Reflections

• What outcomes had you envisioned for this course? Did you achieve those outcomes? Did the actual course outcomes align with those that you envisioned?
  

  I had envisioned learning about new technology tools available to teachers to increase student learning in the classroom. I was very interested in learning about Web 2.0 tools for students and teachers including blogs, wikis, podcasting, bookmarking and RSS feeds. I learned a great deal about blogs and some about other tools available in our schools from the journal articles required for reading. The information about keeping students safe online was very valuable and something I will need to follow closely this Spring as I endeavor to implement some of the ideas learned in this course. As an administrator it will be very important to address the concerns about release forms and parental notification and eliminate the possibility of any negative publicity before launching into a new online project with students.
  

• To the extent that you achieved the outcomes, are they still relevant to the work that you do in your school? Why or why not?
  

  The material learned in this course was relevant to what I do in my school. As a technology leader in my school, I need to be aware of the STaR Chart data so that I can help move teachers along from Developing to Advanced in the different domains. I will need to be more involved in the staff development sessions providing instruction for our teachers on incorporating technology in instruction and curriculum and assessment. The information we learned about the Long Range Plan for Technology will be useful as a document to support the need for hardware and software at our school. Helping teachers access assessment data on the district website will be very beneficial to increase student learning at our school. The data driven informed decision making will be crucial for our teachers. Some teachers may need more assistance to access the information but will need to implement the data in their teaching.
  

• What outcomes did you not achieve? What prevented you from achieving them?
  

  I did not learn as much about wikis and podcasting as I would have liked to learn. I think these particular tools would be more effective to use in an elementary school than bookmarking or RSS feeds. Our students can create podcasts and post them online to a safe website if we can teach them how to do that. A majority of our parents have access to the internet and this would be a great communication tool to share what students are learning at school. I will need to experiment with podcasts and find a secure way for students to post. After reading about release forms, parental notification and district approval before students can blog, the process is a bit more complicated than I had envisioned. I understand all the online safeguards that need to be in place and will just have to find time to do this first.
  

• Were you successful in carrying out the course assignments? If not, what prevented or discouraged you?
  

  I was successful in completing the assignments for this course. The only activity I did not participate in was the online web meeting. I have participated in an online meeting for a project I was doing for a publishing company and learned a bit about the hardware and software required. Unfortunately, I do not use a computer with a built in camera and have not purchased one to add on to my computer. I think these online meetings are definitely a wave of the future. It makes so much sense for the business world to meet via Skype rather than flying folks halfway around the world. There are some educational uses for online meetings as well and that will be a fun thing to watch in the coming years. I know some of our laptops at school have built in cameras that students could use. It would be a great learning tool for my students to learn about instruments from other countries. I could set up a presentation sharing on instruments with a music classroom in Japan. That would be cool!
  

• What did you learn from this course…about yourself, your technology and leadership skills, and your attitudes?
  

  
   

  The course assignments were in-depth studies and required a great deal of time. I completed the assignments successfully but needed help posting the PowerPoint to my blog. The directions in the courseware gave several choices for uploading the PowerPoint. I tried the first choice and was very frustrated because it didn't work after an hour of trying to follow the directions. Thankfully, the courseware had a second option and this worked in ten minutes. I still get discouraged when technology doesn't work the way it is supposed to work! As an administrator, it will be important to empathize with those teachers who are not as comfortable with technology and experiences like these will help me to remember how it feels.
  

• What is the educational value of blogs and blogging to the 21^st century learner?
  

  
   

  As stated in the NET*S, "all students must have regular opportunities to use technology to develop skills that encourage personal productivity, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in the classroom and in daily life." Blogging is a perfect way to create these opportunities for our students. Richardson states, "Blogs are one of many new disruptive technologies that are transforming the world." (Richardson, 2005) We as teachers and administrators will need to utilize this new communication tool to keep our students engaged when presenting new content. Students can communicate with and learn from external sources available only through use of the internet. Students can publish their work on the Internet through blogging. Blogs will be a great way to communicate with parents as well. Blogs will be a tool for collaboration between students and between educators.
  

  
   

  References
  

  Richardson, W. Blog Revolution, Technology and Learning: Oct 2005; 26,3; Research Library pg. 48
  

  
   

  
   

• What are the concerns of blogs and blogging in education?
  

  We must be wary about the security and privacy issues and will need to attend to those concerns as we entertain this new Web 2.0 tool. Blogging is part of our culture just as much as the Internet itself. Our students are blogging on social networking websites without much guidance from teachers or parents. There are legal protections in cyberspace to help protect our children when they are online. (CIPA, COPPA, DOPA) However, we need to be aware of online dangers and safeguard against them as much as possible. Districts will need to install filers to protect students' use of the internet. We as a school can provide parent training and keep parents informed of the educational value of blogging. Students will need to be aware of intellectual property rights and copyright laws as they begin publishing on blogs.
  

  
   

  
   

• How can you use blogging to communicate with school stakeholders?
  

  Parents can access school websites for a wealth of information about the goings on at their child's school. In this age of going "green" parents are always looking for ways to stay informed without reading, then throwing away, a stack of bulletins and notes from their child's school. Will Richardson in his article "Blogging and RSS", mentioned a school in Oregon using Weblogs to keep parents informed. "The school website features the latest in news and events as collected from a series of separate Weblogs that are hooked together using RSS." (Richardson, 2004) This sounds like a great idea! Staff members can contribute timely information, the PTA can post meeting minutes and announcements and the administration can distribute personal messages to the community. Our community appreciates information and this seems a very economical and efficient way to distribute that information. Our school board members would benefit from having access to each school's website as a way to feel the pulse of the community they serve.
  

  
   

  References
  

  Richardson, W. Blogging and RSS, MultiMedia and Internet@ Schools; Jan/Feb 2004; 11,1; Research Library pg. 10