Technology Reflections

· What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
Originally I thought that this class would be more about how to use specific technologies and how to incorporate them into the classroom. The opportunity to create a blog did help me a lot with ideas and ways to implement those with my students. Another program that I had the opportunity to re-familiarize myself with was power point, I had not used that in a few years. I did think we would get the opportunity to learn about more types of teaching technologies. The course outcomes were not actually in lined with what I envisioned. There were a lot more articles and discussions about internet safety and copyright issues that I was expecting, it was a pleasant surprise. I also realized that today’s learners are far more familiar with technology than students of the past, this creates a challenge for teachers to understand and adapt to a new learning environment.
· To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
A majority of the things we talked about are very relevant to what I do at my school. However, there is a gap between what is ideal for the school and what is realistic. Only about ten percent of the students at my school have a computer or internet at home. This creates a challenge for me in learning how to get as much done in the field of technology at school because they are not getting it at home. This also creates a different issue than most schools have as far as students already having prior knowledge of how to use technology. As a educator in my school the students are not as advanced in the understanding of computers as some students so we have to cross that bridge as well. These students do need to understand cyber safety as well as how to incorporate blogging and online discussion into learning. It is our responsibility as educators to help them bridge that gap by using the resources we have.

· What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
I was not able to get total understanding of all the ways to implement blogging into the classroom. I also did not get a chance to work with different technologies and understand how they can help in the classroom. I think the problem for me achieving these outcomes was because I teach as such a low income school that it is hard for me to comprehend how I can implement these things into my classroom without the resources. All I have in my classroom as far as technology is one teacher computer and an overhead projector (if that counts). So as the class progressed I was understanding the material but also trying to understand how I could make things work in my environment.
· Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
Yes, I was successful in completing all course assignments. There were a few weeks where I was kind of discouraged as far as understanding how to implement the technologies. The blog for example took me a while to grasp, but once I followed the instructions step by step and took my time, making the blog was something that seemed very seamless. It also took me some time to get used to the way the discussion boards were set up for this class. It was not difficult, but just more reading, and a different set up than what we had for previous courses. One other discouragement was the lack of resources my current school has. I know that is something that is out of my control but it is an issue that I have to deal with daily. Sometimes I would have to take myself out of my current school and picture myself in a school that did have the resources to do what we were talking about.
· What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

I learned that I am very aware that today’s learners are very knowledgeable and advanced when it comes to technology. As a fairly new teacher I feel like I have a closer connection to today’s youth than someone who has been in education for a long time. Even though I do understand that students enjoy using technology and are more in tune when it is being used, I still have a lot of room for improvement as far as using technology in my classroom goes. I understand how to use the technology but I lack the resources to create lessons using it. I also learned that, as a younger teacher, I have the opportunity to communicate with more experienced teachers so we can help each other understand the technology and see how we can use it in the classroom.


· What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

Blogging is the classroom of the future. It allows the students to put their input into a lesson without feeling the peer pressure of the classroom. It can also be anonymous if need be, which would create even more of a safe discussion environment. My district talks about students using accountable talk in the classroom all the time, blogging just takes accountable talk to the next level. Blogs are also a great way of keeping open lines of communication between educators, parents and members of the community. Teachers and blog about lectures, assignments, and grades. Teachers can also use this as a participation grade, if it is treated as part of an ongoing project throughout the year. Students would be responsible for posting discussions about readings and lectures.


· What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
There are many concerns about blogging in the field of education. One main concern is the issue of cyber safety. Students need to be educated on how to protect themselves and their personal information in all internet activities. Cyber-safety should be something that is taught early on in the course of a students education. We understand that students today are more advanced in technology, therefore we also need to understand that because of that they need to understand how to keep themselves safe. Another thing that we need to educate our students on are copyright issues. They need to understand what is legal and what is illegal to copy for other websites. Some other concerns with blogging are getting all educators on board. A lot of teachers take a while to get used to change and this is nothing different when it comes to incorporating technology into the classroom.

· How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
Once everyone understands how to use blogs and realizes how important and helpful they can be to the classroom it will be on the forefront of education. One of the main problems that schools have is bridging the communication gap between them and stakeholders. Blogging can help get over the lapse in communication by allowing the stakeholders 24-7 access to blogs, which are an inside look into the educational system. If teachers update their blogs only once a week with basic classroom events and assignments that would put stakeholders minds at ease and answer many questions. As far as the district goes blogging can help answer questions from curriculum to budget issued. It gives the blogger and the stakeholders the ability to comment and have dialogue with the person writing the blog in hopes of fully understanding what issues are going on in the district.

STaR Chart Slide

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Opinion on Long Range Plan

I think the are of teacher preparation is very important for the success of technology in school. This area is mastered when there are regular technology-supported learner-centered projects. There is verticla alighntmen of Technology Applications TEKS and anytime, anywhere use of online resources. Administrators ensure integration of appropriate technology. One-hundred percent of educators meet SBEC standards. Thirty percent or more of budget allocated for professional development.
The district I am in has progressed by setting goals for professional development. Each teacher must have a certain amount of professional develpoment hours in technology. As far as the state goes they are also progressing by supplying schools with enough supplies and technology to put the computer student ratio at a level that is acceptable to the goals set in the long range plan. The nation is also making sure that enough funding is being provided to the states so they can create an enviroment that is technologically rich. The same trends are being followed on the district, state and national scale as far as trends go. Teachers agree that technology is very important to today's learners. However, there is still a lot of difficulty in getting some teachers to agree to the actual change.
I think that very important to have some form of accountablity that shows that these professional developments are being put into place. If the district and state is spending time training the teachers the students need to be paying off from it.

Pre-K TEKS

In Pre-K they students are taught about Self Concept, Self Control, Social Compitence, and Social Awareness. These things lay the foundations for life long learners. Spiraling Curriculum starts at the foundation of Technological understanding and each new skill builds upon those basic skills. Students have multiplie opportunitiesto master knowledge and skills when doing a research project and presentations. The student could first use the basic knowledge of word processing and research using search engines and Boolean searches. Then they could use different multi-media outlets and programs to creat a presentation on the research they found.

Long Range Plan

The Texas Long Range Plan is very detailed and covers all aspects of growth as a district. It understands that todays learner has changed a lot since past learners. They are more diverse and demand a more interactive curriculum. The plan also understands the mentality of teachers, and that they usually set in their ways when it comes to teaching practices. The state also understands that teachers must have enough training and supplies to implement any change.

Assessment Reflections

I feel that my frequent use of technology in and out of the school gives me an advantage when adapting to new use of technology. I am very familiar with may different types of technology and how to use them. However, it has proven difficult for me to utilize some of these skills in the classroom. The school I teach in does not have enough funding to go around, and sadly, technology is on the bottom end of the spectrum when the budget is being written. Also, I am a relatively inexperienced teacher, with only 3 years under my belt. Even if my school did have the technology available to use in the classroom I would need adequate training on how to use this to help the students learn.

I thought that all of these assessments covered a good base of prior knowledge, use of knowledge, and training/staff development that needs to be completed to understand where the gap in technological information lies. I understand the basic foundations of most technologies. However, the understanding I have is just for every day use. I do believe I would need training to reach a higher level of understanding and usage of some technologies. I would need professional development on how to implement the technologies into the curriculum. I do agree with the assessments. They reminded me that there are a lot of areas of technology where I have a lot of room for growth. It also showed me that there are other ways to use technology in the class besides just having the students sit at a computer and do research or presenting a power point.