Unit 12 - Course Eval.

 I enjoyed the blended/flipped learning environment that this class used. Listening to and collaborating with colleagues dealing with similar challenges was very helpful. This course also exposed many of us to online resources that we were not aware of.  I shared many of these with my staff and I use them for professional development ideas for our staff.  We dealt with many of the current educational technology issues that schools are dealing with and provided us with a better framework for understanding and making decisions for our schools.


I liked the way the course was designed and the variety of topics discussed, so it is difficult to provide suggestions for improvement.  I thought the number of class meetings was appropriate. The online portion of the class, the quizzes, and the project were well designed.

Inevitable

The role of the superintendent in making the vision of Inevitable come to life is multifaceted.  The superintendent needs to educate themselves about the technology needed in order to implement vision, the infrastructure needed within the school, and the costs associated with implementation.  The superintendent also needs to communicate that vision to the school board, teachers and other administrators.  Hiring practices need to be modified in order to ensure that new employees are aware of able to implement the vision.  Appropriate training must be planned for staff and students.  This plan must also be rolled out for the community to understand and be a part of.

Making such a dramatic change cannot happen overnight.  It must be rolled out in stages.  There are many options but my long-term implementation plan would look something like the following:

1.  Pilot the learning experience the students and teachers will be a part of in one class. 1 semester
2.  Extend the pilot program to teachers that volunteer to be a part of it. 1 semester
3.  Implement the plan for one entire grade level (freshman) 1 year
4.  Extend the plan to upcoming grades each year - full implementation by year 4

Throughout and leading up to these steps, staff will will be involved in education/training and site visits to schools.  Staff and Administration will need to be in a constant state of reflection/review, improving the reality of the vision as needed.

Technology and the Superintendent

The Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE) is an organization focused solely on the needs of technology leaders. Their School Tech Leadership website (http://www.aasa.org/AASATechResources.aspx) has a wide variety of resources for administrators ranging from one-to-one initiatives, Education law, online schools, use of gaming as an educational tool, school finance and other selected educational blogs.

 The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) website (http://schooltechleadership.org/) has a variety of resources for all areas of administration, including technology. This is a more comprehensive site for all the needs of an administrator.  The technology resources section has wide ranging information from cyberbullying, social media, national contact information,

One of the duties of a Superintendent is to stay informed on the wide variety of educational issues. Limited time is a major factor that District officials must contend with on a daily basis.  When they need answers to questions or information regarding trends in education and technology, they will want a reliable information source.  These websites will serve as good resource for administrators. 

WikiSpaces

Here is the link to my Wiki page:   http://marionbears.wikispaces.com/
I created this page to keep my staff up to date on our Tech Tuesday schedule.  In the future I hope to make it more interactive and include all of our professional development activities.

I like the Wiki pages for its simplicity, however, I am used to working on our school's webpage and prefer the control that html allows.  This is a very easy way for teachers to create and manage a webpage for their class.  The option to use it as a collaborative tool opens up many opportunities to engage their students.

Cyberbullying

After having looked over these cyberbullying sites, go to your blog and respond to the following questions:
• What online resources and information did you find most useful?
• How can these resources be used in your school to address cyberbullying?
• How do you teach students and staff about cyberbullying?

     I found the "Enough is Enough" website to be an excellent source of general knowledge for educators, parents, and students.  I like how it stressed the importance of the action or inaction of bystanders.  We need to do a better job of educating our students about how bystanders can be a key component of bully prevention.  This site, as well as StopBullying.gov, did a nice job of detailing the steps that students and parents should take when they find themselves the victim of bulling.

Ask the bully to stop and tell someone else that the bullying is taking place
Copy/Print the evidence,
Block the bully,
Report the bully to the website,
Report to school officials
Get the authorities involved.

     For students, I found the FBI site to excellent.  The FBI site for safe online surfing offered an education program for students in grades 3-8.  This should/could be used as a component of our technology curriculum.  Education at an early age is key to future prevention. Integration of the FBI site into our computer classes is already a discussion item between my computer and technology staff and I.
     The NASSP and NSBA sites were full of resources for administration and School Board Members.  Sample school policies were available as well as examples of school climate surveys that can be used to gauge your schools bully prevention program.  We will be using aspects of the school climate survey to analyze the District.  To me, it seems as though there has been improvement in our number of bullying cases.  A school climate survey will hopefully confirm my assumption.
     Our current methods of educating our staff and students about cyberbullying are unorganized and inadequate.  We have had yearly programs where we bring in a guest speaker to address our students. Our beginning of the school year assembly reviewed the school bullying policies with students and staff.  We also stress to staff that they need to be visible to students and actively listening in the halls and wherever students are present.  We are a small school and sometime allow ourselves to be complacent on things of this nature.  This information should help revitalize the bully prevention education in our school.

Research on the Effectiveness of Educational Technology

Assignment 1: After having looked over these educational technology research sites, go to your blog and respond to the following questions:
• Give a brief review of the research you found on these sites.
• What are your reactions to this research?
Is this information helpful in justifying the use and expense of technology in our schools?

The use of online learning in schools continues to increase.  The primary objective is to ensure the availability of high quality education to all students.  Schools need to determine the best format for the online environment in their schools.  Proper use of technology in a one to one environment can lead to improvements in student motivation, engagement, achievement, 21st century skills, and self directed learning.  The instructional practices of teachers will be positively impacted by technology use if there is proper training and infrastructure available.

I agree with these assumptions about the potential impact that technology, one-to-one learning environments, and online learning can have on our education system.  I have witnessed these things in my school with our students that have had the opportunity to take advantage of it.  At this time many of these resources are only available for remedial and advanced studies but we will soon begin to make this available on a larger scale and I am excited to see the results.  For the past 5-10 years, many schools have had the equipment to offer these types of educational opportunities but have allowed it to reach its full potential.    The schools that have piloted these programs are now the examples that we should try to emulate or modify to fit with the needs of our district.

The expense of technology resources cannot be ignored.  It is one of the major aspects that has held schools back from using technology to its full potential.  Many of the resources we have used thus far have been teacher-based, such as smart boards and projectors, online grade books, etc.  It is now time to put the tools available into our students hands with online classes, online textbooks, blended classes, etc.   The investments in technology that schools have already made will be wasted if we do not continue to move forward.  School technology budgets are going to continue to increase.  We need to make informed decisions about our purchases and provide the time and training to implement.

One-to-One Intiative

What are some potential barriers to implementing a one-to-one initiative?

There are number issues to consider as one enters a one-to-one learning environment.  There are 3 big barriers that school boards and other school leaders need to consider before implementation: The stability of the network, the total cost, and staff training and reluctance.  If the network is not stable or dependable the technology will not be used.  Start-up costs are typically easier to figure out than the maintenance and upkeep costs so budgets must be planned carefully.  This is a long-term commitment your school is making so Boards need to consider future sources of funding.  If your school is going to spend the money on this technology then your staff needs to be on board and given training and time to come up with a vision for how their classes will be enhanced with this initiative.  They also need to be involved in the decision making process

What are the benefits to implementing a one-to-one initiative? and…How does the teaching and learning process change when every student has a laptop computer, or mobile device?

The benefits of the one-to-one initiative are numerous.  They include increased access to information, extending instructional opportunities, improving student motivation, using 21^st Century skills, etc.  For some, they can be used to allow students to do remedial work in an online classroom.  They can be used to take AP other classes that are not offered in your district.  The learnining environment becomes limitless.  There will be more opportunities for personalized content for students and online professional development for staff.  Teachers will have to plan differently for their classes if they are going to use this technology to its fullest potential.  Here is where the necessity of training is essential or we risk technology being used as a baby sitter or pacifier.

At this point in time, how would you respond if a school board member asked if your school should implement a one-to-one initiative?

If a school board member asked me if we should implement a one-to-one initiative I would say it should have been done 10 years ago.  After that I would ask them questions to determine what their current knowledge of the initiative is and what their expectations are.  It is important to dispel any misconceptions Board members may have about how the initiative will work, what kind of results they should expect, and the ongoing costs.  For our students to excel in the 21^st Century we will have to put 21^st century tools in our students hands.  Educators will have to give them 21^st century tasks to do with those tools and expect results that meet or exceed our 21^st Century standards.  The one-to-one initiative is a must have for school districts.  It should be very high on the list of priorities for a school board to continue or begin supporting.

Copyright Policies for Schools

Does your school have a copyright policy?
My district does not currently have a copyright policy.  My superintendent and I will be writing one now based on this information.  Our policy will focus on fair use and guide teachers through the questions they need to ask themselves to determine whether their use would qualify.    From what I have seen, our staff already do follow these guidelines.  The gray area would include the practice of having students watch the movie after reading the book.  If the intent was for students to compare and contrast the two, then it is generally perceived to be fair use.  If it is simply for entertainment, then fair use would probably not apply.  Discussing the subtleties of the law should generate questions and thoughts regarding proper use.  The increase in use of Digital content makes this tougher to track in schools, so education of staff is going to be the key.  I think the copyright laws are important and schools should not abuse the fair use principles.  This is also about staff modeling ethical behavior for our students.  

Mobile Devices in the Classroom

The issue of mobile devices in the classroom has been viewed by many in education as a policy nightmare. Do personal mobile devices have a place in our schools besides a locker?  This is an issue that schools continue to grapple with.  The majority of schools around the country answer that question with a resounding no or at least a not yet.  What is keeping us from incorporating this amazing little piece of technology into our schools?  I will explain my 4 concerns, all of which have counter arguments that may eventually change my mind as we answer those questions in the future.

Access for all students –Do all students have access to these devices?  At this point we make sure all of our students have a school issued laptop to use for their educational benefit.  E-Rate requirements limit, to some extent, what the school can purchase and how the students will be allowed to use the devices.  With smart phones, it would only be allowable for them to be used in the school building.   The Bring Your Own Device movement going on in some schools has gained some national attention.  However, not every students phone is going to have the same capabilities.  Then we start getting into the equity game.  Will schools start suggesting which mobile devices students should buy?  Are students without phones, or without the right type of phone going to be left out?

Safety – School technology directors dedicate a lot of time to making sure they operating in a technologically secure environment.  Virus protection software and content filtering software are some of our current methods of controlling and securing our network.  To my knowledge, mobile devices do not have that option. This can be both good and bad.  It may allow schools to have a chance to teach students how to properly use these devices but it may also allow for potentially dangerous and inappropriate use.

Quality of educational software – The educational software available on mobile devices has been increasing dramatically.  We need to ask ourselves the question, “What is it that we really want our students to be doing with these devices?  Are we intending them to be used in addition to or instead of tablets or laptops? How you answer that question is critical.  If your intent is to use it as additional piece, provided by the school, your cost can add up to about $400 per year, per device before purchasing any apps that may be needed.

Teacher expertise – Do your teachers want to use these devices in their classes?  Do they know how to incorporate them into the classroom?  Will the school provide training to teachers for their use?  

At present, I see mobile devices continuing to have isolated or heavily restricted use in our schools.  With funding where it is currently, I don’t see how schools can continue to afford to keep up with the changing technology.   Mobile devices (phones, iPods) are, for most, entertainment and communication devices, not educational devices, at least not yet.

Technology Policies

Acceptable use policies are meant to govern student and staff access to district technology.  Our current acceptable use policy is dated and in the process of being updated.  We are, in fact, currently in the process of updating our entire policy manual.  While this is a time consuming task, it does make sense to do it this way since many of our district policies will be referenced in the Acceptable Use Policy. 

We currently do not have an internet publishing policy.  It is something we should be looking into.  Right now our staff does not do much in the way of internet publishing so we have not really had to deal with it.  We currently block a large number of sites that are considered social media.  I do feel like we are doing a disservice to our students by not allowing them to publish in this manner for their classes.  Teachers are encouraged to have class websites if they choose but we have not specifically set forth guidelines for their website. 

Our distance education policy is fairly simple right now, only dealing with our students in the credit recovery program, AP classes, and Spanish classes.  It outlines our student selection criteria and completion timeline criteria to earn credit for that year. 

These technology policies are all areas that we feel are important and need some fixing in our district.  They are, however, taking a back seat to some of our other policy updates.  Our technology committee includes the Superintendent, HS Principal, and Technology Director and we meet on a regular basis (informally) to discuss our technology needs.  At this time, I would say we are leaning toward being more reactive to technology than proactive.  This will have to change in order for us to stay close to the technology changes that are occurring in society. 

CoSN website Review

The Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) is a professional organization for school technology leaders.  It provides leadership, community and advocacy tools essential for school leaders. The CoSN website is a bit overwhelming with all of the information that it contains.

One of the links that was the most helpful was the Total Cost of Ownership.  The information it provided in the checklist for efficient operations was very good.  It pointed out some areas that I do not typically deal with in a small school, like a centralized  help desk, but that I may deal with in the future.

This site will be useful to districts in numerous ways.  I would make this my first source of information when my district is working on its technology plan.  Districts should be sure to refer to the Total Cost of Ownership, Value of Investment pages as they make decisions about purchases ranging from servers, computers, software, printers and ink.

Technology planning in my district has not, and probably will not become a very formal process like it is the larger districts.  Our technology committee includes the superintendent, HS principal, and Tech Director.  We gather our information from teachers throughout the year and usually just decide how many new computers we will need to replace outdated ones.  We have some discussion about what features we would like the new computers to have.  In recent years we have also been looking into adding Mac's into out building.  We are piloting it with a few Macbooks and iPads but we dont really have a plan in mind yet.  This site will help us ask the right questions and make the best decisions about our future purchases.

School Websites

Assignment 2: In your blog, write your reactions to the websites you looked at. Some of the questions you could consider include:
• What are your reactions to the websites you looked at?
• Is a website like this useful to a school district?
• Is it worth the time and effort to establish and maintain such a website?
• What is the condition of your school’s website?
• What information should be included in a school website?
• What role should the superintendent have with the school website?
• Should each teacher be required to have a link on the school website that contains information about their classes (such as assignments, web resources, etc)?
• How can students be involved creating and maintaining a school website?

It appears that many school district websites are very professionally done.  I wonder how they go about creating the design for their site.  Are they hiring companies to create it or are they doing it internally?  Who is responsible for the website in a large district like Sioux falls or rapid city?  I designed and currently maintain the Marion website, which is a daily task.  My philosophy about a school or a teacher website is that if it is not maintained and kept up to date and accurate then you are better off not having one at all.
These other school sites all have a lot of information, but I found it hard to find the teachers and if they had web pages, especially on the large district websites.   When designing our school site, and my own website when I was teaching, I tried to think of any possible question a parent or student might have and then find a place, link or page where I can have that information available for them.  Over time, the amount of use that particular page or link gets will help me determine the most important pages to update first or most often.
Having a school website is not an optional facet of your school, it is a requirement and is expected by the community.  But now, having a website may not be enough. We need to considering twitter and Facebook as additional Internet forms of communication.  Schools need to constantly change the communication practices to adapt to the ways in which their stakeholders prefer to communicate.
A school superintendent's role regarding the school website should be three-fold.
They should have a place for a superintendent message and use it frequently, they should determine who/what company is in charge of the design, creation, and updating, and they should have set the parameters for the types of information that should or should not be placed on the website.  Superintendents may be more involved if they choose or have the technologically savvy.  
Many teachers have also created we pages of their own.  While this does not necessarily need to be a requirement, it has become an expectation of many parents.  The important thing that teachers need to is decide how they are going to use their website and then consistently update it.  I have always suggested to teachers that if they are not keeping their site up to date then I don't want them to publicize or link it on the district page.
Sometimes students have an interest in creating or designing a web page whether it be for a class or a school group or club.  In these situations I make sure the adult mentor has set parameters and supervision over the publishing of the site.  What I like to do is have some of our graphics classes create themed banners for the website each month or season.  
I have been in charge of designing and maintaining the Marion website for the past 3 years.  I have come to realize just how much I rely on the website to convey our district information.  I now use our district Facebook page and my Twitter page to direct parents and students to particular pages of the website.

Introduction

My name is Chad Allison.  I have been in the public education setting since 1998.  I taught high school science at Columbus Public High School in Columbus, NE for 2 years.  I moved back to South Dakota in 2000 and taught Middle school science in the Tri-Valley school district in Colton, SD for 10 years.  I have been the MS/HS Principal and Athletic Director at Marion since 2010.  I began the superintendent program at the University of Sioux Falls this past summer and hope to have it completed by the summer of 2014.