EDLD+5306+Concepts+of+Educational+Technology

​Course-Embedded Assignment Reflections:

__ Texas Long Range Plan for Technology __ I did not know that Texas had a long range plan for technology integration, but I do know that Bill Gate’s has a school that doesn’t use textbooks, but laptops. This says a lot about where we need to be. How will we compete globally? As a instructional leader at a campus it is absolutely imperative that we model highly integrated technology schools to stay competitive. The Pre-K Technology TEKS if implemented in schools lay a good foundation for on-going technology growth. Students learn all the basics of operating various devices. They learn to use maneuver and interact through software and increase technology terminology. These qualities if fully immersed in the curriculum will put our students on the right path to future technology TEKS. The Pre-K Technology TEKS is a great example of the dynamic, spiraling curriculum. It starts with the basics of computer technology and continually spirals in software programs where students can use visuals even began to show signs of being able to research information. They are reinforced by teacher modeling and stimulated by integrating music and graphics. The inventory shows that Foundations is my greatest strength, but I actually think that my strength is information acquisition because I feel I’m quite knowledgeable in finding information. With 83% lack of technology communication this is my greatest weakness, creating multimedia presentations of all sorts is definitely a weakness of mine as well as all the other domains. I am not as computer literate as I thought I was.

__STaR Chart__ The STaR Chart shows that North Shore Middle School’s campus’ greatest strength is infrastructure for technology. It shows that students have good access to computers and the internet. There is some use of other classroom technology and instructional leadership for students and teachers. I agree with the results because we do have computers and laptops at a developing stage of technology applications. The STaR Chart shows that North Shore Middle School’s campus’ greatest weakness is teaching and learning and educator preparation and development. After reading the article by Marc Prensky, I agree with my own logic that there is hardly any blame for educator development programs or staff development but lack of full immersion in technology will eventually put us behind. I would introduce infrastructure for technology. According to the campus statewide 06-07 summary by key areas there are 3044 schools where there are only 5-9 students per computer. There is not enough technology equipment for all teachers to have there own.

Created Blog: [|http://techexam.blogspot.com]

[|Education World website]
The Education World website was great. There was so much information for me to explore I found myself on the computer for hours trying to see what I could use. I like the quick link access to data. It had alot of technology references for teachers of all grade levels. There was nothing that wasn't useful. I would like to see more lessons on incorporating specific state standards in technology in the classroom. I didn't find any negatives everything was useful in one way or another. This wesite is a true testament of sharing and learning for the information-aged education. I recommend this website to all educators, students, and parents there is something for everyone including music. The site gives you links to everything it has to offer. I particularly like the articles by educators across the country and loads of ideas to incorporate.

Creating a wiki: http://sberguinwikispaces.com Watch YouTube video "Wiki in Plain English": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dnL00TdmLY

The wiki can be a great tool for online learning we can use it to plan activities amongst our team and even math technology lessons. The most difficult thing about using wiki for collaboration is having people get use to continual usage and not just look at it one time and never go back. The easy part is actually designing lessons or activities and being creative the possibilities are infinite. This was my first course and I expected rigor and to learn things about technology integration. I expected the class to give me a better understanding of how to use different software. I have learned something new throughout this course and have also sent much more time on the computer exploring more. The actual course outcomes where to identify and explore the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology and all key components, read and examine articles about technology in education, understand the difference between digital immigrant versus digital native to better assess the needs of both groups, establish online learning communities, discover ways of increasing the effectiveness of professional development with emphasis in technology, and preparing students with the tools of cyber ethics. Actually it was a lot better than I had envisioned, I thought there was no way that I could learn all the course outcomes in the time period allowed. The learning outcomes have given me access to different sources of information from the perspectives of professionals and the state. The blogs and wikis are helpful because that is the level of communication throughout the business world, thus I am behind. They are very relevant because we are behind and eventually will probably be imposed on educators to use for communicating and it best to stay a couple steps ahead. A lot of accesses to these sites are blocked throughout most school districts and I’m sure this will change in the future. Currently I am a 7th grade math teacher and I really like where I am and what I am doing, however I want to stay competitive in my field integrating technology as much as possible into my curriculum will allow me to be a leader in the growing demand for math teachers. The learning outcomes of this course allowed me to better understand the reason for the survey they beg us to do every year. I will pay more attention to my schools STaR Chart every year for evidence of growth. I have learned to look to the Texas standards and research how technology is being used in schools across the country. I didn’t quite use my blog and I need more tutorials on making my wiki page better. The wiki especially because once you make a page it needs to look good and be effective. The expectation was to create the wiki and establish an online learning community. This goal was impossible for me to achieve amongst my colleagues. Some of them only check their email and use the computer as less often as possible, but more importantly this site is blocked by the district and it cannot be accessed at school therefore lack of collaboration. I do not want to make excuses for not achieving the goals, but there are definitely some barriers in establishing an online learning community primarily what I learned taking this course. If participating in an online learning community is not mandatory there is a fear factor amongst digital immigrants and thus they will not attempt to use it as a tool. I really liked the flow of the course. It was well organized and the format of checks and balances kept me on track. I especially liked the visual video lectures and the You Tube 21st Century Connections with the articles and Progress Monitors both video and reading. The advice of the academic coaches was really helpful too. It feels like there is access to so much support and I’m not out here all by myself. I felt that I was constantly being reminded of what to do next. The weekly deadlines helped me keep going. I would have liked to have seen the Progress Monitors count as a small portion of my grade because I really tried to do well on those. They helped to prepare for the final exam and midterm. Each assignment required me to venture into the unknown exploring academics in technology that I knew nothing about. My number one discouragement is writing and reflecting in length and weekly. I have learned that leaders don’t give up they persevere. I also realized that I really want this and there is so much I have learned already and so much more that I want to know. I don’t want to be a digital immigrant. I’ve learned that Texas has a plan for continued integration of technology in schools and this is very exciting. There are also a lot of legalities that are holding up some of the ways access is given in schools and educating them in cyber ethics is a necessary mandate. I have learned that my technology skills or not that great. I would like to by a program like Dreamweaver or something like that so I can create. I will continue perfecting my wiki site because I would like to use it and show my colleagues how we can benefit from using it in planning. This is my first course and I am not ready to lead just yet I would like to continue learning and researching the areas of technology in educations to form my own opinions.