My Reflections on the Web Conference

April 22nd was my first web conference experience. I had attended web cast trainings before but this was something new to me. I really like this conference because even having distant learning, web conference is a very effective means of bringing people together from multiple locations to share information in an interactive environment with other users. During this conference, I got the opportunity to interact with my classmates and teacher. The teacher explained about requirements of our Internship. Something’s were not clear to me before but after attending this web conference, I knew what to do and how to do it. We all got a chance to exchange our information. During this conference, I was able to see and hear everybody but due to some technical error they were not able to see and hear me but I was able to participate by chatting. Overall this web-conference was a very live and multimedia presentation.

Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology

As per report, “Education is the key to America’s economic growth and prosperity and to our ability to compete in the global economy.” The NETP presents a model of 21st century learning powered by technology, with goals and recommendations in five essential areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Under the Obama administration, education has become an urgent priority driven by two clear goals: By 2020,
• We will raise the proportion of college graduates with a 2-year or 4-year degree.
• We will close the achievement gap so that all students –graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.
All learners should have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and outside of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society. Professional educators should be supported by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners. To achieve this, Classroom educators should fully connect to learning data; to content, resources, and systems that empower them to create, manage, and assess engaging and relevant learning experiences; and directly to their students in support of learning both inside and outside school. The plan also identifies far-reaching grand challenge problems that should be funded and coordinated at a national level.
My concern is to set ground rules for “Using Cell Phones” in school to support Teaching and Learning. Cell phones could be used in class only for working on assignments. Text or video could be sent only with the educator’s permission. No photographing or video- or audio recording of people is allowed without their permission, no posting to websites is allowed without permission, and online safety precautions were to be taken when publishing from a mobile phone.

Progress Reporton the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020

The Texas long range for technology progress report highlights legislatively mandated programs that were implemented through the 2006-2008 timeframe. The programs are the Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) and the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN). TIP provides students and teachers the opportunity to integrate technology into all aspects of teaching and learning as outlined in the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 and supported through the Technology Applications (TA) through Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) and State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) Standards. These strategies also meet the student and teacher requirements in Title II, Part D of No Child Left Behind. The TxVSN serves as a statewide course catalog for Texas public school districts and open enrollment charter schools. All high school courses are led by an instructor who is Texas-certified in the course subject area and grade level and who has completed TxVSN approved professional development on methodologies for effective online instruction. Agency requested $9 million per year of the biennium to implement the TxVSN in and Exceptional Item Request through the Legislative Appropriations Request. NCLB also requires that technology be fully integrated into curriculum and instruction. School districts and teachers are expected to report their progress in meeting this requirement through completing the Texas STaR Charts. The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) approved educator certification standards in Technology are being incorporated into the Texas Examination for Educator Standards (TExES). A closer look at the Campus STaR Chart in the Key Area of Leadership, Administration & Instructional Support reveals more detailed information. Texas public school districts continue to progress toward an infrastructure for technology to allow students and educators to learn and use the skills necessary to be successful in the 21st Century.

Educator Preperation and Development

Technology plays a major role in providing our students with the skills necessary to succeed as 21st Century learners in a society that is increasingly dependent on technology. So, preparing teachers and administrators to effectively facilitate and manage 21st Century learning in technology in meeting state and federal requirements across the curriculum as specified in No Child Left Behind are critical. A comparison of campus STaR Chart data from the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years shows that more campuses are gradually moving from the earliest stage of technological preparation into the Developing and Advanced stages. My recommendation would be to achieve the goals of the Texas Long-Range Plan, continuous professional development for educators in using and integrating technology in teaching and learning must be top priority. In order to make systemic changes, it is necessary to encourage and sustain a comprehensive professional development program that includes careful planning, supportive leadership, and data driven decision-making. So, the focus of STAR grant is to implement and sustain educational technology into the classroom. The professional development selected should be a research-based model that could be replicated on a large scale basis and should have different skill levels of teachers and administrators and should focus on pedagogical strategies for classroom instruction through the use of technology. The Technology Applications Teacher Network (TATN) assists with both advancing technology literacy and with promoting the full integration of technology into curricula and instruction as specified in No Child Left Behind through- Distance learning like interactive videoconferencing, satellite, or other technologies are being served through the state’s twenty regional educational service centers.

Shadydale STaR Chart Data Power Point

Shdydale's STaR Chart summary report from 2006-2009, this includes Shadydale's greatest strengths and weaknesses.

SD STaR Chart Data Power Point

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