Here is my updated action research plan as agreed upon by my site supervisor.

Week 2 reflections

In week 2 of action research, I have learned a great deal about what exactly action research is. After reading about the nine areas of wonderings, I began to get a better understand of what type of action research questions should be asked. Many of the areas had places where they could overflow with each other. I also learned that research does not always involve the common reseach methods of searching out books, but it also includes conducting interviews, reading journals, and having discussion groups.

What is action research and How can I use it?

Action research is research used for answering inquiry questions for the for the sake of knowledge and developing the craft of education. It is not using research for finding how something works or the process of a system, but rather finding a different method or approach to an educational situation. Action research uses statistics and observations by others in similar situations in order to give educators a prospective that they can adjust or utilized within their own educational setting. Educators can use this research to make changes by using the proven methods or techniques by others as well.
Being a teacher and a coach, I correlate action research mostly to coaching. As coaches, we will visit with other programs to see what has made them successful and possibly use their techniques to suit our situations. We also will visit clinics and read books over coaching topics in order to make us better coaches and be able to work our student athletes in a better way.
Being an educational leader, I believe I can use action research to make changes in such topics as discipline techniques, scheduling, or other systems. I am doing my action research during this course on the effectiveness and uses of my schools advisory/study hall period

How can blogs be useful.

I feel that blogs could be very useful for administrators to be able to communicate with all stakeholders. have a blog that is updated consistently with helpful information for teachers, parents, staff, and community would allow all parties to be on the "same page". An administrator could also have links for student handbooks, code of conduct, bell schedules, etc. I think if the Administrator kept the blog more of an informative piece rather than a editorial piece he/she could avoid any problems in the future.

Week 5 Reflections

• 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 began working on this course, I had a feeling this course would be about technology usage, the problems confronting schools with technology usage, and how to lead schools to overcome these challenges. I had no idea that I would begin a blog, would post on the blog, and embed a power point to the blog as well. I am the sort of person who has to actually use something in order to learn from it, a tactile person. This course allowed me to do so with technology. I learned a lot from the readings, even if I thought they were excessive and tedious. I achieved all of the items that I thought I would experience in the course and more. I feel more prepared as an administrator for some of the technology changes for the future.

• 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?
I believe that achieving the outcomes of this course are relevant to my current teaching assignment/duties. Technology is a developing process in our schools. In fact, in the past two weeks I have had to fill out several surveys over technology, my knowledge of technology, and how I use it in the classrooms. This course, along with the surveys has alerted me to the minimal amount of technology that I use in the classroom. It has opened my eyes to a variety of possibilities of technology that I can use in my classroom. It has also stimulated ideas for usage in my classroom.
• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
In this course, I do not feel that any of my original outcomes were not achieved. If anything, I feel that I have become more aware of technology usages in schools. If I were to say that one thing I thought of was not met, I would have to say that there were never any solutions to the problems that were presented by the readings and the classwork. What I mean by that, the readings, etc presented some complications to technology usage in schools. There were not many solutions to these problems discussed. I understand that as an administrator, you have to make decisions based upon local problems and needs. However, I would like to know how other districts are handling these problems so I can have some ideas on how to handle mine.
• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
I believe I was somewhat successful in carrying out the course assignments, although they have been time consuming and vague at times. I particularly felt that the reading assignments and discussion boards were tedious and unnecessary. I do not feel that having to post three times per reading assignment was necessary. I also did not feel that having eight reading assignments per week was necessary. I think the point could have been made with fewer reading assignments or postings. Some of the readings seemed to be very similar to other reading assignments, so it all ran together. The only things that would have discouraged me were having to do the readings along with some of the assignments. I realize this is a graduate level course, but with all of those things I have spent twenty or more hours a week on this course. That is significantly more than I have spent on other courses so far. With my teaching and coaching assignment, I am already working 60 to 70 hour work weeks. With the holidays as well, I have felt like I have been on a treadmill that I could not get off. If anything, that would have been what has discouraged me.
• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?

From this course, I learned how technology is changing the face of education in the classroom. From blogging to cell phones to cyber bullying, this course presented several ideas/problems that I may face as an administrator. I felt going into the course that I would be classified as an intermediate technology person. I knew about technologies, I have used some, and I was comfortable with most. Boy was I wrong. I would now consider myself a novice of technology. Since taking this course, I have made a goal for myself to become more familiar with technology and to use it more in my classroom. I do not feel that this course has affected my leadership skills, but it has made me more aware of the problems with technology. Being aware of the problems and understanding both sides makes you a more informed leader, but it may not affect you leadership skills. I also do not feel that this course has affected my attitudes about technology either.

• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21st century learner?

In my opinion, the value of a blog in education would be a place to visit with the instructor, almost one on one. It would allow you to catch any notes or comments you might have missed in class. It would allow you to comment on class discussions and get feedback. It would be a place where you could get any assignments that you missed in class or may have lost. It would also be a meeting, where you could make announcements to a large group. After taking this course, I have become interested in blogging and writing a blog for my classroom. I feel this would be a preventive measure for parent complaints or questions as well.

• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
Some of the concerns for blogging would be cyber bullying and identity protection. Cyber bullying could very easily take place on a blog. In our schools, bullying occurs daily; having it placed on the internet for more to read might be even more traumatic for the child being bullied. Identity protection would be another problem. The students might expose their names and other information that predators could pick up on.
• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
I feel that blogging could be used to communicate with all stakeholders by serving as a forum for discussions. All could be able to share information, thoughts, and opinions. The schools could use it as way to introduce any announcements or any current problems at the school. Parents could use the blog as a way to communicate with administrators and teachers and a way to clarify any loss of information from teacher-student-parent.

Technology Action Plan

• School Board – Elected by the community, they work with the superintendent on deciding the direction the district should go.
• Superintendent – Manages the district according to the wishes of the school board, directs the daily operation of the school board.
• Curriculum Director - Implements the curriculum designed by the State of Texas and the ISD school board.
• Technology Director – Decides where the district needs for technology are, assist in the operation of the technology.
• Principals – Runs the operation of the campus, In charge of teachers and staff making sure technology is used properly
• Campus Technology Coordinator – Coordinates technology for the campus, maintains operation of the technology on campus, monitors technology usage.
• Teachers – Decides how the technology is used in the classroom according to the TEKS for that subject and grade level.



Part 2

Based upon the technology surveys from the week 3 assignment and the campus STaR chart, Liberty Hill high school needs to improve upon teacher technology usage in the classroom. The school lacks adequate technology usage for each individual classroom, but they are improving that problem each year by purchasing more technology and more teacher development. To assist in the teacher development, I have designed a staff development cycle to assist teachers to become more technology savvy.

A Year of Technology Training:
I would propose that Liberty Hill ISD develop a professional development series for technology training that would be stretched out over a year period. The purpose of the year long training would be to properly develop technology skills that would develop a lasting impression.

Phase 1
Beginning in the spring inservice date, the entire district would conduct technology training on basic computer usage. The district would divide the teachers into 3 groups based upon a technology survey that was completed in December. The three groups would be beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The district would train each upon:
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microspoft Powerpoint
• Groupewise e-mail manager
• Skyward gradebook

Each would do certain projects related to the skill development of the learner.

Phase 2
This phase would be conducted in the late spring or summer time.
The advanced tech groups would then attend any professional decvelopment courses that would pertain to their grade level or subject matter. These PD’s could be conducted by the regional education service center or any independent source. The purpose of this is to find/develop technology that would assist the teachers individual classrooms.
The intermediate and beginning groups would attend district sponsered training over the basic skills that were covered in the spring inservice. The purpose of this training would be to bring the beginning and intermediate groups closer to the skill level of the advanced groups. If it is over the summer, the courses would be offered at various times with a stipend beinng attached to those that participate.

Phase 3
The inservice days at the beginning of the school district would be divided into different segments.
The first segment would be a follow up to the spring and summer inservice training. Reenforcing skills that were learned in prior training. In a perfect world, at this time each teacher would be issued a laptop computer and wireless access would be established at each campus.
The second segment would be time for the “advanced” group to share the knowledge that was gained attending the PD’s over technology. The advanced group would be the leaders in a professional development session within their campus, grade level, or subject matter. Each teacher would be allowed time to test and try each of the new programs, projects, etc that were obtained in the PD’s attended by the advanced people.

Phase 4
To ensure that more technology is integrated into the classrooms, teachers would be encouraged to invite administrators into their rooms when technology is being used. Also, teachers would be required to have students turn in at least one assignment by e-mail per six weeks.


Ways to evaluate the Technology plan:

The district would have several methods to evaluate how technology is being implemented in the classrooms.
1. After the initial staff development, survey the teachers to see how helpful the professional development was to them as a technology “novice”. Did your skills improve from the in-service?
2. STaR Charts would be another way to show improvement. Will the campus stay stagnant or will the district improve its scores? Do the teachers feel more confident with technology?
3. AEIS. How does the campus improve its scores? Do the students show improvement?
4. Administration could also check bandwidth usage and login times by teachers and students.
5. As part of my plan, administration is required to visit the classrooms and witness technology usage in the classrooms first hand.
6. Another part of my plan requires that teacher have the students turning at least one assignment per six weeks though e-mail. Students could also save their work n the shared drive