There was no web conference scheduled for Week 5

week 4 web conference

Unfortunately I missed both web conferences this week.  I feel that reading the overviews and rubrics is just as helpful as attending the web conferences.

Week 3 web conference reflection

I attended the web conference on Saturday, September 14. Unfortunately, this conference was a bit confusing. In reading the assignment my group and I understood that we were to individually create an ebook and a UDL lesson plan. We did this as we thought it was supposed to be done, individually, and then posted our finished products on our google site. During the web conference, Dr Abernathy stated that we were only create one ebook and one lesson plan! However, she told those of us that had already finished the assignment that we did not need to redo it. So our efforts were not for naught.

EDLD 5364 week 2 conference reflection

I attended the Sunday afternoon  6 pm web conference. It was nice because there were only 10 of us. We were able to ask questions and get answers much easier. I was glad that I was not alone in feeling overwhelmed. Dr Abernathy gave some great feed back about the way we should complete our lessons with our team mates. I think I always kind of feel this way at Week 2 in my classes. But by Week 5 everything gets done!

EDLD 5364, Week 1 Web Conference Reflection

The first web conference of the course was scheduled for Thursday, August 29, at 8:00 pm. I waited for it to begin and at 8:30 was told the conference was cancelled. There had been no communication for this change in plans. I had not planned on attending the web conference on Saturday because I would be out of town for a 12:00 pm football game. I brought my computer with me and logged on at 10:00 am. I was only able to stay 30 minutes.
In that 30 minutes Dr. Abernathy talked about the specifics of our group project. She focused on the Week 1 assignment. There was a discussion about how many references were to be cited in our reflection on the videos and readings. There were many unanswered questions, that hopefully will be cleared up in future web conferences.

My EDLD 5366 Course-Embedded Assignment Reflection

Digital Graphics and Web Design are of particular interest to me because my son is a web-designer. It was nice to be able to talk to him about design techniques. The use of Creative Commons in developing my website/page was a new experience for me. I was very limited in the images in my previous website. They were “pre-selected” and only gave me a few options. As I began my web page assignment for this course, I researched for icons and images through the Google Search tool. Unfortunately, some of the icons and images I came across were not for public use. By using Creative Commons I was able to type in a subject on the search page, look at the results and know that I was getting a product that had been filtered. The Scratch website made it easy to try different sounds and motions to fine tune my animation. I gained a lot of confidence using graphic-design tools through participating in the activities in this course. “Because the world is going digital, technology has become a major player in the learning-teaching equation. Being as such, developing the necessary digital skills to meet the learning needs of our digitally wired students has become a pressing necessity.” (Kharbach, 2012) I was extremely lucky to be on a team truly supportive. The feedback that they gave helped me to become a better learner. Learning to work with other effects both students, teachers and the school as a whole. “School leaders who foster collaboration among novice and veteran teachers can improve teacher retention and teacher satisfaction, according to studies conducted by Susan Kardos and Susan Moore Johnson.” (McClure, 2008)  “The use of technology, the web, in particular, has become an important skill for both students and teachers to master. The Internet has a vast amount of information and infinitely many uses, but it takes practice to learn to effectively navigate its resources.” (Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2005) Teachers can use websites to communication with parents and students about their classroom, assignments, projects and other information.  Interactive websites help support learning of basic skills in the primary grades. In the upper grades, students can create websites with information to present their knowledge or to help teach others. Sharing thoughts and ideas with others who either agree or disagree helps students learn how to express themselves. References Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (2005). Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from Teaching Today: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/3 Kharbach, M. (2012). 21st Century Digital Skills Graphcs for Teachers. Retrieved from Educational Technology and Mobile Learning: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/03/21st-century-digital-skills-graphic-for.html McClure, C. T. (2008, September). The Benefits of Teacher Collaboration. Retrieved from DA District Administration, Solutions for School District Management: http://www.districtadministration.com/article/benefits-teacher-collaboration

Reflections on EDLD 5366 Web Conferences

For some reason I had a hard time remembering to log in for these web conferences. I did try to get the required 3 in but the last scheduled conference was cancelled. This course seemed to be pretty straight forward so maybe that is why I did not feel the need to attend the web conferences. Having a great group of people to work with also helped. We were able to answer each others' questions. The web conferences did allow me to see how other people were doing. I plan to attend more web conferences during my next course.

Reflections from EDLD 5363 web conferences

I attended 3 web conferences during EDLD 5363: Tuesday, June 4, 2013, Sunday, June 16 2013 and Saturday, June 29, 2013.  I would have attended more but I communicated with Dr. Abernathy by email and telephone when I was not able to attend.

The web conferences help remove some of the isolation that I feel as a distance learner. I developed a rapport with many of the students that came to the same conferences as I did. People like Scott January and Cathey Celestine will be friends of mine for life I hope!

Dr. Abernathy was tough with the people that attended the conferences to have answers handed to them without having to search for them. I like that she didn't cave to their “whining.” It amazed me that educators were unwilling to delve into the assignments. I did not want anyone to do my work for me. There would be no learning involved. I am sure that they would insist that their students do their own work.

The conferences were helpful in putting a team together for the group project. It turned out that we had 6 people and we had to split up into 2 groups of 3. I noticed that the people that did not attend the conference where team were forming had to scramble to become a part of a group. There were several emails from people asking to be part of team. My team allowed one of the people to join our group.

All in all I feel the web conferences are good way to become acquainted with instructors and fellow students. I look forward to attending many more in my future classes.

What I have been doing in EDLD 5363

I have not been posting here because I posted mostly on my Google Site https://sites.google.com/site/madunnsedtechportfolio/edld-5363
and my Team Google Site
https://sites.google.com/site/dunnmillancelestine/home

So I decided to duplicate my work here!

EDLD 5363 Week 4 & 5 Comics in the Classroom - Increasing Elementary Literacy (Final Video)

I was unable to upload the final video. Here is the link on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLykDnvrmuU

EDLD 5363 Week 3 Rough Cut Video (using clips supplied by Cathey Celestine)

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Movie Making tutorial

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Podcast on Audacity

EDLD 5363 Week 1 video

I really do feel like I learned some new technology this week. I hate to admit it but this is the first time I have ever posted on youtube...I know, I know, Welcome to the 21st Century ,Mary!  My time management sucks! I went through photo albums and selected pictures. I sat down at my computer to put together my video at 7:30am Saturday morning and I did not finish until 5:30am Sunday morning. I kept messing the music and narration up. I would record it, then not be able to find it so I would record it again. Then both the recordings would play at the same time! I must have done that 10 times! It was driving me nuts!!! I did get finished and I am quite proud of it. Some of you may think it is corny....it is definitely a "mom" video!

Frist impression of EDLD 5363

Beginning EDLD 5363
I enjoyed the 3 weeks we had off. Now I need to wake my brain up. Reading the syllabus and the assignments for each week I feel somewhat overwhelmed. I think I am going to learn a lot of really cool stuff that I probably would not have taken the time to learn outside this class. Now to the readings! 

Well, we come to the end of our second course! I have to say that both courses have been informative. I really liked the weekly web conferences. It was nice to see other's comments and question because many of them echoed my concerns. The people who had web cameras it was fun to put faces to names!

I am really looking forward to having a week off. Although I will start working on my internship and inquiry plan. Time goes by so fast. I don't want to be a cautionary tale of someone who didn't have any internship hours or un-researched topic.

For everyone who celebrate Easter; have a happy and safe one!

For all those who celebrate Passover;  chag Pesach sameach!

Wow! only one more week to go!!! Does anyone else feel like this went quicker than the first class? I met with my site supervisor and she was very positive about my plan. She also helped to insert my action research into my internship plans. I was trying to post it here but it just comes out a big white blob!  :-p 

I put it on my webpage that we made in EDLD 5311. Check it out if you want to.
WARNING!!! It is massive. 

https://sites.google.com/site/edtechwithmarydunn/my-combined-internship-and-action-research-plan-s

I still have to sit down with a calendar and put dates on it.  Did Dr. Abshire say we needed to have our research project done by our 7th class? I can't keep all this straight in my head.

I appreciate all the support that my followers give me. It is so nice to read everyone's comments.  

I apologize for the tardiness of this post. After meeting with my site supervisors and taking into consideration their input, this is the 2nd draft of my plan. I welcome any thoughts!

Action Research Plan
Goal: I want to find out if ACC students who have taken developmental class in reading, writing and math have gone on to take college-level classes and how many dropped out.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
I will email each individual campus’ Supervisor of Admissions and Records and the Executive Director of Admissions and Records to determine how many students are currently enrolled in Developmental Reading, Writing, and/or Math classes.	Supervisor of Admissions and Records at the eight individual ACC campuses and Linda Kluck, Executive Director, Admissions and Records	3/25 - 4/18/2013	Access to the names and email addresses of the supervisors and the executive director of admissions and records.	This will give me a raw number of students enrolled in one or more developmental class to begin my study. I may need to narrow down the number of campuses that I will study.
Interview the instructor(s) of a Developmental Reading, Writing, and Math at the all or some of the   campuses I decide to study.	Instructors of a Developmental class.	4/22-6/22/2013	Access to the individual instructors. Compile a list of questions for the interviews.	By interviewing the instructors I can find out how their classes are progressing and other positive or negative factors of teaching these classes.
Gather online data from other 2 year colleges for the type of developmental classes that are offered.	Mary Dunn	5/20-7/12/2013	Access to online services and search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing	I will be able to compare other 2 year college developmental class enrollment to ACC’s.
Pass out questionnaire to students currently in a developmental class to anonymously answer about the experience they have had in class.	Mary Dunn	6/10-7/3/2013	Develop a questionnaire. Access to classes	This will enable me to find out just how students taking these classes feel about them.
Compile answers to the completed questionnaires	Mary Dunn	7/8-7/26/2013	Completed questionnaires	I be able to determine the number of positive and/or negative answers to the questions.
Conduct interviews the staff of ACC Learning Labs	Mary Dunn, Staff of learning labs	8/5-8/23/2013	Access to the Learning Lab Staff. Compile a list of questions for the interview.	I will find out how the resources of the Learning Labs are utilized by students enrolled in at least one developmental class
Interview the instructors for results of the   MATD 0332 (Math Plus) Basic Math with Collaborative Learning that ACC is piloting	Mary Dunn Instructors of MATD 0332	9/3-9/13/2013	Access to instructors of MATD 0332 and their classrooms/labs Compile interview questions.	I will be able to find out how effective this new math class is. It has only been offered in the Spring and Summer ’13 Semester.
Conduct research both online and in literature about other alternative developmental classes being planned or  piloted	Mary Dunn	9/23-10/5/2013	Access to internet and search engine. Access to ACC and Lamar Library.	I will discover if there are any alternatives to developmental classes.
Obtain statistics on the success rate of students enrolled in developmental classes and  then proceeded to enroll in  college-level courses	Mary Dunn Admission and Records offices	10/14-11/1/2013	Access to records of students who transitioned from developmental to college-level classes.	I will be able to  determine if developmental class help students to succeed in college level classes
I will analyze and compare data that I have compiled through the inquiry research project.	Mary Dunn	11/4-11/29/2013	Access to all data collected	This will be allow me to compare and contrast the information that I have received through this project.
Prepare a report on my findings and present it to my site supervisor and other interested parties.	Mary Dunn	1/2014	Final report	This will be the culmination of my study.

Week 2 reflections

The videos of the 3 leaders was good to watch.  They all had some really good points. They all seem to work really hard. I think it was interesting to hear from the different positions: principal, director of research and superintendent. I could see how action research works on all levels. I was very impressed about the different foundations that are funding the studies. You have to put a lot of work in to receive that kind of resources.

I liked reading how different schools started their wonderings to begin an action research paper. I especially enjoyed the action research that the principal from Park Forest Elementary School in Pennsylvania. I liked the way the whole school participated in the project and each grade had it's own grade/age appropriate observation journals. The way she incorporated all the levels of core curriculum in the environmental project. I am a true believer in hands on experiences are the best form of learning.

Thanks to everyone who commented on my post last night. You all gave me great advice!

I struggled with this week's assignment. This was mainly due to not feeling connected to the readings. The readings dealt with principal action. Since I do not wish to get my principal certification I found it hard to focus on the "passions." I feel that my research topic about developmental classes in a community college setting is a good one. So week 3...Here I come...ready or not.

How blogging is usefull to educational leaders

Blogs are useful to educational leaders in that they reach a wider readership. Educational leaders that are thousands of miles away can converse with each other without having to travel to meet. Blogging helps educators to reflect on their day to day practices in order to become more intentional in the things that they do. Blogging just makes sense in the techno based world.

What I have learned about action research

This has been a very informative week for me. When I first saw the subject of this EDLD 5301 course "Action Research" I thought "What the heck is that???" I have now learned that action research is a much more personal type of research in the educational realm. Instead of looking at the research of others and regurgitating statistics and data. I have chosen a topic that is of great interest to me. I acknowledge that I have a negative bias against the topic that I have picked. I hope to be pleasantly surprised and find that developmental (remedial) classes in the context of higher education (community college) are helpful. I promise to keep an open mind in order to become a successful educational leader.

I now feel confident that I will be able to move forward with my research and hopefully make a difference in my "little corner" of the world and beyond. A part of me is afraid that I am opening a "Pandora's box" and the powers that be are not going to be happy with my findings. I have found that some my associates are very closed minded. My site supervisor supports my project and that makes me feel a little better.

Action research is the perfect venue to explore the pros and cons of developmental classes in higher education. I hope to find answers to my questions about this practice. Is it helpful? Is it worth the time and effort of both the students and instructors? Is there something better out there that would help people that want to go to college but lack the knowledge or skills to be successful in college level classes?  It is nice that I will be getting feedback from my peers.