The Big Chief

On Sunday, February 27, 2011 I was able to participate in my first web conference with Dr. Abernathy of Lamar University. I purchased my skype camera over 14 months ago when I began my Master's program. I had tried several times in previous courses, but this was the first one that I actually was able to participate in. I was even granted video access. Our audio was limited to hearing the professors, but all student participants' mics were not allowed to be on. I could certainly understand the reasoning behind this, ere go "The Big Chief". If everyone had a mic, there would be too many chiefs and not enough Indians to get anything accomplished. It was interesting to see how quickly everyone was responding to one another's comments. I felt that it took awhile for the professor to answer my question, due to how quickly the page scrolled and how difficult it was to read everyone's comments or questions. Dr. Cummings joined later and was able to assist Dr. Abernathy in answering some of the questions. I feel the web conference gives everyone an opportunity to share and vent, but as far as having a specific assignment concept understood was not applicable to the setting. It was refreshing when classmates would respond to other's questions and comments. I found that very helpful. As the final minutes of the conference approached many said their thank you's and good-byes and I felt the conference was a success.

Durham Organization Chart

My school clerk, Cynthia Solomon, used Jing to edit the document in order to post the organizational chart. The document had to be downsized in order to fit into the blog.

Durham Technology Plan

Roles and Responsibilities

Board of Education – The official policy making body of the Houston Independent School District.

Dr. Terry Grier – Superintendent of Schools- The superintendent is the Chief Executive Officer of the Board and the Chief Education Officer of the Division. He reports directly to the corporate Board, and is accountable to the Board of Trustees for the conduct and operation of the Division l. All Board authority delegated to the staff of the Division is delegated through the Superintendent.
• sets forth the vision for the district and provides funding and supports funding initiatives to infuse technology into our campuses
• Student Welfare
• Educational Leadership
• Fiscal Responsibility
• Personnel Management
• Policy
• Superintendent/Board Relations
• Strategic Planning and Reporting
• Organizational Management
• Communications and Community Relations
• Leadership Practices

Robert Moore – Inspector General- responsible for managing and directing internal audits, investigations, and inspections that promotes the integrity, economy, effectiveness, and efficiency of the district’s operations, as well as the prevention and detection of fraud, waste, and abuse. Moore oversees financial audits, campus activity-fund and principalship-change audits, property taxation and valuation audits and analyses, construction audits, and special audits and investigations.
Richard Patton – E-Rate Compliance Officer-implementing training tools to ensure that employees understand and embrace the Boardwalk Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Principles, and Compliance Management System.
Julie Baker – Chief Officer of Major Projects- is responsible for the major initiatives designed to transform education in HISD.
Ann Best – Chief Human Resources Officer – to improve the overall talent level of the district while developing and executing strategic plans for recruiting, succession planning, compensation, and compliance.
Melinda Garrett – Chief Financial Officer- responsible for all financial operations of the district and provides oversight for all financial services for the Controller’s Office and the departments of Budget and Financial Planning, Benefits, and Risk management, Medicaid Finance, Real Estate, Procurement Services, Warehousing, Technology and Information Systems, School Information Systems, and Enterprise Resource Planning Systems.
Vacant - Chief Innovation and Research Officer -
Sam Sarabia - Chief Elementary Schools Officer - oversee a team of school improvement officers and help to lead a comprehensive district-wide accountability and reorganization plan for supporting school improvement efforts.
Imelda de la Guardia – Elementary School Improvement Officer for Durham- provide leadership to school improvement officers, principals, align resources and supports for teachers, and ensure that the district is providing equitable and quality educational opportunities for its students.
Tracey Weeden – Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Curriculum and Instruction – develops district plan for curriculum for all grades. She supports initiatives and helps campuses meet their curriculum objectives while integrating technology.
Elizabeth Perrin – District Technology Manager- supports the success of all HISD campuses by integrating technology tools and resources into content areas to enhance teaching and learning of the 21st century learner through the curriculum documents as well as district wide technology initiatives to maximize student academic success.
• Provides a district framework known as the horizontal Alignment Planning Guide or HAPG for Technology Applications K-12.
• Develops technology curriculum K-12
• Supports teachers and curriculum specialists with integrating technology into content areas
• Supports district/state technology initiatives, provide videoconferencing support
Dan Breiman – Principal, Durham Elementary- Instructional leader-communicates the vision of the district and the campus and works with teachers, parents, students and community to fulfill that vision. He also allocates funds for technology resources, communicates with district-level administration for additional resources, technology access, and technology professional development. The principal must also ensure that the Technology Applications TEKS are integrated into the curriculum and mastered by students; this is accomplished by direct communication with teachers during PLC time, classroom walkthroughs, and reviewing lesson plans.
Regina Williams – Curriculum and Instruction/IB Coordinator-Instructional Leader-provides monthly PLC IB planner development with all grade levels, and oversees lesson plans, responsible for scheduling (tutoring, enrichment, science night, etc.)
Mike Zubler – Teacher Technologist –provides technology instruction for all grades PK-5, oversees the computer lab, records all technical and digital hardware inventory, provides technology assistance for staff and is responsible for inputting all assessment data. While in the lab, and depending on the grade level, students are able to learn and practice keyboarding, word processing, spread sheet and graph creation, power point slide show production and access the internet to further support their technology skills and to reinforce their regular classroom studies.
Durham Teaching Staff – All Foundation and Enrichment Teachers- responsible for the integration of technology into classroom curriculum incorporating the TA TEKS to ensure the 21st century learner needs are being bet. Provide data-driven, student-centered instruction in a safe environment within the classroom for students. Model safe practices and incorporate the use of digital resources for student, parent and community communication and feedback.





Professional Development Planning

The overall goal of the Technology Plan is to involve staff members in activities that allow them to integrate technology to enhance student learning.

Goal 1: To ensure that technology strategies and tactics support the overall learning process for all students PK-5.
Goal 2: To ensure that all teachers (Foundations and Enrichment) have the appropriate training that will coincide with technology resources and hardware programs appropriate to subject/grade level content for teacher efficie3ncy.
Goal 3: To establish a grant writing team in order to obtain additional funding for digital and technological resources.
Goal 4: To provide follow-up training sessions for the continued integration of instructional strategies to ensure student engaged activities.
Goal 5: to provide a 21st century learning environment with facilities and equitable resources.

Infrastructure for Technology will be a focus for all members. The data that supports this decision is from the STaR campus 2009-10 report. The lack of digital resources available to teachers and the student ratio per digital resource does not meet state standards. Our STaR Campus Report classification is in the Developing Tech stage. Additional efforts are needed to acquire the necessary digital resources to improve teacher planning and student learning.

How will Technology be integrated into the system?
• Foundations, information acquisition, solving problems, and communications will be directly linked to the NETS (National Education Technology Skills) standards.
• Use of the Long-Range Strategic Plan for Technology – Need, Solution, Timeline, Result and Critical success Factors/Resources Needed

Strategy/Action that will coincide with SMART Certified Trainer workshop
• Survey parents, students and teachers of technology needs; SETDA (State Educational Technology Directors Association) survey - This survey is about technology use at your school. You will be asked about your own technology use, the availability of technology at your school, and school/district policies or resources related technology.
• (Campus Online)Teacher Workbench Version 5.4A
• LoTi Digital-Age Survey recommended professional develop in these areas:
• Collaborative Learning Environments (explores online collaborative tools using Web 2.0 technology for active student engagement activities)
Communication and Collaboration Tools
21st Century Students’ Collaboration Needs
Experiential, Collaborative Learning Case Studies
• Technology Tools (explores a variety of free online resources used effectively to support and transform student learning experiences)
Exploring Technology Tools
Sharing Technology Tools
Implementing Technology Tools
• Houston ISD provides online technology courses to enhance teaching strategies for improved student engagement to meet the 21st century learners’ needs.
The Campus Technology Plan will coincide with the implementation of IB planners to allow for teachers to learn and implement new instructional and techno savvy strategies in the classroom. Educators must know how to “Turn on the lights” to give students the opportunity to use technology in school. Students need to connect to the world. Teachers must find out how students want to be taught and understand where kids are going-that is in the future. (Prensky, 2008). The school year will begin with all staff completing the SETDA survey. The results will be shared and give direction to teacher and student needs. Professional development (August 2011) will focus on technology and increased teacher and student engagement. The first half of the school year will be the developmental stage to allow risk taking strategies, trial and error, student input, and project development. Administration will perform walk-throughs, shared collaboration and support during the first semester. Instructional leaders will provide a weekly PLC time devoted to IB and technology based instructional strategies to meet the 21st century learner needs. The second semester will be centered on student engagement with the use of data (Benchmarks, IA’s, and MOY’s) to support student achievement. Teacher effectiveness will be measured by well planned lessons with documented TEKS, administrative observations, student engaged activities, student portfolios (e-portfolios) and assessment data.

RESOURCES
HISD Help Desk 713-892-7378 (Troubleshooting Hardware (Scanner)
TeachersWorkbench Software (Campus Online) Campus Online 7281-265-4916 (District Data Assessment program)
Accessibility of Curriculum District Assessments and/or Content Related Issues to Assessments – CurriculumAssessments@houstonisd.org 713-556-6823
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index.us/index2.aspx?id=5082&menuid=2147483665
www.smarttech.com
www.smartexchange.com
http://www.smartech.com/Home%20Page/Resources/Training/Content%20and%20Community
http://oldmar.lqhome.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/lotiSurvey.woa/36/wo/PIOoDkr4twWW2...


REFERENCES:

SMART Technologies. (2008). Retrieved March 20, 2011, from http://smarttech.com/

SMART Exchange (2011). Retrieved March 20, 2011 from http://exchange.smarttech.com/index.html#tab=O

Lamar Educational Administration Program. (2011). Technology Roundtable Discussion EDLS 5352: Week 3. Beaumont, TX. Academic Partnerships.

Texas Education Agency. (2009) Texas Campus STaR Chart. Austin: TEA.

Breiman, D. (2011). Interview with Principal: Durham Elementary, Houston ISD

McCollum, Y. (2011). Interview with SDMC Member/Bilingual First Grade Teacher: Durham Elementary, Houston ISD

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the Lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.

Texas STaR Chart

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Texas STaR Chart

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National Education Technology Plan summary and goals

The NETP provides us with a framework to teach the 21st century learner that is to be empowered by technology with goals and recommendations in five areas: learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Great challenges are before us and we must provide financial resources and coordinate them at the national level. Students skills must be heightened skills in Math and Science in order to compete in the global society. In order to meet the economic challenges of the future we must be present today in ensuring that are students are empowered and engaged in dynamic technological settings. Technology has changed so much outside the classroom walls that major steps are necessary in the design and management of instructional programs.



Progressively the plan outlines the following to help us understand what is needed in order to achieve and reach the goals to compete and succeed in the 21st century.

1. Why people need to learn are the standards for students: creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, research and information fluency, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making, digital citizenship adn technology operations and concepts.

2. What learning should look like must contain Individualization (paced to the learning needs of different learner), Differentiation (method or approach varies to learning preferences of different learners) and Personalization (paced to learning needs)

3. How they learn - neuroscience of learning contain 3 broad types; learning that, learning how and learning why.

4. Who needs to learn - The underserved: low-income and minority learners, English language learners, learners with disabilities, early childhood, adult workforce and seniors.

5. Lifelong and Lifewide learning - factual knowledge, procedual knowledge and motivational engagement

Learning experiences both in and outside the classroom walls will provide engaging and empowering opportunities in a globally networked society that prepares learners to be active, creative, knowledgeable and ethical participants. Assessment will measure what matters and be used for collaboration and communication to provide feedback for continuous improvement. Increased connections through technology will be supported individually and in teams. Professional educators will expand learning experiences that connects them to data, content, resources and expertise to inspire life-long learning. A comprehensive infrastructure will be available for access 24/7. Effective use of time, money and staff are necessary at all levels to take advantage of the power of technology in the restructuring and redesign process.

The financial crisis in education today concerns me for the future of the 21st century learner. We are all facing an uncertainty of issues that will have an impact on our daily decisions and instructional strategies. As teachers we continue to forge ahead in the face of diversity and will continue to meet the state and national standards to the best of our ability.

Long Range Plan for Technology Progress Report

The Long Range Plan for Technology focuses on four key areas: Teaching and Learning, Educator Preparation and Development, Leadership, Administration and Instructional Support and Infrastructure for Technology. The main focus is meeting the instructional needs for the 21st Century Learner to not only engage but empower a life-long learner through multiple technological resources available 24/7/365. The 21st Century learner can expect higher performance and deeper engagement in academic, real world endeavors. Students will be able to thrive in a global workforce with changing economic implications. (November 2006) Parents can access attendance, achievement and discipline throught the availability of student information increasing communication and access to learning resources 24/7. Empowering parents to have 24/7 availability will enhance student achievement. Availability of internet access and 24/7 learning resources at your fingertips empowers educators to enhance and expand communication to all stakeholders. Collaboration, communication, and support levels increase within the home, school and community. Effective use of fiscal resources and human capital are increased through communication and participation in the educational decision-making process due to 24/7 access to digital tools and resources.
Texas must expand beyond the classroom wall and go beyond traditional boundaries to reach the diverse learning styles and needs of the 21st Century Learner. The teaching and learning process must be receptive to new ways of doing new things.
As a digital immigrant, I am intrigued, challenged and excited to transition into learning new ways to do new things.

Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century

Teaching and Learning are one of the key focus areas in the Long Range Plan for Technology. The plans vision is for all students to be fully engaged in their learning processes and that there are opportunities in their school, libraries, homes and communities that stimulate and initiate this engagement. All learners shall have access to relevant technologies, tools, resources and services for individualized instruction 24/7; use information and communication technologies to collaborate, construct knowledge and provide solutions to real-world problems and situations that are encountered; use research-based strategies in all subject areas to improve academic achievement; communicate effectively in a variety of formats for diverse audiences. Our students come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. All students can benefit from the rich content, communication with peers across the globe, collaborate with experts, as well as access to online instructional resources, distance learning courses, and the multiple avenues for building knowledge and skills through the use of technology. Students with special needs benefit from specialized software, customized computer access devices, communication aids, and assistive technology. Distance learning helps provide schools the resources to offer each student the educational opportunities which the individual student may need. Texas students must become active participants in the learning process, know how to acquire information, while ensuring their sources are credible, and their educational journeys are safe. Skills are needed for collaboration, construction, use and communication techniques to gain the knowledge they need for a selected task, project or need. The focus must be to connect to students lives and their diverse ways of learning.

I believe we have made progress on our campus through the implementation of Smartboards, digital cameras, elmos, LCD projectors, limited teacher use of I-phones, Ipods, pedometers, web-based online resources (United Streaming), additional computers in classrooms, computer lab and a math renzuli lab. Greater strides are necessary to meet the TA TEKS and with all of the budget cuts across the country the push will remain but it will fall on the teachers once again with increased class sizes, limited resources and time restraints that ultimately affect the 21st century learner's development.

Our campus challenges for improvement are in curriculum alignment to ensure technology is linked to instructional strategies; the need for more time for student-led and generated projects, learn new curriculum startegies; more flexibility to try new methods of teaching and learning to meet diverse learner needs and financial means for additional digital resources.

CATCH Update

When I last reported to you all, it was in September. Unfortunately about a month later I ruptured my achilles tendon and was not able to work with the students directly. Fortunately, I had some great colleagues that kept my afterschool CATCH club going along with the school wide running program and PE lessons on a daily basis. I went back to work 5 weeks later. I was out of my cast and into a boot that kept me from moving as quickly as I wanted too. The students were fantastic and helped me out a lot. They still do to this day. I have such a greater appreciation for them and I am so proud of how they are so caring and compassionate. We are currently working on completing the Fitness Gram and have remeasured our BMI's. When all the fitness components of the test have been completed, I will report back on how the students that I targeted in September and any differences in their BMI levels. Even though some of my students have not dropped weight as noticeably as I had hoped, they have however, made significant strides in attitude toward movement and exercise. They are more aware of what they are eating and drinking and how they feel after we have played (exercised). I can't wait to compare the 4th grade writing TAKS scores to our BMI levels and walk/jog lap totals for each student. I am now working on another project with my Instructional Leadership Technology Component Course and will be blogging on additional topics related to education.