CEDO 599 Week 4 - Final Reflection

It wasn't log ago that I took some time to read my blog from the beginning of this program and review everything that I had learned, reflected upon, questioned, etc. While completing my electronic portfolio, my blog was one of the tools that really helped me through that process. I was able to look back and remember how I was feeling, the things I was learning, and the thoughts I had for that particular class or project/assignment.

When thinking back to the start of this program, I certainly have come a long way. My passion for instructional technology began about a year before I decided to pursue my master's degree in it. A good friend of mine is an amazing library media specialist who knows so much about instructional technology, and she taught me so much and inspired me to know/learn more. At the beginning of the program, I felt like much of what I was learning were things I already new about from my friend or my own exploration/resources gathered from Twitter. As the classes progressed, I felt my learning also progressed. Of all of the classes in this program, the one I enjoyed the most was the leadership class. The text that was required for that course opened my eyes to the many ways that teachers can assume leadership roles besides just going back to school to become a principal or other administrator. It also was frustrating to hear about what things could be like vs. what they really are in many schools in regards to how leadership roles are filled (non-administrative leadership roles are what I'm referring to).

The one area that I really wish I knew more about is copyright. With so many of the tools we are using professional, personally, and asking our students to use have us publishing our work to the Internet. We touched on copyright in one course but I feel it was so surface-level; having a solid foundation and understanding of this important issue will make teachers feel better prepared to take on this huge responsibility of teaching our students what they can/cannot do.

I'm so thankful to my husband for being so supportive of me throughout this entire master's program. With two little kiddos, it is difficult to find time to work on projects, have group meetings, and even to attend class for one hour uninterrupted but he was a super star and took it all on.

I see my role at my school changing and evolving into something really exciting. I've been asked to be part of several committees and initiatives that I probably wouldn't have been 2 years ago, and it is because of my passion for and knowledge in instructional technology. Education as we know it is changing so quickly and being able to embrace and use the tools that we have are going to be the key to the new way of education. Thank you, Cardinal Stritch, and all of the instructors for helping me on my journey. I appreciate it all!

CEDO 599 Weeks 2 & 3

I'm not sure where the time has gone and realized that I missed my blog post for Week 2 so I'm doing double duty with this post. Since the last post, I've been working hard on my project. I first had to coordinate a date with administration to do my Family Tech Night. After a few emails back and forth, we have set the date for November 8th. I have created a wiki that will house my resources for the night. I also created a Google Form for people to fill out to register for the event. That way I'm able to see how many people I can expect that evening and how many handouts I need to prepare, etc. I've had quite a few emails of questions (especially regarding the ability to sync Google Calendar with iPhones). I don't have an iPhone so I started doing some research on this so I'm able to explain this to participants on the 8th. I'm glad those individuals emailed me ahead of time so I'm able to do the research/work ahead of time and be prepared. So far I have 20 people registered. All of the principals K-12 have put it in their weekly newsletters, a Constant Contact email announcement will be sent out next week, a note put in parish bulletins, as well as a press release to the local news paper to help advertise the event. I'm excited to see the interest from people! The Director of Admissions also sent me an email today letting me know that many parishes had responded back to her asking if I would do a presentation on Social Networking, specifically Facebook & Twitter. I'm guessing that some of them would like to start utilizing these tools but don't know exactly where to start. I am in the process of setting a date for a social networking (Facebook & Twitter) presentation like the one I'm doing on 11/8 for Google Docs & Google Calendar.

The planning of this project is taking much more time than I anticipated. I am spending time responding to emails, and as you can probably expect, the time to respond is much more than if I were able to talk to someone on the phone or face to face because it takes so much time trying to figure out how to word something so that it will make sense to the person on the other end, especially the parent emails that I've had so far.

It is also such a CRAZY time right now, with only 2 days left of our term and finals around the corner on Monday and Tuesday of next week. I feel like I don't have enough time or energy to get everything done that needs to be done. I know I can get all of the work and preparation done prior to the 8th when the Family Tech Night is being held but feel so much pressure to get things done by the end of this class. Right now I feel like I'm not being very good in any of my roles - teacher, wife, mom, student, parent volunteer at my son's school, church volunteer, etc, etc, etc. ....If only there were a few more hours to each day OR an option to freeze time for at least 24 hours but the ability for me to still continue to get my work done. :)

CEDO 599 Week 1

I couldn't make this week's class meeting due to "Preview Night" which is one of our large recruitment nights for perspective students and families. I had to represent the Business & Information Technology Department and show off our courses and related student organizations. After viewing the class recording, it is just what I had expected the class to be. I'm excited about the planning and implementation of my culminating experience. This year has been full of staff development in regards to technology but for my culminating experience I want to expand my audience beyond the staff I work with on a daily basis. I want to reach the parents as well as students who I don't have in class to share some of these great technology tools. The first tool I'd like to share information on is Google Docs. Our system adopted Google Apps for Edu this year and I've been slammed with questions from students as well as emails and phone calls from parents who aren't familiar with Google Docs and some of the other Google tools like Calendar. By providing some training to parents and students who I don't see in my classes, I'm hoping the students and parents can be more educated and use the tools to the extent that they can be. I'm also excited about sharing some other Web 2.0 tools with the teachers besides the tools that I am able to share during my visits. I'd like to highlight a tool that can be used as well as give examples (real classroom ideas and examples) of how the tools are being used so teachers can see the application and hopefully inspire those "ah ha" moments. I can't believe this program is coming to a close. It really does seem like yesterday that the first course started.

CEDO 565 Week 6

How has your definition of leadership altered or been reinforced? Your definition of teacher leadership?
My definition of leadership hasn't been altered but instead reinforced. According to dictionary.com, leadership is defined as "a person who guides or directs a group" which is what I view a person in a leadership position to do. The book, "How to Thrive as a Teacher Leader," describes the essential characteristics of an influential leader, some of which include being honest and ethical, organized, empathetic and supportive, resourceful, fair, accepting, and forward-thinking. When picturing a positive leader, these are all characteristics that I would hope the person would possess. My definition of teacher leadership has changed throughout this course. I had mostly viewed leadership with the educational setting as a principal or other administrator. The text pointed out many positions that teachers can take on in leadership roles without going into administration like a grade level or subject area leader, mentor, peer coach, host teacher, technology leader, and many more.

Has your opinion of your leadership potential changed?
As discussed in other previous blog posts and forum discussions, I think the way many schools select their teacher leaders might not be the best way, as also described in the text. Many department chairs get that title from having the most seniority and not necessarily because they would be the best person for that role. With all of the various ways teachers can take on leadership positions, each can find a role that will best fit their interests and capitalize on their skills.

Do you agree with our textbook's assertion about "improving education from within"? If so, what will you do to help?
I think improving education from within is certainly a fine statement to make. The administration and the teachers they lead are what make the school run. If changes are going to be made and made to stick, they are going to need to happen from within with the teachers' support and buy-in. Within the past year, I've really taken the initiative to be the technology leader for our system. I am serving on the technology committee as well as the technology coach for the system. With the tech coach position, I am able to carry out professional development opportunities for the teachers to learn more about technology and integration into the classroom. I will also continue to serve on our 1:1 initiative committee as our system is researching the best options to fit our needs. I'm excited to be part of this fast-paced, always changing area of education!

CEDO 565 Week 5

The part in Chapter 6 that I could relate the most to was "Map the Curriculum". "You were hired right out of college, obtained a job a few weeks before the school year started, and were told that you would be teaching 9th & 11th grade. You were given copies of the state and local objectives, teacher editions, and maybe even paired with a mentor. But when all was said and done, you needed to develop lesson plans, activities, and assessments for a curriculum that was largely unfamiliar to you." This scenario was actually more than I was given as I started my teaching career. I was given the very rough, incomplete lesson plans from the previous teacher for one class and nothing for the other 4 classes I was responsible for teaching. I had to contact the textbook publishers so I would at least have a few teacher editions and student textbooks so I could pull resources and ideas from. It was very scary. Now that I have a good handle on the content for each of the courses, I have been able to put together a curriculum map for each course. Like the book said, I think of it as a working document. It isn't something that I feel pressure to stick to exactly in regards to doing the same activities but I do cover the same objectives each time I teach the course but how I get from A to Z sometimes varies.

Another key point I pulled from this chapter is "Make work meaningful." That is SO important. I hate feeling like I have to do an assignment just to do something or fill time and I don't want my students to feel like that. By making the material something that the students can relate to on some level makes it come alive and the learning is brought to a whole new level.

Finally, the last two points - "communicate frequently with parents" and "involve the guidance department" are two things that are very much stressed at our school. It is expected that as soon as we see a dip in grades, motivation, behavior, etc, that we contact parents, as well as copy the guidance counselor, learning services, and the associate principal on the parent email. The idea of customer service and parent communication is one of the key foundations for us as teachers at our school.

CEDO 565 Week 4 Reflection

Boy, did the break in class come at a great point. With school starting it was so chaotic and I can't imagine having to thinking about Stritch homework/responsibilities as well as the start of school responsibilities. Things are still pretty crazy but hopefully starting to settle down here soon.

Thinking back to the last week of class, the simulation/game was interesting and frustrating. Our group worked really well together and had some thoughtful, meaningful conversations when trying to make our decisions. We thought we were on track and then would get slammed with negative feedback. It was frustrating to say the least but definitely simulated many examples of change in real life. The process in the simulation seemed to go so slowly. When I say that, I'm not referring to how quickly/slowly Louis got around to each group to give the feedback but I'm talking about the order of steps/actions taken to move each of the individuals from the beginning to the end. It was a lot of prep work, awareness building, communication with all of the stakeholders (to get them informed and on board), team building, and training. It certainly parallels real-life, that's for sure!

Our group was able to move many of the individuals about halfway through the "change" process. It seems like we would have needed double the amount of time to get everyone where they need to be. Now that we know the beginning steps needed in order to advance, we might be able to move a bit faster from the start but I really wonder how you could get everyone from A to Z in only the 3 year time period. Has any group ever been able to do so?

CEDO 565 Week 3 Reflection

Starting class this past week, I felt so anxious and nervous. I read over the materials related to the simulation but didn't quite understand exactly how everything was going to work. It wasn't until we were broken into our groups and starting talking about what each person understood and what to do that the pieces of the simulation started to make sense. Our group had a rough start in the beginning of the simulation and weren't quite sure how to get going. It finally clicked that we needed to take a step back from trying to figure out our successes and challenges and needed to first gather information from our school community and talk to some of the school community members. After the simulation class session was done, our group chatted for a bit to talk about our next steps and how we want to approach the start of the next class. I am excited about where we are going and what we are going to attempt in the simulation next. :)

I also really enjoyed the "Who Moved My Cheese" video and slideshow for this week's assignments. I haven't read the book but am looking forward to it. The Leadership & Management course taught in our department has this book as one of the required readings (obviously I have taught that class yet:) ) As discussed in the "Tune In" discussion board, I was frustrated with the generalizations of the Millennial generation as talked about in the article. I'm sure every generation gets frustrated with the generalizations and stereotypes.

Finally, this is a great blog to follow in regards to leadership, change, technology, and 21st Century learning/teaching. Here is a great post called This is Not Optional Anymore talking about teachers embracing (or not embracing) technology in teaching...and as it says in the blog post title, that technology use in the classroom isn't optional anymore but a must! Check it out!