WEB conference

Reflection-
I attended a web conference last week. I find this method to be an excellent collaborative and learning tool for the Graduate Program. Any confusion pertaining to class expectations is addressed immediately.
One of the conference participants provided a website where technology can be used interactively among students. The gist is that students' mobile devices can be transformed into clickers. I think this is a great idea, however it does require exercising superb classroom management.
I read through other web conference transcripts.  Information I gained was related to graduation and certification. Certification requirements were addressed. I'm glad these conferences are held and personally believe they provide vital information and resources.

Tech Action Plan

Action	Time Frame	Resources	Responsible Person(s)	Activity and Evaluation
Provide Eduphoria training/update to all teachers	This should take place in early April and continue through upcoming year. This should be completed by August 2012.	Eduphoria software Time during Professional development timeframes	Campus Technology Specialist Dean of Instruction Department Heads	Teachers will participate in a mandatory Eduphoria training. If previously trained, a refresher course must be taken.
Provide training on basic web page setup and maintenance	This should take place in early April and continue through upcoming year as necessary.	Teacher laptops Time during Professional development timeframes	Campus Technology Specialist	Teachers will be given training and tips necessary for web page maintenance.  All teachers will be required to have a page created with certain features within a week from training.
Organize a technology support team	Establish by the end of current school year 2011-12	One member from each core area	Campus Technology Specialist Volunteers that can help troubleshoot any issues that might arise within the department.	The support team will create and agree on process for responding to concerns from staff members. Teachers will be introduced to the support team and process for reporting assistance needed.
Web 2.0 skills development and implementation	This should take place in early April and continue through upcoming year as necessary.	STaR Chart Results Teacher laptops Free websites recommended by district technology specialists	Campus Technology Specialist Volunteers – any teacher	The technology specialist will analyze STaR Chart results and provide teachers with ideas/lessons on technology integration.
Devote time to two technology sessions per six weeks	This should take place in April and continue through upcoming year.	Teacher laptops Time designated for this purpose	Campus Technology Specialist SBDM Dean of Instruction	An agreement will be reached by administration on devoting time to this initiative. Teachers will attend scheduled technology sessions twice a six weeks during the staff development time.

STAR Chart 101

Click on link to access:

http://www.slideshare.net/82eleon/star-chart-week2b

Texas Long Range Plan for Texas

Reflection: Administration and Instructional Support

The vision for this area is to meet the demands of the 21^st century by equipping student with adequate    skills. In order for this to be accomplished administrators must first become equipped with 21^st century skills followed by exercising numerous deliberate practices in order to facilitate achieving the set goals.

       Over the past five years, I have observed an increase in technology usage in all aspects of education. Within the district, all teachers have been equipped with a laptop in order to fulfill student management duties such as attendance and grading records. Lesson planning is also facilitated through this resource and instructional tool. My campus has had one hundred percent of  classrooms equipped with a document reader and projector for the past five years. Additionally, there are numerous interactive pads available for instructional use. There are currently five interactive boards regularly utilized on campus. Most recently all formal and informal observations by administrators have been further facilitated through the use of iPads and Eduphoria software. Teacher feedback is available immediately through these tools.

Also, our district promotes teacher websites. This is a practice that has lost momentum due to new assessment and graduation requirements. However, this is a useful vehicle for promoting communciation and awareness.

A trend I am seeing at all levels is social/professional networking. The state serves as a prime example by creating the networking site, Project Share.  This is a professional networking site and resource center.

Recommendations to improving this area are based on skills being modeled by leaders. Also, encouraging and supporting colleagues within the profession to pursue staff development in this area is vital.

Web Conference-Week 3

After listening to this week’s conference, I gained insight into the portion of the assignment related to literature review. I have reviewed several articles, but only cited three which I felt were most important to my action research. However, literature review is an on-going process because I am always seeking professional development.

Week 5 Discussion

I gained a world of knowledge through this course and can now see the reasoning behind many of my administration's actions. A particular topic of interest for me was the information obtained last week on sustaining improvement. The models provided in the text are familiar to me because they are practiced with my current administration team. Having had the personal experience made the information more comprehensible.

An area which I would like to improve on through practice is Step 3: Developing a Deeper Understanding. Being a part of or having "hands-on" experience with the various strategies described in the text will enable me to become a stronger researcher and leader. As stated in the text,"deeper understanding allows you to understand why instead of just what" (Harris,Edmonson,Combs,2010,p.45).

Action Research-DRAFT

GOAL: The goal of my research is to distinguish a relationship between a small group setting and student attendance/performance.

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Find out whether there is a correlation between a small group setting and student attendance & academic performance.	Gather student (ELL,10th) names for target group (current & 09-10)	Counselor records	*Site Supervisor *Intern	Current – January 2011
	Evaluate current target group class performance (ongoing)	Student report cards	*Site Supervisor *Intern	Current – June 2011	Six weeks period comparisons

	Evaluate  current target group’s attendance (ongoing)	Student           attendance records	*Site                   Supervisor *Intern	Current      – June 2011	Six weeks               period comparisons
	Evaluate current target group’s performance on the TAKS	Spring 2011 results	*Site Supervisor *Intern	May –June 2011	2011 TAKS
	Compare last year’s target group’s performance to current performance	Spring 2010-2011 TAKS results	*Site Supervisor *Intern	May –June 2011	2010 TAKS