EDLD 5397 Reflection

This particular course give myself the ability to reflect on action plan as well as my internship plan. I was to take (2) assessment and reflect on my leadership skills in those situations and then write a reflection paper. I was also to send my site supervisor information through TK20.

The NETS-A self  assessment showed my areas of strength in the following categories: Digital Age Learning Culture and Excellence in Professional Practice.  Based upon my second time of taking this assessment it has shown dramatic growth in my technological skills.   

I have shown tremendous growth in demonstrating multiple ways of integrating technology to my fellow educators in several different forums to educating, modeling and implementing.  I have done small group in-services, faculty in-services and formal professional development in-services off school campus. I have been given opportunities to show my talents in more of a leadership role during the latter part of the school year. 

As a life learner, my challenge to myself is to continue to find tools that are relevant to my fellow educators and continue to demonstrate those tools in a new and innovative way.  My concern is how can, I make implementation of technology at our campus meaningful and not have the feeling that this is just another fad that the educational society is trying out. 

The leadership skills that I believe, I am very competent in is using data to evaluate whether the decisions that we have made are truly benefiting the school and if it’s not what can I do to make it so.  The leadership skills that I need to work on is allowing people to be more involved in the decision-making.  This is difficult due to all the time constraints.  

It is just easier to make the decision for others but, the problem is, it does not represent the true voice of everyone.  I need to prepare more in advance so, that I can allow others to partake in the decision-making process. 

The Purpose of Life Multi-Media and Video Technology Final Video EDLD 5363

We had to work in a group for about 4 weeks. We had to come up with a concept, figure out what type of media tools we going to use and write a script. After all that we had to create a final product. It has been a long 4 weeks but, we are done and here is the final product.
Here is the link to the video:The Purpose of Life

Reflecting: Action Research Plan

To be honest, I have not been that successful with the Action Research Plan as I thought I would have. Mainly, because I wasn't getting the buy-in that I needed to get the project up and running. There was so many things going on this school year that it was very difficult. We did host a Vanguard showcase but, it was not the way that it should have been. So due to that happening, maybe I will have more people on board with my action research plan. All my dates will change to be conducive to the upcoming school year. I did create a video that showed Vanguard Students working on projects throughout the school year and it was presented to the parents at the Vanguard Showcase. I will definitely have to create a master plan before I meet with the Vanguard Cluster so, I can have an immediate buy-in.  We don't have a lot of time to plan and meet up, so I think I may have to do all preparation to make the process go by faster and to avoid stagnation of the implementation process. The magnet coordinator has stressed a strong desire to have a better Vanguard showcase for the 2013-2014 school year, so this may be the push that we all need to get this plan in action. I will definitely start my planning during the summer while I am off and have some time which will allow me to revamp my plan.

Here is the Vanguard Showcase Video:

Vanguard Showcase from Devin singleton on Vimeo.
Below is the original action plan:

Action Research Project

Process Overview: How can the Vanguard Department, work together to implement a unified project for all grade levels in the Vanguard program to promote College Readiness, Community Involvement/Support and Culturally Diverse learning appreciation for the upcoming school-year 2013-2014?

Setting the Foundation:

Through our special department meeting (Vanguard) earlier this year, Mrs. Rosa the magnet coordinator spoke about us doing a project for the TPSP. I felt that this project could have more of a meaning to all those involved if it was interconnected to all core subjects. If this was done, then the community could also be involved as well to make the project feel more significant to the students who would then take more ownership of it. Our goals and objectives are the following:

• To improve the services that we provide for our gifted/talented population.
• To promote college readiness by providing necessary skills for productive research and intellectual curiosity through analyzing and synthesizing.
• To provide the skills necessary for public speaking and presentations.
• To make all core subjects learning interconnected with the project at hand.
• To get the community involved and to support our GT population educational endeavors through the Expo held at Burbank at the end of the school year.
• To integrate technology and our cultural diversity into the grade level project/department-wide program.

Analyzing Data:

Use of variety of data gathering methods such surveys, excel spreadsheets and electronic searches over TPSP type of projects can help improve any ideas on making this a successful endeavor. So that students are successfully conducting research as well as fulfilling the intellectual mind. These findings will hopefully give us examples of other schools that have successful planned out the necessary steps to carry out the implementation of school-wide project based learning goal by using the following:

• Computer Labs and Library
• Survey Monkey for Surveys
• Excel to gather and organize data
• HISD Online Resources such as Pro Quest, Thomson Gale, World Book Web and ect
• Create a Graph (Website)
• Interviewing relevant sources

Develop Deeper Understanding:

Initial data gathering will lead to more ideas for implementation as well as questions on how we can make this process more efficient and more conducive to our overall goals as a Vanguard Department. This will eventually lead us to reflect on what we could have done better or done without and still get the same outcomes or better outcomes in some situations.

Engage in Self-Reflection:

• Did we communicate effectively our goals and objectives as a collective whole?
• Did we include our student’s interest when formulating the Project Expo?
• Did we provide all the necessary resources needed for the students to be successful?
• Did we stay on track with the deadlines needed for the successful planning for Project Expo to be implemented efficiently?
• Was everyone input validated in regards to Project Expo creation?
• Was the data used in a timely manner to drive further phases of the implementation of Project Expo?

Exploring Programmatic Patterns:

Miscommunication can cause a big problem, so staying on top of the deadlines will eliminate a lot of things from falling underneath the rug, so to speak. So e-mailing and face to face conversations will assist in that matter. Also making sure everyone has a schedule and weekly reminders of what will be coming will also be helpful. Review the goals weekly to make sure we are staying the course and updating each other when we see a conflict arising so, we can be proactive. By following this tentative schedule should help us stay on the course:

• December 17^th- 21^st 2012 (Hold a small meeting with all parties involving the Vanguard Department about the proposed plan and the expectations and the goals we are trying to achieve as a team)
• January 14^th-18^th 2012 (Another meeting to discuss our project ideas and how we will implement the project deadlines, judging and expectations)
• January 21^st-25^th 2012 (Survey will be sent out for students on interest level on certain topics and project ideas)
• Week of January 28^tht  (Survey will be sent out via e-mail to all parties involved in the Vanguard Department to confirm on the finalize Project concepts and tentative due dates)
• Week of February 11^th (Vote on grading policies/rubrics, research paper criteria, sources cited criteria for example How many primary and secondary sources should a student have? And materials/supplies that will be needed for each core subjects in order for the students to be successful via e-mail
• Week of February 25^th (Bring all information gathered and collected to Hernandez for final approval before I compile the material into a packet for the Guidelines for Burbank’s Vanguard Project Expo)
• Week of March 25^th (All parties will view the document for the final time, to see if any changes need to be made or corrected via e-mail)
• Week of April 8^th (Send schedule for lab time or library time needed for the next school year to Carranza and Gonzales for preparation of Project Expo, those proposed schedules need to be sent to me as well)
• Week of  May 27^th (Meeting for the Finalization on all loose ends of the Project Expo and explanation of what we will be doing for each of our core subject in details which will be videotaped)

Determining Direction:

In order to launch my action research, I need to make sure everyone attends the 1^st meeting face-to-face, so everyone understands the goals and expectations of Project Expo. I need to make sure everyone has their input because I need buy-in from everyone and everyone has to do their part in order for this to be a successful event.

• Students will be given a calendar of deadlines that they are to meet as they complete their project throughout the school year
• Periodically throughout the school year, the students will take surveys on their feelings of their progress on their project, how they think it’s going and even concept questions for each core subject question to check for understanding
• Students who have a little more difficulty focusing will have a mentor, just like in a college for those who need a little more support and guidance.
• Vanguard teachers will take survey periodically to evaluate the success of the Project Expo and note suggestion along the way for implementation for the next school year.

I need to make sure everyone have the necessary resources to be effective which will include a tentative schedule of things to come. Also using the following criterion for grading students products will come from the following:

The use of the scoring dimensions of TPSP:

• Content Knowledge/Skills
• Analysis and Synthesis
• Multiple Perspectives
• Research
• Communication
• Presentation of Learning
• Effective use of survey to organize our data and using that data to drive our next plan of action
• Effective use of deadlines to keep on track for both students and teachers

Taking Action for School Improvement:

All parties of the Vanguard Department will be assisting in this endeavor. Each person will have a role to play but, the main persons are the following:

• Hernandez for approval for actions taken in regards to Project Expo
• All Vanguard teachers implementing ideas and approval for the overall set-up of Project Expo
• Rosa/Perret for making sure all resources are provided for us and the students and assisting when necessary
• Carranza for Technology
• Gonzales for Library Services
• Singleton for organizing, putting together and overseeing that everything runs smoothly and to communicate all new information to everyone via email or during face-to-face meetings and to put the Project Expo Guideline Booklet together

Sustain Improvement:

Even though Project Expo is focusing on just Vanguard Department at this point, I would like to include the Dual Language as well as Excel to participate to make this a whole school event. This will help promote a more positive school climate/culture which is promoting education and college readiness. This is allowing everyone to have the same opportunities and not just a select population.

Reflecting: Progress with Campus-Supervised Internship Activties

Based upon what I wrote earlier this year, I can see that I will have to make some major changes to my plan due to my principal changing my role for this upcoming school year. I will be serving dual roles for the 2013-2014 school year. I will be teaching my (3) algebra classes as well as serving as a Instructional Technology Specialist. I will also be participating in the Career Pathways Pilot program at my school so, there will be certain things that are on my supervised internship plans that will change because of this new role. The areas that are highlighted yellow will be replaced with new activities that are in red. This will satisfy my new role for the upcoming school year or activities that I end up doing that are technological related to my course load. I will replace the highlighted sections at a later date. Here are the proposed areas that will be replaced with the following activities:
1. Professional Development that I will provide On and Off Campus
2. Burbank Middle School Blog that is housed on School Website
3. In-Services that I attend for the Career Pathway Pilot Program
4. Modeling lessons that are enriched with technological tools for Staff/Teachers/Students
5. Planning Technology Professional Development for Burbank Middle School

So far I have completed 20 hours of my 150. So that leaves me with 130 hours left, which I will quickly get within the next 4 months or so. With all the prep work for my role is going to require a lot of man hours. I am excited about my new position but, I know it's going to be a lot of work. I have learned many things, such as working more efficiently with the tools that I have. Being able to work in a group and to focus on everyone strengths so, that the group is successful. Also to stick to the deadline and to always be flexible. I am starting to learn to be more comfortable in presenting in front of people now that I am having to do presentations and in-services on using technological tools in the classroom. The different media tools that we have used in the Media class proved to be beneficial and I plan on using what I have learned to teach others at my school through the professional development pieces that I am creating for Burbank Middle School.

Some things that I would like to note of my Internship Activities are the following:
1. Conflict Resolution with Students on Bullying (30 minutes)
2. 12/19/2012 Created a Google Document for Career Day for the School (1 hour)
3. 5/7/2013 Created a Attire Flyer for Graduation and Dance for the whole 8th Grade Department
(1 hour)
4. 6/14/2013 Presenter for the Burbank Middle School Leadership Conference (3 hours includes prep time)
5. 6/20/2013 Presenter for (2) sessions at the Leadership Conference for Principals at the Reliant Center ( 6 hours and 30 in) Entitled: So I Have a Computer, Smart Phone, and iPad-Now What? Using Technology to Increase Rigor and Engagement Across all Content Area

 

Video: See below for Leadership Conference
Link to Program Guide: Booklet
Link to all the power points and documents from the Leadership Conference:Documents


6. 12/19/12 - Present Created the TSSG Blog for Burbank Middle School (8 hours) Teen Success Survival Guide

Total: 20 hours so far

Activity	SBEC Competency Leadership Skill # ETL Only- ISTE TF Performance Indicator (TF1.A)	Activity Summary	Resource Person	Expected Date of Completion (18mos)
Join the Assessment Development Committee	TF- II-A, TF- II-E, TF- V-C. TF-V-D, SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # I.1, III.9 #2 Strategic Planning #6 Collaborative Decision Making # 3 Data Collections and Analysis # 4 Effective Communication	Serve on the assessment and development committee, monitoring, or evaluation of assessments implementations. Be an active member of assessment development for the school year. Log hours spent in conferences and time spent participating in relevant activities involving the committee. Determine if there is technology that will improve the effectiveness, efficiency, or abilities of the committee. At the conclusion of the school year, reflect on time spent Assessment Development minutes from meetings in your portfolio.  Be sure to include thoughts on effectiveness of the committee, cite significant learning, and recommendations for the upcoming school year. Provide some ideas on how to effectively use data and to drive instruction with the use of technology.	Campus Assessment Coordinator Valentino/ Yates	June 2013
Conduct a Survey of Parents/Teachers/Students concerning technology use at home and school and the implementation of the iPad Pilot Program and apps usage	TF- I-B, TF-II-B, TF-II-C, TF-II-D, TF-II-E, TF-VI-A, TF-I-A, TF-II-F SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # 8 Parent Involvement # 22 Learning Technology #  Supervision of Co-Curricular Education # Current Issues affecting Teaching and Learning # Student Services # General Office Administration /Technology #  Staff Development/Adult Learning #Vision/Mission # Supervision of the Budget	I will conduct a survey of Burbank Middle School parents, teachers and students concerning the levels of technology available at home and access to the district/campus websites and parent portal.  The survey will also question the iPad pilot program effectiveness and usage in the classroom. I will then use the results of the survey to plan and deliver training sessions aimed at increasing parent/teacher and student usage of the technologies available to be involved with their child’s education and those participating in the iPad pilot program.	Campus Principal-Hernandez/ Coordinator of the pilot program-Pineda	June 2012
Compile a List of Social Agencies to assist Title-1 Families	TF-VIII-C, TF-VIIA, TF-VIIIC SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill #7 Community/Public Relations #10 Community/Business Involvement and Partnerships #14 Interpersonal Relationships	I will investigate and compile a list of social agencies that are available to help and support students, faculty, and administration.  I will then publish and share my findings on the school website. These services would include free clinics, housing assistance, free and discounted clothing and supplies, free after-school activities and ect.	T. Johnson School Counselor/ Campus Principal-Hernandez/ V. Carranza Technology Clerk	May 2013
Examine and Evaluate the School Library Addressing Cultural Heritage and Diverse Populations	TF-III-A, TF-III-B, TF-III-C TF-III-E SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Climate for Cultural Diversity # Supervision of Instruction # Professional Library	I will examine and evaluate the school library at Burbank Middle School with regard to resources that address the heritage and values of culturally diverse populations. I will evaluate my findings and report recommendations. These recommendations would include project ideas for the vanguard cluster with the use of technology.	Rosas-Magnet Coordinator/Gonzales-Librarian	May 2013
Analyze the  job description of the Assistant Principal and observe the daily routines and the workings of the appraisal system of HISD	TF-III-D TF-V-A, TF-V-B TF-VI-E SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill #  Student Discipline # Issue and Conflict Resolution # School Operations/Policies # Personal Procedures	I will get a copy of the Assistant Principal’s Job Description and the evaluation instrument used.  I will then analyze the correlation between the requirements in the job description in relation to the performance standards of the evaluation. I will observe the daily routines in regards to discipline and attending meetings through the eyes of an administrator.	Assistant Principal-Knittle/ AP Secretary-Rodriguez	May 2013
Review ways that assessment data are used in school and future testing procedures for next school year	TF-IV-A, TF-IV-B TF-IV-C, TF-VI-B, TF-VI-C SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Learning/Motivation # Evaluation of Student Achievement # Curriculum Analysis # School/Program Scheduling # Change Process	I will review the ways in which assessment data are used by the faculty, staff, and district.  I will write a reflective statement about how the leader could seek to improve the use of assessment data in the district/school. This reflection can be used to assist with future decisions in regards to school programs and scheduling. To improve student achievement and motivating learning for students.	Campus Principal-Hernandez, Dean of Students-Valentino Dean of Instruction-Yates	May 2013
Investigate the NAESP Website	TF-VIII-A, TF-VIII-B, TF-VIII-D SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Professional Affiliation and Resources	I will visit the website of the NAESP and compile a list of all services and information available to principals.  I will look into the cost of joining the organization and read through current information available through journal articles and forums.	Campus Principal-Hernandez	January 2013
Interview the Director of Transportation	SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Student Transportation # Safety and Security # Ethics	I will interview the Director of Transportation to discuss current issues and needs for transportation, costs, maintenance, personnel issues, training and safety, and student problems.  I will summarize my findings from the interview.	Director of Transportation	March 2013
Interview the Director of Food Services	SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Food Service # Facility and Maintenance Admin # Federal Program Administration	I will interview the district food services director and discuss the current requirements, concerns, and issues of the program.  I will summarize my findings from the interview.	Director of Food Services	March 2013
Review Board Policy concerning technology use in the classroom and develop training to educate staff in implementing these devices	TF-III-D, TF-VI-D, TF-VII-B, TF-VI-C, TF-VIII-E SBEC Domain & Competency/Leadership Skill # Philosophy/History of Education # School Board Policy # Position Goals/Requirements	I will review board policy concerning staff Internet Usage, Social Networking, Cell Phone Use, etc. and analyze the rationale behind it.  I will then plan a training session for faculty and staff to be used district wide to educate them concerning the policy and utilizing the Internet safely with students.	Campus Principal-Hernandez/ Coordinator of the pilot program-Pineda	May 2013

Reflection from EDLD 5363 Conferences

The purpose of the conferences was to provide additional information and allow students to collaborate with each other as well as the professor about the happenings of the assigned weekly assignments. I think this method does help ensure the student success in the course and it's even more beneficial that the conferences are recorded so, that students can go and view them if he/she could not attend the live version. Each conference has a written transcripts of what the typed information was discussed which is also a great feature of the conferences.

Conference for 6/29/2013 :

The conference started off with cordial greetings and allowing everyone to log in and get settled in. There were several questions such as week 4 assignments due dates. The professor clarified that all assignments are due for week 5. She did mentioned that we were still to comment on others groups video links as they post. Discussion points are doubled and that it must be turned in for week 4 since week 5 doesn't have a placement for that assignment. She also made sure to explain that we are to document our reflections in our google sites/blogs. Week 5 assignments also need to be placed in Tk20 as well as discussion board. The group also talked about the ISTE conference and the wonderful workshops that were going on. She also talked about how the principal program is built into our degree program and that we can take the test after we have completed our internship program. She mentioned that we are to finish up on our hours before we take the test and that class would be 5398, where we would complete our final plan for research plan. Some professional groups she recommended to us was Texas Computer Education Association (tcea.org) and International Society for Technology on Education (ISTE.org). She also spoke about SIG which are specialized groups.

Conference for 6/28/2013:

The conference started off with Carla speaking about her experience at ISTE Conference in San Antonio. She participated in the Elliot Soloway session about BYOD with the purpose of learning how to implement the program properly. In doing so, she was able to meet with the presenter and was given a great deal in exchange for using his program she in turn can get 15 devices for her classroom. What a great opportunity! Carla shared Dr. Soloway  website: www.intergalacticmlc.org which is a free software and there is an app to download. The professor spoke about the importance of sharing and collaborating and how that is a 21st century skill.

Conference for 6/22/2013:

The conference was mainly about where to turn in the assignment and that we need to make sure that we are including the links into our google site or blog. Make sure all key assessments that are placed in TK20 are also placed in your google site and/or bog. She also mentioned to put in extra things in your site/blog to document your learning. Questions were also asked in regards to the video...she wants more video than still shots. Prefer it to be 90 seconds but, no longer than 2 minutes. Any issues with TK20 e-mail at tk20@lamar.edu.

Tutorial Podcast

Week 2 assignment consisted of us creating a podcast for audacity and editing video program. The program that I decided to go with is iMovie. I have had experience with moviemaker but, I wanted to use a program that I have never used before so, iMovie was my choice. It was pretty easy, I must say. I had to first create a script for both the audacity and iMovie. Once that was done I had to create a podcast for both. I decided to create and audio podcast for audacity and vodcast for iMovie. I then had to register my video through creative commons and embed those links within my video, so that my audience are aware that this all of my work. This was an interesting assignment. On top of that we had to reflect on our experience throughout each component of this assignment. Below are the links to my videos:

Audacity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk2lyzUFasc

iMovie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc5KaamiUDE

My Digital Life 2.0

Our assignment was to create a digital story about our personal life. I had to first write a short script that I used to create my final product of my digital video of my personal story. I had to use visual tools such as iMovie, animo to or any other tool to create a video. The video creation tool that I used was stupeflix and the storyboard program I used was storyboard maker.  I had to upload the video through youtube. I really enjoyed doing this media project. I also had to upload my draft of my script to the discussion board so, that my critical friend can give me some feedback.

Below is my Digital Script

Slide 1: Devin is my name which means poet and in my name it describes my life.

Slide 2; Determined, Emotionally-Erratic at times, vigilant, innovative and nifty.

Slide 3: I came from a family who loved me but, struggle to show it due to their own demons.

Slide 4: I was determined not to be like my parents so I tried to be the best in everything. Education was my outlet...Education was freedom.

Slide 5: I struggle with being happy and often times I was emotionally-erratic at times, until I met my husband in high school.

Slide 6: He was my light in my tunnel of darkness...we have been together for 14 years. We have had our 1st child right after I graduated from college. My son is my bittersweet love, he was born a week after my father passed away. He is my daily reminder of my deceased father who never got the chance to meet his grandson.

Slide 7: Through all the tragedy I was vigilant. I was not going to let tragedy drag me down..I enrolled in Alternative Program and became a teacher to make a difference.

Slide 8: I soon realized that I have a gift...to make learning innovative and relevant. My passion is education and technology.

Slide 9: Soon my daughter was born who was born in a time of chaos and her personality is that of a Hurricane Ike, she’s a wild one but, she is one of the many loves of my life.

Slide 10: I soon started to feel like I needed to do something different a change of pace so I decided to get my master to pursue my passion of curriculum and technology. I figure I would take people advice” You have such nifty ideas, you should focus on doing something extraordinary with your talents”.

Slide 11: So here I am taking steps to be the poet that I am Determined, Emotionally-Erratic at times, vigilant, innovative and nifty.

Here is the link to digital video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qEPKgdT3f4

Here is the storyboard of my story: