Session 10

Focus Question- Summarize the class, what did you learn, what was interesting about the class, what have you taken from the class, what have you learned about your role as a potential technology leader in education?

First of all, I have to say when I found out that this class was all online I was not excited. This was because I have never taken an online class before so it was a whole new experience for me. I was always afraid because I like the face-to-face experience and with online classes you don't have that. This was an experience and I learned a lot from this class.

The class overall was a learning experience. In this class we learned the difference between management and leadership, the three fundamental aspects of technology, technology hierarchy, the Rodgers diffusion of innovation model, the best practices technology integration, technology barriers, the Ed Norman syndrome, and data driven decision making. Along with these topics that we learned in the class, I learned how to create a blog. This was my first blog and hopefully not my last.

I have learned that I my role as a potential technology leader is what I am doing now and will do. I recently fell into this job of being a Computer tech/teacher. I knew nothing about computers two years ago. Now I have learned to work with them and be able to learn how to use them. With my teaching background I am learning to teach others how to use computers, from kindergartners all the way up to senior citizens. I even have people asking me my opinions on technology they plan to buy. I see myself as an early adopter in Roger's diffusion of innovation model because I first have to see the technology and learn about it, then if I think it is good and something I could see being beneficial, then I drive right in. This is how I see me as a potential technology leader, I like technology and all, but I am not one to spend money on something I don't plan to use much. I have had one recent experience when a teacher wanted to buy a site license for an online program and they asked me to look into it and give my opinion. I researched and tested out the site and I found out that it was a good program, but I didn't see the school spending money on this program because it was limited and only beneficial to a small percentage of the school.

Everything I have learned in this class has affected my job. I have seen the Ed Norman Syndrome and I have seen best practices with technology integration, among other things pertaining to the class. I even noticed that I started like Ed Norman, but I learned from my experiences and now I am better at what I do. I even learned from other students in this class how to handle some of my teachers and how to improve my technology working conditions. I enjoyed this class and I hope everyone got as much as I did out of this class as I did.


Activity Log:
3/18/09- Downloaded podcast, posted blog
3/19/09- Helped a teacher with technology idea of blogs for the teachers
3/22/09- Responded to three students blogs

Project Webpage

Please take a look at my webpage and projects and let me know what you think!  I'll do the same for you if you wish!

ETEC623 Projects

Session 9

Focus Question- Describe a good professional training and a bad professional training and talk about some similarities and differences about them.  Then discuss some characteristics of effective training that you want to see in the future.

I haven't been to a lot of technology meetings, but I have been to other types of meetings which I did enjoy and learned a lot from.  Other than being a Computer Technician I also help run the after-school program.  For this job I was asked to attend a two-day training in Palm Springs.  At this conference there where vendors selling products that we were there to learn about.  The great thing about this training was that you had a choice of what you wanted to learn.  For example, they had training for discipline of disobedience children all the way to how to organize outdoor activities without money.   So depending on your preferences, you choose what you want to be trained in. Each training was about an hour and a half long with thirty minutes in between training. I needed help with outdoor activities, so I chose that training.  At this training they got everyone involved, or those who wanted to participate.  This made it more interesting for me because I imagined myself teaching students these activities instead of watching a video about the training and taking notes.  I think this conference had great examples of professional training which were very effective.  This is one characteristic I see as essential for an effective training.  

One ineffective training I went to was to learn how to manage the district website for my school.  I was excited about this training because it was while I was taking one of my college classes for this program.  I went to the training expecting to get a lot of the work done and learning about how to build the website.  I was wrong.  My co-worker and I went to this training and I have to say that both of us came out of that training more confused then before.  We had hands-on training, but the fact was that we were able to submit things to be put on the site, but ti had to be approved by an administrator.  We spent more time sending items and waiting for them to be approved then we did on actually on the website.  What I mean if we have the materials to put on the website, we are not able to actually put the them on the website right away because it has to go through the administrator.  So in the end I felt like I learned nothing and I never put the knowledge to use because my co-worker and I never did anything with the website because we didn't have enough privileges to insert anything, not to mention being there from 8:00am to 4:00pm making it a long day to be sitting in front a computer.  We got discouraged and gave up. Now after 6 months, the district wants us to do something with the site. They finally gave us administrator access, but we lost interest by this point.  This training had potential, but it wasn't thought out and planned properly.  One aspect that they needed to change was that the permissions needed to changed before the training in order for us to get the full benefit of the training.  This goes back to the ED NORMAN syndrome and restricting the population from the technology.  

In the end, everyone has their own ways they liked to be taught.  As I remember it, don't quote me on this, there are three styles of learning; kinesthetic, visual, and auditory.  Some learn by doing, some by seeing, and some learn by listening.  In a training people should have the choice to participate in the activity, others could watch and listen to the training if they do not feel the need to participate.  Also a great training needs to be well-planned and not intensive. The idea of short mini-training throughout the day made it more relaxing and made it feel less extensive.  I don't know about anyone else, but I like to be taught little by little then to try to learn everything at once. 

Activity log

3/9/09- Downloaded podcast, worked on my project presentation webpage, e-mailed Dr. Newberry, thought of training I've been to, found pros and cons of each training

3/10/09- Found out a teacher I work with is in this program, discussed our classes, wrote my blog, try to sleep not thinking about projects and work

3/11/09- Worked on posting my projects

3/12/09- Commented on students blogs, e-mailed Dr. Newberry about my reflections (Hopefully I did them up to par), continued working on my third project.

Session 8

Focus Question- Think how Data Driven Decision Making might be used in your world or area in education. Think of a positive and negative use of data driven decision making. How does leadership factor in to both positive and negative examples.

Since I work as a computer technician, I see I see a lot of data driven decision making and I have a positive and negative example of this. My first example deals with the on-line program called Headsprout.  The teachers use this program as a way to "get rid of" or as a tool for the kids to interact with, not for educational use. They put the students on for twenty minutes every time they come to the lab.  It is a great tool for those students who need help learning the letter sounds and blending, but not for those who do not follow the rules.  Teachers look at the data it produces, meaning they look at what level they are on.  Just looking at what level they are on is not an effective way to determine their progress because of different factors.  One factor is the student's progress based on how well they performed, not at what level they are currently at.  For example if they are well into the program doesn't mean they are doing well.  Teachers need to look at how long they have been on the program, how many clicks they have done, and how accurate they are at answering the questions.  Some students just click around until they get the right answer, so they do not really learn the content.  Plus, teachers need to watch the students while they interact with the program because some students concentrate and improve by using this program, but others are not inspired and they do not get the benefit of this program.  I, as the person who observes the students while they use the program, inform the teachers as much as I can about the students who aren't benefiting from the program.  This is hard because they just want the time away from the students to get other work done or just for time away to think, so they want all the students on the program.  The principal backs the teachers because she pays for the program and wants all the students on it.  I think the students who benefits from it should use it and the other students should get other kinds of instruction.  This is a negative example of data driven decision making because teachers only look at part of the data and not all the data.

There are positive data decision making with on-line programs.  My positive example involves the on-line program called Achieve3000 or KidBiz3000.  This program assesses students at the beginning of the school year and after each trimester.  With this program, the students read an article each day, or two days a week, and they have to answer multiple choice questions, interact with a poll, complete a math problem, and complete a written response to a question about the article.  The purpose of this program is to increase the child's reading level.  Teachers are able to assign specific article to tie into what they are learning in class.  This program also gives teachers assessments about each student and as a class.  Teachers are also able to raise the students reading level if they want to challenge the student, or if they believe the child could have done better.  One example I have seen involved a fourth grader who was going to be held back because of her reading level among other factors.  Her teacher looked at the data, all of it, and it proved that the student increased her reading level two grade levels.  The teacher then factored this data into his decision to promote this child to the next grade.  Now, more teachers are using this program to increase their low readers.  This is a positive data driven decision making because it with this and other examples got the principal to buy the program for the school to help other students.  

Data is a good thing to have in these example because teachers could just print out reports on the students without lifting a finger.  The one example shows that just pulling data is sometimes not enough and there needs to be more data collected.  In the other example when all the necessary data is collected it can provide a very useful tool for teachers.  

Activity Log:

3/4/09- Download podcast, start my blog, read Dr. Newberry's e-mail

3/5/09- Finish my blog, e-mail Dr. Newberry about project, read other student blogs and respond