Action Research/ Week 1

It has been an eye-opening experience to read and learn about action research in education. Action research is a positive activity in which teachers and administrators can become engaged in order to question themselves about their own professional practice or learn about an issue, conflict, or problem that is affecting their school. There are two major currents in research. The first current is “Process-Product-Research” where research results are implemented as a recipe and educators do not take an active role in the research process. In this research model, researchers are outside experts that do not take into account particular factors or variables affecting the administrator’s professional practice or the school environment.

The second model is Action Research or also called administrator’s Inquiry. In this kind of research, administrators or educators are active participants in the research process. They start the process by questioning themselves about the possible causes of a problem or issue. This issue or problem may be low school scores, low attendance, or any other that the researchers deem import for their own schools or districts and through a process of collection of data and information; they design an action plan to be implemented. If results of this action plan are positive, they maintain the improvement. The analogy of a doctor studying the causes of an illness in a patient described in the readings is very illustrative and a good example to clarify what action research is.

As described in Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools, The 8 Steps For Action Research are as follows:

1. Setting the Foundation

2. Analyzing Data

3. Developing Deeper Understanding

4. Engaging in Self Reflection

5. Exploring Patterns

6. Determining Direction

7. Taking Action

8. Sustaining Improvement

Some of the benefits that action research brings to professional practice are:

1. Action research is an opportunity for professional development and a means to avoid isolation. Through the sharing of experiences through meeting and conversations, questions are asked and reflections are presented to other educators, by doing this, administrators can learn from others.
2. Action Research presents and opportunity to solve problems and issues particular to our own reality without the intervention of outside experts that do not know anything about our students or our community.
3. Action research will contribute to administrator’s professional growth by giving an opportunity to analyze what we are doing and how we are doing it. It also gives us a pause to stop and reflect how our actions and decisions are affecting their schools.
4. The constant self questioning and the search to identify areas of need improvement in their own practice give administrators an invaluable opportunity for continuous growth, avoidance of professional atrophy and the tendency to become reactive to the problems arising in a school year.

I really consider that action research presents an opportunity for growth, not only in education, but in any other profession. It helps organize reflections, data and information to create a plan to improve any organization. I can even see some personal benefits if we apply it to our daily life to analyze issues that need to be corrected. I am looking forward to learning about the phases to create an action research project.

Blogging and Action Research

Blogging and action research have become two powerful allies for administrators and teachers. Blogging is the web 2.0 tool that revolutionizes how information is delivered and sheared online. As I mentioned in number 1 of the benefits of action research, the shearing of information, reflections and personal experiences become instrumental for the professional growth of an administrator. Blogging will support this sharing of information with other educators outside the school or district boundaries. Blogging also serves as a diary where administrators can record new information, results of research, or new ideas in process of development. Blogging will expose your ideas to an audience that can also contribute in its development. When administrators write in a blog, the web serves as an online archive where their ideas and reflections reside for future reference, analyses and for potential changes. It also serves as a collaboration tool where administrators can participate in an action research project for the district without leaving their schools, but reaping the benefits of collaboration and exchange of ideas.

S Ta R Chart Tijerina

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S Ta R Chart Tijerina

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Web Conference

I think the web conference was a great example of how technology can be implemented for communication for educational purposes. I was a little anxious about it because I could not access it the first time. In this occasion, the connection to the online classroom was fast. Once I connected, voice and image were issues all the time. At some point of the session, I realized that this kind of communication between teachers and students was one of the 21st Century tools that I have been reading about lately. I also realized that the success of some of these new technologies are dependent on the technical knowledge of students and hardware and software features like bandwidth, memory in the computer that is being used for the session, and operating system. Students with the proper technology tools can have the advantage to attend a class that may not be available in the area.

The National Educational Technology Program

The federal government recognizes that the key for America’s future is education and creates a plan to address the new challenges that schools, educators and students will encounter in the 21st century. The National Educational Program or NETP is created in 2010 and has two main goals:

Increase the number of college graduates from 39% to 60% of our population.
Close the achievement gap.

NETP calls for the incorporation of new technologies in all aspects of education. The plan states that new technologies will provide numerous options to engage in learning participate in new staff development activities, collaborate with the learning community.
Every aspect of education such as teaching, learning and assessment must utilize the full potential of electronic tools currently used by businesses.
NETP provides a plan provides a plan to address current needs in technology, staff development, assessment, infrastructure and teaching methodologies.
NETP also calls for more cooperation between K-12 schools and higher education institutions to improve graduation opportunities for all students.
Teaching is described in this plan as collaboration among educators. Connected teaching will enable the participation of teachers, students, librarians and after school programs to participate in the teaching and learning process. Staff development for teachers must support the use of technology to improve learning. The plan gives a comprehensive list of recommendations on how the different aspects of education need technology to improve and shares a new vision for Education.
One of my concerns about the plan is the support for elimination of restrictions to share and access more detailed information about students protected under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The information does not contain personal identifiable information about students, but it raises the same concern as medical records. Would employers be able to access this information?
I would also like to comment on the support given in the document to online education. I strongly believe that the need of highly skilled teachers in online instruction will increase in the future. In addition, online education is highlighted as an area of importance to offer instruction to more students regardless of schedule or geographical location.
I can also identify a similarity in some areas such as Teaching and Learning and infrastructure between the LRPT and NETP. However, in my personal opinion, NETP focuses on higher education.

Progress Report of LRPT

After I read the 2008 report of the LRPT, I have gained a deeper understanding of how children learn with technology and the way how day use it on a daily basis. As they progress, students use a great variety of tools and technologies available for learning and entertainment. They embrace enthusiastically the rapid changes in technology in and outside the school. As they mature and gain a better understanding of how technology can support learning and their personal goals, students relay more and more on technology to finish projects, conduct online research and communicate effectively through web 2.0 tools. It is important to mention that the main obstacle perceived by students is the implementation of a school filter or firewall to block websites that they nee to access at school.
I observed that the majority of schools have moved from the DT area to the AT area. Less than 5% remain in the ET level. Also, less than 5% of schools moved to the TT. The current trend indicates that schools will continue to grow in the four areas of implementation of the LRPT in the following years to come.
Another important part of the report of the LRPT is the analysis of two pilot programs implemented in some schools in the state of Texas.
The Texas Virtual School Network offers an opportunity to access online education. Online classes are offered through online education to provide an unparallel access to instruction. Student in remote areas where high qualified teachers and advanced placement classes are not available are benefited by this flexible means of instruction. Students can access course 24/7 at their own pace without limitation of schedules or geographical location.
The Technology Immersion Program allows teachers and students to use technology in aspects of the teaching and learning process. The objective of this program is to explore the relationship of between students’ performance and educational technology. Students obtain a wireless computer to support learning and extend it beyond school walls. The report provides a comparative list of traits in High Immersion Schools and Low Immersion Schools. Some of the differences that I found intriguing are:

· Experiences that changed teacher practices were promoted in HIS.

· Educators in HIS believed laptops improved students learning.

· Educators in LIS believed that laptops are useful for free time.

This program will continue to provide useful data until 2011 when parties involved will have to make a decision about TIP.

It is going to be very interesting to know the final results of this program and the data analyzed. I would like to know if this program will be implemented in more schools in Texas, especially with limitations in the budget of the majority of the school districts in Texas. Another area of concern would be the personnel needed to maintain the infrastructure. Also, more technology related training will be needed. In addition, teachers will have to be more knowledgeable about Technology Applications TAKS and the new communication and collaboration tools needed in the classroom.

LRPT/Teaching and Learning

In a world where vast amount of information is created and shared every second, future citizens will have to develop new skills to communicate and collaborate in a new way never seen before. Aware of the challenge ahead, The State of Texas implements the LRPT 2006-2020. This plan provides a detailed course of action to implement technology in education. One of four areas contained in the LRPT is Teaching and Learning.
Teaching and learning, from the perspective of the LRPT, must be focused on a student-centered instruction based on the use of new technologies to collaborate and communicate effectively in a new way.
Teachers must posses a new set of skills to promote learning through critical thinking and the solution of real problems. For this reason, 21st Century teachers must use researched-based teaching strategies that incorporate technology in the content areas.
By analyzing the Campus STaR Chart and the Campus Statewide Survey, the two reports show that the majority of schools have achieved the level of DT. In the 2007-2008 school year, the statewide report shows 69.7 % of all schools in the area of DT. Less than
5% are found in the ET level and the TT area. The same trend can be observed in my campus which is placed in the DT area. I think that in the future, this trend will continue in the same direction. Locally and nationally, schools will slowly move forward to the next level with the implementation of new training opportunities and the confidence gained by educators over the years.
One of the obstacles to incorporate technology in the classroom is the lack of staff development training aligned with the goals of the LRPT. On campus, training offered is mainly focused on drill software and software for administrative tasks. A good solution is to have a technology specialist to work directly with teachers on new teaching methodologies based on Technology application standards and aligned with the LRPT goals.