EDLD 5352 Week 2 Blog Post 3 - The National Technology Plan

         The Department of Education has released the National Education Technology Plan that has goals of raising the amount of college graduates to 60% and closing the achievement gap so that high school graduates are able to succeed in college.  The National Education Plan addresses goals related to learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. 

            According to this plan, all learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences in and out of school that will allow them to be active, creative, knowledgeable and ethical participants in our globally networked society (U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, 2010).  I believe that this is an important goal because we have to prepare students to enter and compete in a new digital technology world.

            The goal for teaching is for “educators to 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.” (U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology, 2010) In order to accomplish this goal, we need to make sure that educators have access, time, funding and support from administrators. 

            The plan identifies online learning and continuous professional development as ways to help meet this goal.  New teacher training that involves experience and practice.  I believe that professional development is essential in order to meet the needs of today’s technological world.  We have many teachers who are eager to learn and try new approaches, however, we must provide the support and training to help them be inspired.  After reading the National Education Technology Plan, I believe that we are moving in the right direction in terms of using technology to improve education.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology, Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology, Washington, D.C., 2010.

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Blog Post 2 - Texas Long Range Plan Progress Report

         I found that the 2008 Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 was informative and useful.  I found the results from the Speak Up 2007 survey were particularly interesting.  Students across various grade levels felt that one of the  barriers to using computers was a lack of availability.  Children as young as kindergarten felt that they could learn better if they all had a computer.  I also thought that it was interesting that high school and junior high students felt that filters and firewalls were a major obstacle to using technology.  Students and teachers have faced this frustration at my school.  We have made some progress and some of the restrictions have been lifted.  I believe that instead of blocking everything, we need teach the students to use the Internet responsibly. 

            I was encouraged by the results of higher technology immersion schools.  The results show that immersing students in technology is beneficial for students, teachers and parents.  Students in technology immersed school show ownership and responsibility.  Their academic achievement has improved.  They receive more differentiated instruction.  More people need to be aware of these benefits. 

            After reading the progress report, I find that there is even more evidence to support the use of technology in education.  We can no longer deny the need to provide every student with a laptop.  My school has been fortunate enough to be able to do this and our results seem to go along with the results for higher technology immersion schools. Students are using higher order thinking skills and creating amazing products using their laptops.  Teachers are using online assignments and tests that are graded for them.  Our school seems to be running more efficiently.  There are still a lot of questions, concerns and areas to improve, however, we are moving forward.  Our students will be more prepared to enter the real world.  

EDLD 5352 Week 2 Blog Post 1 - Teaching and Learning

     The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology describes what is needed in order to meet the unique needs of today’s 21^st century learners and ensure their success in this new technological world.  Teaching and Learning  goals are identified in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology.  These goals include having access to technology tools and resources, using technology to solve real world problems, improving academic achievement and effective communication. 

     The area of Teaching and Learning is particularly interesting to me because I feel that it is a weak area for my school.  We have been at the developing stage for the last three years.  Content Area Connections and Online Learning have been two key areas on the STaR Chart that have fluctuated for my campus.  Despite our lack of improvement in the past, I am proud to say that we have a 1:1 ratio of students to computers.  All students at my school have a laptop that they can take home.  This is huge progress for my school.  I believe that we do need to improve the way we use the laptops in our classrooms.  We need to work on using technology to solve real world problems and communicate effectively.  I believe that if we embrace blogging and online learning communities, we can improve in this area. 

     The state of Texas has also made progress in the area of Teaching and Learning.  The majority of teachers describe themselves as Developin Tech on the Texas STaR Chart.  Most campuses in Texas have shown improvement in this area.  Few teachers feel that they have reached the Target Tech level; however, the number of teachers at this level did increase.  In order to improve this rating, we need to work toward creating more opportunities for student-centered learning and encourage online collaboration.

     At the national level, there has been a push for increasing technology in the classroom.  Teachers are encouraged to practice connected teaching in which they have access and connections to their students and technology resources.  Educators are encouraged to provide engaging and powerful learning experiences that will aid students in becoming contributing and successful members of a new digital society.

STaR Chart

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

S ta r chart presentation

View more presentations from ashleychandler10.

Teacher Survey

I am working on my survey for the teachers.  If anyone out there is reading, can you look at it and tell me what you think?  Is it too long?  Does it go along with my plan or am I way over-thinking it?

Teacher Motivation Survey

1.  How do you go about motivating your students? Circle all that apply

VERBAL PRAISE                         PUNISHMENT                                     ENCOURAGEMENT

TOKEN ECONOMY/REWARD SYSTEM                         CRITICISM

MATERIAL REWARDS

OTHER______________________

2.  Do your students talk to you about issues in their lives outside of school? YES            NO

3.  Overall, would you consider your students to be motivated to achieve? YES            NO

4.  Do your students motivate each other to do well in school? YES            NO

5.  Do your students encourage each other in the classroom?            YES            NO

6.  In general, what motivates your students the most in school? _____________ ______________________________________________________________

 7.  Overall, do your students expect to do well in school?            YES            NO

8.  To what degree do you believe that your students can do anything they wanted or they tried hard enough?

STRONGLY            SOMEWHAT            DO NOT BELIEVE            BELIEVE            BELIEVE

9.  Do your students believe that they could do anything they wanted if they tried hard enough?

STRONGLY            SOMEWHAT            DO NOT BELIEVE            BELIEVE            BELIEVE

10.  Please list some things that you do in class to make it interesting for your students.

11. Are some of your students more or less motivated than others? Why?

12. Do you motivate different students differently?

􏰶How do you determine what will motivate a specific student?

15.  Do you think that connecting lessons to the real world motivates students?

***Please answer the following questions with a number 1-5, according to this rubric:

1 2 3            4 5 Not at All    Very Little            Somewhat                        Frequently                Almost    Always

16. How important is it to you that your students succeed? ____

17. How important is it to your students that they succeed? ____

18. How much do you think you, as a teacher motivate your students to succeed? ___

19. How much effort are you able to put into motivating your students to do their best in

school? ____

20. How often do you encourage your students to do their best in school? _____

21. How often do you give your students positive, affirming statements? _____

22.  Which types of teaching activities do you do the most in your classroom? (Mark all that apply)  

          Teacher lectures

          Doing a project

          Taking notes

          Writing about a subject

          Doing a hands on activity

          Participating in a debate

         Reading the text book and answering questions

         Working cooperatively in a group

         Working cooperatively with a

partner

         Working on the computer

       Other (please specify)                                                                                                           

Below please write any additional comments you may have about your role as in teacher in motivating your students.