EDLD 5363: Week 4 Web Conference

I viewed the recording from Dr. Abernathy’s week four web conference and noticted that many students were participating in the discussion. The main point that Dr. Abernathy tried to get across to us was that we should spend our time working on our Public Service Announcement. She did not want us to worry about turning in a discussion board post or to worry about turning in an assignment for week four. There were several people who asked her to repeat the statement because it was hard to believe that we did not need to turn in an assignment. My instructional associate, Dawn Kirkland, sent out this message to the entire class in an effort to keep everyone updated with the latest information.

I was relieved that Dr. Abernathy was giving us the needed time to work on our group Public Service Announcement. She reinforced the concept that our group must work collabartively and fulfill all of the guidelines listed in the rubric. Dr. Abernathy was correct in the fact that we needed to focus on our project. Our group collaborated everyday in an effort to create the perfect PSA for week five.

EDLD 5363 Reflection of Multimedia and Video Technology

I enrolled in Lamar’s Educational Technology Leadership program to further my knowledge in 21^st century technology skills and in turn share the information with the teachers in my district. I was very excited about taking Multimedia and Video Technology. I looked forward to creating projects using pictures, audio and video.  During the first week, I was pleasantly surprised that we were assigned the project of creating a personal digital story. I uploaded old photos to Photo Story to celebrate my grandmother’s 100 years of memories. I also learned how to use Audacity to narrate a script for my digital story. Next, I reviewed several different video editing software programs and specifically learned how to use Windows Live Movie Maker. Lastly, I combined all of my new technology skills and created a Public Service Announcement with four other group members. Our group learned how to collaborate using Google Docs, which has proved to be a valuable 21^st century skill.

By taking Multimedia and Video Technology, I was able to learn technical information that I can pass on to the teachers in my district. Each technology class that I have taken through Lamar has provided me with new insight of how teachers can integrate specific technology projects with their current lesson plans.

EDLD 5363: PSA Production

The articles this week were very informative to me because I have not taken a formal class in video editing. I laughed as I read a quote from Marc Peters (2006), “Although perfectly understandable questions, they expose the first faux pas of the video editing newbie... that the editing suite is a magical place that creates professional looking video” (para.1). This quote represents my thoughts before taking this class and reading information regarding video editing. I was under the impression that I needed to spend money on finding the perfect software. Of course, video editing software is not cheap. With the editing tips I am learning from the articles and the practice I am obtaining using free software, I am having fun creating videos without spending any money.

The team members in my group are Portia Alvaro, Sharon Hytnen, Enid Lattier and Keith Cummings. Our public service announcement topic covers Internet safety tips for the home. We have created the script and the shots for the project. We are currently in the process of collecting images that can be used for the final production. In a group project, it is very important that everyone is given the opportunity to participate and that everyone stays informed of the group progress. For our means of collaboration, we are using several Google docs, which has proven to be very valuable in completing our assignment in a timely manner. This week’s articles contained valuable information to those of us who have never taken a class in videography. I liked the helpful quote by Marc Peters (2006), “Get the most out of editing by putting in the best you can get” (Peters, 2006, para.1).

References

Peters, M. (2006, April 18). Shoot to edit: A guide to using your camcorder. Digital Director. Retrieved December 2, 2011, from: http://www.videoforums.co.uk/reviews /features/shoo-to-edit-aguide-to-using%20your%20camcorder-a184.html

EDLD 5363: My Evaluation of Windows Live Movie Maker

I especially enjoyed this week’s assignment of selecting, evaluating and learning how to use a free video editing software application. It has been several years since I have taught in the classroom and this exercise reminded of the fun I once had with the students. When I was teaching, the classes offered to students consisted of Keyboarding, Business Computer Applications, Computer Science and Desktop Publishing. Today’s learning opportunities have broadened to classes such as Digital Graphics/Animation, Multimedia, Video Technology and Web Mastering.

In this week’s readings, I read about several open source video editing programs. ”Editing systems may range from sophisticated digital suites with all the bells and whistles to basic single-source systems consisting of a camera, TV and VCR” (Lonnquist, 1994). I chose to work with Windows Live Movie Maker because the high school technology teachers in my district like to use this program. I started by saving my video clip to the video library on my computer. I then installed the free version of Windows Live Movie Maker. I opened up the software and immediately saw the option to import clip. The program was easy to understand and maneuver. My program automatically saved with the .wlmp extension. In order to upload my practice video to You Tube, I discovered that I needed to save my project using the .wmv extension. I opened my project again in Windows Live Movie Maker, chose the option to save movie recommended for this project and it converted my project into a format (.wmv) that could be played by Windows Movie Maker and You Tube. I edited the video clip several times before I finally upload it to You Tube.

In reviewing Windows Live Movie Maker, I found it to be very simple to use. It was perfect for a beginner, like me. I can see where a more advanced user would be limited in using the program. Windows Live Move Maker offered the basic functions required to edit a video clip. I was able to add captions, trim clips and add animation. It offered a variety of formats for importing, such as wmv, QuickTime, avi, mpeg-4, mpeg-2, jpeg and several more. Overall, I was very happy with the results of my finished project using Windows Live Movie Maker.

Now that I am working on obtaining the abilities needed to edit a video clip, it will be my responsibility to pass my new found skill and excitement to the teachers in my district. “Media production engages and excites; it leads to unexpected discoveries, increased self-awareness and esteem, sharpened critical thinking, analytical skills, group work skills, and ability to communicate ideas” (Garrison 1999). By showing all teachers how they can use video in their lesson plans, students and teachers will learn a lifelong skill that can be used for school, work and personal activities.

References

Garrison, A. (1999, Winter). Video basics and production projects for the classroom. Center for Media Literacy. Retrieved November 263 2011, from http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article3.html

Lonnquist, J. (1994, November). The art of the edit. Videomaker. Retrieved on November 23, 2011, from http://www.videomaker.com/article/1691/

EDLD 5363: Week 1 Web Conference

I attended a web conference with Dr. Abernathy during week one of Multimedia and Video Technology. The first thing I noticed was the ease as to which everyone connected to the conference. Unlike the first conference I attended with my section, we were all able to raise our hands and use our microphones properly.

Dr. Abernathy offered insight into what she expected from us in this course. She told us that our assignments would include creating a digital story, podcast and public service announcement. She also, emphasized the need for one partner during week 1 and 2 assignments and the need for a group in creating the public service announcement.

This course will require that we read the overviews and syllabus carefully. It will also require us to spend time learning how to use multimedia products. It was nice to see the faces of my classmates and hear that many of us had the same questions. Dr. Abernathy answered our questions and assured us that we could call or e-mail her if we had any concerns.

EDLD 5363 Learning how to Create a Digital Story

As I reflect on this week’s assignment, I must say that I have enjoyed learning how to create a digital story. I chose to tell the life story of my grandmother. She lived to be 100 years old and had many words of wisdom to share with the family. I intend to share my digital story with the family during this year’s Christmas gathering. I know that they will be touched by the pictures and storyline.

I can see the value in this assignment and I plan to share the finished results with the teachers in my district. Microsoft Photo Story 3 is easy to use and can be taught to the teachers in a short time frame. The teachers enjoy learning how to use technology tools that can be implemented into their existing lesson plan that are not too complicated. This has been a fun week!

EDLD 5345 - A Principal's Role in Dealing with Conflict

“As HR professionals, or human capital managers as we are now being called, we must consciously plan and act in a more strategic way – facing toward the future and eagerly taking on the hot issues of tomorrow” (Savage, 2007, p. 16).

As I worked on this week’s assignment regarding conflict resolution, I learned the role of a leader does not come without struggles. In fact, a principal deals with difficult situations every day. In dealing with conflict, the principal must try to put themselves in the shoes of others as they listen to the problem. As the principal makes a decision, negotiation is the key to resolution.

The principal is required to maintain a wide span of knowledge to run the campus effectively, including conflict resolution. The role of the campus principal should not be underestimated. It does not appear to be easy and it requires dedication and a true understanding of leadership.

Reference

Savage, S.L. (2007). HR leadership of today: Taking on the hot issues of tomorrow.

     American Association of School Personnel Administrators: AASPA Best Practices

     in School Personnel, May/June/July 2007, 16-19.

EDLD 5301 – Final Reflections

Participating in Research 5301 has been an eye opening experience for me. As I entered the course titled “Research for Teachers,” I expected the class would consist of writing research papers. It did not take long for me to figure out that this research class was different from the others I had previously taken. It is a class that teaches leaders how to perform their own “action research” in order to transform the educational environment by constantly investigating the practices that are occurring among a district to create a constant improvement in student achievement.

The new term “action research” gives educators permission to investigate problems. This new tool that we studied involves using a systematic approach to collecting and analyzing data. Action research allows the principal himself to work collaboratively with those who hold a vested interest in improving the school. As data about a particular problem is collected, the principal and his inquiry team are able to implement new action plans to solve the problem, observe the changes and then make decisions based on all observations. Administrative inquiry allows a principal to take the actual time needed in making valuable decisions to help the campus. As stated by Dana, “Administrator inquiry refers to the process of a principal engaging in systematic, intentional study of his/her own administrative practice and taking action for change based on what he/she learns as a result of the inquiry” (Dana, 2009, p. 2).

I found this new action research tool rather intriguing and a tool that I can immediately put into practice. Over the past few years, I have had several questions regarding technology practices at specific schools in my district. Presenting a problem does not always receive a warm welcome in the education system. Problems are usually dismissed because they are seen as personal opinions and no one wants to hurt anyone’s feelings. What caught my interest about action research is the fact that the research allows me to ask questions and gather my own answers with data to back up the knowledge that I have gained. I would like to learn more in the area of teaching others to implement their own action research. I can see meeting with campus technology teams for short intervals at a time to relay the knowledge that I have learned from this course. Teaching others about action research will lead to increased teamwork and the desire to solve problems.

From the very beginning of the class, we were given the assignment to formulate our own action research. This was a very challenging project as I many thoughts for my project. For my action research project, I decided to research the use of student response systems in the classroom and investigate whether or not they improve student involvement and comprehension. Our district just purchased several sets of student response systems and I am very interested to see how they are improving student involvement and comprehension.  As Mark Prensky states about students, “They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to serious work” (2001, p. 4). I look forward to learning and collecting data on our student response systems. Action research on this topic will help investigate whether or not the district is making wise purchases that are the best decisions for the students and teachers to improve learning.

It is clear to me that administrators that implement action research to make improvements to their campus, will be able to make significant changes because they are involved in the actual learning process of collecting data, implementing new procedures and making changes as needed. When administrators or action researchers participate directly in solving their own problems, the entire staff will be able to see that the leader is concerned with making the best decisions and improvements to the school. “Transforming the profession is really the capstone of the principal inquiry story” (Dana, 2009, p. 2).

I enjoyed the readings, videos and discussion boards. They reinforced to me that there are reasons behind the problems we are seeing in the classroom. By collecting data, and becoming more connected with students in the classroom, their story will unfold as to why their learning environment is affected by what is going on in the student’s life. As educators, the success of the student is in our hands.

I have also learned that I can apply action research in our district technology department. I must constantly obtain data to determine if our department is providing the technology equipment and training needed to successfully teach the students.

References

Dana, N. (2009). Administrator Inquiry Defined. Leading With

     Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher

     (p. 7-10). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining what

     we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action.

     Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants: Part 1.

     On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

EDLD 5301 Research: Revised Action Research Plan

During week four of my Research class, we were encouraged to make comments in regards to others action research plans. I appreciate the fact that two members of class took the time to make comments on my action research plan. This assignment is a great way to reflect and take in ideas from others. Sara made a comment on my blog that my plan was very detailed. This was a nice review and it does feel good to receive positive comments. This helped with my reservations of whether I had included enough planning in my process.

Natasha made a comment on the discussion board regarding the timeline of my plan. She suggested that I wait until after TAKS testing to actually begin my project. Natasha’s comment was a great idea. I was trying to start my project immediately, knowing that it would be a huge headache to complete with TAKS taking place. I will make changes to the timeline of my project based on Natasha’s suggestion.

I also met with my site supervisor this week. She looked over my action research plan again and agreed that I was on the right track. While we have already started teacher trainings for the student response systems, some teachers are ready to use them to help with TAKS preparation and other teachers don’t want to try them out in the classroom until after TAKS testing. My site supervisor and I decided that we do not want to create a stress meltdown and will extend the project timeline. This decision will allow me to gather more data in the long run.

Please review my revised Action Research Plan and make comments regarding your thoughts.

Action Planning Template
Goal: Determine if student response systems are beneficial in improving student motivation and comprehension as compared to students without access to student response systems?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Action Research plan with site supervisor.	Myself Site Supervisor	March 2011	Planning Time	Topic Approved
Choose target population to study.	Myself Site Supervisor	March 2011	Planning time Student scores Testing Data	Choose a target population that reflects low student scores.
Discuss implementation of student response systems into the curriculum.	Myself Site Supervisor Teacher	March 2011	Planning time Teacher Training	Determine if teacher is comfortable using the systems with students.
Introduce new concepts to students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/June 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Review concepts with students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/June 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Randomly call on students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/June 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Implement student response systems using available games.	Teacher Students	March/June 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Use student response systems for submitting assignments by students.	Teacher Students	March/June 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Field Observations	Myself Site Supervisor	March/June 2011	Observation Forms	Student Interest
Collect and Evaluate student scores.	Myself Site Supervisor Teacher	March/June 2011	Gradebook, assignment information, benchmarks	Improvement of student scores
Share findings at monthly Administrative meetings.	Myself	March/June 2011	PowerPoint Data Collected	Data Collected and Interest from participants in meeting.
Continue evaluations every two weeks.	Myself	March/June 2011	Gradebook, assignment information, benchmarks	Improvement of student scores
Implement Research Findings throughout the district.	Myself Site Supervisor Other Administrators	Continuous Process	Student Response Systems, Teacher Planning Time, Teacher Trainings.	Continue to evaluate data collected and continue to observe the classrooms.

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

Action Planning for My Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: Determine if student response systems are beneficial in improving student motivation and comprehension as compared to students without access to student response systems?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Discuss Action Research plan with site supervisor.	Myself Site Supervisor	March 2011	Planning Time	Topic Approved
Choose target population to study.	Myself Site Supervisor	March 2011	Planning time Student scores Testing Data	Choose a target population that reflects low student scores.
Discuss implementation of student response systems into the curriculum.	Myself Site Supervisor Teacher	March 2011	Planning time Teacher Training	Determine if teacher is comfortable using the systems with students.
Introduce new concepts to students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/May 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Review concepts with students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/May 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Randomly call on students using student response systems.	Teacher Students	March/May 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Implement student response systems using available games.	Teacher Students	March/May 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Use student response systems for submitting assignments by students.	Teacher Students	March/May 2011	Student Response Systems, Internet, Teacher computer	Student Scores and Participation
Field Observations	Myself Site Supervisor	March/May 2011	Observation Forms	Student Interest
Collect and Evaluate student scores.	Myself Site Supervisor Teacher	March/May 2011	Gradebook, assignment information, benchmarks	Improvement of student scores
Share findings at monthly Administrative meetings.	Myself	March/May 2011	PowerPoint Data Collected	Data Collected and Interest from participants in meeting.
Continue evaluations every two weeks.	Myself	March/May 2011	Gradebook, assignment information, benchmarks	Improvement of student scores
Implement Research Findings throughout the district.	Myself Site Supervisor Other Administrators	Continuous Process	Student Response Systems, Teacher Planning Time, Teacher Trainings.	Continue to evaluate data collected and continue to observe the classrooms.

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

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)