This week I had the opportunity to read chapter 2 of Nancy Dana's book Leading With Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher . Dana mentions a number of 'passions' that are ripe for action research projects. Each passion represents an aspect or area within a school that a leader can address while keeping in mind the ultimate goal of improving student achievement.
Using Dana's passions I have been able to focus my thoughts surrounding my proposed action research project. Working with my site mentor I have decided to research ways to increase technology utilization at my school by motivating teachers to implement available technology resources. This project will affect individual teachers with the ultimate goal of improving school performance.
Appropriately utilized technology resources create a classroom environment with engaged learners. Often our school's technology resources are left untouched and therefor underutilized. My district has a policy requiring teachers to post one new lesson which integrates technology use each semester. In general, this expectation not been a successful motivator for technology implementation.
Through the use of action inquiry it is my hope to find a way to encourage teacher's use of technology and engage more learners.
Friday, November 26, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Action Research: An Early Learning Refleciton
Everyone who has spent some time in academia has their own notions and ideas of what research is and for what it is used. Research for me brings to mind the classic double blind trial where a scientist or other researcher is conducting an investigation on a topic. The research is meant to test a hypothesis in order to gain a better understanding of our world. This new knowledge is then put to use in whichever field of study it is applicable to.
Action research offers many benefits to the professional educator. School improvement projects require a lot of input and focus from campus stakeholders. Action research allows an educator to become directly involved in finding unique solutions to campus problems.
Administrators choosing to utilize action research in order to improve their campus will first consider a problem to address. The administrator will then become the researcher who is involved in learning about the problem while discovering and simultaneously implementing learned solutions. Learning is ongoing in action research. This allows for the researcher to adjust and incorporate any new data into the research plan. This is a far cry from the double blind study that is attempting to limit subjectivity. In action research, the researcher and the resultant practitioner are one and the same.
The use of Blogs by Educational Leaders:
Blogs can act as unique communication tools for leaders in education. Leaders can create professional blogs to collaborate throughout the educational community. Blogs allow for quick sharing of ideas with the ability to comment on blog content. Educational leaders who would like to create online learning communities should consider using and maintaining a professional blog.
Action research offers many benefits to the professional educator. School improvement projects require a lot of input and focus from campus stakeholders. Action research allows an educator to become directly involved in finding unique solutions to campus problems.
Administrators choosing to utilize action research in order to improve their campus will first consider a problem to address. The administrator will then become the researcher who is involved in learning about the problem while discovering and simultaneously implementing learned solutions. Learning is ongoing in action research. This allows for the researcher to adjust and incorporate any new data into the research plan. This is a far cry from the double blind study that is attempting to limit subjectivity. In action research, the researcher and the resultant practitioner are one and the same.
The use of Blogs by Educational Leaders:
Blogs can act as unique communication tools for leaders in education. Leaders can create professional blogs to collaborate throughout the educational community. Blogs allow for quick sharing of ideas with the ability to comment on blog content. Educational leaders who would like to create online learning communities should consider using and maintaining a professional blog.
Friday, November 5, 2010
EDLD: End of Course Reflection
I am reaching the end of my adventure in Lamar University’s EDLD 5306 Concepts of Educational Technology. I was unsure of what to expect with starting an M.Ed. in Educational Technology Leadership while working as a teacher full time. I quickly realized that the workload was going to be at least double of what I had expected but like all things I adjusted quickly.
The first assignments for the course quickly set up learning outcomes by introducing me to self-assessments in technology capabilities. This gave me direction in realizing my own abilities and pointing me towards growth areas. I had hoped to become more proficient in critical areas such as state law and its relation to technology needs assessment. After taking the post course self evaluation I was able to realize that I have indeed grown from before starting the course. Gaps that existed are virtually gone.
I had envisioned that the course would cover topics ranging from technology integration, ethics and copyright and all of these were covered. Each course outcome is extremely relevant to the work that I do. I am a 5th grade bilingual teacher and am frequently asked for help and technical advice with technology integration. Everything that has been presented in this first course will help me do my job more effectively and efficiently. I can take all I have learned and teach it to coworkers and integrate it in my own classroom.
Some theoretical concepts such as the digital native and digital immigrant were eye-opening. I had never considered that whether different technologies have been present since birth or invented later in life that the influence on social development could be so great. I think that with the internet and social media being such relatively new inventions we have a lot to learn about how younger generations will develop and be influenced by technology.
I had hoped to learn more about copyright law. I am finishing this course with a basic understanding of what is protected in educational settings and the ethics that surround copyright implementation. I do feel though that I need to seek out more information to have a more complete understanding. While it is unlikely I will ever be an expert in the field of copyright law, I can continue to improve my understanding by researching and reading more. This course was too short and packed with information to fully assimilate it all.
The course assignments were daunting at times and my time limits with a family and job made it stressful at time. It has taken some adjustment on my part and much understanding from my family to get everything done. None of the assignments were too difficult to complete but required an incredible amount of time to accomplish with a high level of quality and success. I believe it was stated that one needs to dedicate 10-15 hours to the coursework each week but for me that would have only accomplished about half of the assignments with mediocre results. If I am going to do something, I give it my best. That requires a ton of time for this course.
I learned a lot from this course about myself. I realized that although this masters program is a program in Educational Technology Leadership, I am going to have to work harder to develop my leadership skills. I am in the beginning of my third year of teaching and have not had much leadership opportunity or experience. I have recently been asked to participate on the Campus Leadership Committee and have been able to provide some input into campus direction but that is the extent of my leadership experience. I hope that as I become an expert in my field and have more to offer those around me I will be able to lead and guide others in creating engaging learning opportunities through technology.
Through this course I was able to read some very interesting research on technology integration and outcomes on learner engagement. This has allowed me to become more aware of students in my own classroom that respond better to technology infused lessons rather than traditional teaching. With this knowledge I am able to inspire and motivate a greater number of students.
Finally I learned that I have some specific and differing attitudes towards technology than the prevailing minds such as Marc Prensky. I understand and respect the concepts of digital natives and digital immigrants but I still am not sold on the necessity of full digital immersion in the classroom. I feel there needs to be more research on the use of gaming and its effects on psychology and development of youth.
Considering the huge workload for quality completion of this course it was worth the struggle. The knowledge that I have gained is invaluable and immediately pertinent to my work.
The first assignments for the course quickly set up learning outcomes by introducing me to self-assessments in technology capabilities. This gave me direction in realizing my own abilities and pointing me towards growth areas. I had hoped to become more proficient in critical areas such as state law and its relation to technology needs assessment. After taking the post course self evaluation I was able to realize that I have indeed grown from before starting the course. Gaps that existed are virtually gone.
I had envisioned that the course would cover topics ranging from technology integration, ethics and copyright and all of these were covered. Each course outcome is extremely relevant to the work that I do. I am a 5th grade bilingual teacher and am frequently asked for help and technical advice with technology integration. Everything that has been presented in this first course will help me do my job more effectively and efficiently. I can take all I have learned and teach it to coworkers and integrate it in my own classroom.
Some theoretical concepts such as the digital native and digital immigrant were eye-opening. I had never considered that whether different technologies have been present since birth or invented later in life that the influence on social development could be so great. I think that with the internet and social media being such relatively new inventions we have a lot to learn about how younger generations will develop and be influenced by technology.
I had hoped to learn more about copyright law. I am finishing this course with a basic understanding of what is protected in educational settings and the ethics that surround copyright implementation. I do feel though that I need to seek out more information to have a more complete understanding. While it is unlikely I will ever be an expert in the field of copyright law, I can continue to improve my understanding by researching and reading more. This course was too short and packed with information to fully assimilate it all.
The course assignments were daunting at times and my time limits with a family and job made it stressful at time. It has taken some adjustment on my part and much understanding from my family to get everything done. None of the assignments were too difficult to complete but required an incredible amount of time to accomplish with a high level of quality and success. I believe it was stated that one needs to dedicate 10-15 hours to the coursework each week but for me that would have only accomplished about half of the assignments with mediocre results. If I am going to do something, I give it my best. That requires a ton of time for this course.
I learned a lot from this course about myself. I realized that although this masters program is a program in Educational Technology Leadership, I am going to have to work harder to develop my leadership skills. I am in the beginning of my third year of teaching and have not had much leadership opportunity or experience. I have recently been asked to participate on the Campus Leadership Committee and have been able to provide some input into campus direction but that is the extent of my leadership experience. I hope that as I become an expert in my field and have more to offer those around me I will be able to lead and guide others in creating engaging learning opportunities through technology.
Through this course I was able to read some very interesting research on technology integration and outcomes on learner engagement. This has allowed me to become more aware of students in my own classroom that respond better to technology infused lessons rather than traditional teaching. With this knowledge I am able to inspire and motivate a greater number of students.
Finally I learned that I have some specific and differing attitudes towards technology than the prevailing minds such as Marc Prensky. I understand and respect the concepts of digital natives and digital immigrants but I still am not sold on the necessity of full digital immersion in the classroom. I feel there needs to be more research on the use of gaming and its effects on psychology and development of youth.
Considering the huge workload for quality completion of this course it was worth the struggle. The knowledge that I have gained is invaluable and immediately pertinent to my work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)