Course+Embedded+Assignments-Week+2

. ​ ​**Reflective Responses to Embedded Assignments - Week 2** = = =EDLD 5362 - Information Systems Management - 10 Embedded Hours= When I started this course, I had no idea how expensive it is to maintain and support the district's Student Information System. Further, I was astonished to learn that the system will be outdated in just a few years. The information I gathered during this class gave me a whole new appreciation for the personnel who handle the complexity of planning, budgeting, customer support,and training that are required in such a large district. The district's SIS Manager stated that the budget for the SIS software package was 15 million dollars! He further stated that an additional 2 million dollars per year would be spent for salaries for support personnel, and approximately $450,000,00 would be earmaked for license renewals.

As a fourth grade teacher, I am not privy to the planning and purchasing of technology at the district level. I do, however, have information and input at the school level. In working with my principal, I have been afforded the knowledge of budget appropriations for technology and on what it can or cannot be spent. Strangely enough, we can spend the technology budget on anything //other than// computers!

One of the most interesting assignments was in interviewing "seasoned teachers" who had taught for a number of years. It was a real eye-opener to note how far education has come in a relatively short amount of time. One teacher reflected that her classroom consisted of a chalkboard, chalk (not dustless), erasers, books, and ditto copies! She described the messiness of creating the ditto copies and the noxious odor that accompanied running off the copies. When I compare that to the ease in which I can create a test in Word and make multiple copies in mere minutes, I am thankful for technology! With the advances in technology it is becoming increasingly easy to create online tests through SurveyMonkey and other sites which provide students with instant feedback. As a student in the Master's program, I have enjoyed the opportunity to experience that type of instant feedback through the Progress Monitor in our courseware.

In discussing this with my collegues, I find that although technology is a desirable tool for our students, many of our economically disadvantaged students are unable to access technology outside the school environment due to their economic status. The consensus of my peers indicates that until every student has equal access to technology, we will not be able to move forward in a meaningful fashion.

Our main concern is the issue of safety. Even with the most sophisticated system, preservation of privacy with regard to personal information is, and probably always will be a major issue. We must make every effort to maintain the maximum degree of safety to ensure privacy is maintained.

I think it would be interesting to research the various SIS systems and their costs as compared to the system in my district. With such a short shelf life, I am surprised that my district was willing to invest such a large sum of money. The answer to that issue puzzles me!



=EDLD 5364 Teaching With Technology - 12 Embedded Hours=

I really enjoyed this course. It afforded an opportunity to work with two other Lamar team members to complete a group project using the CAST UDL Lesson Builder. This was my first time to be exposed to the UDL design for lesson plans. At first, I became quite frustrated with it, but by the end of the project, I could see the value in setting up lesson plans in that manner. With such strict guidelines to follow, it is less likely to leave our an important component of the lesson.

Our group used Google Docs to work on our project. The site was used for brainstorming, group collaboration, gathering of data, resouces and digital media to be used in our project. Each team member participated fully in order to complete her section of the project. We communicated daily via the Google site. We worked together like a well-oiled machine. I was pleased with our final results.Our efforts resulted in a well designed lesson plan. I implemented the plan in my classroom. It turned my classroom from a teacher-centered classroom into a learner-centered environment. My students were thrilled to post their work on our classroom wiki. That is just the type of activities students need to encounter on a daily basis. It is a sure way to keep students engaged and participating in their own learning. It allows for group collaboration and the delegation of tasks which they will need as they become members of the workforce.

I also had an opportunity to create an electronic book. That proved to be quite a delightful experience..Even though my book was very simple in nature, it took some time to figure out how to add text, audio, and pictures. My story was about my favorite cat.I think that electronic bookmaking is far more enjoyable than writing out a dull manuscript in a word processing program. I can see where this would have endless possibilities for budding authors!

I discussed the CAST UDL lesson plans with several of my colleagues. The final consensus reached by the group was that although it is a stellar form, it would be too time consuming and exhausting to provide such an elabotate plan of that magnitude on a weekly basis.Perhaps a group of teachers could get together druing the summer to put a couple of units together? That remains to be seen.