Hello Young Scholars and Parents,
It has been a great first week. I have been very pleased with the work of all of the advanced students. If your student manages to accumulate three zeros within a three week time span, I will be contacting you. Hopefully I will not have to make any of these contacts.
Below is a list of projects and tests your student will be responsible for over the next few weeks:
1. Friday, September 3, 2010—Literary Lexicon Test. This test will contain 48 literary terms and their definitions. Your student has study sheets and index cards to help prepare them for this test.
2. Tuesday, September 7th—Graphic Organizer for Book Project. A graphic organizer for the Summer Reading Book Project will be assigned on Monday, August 30th and it will be due back on September 7th.
3. Friday, September 10, 2007—Summer Reading Book Project. This project is a character analysis essay and it must be typed. Your student has an instruction sheet that outlines the specifics for this assignment. I would like for all students to submit their assignment via my school email if possible. My email is twilliams@newcaneyisd.org.
Thanks for a great week.
Blessings,
Mrs. W
Friday, August 27, 2010
Week One
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Action Research Plan with Tweaks
Action Research Plan
Goal: To examine the current technology uses in daily classroom instruction and to make recommendations concerning how to tweak those activities to get maximum usage out of our available recourses. Also to research new technology that would help elevate our technology capabilities in the classroom.
Action Persons Timeline Needed
Steps Responsible Start/End Resources Evaluation
1. Assess the current available technology (including hardware and software) to classroom teachers.
Tamara Williams and the school technology aide
First week of school (August 23, 2010)
The school’s technology inventory
The total number of technology resources available to classroom teachers.
2. Survey the classroom teachers concerning their use of technology during classroom instruction
Tamara Williams and school librarian
September 13, 2010 through September 17, 2010
Computer survey on Survey Monkey and all 55 classroom teachers to complete survey
Tabulate the results from Survey Monkey
to determine teachers strengths and weaknesses concerning technology
3. Survey the student body concerning technology usage by their current classroom teachers
Tamara Williams and school librarian
September 27, 2010 through October 1, 2010
Computer survey on Survey Monkey
and all 660 students complete the survey during their ELAR classes in the library
To determine student’s perception concerning teacher computer use in the classroom. Compare these results with the teacher results to look for similarities and discrepancies
4. Analyze last year’s technology lab logs. looking for patterns in use, lack of use, and types of use.
Tamara Williams, school technology aide, and school librarian
October 11, 2010 through October 15, 2010
Technology lab logs from previous year
I will be using these logs to look for patterns in usage, lack or use, and types of use
5. Analysis successful technology academies and they handle technology within their classrooms.
Tamara Williams, technology director
August 16, 2010-October 29, 2010
Interviews with personnel from technology academies
Evaluate the best practices from the technology academies looking for ways that these practices could be implemented at our school.
6. Analyze current technology trends looking for available hardware and software that is applicable to our school
Tamara Williams and technology director
August 16, 2010 through October 29, 2010
Current technology articles that addresses trends in middle schools
Evaluate these trends to see if they are a viable fit for our school.
7. Compile data and submit to our principal with recommended steps to make technology more prominent in individual teacher’s classroom lessons
Tamara Williams
August 16, 2010- January 14, 2011
All of the results from the previous steps of this action plan
To survey teachers and students in January to see if the results have changed concerning use of technology in classroom lessons
8. Sustain improvement-I will share my results with my principal as well as the staff. In that sharing I will share ways to improve our daily technology usage. I will then have the teachers and students take the survey again in January, as well as compile data from the current computer lab logs to see if there have been any improvements since September.
Goal: To examine the current technology uses in daily classroom instruction and to make recommendations concerning how to tweak those activities to get maximum usage out of our available recourses. Also to research new technology that would help elevate our technology capabilities in the classroom.
Action Persons Timeline Needed
Steps Responsible Start/End Resources Evaluation
1. Assess the current available technology (including hardware and software) to classroom teachers.
Tamara Williams and the school technology aide
First week of school (August 23, 2010)
The school’s technology inventory
The total number of technology resources available to classroom teachers.
2. Survey the classroom teachers concerning their use of technology during classroom instruction
Tamara Williams and school librarian
September 13, 2010 through September 17, 2010
Computer survey on Survey Monkey and all 55 classroom teachers to complete survey
Tabulate the results from Survey Monkey
to determine teachers strengths and weaknesses concerning technology
3. Survey the student body concerning technology usage by their current classroom teachers
Tamara Williams and school librarian
September 27, 2010 through October 1, 2010
Computer survey on Survey Monkey
and all 660 students complete the survey during their ELAR classes in the library
To determine student’s perception concerning teacher computer use in the classroom. Compare these results with the teacher results to look for similarities and discrepancies
4. Analyze last year’s technology lab logs. looking for patterns in use, lack of use, and types of use.
Tamara Williams, school technology aide, and school librarian
October 11, 2010 through October 15, 2010
Technology lab logs from previous year
I will be using these logs to look for patterns in usage, lack or use, and types of use
5. Analysis successful technology academies and they handle technology within their classrooms.
Tamara Williams, technology director
August 16, 2010-October 29, 2010
Interviews with personnel from technology academies
Evaluate the best practices from the technology academies looking for ways that these practices could be implemented at our school.
6. Analyze current technology trends looking for available hardware and software that is applicable to our school
Tamara Williams and technology director
August 16, 2010 through October 29, 2010
Current technology articles that addresses trends in middle schools
Evaluate these trends to see if they are a viable fit for our school.
7. Compile data and submit to our principal with recommended steps to make technology more prominent in individual teacher’s classroom lessons
Tamara Williams
August 16, 2010- January 14, 2011
All of the results from the previous steps of this action plan
To survey teachers and students in January to see if the results have changed concerning use of technology in classroom lessons
8. Sustain improvement-I will share my results with my principal as well as the staff. In that sharing I will share ways to improve our daily technology usage. I will then have the teachers and students take the survey again in January, as well as compile data from the current computer lab logs to see if there have been any improvements since September.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Technology Up to My Eyeballs
This week I attended three and half days of voluntary in-service, two of those days were technology classes. I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed with all the new techno gadgets I have learned.
First… I designed my own webpage with a hyperlink to my weekly student blog. I have been blogging since last year after the technology graduate class I took at Lamar. My students and parents really enjoyed the fact that they had assignment clarification at their finger tips. My personal website will make this blog address available so no one can lose it.
Second…I attended a Print, Fold, and Cut workshop. This in-service was instructions on how to make foldables on the computer. The ideas from this workshop are endless, I have already contacted my administrator concerning loading these applications on the computers in of our labs.
Third…I went to an in-service on Google docs. Our district has been very slow to download Microsoft office onto every computer; they use Star Office because of cost. Star Office is horrible. Using Google docs instead of Star office will make documents so much more usable. I am so excited about this technology as well; again the classroom usages are endless.
Next week I am looking at another two and a half days of technology workshops, besides my content area specific workshops…well so much for the end of the summer.
I am thrilled though with all I am learning and excited about having a new set of guinea pigs (also known as students) to inflict with my new techno knowledge.
First… I designed my own webpage with a hyperlink to my weekly student blog. I have been blogging since last year after the technology graduate class I took at Lamar. My students and parents really enjoyed the fact that they had assignment clarification at their finger tips. My personal website will make this blog address available so no one can lose it.
Second…I attended a Print, Fold, and Cut workshop. This in-service was instructions on how to make foldables on the computer. The ideas from this workshop are endless, I have already contacted my administrator concerning loading these applications on the computers in of our labs.
Third…I went to an in-service on Google docs. Our district has been very slow to download Microsoft office onto every computer; they use Star Office because of cost. Star Office is horrible. Using Google docs instead of Star office will make documents so much more usable. I am so excited about this technology as well; again the classroom usages are endless.
Next week I am looking at another two and a half days of technology workshops, besides my content area specific workshops…well so much for the end of the summer.
I am thrilled though with all I am learning and excited about having a new set of guinea pigs (also known as students) to inflict with my new techno knowledge.
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