I can't believe it is finally here. Graduation is finally within REACH! I am sitting down today to complete the final assignments for my graduate program from Lamar University. WOW! It is a great feeling knowing I accomplished this task at such a busy time in my life. Graduate work often took my sleeping hours away as I juggles both my children being in multiple sports and activities, building a lakehouse, being a curriculum writing for MISD, and my husband and I still managed to have date nights on occasion. I definitely learned how to juggle a busy schedule, which is needed in the world of leadership.
I am proud of myself for this accomplishment, but I also know the journey is just beginning. One of my goals in the next five years is to go back to school for a doctorate degree. In education, we must always continue to grow and learn if we expect the ones we are leading to do the same.
I am the very first person in my extended family to have a master's degree. I hope my children see this accomplishment and follow in my footsteps. Education is one of those things that can never be taken away! I earned this degree, worked hard for this degree, and I will own this degree for the rest of my life! Go LAMAR!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Web Conference Notes
I tried to attend web conference tonight at 7:30, however, I logged in and waited, and waited, and waited. No one ever came on as a host to get the conference going. I have attended web conferences before, and I have not had trouble with it. So, did I miss something or was the session cancelled?
Either way, I have reviewed all web conference scripts previously held. From these scripts, I have gathered valuable information, such as ILD courses offered on-line through various regions, our last course is a chance to complete our action research project as well as confirm that all our assignments are posted correctly, and the location of review videos for the LCE. The only thing that was irritating about reading through these scripts was the fact that too many people got off task/off graduate school issues and began talking about shopping and such. I know it is important for us to form bonds with students in our classes, but I also know that time is of the essence, and I want to get as much out of the conference as possible.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Technology Action Research Chart and Role/Responsibility Chart
The following two charts represent my Technology Action Research Plan and the Roles and Responsibilities for Technology personnel on our campus. These charts are part of our Week 4's Assignment for EDLD 5352 section 1267.
Roles and Responsibilities for Technology Chart
| Action Research Plan Technology Integration for CMS By Darla Jackson | ||||
| Goal: Provide data supporting the need for professional development in the area of technology integration in our classrooms. | ||||
| Action Steps(s): | Person(s) Responsible: | Timeline: Start/End | Needed Resources | Evaluation |
| Analyze data from the STaR Chart | Site Supervisor/ Principal | February 21, 2012 | STaR Chart information on campus, district, and state | Reflect on the areas of strengths and weaknesses: Educator Preparation and Development |
| Set goals for the campus using STaR Chart data | Leadership Team | February 28, 2012 | Copies of STaR results per team member, copies of Texas Long Term Plan, and our MISD Technology Plan | Choose 2 areas of weakness to improve upon for the remainder of the year |
| Create a professional development plan based on the areas of need | Leadership Team | February 28, 2012 | Brainstorm Web 2.0 Tools to incorporate into classrooms to help in areas of weakness | Create a list of the three professional development sessions to help accomplish improvement |
| Show staff the results from the STaR Chart, discuss 2 areas of weakness, and professional development offered to remedy the weaknesses | Whole staff | March 7, 2012 | Powerpoint showing the results, the areas of need, and the goals set forth by the leadership team | Survey teachers on results of meeting (find out how many teachers didn’t even know what the STaR Chart was designed to show vs. those familiar with the process) Also, include suggestions on integration tools and teacher know-how (who is an “Expert” on our campus in the area of technology integration?) |
| Provide professional development that meets the needs of ALL staff members (differentiation) Staff members will attend the session they need the most (These same sessions will be available again for additional training at a later date) | Whole staff | March 21, 2012 | Experts to teach in the areas of need: - SmartBoard Smarts - Wikis at Work - Go for Glogsters - Building a Blog - Edmodo Education | Formal and informal evaluations from PDAS evaluators making sure these tools are being integrated Survey to students to see if they are experiencing more technology than before Next STaR Chart evaluation |
| Evaluate STaR Chart when the updated data is released…begin the whole process again | Principal and Leadership Team | TBD Upon receipt of new data | STaR Chart update | Evaluate data to see if there was a positive trend in our areas of weakness |
Roles and Responsibilities for Technology Chart
| Title | Name | Job Description | Monitoring |
| Chief Informational Officer of Technology | Allen McDaniels | Creates the MISD Technology Plan, manages and budgets systems software for the district, manages and budgets hardware for the district, aligns district expectations to the state technology plan | Reports to Dr. Kennedy about keeping track with the Technology Plan |
| Director of Information Systems | Carlo Terlizzi | Approves and purchases software systems for the district (under Allen McDaniels) | Upgrading software systems and reporting to Dr. Kennedy |
| Help Desk | | Assists employees when needed to solve software and hardware issues, Resets passwords, and puts in help request orders | Directly reports to Allen McDaniels and is monitored by survey of assistance by district employees |
| Principal | Melinda DeFelice | Principal, budget and planning for technology, makes sure her campus supports and implements district technology expectations | STaR Chart results, formal and informal evaluations, and provides funding for and planning of technology professional development |
| CTS (Campus Technology Specialist) | Jenny Keiser | Assists staff members on her campus per help desk requests, installs software as needed, services two campuses | Sends work completed forms to district level employees, monitored and assessed by employee feedback and availability |
| LMS (Library Media Specialist) | Jennifer McClelland | Assists in providing training on our campus, provides latest and greatest in Web 2.0 Tools to the staff | Reports to our principal about the needs on our campus |
| Teachers | All staff | Provide instruction that keeps up with the district and state technology plans, integrate technology in daily lessons, provides students opportunity to explore and problem solve using technology as the norm, not the exception | STaR Chart, survey of students, student products based on project based learning |
| Students | All students | Engage in integrated lessons, share knowledge of technology with peers and teachers, use technology within the AUP guidelines | STaR Chart, process and product from project based learning |
| Parents | All parents with access to technology at home or work | Utilize tools provided by the district and campus to access student grades, teacher information, and share knowledge and concerns with staff members | Survey and parents level of communication with school |
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Are we on the right track?
The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology has some grand goals in sight for education. Yet, many of the barriers blocking us from reaching these goals are out of educators' hands. So as I looked closely at the four areas of our long range plan in Texas, I decided to choose the one area I am pursuing professionally, Leadership, Administration, & Instructional Support.
As future leaders, it is important to see how administrators shape and influence the use of technology on a campus. Similar to how we model expectations for our students, leaders need to model the use of technology with their staff. I have such an awesome administrator, and I never had stopped to reflect on how often technology is or isn't used in our staff meetings and professional development sessions. However, now that I have gone through the data presented in the STaR Chart and have given some thought on administrative support in the area of technology, I realize this is not a strength on our campus. Having said that, our administrators give us support and empower us in many other ways. I do not want this blog to give the impression that I am critiquing my leaders...I am simply reflecting on the data I have discovered.
When it comes to technology, the Administration & Instructional Support area encompasses vision, planning, instructional support, communication, budgeting, and online learning. State-wide, in 2009-2010, 55% of educators felt their campuses were performing at the Advanced Technology level. This was an increase from the previous two years which shows our administrators are backing technology more and more each year. 2010-2011's results were not posted on-line, so I have no way of following the trend to see if my estimation is correct. In this same year, McKinney ISD also rated themselves Advanced Technology. On our campus, in 2009-2010, Administration & Instructional Support was at its highest with a rating of 18. This is also the year that our administrators gave multiple opportunities for technology training. Unfortunately, the next year proved to have a decline in this area.
In 2010-2011, our campus rated Advanced Technology again, however, we dropped 3 points to a 15, one point from being Developing Tech. Planning, Budgeting, and Online Learning are the areas we dropped. According to the rubric found on the STaR website, our campus lacked confidence in our technology goals and objectives and felt we were not using money in a way that showed a technology focus. That year, our focus turned to critical and authentic reading and writing in all content areas. That is a great focus to have, however, we should not have abandoned digital tools. It should not be a "one or the other" philosophy. The question becomes, "How can we get students to think critically and read and write in all subject areas while integrating technology tools?" It's about working and planning smarter, not harder. Technology is not going anywhere...we must find a way to integrate these tools into everyday teaching. In order for us to improve in this area, we need to shift our thinking. In the article, "Real Projects in a Digital World," Boss and Krauss share a statement about an administrator. "To help them succeed, Tipton (the principal) ensures that her teachers have adequate time for planning, collaboration, and critical review of one another's project plans" (Ross 24). I'm curious what this school's rating would be in the area of Administration & Instructional Support. My guess...Target Tech.
I know technology is a weakness of mine, so I need to attend professional development in order to improve and begin feeling more comfortable using digital tools. As a future leader on a campus, I must make this a priority, so my staff knows the expectation is to integrate technology in our daily lessons. My staff will know this is my expectation because I model integrated technology.
As future leaders, it is important to see how administrators shape and influence the use of technology on a campus. Similar to how we model expectations for our students, leaders need to model the use of technology with their staff. I have such an awesome administrator, and I never had stopped to reflect on how often technology is or isn't used in our staff meetings and professional development sessions. However, now that I have gone through the data presented in the STaR Chart and have given some thought on administrative support in the area of technology, I realize this is not a strength on our campus. Having said that, our administrators give us support and empower us in many other ways. I do not want this blog to give the impression that I am critiquing my leaders...I am simply reflecting on the data I have discovered.
When it comes to technology, the Administration & Instructional Support area encompasses vision, planning, instructional support, communication, budgeting, and online learning. State-wide, in 2009-2010, 55% of educators felt their campuses were performing at the Advanced Technology level. This was an increase from the previous two years which shows our administrators are backing technology more and more each year. 2010-2011's results were not posted on-line, so I have no way of following the trend to see if my estimation is correct. In this same year, McKinney ISD also rated themselves Advanced Technology. On our campus, in 2009-2010, Administration & Instructional Support was at its highest with a rating of 18. This is also the year that our administrators gave multiple opportunities for technology training. Unfortunately, the next year proved to have a decline in this area.
In 2010-2011, our campus rated Advanced Technology again, however, we dropped 3 points to a 15, one point from being Developing Tech. Planning, Budgeting, and Online Learning are the areas we dropped. According to the rubric found on the STaR website, our campus lacked confidence in our technology goals and objectives and felt we were not using money in a way that showed a technology focus. That year, our focus turned to critical and authentic reading and writing in all content areas. That is a great focus to have, however, we should not have abandoned digital tools. It should not be a "one or the other" philosophy. The question becomes, "How can we get students to think critically and read and write in all subject areas while integrating technology tools?" It's about working and planning smarter, not harder. Technology is not going anywhere...we must find a way to integrate these tools into everyday teaching. In order for us to improve in this area, we need to shift our thinking. In the article, "Real Projects in a Digital World," Boss and Krauss share a statement about an administrator. "To help them succeed, Tipton (the principal) ensures that her teachers have adequate time for planning, collaboration, and critical review of one another's project plans" (Ross 24). I'm curious what this school's rating would be in the area of Administration & Instructional Support. My guess...Target Tech.
I know technology is a weakness of mine, so I need to attend professional development in order to improve and begin feeling more comfortable using digital tools. As a future leader on a campus, I must make this a priority, so my staff knows the expectation is to integrate technology in our daily lessons. My staff will know this is my expectation because I model integrated technology.
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