I will be utilizing the skills I learned in this course in displaying data in the future. I feel like my eyes have been opened to better ways to present data in order to tell a clear story to the viewer. As a math teacher, I think I have taken for granted the fact that I can see trends in numbers. However, not everyone can do that. Presenting data in a visual way can take the reluctance from certain people who are afraid of data and allow them to participate in change related to data trends.
In the Data Analysis and School Improvement course I developed my skills in both collecting and presenting data to help in my school. When the data is presented in a clear way, it allows solutions to issues to being to form. Once solutions are determined, they can be implemented in the hopes of raising achievement among students in a school.
I will be utilizing the skills I learned in this course in displaying data in the future. I feel like my eyes have been opened to better ways to present data in order to tell a clear story to the viewer. As a math teacher, I think I have taken for granted the fact that I can see trends in numbers. However, not everyone can do that. Presenting data in a visual way can take the reluctance from certain people who are afraid of data and allow them to participate in change related to data trends.
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The Educational Leadership and Ethics course is probably one of the most challenging courses I have ever taken. I had to really think and analyze scenarios while applying ethics and law. I realized very quickly that school law is very applicable to me and made me think about the ways that I react to situations involving students and the school.
Even though the class was difficult, I feel like I learned a ton from my experience in the class. I feel better prepared to attack issues that may arise at my school that I may be a part of. I also feel that I will use it when designing lessons that involve technology, making sure that I attend to the laws and regulations of the school system. In the Educational Research course, I completed a mini article review of literature related to an educational topic. I learned how to find peer-reviewed sources in order to present information about best practices in teaching. I conducted my mini review on ways to determine teacher effectiveness. I found the research to be very interesting and eye opening.
I will be using these research skills in the future to find more high quality articles about best practices in the classroom. They can help to support the funding of certain technologies based on the findings from studies that utilized certain technologies in a trial. The Leadership Theory and Practice course was my first exposure to leadership. I enjoyed learning about the different theories and practices that are a part of being in any kind of leadership position. Change theory is the major part of implementing a new initiative in a school and requires a leader to be aware of different types of people in a school.
I am not sure if I want to ever be a principal in a school setting. I really enjoy being a leader by working with teachers on ways to implement new technologies. I also like to coach and work on curriculum in mathematics. The Internet Tools in the Classroom course allowed me to complete a Blog for the first time in my life. There were a few tools that I was already familiar with that we focused on in this course. However, the majority were new to me and I found interesting ways to implement them in my classroom. I enjoyed the set-up of the course and love having a finished product that I can return to and remind me of the tools.
My friends who are not in the course have asked for tools that they can use in their classroom. I can now share my blog with them to learn about different tools available to them. The ones who have visited have remarked at the great usability of this blog. The Instructional Technology Leadership course helped to build my skills as a teacher leader at my school. The major project for the course was a SWOT analysis. This assignment required me to look at Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats at my school as we planned for technology needs. I found the assignment very rewarding because I had never had the chance to think about my school via the SWOT.
Many times when leaders try to implement a change initiative at a school, they forget about Threats to their plan available in the school. We all know that Threats are present, whether they are in the form of lack of money or actual people. Using the SWOT to actually focus on those Threats will allow me to have more success in any initiative I attempt in the future. Throughout this semester I have looked at many Internet Tools to implement in the classroom. I have learned about new tools that I probably would have never thought about using and I have learned more about tools that I have been using, so that I can use them in new and exciting ways. I feel like this course has been very worthwhile and I look forward to utilizing my new knowledge in my job as a classroom teacher. I hosted a technology workshop this semester where I was able to share with my coworkers some neat online tools. I look forward to being able to do more of that in the future and I feel more confident about completing that task because of this course.
My school recently started a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiative. Through this initiative, the students are allowed to bring their own electronic devices to school in order to use them in the classroom. I was very excited about this and immediately began to plan out ways for the students to use their smart phones and tablets as student response systems, etc. However, I soon hit a snag. Not every student had an electronic device that they could bring to school. What should I do when faced with this problem?
My school only has 3 computer labs available for use in a school of 1300 students and 0 mobile carts. I spoke with my principal about spending this year’s SPLOST money on mobile carts or a few devices for each classroom. He seemed very open to the idea. It is the 21st century and students are expected to know how to use digital tools and resources in order to search for job openings, pay bills, communicate, and as a tool to learn about information. Schools must ensure that all students have equal access to these tools and not just students from higher socioeconomic homes. Hohlfield, Ritzhaupt, and Barron found in their study that higher socioeconomic high schools were more likely to provide technology opportunities to the community in which they reside than lower socioeconomic high schools (2010). There is a great divide between the communities that have high income residents and the communities that have lower income residents when it comes to technology and students having access to it. We must do something to change that and I feel like the department of education should focus on ways to change that. They should educate districts on how to spend their money on supplies so that students will have access to technology. They can focus on buying ipads vs. buying textbooks. Baron, Walter, Martin, and Schatz conducted a study of Silcon Valley high schools and found that while many students had access to technology, those who had access at home were more likely to be using it for fluency building activities (2010). We must find ways for all students to have access to technology so that they can have authentic learning experiences. I have found that students are willing to share their technology with other students but the ideal scenario would be for students to have his or her own device so that you could pinpoint what each student needs. Schools should consider opening computer labs before and after school for students who do not have access at home. Purchasing more mobile labs would also ensure that technology is used in the classroom. Schools should also consider a one-to-one initiative and the cost and savings associated with implementing that versus purchasing textbooks. Resources Barron, B., Walter, S. E., Martin, C. K., & Schatz, C. (2010). Predictors of creative computing participation and profiles of experience in two Silicon Valley middle schools . Computers & Education (54), 178-189. Hohlfeld, T. N., Ritzhaupt, A. D., & Barron, A. E. (2010). Connecting schools, community, and family with ICT: Four-year trends related to school level and SES of public schools in Florida . Computers & Education (55), 391-405. Before the Internet was available in every home, students had to learn about other cultures and places from around the world by reading textbooks or watching movies. Now students are but a few words in Google and clicks away from learning about far away places and people. Students are able to learn about any culture they choose and the speed at which the Internet runs allows breaking news from around the world to travel almost instantaneously. When students begin to realize that they are a part of a global community, I believe that they gain a respect for other cultures and understand more about diversity in their community.
Teachers can now keep a blog (much like this one) where anyone can access it and read about what is happening in the classroom. Students can ask questions from homework that they may be unsure about. Parents can always be up to date and contact a teacher easily without having to physically come and meet with teachers at the school. The Internet and blogging also allows students to communicate with their peers around the world. They do not have to wait for the mail to deliver letters around the world, their email can be there within seconds or comments appear instantaneously. The Internet is an amazing invention that has changed the way the world communicates. It is important that we teach students about other cultures and the globe so that they can increase their awareness of the world around them and become better citizens. |
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January 2014
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