Reading+Reflections

=Reading Reflections on the Technology Facilitators Standards=

Standard I
Through my internship hours I have worked with several teachers on the first Technology Facilitator Standard: Technology Operations and Concepts. The two areas I have worked in the most are TF-1.A.1 and TF-1.B.1. These tasks focus on technology systems and growth in understanding technology concepts. It seems almost everyday I get a call from a colleague needing help saving a document, transferring files, and operating systems and programs. I have grown up using computers and feel comfortable managing my way around new and old programs and systems. I am not afraid of trying something new. Until I starting this internship and began reachng out to help others, I thought most people were this way. I did not realize everyone was not as comfortable finding their way around a computer. Tasks I find simple and can do without thought are worrisome and time consuming for others. By helping my colleagues, I have a better understanding of the range of skill sets teachers have pertaining to technology. Williamson and Redish (2009) found that in 2005 ten percent of teachers considered themselves to be beginners in using technology (20). When I first started teaching four years ago, I would not have believed this information. Now that I have been working with teachers in this area, I know it is true and I feel this is a strong indicator that we need technology leaders in our schools to help these teachers feel more comfortable using and integrating technology in their classroom. We need to work as a team to prepare our students for the technology rich future that lies ahead of them. When a new teacher begins at a school they are often paired with an experienced teacher to help them ease into the challenges that are inevitable in the classroom. Why do we not do the same for teachers who call themselves beginners in technology? Everyone I work with knows the importance technology has in education, so why not make it a priority to help those who are less experienced as we do with first year teachers?

Williamson, J. & Redish, T. (2009). //ISTE’s technology tacilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do.// Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education, p. 20.

Standard II
Technology Facilitator Standard II: Planning and Designing Learning Environments and Experiences is probably the standard I find the most exciting to work in. In the roll I plan to take on after this program, this standard is where I hope to spend most of my time. Through the internship I have worked with indicators II.A, II.B, and II.C. Just this month I have been helping my team plan and create Photostory projects to use with their classes. I helped one of my colleagues do a Photostory project last year with her students and I was surpised when this year she still did not seem to get a grasp of how to use the program. I think the big difference is last year I did a lot of it for her; therefore this year she did not know how to do it because she never completed the task herself. As a technology leader I need to make sure I teach the teachers how to work the programs so they can use the experiences and lessons with their classes without me. I need to make sure they understand why they go through the steps, that way through their understanding they can use the program again as opposed to just memorizing steps. Similar to the way we teach our third graders to multiply. We spend time making sure they understand the concept of multiplication before we begin memorizing anything. As teachers, we want them to be able to figure out any multiplication problem that they don’t have memorized. If teachers had a better grasp of how some programs worked and why you needed to save items in a certain drive they might be able to remember which drive serves what purpose. This was an issue with a colleague of mine. She could not find the pictures she saved for her students to use for the Photostory project, once we found them, they were not saved in a drive that the students had access to. I plan to ask our elementary technology coordinator for details on the drives available to teachers only and which ones are available to students. If I type this up, I can post it in the computer lab and save it in the teacher share drive (hopefully this is a drive everyone can find!) so teachers have a quick reference. One other important observation I noticed during this project was how much quicker the students picked up on the Photostory program than some of the teachers. It still confuses me how we can have such a gap in learning between 8 year olds and adults. It is crazy to me the difference between the two age groups. There are not many areas where young children have such an advantage over adults.

Standard III
 Standard III: Teaching, Learning, and the Curriculum, is the standard I am most interested in. I enjoy working with the students and teacher in planning activities focusing on the student technology standards. Through my hours I experienced indicators II.A, III.B, III.D, and III.E.

Through these activities I learned how quick the students are able to personalize their experience using technology. I forget how technology is intertwined with their lives and they really thrive when they can express themselves with technology. When working with adults and technology, you do not always see the spark you do with students. I also learned just how much of a struggle it can be to get teachers to change their ways. I have been sharing the Technology Application TEKS and giving suggestions for ways to integrate them into our curriculum. Some teachers would smile and nod, but you could tell they were not going to add these elements to their teaching. This was very frustrating to me, but I have to remind myself, it is not me they are refusing to listen to, their issue is change, which is hard for us all, especially when you have been teaching for fifteen plus years!

I am puzzled how teacher can ignore the technology TEKS. It is required by the district and state to teach these TEKS, yet many teachers do not. I know that some teacher honestly do not know about them and have not been exposed to the specific TEKS for their level. My confusion is with teachers that know and have access to these TEKS and do not attempt to teach them. They would not do this for tested TEKS.

I would like to get advice on how to ease teacher into the change of incorporating technology. I know some school and campuses are successful in this area and would like their advice.

Standard IV
Standard IV: Assessment and Evaluation, is an aspect that classroom teachers need to become more aware of. The idea of assessing student use and understanding of technology has not been adopted by my campus. Through my internship hours I worked mostly with IV.B and IV.C indicators.

I assess and evaluate my students on a daily basis. I value the information data gives me and rely on this data to guide my teaching. Through working with teachers, I have found this is not true for all teachers. One teacher even stated she did not like to look at the data, she knew where her kids were struggling. I found that odd since she was working in a new grade level this year. It seemed to me this would be a great year to use data to check the level understanding of her students since she was new to the curriculum. Many teachers also complained of the time it took to pull up the reports and view them.

When working with a few team mates, we found that the students were not affectively showing their knowledge in the PowerPoint presentation we were planning for them to use. Together we planned a different media for the students to use in the future. Using Photo Story, the students would be able to show their creativity and it would be easier to record their voice to add to the project. I enjoyed helping my team work through this problem as we assess the students’ appropriate use of the technology.

One question I have is how educators are evaluating students through technology. I am sure there are some great resources our there that I am not aware of.

I am puzzled that we have no way of assessing the Technology Application TEKS. They are required to teach like all the other TEKS, but with out the accountability on the teachers, I feel these TEKS will continue to be on the back burner.

Standard V
 This standard is one I have experienced many times through my course work and everyday tasks at school. The performance indicators I worked with are V.A, V.B, and V.C. I am part of the model technology pilot cohort for my district and attend professional development in this area monthly. I also help others on my campus use the technology tools and aid them in leading lessons with the equipment I have.

I have learned that when teachers see the technology used with the students and reactions the students give from it, they are more eager to try the tools. A teacher down the hallway commented that she really wished she would have applied for the pilot program at our school after seeing me work with the Promethean Board. She has seen how effective the tools are with the students and is more confident in her ability to be success at implementing the tools. I feel this is because I have helped her complete a few lessons in my classroom and she had the appropriate guidance along the way. I feel this is something schools are lacking in, appropriate professional development and follow through in the classrooms. Teachers need the confidence to try something new and we cannot expect them to gain that confidence without guidance.

I am curious as to how other school leaders have tackled this standard and would like to know how they helped their teachers gain confidence in using technology tools both for planning and in the classroom. There are many school leaders that are excellent at taking on these tasks and I would like to hear how they made it happen. I have no issues that puzzle me about this standard.

Standard IV
When I first read the title of this standard I thought it was going to be difficult to cover the indicators, but once I read deeper and got a better understanding of the standard, I realized I have dealt with the social, ethical, legal, and human issues of technology more that I thought at first. I have gained experience in all indicators, VI.A, VI.B, VI.C, VI.D, and VI.E. Although, I most of my work was with the last four indicators.

I have learned there is a need to make sure the technology we choose to use in our schools needs to reach all students regardless of their background, this includes students with disabilities. I found that some of the students at my campus use technology in amazing ways. We have a student learn to control her wheel chair by the movement of her head. I was amazed to see her grow in this area throughout the year and watch how skilled she became at maneuvering her chair this May.

I also was impressed with a new program the district implemented this year. Each level of students had 3 videos to watch and short quizzes to discussions about the ethics of internet and email use. Students tend to think if it is done over the internet is it safe, they forget how much information they give out and how dangerous it can be. They also can become cyber bullies and are more abrupt in the word choice through the internet than they would have the courage to do in person. These videos were age appropriate and I feel really made an impact with my third grade students. Before my graduate work I would not have seen the importance of this ethical step for the students. It was neat to see the standard in action with the students.

I would like to know how districts are providing equitable access to technology resources to students at home. When I was in high school the computer lab was open late everyday after school and I was able to complete many assignments there since we did not have a computer at home. How are elementary campuses handling this situation? We do not have the resources or funds to send the students home with computer or guarantee internet access. We could keep the computer lab open later, but the students would have to rely on someone else to pick them up. In the upper grades they either drive or have many friends who can help get them to and from the school at the later hours and are not relying on the school bus like our smaller children are. There is nothing that puzzles me in this standard

Standard VII
This standard focuses on the infrastructure of technology and the planning for it. Through my internship hours I gained experience in indicators VII.A and VII.B. I learned there is much more behind implementing Web 2.0 tools and technology than most classroom teachers know about. Many teachers comment on how they do not see why it is taking the district so long to install the LCD projectors the most recent school bond provided funding for. After talking with the Technology Director, I learned there are several more factors involved. Each room must be wired correctly and electrical outlets must be installed. The district is also installing panels in each room to control the input devices and projector. The infrastructure is the foundation for the technology we use everyday, from the storage space and drives to security settings. One major step is planning for all of the changes and policies. Appropriate evaluations need to take place before even beginning to plan for these changes. I know I need more knowledge in the way our district runs maintenance of the infrastructure and evaluation. I also would like to research how the district allows and gains funding for technology. The one issue that puzzles me about this standard is why does my district not do a better job of informing the teachers and staff of all of the steps required in any technological change? Especially like the much anticipated installation of the LCD projects. Many teachers are frustrated and complain about the time is had taken to get this done, yet I feel if they understood the process better attitudes would be much more positive.

Standard VIII
This standard is focused on administration, much like Standard VII. I found it to be a bit more challenging to find activities to gain experience in this standard, but the indicators I worked with were VIII.A, VIII.C, and VIII.E Through one of my activities I presented to the PTO the value and functions of the Promethean Board for the elementary campus. I learned how important it is to form partnerships in supporting technology in our school. Funding is a big issue, so it is important to have others who support and back you in decisions. Through the reading I learned the value of evaluating the school technology environment and I realize I have not done this formally. I would like to be able to complete an evaluation that is factual and research based, not just on opinions and negative comments from my colleagues. I do not have many questions about this standard and there is noting that puzzles me, but I would like the opportunity to participate in more activities involving leadership and vision for our school and district’s technology plan. I do feel that my work through my internship has helped me make many contacts with the people in the district that do make these leadership decisions and I feel this has opened the door for me to be invited to help in the future.