EDLD 5352 Web Conference

One part of the Lamar program I really enjoy is the web conferencing offered throughout your online courses. I was not familiar with this concept until entering my first course at Lamar. I had attended three web conferences prior to this course, EDLD 5352. Now that I am in my fifth class of the program and I have attended three web conferences throughout the timeframe of this class.

The first web conference was very helpful. There were about one hundred students that attended so it allowed for a lot of different input from students. Some students used their webcams and others just typed their questions and feedback into the box. Students asked questions about the weekly assignment and were able to get their questions quickly answered. Other students were asking for clarification about how to complete the discussion board assignments for this class. It was great because not only did you get a response from the professor but other students were answering the question as well. This allowed for the information to be presented many different ways.

Students were also asking questions pertaining to non-course related items, more program related. There were questions about the certification tests and the program Tk20. It very helpful to hear this information even though I might not be taking my certification tests for another year. I was able to learn when people took their tests, how much it costs, and how they prepared for it. It was great to get some insight into my future with this program at Lamar.

I feel the web conferencing provides a very valuable learning experience. It is new technology and is used in such a useful way. It not only helped me gain knowledge about this course, but also the entire grad program.

In the future, I would love to set up a web conference for my class of second graders. We could start off with a small group to do a trial run, and then if successful we could extend it to the entire class. It would be really neat to find another second grade class that lives somewhere else and become "pen pals" with them. Although, instead of writing them, we would web conference with them. This would be a great way to utilize web conferencing in my classroom.

Technology Action Plan

Emily Faggard’s Technology Action Plan

Goals: 1. To increase technology educator preparation and development at the campus level. 2. To integrate technology into curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Person(s) Responsible:	Role	Responsibility
Susan Fambrough	Principal	Manage the new integration of technology into curriculum, instruction, and assessment and hold staff members accountable for using and integration technology into their classrooms
Kathy Smith	Assistant Principal	Assist the principal with managing the new technology use and holding teachers accountable
Susan Mannas	District Technology Facilitator	Understand the Technology Application TEKS, STaR Chart, create and provide campus technology staff development, be a resource to teachers
Sarah Osbourne	Campus Instructional Coach	Understand the Technology Application TEKS, STaR Chart, create and provide campus technology staff development, be a resource to teachers
Emily Faggard	Teacher	Understand the Technology Application TEKS, STaR Chart, be a resource to fellow teachers
SBDM Committee	SBDM	To review CIP, STaR Chart data, and teacher surveys to develop an appropriate staff technology development plan

Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline:	Needed Resources	Evaluation
STaR Chart Presentation to inform teachers of the results from the past three years and to also inform them about the STaR Chart	Emily Faggard and Susan Mannas will present	April 2011	Power Point to explain STaR Chart and data from past 3 years	Have teachers complete a Hot Dot Chart as they leave the presentation so that it shows what they learned from the presentation.
Survey teachers to determine campus technology staff development needs	Emily Faggard will create a survey on her teacher website and email it all staff members	Late April 2011	Survey to assess teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the Technology Application TEKS and purpose of the STaR Chart	Emily Faggard will share the survey results with: Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Susan Mannas Sarah Osbourne
Based on the survey results, provide Technology Application TEKS and/or STaR Chart informational professional development training for all grade level teachers at a weekly grade level team meeting	Susan Mannas or Sarah Osbourne will provide the training	May 2011	Copies of Technology Application TEKS for grades K-5 STaR Chart Power Point Presentation	Susan Mannas and Sarah Osbourne will share teacher feedback information from the trainings with: Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Emily Faggard
Survey teachers to determine specific areas for campus technology staff development needs	Emily Faggard will create a survey on her teacher website and email it all staff members	May 2011	Survey to assess teachers’ most desired areas for technology staff development.	Emily Faggard will share the survey results with the following people to determine which areas of technology professional development are most needed: Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Susan Mannas Sarah Osbourne
Meet with SDBM team to analyze the results from both teacher surveys and STaR Chart data in order to determine how to address CIP goals of providing professional development for technology integration	SBDM team Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Susan Mannas Sarah Osbourne	May 2011 - June 2011	Campus Improvement Plan STaR Chart data	The members at this meeting will develop a technology staff development plan for the 2011-2012 school year that will address the needs for campus staff technology development
Teachers will receive ongoing professional development (specific to their grade level when available) on how to integrate technology into curriculum, instruction, and assessment	Susan Mannas Sarah Osbourne Campus Teachers	August 2011 - June 2012 Once a nine weeks during the 2011-2012 school year		Walk-through classroom observations of technology use data collected by Susan Fambrough and Kathy Smith. They will snap pictures or video of the technology use in the classrooms they observe.
Share one or two new technology integration ideas at faculty meetings	Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Campus Teachers	August 2011- June 2012 Once a month at the beginning of a faculty	Pictures or video collected from classroom teachers integrating technology	Emily Faggard will post this information to a Wiki or Blog to share with all campus members so that they are able access and use the technology ideas shared at the meeting
Survey teachers to determine if professional development and technology ideas posted to Wiki or Blog are meeting their technology staff development needs	Emily Faggard will create a survey on her teacher website and email it all staff members	February 2012	Survey to assess if staff technology development needs are being met	Emily Faggard will share the survey results with the following people to determine if changes need to be made in the technology staff development plan: Susan Fambrough Kathy Smith Susan Mannas Sarah Osbourne SBDM Committee

Texas STaR Chart Presentation

Take a look at the presentation I made about the Texas STaR Chart findings about my school. Enjoy!

Star Chart Findings

View more presentations from efaggard.

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Assignment, Part 3: Blog Post #3

“Under the Obama administration, education has become an urgent priority driven by two clear goals. By 2020, we will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands [39%] so that 60% of our population holds a 2-year or 4-year degree and we will close the achievement gap so that all students – regardless of race, income, or neighborhood – graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers” (“NETP: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” p. v, 2010). “The NETP presents a model of 21st century learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity” (“NETP: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” p. vi, 2010).

This report shows that in grades one through twelve, 18.5% of formal learning takes place, more than anything other time frame of a student’s life. There are three types of human learning that take place: factual knowledge, procedural knowledge, and motivational engagement (“NETP: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” p. 14, 2010). All students should be given access to learning. “Principles and guidelines have been established for universal design in education based on decades of research and are known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The UDL principles reflect the way students take in and process information” (Rose & Meyer, 2002).

Another goal in this report is to improve secondary and postsecondary graduation rates. I feel this is a big concern that needs to be addressed. “The long-term impact of both high school and college dropout rates on our society is catastrophic, both in terms of the success prospects of individuals in life and work and for our nation’s ability to compete in a global economy” (McKinsey & Company, 2009). Students need more guidance and support along the way for encouragement when times get tough along their educational journey. We need more students graduating from high school and college. “We want reach the goal of all learners having engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepares them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society” (“NETP: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” p. 23, 2010).

The goal for improving teaching is “professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that can empower and inspire them to provide more effective teaching for all learners (“NETP: Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology,” p. 23, 2010). Teachers need to expand their network of support and stop working in isolation. The need to collaborate with other educators. This report wants to use connected teaching to improve learning. This is where technology connects teachers to resources, students, fellow teachers, data, and any other resource imaginable so that they are able to close the gap between teaching and technology. I feel as though it is crucial for teachers to use self-motivation to help increase their knowledge of technology. Technology plays an important role in education these days and it is up to us educators to decide what type of attitude we will have towards it and how/when to use it.

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Assignment, Part 3: Blog Post #2

In Texas the progress of the Texas long-range plan for technology (LRPT) is required annually. The first progress report associated with this plan documents the State’s progress and accomplishments in meeting recommendations began in 2008. The 2020 vision of the LRPT is to create an educational system where students, parents, educators, and community and school board members can expect a highly level initiative in technology. Technology planning and resources must support the educational system of the 21st century. The 21st century learners are students who are very knowledgeable and up to date with technology. They are very comfortable with technology as it is a key component in their life. The voices of students and teachers were heard.

“The 1999-2001 Educational Technology Advisory Committee (ETAC) developed and piloted the Texas STaR Chart, a tool for districts to use for planning and self-assessing School Technology and Readiness aligned with the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology, 1996-2010. The Texas STaR Chart is designed to help campuses and districts determine their progress toward meeting the goals of the long-range plan” (“LRPT,” p. 53, 2006). There are four key areas of focus on the STaR Chart. In the years, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, most school districts in Texas indicated they were at the Developing Tech stage in all four areas of the campus and teacher STaR Chart. This was considered low scoring. Immediately the priority needs were identified, to increase ratings, in dedicated technology funding, students-to-computer ratio, technical support, and professional development (LRPT, pgs. 65-66, 2006).

The No Child Left Behind Act - Title II Part D was passed and its primary is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools. Additional goals included “to assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technologically literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability. Also, to encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State educational agencies and local educational agencies” (“LRPT,” p. 82, 2006).

The National Educational Technology plan consisted of seven major action steps and recommendations. They are strengthen leadership, consider innovative budgeting, improve teacher training, support e-Learning and virtual schools, encourage broadband access, move toward digital content, and integrate data systems (“LRPT,” pgs. 83-85, 2006).

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Assignment, Part 3: Blog Post #1

There are four areas of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology (LRPT), 2006-2020: Teaching and Learning; Educator Preparation and Development; Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support; or Infrastructure for Technology. In those four areas there are four levels of progess in each key area of the LRPT: early tech, developing tech, advanced tech, or target tech. I would like to go more in depth today with the key area of Educator Preparation and Development. This area is “preparing educators to effectively facilitate and manage 21st century learning in technology and information-rich settings involves essential retooling of the existing professional core of the educational system” (“LRPT,” p. 24, 2006). Educators have a huge job of not only teaching students but to also teach them in a way that helps them succeed in whatever endeavors lie ahead of them.

This area of the STaR chart was my campus’ greatest weakness, because it was rated at the level Developing Tech with a score of twelve that has remained the same over the past three years, nothing has changed. At the state level, there has been an overall decrease in early and developing tech. This is turn has caused an increase at the advanced and target tech progress levels. The trend still remains the same that the majority of the educators at the state level give themselves a developing tech rating which is seem in the data collected t my campus over the past three years.

It is crucial that beginning teachers meet Technology Applications educator standards and veteran teachers should have on-going job-embedded professional development in order to stay current with the technology standards. It would be helpful for teacher prep programs to offer trainings or a courses that would help prepare new teachers. There also needs to be proper resources and timed allotted to teachers to ensure they are able to receive the professional development needed to stay current.

My Action Research Plan

Emily Faggard’s Action Research Plan
Goal: To investigate the existing knowledge of second graders’ basic math fact recall skills and to ultimately increase their knowledge to achieve mastery of basic math fact recall skills in current grade level and retain mastery when they move to the next grade level.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Collect the second grade math fact data results from first nine weeks math assessment	Emily Faggard	October 2010	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program	Gather and review data from AWARE
Survey classroom teachers to understand the strategies currently being used to teach math facts, how often they practice math facts in the classroom, and to gather student information of the current levels of math fact knowledge	Emily Faggard	October 2010 - November 2010	Survey	Gather data from surveys and analyze results
Survey second grade students to understand their current knowledge of their math facts, how they practice them, and how they learn them	Emily Faggard	October 2010 - November 2010	Survey	Gather data from surveys and analyze results
Survey parents of second grade students to understand how often math facts are being practiced at home and their understand of their child’s current progress.	Emily Faggard	October 2010 - November 2010	Survey	Gather data from surveys and analyze results
Research math programs used to help second grade students learn the math facts.	Emily Faggard	November 2010 - December 2010	Websites for accredited math programs available to use	Gather information, names, and prices
Conduct a meeting with the second grade teachers to discuss and review the information collected from the first nine weeks assessment, surveys, and research on math programs	Emily Faggard Second grade teachers at SRE	December 2010	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program Teacher, student, and parent surveys Research data collected Meeting agenda	Review information and choose a math fact program that will work best for our grade level at our school
Meet with site supervisor/principal to seek permission to implement math fact program in January	Emily Faggard	December 2010	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program Teacher, student, and parent surveys Research data collected Agenda from previous meeting with team	Either start getting materials prepared for program
Implement an accredited math facts program in second grade with the permission of my principal	Emily Faggard Second grade teachers at SRE	January 2011 - May 2011	Materials from accredited math program	Gather student work from each class to analyze
Collect the second grade math fact data results from second nine weeks math assessment	Emily Faggard	January 2011	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program	Gather and review data from AWARE to monitor progress of math fact mastery
Conduct a group interview with the second grade teachers to discuss any problematic patterning taking place from the data collected thus far	Emily Faggard	March 2011	Interview questions Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program Student data collected from math fact program	Collect feedback from interview and reflect on the results
Collect the second grade math fact data results from third nine weeks math assessment	Emily Faggard	April 2011	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program	Gather and review data from AWARE to monitor progress of math fact mastery
Conduct individual student interviews with my class of second graders	Emily Faggard	May 2011	Interview questions	Collect feedback from interviews and reflect on the results
Survey parents of my second grade student class to understand how they will help their child practice their math facts over the summer	Emily Faggard	May 2011	Survey	Gather data from surveys and analyze
Collect all second grade students’ math fact data from math fact program being used	Emily Faggard	June 2011	Student data	Gather and analyze data collected to understand what students achieved mastery of math facts
Collect the second grade math fact data results from fourth nine weeks math assessment	Emily Faggard	June 2011	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program	Gather and review data from AWARE to understand which students have achieved mastery level of math facts
Conduct a group interview with the second grade teachers to find out likes/dislikes about the program, analyze data together to see if the program did/did not worked, and discuss implementing the next school year	Emily Faggard Second grade teachers at SRE	June 2011	Interview questions Student data collected Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool	Collect feedback from interviews and reflect on the results
Continue to implement an accredited math facts program in second grade with the permission of my principal	Emily Faggard Second grade teachers at SRE	August 2011 - May 2012	Materials from accredited math program	Gather student work from each class to analyze
Survey teachers on the third grade team to understand if students retained their math facts and carried them over to third grade	Emily Faggard	October 2011	Survey	Gather and analyze data from survey and make changes needed to current second grade math fact program
Collect the second grade math fact data results from first, second, third, and fourth nine weeks math assessment	Emily Faggard	October 2011 January 2012 April 2012 June 2012	Classroom data assessment result print-offs from the AWARE program	Gather and review data from AWARE to understand which students are achieving mastery level of math facts