EDLD 5306 Course Reflection

Concepts of Educational Technology- 5306

Course Reflection

            Upon starting this class, it was not completed known to me what all I would learn. The course was approached with an open mind, excited, and ready to learn something new. The course outcomes were just what I expected and more.

            Achieving course objectives was rather fun on many occasions simply because the assignments were of high interest. It hardly seemed like classwork; it was more like working on several hobby interests. As I was working on the assignments I began envisioning how each new skill could be incorporated into the classroom environment.

Even though much of the weekly readings were very interesting and insightful, I sometimes found it challenging to complete all of the readings in a timely manner. For a brief moment I felt a little discouraged but making a workable plan for completing the work had to be done.

I’m consider myself to be tech-savvy, but there was a lot more information learned that was not know to me before. I enjoyed learning about wikis, blogs, and embedding video into my sites. Some of what has been learned has already been shared with fellow educators, which places me in a leadership position as a resource person.

District Technology Plan

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Week 2 Web Conference Reflection

Time of conference: 20:00

Date: 11/23/10

            In Week 2’s web conference, many of the classmates in the Concepts of Educational Technology class were able to meet for their first required web conference. It was great to be able to place faces with the names of the individual names that were once seen only on the discussion board. It was also nice to have an opportunity to interact with course professor.

            During the web conference, Dr. Abshire discussed many of the requirements for our internship and many of the requirements for graduation upon completion of the program.

            It was very difficult to follow the discussion during the live web conference due to technical difficulties. After the conference, the recorded version of the conference could be viewed. Even though there were some issues with the recording, enough information was received to make sense of the information being communicated. Other students were also able to ask questions and get them answered.

Blog Posting #3 – National Educational Technology Plan

           The National Technology Education Plan draft states various goals and objectives for increased learning and improved instruction for all teachers and students in the United States. It provides a reasonably thorough overview of what is expected to happen and be seen done in school districts throughout the nation with regards to educational technology usage.

            New and veteran teachers are expected to know and implement the educational technology goals and objectives in the classroom and wherever necessary. This would include not only access to educational tools for in-school use but also for home use. Educators should offer learning experiences that are online and can be readily accessed from a personal computer at home and/or other locations where Internet access is available. To ensure that this is properly done, teachers are to undergo professional development training during pre-service training, for new teachers, and ongoing job-embedded training experiences.

            Students have host of information to learn throughout their schooling years. They are to learn knowledge and skills that will prepare them to be successful, responsible citizens who apply their learning in an ethical reasonable manner. The students are expected to be able know the basics of various computer basics before they enter high school, such basic keyboarding, hardware and software options, and the use of different peripherals.  

            Though the plan is well put together, there is a major concern. The plan mentions that it wants to ensure that teachers and students will have at least one electronic device that has Internet capabilities and the proper software options to complete certain tasks whether they are at home or at school. It would be good to know how this will happen when every home is not equipped with a computer and does not have proper Internet access that is affordable and available.

Source:

U.S. Department of Edcaution (2010, March 5). Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology [Draft]. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/NETP-2010-final-report.pdf

Blog Posting #2 – School or District Technology Plan

Cleburne ISD is constantly improving its technology department. They have some amazing goals in place to help make their goals attainable. They have submitted a plan to TEA for approval to use certain federal funds to make their technology plans a reality.

            They are seeking to get resources for implementing the following programs: keyboarding program for the elementary schools, mini-laptops for the middle schools that have wireless internet capabilities, and technology upgrades and replacements. These programs will help to further ensure that the goals and objectives of the TA TEKS are properly met and that positive learning growth outcomes will be the result.

            There is no information available at the moment for what trainings will be available for the new plans at hand and who will be in charge of the necessary professional development trainings. More news on that will be available at a later time. The district usually does an excellent job of communicating the availability of trainings for all staff members in need of training in their respective areas of need and/or desire for additional growth.

            The district has assessment plans in place in order to gauge the effectiveness of technology use in its various educational uses. During the professional development sessions, staff members are often given evaluation forms to do an assessment of the trainings. The district campuses also use the Texas STAR chart evaluations to monitor progress in use of technology applications. Cleburne ISD has open communications to express needs and/or concerns about technology-based issues as they arise and responses are given in a timely fashion.

Source:

Cleburne ISD School Board (2010, June). Board notes & items of interest to the employees of cleburne isd [School Board News Update]. Retrieved from http://www.cleburne.k12.tx.us/cleburne/lib/cleburne/June_2010_Update%5B1%5D.pdf

Blog Posting #1 – Technology Assessments

            The state of Texas keeps record of the technology literacy of all of its’ public educational institutions by way assessments through the Texas STAR Chart system. The program offers assessments for the staff and students so that the state may know whether the technology TEKS are being implemented successfully and that positive growth are happening in the schools. The results of these assessments can be tracked online, and they are available for public viewing.

            The teachers have the responsibility of learning the technologies and TEKS objectives in order to effectively incorporate this set of knowledge and skills in their instruction. Educators also have to be sure that their students have successfully learned the TA TEKS so that they can keep pace in a fast paced information age where technology changes are ongoing.

            Students must learn the TA TEKS objectives in order to be technology literate in an age where information is information is key and technologies are constantly being improved upon.

            With this STAR Chart system come some pros and cons to the program because the various technologies are constantly going through changes and enhancements. We will look at a few of those pros and cons.

            Let us explore some of the pros. For starters, this is an excellent way to keep track of the progress of each campus. This also provides a means of accountability to ensure that the TA TEKS objectives are properly being met. The students need this information to stay competitive with other countries around the globe. With new educational technologies available, children can learn in ways that allow them to be more creative in how they express what they have learned in the educational process. These advances help with improvements in communication. Students can use tools, such as Skype, to learn from other students any other locations on Earth to increase their knowledge of other cultures.

            As with the pros, we must look at the cons of the STAR Chart program. There is the challenge of safety monitoring. It is good to learn of others around the world, increase communications with information sharing, and to learn about various technologies, but safety is a constant issue when doing online learning. For example, when students are doing web conferences with students of various locations there is the chance of inappropriate subject matter being sent through the Internet. Viruses, pornography, child predators, Internet bullying, and false information are present whenever a child is granted access to the World Wide Web.

            Though the pros and cons of technology use will continue to exist, enhancements will continue to attempt to compensate for the cons with more pros in order to bring about a balance. One technology option does not fit everyone’s needs.