PSA Project

To see our final PSA project go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRnUr7Ch7Cs

To see our documentation for the project please visit:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ApbkhpXpvnqSddHP32WebCF6HaRI68tL0ow_3Ma0L5k/edit?hl=en_US#

Web Conferences

When I was first introduced to web conferences I was not sure if I would like them or not. After participating in a few of them I am starting to see the advantages of using web conferencing. As with any technology there can be little glitches in the system and a few minor issues can pop up at times, but they can be very beneficial and convenient. Take an online class for example. All of the assignments and information is sent using Blackboard or another type of software. There is no interaction with the professors or TA’s except through email. For some this can take some getting used to. Having a web conference can help with this transition and also help the class feel more personal. If students have questions, it can be easier to clear these up through a web conference rather than use email. A web conference is almost the same as sitting in the same room with another person. Dialogue can continue in a timely matter until all parties are satisfied with what is taking place. If using email, this same process may take hours or days before items are settled. So in my opinion let’s keep having them!

Photostory for EDLD 5363

Action Plan Part Two

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine if the computer program Study Island is an effective tool for preparing students for the science TAKS test.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss topic and strategies with site mentor	Myself and site supervisor.	March 7-11, 2011	Laptop	Interview
Gather data from Study Island web site, SHS school site.	Myself	March 21-April 22. Data will be gathered from January 2011-April 22, 2011	Computer and access to web site.	Objective scores from each high school student.
Gather data from student science TAKS scores.	Myself and campus TAKS coordinator.	End of May? This depends on when scores are returned to us. End July 2011	Computer and TAKS scores	Student objective scores from science TAKS test.
Compare objective scores from science TAKS test to objective scores off of Study Island objective scores.	Myself	June 2011-July 2011	Computer	Test scores

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: To determine if the computer program Study Island is an effective tool for preparing students for the science TAKS test.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss topic and strategies with site mentor	Myself and site supervisor.	March 7-11, 2011	Laptop	Interview
Gather data from Study Island web site, SHS school site.	Myself	March 21-April 22. Data will be gathered from January 2011-April 22, 2011	Computer and access to web site.	Objective scores from each high school student.
Gather data from student science TAKS scores.	Myself and campus TAKS coordinator.	End of May? This depends on when scores are returned to us. End July 2011	Computer and TAKS scores	Student objective scores from science TAKS test.
Compare objective scores from science TAKS test to objective scores off of Study Island objective scores.	Myself	June 2011-July 2011	Computer	Test scores

EDLD 5301 Week Two

This week I learned how important it is to make time during the week for reflection and to research ideas or thoughts. Schools are entering a time period when there is a lot of student data available for teachers use. As a teacher I need to know how to access this data and how to apply it to teaching my students. There is also a wealth of information out on the internet over issues and problems that I may be having in my classroom. Chances are if I am having problems in a specific area another teacher has also. It can be a big time saver by doing a little research to see if another professional has come up with a solution to the problem. There is no point in re-inventing the wheel if someone has already found a solution that may work.

Action Research

Working in a school setting, teachers and administrators make multiple decisions in a day and are faced with many problems. In reality they do not have time to sit down and research every issue that comes up to find an acceptable solution.  This is where action research comes into play. Action research is a way to make organized evaluations of how an individual (or group) is doing.  What professionals should do regularly if not daily is to sit back and reflect on the work and decisions that they are making. Reflection is a key part of action research. My current superintendent always encourages us to take time to think about our students and how we can improve instruction for them. It is standard for all of the teachers and myself to go through regular professional development to learn new skills and techniques. But you have to ask yourself after each session, will this work with my students? It is easy to put a blanket approach to teaching but teaching this way does not work in reality. A teacher has to know what kinds of students they have in their classroom and what their needs are. Once this is accomplished the teacher can then take the skills that they learned, modify them if necessary and then apply them to their classroom. This is what action research is all about. Take information from the outside, but then add in your own information that you have gained through experience or other ideas from the members of your campus. Use all of this information to make the best choices possible for the particular situation that you are in. Maybe you have already acted and the outcome was not quite what you expected. Again, by reflecting and adding in research the outcome can be changed or next time you will be better prepared to handle the problem.

There are many ways in which educational leaders can use blogs. A principal could post a blog each week on ideas or thoughts that would be good for the campus to think about.  A science leader could post lab or demonstration ideas for science teachers to do in the classroom. English teachers can let students post journal entries on blog sites instead of writing them out in journals. Of course this would have to be monitored closely. There are many useful ways in which blogs can be used to share thoughts and ideas throughout a school system.