Conference

I actually typed this up quite a while ago, but thought I would post it here anyway.

I participated in the Learn NC online conference on October 1st and attended Watauga High School’s Technology Demonstration on October 22. Both programs were very informative in different ways; the Learn NC conference brought together education staff members from different content areas and positions while Watauga High’s demonstration was more focused on local media services.

The online conference was especially helpful because I was not aware of Learn NC before this event. The opening remarks briefly stated the purpose and services that the Learn NC website offers. One session of the conference addressed professional development standards for teachers. I found myself agreeing with the content because I attended professional development meetings when I was student teaching. I believe that it is very important for the teachers to have that collaborative time where they learn about new practices that can improve their teaching and help capture student interest, but at the same time, since I had just gotten through college, a lot of the material was redundant to me. For some teachers who have been teaching a long time and perhaps have not had the time or money to attend conferences or read up on the latest educational practices, I can see how professional development can really be beneficial. Learn NC’s online courses could also help due to the fact that they are designed with an educator in mind. One participant asked if Learn NC provided online courses for SLMSs, and one of the moderators replied that they did offer a few, so it was very reassuring to hear that SLMSs were included in the program offerings.

My favorite session of the conference was when they invited a science teacher to share her experiences with creating project-based learning lesson plans. While it is good to talk about practices in theory, it is more beneficial to hear from someone who has had actual experience implementing such practices. Mrs. Yonce described her frustrations and positives experiences with PBL, warning viewers that it takes a lot of time, effort, and making mistakes before a teacher gets used to this style of teaching. Mrs. Yonce also said while her EOC scores had improved, not enough studies have been performed to determine if PBL significantly increases student performance on traditional paper tests.

Watauga High School’s Technology showcase gave me a lot of useful information regarding online databases and Distance Education. The two full-time media specialists went over the features and how to navigate their six online databases, from Britannica Online and InfoTrac to NCWISEOwl. While I’ve heard of NCWISEOwl, I was not familiar with ABC-CLIO or EBSCO, so it was very nice to find out about these databases.

There were several reoccurring patterns I noticed regarding the databases-most of them had a translator tool so that ESL students or those more comfortable in another language could easily switch the article text from English to a different language. Most of the databases were similar in design, so students could easily transfer their researching skills from one site to another. Also interesting was that all of the databases included MLA citations at the bottom of each article. The SLMSs explained that the students had been plagiarizing and that this was a way to help prevent copyright infringement. On one hand, I think that it is great that the citations are ready for easy copying and pasting. Such simplicity will encourage students to give credit when it is due. On the other hand, I find that it is incredibly lazy. It’s not too hard to memorize the format of a MLA citation, and once you start typing the bibliography, you can get the hang of it pretty well.

One of the best aspects of this showcase was hearing about the communication going on between the SLMSs, staff, and students. The students had been surveyed about which online databases they used and why in order for the SLMSs to determine which subscriptions they might want to drop or add depending on student needs. The SLMSs also talked about how they would teach a class and instruct students on which database to use for which subjects and how to navigate the web sites. It is great to hear that they are not simply teaching Boolean logic and Google “research”.

The Distance Learning session was also intriguing. When I was in high school, I do not believe we had that option available to us, but by the time I went to student teach, they had NovaNet in another high school in the county, proving that this technology option is growing fast. I am amazed at the coordinators’ dedication; I would have never thought the computer lab would be open from 7 am until 7 pm! The EOC scores are impressive (92%), and the fact that high school students can take college courses for credit is a time (and money!) saver. I thought it was very interesting that the coordinator stated that he believes that within twenty years, all high school students will be required to take at least one online course in order to graduate.

Overall, both events provided me with a lot of new ideas and insights regarding technology and student learning. While it was a great collaborative experience to hear from a wide range of staff members and content areas in the Learn NC conference, it was equally beneficial learning about Watauga’s media services that I will someday be using in my own SLMC.

Policy

Although I did not get to view the PowerPoint, the audio recording did work. It was very interesting to hear the guest speaker talk about the different factors and aspects of policies. While I knew that the federal government controls funding, I did not make the connection between policies and the federal government not being able to do anything about them due to their limited power except through funding.

The Policy PDF was also very helpful. The examples of trends that include juvenile crime, loss of jobs to overseas and increasing Internet purchases was a little surprising. I understand policies derived out of interest in global warming and wedlock children, but the others are new to me.

I can def. see how a SLMS can help create and enforce different educational policies. I see the importance of the SLMS as well as other staff being aware that these policies exist and what they mean for the school and students. Sometimes it seems like we are overwhelmed by all the restrictions and hoops we have to jump through just to get something simple done, but there are definite benefits. The SLMS must have to have copies of all the policies on hand in case a parent or staff member has a question about it so storage space has to be taken inconsideration. But most importantly, I see that a SLMS can help influence the production of a policy by bringing together current statistics that back or rebuke the policy's stance. I also think that it is very important for a SLMS to keep in perspective of what is best for the students, the staff, and the school community; you can not let personal opinions or beliefs get in the way, whether you are for or against the implementation of a certain policy.

ALAR - 6

Yesterday, I went to ED's computer lab to record my tutorial. Luckily, there was no class in one of the labs, so I had the room to myself for a little while. I brought my microphone to record the audio, but I still had to speak fairly loud, so I knew I would be a distraction to everyone around me if I had not been able to go into that particular room.

When I was planning this project, I couldn't quite remember what program I had used to screencapture and record audio, but I found it with no problem. After firing up Camtasia, I practiced for a while, testing my voice and the playback audio. I got through 17 minutes on my first recording, but I was frustrated at Dreamweaver not formatting correctly. After deleting those 17 minutes, I immediately restarted the whole narration. I was almost to the end of the second recording when a group of other students came into the room. They were really polite and didn't talk once they figured out I wasn't talking to myself like a crazy person. I felt really bad that they were quite, though. I apologized afterwards, and they were nice about it.

The only other problems I had with this was the fact that I felt like I was plowing through the material way too fast. I'm much better at laying out the different information and pacing based on student/audience needs, but I felt like I needed to cover a lot for the tutorial. Ideally, the Dreamweaver tutorial that I did would be one of many, each addressing different topics such as tables, more creative linking, embedding video, etc.

Overall, I'm satisfied with the narration although it took an hour to render/convert and was too big to email everyone. I've saved the QuickTime movie version on my flashdrive; I hope it works because that's the only copy I have.

The group is meeting on Wednesday to go over the order, tie up loose ends, etc. We've been emailing each other and sharing our work, so things are wrapping up nicely.

ALAR - 5

I was having trouble visualizing what I could do for the student example, but I got some inspiration when I was home over Thanksgiving. I decided to use a country whose music, art, and language arts were familiar to me. So when I got back from Thanksgiving, I began to work on the student example for Japan. It was a lot of fun researching different facts and pictures to use for this project, but I tried to keep the language and information at a 7th grade level so it would be a little more believable.

It took me approximately three hours to complete the student example, including the voice narration. I really feel that this example will help viewers to see the connections between language arts, music, and the arts in the social studies curriculum.

ALAR - 4

Strategy worksheets were completed individually by each member of the group. The meeting with Dr. Sanders helped to clarify some issues I was wondering about the project; I was planning on doing a whole lot more than what was required! Instead of creating a PPT tutorial for all different types of technology that the teachers would be using for this logic model, I am just going to focus on a single technology based on Dr. Sanders' suggestions. I will also be completing an example PPT of what a student product will look like at the very end of this logic model project, incorporating all the other lessons that Katie, Lila, and Tara will be creating. I feel that we have a certain product in mind, and we want others to be able to see exact outcome; it may help see how all the lessons interconnect.

The only issue I am having at the moment is still with the IMPACT Panel "discussion" (not) taking place in AET Zone. The revised logic model was posted on October 30. On November 14, one participant finally posted, and basically regurgitated everything we had already said about our logic model. Yes, we planned to use 7th grade as we clearly said in the very first line of the description!! There is no "guessing" involved here. The participant's post was also full of typos. I can understand left out words (I am sure I've done the same in this blog!) and little mistakes, but when there are several mistakes that could have been fixed by simply proofreading before you post, it looks very unprofessional...(My grae team plans many unitws?)

I know Lila and Katie's group is faring about the same as ours. There is such a mismatch of expectations among the different groups, it isn't funny. It would be very interesting to hear what they thought of the project versus what we thought of it. It is an awesome idea, if only everyone would pull their weight and contribute in a timely manner.

Logic Model / ALAR - 3

Group meeting last Thursday night was a great success. Before the meeting, I revised the logic model to incorporate the changes Tara, Audra and I discussed in Chit Chat. I also set up a PowerPoint with the worksheet layout because I could not find a clean copy on the PPT linked in Qwaq.

The rest of the group liked the changes, so we've adopted the revised logic model as our hopefully "final" model. We decided to each pick a strategy and work on the worksheets on our own. Tara, Lila, and Kt will each create lesson plans incorporating language arts, music, and art respectively. I will be creating the technology presentation that the SLMS will pitch to the teachers. A meeting time has been set up for Wednesday to go over each others' worksheets, but we may have a conflict due to the conference and other classes' work load.

The logic model was posted to the AET discussion board Friday, and by Monday night, we had two responses. Both responses were positive; the two IMPACT Panel group members liked the "clean" feel and thinks the workshops are a great idea. While these two particular members have been supportive and responsible, we have not heard hardly a peep from the other three! I've already said this in an earlier post, but it is very hard to collaborate with people that simply do not do their job. I think for a couple of members, they are still not clear what they are supposed to do; clearly there are communication issues somewhere. The IMPACT Panel was several weeks ago, and this discussion should be close to wrapping up, but we are still in the beginning stages!

I think it would have been easier if we had gone ahead with the original schedule with the IMPACT Panel and had everyone discuss their reaction right after the panel. The discussion did go over the time limit, and I know a lot of people were tired and had to leave, but as far as I'm concerned, this group discussion with the IMPACT Panel is just a mess.

IMPACT Chit Chat Session 1

Our agreed upon meeting of Sunday at 3 pm proved to be a forgetful time for some. Out of the seven people assigned to the discussion group, three people showed up, only one of which was outside the MLS program. I suppose its no fault of the others; after all, they have not even bothered to post in the discussion board.

Let it be noted that it is rather hard to collaborate with people who have busy schedules or perhaps crappy internet connections, of which both reasons I understand.

That being said, the conversation between Tara, Audra and I was a tremendous success. Audra had actually implemented a project quite similar to our proposed logical model a few years back, in the same content area we were focusing on! It was good to hear of the difficulties and success of her project so that we could relate it to our own. Interesting to note is that in her school at the time they had a rather invisible SLMS who did not help much with the program.

It has been agreed that the logic model needs severe tweaking due to the nature of vocational courses in middle school. Not all students in the Social Studies course will have art at the same, and the same goes for music and technology courses because all the vocational classes switch every 9 weeks.

Thus, we will propose to our original logic model group the idea of still incorporating music, art, and technology into the Social Studies curriculum, but have the SLMS bring those parts instead of other teachers. There will still be collaboration (between the SS teacher and the SLMS, with content area teachers as vital resources), but I doubt we can make it work with other teachers if all the students are not in the same courses at the same time.

It will be relatively easy to incorporate all the same areas using technology. For example, the SLMS can introduce digital cameras and photoshop for art projects based on student's chosen country, teach them to download MIDIS for setting regional poetry to music, and incorporate PowerPoints and loads other technology.

The original logic model group has an assigned meeting time of this Thursday; this idea will be proposed and debated. We were originally planning on working on the worksheets, but of course the logic models need ironing out before we can address the benchmarks and such.

IMPACT Panel Reflection

I really enjoyed the IMPACT Panel and getting familiar with AET Zone. While I participated in the LearnNC conference, it did not have the same feel to it. The LearnNC was more formal and regulated, but the IMPACT Panel was fun and exciting--much more exciting because all the participants were focused on one goal / topic rather than several. Although everyone had different backgrounds (MLS, Technology, etc.), we were able to relate to each other more.

I thought Amanda's comment on professional intriguing. I can see how some could take our conduct as unprofessional, but at the same time, I believe the panelists were very good sports (mmm!)and I think everyone got a lot out of it.

What was most surprising to me was the estimate that only 75 - 80 % of IMPACT schools were reaching full potential. Ideally, 100 % would be reaching that ultimate goal, but I can't help be impressed at the 75 - 80 %. Hopefully the model will continue to grow!

Another surprising aspect was that one panelist said that the hardest teachers to pull over were the under prepared teachers that don't know their curriculum and put student activities together at the last minute. While I can see that collaboration in that kind of manner would be very hard, but I still thought the "older" teachers that have their curriculum mapped out day-to-day would be the hardest to convince to try new ideas.

Right now, the hardest part of collaboration is trying to find a time to meet. With everyone's different schedules, there are few times that work with everyone. Not everyone in the group has posted to the discussion board, either, but hopefully they will before our assigned time.

All the same, I look forward to sharing our logic model with others! We'll have to mention the mistakes that were pointed out to us last night (ie, the duplicated strategies / objectives).

Logic Model / ALAR - 2

My group and I visited our chosen school last Tuesday night, and got a feel of the media center. Rather small and supported by only one SLMS, this school has to accommodate a wide range of ages, from pre-k to 8th grade. The SLMS stated that she relies heavily on community volunteers, and that they have no student volunteers. The media center is not completely flexible (pre-K up to 4th grade is NOT flexible) but since our chosen grade level is 7th, it's not too much of a problem.

Some of the aspects that will tie into our project are as followed::

*smartboard located in the MC.
* at least 8 tables for small group work
* 6 computers located in the MC
* 26-29 computers in the computer lab
* Staff frequently have meetings; participating in SchoolFusion where students and teachers communicate.

I also found out that the school DOES indeed have a MC webpage. The reason I could not find it was because the link was a picture of a cat.

They have since updated to include text around the cat that hints to the MC.

The group met last Wednesday to flip the logic model and confirm our decided grade level.

Logic Model / ALAR

As a CTE person, I often forget that other content areas do not have specific objectives written out for their curriculum. In class, we briefly discussed that short term goals on logic models could be referred to as objectives, and written in a way that resembles: The student will be able to ____________. To me, this is second nature and taken for granted. However, I can see where some teachers might struggle with trying to come up with their own, so I think it’s very important as a SLMS that we try to help them when collaborative lesson/unit plans are created.

One problem that my group had was trying to narrow down our ideas. We had several good ideas but they were much too large to tackle all together. I’m especially happy with the objective that we’re focusing on—cross-curricular projects so that we can connect student learning throughout different content areas. I believe the students have more fun with hands-on projects (or project-based learning) that they can explore in more than one class.

After the class, I tried to look up information on our chosen school, but I did not find much. Our chosen school’s website does not have a library page that I could find, nor does their staff page label which teachers/staff are in what department. However, my group will be visiting our chosen school next week for another class, so I am hopeful that we will learn more about the media program at that time.

Last Wednesday, my group met to go over our logic model and to confirm our chosen objective. We discussed what the social studies focus was for each grade level (4 – 8) and decided we will target either 6th or 7th grade. We chose to focus first on social studies because those teachers do not have a specific EOC/EOG so we are hoping they might be more open to collaborative projects.

The Change Game

Overall, I found the Change Game to be an eye-opening experience. Before the game, I would have never guessed that it would take so long to implement change in a school system! I figured if you get permission from the principal, that that would be all the authority you would need. I’m very aware that some people are rather resistant to change, but I had no idea that it would take so long to convince them to at least try a new idea.
Although my group lost, we still discovered the need to keep talking to people. Not being persistent in talking to people was one of our mistakes. We tried to jump in and give people presentations and hands-on experience before they even really knew what we were talking about. However, one good aspect of the game was the team effort. It was so much more motivating and fun to try to implement change as a group, rather than a single person! Thus, I can see the need to cooperation among the school media specialists, even if it’s simply a band of MS in the district.

This game was an excellent way to teach some of the problems we’ll be facing, some of which I had never thought of before. Not having the authority / resources, running out of time in the school year, dealing with burned out teachers and personal quirks in the staff are all roadblocks my team had to deal with. I found it a little sad that we couldn’t motivate everyone (Assistance Principal Pat…) but I suppose that it is a fact of life that there will always be someone resistance to change, even if it benefits the students or makes life easier. I was also surprised to find that by talking to certain ‘group leaders’, we were able to influence their friends. Most of all, this game taught me that being a change agent requires patience, dedication, and a whole lot of persistence.