Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Determine if the use of ipods can effectively be used in the classroom to increases student learning..
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Action Research topics with site supervisor and Assistant Principal	R. Dehoyos	1/26/11 – 2/1/11	Username/Password	Formulate topic and topic  question. Develop questions and concerns over the topic.
Create a lesson plan to use with the ipod and implement.	Self and R. Dehoyos	2/8/11 – 2/22/11	Time, ipod	Allow teachers  to evaluate lesson plan to determine its significance
Interview the students, teachers and staff	S. Christopher R. Vaughn	3/15/11	Student/teacher survey	Survey the  students and staff to  determine  how effective the ipod lesson was

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Determine if the use of school net increases teachers ability to plan for differentiated learning prior to creating lesson plans students. Also to explore the various usage of the program and verify if it minimizes to various application now used.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Action Research topics with site supervisor and Assistant Principal	R. Dehoyos	1/26/11 – 2/1/11	Username/Password	Formulate topic and topic question. Develop questions and concerns over the topic.
Create a lesson plan to use with the ipod and implement.	Self and R. Dehoyos	2/8/11 – 2/22/11	Time, ipod	Allow teachers to evaluate lesson plan to determine its significance
Interview the students, teachers and staff	S. Christopher R. Vaughn	3/15/11	Student/teacher survey	Survey the students and staff to determine how effective the ipod lesson was

Blog Use for Educational Leaders

Blogs are useful in the educational world, especially for educational leaders. They can use blogs to share useful information, but not necessarily critical or important information, with their campus, parents, and community.

Action Research

Action research requires a person to study their own work and take the necessary action to make a change. This idea seems to be very challenging. A person has to be very honest with oneself and understand that improving themselves is improving the school. Many people do not take constructive criticism well. This idea requires a person to criticize themselves and commit to making changes for improvement. I learned that if the leaders of the school participate in the action research they can overcome barriers and productively collaborate with their colleagues. They can take action to positively improve the school and the students. Everyone at the school has a common denominator and that is the students. As long as this is understood, many educational leaders can determine which battles they should fight and which should be delegated to someone else.

Course Reflections

1.  What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?

When I started this course, I did not know what to expect. I was a little concerned because I do not have any real formal training in technology. I knew that I was embarking on a journey that could prove to be very challenging. During this course, I did learn a few useful tools that I can immediately incorporate into my classroom.  I am excited about returning in the fall and teaching my students how to use animoto in collaboration with their research projects. I believe the students will be eager to learn how to use this website. I realized it is also something that they can teach their parents. I also have many ideas for using the wordle. I want to create another animoto presentation and include a wordle. I want to make sure I am fluent so that I can effectively guide my students when it is time for them to create their presentations.

2.  To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?

Mr. Lynd, the principal at Cedar Bayou Jr High, emails the Daily Bear to teachers every day. Sometimes, changes have to be made to the Daily Bear that requires Mr. Lynd to resend it. Consequently, many teachers complain that this is taking up too much space in their email account. I made recommendation to Mr. Lynd that he place the Daily Bear on a wiki. I explained how the wiki worked. I also noted that this would allow teachers of organizations to make their own changes, and teachers can access the information at their convenience. This solidified that fact that what I am learning is very relevant. I was able to take a tool I learned and immediately incorporate on my campus. Also, the knowledge gained during week four will be very useful as our students start their research projects in the spring. I am happy to share with my staff the copyright laws when it comes to technology because I’m sure they are not knowledgeable.

3.  What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?

When I started this course, I did not have any expectations. My goal was to successful pass the class. So far, I am achieving my goal. I do feel there is still a lot to learn. I can say that I am the type of student who likes to be in a classroom setting. I appreciate it when a teacher is physically there to answer my questions. I understand that the classroom setting is changing, and online classes are a major part of that change. This class is helping to prepare me for a time when all classrooms may be virtual.

4.  Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?

I am the mother of a rambunctious three year old and a curious nine month old.  I travel approximately eighty miles, round trip, two and from work. I get off work at four pm and I do not make it home until after six. Many times, I do not have enough hours in the day to get everything. Done, there for something suffers. When I started this course, I knew scheduling would be a problem. I thought I had it figured out. I planned to do all of my school work during my conference/planning period at work. For the most part, I was successful with this plan. But, during week 2, I suffered a major setback. I had to attend a few unplanned meetings and I had to deal with a sick child. This made it difficult to get my work completed, so as a result, I failed that week.

5.  What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

During this course, I discovered that there many useful tools in the field of technology, that I can successfully incorporate into my classroom to make it more interesting for my students. The initial integration of this technology will be time consuming and challenging. But, once it is successfully incorporated and I am fluent in its use, I will provide my students with some of the skills they need to be prepared for the future. I also know that technology is a forever changing and expanding. Therefore, I have to be willing to continue learning and growing so that I will be current with the changing trends. At the present time, I know some pretty basic information. Am I fluent in the information I know? No, but I am willing and determined to improve my knowledge base so that I can effectively assist my students. I am excited about the path I am taking and I look forward to the new tools I will learn in the upcoming classes.

Reflection of the U.S Department of Education National Educational Techology Plan

Under the leadership of President Barack Obama, education is now an urgent priority with two major goals. The first goal is to raise the proportion of college graduates from 39% so that 60% of our population holds a 2 or 4 year degree.   The second goal is to close the achievement gap so that all students graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers. The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) was created to achieve these two goals. The Obama Administration understands that technology is at the core of virtually every aspect of our daily lives and work. Therefore we must leverage it to provide engaging and powerful learning experiences, content, and resources and assessments that measure student achievement in more complete, authentic, and meaningful ways. We want to learn from other enterprises that have used technology to improve outcomes while increasing productivity. This will shorten the learning curve.  The NEPT created the 21^st Century Model of Learning Powered by Technology which calls for engaging and empowering learning experiences for learners. The model states that we must focus on what and how we teach to match what people need to know, how they learn, where and when they learn, and who needs to learn. The model also calls for us to help build the capacity of educators by enabling a shift to a model of connected teaching. This will provide educators with 24/7 access to data and analytical tools as wells as resources that help them act on insights that data provide.

Technology Goals and Strategies for GCCISD

GCCISD has six goals that it would like to accomplish by 2010. The goals, objectives and strategies are outlined below. The district has also allocated a budget for each objective.

Goal 1: PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY FOR STUDENT LEARNING

Objective 1.1: Expand the use of 1:1 ultra mobile devices for students

Budget: $1,200,000.00

Strategy 1.1.1: Wireless ultra mobile devices will be continued to improve student learning.

Person(s) Responsible: Director Instructional Technology Director Technology Management Services

Strategy 1.1.2: Meet state technology equipment target of student to computer ratio of 1:1 as funding becomes available.

Person(s) Responsible: Director TMS Director IT

Objective 1.2: Provide teachers with additional classroom interactive hardware and software

Budget: $470,000.00

Strategy 1.2.1: Provide teachers and students with interactive boards and tablets for classroom use.

Person(s) Responsible: Director TMS Director IT

Goal 2: THE DISTRICT STAFF DEVELOPMENT MODEL WILL BE TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY

Objective 2.1: All instructional staff will receive training in teaching with technology.

Budget: $816,642.00

Strategy 2.1.1: Model teaching with technology integration in all curricular staff development sessions. Align all sessions to the ISTE NETS for Teachers and Students.

Person(s) Responsible: Directors: IT Staff Development Curriculum

Strategy 2.1.2: Instruction for teachers will include web-based learning and a variety of models accessible from the district online staff development center, libraries and classrooms.

Person(s) Responsible: Director Staff Development Director IT

Strategy 2.1.3: Staff Development sessions will be aligned to the ISTE Teacher and Student NETS.

Person(s) Responsible: Director IT Director Staff Development  

Strategy 2.1.4: Students and teachers will receive training in Internet safety and digital citizenship

Person(s) Responsible: Directors Curriculum Staff Development IT

Strategy 2.1.5: Project-based learning including multimedia will be the primary focus of educational technology staff development sessions for administrators, teachers and students.

Person(s) Responsible: Director IT

Strategy 2.1.6: Continue to provide SchoolNet training for all stakeholders

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Educational Technology

Strategy 2.1.7: Add ISTE Teacher NETS to PDAS.

Person(s) Responsible: Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction Director of Certified Personnel Director of Educational Technology

Goal 3: CONTINUE TO BUILD AND REFINE THE DISTRICT'S CURRICULUM MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SCHOOLNET) TO PROVIDE REAL-TIME DATA FOR DATA-DRIVEN DECISION MAKING.

Objective 3.1: Ensure SchoolNet data is accessible to all district personnel on a need-to-know basis.

Budget: $828,101.00

Strategy 3.1.1: Establish benchmark assessments and CBA's for all students in the SchoolNet system.

Person(s) Responsible: All Curriculum & Instruction Directors Director IT Director TMS

Strategy 3.1.2: Transfer all scant on achievement series test engine functions to the SchoolNet test engine.

Person(s) Responsible: Directors: IT TMS

Strategy 3.1.3: Use technology to help support special population/programs (At-Risk, Special Ed., Bilingual/ESL,

Person(s) Responsible: Director: IT Special Populations Program Directors

Strategy 3.1.4: Add DRA, TELPAS and TPRI data to SchoolNet.

Person(s) Responsible: Directors: IT Curriculum Department School/Community Guidance Center

Strategy 3.1.5: Provide information to parents and to the community through the use of technology.

Person(s) Responsible: Directors: IT TMS Curriculum Campuses Public Information

Goal 4: ALIGN INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS WITH TECHNOLOGY GOALS TO IMPROVE TEACHING AND LEARNING.

Objective 4.1: Working in collaboration with Staff Development and Educational Technology, revise instructional planning to incorporate the use of 1:1 ultra mobile devices and laptops for students and teachers.

Budget: $135,000.00

Strategy 4.1.1: Incorporate the use of Internet resources in all subject areas.

Person(s) Responsible: Directors Curriculum Director IT

Strategy 4.1.2: Incorporate the use of streaming video, concept mapping and a variety of multimedia formats in every

Person(s) Responsible: Curriculum Directors IT Director

Objective 4.2: Include technology planning in all planning for executives, curriculum directors, curriculum specialists,

Budget: $17,900.00

Strategy 4.2.1: Using the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology and the teacher, campus and district STAR Chart

Person(s) Responsible: Director IT Directors of Curriculum All stakeholders

Goal 5: Provide Technology Infrastructure for student learning.

Objective 5.1: Improve the wide area network router distribution and wireless modules

Budget: $450,000.00

Strategy 5.1.1: Wide area network distribution and wireless access will remain current to meet the demands of student learning.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Systems

Objective 5.2: Increase wireless access points and network electronics for greater instructional device coverage.

Budget: $300,000.00

Strategy 5.2.1: Wireless access and network electronics will support the instructional needs for student learning.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Services

Objective 5.3: Provide network electronics for video conferencing to increase educational and library technologies.

Budget: $300,000.00

Strategy 5.3.1: Video conferencing will be introduced to improve student learning.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Services

Objective 5.4: Provide network electronics for distance learning with video and audio capabilities to allow students to interactively participate

Budget: $400,000.00

Strategy 5.4.1: Distance learning will be introduced to improve student learning and offer alternative educational opportunities for diverse students and credit recovery.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Services Director of Educational Technology

Objective 5.5: Consolidate instructional servers into a centralized location to provide student data storage and retrieval.

Budget: $200,000.00

Strategy 5.5.1: Provide the capability for students to store electronic portfolios and instructional materials which will improve student data management.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Services Director of Educational Technology

Objective 5.6: Upgrade the wide and local area network internal connections as needed to meet the instructional needs of students and teachers.

Budget: $450,000.00

Strategy 5.6.1: Upgrade internal connections in order to keep the local and wide area network safe, secure and reliable for student learning.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Technology Management Systems

Goal 6: Improve school telecommunications coverage.

Objective 6.1: Complete BDA "build outs" for all campuses to improve daily Nextel service and emergency communications.

Budget: $200,000.00

Strategy 6.1.1: Install additional telecommunication infrastructure for all campuses.

Person(s) Responsible: Director of Maintenance and Operations

Progress on this plan will be monitored and documented by the Director of Educational Technology, Director of Technology Management Services, Director of Maintenance & Operations, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction, the Superintendent's executive council and the board of trustees. Timelines for specific projects will be established by the project leader and be reported on a regular basis. The Educational Technology Department will evaluate the plan(s) for effectiveness in serving the students of the district, and will communicate and distribute the evaluation results to district officials as requested.

GCCISD. (2009, February 23). Tech e-Plan. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from GCCISD.net: http://schools.gccisd.net/docs/38-Tech%20e-Plan%202009-2012.pdf