Wrenches in the Cogs – Rough Draft
Here’s the link to my rough draft:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16hZ6Ph0aogM86dQClIt4xRMFofwi_PJaQffyZ7a6oOQ/edit?usp=sharing
I don’t have the research in to support the claims yet, and I plan on expanding the suggestions at the end of the paper, but the general idea is there.
Wrenches in the Cogs of Technology Integration
There are more computers and other technologies available to students and teachers now than at any other point in educational history. Yet despite the availability of software and hardware, teaching practice that adopts technology is not widespread. This paper will explore reasons for this phenomenon.
From the research:
I. Infrastructure
A. Internet Connection and Bandwidth
B. Wireless capability
C. Security
D. Maintenance
II. Top-Down Policies
A. Technology mandates without teacher input
B. “Big Brother” monitoring
III. Insufficient Training
A. Training prior to arrival of hardware – sometimes 6 months to a year before.
B. Training with little to no follow up support
C. Little time allotted for training in the school year
D. Technology Integration Specialists – often only in Title I schools, and spread too thin to be effective.
A personal perspective:
IV. Teacher profiles in mycounty
A. 60% of teachers went through teacher preparation prior to 1987 – the first year computers were incorporated into the school system.
V. Title I profile
A. Due to NCLB, funds have to be set aside for busing students from schools that did not make AYP if they choose to attend another school. (most don’t)
B. These funds are release in late May and must be spent by June 1.
C. Large technology purchases are the quickest way to spend large sums of money.
D. Last year, 600 ipads were purchased on mobile carts for distribution to ten schools.
VI. MIS Profile
A. There are 6 technicians to fix, install and maintain technology in a county with 3 high schools, 5 middle schools, and 18 elementary schools.
B. In the past two years, every school in the county has acquired at least two mobile carts of netbooks on top of their regular classroom computers and labs. All core teachers now have a presentation station.
C. No additional personnel were hired to accommodate the influx of hardware.
D. Each school has a tech contact to file work orders and troubleshoot for a nominal stipend.
E. Title I schools are eligible for e-rate, a 90% reduction in the cost of wireless installation. By the time the federal paperwork is approved, the hardware requested is obsolete or unavailable and the paperwork must be redone. Title I schools have waited for 3 years to get wireless.
F. Non Title I schools got county funds for wireless installation, but has no money for tablets. The result is some buildings have full wireless and no machines to use on it, while other buildings have hundreds of tablets and no wireless.
VII. Technology Integration Specialist profiles
A. There are 5 TISs in the county, all Title I.
B. TISs have been available for the past 10 years. Only one of the original hires is still a TIS.
C. Attrition causes include retirement, promotion, and accepting positions in other counties.
D. Title I funds determine how many schools a TIS will serve. 4 out of 5 TIS will have a Masters degree by the end of this year. This means a higher salary. The higher the salary, the more a school has to spend their funds for a “share” of the TIS. The higher the salary bracket, the further they are spread.
E. If a school wants a full-time TIS, they have to give up other Title I staff, such as reading specialists.
VIII. iPad Deployment issues
IX. Research findings supporting in local practice
X. Suggestions for improving Tech Integration in my county
Double duty
Hey folks! Another semester, another class that requires a blog. Since I already had this blog set up for Visual Literacy class, I saw no reason to create a new one for IDT Theories and Models. So if you’re still following this blog from my previous class, you are welcome to continue, or unfollow. Happy learning!
OK, for those of us traveling from out of town….
Hey folks! I just want to make sure before I trek to Morgantown tomorrow….
When I googled Panera, I found one IN Morgantown, and one NEAR Morgantown, sooooo
Is it the Panera Bread on Patterson Drive?
Looking forward to meeting everyone!
TED Talk final
After feedback from Dr. Neal and my colleagues, I re-recorded my TED Talk with a few changes.
I added some visuals, and attempted to clean up the audio. (Admittedly, I have more experience with visual than I do with audio)
Here’s the link:
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BwNI_i50qjYuMDROOHJkaERLN1E
TED Talk Treatment Document
Well, typical me, I got a wild hair, and finished my TED Talk before doing the Treatment Document, but it is what it is! =D
(a) main idea/purpose: The purpose of my TED Talk is to show how teaching to the needs of the ADHD student help me to dump techniques that didn’t work, and improved my overall teaching practice.
(b) audience for the message: teachers
(c) main ideas:
Let go of assumptions about ADHD Students,
In order to MAINTAIN control, you have to GIVE UP control,
Teaching Techniques I Trashed, and why,
Planning lessons to CAPTURE attention.
(d) production features that translate your ideas for your audience.
I used sound effects that seasoned teachers will recognize (yes, that’s me singing). I also did a little Photoshop magic to convey the emotions that frustrated teachers feel. I also used personal and professional anecdotes to illustrate the journey my teaching practice has taken, and challenge teachers to look at their own learning behaviors when planning learning activities for students.
