Web Conferences

For my technology link class, I have been unable to attend any of the web conferences. It has been a crazy time on my campus with a few major projects and events going on, including on the weekends.

In reading over the transcripts, I was really frustrated by the number of people who continuously told Dr. Abernathy that they could not hear her. It seems like one or two people letting her know would be sufficient.

It is also frustrating that people will ask a question in chat, but it doesn't seem that anyone answers it in chat. Perhaps it is being answered on voice, but that isn't getting transferred to chat.

I agreed with the masses that there has been a great deal of confusion and very few straight answers regarding TK20 and Epic. It has been very frustrating. TK20 was also not working for me for a while and it took over a month to get a response back.

I also agreed that it has been frustrating to get straight answers about the LCE and getting permission to sit for the TExES.

It seems like many of the students are looking forward to the end of the program and graduation and I can say that I am as well.

I still feel confused on many issues, but they are more from lack of information.

Evaluation of Technology Professional Development Plan

Measurables:
All teachers will have 6 hours of professional development that is technology related (to be used for Teacher Choice hours). Department heads will be responsible for documenting completion of hours.

Central Office will maintain a database of teachers and their progress towards completion of the 3 technology exams. Campus principals will access this database to track teacher progress.

Teachers on our campus will also take a Moodle proficiency test by February 2013. Certificates will be turned into department heads.

Technology Professional Development Plan

Plan:
New teachers are to be trained on the use of SMART boards and airliners as part of their orientation to the campus.

Training on the use of Apps on the iPads in classroom learning will be offered by Mr. Cloud. Teacher Choice hours may be offered to those who need them.

All teachers are required to pass all 3 levels of the technology proficiency exams by their third year on campus. Training is offered through Super Saturday and Summer training sessions. Teacher Choice hours may be offered to those who need them.

STEM RAM Academy teachers will teach their departments how to use Moodle. District curriculum facilitators will store documents, scope and sequences, and lesson ideas on Moodle for access anywhere, anytime.

Organizational Chart Regarding Technology

Associate Superintendent for Instruction and Technology Services – Janna Hawkins
Ms. Hawkins is responsible for overseeing at the district level curriculum compliance, school improvement, special education, research and information technology, and all management information systems. Any changes to technology must be approved by her department.

Campus Principal – Dana Stolhandske
Ms. Stolhandske is ultimately responsible for all decisions made on campus. Her approval is required before new technologies can be implemented or purchased. She prefers that all decisions be related to an increase in student performance and research based. She normally approves a pilot program first, then decides to implement based on evidence that a program works for our students.

Campus Improvement Committee – elected committee of teachers, parents, and administration.
The CIC makes decisions based on campus need. We develop the Campus Improvement Plan with input from our individual departments. CIC members are elected by their departments. Major changes are not made on our campus without their being included on the CIP. All items on the CIP must be related to increasing student performance.

Instructional Technology Specialist – Brad Cloud
The ITS is responsible for learning new technologies and helping teachers find ways to implement technology in their lessons in new and creative ways. The ITS also sometimes solves technical issues that arise on campuses. However, they are assigned to multiple campuses and shared, so they are never on the same campus day to day. Often, the ITS will hear about a new technology that may help a particular set of students. When that happens, the ITS sometimes suggests the new technology directly to the principal and she brings it to the CIC, sometimes he suggests it directly to the CIC and we vote.

Texas STaR Chart Powerpoint

Texas STaR Chart

More PowerPoint presentations from Kimberly Feher

In My Honest Opinion...The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006 - 2020

I am probably a little bit jaded when it comes to looking at and discussing the Long Range Plan for Technology (LRPT).  I have an Information Systems degree and I work in a technology magnet program that is housed on a Title I campus.  As a result, I witness first hand on a daily basis the disparity between what we WANT for our kids and what they really have access to.  As a result, I chose to focus on the Infrastructure component of the Long Range Plan for Technology for this blog post.

I suppose I should preface this by stating that these are my own viewpoints and opinions based on what I see, read, hear, and experience.  They are in no way the opinions or viewpoints of my academy, my campus, or my district.

So…back to the topic at hand…or on your screen…what is Infrastructure?  Simply put, infrastructure is the web of tools and technology needed to exist in the digital world that we are trying so hard to navigate in education.  The laptops, computers, iPads, networking wires, servers, wireless routers, phone lines, power cables, laptop charging stations, carts, LCD projectors, SMART boards, Airliners, and even the cell phones we use are all parts of our infrastructure.

What progress have we made in this area? Well, we are certainly more connected than we ever have been in the past, but we still deal with the daily frustrations of sites that are blocked, loss of connectivity to the network, server issues, all of the things that frustrate the end user and sometimes make them give up on the use of technology.

The current trend is to get technology into the hands of the students regardless of whether or not anyone knows how to use it or support it or fix it when it breaks.  We seem to be planning for the future, but in reactionary mode when it comes to the technology that we currently use.  I believe that more and more LEAs are making the commitment to develop 21^st century learners through the use of technology, but we are nowhere near the goal of 24/7 access for all.

How do we get there?  Until the state begins to TRULY fund education and the integration of technology – EVERY child has some kind of computer and internet access both at school and home – we WON’T.  We can get closer, but we will never reach that goal when we live in a state where over half of our students are economically disadvantaged.  When you have to choose which bill you can afford to pay and still put food in the kids mouths, getting them a laptop and internet access takes a seat in the back of the NEEDS bus…