Action Research Reflection Update 3/31/13

Action Research Reflection 3/31/13

At this point and time, I am working on the finishing up of the project.  One of the classes that I have placed devices in is done with their part of the project.  The other class has come to depend on the devices, and I found that interesting.  The students and the teachers in the lower level special education class want to make sure that they will continue to have use of the devices for the remainder of the school year.  I was going to stop my research project by the end of March, but the teacher of the lowest special education class has asked me to continue until mid May.  She has even been able to use the devices to help with the students with Math, History, Science, Art, Music and many other subjects.  She has come to rely on the devices to teach her students the different subjects. 

I have done a bunch of research planning and finding the appropriate applications that can be with the students in these classes.   Also, I had to find the applications that were at each of the student’s levels after speaking with the teacher, the paraprofessionals and working with the students to know what level was best for them as well as their interest.  At this time I have spent 254 hours working toward the completion of my research project.   I feel that I have several more hours to go, but it is coming to an end.

EDLD 5326 School/Community Relations

http://swimermommy.wikispaces.com/EDLD+school+Comunity+Relations

Teaching With Technology

Teaching with Technology:
Web Conference Week 1 Reflection:

I always enjoy attending the web conferences. They are informative and give me the information that is needed to complete the weekly assignments. The conferences also allow me the knowledge needed to complete other assignments as well. This web conference we disscussed making our groups for the project that we are required to complete throughout this course. Our group was able to gain another group member, which we were grateful to have join us. We were still able to continue with all but one members of our group from our last class and that member does not have this class with us. We also were able to discuss the issues that everyone has been having with the blackboard program. The disscussion board was not working for some reason, so we are not being required to complete the discussion in Week 1. Some people have also had difficulty submitting assignments. All in all the conference was of great benefit to my weekly assignment.


Assignment Week 1 Part 1:

I totally agree with the statement in “Learning as a Personal Event”, (Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html) “Every learner has experiences that influence his or her understanding of the world. Those unique experiences are the foundation for learning; they provide opportunities for personal connections with new content.” All learners contribute to their own education as well as the education of others in many ways. Students as well as educators learn throughout their education careers through each other. Educators can learn just as the students.

Because many new technologies are interactive (Greenfield and Cocking, 1996), it is now easier to create environments in which students can learn by doing, receive feedback, and continually refine their understanding and build new knowledge (Barron et al., 1998; Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1993; Hmelo and Williams, 1998; Kafai, 1995; Schwartz et al., 1999). (Citation: Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded edition). Ch. 9, pp. 194-218. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9853&page=206). Teachers set the pace of the education that is going to be exposed to the students in the classroom as well as all over the campus. Educators even make impressions on students when they see them outside of the campus. All of which can be an educational experience. When using technology most educators are technical immigrants, while students are natives. The use of technology in the classroom will only enhance the educational value of the students and their experiences will grow. The students not only will be able to learn what is in the area around them but they will have access to the whole wide world in which they live. I think that this is an important value of technology being in the schools today.

My Background:
I am from Vidor, Texas and I work in the Vidor Independent School District. I am currently at Vidor High School Campus in the PACE lab, which is credit recovery. I have been in this position for approx. 1 year. In the past I taught in Life Skills at one of the Elementary Campuses. I have been working in the Special Education Department for 8 years. My technology experience is slim. I have learned it mostly on my own with a few classes that I took while working towards my bachelar degree. I received my associates degree in Child Care and Development from Lamar Technology in 1991. I received my bachelar degree in Applied Arts and Sciences from Lamar University in 2008. I went through Texas Teachers to complete my teaching certification. I am now currently attending Lamar University to receive my Masters Degree in Educational Technology Leadership.

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Multimedia class

Audiocity and Creative Commons:

Audiocity is a new program for me to explore.  I wish I had been made aware of this program a long time ago.  I can see how it can help an educator with the lessons that are being presented.    Audiocity being free software makes it even that much better of a program.  With Audiocity you can record music and voices as well as editing them.    It is easy to download, and I have already done so and have explored audiocity a bit.

Creative Commons is somewhat new to me as well.  I knew about the copyright laws and was aware that some of the laws were different when it came to the internet, but however I was not sure what the difference was.  This has helped me learn more about the copyright laws and made me more conscious of what I am able to do or not to do with my students.  Creative Commons allows anyone to protect their own work so that they are able to easily have rights to it.  This is easy to use and I will be using this program throughout this program along with the things I will be doing in the classroom.

Web Conferences Reflections and Thought of how it helped me.

First of all I am thankful that we have the web conferences available to us on a weekly basis. With the help of Dr. Abernathy and the other students in the class, I would have had more difficult with this class than without them.

The ideas of other classmates were of great assistance to me and when they had questions that were asked, most of the time, they are questions that I had as well. The recording of the web conferences was also a great help. My computer went down during the duration of the class. So I was unable to attend the way that I would have liked to attend. Therefore, I would make sure that I would go and listen to the recorded conferences as I could get access to computer and the internet.


Dr. Abernathy also went over the weekly reviews that were posted on the classware. She would willing answer any questions that we had for our assignments. She stated that "most were making the group project harder that we needed to". Which that statement helped my group termendously. We were trying to make our project harder that we needed to.

EDLD 5363 Week 5.9 Assignment

1.    Describe how you would implement the use of a video project with other teachers in professional development or with students in a PK-12 classroom.

Implementing the use of video projects is a wonderful idea to have.  There are many ways that they can be used in the classroom and with in-service and many other ways in the educational field. 

When using video projects with the students in the classroom, they get excited when they can successfully create their own production of a video.  It is great to have the capabilities to be able to teach the students how to achieve this satisfaction.  Another way to use videos in the class room is to use the videos to give them instructions on how to complete an assignment.  These short clips would allow them the access to be able to easily repeat what they are suppose to accomplish with the assignment that they are working on.   Educators can also use the videos to show the students information or experiences in larger groups.  Such as if they were having an assembly over drug awareness or cyber bullying, they could make videos using students around campus or others to be able to teach the student body about different subjects.

The use of video projects with educators can be fun and of great use.  The administrators can use the videos to inform the teachers and other staff of information that is needed to be known throughout the campus or district.  They can also have the educators use the videos to teach the students on a different level as I spoke of before.

I think that I will need to continue to work on the use of video projects so that I will have the ability to go through them with ease.  I was not the one in our group that completed the video, Lynlie was the person in our group that was the producer of the project so that was her position.  But however, I was able to contribute and help with the project in other ways, so I have that portion of the project down, and will have to play around to feel more confident with the editing and development of the video projects. 

The new information that I was able to learn about the project will help me in the future when working with video projects all around.  The way to incorporate audacity with windows movie maker was a difficult task, but with the help of my group and others in the class, I was able to achieve that assignment correctly and felt successful with my accomplishments.  Before this class, I had not even heard of audacity, so therefore I had no idea what to do and it was like a different language to me, but know I am more comfortable.  Come to find out, some of my difficulties were not what or how I was completing my assignment but was my computer itself.  Once that was discovered, everything came much easier.

            I not only learned information about how to accomplish a video production but also from the interviews that I held with students.  I was surprised to hear the responses that I was given when speaking to students about cyber bullying.  Some of the information I would have never dreamed that they would either know or have experienced.  They have never mentioned this topic to me before so it was an eye opener.

I learn better with hands on, and I think that is why I agreed to complete the interviews with a camera and speak to the student’s one on one.  When I am trying to accomplish something new, I sometimes need to be walked through it the first time, and then I can get how it is to be done.  I can always just read and understand what is being expected of me.  Working with the colleagues was a great experience.  We worked fairly well together.  We did have some difficulties, such as computer issues, internet issues; one of the group had a scheduled vacation (which she completed all the research for the project before she left).  We corresponded by text, email, phone calls and Google docs.  We had some bumpy times but were able to work through the hard times.  This experience shows me that no matter how well you work or who you work with, you will have difficulties’ of some sort.  This will help me in my future works with other colleagues in the way of to expect the unexpected to happen when a certain task is trying to be accomplished.

One question that is of concern to me, is why doesn’t the school districts do more about cyber bulling?  I found out through the interviews of the students, that when a school steps into the situation, it is not always handled the proper way.  I think it might be that this is so new to everyone and we are technology immigrants, that we are not sure of how to handle these situations correctly as of yet.  I feel this could be researched more to learn more appropriate information to help with this subject.

2.     Reflect and report status upon your progress with your campus-supervised Internship activities and your action research project. How many hours have you completed? What competencies and performance indicators have you covered in this campus-based activity? What have you learned? How will you use this learning in the future?

What parts of your action research project have you completed? What has been successful? What would you do differently? Do you need to change some of your processes or steps to complete your research? What changes will you make if any? What steps are remaining to be completed? Is your work beneficial for your campus and in what ways is your work beneficial?

I have been currently working on my internship as well as my research project.  I have completed approximately 30 hours of internship at this time on my campus.  I have completed Standard I. Technology Operations and concepts.  I have also completed Standard IV. Assessment and Evaluation.  I am taking in much needed information from my mentor and advisors as well as my coworkers.  I have been able to experience different ways to communicate and share ideas with other educators as well as students.  This information will be of great benefit in my future as an educator.  Being able to show coworkers how to use electronic devices properly and be able to use the programs that are provided by the district to make their job easier, is rewarding.  I feel that I have learned as much from them as they have from me. 

At this current time it is summer so I am concentrating on my action research project more than my internship.  My action research project is coming along fairly well.  I feel that it is not all successful, due to me running into road blocks with the use of the devices that I would like to use with the students.  I am planning on making an appointment with an organization that might be able to help me purchase some devices that the students will be able to actually keep in their classrooms and have to use as they are needed.  I know of two students that are benefitting from iPads at this current time and they are being able to learn and relax more with the devices than they were before they had them.  I am finding out that I may have to use a few different devices and not only iPads for the project.  I know that the Kindle fire can be used by some of the students and the students will be successful with those devices as well as the iPad.  It will all depend on what the student needs to be successful to communicate and learn more appropriately.  The Kindle is also cheaper than the iPad; this is an aspect that will allow more students to have access to the electronic devices.  At this current time I am researching apps that will be of great use for the students that are on my campus and can benefit from the project.  I am also trying to get access to enough devices that will show true results for my project that I am trying to accomplish.  Therefore, I am not seeing any benefits at this time; I am hoping to start seeing benefits within a month of the school year starting when the students are able to have the use of the devices in a classroom setting.

Girl Scout Troop 6432

My Classroom of the future

            The classroom for the educators’ future would feature a wonderful world of technology.  There are many ways to look into the future especially when discussing education.  There are things that we have not even heard of yet that will appear in the educational environment in the future of our students.  It is amazing as to how much things have changed over the years, and seem to be changing at a higher rate as the years go by.  With education going towards the use of more technology daily, the educational environment of the future needs to include but not be limited an individually based plan for each student.  No two students learn the same way and at the same rate.  With the use of technology the educators will be able to have a large classroom of students with all of them having different educational paces, while learning the same information.      

            The future holds a tremendous amount of technology in the classroom.  A class without paper and clutter, because it is all electronic, the students having the capabilities to go on virtual field trips and work in groups even from home without having to leave their home.  When the student walks into the educational environment, they should feel a sense of security and have the want to be in school.  Technology is a way to help the students achieve this need.  The room will have tables in groups of four around the room so that the students can have to capabilities to work in groups if and when they are needed.  The tables are tall enough that if the student would like to stand they would have the opportunity to do so, and they would have stools in the chance that they would rather sit down or just lean on something while working.  The Educator will have a computer desk with a desktop PC, iPad, printer, scanner and a laptop.  The teacher will also be able to overtake and control the student devices to assist them in showing them what needs to be done and how to do it, if necessary.  The educator will also be able to send and receive messages to and from the students individually or in groups to keep them up to date and allow them assistance with assignments. (The technology classes at Vidor High are capable of this at the current time)

            Each group of tables will have one laptop computer and an iPad.  The students will also have the option to bring their own technology devices to school if they have them.  “The class, and the Kyrene School District as a whole, offer what some see as a utopian vision of education’s future. Classrooms are decked out with laptops, big interactive screens and software that drills students on every basic subject. Under a ballot initiative approved in 2005, the district has invested roughly $33 million in such technologies.” (The Classroom of the future, New York Times, Matt Richtel, Sept. 3, 2011)   Allowing the students to bring their own devices will allow the students the opportunity to be able to store all of their educational classes on their device and carry it to and from school.  The students having the chance to use their phones as educational devices will put a whole new spin on the view of phones in the school day.   “Mobile learning will revolutionize school as we know it, with interactive textbooks, videos, 3D animation, and illustrations at students’ fingertips, bringing concepts to life,” said Raymond Ward, Pearson vice-president for Texas (Classrooms of the future: New Digital Textbooks and other Mobile Technology to help prepare Texas students for College and Beyond, Chron.com, Feb. 16, 2012).  Around the room will be more pieces of technology for the students to experience.  Instead of chalk boards, the educational environment will have smart boards so the educator will be able to lector from her own computer as well as have the students interact with the lessons on the smart boards.  The room will have flat screens on every wall so that the students can watch videos, have web conferences with other educators as well as interact with students from around the world.    The room will have a pull down screen available for slide show presentations that are built by the students for projects that are necessary for their educational needs as well as other things that they could be used for.  “The classroom of the future would resemble a room in Second Life - a total virtual experience with avatars.==>with collaborations, vconferencing, sharing, wikis, and podcasts. An amazing environment - on the internet.” (Classroom of the future: Learning Trends, Jan. 17, 2008, Anonymous)

            Each group of tables will be connected to a printer, scanner and a fax that will be located along the back wall of the room.  These items will also help the students with their interaction with others around the world as well as around their own town or school.  The town would hopefully have a city wide wifi, so that the students can continue their educational needs at home and be able to work in study groups while at home.

With the advances that we face in our future are the way of the world and the way that our students of today will be living.  With this information it is vital that we are open minded enough to allow them to expand their way of thinking to be able to adapt to what they are facing in their future careers, whether it be as an educator or any other occupation.  Our schools are even being judged based on the ratio of students to computers.  “This ratio has been used to determine the ability of schools to provide “quality” education.” (Classroom of the future, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland)

References:

(Classrooms of the future: New Digital Textbooks and other Mobile Technology to help prepare Texas students for College and Beyond, Chron.com, Feb. 16, 2012)

(Classroom of the future, Human-Computer Interaction Lab, University of Maryland, copyright 2006)

(The Classroom of the future, New York Times, Matt Richtel, Sept. 3, 2011)   

(Classroom of the future: Learning Trends, Jan. 17, 2008, Anonymous)

(Vidor High School, technology plans and goals, vidorisd.org)