Week 4 - Finally an Action Research Plan!

This week's topic of establishing consensus and addressing concerns was interesting!  The strategies for sustaining the action research will be extremely helpful as my plan progresses.  Of course we will want to continue with what is working for our school in regards to my plan!  This will give the foundation to implementing changes to make our school even better.

I updated/edited my Action Research Plan (in a previous blog) to show some revised dates -- I chose to update rather than post the entire plan again.

I can't believe I am one week away from my 2nd course towards masters!  I am so excited about all the new information I've learned.

Wow! Week 3 was a Doozy!

Well, I'd have to say that this week's assignment has been the most strenuous, in my opinion!  I had some technology issues with posting my plan to my blog too -- but I finally found a way to make it work.  Looking back on the week, however, I am so glad that I have a start to my plan.  I can see the steps I need to take and I look forward to "tweeking" the activities so that I can successfully complete the plan. I'm very optimistic that the results will allow for some positive changes for our teachers and our students!

Action Research Plan – It’s a Start!

Goal:  Will an increase in technology integration into the CScope ELA curriculum increase the number of students reaching commended performance on state assessments?

Action Step(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Meet with site supervisor to seek guidance with goal and to review Internship Plan to find possible connections to action research.	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ August 2011	Site Supervisor	List of suggestions, possible connections and suggestions for implementation.
Meet with the Director of Technology to determine available technology within the school district that I am not currently using within my classroom	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ August 2011	Director of Technology	List of technologies in which I will need training
Determine which technologies I'm not proficient in and seek training opportunities (either on my own or through an outside source).	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ October 2011	Own knowledge of whether I'm proficient	Enrollment in and attendance of training sessions
Continue as needed with training on school-owned technologies	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ October 2012	Approval from Principal to attend the training and for a sub as needed; funds for training as needed	Successful completion of courses (certificates)
Evaluate CScope lessons to determine which lessons are directly connected to the TAKS objectives	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ May 2012	Access to CScope curriculum (user name and password)	List of lessons connected to TAKS objectives
Enhance lesson plans within CScope by matching technologies with the lessons	Barbara Sides	August 2011/ May 2012	Available technologies; other possible resources: Principal for approval of some technologies (e.g.. cell phone use); director or technology for unblocking possible blocked sites (e.g. polleverywhere.com)	Successful integration of the technology in a lesson(s)
Search for/ purchase/ implement new, different uses of technology to incorporate into lesson plans	Barbara Sides	Ongoing throughout 2011-2012 school year	RSS feeds of technology resources, budget money, principal approval, director of technology approval, Google and other search devices	Enhanced list of choices of technology to be used
Attend staff development on new, different uses of technology as the opportunity arises	Barbara Sides	Ongoing throughout 2011-2012 school year	Principal approval for day(s) off and sub, budget funding as needed	Completion of course certificates and successful implementation in lesson plans
Train students on the use of specific technology being used in the current lesson	Barbara Sides	Ongoing throughout 2011-2012 school year	Specific technologies used in lessons	Completion of assignment using the specific technology
Administer benchmark (released TAKS test) and compare results with previous years' results	Barbara Sides	November 2011	Released TAKS tests	Completed benchmark test results and previous years' test results
Administer TAKS test and compare results with previous years' results	TISD school personnel	February 2012/ May 2012	Tests from TEA; results released by TEA	Results of tests compared to previous years' test results

Action Research -- Week 2

What a week this has been!  After totally forgetting about the web conference, I went back and watched/listened.  The information shared was excellent!  Also, I so enjoyed the interviews with the 3 scholar practitioners.  It was informative to see the different ideas related to action research.  While I know the importance of quantitative data in research -- after all, how can anyone argue with cold, hard facts -- I appreciate Mr. Briseno discussing the qualitative data and how it fits in to the research aspect.  As a teacher, I can certainly relate to the significance of this aspect, so I'm glad this was included.

After this week's lesson, I realized I had to narrow my topic.  With the help of my site mentor, I believe we have accomplished that task!  I'm looking forward to digging deeper into my topic -- with eventually putting it into action!

Calling All Educational Leaders -- Get Your Blog On!

The very nature of blogging -- sharing thoughts and ideas -- is conducive to education since teaching is all about sharing!  So, of course, educational leaders would benefit greatly from blogging by giving school stakeholders (i.e. students, parents, community members, alumni, business owners, etc.) the opportunity to share what is happening in relation to the school environment.  It’s also a great avenue for leaders to seek support for various school-related issues, find others who have like interests in relation to the school, and share the most current information regarding specific events.

So, Leaders, what are you waiting for?  Get on the road to enhanced communication with your stakeholders, and get your blog on!

Action Research -- It's Worth It!

With action research, or, as Dana (2009) describes it, “administrator inquiry” (pg. 2), I focus on an issue that is right in my own realm of responsibility.  Once that focus area is narrowed to one that is manageable, I search for information/literature that can help with the issue.  Often times, another educator has been in a similar situation, and a possible solution might just be nearby!  Data gathering, another component necessary in action research, can include not only disaggregated test data, but also discussions with stakeholders, diagnostic tests, and samples of work.  At this point, I have narrowed the problem, read applicable literature, and gathered appropriate data, so now it’s time, as Harris et. al (2010) states, for “taking action for improvement” (pg. 6).  Basically, I  develop a plan to put in to action that will, hopefully resolve the issue. Personal reflection and sharing the actions/results with coworkers, parents, administrators is one of the most important components of action research.  Reflection allows teachers to gain confidence in their decision making and sharing can result in the creation of learning communities where all members benefit (Ringler, 2007).  

Time consuming? Yes.  But definitely worth it since it’s beneficial for not only the students, but also the educator, the administrators, and the school!

Fichman, Nancy Dana (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps to improve our schools. Eye on Education Press.

Ringler, Marjorie (2007). Action research an effective instructional leadership skill for future public school leaders.  AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 4(1), 27-37.

I Made It! Reflections from my first Master's course: Concepts of Educational Technology

Reflection #1:
As I complete my last week of EDLD 5306, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I actually enjoyed being a student again!  As far as what outcomes I expected from the course, I knew I wanted to learn more about how to integrate technology into the classrooms.  And this course gave me so many simple, yet effective ways to do that.  I also wished for affirmation, I suppose, on my belief of the importance of technology integration.  I found myself, so often, shaking my head “yes” to the articles I was reading and the videos I watched.  I actually learned so much more than I envisioned.  It wasn’t just about simple tools to use, but also about things that benefit a technology leader: online safety, data assessment, ethics, public relations.  I am so pleased that the actual outcomes not only aligned with what I envisioned; they exceeded my expectations.

Reflection #2:
The course outcomes are definitely relevant to the work I will be doing.  I have the awesome opportunity to split my day between teaching and performing duties as a campus technologist.  So, not only will I be assisting teachers in the integration of technology, I will be able to practice the same concepts within my own classroom!  What better way to determine whether a specific technology is applicable and effective than to use it with my own students.  I believe this will benefit me and my position because I will be able to evaluate the appropriateness of the concept along with the teachers using the same concept.  It will also help me iron out any issues that might arise to save others time and frustration.  I also believe that my principal will look to me to assist her in encouraging technology integration because of the research and data the course provided.

Reflection #3:

I suppose I was looking for a “quick fix” for technology integration.  So many teachers (I used to be one of them) believe using a PowerPoint for a lesson or having students type an essay using a word processing software is integrating technology.  While this is definitely a beginning, I was hoping to find a way to help our teachers begin integrating technology into every lesson, every day.  Fortunately, I learned some tools to begin not only using, but also sharing, immediately.  But probably more importantly, this course taught me that it will take time to fully integrate technology into each and every classroom because technology integration is not just the use of technology -- it also involves something even bigger:  it will require a mind-set change (and stepping out of a comfort-zone) on the part of teachers to begin implementing collaborative learning where technology use is its most effective. 

Reflection #4:

While I was successful in carrying out all of the assignments, I definitely endured some frustration.  My login information didn’t come until Tuesday evening. Gone were 4 days of working on the assignment.  It was the last week of school for us, so an event every night took away the rest of those weekdays.  On Saturday morning, our family left for a nine-day vacation.  Luckily, we had wifi at our first destination.  When I went to submit (albeit last-minute!), error message.  It finally submitted.  At our second destination, we had “free wifi” but it was awful! So, I purchased an AT&T MiFi, and had issues using it with my MacBook. I made a desperate last minute dash 20 miles to the nearest HotSpot to join the required web conference. Yikes!

Other than a Java upgrade I needed to see my Animoto video, everything since the first two weeks has been great!

Reflection #5:

I am a Guardian!  At least according to Keirsey’s Temperament Sorter. I try to do what’s right while staying within established parameters.  This will help me in dealing with others who may fall into a different temperament. I also learned that my MIs are interpersonal, kinesthetic, and finally self/intrapersonal.  While I agree with the first two, I don’t necessarily agree with the last because I don’t prefer the trial/error approach to learning new things.  

My strong leadership skills are organization and communicating, but I need to learn about resolving conflicts and project budgeting. Technology is my strongest area, but I could use some help in understanding the differences between and the fees involved with freeware, shareware, and commercial software and which site licenses our school holds.  I also need to learn more web publishing skills, and, thanks to EDLD 5306, I have learned more about Web 2.0 tools!