Instructional Leadership Web Conference Reflection

As a person who has had experience with video conferencing, I became very impatient with the web conference in the instructional leadership class. In most of my experiences with video conferencing it has been with only one other person and with three at most. With this web conference there were over one hundred people participating which made it very difficult to absorb everything taking place. Not all participants had use of a web camera so the format was mostly question and answer through typing alone. Because of the vast amount of people typing in questions, only about one sixth of them could be answered. It was a very inefficient way to share and relay information amongst colleagues.

As far as applying this experience I think web conferencing has great potential for educators to meet on a variety of issues quickly when not all participants can be in the same location. This could be used for educational issues such as board meetings, weekly principal meetings and even parent teacher conferences.

For web conferencing to be successful the number of participants need to be limited so all participants can be fully involved in the discussion.

Instructional Leadership Wk 4 Action Plan

Roles and Responsibilities:

The director of technology services provides leadership and management for all services performed by the technology department to include, but not limited to maintaining the technology budget, ensuring compliance with federal, state and local quidelines for reporting requirements, remaining current with new technology, developing strategy, methods, procedures and timelines for automated system improvements, identifying and recommending system improvements and modifications, and reviewing case error statistics to evaluate or develop corrective actions to system design.
The administrative assistant processes purchase orders for the 18 campuses and all departments within the district, provides assistance to supervisor that ensures the implementation of all directives and policies are followed, assist with departmental budget planning and produces reports on budget balances and expenditures, tracks equipment/furniture transfers for inventory control reporting, takes and reports minutes for staff meetings, and generates purchase orders and warehouse requisitions to maintain office supplies.
The systems administrator is responsible for designing, implementing, and maintaining the district server infrastructure and all related Microsoft-based components to include the active directory, virtual servers, backup systems, email server, web server, and student application servers, providing advice regarding network component installation, monitoring and maintaining help desk personnel and services, providing professional development for staff and uses as required, maintaining email system integrity, maintaining system security, and assisting in technology development.
The telecommunications coordinator administers, maintains, and troubleshoots the telecommunication equipment, voice mail and emergency services, supervises telecommunications/data technicians during installation of campus telecommunications equipment, network wiring and cable circuits, administers the forms and discounts pertaining to telecommunication services, internet access and internal connections, communicates with vendors, suppliers and consultants regarding acquisition of telecommunications equipment and systems, monitors contract and maintenance agreements, and provides information, training and technical assistance to end-users relating to telecommunications equipment.
The data processing department is lead by the data services coordinator who supervises programmer and computer operations staff, provides strategies for future administrative needs, ensures compliance with federal, state and local guidelines, writes specifications for web applications ensuring district efficiency, performs all facets of new applications programs installation, resolves complex programming problems, prepares system diagrams, participates in cost-benefit analysis, manages all data input from schools and staff, and purchases computer forms, supplies and hardware.
The web services coordinator supports all aspects of applications programming by analyzing and developing program specifications to meet user needs, by maintaining and/or modifying vendor software packages to meet district needs, writing specifications for web applications ensuring district efficiency, performing all facets of new applications programs installation, resolving complex programming problems, preparing system diagrams, participating in cost-benefit analysis, coordinating resolution of problems with operational systems, conferring with users to analyze, develop and maintain programs, and provides technical support to users of both internal and external web-based applications.
The primary function of the telecommunications technician is to install, diagnose, troubleshoot and maintain telecommunications and network hardware to include routers, patch panels, telephones, WAN/LAN equipment, CAT 5/6 cables, fiber optics, servers, printers, modems and peripheral equipment, and test, diagnose and maintain the connectivity of all equipment use in the telecommunications and network infrastructure.
The network engineer maintains the district’s network infrastructure by designing and implementing district network components, installing network components, maintaining the inventory and documents for network components, monitoring the network infrastructure and related equipment, resolving network related questions and help desk requests, and updating network components.
The assistant system administrator provides support to the systems administrator in designing, implementing, and maintaining the district server infrastructure and all related macintosh-based components, installs and documents macintosh components, provides technical support.
The webmaster designs and maintains the district website, intranet and campus-based websites, monitors all websites for accuracy and acceptable content, assist in the development, documentation and communication of acceptable use policies, researches tools and technologies to determine alternative technology solutions, confers with principals and other district staff on website requirements, provides technical support to user of both internal and external web-based applications.
The assistant network enginneer maintains the district’s infrastructure by installing and configuring network peripherals, programs and operating systems, maintains and monitors district LAN/WAN servers, and works with the help desk to troubleshoot and resolve network related issues.
The PEIMS coordinator maintains the accuracy of the PEIMS process by providing training for attendance clerks and other PEIMS data entry personnel, communicating with campuses on timing of and inputting data for special populations, verifying the accuracy of all PEIMS data, organizing reports with the appropriate personnel departments and campuses, and improves the efficiency of data submissions through collaboration with technology staff.
The programmer analyst supports the data services coordinator by providing processing support or assistance for all campuses, central office departments, parents and the general public via the public information officer in generating reports, labels and files for students grades, attendance, discipline and special populations, assists the PEIMS coordinator by verifying data and managing data imput throughout the year to minimize errors, and assists in training new personnel in the use of attendance and gradebook software.
The technical support specialist provides on-site and remote technical support to end users by installing and upgrading computer software and hardware, configuring computers according to district standards, diagnosing and troubleshooting problems with computer hardware, software, LAN/WAN equipment, peripherals and network connections, and by maintaining help desk and inventory records.
While the principal is not directly indicated in the CISD technology organization chart, he or she is responsible for coordinating with the campus’ technical support specialist to ensure the local infrastructure performance is meeting the needs of all stakeholders. Also not listed in the chart is the campus instructional facilitator for technology, who coordinates with the principal and the campus’ technical support specialist to ensure hardware and software for networked computer systems function properly. The campus instructional facilitator for technology also coordinates and manages district instructional programs to meet student and community needs, serves as an instructional leader in the development and improvement of federal/special programs, and collaborates with district staff to formulate develop, implement and evaluate current trends in technology application and educational technology. Furthermore, the campus leader delegates to the campus’ instructional facilitator for technolgy the responsibility of arranging and conducting technology professional development opportunities.

Professional Development Planning:

After reviewing the campus and district improvement plans as well as the campus STaR chart, several technological needs seem to come to the forefront. Teachers feel that they do not have access to professional development relating to technology and would like to be offered more online classes to access at their will; they also feel they need more technical training in regard to the different programs that the students have access to and would like to see students have more access to everyday technology that students are using and bringing in the educational value of these devices.

To improve access and up-to-date technology, the professional development designed to improve the gathering, analysis, and use of data can come from several key areas that our district has already started and have in place. They include Eduphoria that pulls all testing information for each student and offers individualized objective breakdown for testing improvement. This could be a great tool to use for those students who struggle on the standardized test and to indentify for further remediation. Study Wiz Is interactive program between students and teachers and is web-based to help with connectivity between the classroom and home; they can communicate via lessons, educational resources, calendars, deadlines, and assignments. This is a key component for allowing teachers and students to use everyday technology to access current trends in technology programs offered by the school district but we must allow accommodations for these devices. Finally the AEIS can be a vital tool for teachers to utilize as a guide in regards to all data related to their campus and district and where each stands in relation to others. I was shocked by the amount of information the AEIS actually produced as an outcome of my coursework, but my campus or district had never shared all the information within the whole report only bits and pieces related to testing. I think teachers would feel completely invested with all the information the AEIS provides.

To improve decision making in the integration of technology with instructional and organizational leadership, the campus instructional leaders must utilize all the data available to them and make sure the goals of the campus are being met through professional development. For example, our district has an educational consultant with an apple and he is available to facilitate staff development for teachers and administrators to service those needs and goals indentified by the campus. The consultant also is available to work with teachers in their classroom to help integrate certain technology as related to their Mac laptops and to facilitate certain programs for students and show them the ins and outs of specific technology the students need help with in regards to their assignment. The instructional technician on campus is also there to work between the campuses and central office to integrate certain technologies on each campus as identified by district goals and needs. These are ways in which the instructional leaders can work to help improve the integration of technology on their campus.

Evaluation:

In order to have effective measurable evaluation of our technology action plan, it is important to know how it’s currently being evaluated now. Goal three in our campus improvement plan deals with “technology staff development”. The CIP mentions several goals such as implementing the Gradespeed program, understanding email, and United Streaming. All of these will be evaluated according to our current CIP by checking attendance through faculty sign in sheets. Goal three in our district improvement plan is quite similar to out CIP. Goal three of the DIP is to “increase technology understanding”. The main goals of the DIP are “to increase technological understanding and competencies on basic computer skills in order to increase productivity as it pertains to their job assignment and to provide on-line, on demand training opportunities for CISD staff members that will increase their productivity and technology skills”. There is no mention of how this will be monitored or evaluated. I think this is unacceptable. We are not doing a very good job of evaluation at this point.
As mentioned in the staff development section we are currently implementing quite a few technology programs at our school in addition to the ones mentioned in the CIP. We have made a big investment with Apple, Inc. to increase our technology applications and knowledge.
One of the simplest ways to evaluate how this is being implemented is through simple observations. Administration and technology staff can do simple “walk-throughs” of classrooms to see if and how technology is being used. Informal meetings with teachers and students should also be part of our evaluation. Ask the people who are using the technology. This is simple but effective. Another simple but useful assessment would be using a written survey of the faculty. Ask them how effective staff development has been and use that information to plan future staff development. Another idea I would add to the evaluation of the plan is having administrators and department heads look at lesson plans to see if technology is being used, how it’s being used and how much. Also, from my experience, it would be useful to explain what the STaR chart is for and to emphasize how important it is. I can assure you I have not taken it very seriously when I have filled it out. It has seemed like just one more thing I have had to do to stay out of trouble with administration.
I believe if we implement these evaluations and assessments of our plan, we will make better decisions going forward regarding our decisions about technology use.

Campus STaR Chart Analysis

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Campus STaR Chart Analysis

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EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership(National Educational Technology Draft Plan)

In order to transform education in America, we must turn ideas into action. The NETP presents five goals that address the key components of this plan—learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity.
Our goal toward learners is to have them gain experiences both in and out of school that prepare them to be active and knowledgeable participants in our globally networked society.
To be able to achieve these goals states should continue to revise and implement standards and learning objectives using technology. States and districts as well should develop and implement learning resources that use technology to embody design principles from the learning sciences. Also need to develop and implement learning resources that exploit the flexibility and power of technology to reach all learners anytime and anywhere. We need to use advances in learning sciences and technology to enhance learning and evaluate new methodologies with the potential to inspire and enable all learners to excel.
Goals geared toward educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all.
To reach these goals as educators, opportunities will need to be expanded for educators to have access to technology-based content and tools. We will need to level the social networking technologies to create communities of practice that provide learning opportunities for educators. Need to provide all learners with online access to learning opportunities and options especially in places where they are not otherwise available. Also need to have learning experiences powered by technology to increase digital literacy and enable them to create compelling assignments for students that improve learning, assessment, and instructional practices.

EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership(Progress Report on Long Range Plan)

When summarizing the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology I thought it would be easiest to pick out a category and give an explanation on the ratings. The Educator Preparation category was brought to the forefront of my summary.
The Educator Preparation category in the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006 – 2020 is the lowest rated category in the Campus Statewide Summary. This key area is for how technology is used by the educators in their classroom and how funds are devoted to training. 75% of Texas educators use technology for administrative tasks and classroom management. The Technology budget only allows only 6% to 24% for professional development.
When a majority of schools are achieving this level then it is going to be hard to increase technology in the other key areas as well. Instructors are also students who need to be taught new technologies and how to use them in their classrooms. Teachers need to be able to give projects that use technology to students in every class that will help the students focus on the learning. More funding would go toward professional development.
A simple way to help improve how well educators are prepared would be to offer online training sessions. Teachers are very busy and it would be beneficial to offer training that they could do during their planning period, or at home or during holiday break. Programs such as Moodle would offer a low cost solution with teachers and administrators developing sessions for each other. I have been using this with students for the past year and found it very useful. I think other instructors would find it useful for their training and to use in their classes.

EDLD 5352 Instructional Leadership(Long Range Plan)

The one area of the long range plan that I chose to form an opinion on for this blog was the area of leadership, administration, and instructional support.

The instructional leader or principal must actively accept his role in gaining the technology for the 21st century. The principal must model technology use, use it daily, and serve as the “catalyst for change,” as the plan words it. Leaders must share their vision, access data, make decisions and collaboratively provide an atmosphere of shared learning. Motivating these leaders and making sure they themselves have the knowledge and skills is a top priority of the entire plan. Their influence for the plan’s success is viewed as crucial. Seven bullets pertained to all leaders on this particular page and explained more fully a leader’s role in technological learning. The principal must be joined by district, campus, and teacher leaders who can all collaborate to address inevitable issues like funding, staffing patterns, or staff retention of rapidly growing technology.

Like the areas before it in the plan’s sequence, recommendations were made that this time concerned the leadership, administration, and instructional support. There were eighteen specific recommendations made to the TEA followed by six directed to the Regional Education Service Centers. Fifteen recommendations were made that pertained to the local level, while only one recommendation was made for higher education institutions. Five were listed that were directed to parents, communities, and the private sector.