How to Set-Up a Blog

Reflections of Multimedia Video Technology Web Conferences

During the course EDLD 5363 Multimedia Video Technology there were several helpful web conferences. These web conferences were extremely helpful in allowing students of this course to effectively collaborate with one another as well as the professor. The web conferences allowed all participants to share and exchange ideas, information, questions, and/or suggestions. I plan on implementing a similar system in my own classroom to facilitate learning among my students. My interaction within the web conferences allowed me to complete each of the desired outcomes which were: 1.Learning to operate the software and hardware for an interactive web conference. 2.More interaction between students and faculty for academic and intellectual content knowledge. 3.Clarification of assignments. 4.Sharing your local experiences with one another. 5.Information regarding the components of the Internship and Field-based Experiences and Activities.

Final Reflection

     Donald Schön, a philosopher and educational researcher stated that "The experience in reflective teaching is that you must plunge into the doing, and try to educate yourself before you know what it is you’re trying to learn." I agree with this statement because I feel in order to learn, we often must jump into a situation and many times not really know what the consequence may be. As educators we are often faced with a situation in which we are forced to make a choice and then follow up by taking the appropriate action. As, a result this course on Action Research was very inspiring in my development as an educational leader.

     During this course, we were also given the opportunity to watch and reflect on interviews from various educational scholars whom use action research in their educational careers, I learned a great deal of information from each of these scholars. During one of the  interviews I learned that future leaders should read and research via the internet and journals what other schools are doing to resolve issues that I may be facing at my campus.  The other interview explained that teachers should always continue to learn. Teachers need to be action research oriented, and bring in the qualitative data to be successful in the field of education. As leaders we can no longer just focus on impacting a few students, we need to use the data to may an impact on all. In summary, action research is the key to success in the current educational system. As educational leaders and facilitators we need to really learn how to read, understand and interpret data to impact the lives of students.

     According to the text, Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, and Julie Combs, there are 8 steps that we must utilize as educators to improve our schools. The 8 steps mentioned in this text provide an excellent academic blueprint which has helped me greatly in preparing my action research for this course. In addition to using this 8 step approach I also learned that we can  support and sustain action research by using strategies such as Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, Nominal Group Technique, and CARE model.

     Lastly, but not least if it wasn't for the amazing colleagues, course professor and assistants, blog sites, Facebook site, and discussion board this course would not be what it was....amazing! I am happy that I took this course, as it will help me become the leader that I always knew I would be. Thank you all! 

References

Dana, N. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher.

Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., and Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do To Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps From Analysis To Action. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education, Inc.

Schön, D. (1987, April). Educating the reflective practitioner. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C.

Week 4 Reflection

During week 4 I was given a great deal of insight as to the effectiveness of my Action Research plan. The feedback that was given was very useful in constructing the plan. After conferencing with my site supervisor I feel very confident that my action research will be very effective. I decided to add a few changes which will include information linking how behavior management has a direct impact on academic success of students in my target group. Thanks to many of my colleagues I feel that I have selected a very good action research plan.  I will utilize the strategies of :  Force Field Analysis, Delphi Method, Nominal Group Technique, and CARE model  to support and sustain my action research. 

Action Research Plan to Determine if Classroom Dojo is a useful tool for classroom behavior management.

Action Step(s)	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Setting the foundation by using Classroom Dojo in my own classroom. Create a survey to give to parents and teachers.	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013- April 2013	Classroom Dojo program.	Surveys from parents and teachers explaining the action research and their feedback .
2. Analyzing the data by observing and monitoring student behavior in the classroom and keep track of improvements with my students attitude and behavior.	Myself and Site Supervisor.	April 2013-June 2013	Chart, graph.	I will use the data to determine the changes in student behavior.
3. Developing a deeper understanding by contacting parents of my students and obtain feedback. from them in the form of emails and/or surveys	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013	Emails, Surveys	My evaluation will be based on my discussion with parents and students.
4. Engage in Self Reflection by answering the questions: Do I possess the skills and resources needed to conduct a successful action research project that reflects that Classroom Dojo is a good behavior management tool? • If I do not have the resources needed for this action research, can I find them?	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013		My evaluation will be based on answering my reflection questions to determine changes that need to be made.
5. Exploring Programmatic Patterns by talking with my site supervisor and other people whose opinion I respect to determine the pros and cons of possible solutions. What skills and resources do I think are essential to successful project implementation?	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013		Evaluation will be based on discussions with site supervisor and other educational leaders.
6. Determining Direction by answering the questions: A. Am I clear on what I am attempting to solve (Is Classroom Dojo an affective classroom management tool)? B. Have I adequately addressed the skills and resources questions? C. Have I established a collaborative approach to this issue? Are my timelines realistic? E. Do I have a reasonable plan to monitor the project? F. Do I have a reasonable plan for determining the level of success – how do you evaluate if the plan is effective? G. How will I revise and improve the plan based on monitoring and evaluation?	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013		I will evaluate myself by answering the questions I have developed based on my research findings.
7. Taking action for school improvement by organizing a  meeting with teachers and parents  to assist with my action research project. I will monitor the project (formative evaluation) and prepare a summary report (summative evaluation) of the results of my action research project addressing the use of Classroom Dojo as a classroom behavior management tool.	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013		Formative evaluation and Summative evaluation.
8. Sustain improvement by  maintaining the positive aspects of my action research project. The knowledge and skills developed will be  applied to other areas of my personal professional development.	Myself and Site Supervisor.	March 2013-June 2013		Final evaluation will be based on all my findings and knowledge and skills developed.

Reflection- Week 2

      During Week 2 I learned a great deal about how action research can benefit leaders, teachers, administrators,students and the entire district.I learned that there are a diversity of action research topics that I can decide on for my research. I was able to utilize the nine areas of passion that are common for action research topics by reading the Dana text. Leading with Passion and Knowledge was very helpful because it presented the key areas and gave very good examples of how an action research project may result based on inquiry. I used the ideas presented in this book to propose action research topics for my school.

     During Week 2, I enjoyed watching the videos with the three scholars. They were very informative videos about action research and data analysis and disaggregation. I chose  

Dr. Johnny Briseno, Principal, Rancho Isabella Elementary and Dr. Timothy Chargois, Director of Research, Planning and Development in Beaumont ISD. I learned a great deal of information from each of these scholars. From the first interview I learned that future leaders should read and research via the internet and journals what other schools are doing to resolve issues that I may be facing at my campus.  The second interview explained that teachers should always continue to learn. Teachers need to be action research oriented, and bring in the qualitative data to be successful in the field of education. As leaders we can no longer just focus on impacting a few students, we need to use the data to may an impact on all. In summary, action research is the key to success in the current educational system. As educational leaders and facilitators we need to really learn how to read, understand and interpret data to impact the lives of students.

     In conclusion, I feel that I am prepared to begin the process of my action research inquiry. I will use the information from the Dana text, scholar interviews, and my own research to propose action research topics that will enhance education and learning at my school. 

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

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How Educational Leaders Might Use Blogs

Educational Leaders can use blogs to encourage writers and responders to develop thinking, analytical, and communication skills. Some important facts about blogs are:

• Blogs are brief, to the point. Blogs encourage writers to express the main ideas about a topic.
• Blogs are stored online and remain as an e- portfolio.
• Blogs can link to other websites and provide additional information on a topic.
• Blog publishing is very quick, students are often eager to post comments and see their ideas online for others to see.
• Blogs allow creativity, collaboration, communication, connections, and critical thinking.