Technology Skills reflection

My background is in technology so I began this course with a better knowledge of area than most.  I actually did increase my knowledge of PBL's.. Although I was already familiar with PBL's I learned several new website where I can search for them to help students find projects to keep them engaged.  I have been a big proponent of technology based learning on my campuses and I believe that this is one of the reasons that I have developed such a great rapport with my students.  This has allowed them to be more engaged and I believe will lead to their success.   I am not finished with my action research project but have made good progress on it.  My supervised activities are on target.  I should complete all activities by the end of the course.  I am behind on my course reflections but hope to be caught up shortly.  

Web conference reflections

I was unable to attend any of the conferences live due to my schedule but I did however, view the recorded conferences of three of them.  The first one I viewed was the conference on 01/15/13.  The discussion centered on the purpose of the course.  It is to build our collaborative skills with team members and to improve our instructional skills through the use of technology or 21st century tools.  

I viewed the 02/03/13 web conference.  This conference both helped me and worried me about the completion of this course.  It helped me because it answered some question about the LCE and what I needed to do about it.  However, I am worried that I will not have enough time to complete all of my course work by the end of the program.  Specifically my action research project.  I will do my best and pray for a little divine assistance Lol!

The last conference I viewed  was the was one on 02/10/13.  It clarified several questions I had about graduation and certification.  This conference also cleared up some issues I was having with TK20.  It also reminded me to back up my course work in case of a computer malfunction.  (Sorry for what happened to you Russell)  All in all this conference was helpful and every question I had was touched on. 

AR Progress Report

a.      Title – Provide a clear, brief title that describes your Action Research Project. This title should describe what you are trying to find out, not what you think you will find.  (5 points)
The title of my action research project is : What is the impact of integrated technology in the classroom on student engagement and student learning for third grade students. 

b.      Needs Assessment – Indicate how the need for an improvement was determined. Note the data collected to support the need. Present the data in a disaggregated manner in terms of ethnicity, and gender. (5 points)
For the past several years my campus has attained exemplary status.  After speaking to my campus supervisor it was determined that there is always room for improvement on our campus.  We specifically wanted to target a group on our campus that we felt had the most to gain from our research.  After much deliberation we agreed that we would focus on our third graders.  We felt that this is a very important year in our student’s lives.  This is the year where they transition from the lower level non state testing grade to what we feel is a higher level state testing grade.  This is the first year of STAAR for these students and we felt that we needed to give them the very best opportunity to succeed.  The best way to do this is to keep them engaged in the curriculum.  Technology is the obvious vehicle to accomplish this.  Most kids today are what I call digital learners.  They have grown up using a variety of technology, from smart phones to digital tablets such as ipads.  The goal of the research is to determine if using and integrating these digital tools into the curriculum will have a positive effect on their success.  Although our kids achieved exemplary status we still wanted to see if technology could help to produce better results.  The majority of our students scores on the 2010-2011 TAKS test were above 90%.  Our goal is to climb that number to 94%-95%. 

c.      Objectives and Vision of the action research project. (ELCC 1.1) – After completing the needs assessment, develop a vision relating to the improvement needed and develop an action research project that includes measureable objectives in terms of expected results. (5 points)
The vision for this research and the third graders is to improve engagement in the curriculum and therefore improve their test scores on all exams not only the state mandated pieces.  The objective is to improve test scores throughout the entire year.  The students wll have weekly exams throughout all content areas which will be used to determine the success of the technology integration.  This will culminate in the review of the state exam scores the following year to measure the effectiveness of the integration

d.      Review of the Literature and Action Research Strategy – Apply Best Practice to Student Learning (LCC 2.3) – Review recent literature related to the topic of your research project. The research should support why your action research plan would be described as a best practice or possible solution to improving achievement or culture. The review of the literature should be written in APA style with a reference page listing the sources. Explain the decision making process for implementing the action research project. Who was involved? What was considered? What decisions were made? (5 points)
The literature is ongoing.  At the moment, I have been unable to secure any reliable source for current literature.  This is compounded by the fact that I changed position and schools at the end of last year.  I am in the process of discussing my plan with my current supervisor (at my old school) in order to make the necessary adjustment to complete the project.

e.      Articulate the Vision (ELCC 1.2) – Describe how you communicated the vision of the action research project to staff, parents, students, and community members. (5 points)
I communicatred the vision of the action research project to all stakeholders through informal discussions, interviews and meetings prior to the campus PTA meetings.  Students and parents are especially aware of our plans to improve the quality of learning

f.        Manage the organization (ELCC 3.1) – Describe the strategy used for organizing the implementation of the project noting responsibilities given to self and others and how you managed any monies, time, materials, and people. Give examples of how you put a priority on student learning and safety. (5 points)
Since I am the only person involved in the initial implementation of this project, my progress has been rather slow.  I have enlisted the help of the third grade team on my previous campus to assist me in the assessments for data collection.  Integration of technology into the curriculum is, actually was, my responsibility.  It is never the less in place and evolving.  Student learning is of course at the heart of this research project and to that end, most of the curriculum for this grade level, in fact all grade levels is aligned and integrated with technoloy. 

g.      Manage Operations (ELCC 3.2) – Describe the strategy used to lead the operations of the project and set priorities. Include a brief description of how you used the needs assessment, data, group process skills, built consensus, communicated, and resolved conflict. (5 points)
I am leading the project by managing the logistical activities week to week.  My priorities have actually changed several times due to the change in job and campus.  However, I continue to put student success above all else and have changed the quality and quantity of assessments.  I have asked teacher to place a greater emphasis on higher order thinking assessment questions.  So that there is now a balance between these and standard multiple choice questions.  Thakfully, I have not encountered any conflict and do not anticipate to do so.  All stakeholders are onboard and aware of the project and seem very supportive of my plans.  I shared with them the needs assessment information from the beginning and this seemed to build the consensus that I needed to begin.
 

Respond to Community Interest and Needs (ELCC 4.2) – Describe how the action research project will serve the needs of students with special and exceptional needs and students with diverse backgrounds (cultural, ethnic, economic, or special interest groups) Elaborate on methods used to address any specific needs of the school or community. (5 points)
Technology can be a great equalizer for students of diverse learning capabilities due to cultural, economic or special needs.  Because it can be both visual and kinesthetic at once, it can be used at the same time to meet the needs of many different learners.  Each student can be assigned the same material in a different way or on a different level to allow them to grasp the concept and master the skill necessary to move forward with learning.  

Here we go!

Discussed with my supervisor via email my plan.  She liked the direction I am going in and suggested several avenues to look at data.  She suggested that I use testing scores and daily work grades to evaluate the effectiveness of the project.  I will  look at both of these to gain the perspective that I need to focus the actions inorder to improve student learning. 

Action Plan Draft Outline

Action Planning Template
Goal: To improve student learning through the use of integrated technology in the classroom in the third grade.  To make integration seamless and align curriculum to use technology efficiently and effectively.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Research literature on subject	Erik Esparza	March 1-March 31	Computer , Printer and Internet access	Review and evaluate gathered literature to gain better understanding of subject matter
Interview third grade teachers regarding pitfalls of integration in their classrooms.  Interview students by classroom	Erik Esparza, Mrs. Barrier, Ms. Block, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hathorne	March 1- March 31	Conference time, digital recorder.	Analyze all interviews looking for patterns of behavior and common problems.  Evaluate student interviews for likes and dislikes of technology
Analyze findings of surveys and interviews	Erik Esparza	April 1- May 1	Excel Spreadsheet or graphing program	Follow up Interview with teachers to share findings and reevaluate progress present solutions to teachers
Present solutions/ activities to teachers for curriculum integration	Erik Esparza, Mrs. Barrier, Ms. Block, Mrs. Wright, Mrs. Hathorne	August- December	Computer Lab, Odyssey, CPS Response systems, Eno Boards	Analyze test score to determine immersion and effectiveness of solutions
Present Findings to Administration and faculty	Erik Esparza	January 15	Laptop Projector Multi-Purpose room	Form other wonderings from data and presentation

Overview

Our students have changed with respect to how they receive instruction.  The days of pencils and paper in the classroom will soon be obsolete.  Our kids, especially on the elementary level, are now digital learners.  They will no longer be engaged with handouts and overheads.  We as educators must then move into this digital world with them in order to provide the quality instruction they will need to succeed. 

  My action research project will examine the impact of integrated technology in the classroom on student engagement and learning.  The contextual setting of my research will be one of the Title 1 schools in which I currently work.  I believe it will be a good arena for this research because of its diverse ethnicity, economic miscellany and varied scholastic level students. 

After consulting with my site supervisor, my target population will be the third grade students at my campus.  I feel that the third grade is a big transitional year for students as they are moving from what I call repetitive based learning, meaning that they learn a basic concept and drill on that concept in order to get a foundation, to higher order thinking education, where they will have to develop original ideas and thought.  

The size of this class of students will be large enough to provide a representative sample of students throughout our district and still be logistically manageable for assessment, data collection and analysis. 

My research will be conducted via both formal and informal methods. Primary of course will be a literature review to educate myself on any previous studies in this area.   I also plan on using surveys of both students and teachers, interviews, observation, actual modeling of integrated technology and assessments to obtain solid data for analysis and review. 

The significance of this research project will help our campus as well as our district to align the use of technology with curriculum to better engage our new and future digital students thus improving the overall learning culture of our schools.  It will help us to become 21^st century teachers!

You want to research WHAT!!!

Well, as we were mock STARR testing this week I was unable to meet with my site supervisor/principal.  I did however send her an email with my ideas for my action research project. I have narrowed my topics down to two.   I am planning on researching the relationship between technology integration in the classroom and student engagement.  I think this can help the students on our campus by giving us the data we need to evaluate the effectiveness of our current technology.  I am also considering the question How does classroom technology affect the discipline and office referrals of our students.  I am looking forward to the challenge.