Weekly Reflection

Well, I have had this past week off as we have ended EDLD 5306 and now move on to EDLD 5326. Since I'm a school teacher, I really needed the week to get my classroom and myself ready for the new school year. I'm excited about going back to school and seeing my students, but I'm also a bit anxious about being able to get my college classwork completed and be able to give it 100%. I think it may be a bit bumpy here at the beginning, but hopefully things will settle down as we get into the school year.

Reflection for EDLD 5301

Reflection of EDLD 5301
When thinking about how I want to reflect on EDLD 5301, (which almost sounds redundant), I’m not sure if I want to approach it as a week by week thought or just thoughts in general. This course helped me better understand what is expected in my action research plan. As I progressed through the course, I narrowed down my plan, receiving wonderful suggestions and comments from my peers. I believe that having others look over my work and assist me as I implement my plan, will be vital to my success. As in any online course, it is very easy to feel isolated and become overwhelmed with the coursework. It is wonderful to have classmates and IA’s who are willing to offer constructive criticism and to encourage me along the way.

I didn’t have the opportunity to participate in the web conferences (although I’m hoping to participate in the last conference) due to unforeseen circumstances. I believe that web conferences are a great way to stay in touch and connect with our classmates. I am very happy that these are offered.
Each week we were encouraged to bring more focus to our action research plan. I am tempted to say narrow our plan, but I realized that as I looked over my classmates comments to my draft plan, they were offering wonderful and insightful suggestions to help me bring my plan into a more manageable realm. Since some of my classmates have conducted research, I am very happy to receive any pointers they have from their past experiences.
Our discussion postings also helped me as I worked through creating and defining my action research plan. I think one thing that was a bit confusing was that there were ED ADMIN students in this class. Often I wasn’t really sure what applied to me as an ED TECH student. There are so many documents and logs and reflections to try to keep up with. I really with the process could be a bit more streamlined. Hopefully I will continue to get my work in on time.
I also appreciate the work my IA, Creighton Gahn, has done in answering my questions and my classmates questions so quickly. I cannot imagine what it must be like to try to keep track of all of us! 

Week 4 --EDLD 5301

Wow, this week seemed to go by pretty quickly. I did some revising on my Action Research Plan and had the opportunity to meet with my site mentor. She and I both agreed that when we get back in school, things may flow a little more smoothly as far as continuity for my research plan. This course has gone well, and I feel like I've had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of what to do and challenges to expect while implementing my research plan. I also had the opportunity to reconnect with some of my classmates. I know that things are going to get hectic for those of us getting to get back into our classrooms. I really hope that we will help each other out as daily events start getting hectic.

SCHOOL VISION: Improve Technology Literacy for ED students

GOAL: Improve ED students AYP utilizing 1:1 initiative with netbooks

 

OUTCOMES	ACTIVITIES	RESOURCES/ RESEARCH TOOLS NEEDED	RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS ACTIVITIES	TIME LINE	Benchmarks/ ASSESSMENT	Revisions to SIP/PIP based on monitoring and assessments
Obtain information on ED students on campus	Start notebook (e file and hardcopy if possible)	PIEMS information	Laura Dacus PIEMS Secretary	Aug 15-19, 2011
Assist ED students in reviewing laptop care and agreement documentation	Create packets of info for parents/guardians	Arp ISD website or documents from tech department	Laura Dacus Student tech assistants Tech dept	Aug 22-Sept 2011
Review TAKS scores for ED students	Retrieve TAKS information from counselor or principal	TAKS results via state	L. Dacus Counselor Principal	Aug 22-Sept 2011
Chart when students receive netbooks	Create Spreadsheet of students as they receive netbooks	Spreadsheet Software	L. Dacus	Aug 22-Sept 2011
Discuss Action Research Plan with fellow teachers on campus	Develop a handout/blog posting of Action Research Plan (include benefits to research and opportunities for student improvement)	Desktop publishing software and printer (MS Publisher) Post blog to school's webpage on Tiger Tube	L. Dacus	Aug 22-Sept 2011

Need comments to action research plan

I think I may need a bit of assistance. I'm not sure if I have correctly done what I needed to do in order to allow my classmates to post comments on my blog. I need some comments regarding my plan in order to complete my week 4 assignment. Thanks! :-)

Blog Appearance

I thought my blog look pretty decent before I added my Action Research Plan. I tried to follow the instructions. I think I may have to select a different background, although I liked the image of our school's sign. I apologize if my background makes my postings difficult to read.