Travis P. Yoder
PART I – Organization Chart for Technology
Superintendent: Uphold a clear cut vision of technology and its implementation throughout the district. He ensures a uniform, district wide approach to all technology execution and effectiveness. He is the leader of technology and puts together a technology team. The superintendent supports the teams and everyone included to provide for the 21st century learner.
District Technology Committee –
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction and Special Programs - advisor to superintendent
Administrator of Instructional Technology – develops, coordinates, implements technology plans
Administrator of Technical Services – installs, maintains all networks on all campuses
Web Services Coordinator – maintains school’s websites
Director of Communications – provides a communication outlet to community and school
Principals from all campuses – develops building level planning and supports the implementation
Campus Technology Staff – oversee on campus technology and its integration
Teachers – create an learning environment with technology
Library Media Specialists – create multimedia projects and have research options for students
Students – provide inside information and thought into technology
Parents and Community – provide support and finances to all institutions
Technology Action Plan Committee – See above job descriptions
Principals from all campuses
Administrator of Technical Services
Library Media Specialists
Campus Technology Staff
PART II – Professional Development Planning –
Our district has changed up our professional developments ideas and implemented a teacher’s oriented day where a guest speaker is coming. In the past few years, our district has overlooked what the teachers have been asking for, but this year we got to choose and create a day that would satisfy the teachers and technology. I believe this fits perfectly into this week’s Part II activity because it was created by teachers for teachers.
January 18, 2010 Professional Development DAY
7:00-8:00 Student Breakfast with Alan November
Student representatives Grades 5-12 (8-10 students) (HS Teacher Lunchroom)
7:30-8:30 Breakfast in the cafeteria for all staff (Sponsored by Praying Parent Organization)
8:30-10:00 Keynote with Alan November: “21st Century Leadership and Learning” (HS Auditorium)
10:00-10:15 BREAK
10:15-3:00 K-12 Counselors (HS Counseling Office)
10:15-3:00 Special Education- Diagnosticians, LSSP, PT, SLP, APE, Nurses (Dr. Mary Dell Donelson)
10:15-3:00 Special Education- Instructional Assistants (Kami Turner)
10:15-11:15 K- 4 Elementary (including ESL, Dyslexia, Sp. Ed. & OT)- Focus Session with Alan November
(HS Auditorium)
10:15-11:15 5-12 Breakout sessions
11:15-12:45 LUNCH (on your own)
12:45-1:45 5-12 Secondary Focus Session with Alan November (HS Auditorium)
Math, MIT (Journalism, Speech, Technology), Science, Health, PE, Sp. Ed., &
Paraprofessionals
12:45-1:45 Breakout sessions
K-4 and 5-12 ELA, Social Studies, LOTE, Fine Arts, Library Media Specialists, ESL, Dyslexia, Sp. Ed., &
Paraprofessionals
1:45- 2:00 BREAK
2:00-3:00 5-12- Secondary Focus Session with Alan November (HS Auditorium)
ELA, Social Studies, LOTE, Fine Arts, Library Media Specialists, ESL, Dyslexia, Sp. Ed., &
Paraprofessionals
2:00-3:00 Breakout sessions
K-4 and 5-12 Math, MIT (Journalism, Technology, Speech), Science, Health, PE, Sp. Ed., &
Paraprofessionals
3:15- 4:30 Debrief & future planning - Principals, Asst. Principals, C & I Staff, Technology Administrators, CIT
(HS Library)
7:00-8:30 PM HP Parent Forum- HS Auditorium
Part III – Evaluation Planning for Action Plan
A) Attendance and collaboration in meetings; teacher STaR Chart; SDAS Goals and Objectives; integration of technology into content
B) Teacher Evaluations; evidence of student and teacher products; teacher lesson plans;
C) Teacher attendance at conference; teachers share information; teachers utilized for District Staff Development opportunities
D) Evidence of teacher awareness of Technology Applications TEKS in lesson plans, student work, classroom observations
E) Integrated best practices in classrooms; potential pilots for campuses; increased availability of training sessions and online courses
F) Teacher transcripts; teacher STaR Chart; proficiency results
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Reflection on Week 5
Reflection on Week 5
I envisioned a course that provided deep understanding of technology implementation into a school or district. My expectations were set low because after I took the pre-test assessment, I found that I was lacking in many areas. With that being said, I wanted to learn about the interworking with technology and what needs to be done to implement it into a school. I also found myself relating to my administrators currently on staff and why they want us to know and create different ideas in staff meetings. I had to dive deep into how our district’s infrastructure to see and understand how it is set up and created. I needed to see the alignment of our curriculum and how it relates to the 21st century learner and teacher. Reviewing and analyzing those plans helped me also to create meaningful professional developments that were engaging to the professional staff we have. Looking back, I believe I achieved most of what I envisioned for myself at the beginning of the course. As I stated before, I started to compare what I was learning with what our current administration was doing.
Through the course, I got the opportunity to interview a few professionals at my school to see if my thoughts and assumptions were correct about our District’s and schools plan for the 21st century learner and teacher. Talking with our school’s technical professional, she told me and helped me analyze our current Long – Range Plan for Technology for our District. We first took a look at the over Texas Long Range Plan and compared the two. Since she was on the board of technology, she gave me great insight on how they decided to put in and leave out of our districts’ plan. I initiated a conversation with her another day trying to find out where we stood today compared with other districts and schools. This is where I began my research with the STaR chart data and how it relates to school. It seems, from the data, that we are on track of a Target area, which tells me that we are accomplishing many technological goals, yet still have many to be reached for. She also explained that technology is a part of the curriculum and is used as a tool for research, information acquisition, problem solving, and communication. This ultimately led to another expectation I had before taking this course was to learn something to put into practice immediately.
The readings and discussions where well structured throughout the weeks where I found different ideas and tested them out during the semester. The articles opened up my eyes a little wider when they discussed how the new students learn and how we need to change what we are currently doing to broaden our students’ idea about school. The assignments pushed me to try new things, like blogging. I am a “digital native” in some areas, but this helped me break old habits and try new ones. One thing on my side is my attitude towards technology. It needs to be implemented because its capabilities are vast.
One of those capabilities is blogging. This is an innovative way to let students comment and analyze other classmate’s ideas, suggestions, or products. It also provides a forum to let them speak their minds in teacher organized fashion. It creates an online discussion forum to let them see if they are following directions correctly. It can also be a resource center or to guide others on how to research online. It promotes reading and writing in an outside forum. Basically, it helps them to collaborate on information about school. Another advantage of blogging is to communicate with the parents and community on what your class is doing at any time. The connects the community and the school and keeps everyone on the same page.
There are some concerns. Blogs may be viewed publicly, as any other Web site. Students must be trained on issues regarding access, privacy, security, and free expression. As blogs have no publisher, producer, or editor, students must carefully consider the content of postings to avoid anything defamatory, or infringing upon the rights of others. Another concern are that blogs are created by individuals for various and assorted purposes and sometimes content should can be misinterpreted and not recognized as the opinion of the blogger. This is where grading can be a bit tougher than usual.
Through this course, I have made the realization that technology makes learning an active process where students are engaged in meaningful learning opportunities. Implementing technology is a tool that allows students to access current information and creates a learning environment that is comparable to the real world. Through my interviews, assignments, videos, readings, the round table interviews, and my own personal experiences, I started to understand how to enhance and enrich campus curriculum, teaching, and learning. After reviewing and analyzing different areas of technology through the course, I came to the conclusion that our educators must learn to access and incorporate a wide variety of appropriate resources for instructional support, research and administrative tasks to better our educational system. By connecting students to an international learning community, we, as teachers, aim to develop life-long learners who are proficient, productive, and capable of successfully competing in our ever changing world. If that vision is shared and implemented, our future students and teachers will work seamlessly with technology in everyday use.
I envisioned a course that provided deep understanding of technology implementation into a school or district. My expectations were set low because after I took the pre-test assessment, I found that I was lacking in many areas. With that being said, I wanted to learn about the interworking with technology and what needs to be done to implement it into a school. I also found myself relating to my administrators currently on staff and why they want us to know and create different ideas in staff meetings. I had to dive deep into how our district’s infrastructure to see and understand how it is set up and created. I needed to see the alignment of our curriculum and how it relates to the 21st century learner and teacher. Reviewing and analyzing those plans helped me also to create meaningful professional developments that were engaging to the professional staff we have. Looking back, I believe I achieved most of what I envisioned for myself at the beginning of the course. As I stated before, I started to compare what I was learning with what our current administration was doing.
Through the course, I got the opportunity to interview a few professionals at my school to see if my thoughts and assumptions were correct about our District’s and schools plan for the 21st century learner and teacher. Talking with our school’s technical professional, she told me and helped me analyze our current Long – Range Plan for Technology for our District. We first took a look at the over Texas Long Range Plan and compared the two. Since she was on the board of technology, she gave me great insight on how they decided to put in and leave out of our districts’ plan. I initiated a conversation with her another day trying to find out where we stood today compared with other districts and schools. This is where I began my research with the STaR chart data and how it relates to school. It seems, from the data, that we are on track of a Target area, which tells me that we are accomplishing many technological goals, yet still have many to be reached for. She also explained that technology is a part of the curriculum and is used as a tool for research, information acquisition, problem solving, and communication. This ultimately led to another expectation I had before taking this course was to learn something to put into practice immediately.
The readings and discussions where well structured throughout the weeks where I found different ideas and tested them out during the semester. The articles opened up my eyes a little wider when they discussed how the new students learn and how we need to change what we are currently doing to broaden our students’ idea about school. The assignments pushed me to try new things, like blogging. I am a “digital native” in some areas, but this helped me break old habits and try new ones. One thing on my side is my attitude towards technology. It needs to be implemented because its capabilities are vast.
One of those capabilities is blogging. This is an innovative way to let students comment and analyze other classmate’s ideas, suggestions, or products. It also provides a forum to let them speak their minds in teacher organized fashion. It creates an online discussion forum to let them see if they are following directions correctly. It can also be a resource center or to guide others on how to research online. It promotes reading and writing in an outside forum. Basically, it helps them to collaborate on information about school. Another advantage of blogging is to communicate with the parents and community on what your class is doing at any time. The connects the community and the school and keeps everyone on the same page.
There are some concerns. Blogs may be viewed publicly, as any other Web site. Students must be trained on issues regarding access, privacy, security, and free expression. As blogs have no publisher, producer, or editor, students must carefully consider the content of postings to avoid anything defamatory, or infringing upon the rights of others. Another concern are that blogs are created by individuals for various and assorted purposes and sometimes content should can be misinterpreted and not recognized as the opinion of the blogger. This is where grading can be a bit tougher than usual.
Through this course, I have made the realization that technology makes learning an active process where students are engaged in meaningful learning opportunities. Implementing technology is a tool that allows students to access current information and creates a learning environment that is comparable to the real world. Through my interviews, assignments, videos, readings, the round table interviews, and my own personal experiences, I started to understand how to enhance and enrich campus curriculum, teaching, and learning. After reviewing and analyzing different areas of technology through the course, I came to the conclusion that our educators must learn to access and incorporate a wide variety of appropriate resources for instructional support, research and administrative tasks to better our educational system. By connecting students to an international learning community, we, as teachers, aim to develop life-long learners who are proficient, productive, and capable of successfully competing in our ever changing world. If that vision is shared and implemented, our future students and teachers will work seamlessly with technology in everyday use.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Final Texas S Ta R Chart
My complete summary of the TEXAS STaR Chart in power point presentation.
Final Texas S Ta R Chart
View more presentations from travispyoder.
STaR Chart Summary
I decided to choose to focus on the four content area, Infrastructure for Technology. I picked this out of the four because our campus and district have made great strides towards our goal of Target Tech. The past few years, our community, district, staff, and students have shared a clear vision of technology and its' implentation inside and outside our classrooms.
Infrastructure for Technology is meant to connect schools to each other, to external resources, and to the Internet. This area asseses the need to integrate technology into the teaching and learning procees to deliver online learning activities and experiences to meet their individual needs as a life long learner. Infrastructure must support "promising practices in teaching and learning, professional development, school leadership, instructional mgt., and operations." (STaR pg. 5)
Comparing the past few years on the STaR chart assessment, we, as a campus and district, have made strides in this area. We have gone from a 14 to a 20, which is from Developing Tech almost to Target Tech. The progress and trends I see are in these three areas: classroom technology, technical support, and distance learning capacity. First, in the past few years our community has provided enough support to provide a Smart Board for over 90% of our classrooms. This is a tool to interact our classrooms with each other and classrooms around the world. We also have documents cameras in every room which takes the place of all our overhead projectors. With the area need of technology, we have also seen the increase in our technology professionals in our school. We have 2 on site technology professionals to assist anyone with problems with connectivity or any other tech problems. They can also come and teach when asked and bring in COWS, computers on wheels. This is an interactive tool to bring in computers for every student instead of going to the library. Lastly, we have a wireless campus that at any place in the school, one can connect to the internet. We have multiple servers and areas to provide distance learning. Teachers and students can use and interact with Moodle, Google, and our school websites away from the classroom. All assignments can be assessed from home. We also have site, Parent Viewer, that helps our parents oversee their sons/daughters grades and progress in all their courses.
The only recommendation I have falls in the Educator Preparation and Development area. With all this technology in place, we have to fast track our teachers to become more ready for this type of movement in education. More meaningful professional developments and time alloted to prepare and collaborate with colleagues and professionals has to be given to be successful.
With this infrastucture in place, technology provides benefits to our families and communities through improved communication and technology knowledge and skills of students, parents, and other community members. This will help us prepare our teachers and students for the fast paced technology in the 21st century.
Infrastructure for Technology is meant to connect schools to each other, to external resources, and to the Internet. This area asseses the need to integrate technology into the teaching and learning procees to deliver online learning activities and experiences to meet their individual needs as a life long learner. Infrastructure must support "promising practices in teaching and learning, professional development, school leadership, instructional mgt., and operations." (STaR pg. 5)
Comparing the past few years on the STaR chart assessment, we, as a campus and district, have made strides in this area. We have gone from a 14 to a 20, which is from Developing Tech almost to Target Tech. The progress and trends I see are in these three areas: classroom technology, technical support, and distance learning capacity. First, in the past few years our community has provided enough support to provide a Smart Board for over 90% of our classrooms. This is a tool to interact our classrooms with each other and classrooms around the world. We also have documents cameras in every room which takes the place of all our overhead projectors. With the area need of technology, we have also seen the increase in our technology professionals in our school. We have 2 on site technology professionals to assist anyone with problems with connectivity or any other tech problems. They can also come and teach when asked and bring in COWS, computers on wheels. This is an interactive tool to bring in computers for every student instead of going to the library. Lastly, we have a wireless campus that at any place in the school, one can connect to the internet. We have multiple servers and areas to provide distance learning. Teachers and students can use and interact with Moodle, Google, and our school websites away from the classroom. All assignments can be assessed from home. We also have site, Parent Viewer, that helps our parents oversee their sons/daughters grades and progress in all their courses.
The only recommendation I have falls in the Educator Preparation and Development area. With all this technology in place, we have to fast track our teachers to become more ready for this type of movement in education. More meaningful professional developments and time alloted to prepare and collaborate with colleagues and professionals has to be given to be successful.
With this infrastucture in place, technology provides benefits to our families and communities through improved communication and technology knowledge and skills of students, parents, and other community members. This will help us prepare our teachers and students for the fast paced technology in the 21st century.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Pre-K Technology
The learning foundation of pre-K students is the ability to acquire information, solve problems, and communicate. With the above statement, we can conclude that technology will help foster this type of life-long learning. This type of environment will be enhanced with there exposure to technology at an early age. Since technology is so interwoven in our society today, we must incorporate it early so it is mastered for future or upcoming grades.
A spiraling or scaffolding is a curriculum that gives students multiple opportunities to master knowledge and skills. For example, I am a Pre-AP World Geography teacher (9th Grade) and my students were introduced maps and map making in the 6th grade. They had to find different areas of the map, key, title, etc. Now in ninth grade, my students take that skill and apply to our map objectives, which can include interpretting flow line maps, cartograms, or comparing different types of maps. They must also take other skills and start making certain asumptions or conclusions by looking at different kinds of maps.
A spiraling or scaffolding is a curriculum that gives students multiple opportunities to master knowledge and skills. For example, I am a Pre-AP World Geography teacher (9th Grade) and my students were introduced maps and map making in the 6th grade. They had to find different areas of the map, key, title, etc. Now in ninth grade, my students take that skill and apply to our map objectives, which can include interpretting flow line maps, cartograms, or comparing different types of maps. They must also take other skills and start making certain asumptions or conclusions by looking at different kinds of maps.
Instructional Leader
Analyzing the Long-Range Plan, I found myself trying to sum up what types of technology guides me through my journey as a leader in education. I reviewed the LRP for a while agreeing with the plan that they set in place for districts state wide. This technological implementation and understading of where we need to be for our 21st century learner is a vast idea to take part in. I do find myself overwhelmed, but at least now I know that there is a plan out there that I can follow through my years in teaching and on my way to be an admistator.
As I read, I pulled out words like; support, collaborate, provide, promote, require, implement, develop, and others and wrote them down. I reviewed them and thought all these words is how I want to create an environment of life long learning. With all the agencies, communities, teachers, and administrators that they mentioned, it came to my knowledge that we are all striving for the same thing, to better our students' future.
I also will take with me that there is plan to follow and take part in. It is layed out there for me and all I have to do is put forth the effort and do my job to the best of my ability. I feel better now that I know that there something to follow in this ever changing world of technology.
As I read, I pulled out words like; support, collaborate, provide, promote, require, implement, develop, and others and wrote them down. I reviewed them and thought all these words is how I want to create an environment of life long learning. With all the agencies, communities, teachers, and administrators that they mentioned, it came to my knowledge that we are all striving for the same thing, to better our students' future.
I also will take with me that there is plan to follow and take part in. It is layed out there for me and all I have to do is put forth the effort and do my job to the best of my ability. I feel better now that I know that there something to follow in this ever changing world of technology.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Comparing the SETDA and TAI Assessments
After taking the two assessments, I found that the two are vastly different. The SETDA is a much more in depth look at you and your districts' technology levels. It puts the entire community, district, and individual in perspective on technology. I truly enjoyed taking the time to complete this test. After taking this one, it was easy to see where I need work and where I don't.
On the other hand, the Technology Applications Inventory assessment was too broad and not specific enough. I felt that this was another assessment that we always get as teachers and just answer as fast as we can to get through it. Nothing is specific or thought provoking. It is bland and a waste of time.
On the other hand, the Technology Applications Inventory assessment was too broad and not specific enough. I felt that this was another assessment that we always get as teachers and just answer as fast as we can to get through it. Nothing is specific or thought provoking. It is bland and a waste of time.
Reflection on Technology Assessments
The last two weeks I have been reading, analyzing, and reviewing technology articles to try to better my classroom environment through my masters journey. I decided to read the two weeks of articles early and then take the two assessments. As I read over my responses of the two assesments, SETDA and technology applications inventory, I am realizing that I have a lot of work to do. These two assessments specified my strengths and weaknesses in technology. . It also gave me an idea of what I need to work on in the future and how my district takes on technology.
My strengths are in the foundations of technology. Through these assessments, I am finding that I have a strong basis to start from. I am proficient in a variety of technology of formats in planning, creating and editing to integrate those in my environment. I found that my strongest asset in technology is my willingness to incorporate, collaborate, and design technology in my classroom. I feel that the future is in technology and for our students to be successful, I have to establish a technology environment.
The other strength I have is an extremely understanding district that is very aggressive on staying up to date in technology. They set up meaningful Professional Developments geared toward educating our teachers on technologies. They give us time to collaborate, plan, and research to incorporate the most up to date technological innovations for the classroom
My weaknesses are those of implementing graphics and other formats for the classroom. I feel that I only know the tip of the ice berg and there is so much more. I am also weak in the terminology of technology. Another weakness is my search for reliable and appropriate sites to validate information on the Web. Other technology that tracks trends, set timelines, and reviews progress, I have not battled yet.
By completing and reviewing the two assessments, SETDA and TAI, puts my strenghs and weaknesses in technology in a more meaningful way. I can now start comparing the two and focus on my upcoming Professional Developments.
My strengths are in the foundations of technology. Through these assessments, I am finding that I have a strong basis to start from. I am proficient in a variety of technology of formats in planning, creating and editing to integrate those in my environment. I found that my strongest asset in technology is my willingness to incorporate, collaborate, and design technology in my classroom. I feel that the future is in technology and for our students to be successful, I have to establish a technology environment.
The other strength I have is an extremely understanding district that is very aggressive on staying up to date in technology. They set up meaningful Professional Developments geared toward educating our teachers on technologies. They give us time to collaborate, plan, and research to incorporate the most up to date technological innovations for the classroom
My weaknesses are those of implementing graphics and other formats for the classroom. I feel that I only know the tip of the ice berg and there is so much more. I am also weak in the terminology of technology. Another weakness is my search for reliable and appropriate sites to validate information on the Web. Other technology that tracks trends, set timelines, and reviews progress, I have not battled yet.
By completing and reviewing the two assessments, SETDA and TAI, puts my strenghs and weaknesses in technology in a more meaningful way. I can now start comparing the two and focus on my upcoming Professional Developments.
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