EDLD 5352 Post-Conference Activity

I participated in the web conference on Jan. 30, 2012.  The conference was quite informative of not only current coursework, but the program in general.  It was nice “to speak” to other students in the class and just getting to know some of them as we chatted before the official conference began.  It is always comforting to know that others have the same questions as you.  I am excited that I am nearing the end of the program and Dr. Abernathy included graduation information.  I appreciated hearing her eagerness to help and how she readily gave out personal information for contact.  That was so awesome.  I wish my schedule would allow me to attend more of the conferences, but I am fortunate for the opportunities I do have and the information gathered during the time online.

HMS Organizational Chart

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE POSITIONS IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHART ABOVE:

ü  SUPERINTENDENT

o   Oversees and provides support to the district in all areas, including professional development and instruction necessary to reach district technology goals.

ü  DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTION & ADMINISTRATION

o   Oversees and provides support to the district's Elementary Education Department, Secondary Education Department and the Instructional Support Department.

ü  ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF ELEMENTRAY/SECONDARY EDUCATION

o   Oversees elementary/secondary professional development, and conducts regular classroom walk-throughs to evaluate if technology is being incorporated effectively to improve student achievement.

ü  ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT

o   Oversees the updating and implementation of the district curriculum and managing tool.  Meets with school leaders to check on progress of learning and glean data to improve upon all instruction in the classroom.

ü  DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION

o   Oversees elementary/secondary professional development, and conducts regular classroom walk-throughs to evaluate if technology is being incorporated effectively to improve student achievement.  Meets with administration of campus often and reviews current school data in order to develop ongoing plans to increase student achievement.

ü  DIRECTOR OF CURRICULUM AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

o   Oversees the creation of curriculum tools and professional development for the district to improve classroom achievement and promote smooth integration of technological resources.

ü  DIRECTOR OF INSTRCUTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

o   Creates technology professional development courses, and selects educators to conduct the courses in an effort to integrate technology in a way that supports the learning of all students guided by 21^st century skills and Technology TEKS.

ü  ELEMENTARY/SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

o   Uses campus AEIS, Texas StaR chart results, classroom walk-through data, and PDAS information to continuously assess the needs of the campus in multiple areas including technology education, professional development, and student support. Also relays the campus’ needs to the district to ensure teachers have needed resources to improve student academic achievement.

ü  ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS

o   Provide teachers with information and guidance for improving technology instruction. Also evaluate use of technology in teacher classroom using PDAS-driven guidelines.

ü  CAMPUS INSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIST

o   Responsible for guiding purchases and maintaining technology equipment and software. Provides teachers with resources for incorporating technology into the classroom, including modeling, co-teaching, and providing on-campus training.

ü  TEACHERS

o   Responsible for maintaining a safe and conducive environment to promote the learning of students using a variety of strategies and technological tools in order to enhance the framework of set curriculum standards.

ü  STUDENTS

o   Responsible for learning material given by teachers and utilizing 21^st century skills when integrating technology in the classroom.  Students must share in the responsibility of web etiquette and proper uses of web tools and other computer software in the classroom.

The role of the principal in making sure the organizational chart is implemented and monitored:

It is the principal’s responsibility to evaluate not only the needs of his or her students but also the needs of staff members. The principal must use the data from AEIS reports to evaluate the learning and academic support needs of the students. From there the principal can find new technological resources to enhance the students learning in those areas. The principal will also use STaR charts to determine how effectively the staff is using technology in the classroom. It is the principal’s responsibility to discuss the areas of need with higher level district personnel to determine if new equipment and of professional development that can be incorporated. The principal needs to utilize experienced teachers who can serve as technology mentors for colleagues to assist in incorporating technology in the classroom.

HMS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TECHNOLOGY

After reviewing the STaR chart, the campus and district improvement plans, and the interviews form the week 3 assignment there are various professional development areas that need to be addressed at Hernandez MS:

• Teachers need to be taught how to access the STaR chart and how this information is used to enhance their instructional strategies, as well as the campus as a whole.

• Courses on incorporating iphones, ipods, and other hand-held devices into the everyday classroom to enhance instruction as the students suggested.

• Have students conduct a workshop for teachers to teach them how to use basic programs. Turning the situation around might be insightful for teachers.  Teachers, as students, most likely teach the way that they learn the best.  Teachers need to remember that students also learn best using these strategies. 

• Continuous Smartboard/Airliner professional development is imperative. Also, allow teachers to do walk-throughs of one another’s classes in order to see how other teachers are incorporating web tools into their classroom.

• More information and training opportunities on web sources such as blogs, wikis, moodle, and how to incorporate these into the classroom lessons guiding students through project-based, exploratory learner. for enhanced learning outside the classroom

• New technology techniques in math and science since those are our lowest areas in AEIS reports.

 

Hernandez Middle School Technology Professional Development Action Plan
Goal: The quality of instruction in the school will improve to meet the needs of all student populations as demonstrated in improved student performance by all subgroups on district benchmarks and state assessments. In order to achieve this teachers and administrators will attend technology professional development to enhance classroom instruction and to improve student achievement.
Action Step(s)	Person Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Texas STaR chart and AEIS reports (some current student data source) will be evaluated to determine student needs. From there administrative staff will determine what technology professional development needs to occur for teachers.	Irma Bauer, Instructional Technologist Dr. Brennan, Principal Ms. Gutierrez & Mr. Mutscher, Assistant Principals Campus Leadership Team	April 2011 – June 2011	Texas STaR Chart Results AEIS Reports &/or Cumulative Student Data on Benchmarks District Improvement Plan Campus Improvement Plan	Changes in STaR chart and AEIS/Campus Student data results from prior year
Teachers will be surveyed to determine types of technology professional development would be personally beneficial.	Irma Bauer, Instructional Technologist	April 2011 – May 2011	Campus-based surveys will be e-mailed to all teachers, i.e. survey monkey or google docs	Teachers will be required to complete survey.  Letters of directives could be used in the event this is not completed in the timeframe allotted.
Campus administrators and CLT will determine monthly technology professional development sessions (Power Bursts) over one tool will be lead by teacher leaders or the IT. These will be conducted in small groups with a hands-on approach to teach the teachers new instructional techniques.	Dr. Brennan, Principal Assistant  Principals Irma Bauer, Instructional Technologist Campus Leadership Team (CLT) Specified Campus Trainers	September 2012 – April 2013	Various technology handouts to provide to teachers Computers Technology resources that each course is covering	Teachers will demonstrate how they are incorporating the technology into their weekly lesson plans
Revisit step one at the conclusion of the 2012-2013 school year to evaluate improvements and determine needs to be addressed with district-level professionals.	Irma Bauer, Instructional Technologist Dr. Brennan, Principal Assistant Principals CLT	March  2013 - June 2012	STaR Chart AEIS Reports &/or Cumulative Student Data on Benchmarks Campus and District Improvement Plans	Changes in STaR chart and AEIS/Campus Student data results from prior year