The End of First Semester, But Only the Beginning of this Journey

Well, I made it to the end of my first semester of grad school.  I cannot tell you how good it feels to have one semester under my belt and a little glimpse of what is to come.  I have learned so much this semester.  I have loved meeting and getting to know my classmates through class time, on-line posts, and personal blogs. Dr. Williamson is an awesome professor and I learned a ton from her.

The culminating project -  Vision/SWOT/Action Goals was an eye-opening assignment.  I really learned a lot by analyzing our school and then helping make a plan that we could actually use and follow in the future.  My principal, asst. principal, tech facilitator, and media specialist are going to be so impressed.  Hope the teachers at my school don't get upset with me for possibly making more work for them.  I tried to keep the goals attainable.  That is what Dr. Williamson warned us about - getting super excited about what we are learning and then sharing our enthusiasm with teachers who may be less than enthused.  I'm not going to let that get me down, though.  The students are the ones who are going to benefit the most from the technology we integrate and that's the main goal.

I am inspired every time I come to KSU for class and learn something new from my professor or peers that I can go back to the classroom and use almost immediately.  The thing I am going to work on for next semester is my organization of life.  I wasn't quite sure of the best way to plan and organize my home life, work life, and grad school life.  Now that I've had a little time to adjust, I will make sure I look ahead to assignments and plan accordingly. I'm also going to make sure I write up my field experience along the way instead of having to write everything out at the end.  I had taken notes along the way, but again, now I know what is expected and how I can go about it in the future.

I look forward to continuing to post during the upcoming classes.  You'll be hearing from me again soon.

Field Experience

Field Experience for 7400 and 7410:

TF – I.B.  Demonstrate continual growth in technology knowledge and skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies.

      

               ·   I-Respond Training:  Professional development time with teachers in grades 1 and 2.  I know the I-Respond Student Response system is an awesome tool used in the collection of data and analysis.  We are using the I-Responds for the Benchmark assessments and Check-points assessments.  Data is analyzed at team meetings at the beginning and end of each quarter. We have to know how to use the technology to open the correct assessments and have students enter data correctly.  I am very excited to be able to have students complete assessments this way.  The students enjoy taking tests this way.  It’s fun to them.  Teachers are hesitant to buy in to the system, but have to because of expectations of administration and county.

10/11     1.0 hr.

10/11     3.0 hr.

11/18     1.0 hr.

11/19     0.50 hr. recap with team member who was absent during the trainings

• SMART Board Training (with Hoke Wilcox from Kennesaw State University):  Professional      development and collaboration time with teachers on our 1^st grade team where we are able to ask questions about what we have done/made for our class and get more “tricks” from Hoke that can aide in design and implementation.

10/15     0.75 hr.

11/17     0.75 hr.

11/19     0.50 hr. recap with team teacher who was absent the day before

TF-II.D, D1; TF-IIE, E.1., TF-3D, D.1. – Manage resources and student learning in a variety of technology-enriched learning environments and settings (individual, small group, classroom, and/or labs)

TF.IIA, II.A.1 – Design Developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies (including providing resources and feedback to teachers as they design).

·    Co-Taught Blog Assistance Class:  This class was for teachers who had started a blog, but were unsure of what other things might need to be added to make it more beneficial for parents and for themselves for management purposes.  The class contained 8 teachers from K-5 grades who needed additional assistance.  Teachers were taught how to add an active calendar to their page and design it according to their needs, how to set the delivery times of their posts, how to brand e-mails, and check on their active users.  Teachers were eager to learn and excited to put new materials on class blogs for parents to see.  Teachers also appreciated the new items that made management easier and more informative for them.

8/16       1.50 hrs.

·    Class Blog Entries: Posts are made to my class blog every week or every 2 weeks depending on the goings-on. School and class information is shared with parents, along with class pictures/video of active learning, and standards-based assessment.

9/17 – 12/2         3.0 hrs.

Standards addressed above, as well as,

TF-VII.B.1-  Identify instructional software to support/enhance the school curriculum and develop recommendations for purchase.

·     Media/Technology Committee Meeting:  Discussion of budget, planning, and Vision/SWOT for Teasley was compared to the Cobb County District’s technology plan.  Teachers sign up for committees at the beginning of the school year.  This committee has one member from each grade-level team represented, along with the technology facilitator (who teaches technology to the K-3 students), and the media specialist.  In this meeting, the technology facilitator and I talked a lot about why our school needs a technology plan.  Teachers attending the meeting did not understand what we were talking about when we said “technology plan”, they also were less than enthused about any work needed on their part to complete it.  I let them know that I would be doing a lot of the work because of my grad class and would need them for survey  information and additional feedback once I’d written the SWOT.

11/2       1.0 hr.

TF-VIII – Educational technology facilitators will contribute to the shared vision for campus integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of the vision.

·    Meetings with Administration to discuss our vision and plan for Teasley Elementary:  I met with the Principal and Assistant Principal several times to see what they had in mind for Teasely’s vision and how we should best put that in place.  My Assistant Principal (who also has a degree in technology) and I also talked about an upcoming professional development day (in February) where we will develop a tiered training session in technology development where teachers can self-assess and decide which training would work best with their skill-set and what they need to learn.

10/13     0.50 hr. meeting with Asst. Principal to discuss

11/8       0.50 hr. meeting with Principal

11/10     1.0 hr. meeting with Asst. Principal to discuss tiered training prof. development

11/17     0.50 hr. follow-up with Asst. Principal

·    SMART Board Survey and Analysis:  I created a survey through Survey Monkey that asked teachers 3 questions about how they use their SMART Boards and what else they might want to learn to help them use it more effectively.  I then analyzed the data to find that most of our teachers are using their boards. Some teachers use it more effectively than others.  Teachers seemed honest during the survey and one even admitted never turning his/hers on.  This survey was used for my SWOT analysis and in my action goals.

11/5-11/8  1.0 hr.

·    Blog Survey and Analysis:  I researched the blogs of the teachers at our school.  I looked to see when the last post was made, what kind of information was posted, and whether the teacher included websites for parents/students to work on at home.  The information I gathered was used in a discussion I had with the Asst. Principal in preparation of a staff development for the future. 

9/13       1.0 hr.

TF-VI.A. – Model and teach legal and ethical practice related to technology use.

TF-VI.D. – Promote safe and healthy use of technology resources.

·    Internet Safety Power Point Presentation and Fliers:  I used the power point presentation we made for class to share with my team during a planning time.  I also gave them fliers other students in our class had created.  Some of the teachers said they were aware of the internet safety and use guidelines.  Some didn’t know and were made aware.  We had some good discussion about what things were hard to keep to the rules (i.e. logging off computers upon leaving the room – especially the one hooked up to the SMART Board when it bogs down and freezes every time you try to log out/in again).

11/9       1.0 hr.

TF-II – Educational technology facilitators plan, design, and model effective learning environments and multiple experiences supported by technology.

TF- III – Educational technology facilitators apply and implement curriculum plans that include methods and strategies for utilizing technology to maximize student learning.

·    Individual and Team Collaboration:  Our first grade team does a good job of incorporating technology into our lesson plans.  We meet together to plan and decide on SMART Board lessons that have already been created using the SMART Exchange website or we create them ourselves if we don’t see something that fits our needs.  We also teach and learn from each other.  The 7 of us are at different levels in our learning and usage levels of technology.  All of us use the SMART Board as more than just a white board.  All of us use the I-Respond for inputting data for assessments.  The first grade students are very engaged in their learning in these aspects.

10/22     0.50 hr. - helped set up and enhance technology for a fellow teacher’s observation

10/16     1.00 hr.     -  designed writing lesson for SMART Board

10/25     1.00 hr.     - designed writing lesson for SMART Board

11/12     1.00 hr.     - designed writing lesson for SMART Board

12/2       1.50 hr.   - created assessments using Power Point for I-Respond Student Response      

                                  system

Grab a Partner By The Hand

When researching a partner for our school that we did not already have, I tried to explore somewhat outside the box.  Our school has several great partners.  Some of these partners include:  Publix, Chick-fil-A, Great Harvest Bread Company, Top Dog Gymnastics, and many more. I wanted to look beyond the restaurants and grocery stores and try to find something different.  I wanted to find something that was really neat that the kids would get excited about.  I also tried to think about proximity to the school, and that's when it came to me....Lockheed Martin.  For as long as I can remember my Dad worked at Lockheed.  I loved the family days when we could go and tour the planes and bring home gigantic posters.  I thought I was the coolest kid in 3rd grade when he brought some of the memorabilia to school on career day.  What kid doesn't like air planes and space.  That's where my idea came from and the research went on from there.  Lockheed has a program called "Engineers in the Classroom" where professionals come to share about air, space, weather, technology,and much more.  Their goal is to get involved in clubs that encourage learning in science, math, engineering, and technology to get kids excited about those fields of education for future jobs.  I was surprised by what I found and definitely want to look in to learning more about this potential partnership.

Learning about grants provided me with all kinds of new information that I had never thought of before.  I couldn't believe all the grants available.  There were tons!  The only problem was weeding through them to try to find the one that would be a good fit for my needs.  Learning more about grants and looking in to how they are written and/or applied for was very interesting.  I will be following up on these sites to see which ones would work best for my school.

Internet Security

Is it bad to say I was floored by the information about movie watching, logging out when we leave the classroom computers unattended, copying of practice books, and copying of images to use on my blog? I could be guilty of all of those things, but I'm not admitting anything.  I'm just saying I could be guilty.  I'm also saying that I know several other teachers who are guilty of the same thing.  I'll have to advise others because I know they are unaware.

I can certainly see how cyber bullying is going on with today's technology of texting and social networking.  I am glad that I have not had to deal with it because of being an elementary school teacher in the lower grades.  Our school is initiating the Olweus Program which is an anti-bullying program.  We were in a training all day on Tuesday talking about the places bullying is a problem at our school.  We did not spend a huge amount of time on cyber bullying, but I'm realizing more and more how serious it is and how terrible a feeling to know that some kids can't even go home to excape/block out the bullying (like they were able to before). 

Copyright laws are a huge deal with the internet.  As I mentioned in my power point, most information as soon as it is written and posted on the web is considered copyrighted information.  I think the tools available to teachers where they can enter a student's paper into a database and compare it to thousands of other papers and internet sites to see if the info has been plagiarized are pretty amazing.  What will they think of next?  :)

Technology Plans

The common goal of technology plans on the national, state, and district level is to provide students and teachers with the technology needed to make learning authentic and engaging.  It is to allow students the ability to learn in a new way that they are more accustomed to.  It is also to prepare students for life and allow them the means to problem solve in real-world ways that will enable them to be life-long learners (and life-wide learners, as stated in the national plan).

Teachers are encouraged to learn more about technology and weave it in to every content area.  In order to achieve this, teachers are being promised high quality technology programs, technological support, and professional development classes in order to learn the software and hardware needed to implement these plans. 

I felt that reading the plans from the national to the state to the district was helping pare things down specifically to what is being asked of me and how the action parts of the plan affect me.  The Georgia State plan specified a couple of things that stood out to me:  a computer ration of 1:3 (1 computer to every 3 students), and an acceptable percentage of 70% of blogs updated among a faculty.  I would love to have one computer for every 3 students.  I definitely hope that within the 3 years that this plan is in place, we will see this happen.  Also, I thought only 70% of faculty keeping an updated blog was a little low.  I checked the blogs at our school and was pleasantly surprised to see that we exceeded that expectation. 

The national plan stated a goal that “all learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside school that prepare them to be active, and ethical participants in our globally networked society”.  I think that is outstanding!  Who wouldn’t want to prepare children in that way?  I definitely want to be a part of that.

Creighton Response (Ch. 5-10)

Creighton says that technology is changing the way we need to address our professional learning.  It is no longer just about word processing and blackboard instruction.  We have to blend technology into the learning and incorporate everyone inside and outside our learning community.  We have to find a way to use technology is a constructivist style so that the students are more in charge of their learning and use the technology as a supporting role with the teachers as guides and co-learners. 

The five concepts of constructivist learning are demonstrated in schools, but not to the extent that they need to be.  As educators, we strive to build a foundation of skills and knowledge, but don’t always allow the means for students to experiment and creatively solve real-world problems.  We instead take all of our standards and make a bulleted list of what has to be covered and when in order to have it done in time for assessments at the end of the semester.  We struggle with letting go of command and attention and do not allow for ample time for students to be the teacher in the classroom.  I have done a decent job in letting my students collaborate and socialize with each other at different times in their learning.  I allow them to share something they learned with a friend, and teach each other in small groups through learning activities, and at times teach the class something they learned or what they discovered.  I have tried to include them in discussions of rubrics and collaborated with them in creating ones that went along with projects and writing. I’ve also realized that it makes a bigger impact on the students if I try to integrate subjects so that concepts and standards can be merged and explored (but I still make sure I get all the standards covered before the test in my own checklist).  I can easily see how we fail to integrate technology into these concepts.  I feel that we need support in learning how to best incorporate technology into these five concepts.  How can we serve as guides so the students can learn more on their own? Creighton even states that “technologies are not often used in constructivists ways… but there is potential with the help of a strong technology leader”.  Without the help of a strong technology leader and some new insight into how to use the technology in the best ways possible, we will just continue to be poor teachers using technology poorly as Pepi and Scheurman warn.

Unfortunately, a lot of the professional learning that takes place is in the form of workshops and are based on “hot topics” in the county/system or reiterating what’s been learned and discussed before. They are not based on our current needs and are addressed so quickly and without connection or support that they are wasted. Professional learning meetings would definitely take on a different meaning if we were able to focus on what really matters to our school and faculty in a timely manner that allowed for practice of what is learned.  Professional learning of technology would greatly be appreciated when learning to follow the constuctivist descriptors.  We, like our professional learning times, seldom give students the wait time needed to learn on their own and explore what is being taught.  We don’t always focus on what the needs and questions are of our students, but rather call on the students who know the answers to the questions so we can move on in order to get more covered.  We may allow time for discussion, but not enough time for collaboration.  I’m beginning to see how these topics relate to me in the learning process as I compare them to how I allow my students to learn.  I’m leading by example, and my example has not been very good. It’s time for a change.

The tech-related professional learning program was interesting.  It allowed all teachers to be involved and made the principal a learning part of every small group.  I thought it definitely allowed the principal to be more directly involved and know what was taking place in each group and could definitely provide a lot of insight, information, and knowledge. I also liked that the teachers had to implement what they were learning.  That gave them immediate feedback about how things went and what needed to be tweaked or thrown out.  It would be helpful to be in this kind of learning environment.

I enjoyed reading the chapter about the resisters and saboteurs.  I learned that even these people need to be embraced when trying to implement your technology plan.  Everyone needs to be involved.  Sometimes those people who are resistant are so because they have been burned in the past because of not having adequate support.  They often have valid reasons for why they are resistant and can see things from a different perspective that may need to be taken into consideration.  Most are resistant once the implementation has begun and they can be on the inside or outside of the project.  Some potential reasons for people having a resistant attitude are not feeling like they are adequate enough to handle what is being asked, unconvinced that technology is a true benefit to the learning process, or concern that technology may replace them.  The principal should be willing to help ease these fears and help offer support to those feeling this way instead of only embracing the trailblazers (those ready to jump on board-that's me!), the pioneers (those who will support the plan if it’s worth the effort), and the settlers (those who need more information and detail, but will support). Resisters and saboteurs will come around some if they feel they are supported and validated in their reasoning and they are not having to do additional work but can use technology as a strategy to build on what they are already doing.

Technology is difficult to evaluate.  It is not viewed in the same light as the evaluation processes of other subjects and areas.  If not evaluated properly, it can be misperceived.  Technology is not just having computers in your room that are turned on.  It’s not just about having your Smartboard on in the room when the evaluator comes through.  It needs to be carefully evaluated for how it is being used. It needs to clearly support the standards and learning objectives.  I liked the framework showing that the focus should be on active learning on a high technological level.  When engaged learning is happening, the teacher should be a facilitator, a guide, a co-learner and co-investigator; while the student is being an explorer, a cognitive apprentice, and a producer of knowledge.  In order for students and teachers to take on those roles, principals should be supportive of the curriculum and offer ways and strategies for the teacher to connect his/her learning to technology in the most effective way.  Right now I think that our school as a whole is “still in the barn” as you said. 

Creighton says that it is important to be both a leader and a manager.  The two work closely together to make your plan work best.  The take-away that I got from him was that we already have high expectations and standards in place that we are teaching and we just need to realize that technology can be incorporated into what we are doing to make the learning more authentic and meaningful.  We have to develop a technology plan that works for us at our school and that can be implemented with attainable goals.  It has to be a plan that can be embraced by and involves the teachers, administrators, students, parents, and community.  If we do those things and are offered ample support by our leaders to make it happen, we can have a successful technology plan and provide the best learning environment for the students.

Creighton Response

Chapter 1: Principal Leadership & Successful Technology Implementation

1. What does the author state as the “theme” of this book?  (p. 1)  Do you agree or disagree that this theme is an important concept for technology leadership?  Why or why not? The theme of this book is that effective integration of technology has more to do with teaching pedagogy, and very little to do with technology.  The author further says that we see the use of technology with an absence of relationship to instructional objectives and learning outcomes.  After reading this chapter, I do agree that it is not about and should not be about technology (the box and wires, as he states) but the incorporation of the programs and how they are used to enhance what is being taught.  It is very important that as a technology leader, we let other teachers know the difference and how easy it can be to incorporate technology into what they are already doing instead of making it something new.
2. What must a principal believe, know or be able to do in order to lead a successful technology program in a school?  It is important for the principal to help teachers recognize, understand, and integrate technology with teaching and learning in the classroom.  The principal must allow learning time so teachers know how to use the technology and then can integrate it in a way that is natural, not forced.
3. What must a technology specialist believe, know or be able to do in order to lead a successful technology program in a school?  Technology specialists need to know what the teachers and students need and what technology can be used to enhance or teach to those needs.
4. To what extent would the necessary skill set for a technology specialist differ from that of a principal?   It shouldn’t differ that much.  According to Creighton, it is important for the Principal to know just as much about the technology standards and how to utilize technology as much as the technology specialist.

Chapter 2: Are School and Technology Leaders Doing Enough?

1. What does it mean when people refer to a “digital divide?” A digital divide refers to a difference in the amount of time/activities that differing groups have with technology.
2. The digital divide, in the most basic way, can refer to student’s access to modern computers.  However, the author extends his discussion of the digital divide to what other areas?  Wealthy School vs. Poorer Schools, Boys vs. Girls, Low Achievers vs. High Achievers, ESL Students vs. English Speaking Students, Special Needs Students vs. Regular Ed. Students
3. Can you think of any other areas that the “digital divide” discussion might apply?  He covered a lot. Race could be a digital divide in some schools.
4. How would you describe the difference between a “perceived” and a “documented” digital divide?  I would think that a perceived digital divide would be seen based on someone’s view of the classroom.  For instance, in observation, which students tend to be at the computers the most and for what reason.  What are the activities they are asked to do while there?  A documented digital divide should have data showing what student groups had computer time and what activities were addressed.
5. Review your list for questions 2 & 3.  Which digital divides would best be described as “documented” and which as “perceived?”  Documented could be:  Low Achievers vs. High Achievers, ESL Students vs. English Speaking Students; Perceived could be: Boys vs. Girls, and Wealthy Schools vs. Poorer Schools (there is documentation, but the perception is there too and it seems that the reason for not having higher achievement is because of a difference in priority, not because of not having sufficient tools).
6. What are the most compelling kinds of evidence that a “digital divide” exists?  Data was stated throughout the chapter to support those areas suggested as digital divides.
7. If you wanted to document a “digital divide,” what kinds of things could you do?  I could go from class to class to see how technology was being used and see if any of these digital divides were obvious.  I could ask teachers how they implement technology and ask specifically what students in different groups were doing with the computer and technology in the room. I know that the computers are being used in several classrooms as a reward system for those students who have difficulty staying on task.  I know computers are being used for those students who are finished with their work before others.  Taking this data and showing how the technology is being used would be a way to show the digital divides in our school.
8. Which “digital divide” is of greatest concern to you? The digital divide of greatest concern to me is the Low Achievers vs. High Achievers.  I teach a class with both regular education students and EIP (Early Intervention Plan) students.  I want my students to have equal access to technology and be able to show that the expectations are high for all and they all can achieve when given the tools. What actions might help close the divide and why?  Keeping my expectations high and giving them equal opportunities to use technology should aid in closing that divide.

Chapter Three:  Why Do Technology Programs Fail?

1. According to the author, what were the reasons that technology programs fail? Inappropriate leadership – too little or too much; Moving too fast, without sufficient and supportive staff development; and Failure to get the right people on board
2. Do you agree with his claims?  YES!
3. Are there any other causes of failure that you’d add to his list? No, I think a lot of different things can be summed up by these 3 causes.
4. Rank your final list of “reasons for failure” from the greatest cause of failure to the least cause of failure? Greatest cause – Moving too fast without sufficient support.  I don’t believe there to be a least cause.  I think that Inappropriate leadership and Failure to get the right people on board are equal to each other and fall right under the moving too fast cause.
5. Many have approached this area from another angle.  Instead of listing causes for failure, they have listed the conditions needed for successful technology programs.  How does the content in this chapter relate to ISTE’s “Essential Conditions” that you read for a prior assignment?  They are very closely related as it was stated in the prior reading that:  Skilled Personnel and Ongoing Professional Learning are two of the essential conditions necessary for achieving the NETS•S.

Chapter Four: Strategic Planning for Technology

1. Does your school or school system have a technology plan? The school system has a technology plan, but our school does not.
2. What are your experiences with “Technology Planning?” My experiences with technology planning are not as they are laid out in the book.  I plan for what technology will be incorporated into the lessons that I am teaching and decide what the best way is to easily incorporate different technological learning experiences. My principal sent out our School Strategic/Improvement Plan recently and asked that everyone take a look at it to make sure the things we discussed as our goals for the year were addressed.  After attending the first class for 7410, I asked her about the fact that we did not have any technology listed in our planning or goals.  I told her that with the installation of the Smartboards this year, it would be great to incorporate that into our plan.  I did not get a response back, but will definitely look into that.  I see what Lemke is saying when she said “there should be no technology plan, there should be a school improvement plan that has a technology component in it”.
3. Do you think a school-level technology plan is necessary for success?  I think it is important to have a school-level plan either in the form of goals in the School Improvement Plan or as a more formal plan that is extended from the School Strategic/Improvement Plan.  Why or why not? We have to have plans for everything we teach.  Technology is no different.  If we have a school-level plan we can see where we are starting, the reasoning for a plan, and where we would like to end up.  If we do not have a plan, what is the purpose for teaching/incorporating it and how can we be held responsible?
4. What do you think of Cheryl Lemke’s quote on p. 28 “There should be no technology plan, only a school improvement plan that has technology as an important component in it?”   Funny that I had not read this question yet, but had already included it in my answer above in question 2.  I like what she says.  I think that is an easy way to incorporate technology into what we plan to do for the year.
5. Can you think of any practical challenges to having an integrated school improvement/technology plan?  I think our challenges are what Creighton stated:  the leader knowing how to guide effectively, having support to make sure we know how to best use and incorporate the technology for ALL students, and getting everyone or most everyone to make the effort to follow the plan. If so, how might these challenges be overcome?  I’m not sure yet.  I feel like I am a small role in the plan and getting everyone on board.  I hope that my enthusiasm will get others excited, too.  I cannot control how my principal will act in regard to the plan.  I know she would love for our test scores to improve and for everyone to be using the technology that we have access to.  She has arranged for someone to help us with learning and maintaining our knowledge of the Smartboard, but there are other technologies we are asked to incorporate that we are not as comfortable with and do not have the time to sufficiently practice.
6. Whether the technology plan stands alone or is imbedded into the SIP, the author points out some common pitfalls of technology planning.  What are they?  Failure to Tie Technology to Instructional Mission and Priorities; Failure to Get the Right People on Board; and Excessive Focus on Technical Detail
7. What other pitfalls, if any, would you add to his list?  Can’t think of any others specifically at this time.
8. What “strategic planning” advice does the author give us in order to avoid the pitfalls? He advises us to use the SWOT analysis which helps us identify our - Strengths available to help implement our plan; Weaknesses that need to be corrected if we are to achieve our goals; Opportunities that exist that may not have utilized before; and discover the Threats that would keep us from achieving our goal.

9/9 Post

Several things stood out to me from the reading we had for this week.  First, was a quote by Muffoletto saying "Technology...is not a collection of machines and devices, but a way of acting".  Wow, do I need to change my view.  I really want to get to this way of thinking.  I'm not there entirely, but definitely on my way.

I liked the technology in education timeline and found it very interesting that the first computer used for education was in 1950 and was a flight simulator.  This was interesting to me due to the time, use of technology, and the fact that my father-in-law is a retired pilot who has talked to me about using this technology to train pilots in similar programs.  Another point that struck me was the fact that the World Wide Web is only 17 yrs. old.  In technolgy that's pretty old, but in comparison to how long we've had access to it, that's not long at all.  Another statement that hit home for me was that we cannot raise student achievement simply by using technology, we have to implement it in the right conditions and with appropriate applications. So true!

The other readings had to do with our technology plans and laying the framework for how that was to be done and what types of things need to be addressed and included.  This seems to be a very daunting task to me when layed out in this manner.  I am using technology at my school and believe that I am using it in ways that are more advanced than a lot of the other teachers at my school and still I recognize that there is so much more that I could do.  I see teachers who are using the SMARTboard as glorified big screen tv's (which is fine in some instances), but they don't realize all the possibilities that are at their fingertips.  I have several teachers at school who are simply overwhelmed by technology and will even refuse an ELMO simply because they break out in sweats just thinking about something else that is new and foreign to them.  Thinking about these teachers and the fact that I will be learning how to step up and sway them over to the side of technology and all it's enlightenment is going to be a challenge.  Not a challenge for me to show them all the wonderful options and possibilites, but a challenge to make them use it in the same ways that I do.  I know several of them want to learn, but wanting and doing/implementing are totally different. This was also evident in an article I read recently through Google Reader about teachers who thought they were using technology, but the students had a different opinion:  http://www.convergemag.com/classtech/Tech-in-Class-Report.html

Every week I am inspired to do more and learn more in technology.  I am so happy to be involved in this program and am excited about all that knowledge I'll have when this program is finished.  The funny thing is, now that I think about it, with the way technology advances this will continually be life-long learning.

Heading Back to KSU for my Masters Degree in Instructional Technology

I'm back in school and learning soooooooo much!  I have only attended 2 classes so far, and I've already been so inspired.  Stay tuned...