Reflection on EDLD 5366

Digital Graphics, Animation, and Desktop Publishing have been a new experience for me the last five weeks. I have gained a great deal of knowledge from this class. I had no experience in digital graphics or animation. I did not realize how useful animation could be in the classroom setting. As stated in the article, Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating Multimedia in the K-12 classroom, the author states “Including multimedia as part of instruction can significantly enhance student learning” (Research, 2008). I have found this statement to be true. I believe anytime technology can be integrated into a lesson it helps keep the students focused. "Games succeed because they encapsulate powerful design principles for learning environments"(Halverson, 2005). I find this to be true with most technology. I have learned throughout this course that students thrive on learning new technology. I have absolutely loved learning the software and taking the design principals we have learned and putting them into place on each of the projects.
As I read the literature for this course I found myself nodding my head in agreement with so much as we learned about the design principals and the importance of placement and color. It really brought my attention to the way that ads are created and why the creators do what they do. I particularly enjoyed reading the article with the movie poster from “Sweet Home Alabama.” I learned a great deal on how movie posters are made and how they place things to capture your attention without you even knowing. I found that to be interesting and tried my best to put those principals in place when creating my newsletter.
I found myself wanting to try Microsoft Publisher with my students, but feel they need a little more basic skills before we dive into creating a newsletter. I may start simple and let them create a one page flyer about Christmas Around the World and what they have learned over the past few weeks about Christmas in different countries. I feel technology in our studies should be integrated in all possible ways. With the 21st century learners that we teach on a daily basis, it is important that we capture their attention with the things they know, and they know technology.



Research, S. (2008). Understanding Multimedia Learning: Integrating multimedia in the K-12 classroom. Brain Pop , 1-17.
Halverson, R. (2005). What can k-12 School Leaders Learn from Video Games and Gaming. Retrieved from http://www.innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=81

Investigating Ancient Manuscripts EDLD 5366 Assignment 1.2

The first impression that I had of the Bible from Ethiopia was that it was similar to most works done in this time period. It seems that most works done around this time were in the column format and written in black text.

Proximity is seen with the writing in the two columns. The picture at the top of the page is and the writing at the bottom of the page is important in some way because they are set by themselves. The alignment of the page is a two column page with an important writing of some kind on the bottom center. The picture in the upper left hand corner is left justified and captures your attention because it is in color. The black text is repeated throughout the text and gives the book a sense of consistency. The writing that is in black and the colored picture with writing is a type of contrast that allows your eye to flow through the reading easily.

The author makes it apparent by the amount of text that is on the page that the text is important and needs to be read. The picture also has some significance because it was done in a different color. This manuscript is an important piece of work because of the time it took to compose such a piece so long ago.

EDLD 5363- Wrapping It Up!

I must say the group work that was done the last few weeks was a great success. The group that I had the opportunity to work with was great! We all did a great job pulling our own weight. Each of our talents came out while working on this video project. I was nervous about having to work with a group, and things being out of my control. I was greatly surprised how well we all worked so well together. Our Skype calls were a great way for us to collaborate and organize our thoughts on a weekly basis. The group wiki was an awesome idea and was also a great way for each group member to post their work. We decided, as a group, to each create our own version of a video and then vote on the video that we wanted to use as our final production. This gave each of us an opportunity to learn the software more thoroughly. After a little discussion, we decided to use Lamar’s video. Lamar’s video was a step above each of ours. Even though we were each proud of our individual videos, Lamar’s video captured the essence of our topic. This class has been a challenge at times, but overall it has been a great learning experience. I hope that my future group work will be as positive as the one I have had in EDLD 5363.

Group Wiki: http://edld5363psagroup.wikispaces.com/
PSA on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S88aTGIQTCM

Week 4 Update for EDLE 5363

I was a bit nervous about having to work in a group, but the last few weeks have been well worth the time and effort. My group is Timothy (Lamar), Michelle, Jose, and Lucinda. I have enjoyed working with these four individuals and we have all worked hard to make this project a success. We have had several Skype calls to make sure we are all organized and on the same page, and Lucindia started us a wiki page for us to put all of our information. It has been great getting to work with this group, and I look forward to seeing the finished product. We each had our assignments and we each have fulfilled our duties to make this a successful week.


Wiki URL:
http://edld5363psagroup.wikispaces.com/

Web Conference-Monday, September 6th

I attended the web conference this evening. I found this web conference informative about the next few weeks assignments. I am looking forward to starting the next assignments now that I have a better handle on the information.

I was also able to get my camera to work this evening which was unable to do at the last web conference I attended. It was a little strange watching myself on the computer. I realized that it would be a good idea to fix my hair and maybe put on a little make-up the next time I am online. (Smile)

Overall, I found the web conference a success!

Adventures In Video Editing Software-Week 2 Assignment

Integrating media production in your curriculum can help you find new access to students and help them find new access to the material. Media production engages and excites; it leads to unexpected discoveries, increased self-awareness and esteem, sharpened critical thinking, analytical skills, group work skills, and ability to communicate ideas. Media production demands writing and rewriting, research, group effort, and clarity of thought” (Garrison, 2010). This quote explains exactly how I felt as I dove into the video editing software for this week’s assignment. I have never used any type of video editing software so this experience was new to me. I had to use my skills on Internet searching to find open source editing software.

I finally chose Windows Movie Maker and Blender. I found Blender a very complicated software to use and it was mostly for 3D graphics and that is not what I was wanting to use. Although Blender is compatible for more than one type of network it is tough software for beginners. I am defiantly a beginner when it comes to video editing.

I decided to go with Windows Movie Maker. Come to find out I already had Windows Movie Maker on my computer. It was so much fun diving into this program and learning how to use the software. I used several tutorials from YouTube to teach me the basics. Movie Maker is a very user friendly software and it great for beginners. I believe I would be able to create a class project using Movie Maker with my second graders. Later in the year I would like to tackle this project. I would love to collect video from the year and pictures and share this with the parents. I believe this would defiantly engage my students, because I could not seem to get enough of this editing software.


Garrison, A. (2010). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article3.html

Personal Digital Story Experience- EDLD 5363

I must say I was really excited about getting to learn something new. I had never used Photo Story and I was looking forward to trying it out. The technology is great and who can complain when the software is free. All I have to say about creating something with software that you have never used before is SAVE OFTEN! After working for several hours with Photo Story I lost every bit of my work and had to start all over. I wanted to cry. I had just spent the evening away from my family in hopes that I would finish my project and all I came home with was frustration. I have always been told to save often, and I usually do. I got caught up in the new and forgot to do the one thing you learn in technology 101. My project is now complete and I am glad that I learned a new software and the hard lesson of saving often.

EDLD 5301 Reflection

The greatest insight that I learned from this course is the true meaning of action research. I now know that research can be done on a daily basis. It is important to focus our research on topics that are important to ourselves. I have enjoyed learning how to put together an action research plan. I really want to learn more about how to make action research a productive part of the day. I will continue to use the Harris text as a resource and will also continue to practice doing action research. I believe, the more we put something like this into practice the better we will become.

Discussion About Action Research Plan

My mentor did not see that there were any changes needed to my action research plan. I am looking forward to getting my research started with the new school year starting.

Action Research Plan EDLD 5301

Goals:
How is the acceptable use policy pertinent to a school district?

Activities designed to achieve the objectives:

Quantitative Analysis:
I will test a small group of teachers to see what knowledge they have of our AUP.

Interview:
I will test a small group of teachers to see if they know where our AUP is located on our district web page, and if they know the importance of knowing the information in our AUP.

Survey:
I will use a survey to form my results for my qualitative results.

Resources and Research Tools Needed for Data Gathering:
I will need to form a test/survey to to give to the small group of teachers so hat I can collect data on what the teachers know about our AUP.

Draft a Timeline for Completion or Implementation of Activities:
August 2010-December 2010

Persons Responsible for Implementation:
Christine Maier and Kim Hollingsworth

Process for Monitoring the Achievement of Goals and Objectives:
I will set a timeline during the semester for myself to make sure different phases of the on-going research s being completed.

Assessment:
I will have the teachers play a Jeopardy game created in Notebook software to test their new knowledge of the AUP.

EDLD 5301 What I have learned in Week Two

Week Two has been an eye opening week in the area of action research. I learned about the nine different areas of action research. While there are nine different areas for eductors to look at when doing action research, I see them all as equally important.Educators and administrators must be active researchers to stay on top of their field and know what is working in the education sector.

How Educators Can Use Blogs

Educators could use blogs as a form of communication between parents and students. Blogs in a classroom would allow students opinions and thoughts to be heard about activities done during the school day. I also think the same could be done with parents.

What I Have Learned About Action Research

Action research is an important part of an administrator's role. As a person who hopes to hold an administrative position in the technology field, it will be important to find the time for research. Scheduling time for research into my everyday routine would be beneficial. It will not allow me to use the time factor as and excuse. The seven steps within the systematic approach gives me a starting and stopping point, and it will allow for a successful solution. When others are allowed to engage in action research, more people can be heard and be encouraged to give their opinion. It ultimately allow for camaraderie in the school environment.

One action that I would like to implement in the future is a technology learning community. This community would allow for lead teachers and administrators to gather and discuss the needs for technology at the school and district level. Strengths and weaknesses can be easily identified when members of the learning communities are present from all levels. In discussing this with other teachers, we could see the things that are necessary in primary through secondary levels that would help their technology development as students move along in their schooling. Using these skills will help us to use reflection and ultimately have technology successfully implemented throughout the district.

Web Conference-Tuesday, June 1st

Web Conference- Tuesday, June 1st

This was my first opportunity with a web conference, so I was a little nervous because I did not know what to expect. At first, I had a hard time knowing exactly what I needed to do, but as the conference went on, I learned what the different buttons were and how to speak during a web conference. The only problem I had with the conference was I was never able to get my web camera to show up on the screen. It would come on for just a bit and then go off again.

The information discussed in the web conference was a bit overwhelming. The internship is going to be a great experience, but I have to get my head wrapped around what is expected of us. I look forward to attending another web conference soon, and hopefully my web cam will work.

Texas STaR Chart Power Point

This Power Point will discuss the results for Austin Elementary. It will also point out the different key summary areas and examples of each area. We will compare 2008 and 2009 data.

Star Chart Power Point

View more presentations from cmaier.

Post # 3 Review of Learning Powered by Technology

Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology is a report written to state the plan that the federal government would like to put in place to better integrage technology into our education system. The report goes through step by step what needs to happen on learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity level to make this plan a success.

There are certain goals set aside for each of these levels, but one level I would like to discuss is the Teaching: Improving Learning Through Connected Teaching. Connecting teaching helps us improve teaching by no longer having teachers isolated, but instead they are able to collaborate together and imporove on lessons beign taught and share ideas with one another through different outlets of technology. The plan states, "that technology will have to be taught to improve the gap between teachers and students (Education,2010). Also, technology can be used so that teachers share access to the most up to date resources.

The one thing that I disagree with is the fact that Obama would like to raise the amount of students graduating from "two year or four year schools from 39% to 60% (Education, 2010). I agree with the fact that we should try to improve the amount of students that have recieved higher education, but I believe we must include trade schools. Not everyone is fit for the college scence, but some students will thrive in a trade school, and that needs to be seen as something to strive for as well.

Education, U.S.Department (2010). Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology. Washington: U.S. Department of Education.

Post # 2 Reflection on Progress Report on the Long Range Plan of Texas

As I read the progress report for the Long Range Plan of Texas for the years of 2006-2020, I find that Texas is doing a good job of growing in the field of technology (Agency, 2008). Schools have embraced the need of professional development in the area of technology, and more and more students are meeting the technology standards.

The report shows how each grade level has used technology. Grades K-12 use technology mostly for educational games, grades 3-5 use technology mostly for research, grades 6-8 showed an increase in technology in many areas, but mostly use technology to complete writing assignments. Grades 9-12 also use technology mostly to complete written assignments.

The report also showed, "Texas educators and librarians showed slight gains in the area of Educator Preparation on the Texas Teacher STaR Chart when comparing the past two years" (Agency, 2008). Schools have begun to offer more professional development that helps teachers meet the needs of the 21st century learners.

The progress report also shows how each region is meeting the needs of each section of the Long Range Plan of Texas. At Region 10, in the area of Educator Preparation and Development, they offer statewide program training for classroom teachers to integrate technology into their lessons.

Texas has come a long way in just a few short years, but we have a ways to go when it comes to adding technology into our schools.

Agency, T.E. (2008). Progress Report on the Long Range Plan for Technology 2006-
2020. Austin:Texas Education Agency

Blog Post #1 Four Areas of the Texas Long Range Plan

This area of the Texas Long Range Plan for Technology explains the importance of preparing teachers to prepare their students for the future by using technology in the educational setting. Ongoing professional development is crucial to Texas teachers so that they can be prepared to teach this generation of Texas students.

Progress in this area has been great. The state has put into place the Texas STaR chart to track the technology ability of their teachers. These scores have to be presented to the federal government for No Child Left Behind and also for grant money if associated with technology. In Ennis ISD, professional development opportunities for technology have grown over the last several years. Every summer, Ennis offers two days in the summer for what we call Tech Camp, where teachers teach other teachers the technology that they are using in their classrooms. They also have hands on experience using the technology during training.

I recommend that training continue to be hands on. I believe that if training happened during the school year that more teacher would be apt to use the technology, because they would not forget the skills over the summer. I often hear that teachers are frustrated with technology training, because they often forget how to use what they have been taught before summer is over. Also, training must include time to explore the technology. Good training is not simply an expert talking about products.