Personal Digital Story - EDLD 5363

This week we were given the task of creating a digital story using Microsoft's Photo Story 3. I had made a picture slideshow this summer for my brother's funeral, but I had never actually told a story in a digital format. I have to say that I really enjoyed completing this assignment. Actually, it did not even feel like I was doing work for school. It got me thinking that I could have my students make their own digital stories, and maybe they would feel the same way. Many of the kids that I teach are disillusioned with the education system. They are tired of doing things the old way, but they would probably enjoy doing assignments like this one. I can see how virtually any subject could use digital storytelling. It is definitely something I plan to share with the other teachers at my school.

Action Research Plan

Here is my slightly updated action research plan. Changes should appear in red.

EDLD 5301 Week 2 Reflection

This week I learned about the many purposes of action research. From the Dana text, I read about the nine main areas for action research, and I thought about some areas that I would like to investigate further. I learned about the importance of data when analyzing a problem and the need for practical thinking when picking research topics.

Use of blogs

Teachers should embrace Web 2.0 tools as much as possible, not only to stay up to date with the latest trends, but also because they have many educational benefits. Blogs are specifically educational because they encourage reflection. They also give educators a forums to share ideas and to receive feedback about those ideas. They also increase communication among administrators, colleagues, parents, and other stakeholders.

Action Research

As a teacher, I have made observations about what has worked and what hasn't worked for me in the classroom, but I have never really gone through the process of researching better ways of doing things. What I have learned from my readings in Week 1 is that action research is an effective way of analyzing problems and generating solutions. As a future administrator, I have learned that I will often be in need of fixing problems like improving the attendance rate, increasing standardized test scores, or decreasing discipline referrals. Instead of looking to the literature to see what other schools have tried, wouldn't it be better to look at my own situation and my own students and teachers to determine a more relevant solution to these problems? I liken this to checking WebMD to see what illness I have as opposed to going to a doctor. Of course, my symptoms could be anything from having a cold to Ebola, but I will not really know what I have until a doctor looks at my specific situation and gathers data about my condition. This is true about schools as well.

Texas STaR Chart Analysis for GP High School

The navigational icons were damaged during the conversion process. The last four slides in the presentation are intended to be hidden, and they are supposed to link back to the diagram.

Texas S Ta R Chart

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Educator Preparation and Development-My Thoughts

The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology calls for all educators to master the SBEC Technology Applications Standards. I think that this is an excellent idea given the rapid changes our society has gone through in the past couple of decades. Of course, this level of mastery is a great deal to expect from veteran teachers who may not be as tech savvy as some of the newer teachers. Additionally, as technology improves and become more advanced, even younger, more digitally native teachers will need to learn new skills and refresh their old ones. For these reasons, it is imperative that campuses, districts, and service centers expand the scope and number of professional development opportunities for Texas educators in the area of technology.
Recent data from my campus leads me to believe that we are not doing enough to prepare teachers for full technology integration. From 2006 to 2009, my campus has improved by only 1 point in this area according to Campus Star Chart Data. Overall, my campus is rated at Developing Tech, but in the “Professional Development for Online Learning” category we are still at Early Tech. This is unacceptable. In a world where we can go to Wal-Mart or Whataburger at any time, day or night, we should also provide teachers with 24/7 access to online sources of quality professional development.
Looking at the state’s most recent Progress Report one can see that only 44 campuses statewide have reached Target Tech in the area of Educator Preparation and Development. This is actually a decline from 55 schools a few years ago. There was an almost 200 school increase at the Advanced Tech Level, but the large majority of schools are still considered Developing Tech. In the focus area of “Professional Development for Online Learning” over 96% of campuses are at Developing Tech or lower. I guess it is comforting to know that my campus is not alone, but once again, a lot more needs to be done.
Nationwide, I know that President Obama has talked quite a bit about modernizing schools and integrating technology to insure that or students are competitive with others around the world. Many schools have taken advantage of economic stimulus funds to help in this effort, but I believe that education has been put on the back-burner for the time being until other priorities like health care and Afghanistan are addressed.
I think that the entire school system is due for an overhaul. If we really believe all of these statistics and projections about what kinds of jobs will be available to our students when they become adults, then we need to change how we do things. If it is true that students will have at least 5 jobs after graduating from high school and that 4 of them don’t even exist yet, then we need to make sure that every student is capable of dealing with the demands of the 21st century. Making sure that these students get the appropriate education means that teachers must get the appropriate training. I believe that policymakers, administrators, educators, and business leaders need to come together to establish a plan of action for the future to ensure that teachers are being trained in the best possible ways. The plan should include more access to online sources of professional development. Teachers should also be required to spend more time learning the newest technologies and how to apply them in the classroom (with compensation, of course). Districts should be required to prioritize technology preparedness and integration over other 20th century concerns. Our goals have been established, but that is the easy part. We need to do more to achieve the goals or risk limiting the futures of our students.