Technology Action Plan

Action Steps/Tasks	Responsibilities	Resources	Timeline	Evaluation
Campus CIP trainer will provide up to date training on C-Scope for all staff members. The campus trainer will provide additional training for new teachers.	Online Curriculum Trainer	This training will be conducted in one of the computer labs on campus	This half-day training will be required for all staff during “in service.”	All teachers will attend training sessions and exhibit proficiency using C-Scope.
Administrators, testing coordinator, teachers, and instructional specialists will be trained to use DMAC to manipulate student information and assessment data.	Administrative Team, testing coordinator, teachers, and instructional specialists	This training will be conducted in one of the computer labs on campus Copy of the district improvement plan	This half-day training will be required for all staff during “in service.”	All administrators, the testing coordinator, teachers, and instructional specialists will become proficient manipulating student information and assessment data available through DMAC.
Administrators will be trained to use ITouch devices to facilitate classroom walkthroughs (CWT / PDAS).	Asst. Superintendant Staff Development Coordinator	This training will be conducted at the education center	This training will be done during the summer.	All administrators will become proficient using the ITouch software to conduct walkthrough for CWT and PDAS.
Tech Tuesdays will be held to provide an opportunity for all staff members to learn quick tips and ask relevant questions about technology applications in the classroom.	Campus Technology Specialist	This training will be conducted in one of the computer labs on campus Copy of the district and campus improvement plan	This training will be held each Tuesday during the school year.	Increase in the amount of technology application in every classroom
Mandatory “Roll In” technology trainings will be provided in the library once a month. Teachers will be required to attend and complete four of the seven offered training sessions. All other staff members will have the option of attending any of the seven sessions.	District Technology Facilitators Asst. Principal and Attendance Principal	This training will be conducted in campus library Copy of the district and campus improvement plan	This training will be held once a month, opposite of faculty meetings.	Increased use of technology applications in the classroom
Time will be provided for core curriculum teachers to work and collaborate with CTE teachers on the integration of CTE into the core classes.	Principal CTE- (Career and Technology Education) Department Head	This training will be conducted in one of the computer labs on campus	This time will be held during PLC meeting time.	Increased collaboration among CTE and core curriculum teachers
Wiki postings from department PLC meeting	Campus Technology Specialists, Department heads	Department head will be responsible for posting minutes from the PLC meeting	Postings following each PLC meeting.	Weekly Wiki postings from PLC meetings allowing for feedback and suggestions from other teachers from other departments.

Learning Powered by Technology

Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology is a part of the National Educational Technology Plan that was recently released by the United States Department of Education. This Plan was developed to bring more technology into education through information and communication as well as research and innovation. There are five goals that the Learning Powered by Technology plan focuses on, and those goals are learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. These goals are measurable so that progress can be determined in each area. This plan is centered around the assumption that students are no longer being engaged by the education system. However, this plan focuses on collaboration and investment in the technology system. Nowadays, kids are extremely technologically savvy with their smartphones, blackberries, ipods, ipads, computers, and much more. Since this era is mainly technology centered it can be concluded that using different types of technology would engage and entice students to become more involved in their own learning. Learning Powered by Technology can be a great way to spice up instruction in the classroom and connect teaching and learning. Among making instruction better and more appealing, technology can also bring communication to stakeholders in multiple ways. Technology can inform the parents and community of events and activities, which will allow the parents to be more involved in the students learning as well. There are many advantages to bringing technology into the education system. With Learning Powered by Technology those advantages are turned into measurable goals for schools to reach.

Progress Report

The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology has started doing a yearly progress report for the state of Texas. This report shows progress being made for Texas campus and districts in the area of technology. This progress report was extremely thorough and went into extreme detail for any technology activities and programs that were newly introduced to campuses. One program, the Technology Immersion Pilot was brought in to increase awareness of technology and to show the different usage. Since 2008, progress has been made in many different areas. At the beginning of 2007, a new advanced placement course in computer science was created to be taught as another math credit. Then in June 2010, the StaR chart showed an increase in technology being taught at the higher level. These progresses show an improvement in awareness and usage of technology in Texas’ schools. The Long Range Plan for Technology in Texas has four key areas that measure that progress in the school district. Those four areas include Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support; and Infrastructure for Technology. The progress report goes into detail in each key area to show where the state of Texas stands for each. In each of the four areas, campuses and districts were almost always in the developing or advanced stage. Since the progress report began in 2008, the developing and advanced stages have become the norm for most campuses. The progress report also included steps that each of the 20 Region Services Centers are taking to improve technology use in the classroom. In this age of technology, education has been making strides to catch up. This report is proof that we, as educators are using more and more technology in the classroom and in schools in general. Someday, education will close this gap completely, and the state of Texas will be at a target level for the four key areas of the Texas Long Range Plan for technology.

Web Conference

I attended my first web conference this week. It was a very different experience and very informative. It answered several of the questions I had over the assignments and readings.

Technology and web conferencing in general are applicable to work by allowing students to collaborate and discuss ideas and possible solutions to real world problems. It also gives me, the teacher, the ability to do project-based learning that is designed around real world contexts.

Web conferencing and technology lets my students connect with other students around the world, on topics of study. This technology will immerse students in a learning experience that allows them to grapple with a problem, gaining higher-order thinking skills from pursuing the solution.

Star chart powerpoint jayme

The Teacher STaR Chart survey enables teachers to:
See what the expectations are for Technology and Instruction for all Texas teachers
Self-assess their progress toward meeting these expectations
Use the results and expectations to plan for staff development and the integration of technology according to the state guidelines

Star chart powerpoint jayme

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Teaching and Learning

The Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, has four areas: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Administration and Instructional Support, and Infrastructure for Technology. Each year the state of Texas requires each campus to fill out the Texas STaR Chart, which is a technology survey to measure the level of progress campuses have made in the four areas mentioned above. One major focus of my campus is the area of Teaching and Learning. This area focuses on progress being made for technology instruction in the classroom as it applies to the TEKS, online research, and digital usage. In this information-based age, teachers can monitor their student's progress, especially when it comes to projects and research. My campus, though only in the developing stage of Teaching and Learning, is using more and more technology components to help with classroom instruction. These components include internet access for online research, higher-order thinking skills, and digital usage opportunities for collaboration. Our science department alone has two mobile labs, which help in accommodating the needs of science teachers for instruction. We basically bring the technology into a science setting, and we allow students to research and explore the internet through science projects and activities. This increase in technology usage has helped improve classroom learning and student-teacher interaction, and it has also enhanced student thinking and exploring. Over the next few years, I feel that my school will progress into the advanced stage for Teaching and Learning.

My reflection

Throughout this course, I have learned that action research can be used to improve classroom, campus, and even district achievement. I believe student achievement improves when learning environments are bettered. Action research is a tool that can be used in order to take practical inquiries from educators, research those inquiries, and use the data to enhance the learning environment.

During the first week of this course, I began watching the lecture video. Dr. Arterbury and Dr. Jenkins began explaining the process of action research, and what was expected. Dr. Arterbury suggested some tips to use when searching the literature and drafting my literature review summary. Those tips included staying on topic, creating a visual road map for the reader, beginning my outline with an introductory statement, understanding that general-to-specific flow works best, creating a varied blend in writing, and concluding with summary statements. As I progressed through the lectures during this course, they became more informative, and helped me feel at ease when creating my Action Research plan.

After watching the video lectures from the second week of this course, I was able to discern the difference between action research and traditional educational research. Action research can be tailor made to the needs of a specific classroom, campus, or even district, whereas traditional research tends to be more generalized. Dr. Kirk Lewis explained how action research should be performed on a topic that is of importance to you. He stated, “What is practical to you? What do you need to know in order to apply it directly to student learning in the environment you are looking at?” Someone’s traditional educational research may yield completely different results from action research of the same topic. I have learned that action research allows us to adapt and modify to our own needs within our classroom or school. What may work within one classroom, may not work within another.

Another important aspect of action research I have learned through this course is the importance of data. Johnny Briseno talked about the importance of data when he stated, “What is the problem, and where is the problem coming from?” Without accurate data, we are unable to determine the source of the problem. Action research allows the educator to collect data on a more personal level, and use that data to directly affect his/her own classroom.

The assignments and activities for this course were at times very frustrating and very time consuming. However, with the help and aide of the discussion board, I understood that I wasn’t alone in my frustration. The discussion board is truly a beneficial tool when working on assignments and activities. It allows for real-time feedback from other students in the class, and helps me to make positive and effective changes to my assignment or activity.

Another valuable tool that I will take away from this class is the idea of using a blog for professional reasons. I have a personal blog that I use to keep my friends and family members updated on the happenings in my life. I have never thought of using it as a means to disseminate information to students, parents, and colleagues. I look forward to using this tool in the upcoming year, and am curious about all the possible ways it can be utilized.

To be honest, I was a little apprehensive at the beginning of this course because of the word “research”. I have never really enjoyed traditional research, but have realized how advantageous action research can be. I now have the ability to determine inquiries that could positively affect the learning environment, as well as a plan of action to research those inquiries. I understand the importance of asking questions, and that when we ask those questions we are exploring new ideas on how to improve our schools.