Hey Everyone!

I had another great experience this week learning about leadership.  I helped in the front office with discipline again.  I felt much more comfortable working with students and parents in the front office.

I was the administrator on duty for another school football game. I have worked with both site supervisors  and potential problems and situations that might arise while on duty.  I continue to learn the basics of learning about leadership.

My action research plan continues to make progress.  Since the program is a brand new district initiative there is a B.Y.O.T campus planning meeting scheduled this coming Thursday. I will be meeting with the district technology officer about planning, implementation, and guidelines of the program.

I will be documenting my research progress.  I look forward to letting you know more about the process.

Have a great week!

My Leadership Learning CONTINUES

This week was busy but brought fantastic learning opportunities!

On Tuesday, I served as the "administrator on duty" at our 7th grade football game.  There are several teachers in various administration programs (University of Phoenix, Stephen F. Austin University, University of St. Thomas, University of Houston) and we're all being utilized as administrative resources. Our campus principals are SO supportive in helping us learn the basics of a principal's position and are offering us many different venues to learn about successful leadership practices. We are all involved in an administration rotation for this year's athletic activities.  I met with each campus administrator about the role of an administrator on duty and was thankful for the guidance in completing my first task.

I was also approached by an AP to be on this year's campus IM (textbook) Committee.  The 'IM" stands for 'instructional materials' since our district is moving away from standard textbooks and more independent learning through primary and secondary sources, etc. I will be representing the 7th grade which automatically makes me aware that I must seek advice from my peers that are knowledgeable in the subjects that I'm not.  I feel strong in LA and SS, due to my 10 years of experience is these subjects, but know that I must enlist the feedback of of other department educators to provide instructional materials that will help them in the classroom.  I lam really excited about this opportunity!

I spent an hour in the front office this week with a discipline issue.  I received advice from an AP, spoke with a student, and the parent, and came to a quick solution.  It worked out well.

My site supervisor, our campus principal, provided a wealth of personal knowledge and experience lessons that continue to help me learn about the role that I aspire to hold someday.

Have a great week everyone!!!

Overcoming Research Challenges

This week I worked with my site supervisor on the implementation and concerns surrounding my Action Research Plan.  

My Action Research Plan is centered on our district B.Y.O.T. (Bring Your Own Technology) program.I’m investigating the ability, and consequences, of students bringing their personal technology devices to the classroom to help with research and general application assignments. The other part of the study is to evaluate if a campus computer lab open after-school, from 7pm – 9 pm provides more opportunities for students to use current, innovative technology to complete classroom assignments and be better prepared to function in today’s technology-dependent world.

The possible problems that I’ve discussed with my site supervisor are:

1.Technology Connections:

I assume we have all experienced the frustration of slow or non-responsive technology.Strong “signals” are required to make B.Y.O.T work in the classroom and could make a planned lesson very difficult to carry out if they don’t work in the middle of a concrete building with few windows. I plan to address this issue by planning a B.Y.O.T lesson with several components. The first 2-3 steps of the lesson will be simple enough that if the connections aren’t working than they’ll be easily completed in a campus lab or after the problems are resolved.

2.Parent Communication:

Parents need to be made aware of the reasons, benefits, and requirements of students using a campus computer lab in the evening.Student newsletters are often lost and never make it home so the concern is how to convey the information that can make this research plan a success. I will use my classroom website as a resource to share the campus computer lab’s points of success, as well as, our school parent call-out system.

3.3. Teacher Volunteers:

If this Action Research Plan proves to be helpful in the eyes of the school and district, then another obstacle to overcome would be how to staff the lab on a regular basis with teacher volunteers.My plan at the moment is to staff our lab myself every day for one week but that would obviously be difficult to do on a regular basis.I would have to present this idea to the faculty at a school meeting and work on getting them to buy-in to the program and volunteer their valuable family and personal time.I will ask my school principal, and site supervisor, for some time to talk to the staff at a faculty meeting and then initially enlist the help of one or two close friends.

I will look at this as a learning opportunity in problem-solving, communicating with parents, and developing skills in motivating my peers. Most importantly, I’m hoping that this helps our students as much as possible.

Action Planning Template - "Bring Your Own Technology" to the Classroom

Action Planning Template
Goal: To use district and student technological resources for innovative classroom instruction while preparing students to be technologically capable in today’s society.  To show that district support of technology will improve student and campus success.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey 160 middle school students about their attitudes, accessibility, and willingness to use technology on the classroom.	Mrs. Klein	September 1, 2011	30 student lab computers Teacher -created survey taken on teacher website	Survey results are technologically evaluated: Cell Phones 34.45% I Pod Touch 26.79% I Pad 5.26% Laptop 33.49%
Assign a two-part assignment consisting of B.Y.O.T. and at home completion tactics	Mrs. Klein Mr. Harrell	September 12 - 25	Teacher grade reports and online survey results	Skyward (gradebook resource) and SchoolWire (online education resource) programs will provide assessments of student completion
Analyze the completion reports vs. B.Y.O.T., 1st, and 2nd week assignment completions	Mrs. Klein	September 26	Internet Access	A spreadsheet will be created tracking student completion
Survey students and report results to site supervisor.  Review results with district technology director.	Mrs. Klein Mr. Harrell Mrs. Rhame	October 2011	Surveyed by Mrs. Klein	Each student will fill out a survey describing his or her thoughts on using technology in the classroom and at home.  Their interest level, willingness, and accessibility will be recorded.  I will also reflect on the monitoring process regarding the same questions.

The necessity for completing an online assignment will assist me in evaluating student access to technology.  Additionally, I’ll be able to monitor student participation and evaluate if students’ campus-wide participation in an after-hours “open-computer lab” improves their confidence in working with technology.  Data regarding completion rates, student mastery, and student participation will hopefully support the district B.Y.O.T. program and a possible campus program to assist students and families with technology access. 

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

EIC Meeting

I'm so happy to have recently earned a spot on the Education Improvement Council for my campus.  There are three seats and only one was available.  Our first meeting was yesterday and it was a great opportunity to hear from the superintendent and the entire district administration team.  I learned about the 7 committees that will work on Budget, C & I, Human Resources, Community Involvement, etc.  We'll learn our assignment soon and look forward to working with other campus and district leaders to give our students the best chances for success.

I've also been asked to work on our Campus Improvement Plan.  Campus representatives will be reviewing and editing the plan to reflect new practices that will help our campus be successful.

I've also been worked into an administrative rotation that will allow me to act the "administrator on duty" at campus football, volleyball, and basketball games this year.  I've met with one of my site supervisors and discussed the role of the administrator.  It seems easy enough...knock on wood! :)

Have a great week!

Discipline Assignment and Site Supervisor visit

I worked with four boys who were accusing each other of bullying.  I received advice of how to handle the situation from principal and he trusted me to handle it mostly on my own.  Luckily, he stopped by towards the end of the hour and I was able to confirm with him how I had handled the meeting. He approved and I felt great about accomplishing my first "principaly" task.  We further talked about the action research plan that I had proposed regarding the B.Y.O.T. policy.  We reviewed the printout of my technology survey and he was really complimentary of my efforts! :) He suggested contacting the director of technology with my findings which I did and I think touching base with her help me make great strides in my research efforts.

It was a great week!

First Day in the Office & Technology Toolbox

I spent my first day in the front office yesterday!!  My principal let me handle a few discipline issues and I worked on the 7th grade field trip with the school secretary.  The school is still pretty quiet but we're expecting that to change in the next week or two! :)

Today, I took my students to the computer lab for a technology scavenger hunt about Texas and World History.  This is EXACTLY the sort of thing that would be great to do with the B.Y.O.T (Bring Your Own Technology) program that is being introduced in our district.  My action research plan will evolve around the B.Y.O.T. initiative which will allow students to have the ability of bringing technology into the classroom.  This program has the potential to help the district and state put technology in the hands of every student and the purpose of that is to keep every student engaged with skills that will apply to their every day and future lives!  I created a 10 question survey on my teacher website to assess the students' attitudes and motivation about technology, which I think is a critical factor in the action research plan.
The questions were:

• Do the students feel it's important in learning?
• Do they think it's NECESSARY to learning?
• Do they have technology and if so what kind?

• If they DON'T have technology, do they have access to it?
• How often do they spend on the internet?
•  Do they think B.Y.O.T (Bring Your Own Technology) days at school would make learning easier or harder?
• Do they think B.Y.O.T would make learning more or less enjoyable?
• Do they think they can be responsible with their technology at school?
• Do they think OTHERS can be responsible with their technology at school?

The results were expected...high interest level in B.Y.O.T. and confident attitudes regarding their ability to be responsible with the idea .  The availability of bringing technology devices to class were pleasantly surprising...

There were 148 respondents:

Cell Phones 34.45%

I Pod Touch 26.79%

I Pad 5.26%

Laptop 33.49%

Interesting Note:  There are 4 junior highs in our district.  We are a Title I school and there is one other.  There are two more affluent schools in the district.  I have coordinated results of a similar survey with one of the more affluent schools because I am curious to know how our eco-disadvantaged demographic compares to theirs.  Does the eco-disadvantaged demographic make an impact as we expect it would?  Or does the label change our perceptions of these students and allow them unwarranted opportunities to slide through the system? I think these are also interesting "sub"-questions to pose in my research plan

What do you think?

k

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.

Forest E. Witcraft