students in addition to their standard class loads.
This is allowing more students access to a wider variety of courses and schedules. The district has not experienced significant success in this are in comparison to the student achievement scores on the AP exams with a traditional teacher taught class. I believe the program needs more structure and communication between the supervising teachers, program coordinators, and students participating in the courses. The potential for the application of this program is great, but the implementation is still in the formation period.
Friday, July 30, 2010
My Plan
Students completing high school are more likely to be employed, have benefits, and participate in political issues which are key components of the campus vision. My research will focus on improving the campus completion rate through TAKS tutoring and Credit Recovery courses. Approximately 40% of the students will need to recover 1 to 5 credits in the 2010-2011 school year to complete the graduation requirements, and 20% will need to retake the TAKS exit exam to receive their diplomas. Since the mid 1980's when the state instituted the testing component of high school graduation, research findings suggest that because of this requirement some 40,000 of Texas's 1993 sophomores dropped out of school (Clarke, Haney, Madaus, Lynch 2000).
In forming a plan of action some questions to be considered include: What are the barriers to graduation for most students? How can we serve all students to complete the requirements for graduation? What challenges prevent students from this goal?
The research will concentrate on two programs to assist students in meeting the requirements for graduation. First students who have not met the standards for the TAKS exit exams will be identified and targeted for tutoring programs to fill gaps in the needed areas of individual weaknesses. The second program will focus on students who are lacking all the required course credits to graduate. This is the first year students in Texas will be accountable for a 4th credit in science and math in addition to the standard courses for the recommended diploma. Students will be provided the opportunity to recover the missing credits through computer based instruction for most courses and direct after school classroom instruction for courses not available on the software program.
Data collection will be on-going and take multiple formats. Student success on TAKS retests and credit recovery courses will be collected in conjunction with tutoring attendance records. In addition to this data, students will be surveyed to understand what components of the programs were most and least beneficial to their success or failure. Faculty and administration will meet to discuss the effectiveness of the programs and identify areas in need of improvement at the conclusion of the first semester and again at the end of the school year.
I will be reporting my data to the associate principals involved in each of the targeted programs in the form of written reports. The TAKS team meets 4-6 times a year, and we will share the data from the tutoring programs and identify areas for improvement at these meetings. I will continue to share my accomplishments and deficits on my blog with my colleagues throughout the school year. I will compile a final report for my site supervisor and campus principal in May.
In forming a plan of action some questions to be considered include: What are the barriers to graduation for most students? How can we serve all students to complete the requirements for graduation? What challenges prevent students from this goal?
The research will concentrate on two programs to assist students in meeting the requirements for graduation. First students who have not met the standards for the TAKS exit exams will be identified and targeted for tutoring programs to fill gaps in the needed areas of individual weaknesses. The second program will focus on students who are lacking all the required course credits to graduate. This is the first year students in Texas will be accountable for a 4th credit in science and math in addition to the standard courses for the recommended diploma. Students will be provided the opportunity to recover the missing credits through computer based instruction for most courses and direct after school classroom instruction for courses not available on the software program.
Data collection will be on-going and take multiple formats. Student success on TAKS retests and credit recovery courses will be collected in conjunction with tutoring attendance records. In addition to this data, students will be surveyed to understand what components of the programs were most and least beneficial to their success or failure. Faculty and administration will meet to discuss the effectiveness of the programs and identify areas in need of improvement at the conclusion of the first semester and again at the end of the school year.
I will be reporting my data to the associate principals involved in each of the targeted programs in the form of written reports. The TAKS team meets 4-6 times a year, and we will share the data from the tutoring programs and identify areas for improvement at these meetings. I will continue to share my accomplishments and deficits on my blog with my colleagues throughout the school year. I will compile a final report for my site supervisor and campus principal in May.
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