October+2010

At this point I am exhausted with the beginning of the year activities and the new school year routine. With new teachers on board and veterans needing re-training, it was imperative for me to do a Skyward Grade posting review for the upcoming progress report. This activity was a result of my mentor (principal) concern about grade posting errors that usually occur at the beginning of every school year. Teachers old and new received their first Skyward training of the school year during their team planning. I was given a substitute for the entire day and I had plenty of training to do. Although teachers use Skyward student information systems (SIS) quite frequently, updates can sometimes confuse them since the company likes to make major makeovers without warning, most of which are an improvement over the old method. The most common error that most teachers face when using Skyward is the issue of editing grade wights or distributions. The beautiful part is that if you do it correctly at the beginning of the school year then you don't have to worry about it for the rest of the year. One initiative that administrators stressed for this school year is adding comments to the report cards so parents can see other feedback other than grades. There are so many useful aspects of Skyward that usually go uncharted. Some of these tools include generating individual student and aggregate reports. Teachers have also settled throughout the years with pre-built templates for grade sheets and have never messed with template parameters. In this training I helped teachers individually with parameter settings to best suite their student needs. After all grades have been posted there is a step that almost always gets overlooked and that is mark all grades posted button. This little hidden button is the what allows for proper posting for all student grades and time after time it is the root cause for errors. I felt very confident in this training because I am very knowledgeable with our SIS. I did not use any resources other than LanSchool classroom management software to guide teachers step by step as a whole. I believe that his activity was related to and helped me master the following standards/indicators: TF-IV.B.1. / TF-III.D.1. / TF-IV.A.2. The activity closely related to (TF-IV.A.2 / TF-IV.B.1.) because our student information system is a powerful that allows educators and administrators alike improve learning and instruction through data driven decision making. The teachers can use can collect and analyze SIS data, interpret results and creatively communicate their findings using built-in reports and graphs. These are essential parts of an educators role that helps improve and maximize student learning.
 * Week 1: 10/1/2010 - 10/2/2010: Skyward Grade Posting Review**

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

This was the first casual meeting between my chosen mentoree and myself. I chose Mr. Ector Lopez because he is new teacher however has a high interest in using technology in the classroom. Throughout this internship I will meet with Ector several times to provide my knowledge and support for his growth in the effective us of technology in the classroom. In this first order of business, Mr. Lopez showed interest in using the QOMO Interactive Wireless Tablet. Our math and science departments had been given these tablets for classroom use however most teachers have not touched it since the quick and initial training. I believe that teachers are not using this tablet because of the lack of support for the tablet and followup training. In this first meeting we removed the tablet from the box, installed the necessary drivers and set up the shortcuts. The device did not come with any software suite however after visiting the official page of the tablet, I was able to locate and download a software suite that improves the use of the device. We did run into a problem after the installation of the program because it asked for a password to proceed. It only took one call to QOMO product support to retrieve that password. I have used similar products by other manufacturers like eInstruction and I have to say that this tablet was quite impressive and stacked up rather well. What was also equally as impressive was the learning curve applied by Ector Lopez and how quickly he was able to adapt to the device. In just minutes he was able to write steadily on the tablet and perform difficult drag and drop tasks. After going through almost all the features, we realized that the built in "snippet" tool on Windows 7 worked really well with this tablet. We were able to integrate snippet tool and paint to perform math problems with ease. Mr. Lopez did mention that he thought the Floworks software was neat but it packed more than he needed. From this I learned that sometimes simple is good even for those who are easily impressed with options. Simplicity is a key factor to managing and using technology effectively. A few hours after our sit down, I performed a walk through and classroom observation of Mr. Lopez using the tablet with his students. The students were very impressed with the tool and became very attentive to Mr. Lopez's every move. I truly believe that this device is a key to increasing engagement in the classroom. I will perform further classroom visits and walk throughs at a later date. I believe that his activity was related to and helped me master the following standards/indicators: TF-I.A.1. / TF-I.A.2. / TF-I.B.1. / TF-IV.C.1. / TF-VIII.B.1. The activity was very casual however I was able to effectively assist Mr. Lopez with the development of knowledge, skills and understanding of technology systems as well as provide resources and services to meet his individual learning needs for technology in the classroom. In future dates I will monitor and ensure his continued growth for these technological tools and concepts.
 * Week 2: 10/3/2010 - 10/9/2010: Mentoring Ector Lopez**

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

One of the most exciting developments in modern times is the move from traditional desktop and laptops to a more subtle device that packs lightning speed and satisfies most modern day user's needs. I have to admit that I was not initially impressed with the iPad application based operating system. After many uses, I have to agree that an app based OS is definitely a practical and efficient way to accomplish tasks that usually require computer programs. There are so many "apps" in the App Store with many more coming soon. I was excited to be the first campus in our district to pilot the Apple iPads. At first, I went on a shopping spree with all the educational apps available in the App store. As the campus technology coordinator (CTC), I was charged with the task to manage iTunes accounts and research/purchase applications related to the five core content areas offered at our campus. Mrs. Mary Moreno was one of the first teachers to embrace tablet mobile device. I sat in with Mrs. Moreno and taught her how to access the internet using Safari browser, access and close the applications, search for applications, edit general settings and project the iPad device using VGA connector for the iPad. One of the programs "apps" that Mrs. Mary Moreno was mesmerized with was with Wolfram Alpha application that allows users to do comparative analysis and detailed research. Mrs. Moreno was very attentive during her training and mentioned that the iPad is so simple to use, leaves a small footprint, and is so efficient. She did voice her concern with the lack of printing option. Although I know that Apple will one day allow for wireless printing, I best explained to Mrs. Moreno that the device is intended to avoid printing and keep all content on the lightweight yet sleek device. Last but not least, I helped Mrs. Moreno on how to use the accessibility options available for the diverse and special needs students that she serves in her classroom. I believe that his activity was related to and helped me master the following standards/indicators: TF-II.B.1. / TF-I.A.1 / TF-I.B.1. This activity most closely resembles and is associated with the idea that I have modeled the appropriate strategies for continued growth and development for understanding on how to operate the iPad mobile device including the essential and vital operations and concepts. Generally speaking, I helped Mrs. Moreno with a development of new knowledge and skills required to implement the new innovative technology in her classroom. Since the iPad is a new project in our district, these new skills will later become useful as the device will become more mainstream and ubiquitous in our district and perhaps part of our districts technology plan for growth.
 * Week 3: 10/10/2010 - 10/16/2010: iPad Integration in the Classroom with Mrs. Mary Moreno**

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

Although many of our educators fit into the 30% of the American population that have obtained a bachelors degree and can be considered educated, we all know that continious learning occur especially in the study of technology in the classroom. In this activity I simply provided both print and electronic copies of excellent articles provided to us students in EDLD 5306 Concepts of Educational Technology class. I handpicked about 10 articles and emailed them to our MJHS distribution list. In this distribution list there were also support staff, non-degrees employees and other employees that play an integral role in educating our students. Next, I placed many copies of each article in our dean of instruction meeting table for teachers when they attend team and department planning. I decided that I wanted to choose articles that I believe were an easy/quick read and would motivate teachers to embrace technology in the classroom and in their personal lives as means for productivity. I had several teachers tell me that they were not familiar with many of the concepts in the articles read. I am particularly proud of one veteran educator (Mrs. Raquel De Los Santos) for her eagerness to absorb as much technology concepts as possible. Some of the titles included: The new literacy: the 3Rs evolve into the 4Es, Document-Management Tools, The Seven C's of Learning, Blog Revolution, Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants parts 1 & 2, Listen to the Natives, Turning On the Lights and a few others. Throughout the term of my internship I will continue to share these valuable articles that will promote personal professional development and encourage lifelong learning. I believe that his activity was related to and helped me master the following standards/indicators: TF-V.C.6. / TF-V.D.2. / TF-III.E.2. The dissemination of these articles allowed me to share major research findings and upcoming technology trends related to the use of technology in the classroom in an effort to see a widespread of knowledge and support for technology usage. In this method of distributing articles I was able communicate to certain colleagues and help them understand the latest research and trends that are being used in today's classrooms.
 * Week 4: 10/17/2010 - 10/23/2010: Best Practices in Technology for the Classroom (ongoing)**

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

Another month has rolled around and it was time to meet again to discuss very important topics relating to campus and district technology. On the agenda we spoke about our equipment replacement plan, our revamped work order system and hosted versus local applications. In our last meeting we had updates about our media setup completion plan and how it will affect current equipment. On my campus we are looking to mainstream all computers and use all Dell Optiplex 380 and phase out any old 280 or HP desktops. One of the main reasons is the ease of imaging (refreshing) the machines for the summer months and secondly to increase speeds on the network. Other equipment are looking to replace is older model overhead projectors. We plan to remove any old Sanyo projectors and only use the new Hitachi models that are easy to maintenance and have plenty of replacement bulbs available in storage. Last is the removal of any old printers and swap them out for OKI B6300 laser printers as we have found to be very efficient and reliable. Our district has struck a deal with OKI to receive a substantial discount on toner as well. In my opinion our current work order system works just fine however our director of technology believes that it could use an improvement. We are looking to revamp our work order system similar to most organizations where work tickets are issues. Using this method, users will be able to check the status of their request and apply valuable feedback on the work done. The problem with this new system will be the cost. Our current system works just fine and is free because we use surveys to submit work orders. However, I do realize that we need to keep the best interest of the school employees first. Finally one of the most exciting topics for me and our network administrator is shift from hosted versus local applications**.**We have seen that many programs are making the move from appliance based programs to a completely web based system. This means a reduced load on our local network and reduced costs and maintance on appliances that once were required to use certain program. The only cost we will see acquire is the purchasing of more speed from both ISP's; Time Warner Business Class and ESCONETT service providers. As always our directors has provided very valuable information about upcoming changes that impact the district and campus level technology coordinators. I believe that his activity was related to and helped me master the following standards/indicators: TF-VII-A.3. / TF-VII-A.8. / TF-VII.B.3. / TF-VII.B.4. / TF-VII-B.5. / TF-VIII-D.7. / TF-VI.E.1. I'd have to say that these meeting in general help me master Standard VII because it involves a high deal of planning for infrastructure, hardware, software, updating policies, procedures involving district and campus technology needs that affect the classrooms and the front lines of our schools.
 * Week 5: 10/24/2010 - 10/31/2010: CTC Monthly Meeting**

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