5366 Digital Graphics Reflection

Over the past several weeks I was taken into a journey of the general overview of graphic design principles and animation. This course was a little bit challenging in the fact that I never thought of branding, creating a logo, animation, and a newsletter. In order to create a professional and aesthetically pleasing product I was introduced to the basic design principles.

The principle we were introduced to was C.R.A.P. and it stands for contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. The contrast is probably the most important element of the design principle in that it allows things to stand out and is easy to see and captures the eye. The second principle is repetition and it brings unity and similarity to the product. The third principle alignment allows the elements to have a visual relationship. The final principle proximity dictates that items that belong together should be placed proximate to each other.

Along with the C.R.A.P. principle we learned about self-branding. We learned about marketing the individual. It is the message that we want to be associate with us. In branding we want to create a positive image that set us apart from the rest, and the message that we want conveyed.

I will be honest and admit that I have never created a logo, animation, and especially a newsletter. In order to address the principles outlined in the course I had to delve deeper into the products that I had occasionally used before. I found that my level of knowledge in the Microsoft Office was adequate, but not up to the level required in order to create these projects. I found that in utilizing the applications a whole new avenue of possibilities opened up. I realized the more the knowledge and exploration process continued that I keep saying to myself “I did not know you could do that.” This process reinforced my mindset of a lifelong learner. The more I explored the more I wanted to know. I know that I expanded on my knowledge of the products and learned to use GIMP and it allowed me to create the logo with ease. I am positive that any challenges in creating animation and graphics will be easier for me to use than those of the teachers that I assist, since I use have used these products in the past and I am responsible in the transfer of knowledge in the form of training.

This knowledge has empowered me to mentor the teachers in our district. I will train them on the principles that have been learned. They will be showed concepts on utilized this knowledge to incorporate student engagement for diverse learners. Graphics and audio is an awesome method to address the needs of all students.

References:

Goldsmith, M. (August 2007). Authentic personal branding. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/sep2009/ca20090929_228578.htm

Wahl, L., & Duffield, J. (2005). Using flexible technology to meet the needs of diverse learners. Retrieved from http://www.wested.org/online_pubs/kn-05-01.pdf

Yearwood, J. (2009), Basic Elements of Page Design. Lamar University

5366 Digital Graphics Week 3 Animation

This week was a little challenging.  I have never attempted animation much less work with it.  I downloaded the Stykz program.  I tried playing with it and was confused.  How am I going to accomplish this assignment.  I when through the tutorial and I still had questions.  I saw one of the demo sites on their website and downloaded their animation and looked at it frame by frame.  This all let it fit together.  The animation that I completed took a total of 78 frames.  In looking at the rubic it showed that we needed 10 or 12 steps.  This does equate to frames.  So to make sure that motion did indeed come through it took me all 78 frames.  This all amounted to just several seconds of video.  I have so much more respect for those people developing animation professionally.  Well please take a look at the animation at the bottom and feel free to comment.

This first one is in QTime, which was requested for the assigment.

CRAP About An Ancient Manuscript

I viewed the “The dedication of a church, in a Missal” and the border arraignment looked exquisite.  It gave it a vibrant and colorful look.  It is quite different to the readings found in our church which is mostly text, I guess this is to help you focus on the passages than get distracted by the design.  The colors are stood out from each other.  In viewing the manuscript, I found that it incorporated the C.R.A.P. principle.  There is black and red text on a white background for contrast.  There are varying colors on designs on a white background.  The black and red texts are repeated throughout the pages for emphasis.  The images and colors that constitute the border are repeated throughout as well as in the center of the columns of text.  The columns of text are aligned left and to the right. The prayers are aligned with the bishop in the first letter of the passage.  The titles are in red and the readings which are in black are aligned below.   The proximity of the designs on the border gives a symmetrical look.  The image of the bishop is the start of the readings.  All red lettering which could be titles or instructions are followed by black text which signify the start of the prayer.   The author used techniques such as the artistic border design, the use of the image of the pope encapsulated in a letter, and the red and black lettering to signify the important of the ancient manuscript and its relation to the church.

Week 5 PSA Post Production Reflection

This was a great collaborative effort on the part of the team. During week 1 Lawrence posted on the discussion board an invitation to create a team, obviously Roman, Melba, and I jumped on the chance to get an early start on the project. In pre-production phase I offered up a suggestion to do the Public Service Announcement (PSA) on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and the team agreed that a positive PSA to work on. We all agreed that it was for a K-12 educational setting. During this phase we proceeded to assign responsibilities, project description, and schedule of deliverables. We continued to brainstorm and came up the script outline and narration. We this in hand we completed our shot list. During the production phase we proceeded to get pictures of a school setting like school entrance, hallways, lockers, CPR related equipment, and finally a video of me fainting and receiving CPR. The team met once a week on Skype to collaborate on selecting appropriate content for each of the shot list. We continued to communicate via Skype and e-mail several other times to continue to fine tune the script and shot list to provide a smooth and professional appearance for the video. During the post-production phase we reviewed the video several times to check for continuity and for the assignment rubrics. Since Lawrence was the editor and he used a Mac the web format was in QuickTime, which was uploaded to YouTube.

The team did an awesome job on the project considering that we were all over the state of Texas. We could have improved on the PSA given more time to collaborate I understand that we all have busy lives and have to attend to family and work. There is a lot of talent in the group and I could not have asked for a more committed team barring the time constraints. I have to applaud Lawrence for doing the editing, Ramona and Melba for doing the narration, and I provided the some of the content and maintenance of Google site. This was a great team and I hope to have the opportunity to collaborate with them in the future.

The team provided references for the video of a beating heart for the closing, audio of beating heart for background sound, and the model release form.

References:

Medtronic. (2008). The visible heart: the normal heart beat. Retrieved from http://www.visibleheart.com/videoLibrary.shtml.

The Free Sound Project. (2007). Herbert boland heartbeat enhanced. Retrieved from http://www.freesound.org/samplesViewSingle.php?id=32731.

University of Hawaii. (n.d.) Model release form. Retrieved from http://careeraccess.hawaii.edu/uhccnews/pages/Model_Release.pdf.







Team PSA Project by Salvador Huerta, Ramona Lincoln, Melba Morales, Lawrence Anderson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Based on a work at sites.google.com.

Week 4 PSA Production

It is has been a tough week for me, since I was out at Round Rock for a Center for Leadership and Student Success (CLASS)workshop with the executive team from our district. The team has been collaborating quite well since we joined forces in week one. For this week we met via Skype at about 3:30PM on September 19, 2010. We discussed the time limits, the pictures, videos, script changes, shot changes, updates to the copyright section. For this week Mona helped in making sure that the video is under 60 seconds and to the point. I provided video, pictures, audio sounds, Google site updates, and attended the team collaborative session via Skype. Lawrence and Mona have worked on the video. Mona, Lawrence, and Melba are providing narration for the PSA. The team members are all from section ET8013 and consist of Ramona Lincoln, Melba Morales, Lawrence Anderson, and Salvador Huerta.

Our Collaborative site is located at https://sites.google.com/site/edldprojectpsa/

I attended the Web Conference at 5:00PM September 19, 2010.  Dr. Abernathy clarified many issues for us today.  She made up connect to real world application when it came to the time limits, for example those in commercials.  Many of the participants volunteered their PSA topic.  One item that came out of the Web Conference was the inclusion of a creative commons licensing information.

Reflection of Week 3 PSA Pre-Production

Our team consists of Mona Lincoln, Melba Morales, Lawrence Anderson, and Salvador Huerta. We decided to do the PSA on CPR: The Act That Saves Lives. We got together via Skype and communicated about the project and came up with the project proposal, scripts, shot list, and copyright information. Thanks to Mona for pointing out important facts in keeping the storyline in order. We have already taken video, photos, and audio. We are currently working on the edit portion of project. We are on schedule and it is turning out to be a good collaborative and fun project. I communicated with our district nurse and in doing this was able to take several video clip of CPR in action with a mannequin. This allowed me to take videos of the mouthpiece and AED when in use. I took several videos to make sure that the project had sufficient content to choose from. I when out and took several photos and audio to add to the project. The week pre-production has been done and now I leave it in the capable hands of Mona and Lawrence to do the editing.

I have learned so much on the basics of editing. I really like this class.

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Web Conference Reflection

I attended the web conference with Dr. Abernathy along with several of my peers on August 31, 2010 at 6:00PM. In participating in this activity, we were able to connect and collaborate with our professor and peers and share insights. Dr. Abernathy’s audio was not working so we all had to exercise our fingers and do some typing. There was some confusion as to the requirements for the week 2 assignment. In our understanding, we are to use the e-mailed assignment instead of the one in the courseware. The assignment needed future editing, as it referred to video, which Dr. Abernathy cleared up and mentioned that it was only audio. We addressed the upcoming weeks and we were informed those in weeks 3 through 5 the assignments remained the same as in the courseware. I am glad we have our four members in the group. I have made a suggestion to do a PSA on CPR. I have spoken to the district nurse and we are going to collaborate and do one for the district. With this, said one of my roles will be as the camera operator. I will have to provide some of the script when talking to our Health Services coordinator. The web conference has prepared me for next week’s assignment and I look forward to enhancing my video editing skills.

In participating in the web conference this included standard TL-V.D.2. Organize, coordinate, and participate in an online learning community related to the use of technology to support learning.

Reference:

Williamson, J., &. Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's Technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education

Podcast for Week 2 Assignment

Video Editing Made Easy by Salvador Huerta is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

EDLD 5363 Week 2 Video Editing Program Comparison

For this week’s assignment I evaluated two video editing software programs. The first one that I tested was the Windows Live Movie Maker which is exactly the same as the Movie Maker on most Windows operating systems from Microsoft. I have used the product in the past and have found it excelled in ease of use. This comes at a price in the development of a finished product since it is very basic in the functions that it provides. It provides for basic functions of animation and visual effect. The program would allow the user to cut and paste sections of video, thus allowing some editing. The video downloaded did not allow for editing of the audio portion. This program would work well in a quick and easy display without major modifications.

The second program that I reviewed for the week was Corel’s Video Studio Pro X3. It was slightly more difficult to use than Movie Maker. The embedded help was easy to follow. It allowed the import from a variety of different formats. Once I acclimated to the program the additional functions available from the previous program were many. I could easily drag the video and then split the functions of video and audio. I was easily able to cut and paste. It offered several videos that I could use for video intros. The text function to display on the video was easy to use. It had several different video filters that were available, but my needs were simple at the time. There were many audio overlays for using for special effects.

In conclusion I found that Corel’s product was somewhat more difficult to use, but it provided the functionality that I would need for the project in the class. The only difference was the user needs to acquaint themselves with the timeline slider to make the necessary edits. Once this is accomplished the editing was easy. Both products provided easy export to many types of media, but the one that most appealed to me was the ease of export to YouTube.  I have hardly done any video editing in the past.  Only using something simple like Windows Movie Maker when needed.  In realizing how easy it is to edit video and adio, will at the same time adding special effects caught my interest.  I will be using video editing programs in the future to enhance the delivery of support to my teachers and students at my district.

Web Conference Activity

I attended the web conference with Dr. Abernathy along with several of my peers on the 5:00PM session this past Sunday. In participating in this activity we were able to connect and collaborate with our professor and peers and share insights. Dr. Abernathy cleared up some minor misconceptions about the course. She is making changes and we now understand that we will be receiving assignments via e-mail. Some of us discussed the difficulty in posting to TeacherTube and Youtube. I noticed on my part that TeacherTube required a 24 hour wait time to post, while YouTube had a shorter turnaround of a couple of hours. The professor pointed us an example of a story telling on her personal blogsite at http://www. kabernathy.com. It gave us an understanding in providing symbolism to our video project.


The second week will consist of a podcast and can be a vodcast as was clarified by Dr. Abernathy. The remaining weeks we will work on our PSA.

In participating in the web conference this included standard TL-V.D.2. Organize, coordinate, and participate in an online learning community related to the use of technology to support learning.

Reference:

Williamson, J., &. Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's Technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Week 1 Reflection on PhotoStory Project

Photostory Project for EDLD 5363

This week’s project was a productive and fun one. I had used the Photostory software in the past just to add images in the past. I had never really utilized the different options. When I used them, it helped to portray symbolism to the story. In the readings from this week I focus on the comments in the from the Digital Storytelling Cookbook by Joe Lambert. I connected with Lawrence Anderson one of the peers in the class. We used the questions that were appropriate to the story that was closes to the storyline that we were providing. In doing so I was able to expand on my project. I visited my mother and found many photos that I never though existed. It took some time to sort through all the pictures. I still needed to search the Internet to find images that would allow me to communicate the meanings in my project. I did not know that Photostory allowed for the audio to introduce per photo and this was new to me. I utilized the crop feature to focus on the image, which allowed me to have a starting and ending to emphasize the meaning of the picture. Towards the end of the project I found myself playing with free audio. I had to lower the audio somewhat for the voice over to really come through. I found that using the software was a little new, but quite productive. I will use in the future in my job and for sending video gifts for the rest of the family.

Photostory Outline


1. Hardship of the time my mother and her siblings were growing up.
2. The support and love my grandparents showed their kids through hard work.
3. The introduction of my sisters and brother
4. Parent’s divorce
5. My mother’s advice to be successful
6. The success of her children in getting an education
7. My mother’s accomplishment in raising us
8. Goal accomplished time to relax.

In the creation of the project, we communicated with a peer and this included standard TL-V.D.2. Organize, coordinate, and participate in an online learning community related to the use of technology to support learning. In creating the actual video we used standard TL=III.A.5 Design methods and model strategies for teaching concepts and skills that support use of multi-based tools such as television, audio, print media, and graphics.

References:

Lambert, J. (2007, February). Digital storytelling cookbook, 1-30. Story Center. Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://www.storycenter.org/cookbook.pdf.

Williamson, J., &. Redish, T. (2009). ISTE's Technology facilitation and leadership standards: What every K-12 leader should know and be able to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Class Reflections

In preparing for school improvement much of the research has been utilized from outside experts that tend to implement their results on schools. The outside experts are not privy to the specifics of the current status of our schools and sometimes their “cookie cutter” approach is not sufficient.


In the readings from Dana (2009) in Leading with passion and knowledge we were introduced to the differences between administrator inquiry and the traditional educational research. In utilizing the expertise inside our schools we can develop inquiries into our own issues/needs and develop action research to fit our special needs. This would enable us to delve into our issues/needs in a more granular level and at the same time build capacity within our administrators and staff. The book provided great information into the benefits of engaging in inquiry like collaboration, communication, and engagement in the needs of the schools. The nine passions that were outlined in the book illustrated the wonderings of our inquiry. The examples at the end of the chapter help me in finding the inquiry that we best suit the needs of the district and I was to find my professional strengths that would complement the action research. Later in the readings I read about the data collection strategies. I was familiar with the majority of the strategies, but the one that helped the most was the one on weblogs. This allows to journal all our activities and thoughts and as the book states “The comment feature of blogs allows principal-researchers to receive feedback from anyone in the world or other practitioner-researchers.”

In reading Examining what we do to improve our schools from Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009) it provided the steps we should to go from analysis to action. The book provided the necessary steps in order to start our action research and complete it to a cyclic fashion in order to sustain improvement. The eight step process, the 7.1 template and the SIP template were very helpful in guiding us the action researchers to create and complete the plan.

The class videos with Dr. Elvis Arterbury and Dr. Steve Jenkins provided guidance and clarification with their nicely articulated speeches. With their clarifications at each week’s interval it provided us explicit explanations and steps in completing our action research. Their video presented great advice on the need for action research for school improvement and capacity building. The video conferences with Dr. Steve Jenkins were awesome. When we were working on the templates I felt lost and attended several of his sessions. I participated and he helped to get me to the next step of the project. Dr. Jenkins was quick to provide assistance after the session and quick to respond with answers and templates.

The discussion board provided much help with the interaction with my peers. I was able to identify how they approached their project and at the same time was sympathized about the similar problems we had. The board helped with the insight that was provided in their plans as well as the feedback from my other peers.

As I had mentioned above the blogs are a great idea to sustain the thoughts of our project. It enabled me to revisit and make adjustments as needed and it provided a refresher on my ideas. The comments from my peers helped me greatly since “two set of eyes are better than one.” There were several instances on my SIP template that I had failed to clarify my intentions and this was noted on the comments from my peers. In revisiting and assistance from my peers I was to refine my action research.

In visiting sites for my action research I came across an article Preparing schools for curricular reform: Planning for Technology vs. Technology Planning by Fishman, B., Pinkard, N., & Bruce, C. (1998) that helped in focusing my inquiry. The article states how they conducted their research and it specifically shows how technology equipment is underutilized. They illustrate how professional development and fitting technology with the curriculum would provide great strides in school improvement.

In conclusion this class has provided me with know how to conduct an action research. The books, assignments, lectures, and peer collaboration were instrumental in accomplishing all my tasks. I will look kindly on this class for empowering me to participate in inquiry and providing solutions at our district.

References:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Fishman, B., Pinkard, N., & Bruce, C. (1998). Preparing schools for curricular reform: Planning for Technology vs. Technology Planning. Retrieved on August 01, 2010 from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.129.326

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2009). Examining what we do to improve our schools: 9 steps

Action Research Template

Peer Comments and Site Supervisor Meeting

Peer Comments

I received three comments from my peers on my action research plan. They provided good feedback and all of them mentioned how thorough my plan is. My peers provided very good suggestions to enhance my plan. I had stated that the teachers needed to meet State Board of Education Certifications (SBEC) standards and one of the comments recommended clarifying the standard. I will take their advice and change it to meets SBEC technology standards. The second commenter stated “Please remember that to require teachers to attend technology training, its best that they first buy into the idea, or they might resist or simply go through the motions.” I need to clarify that these are trainings that already scheduled by the district to meet requirements. The action plan states that it will imbed technology integration into the trainings. The last commenter stated “what site or training material will you use to fill in their technology gaps?". I noted on the plan that one of the resources would be Infosource professional development. This focuses on just basic technology use all the way to using technology with special needs. I will note that during the trainings technology equipment such as digital projectors, document cameras, whiteboards, and Web 2.0 tools will be used during the curriculum department’s professional development. I will not change my plan since I already have it mentioned under my second outcome under resources in my SIP template. The comment provide multiple and collaborative views on my plan that will learn and enhance the processes in the action research.

Site Supervisor Meeting

I met with my site supervisor which just happens to be the assistant superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. Since she has full schedule we had meeting late in the afternoon on August 6, 2010 at the Curriculum and Instruction department office located at our Lee Complex. I brought a copy of my SIP/PIP template and CARE Model planning tool. We discussed the goal and how it fits well into all the initiatives that outlined in by the state and national entities. In our discussion we visited the goals that where outlined by the school board, four of the goals focus on technology. We discussed that new teachers have basic technology skills as outlined by the SBEC standards. Our initial focus to assess all teachers and find what their competency level is which outlined in the plan. In our conversation we discussed how veteran teachers will provide a little resistance, but will come onboard when presented the pros versus the cons. We also discussed that since teachers get pulled out a lot for training there creates a void for instruction for the students. Imbedding technology integration when possible in professional development was mutually agreed upon. Since a group of teachers from each campus meet once a year to do curriculum writing, it was agreed that a component of the writing include technology. In focusing on the last outcome we spoke about teachers effectively using the equipment. She mentioned that my staff could be instrumental in ensuring that the teachers are prepared for the training by training them on technology use when possible so they can proficient in hands on use while in training. In our discussion we agreed on the plan and the only change from this meeting will be to include my staff as a resource in the last outcome. The biggest possible out of this meeting is the support that I am receiving from my site supervisor in going forward with this plan. We both agreed on the needs and issues that the plan outlines and how it would help in moving the district from a Recognized district to an Exemplary one. 

Action Plan Template

Problem Statement

The federal, state, and local entities are making requirements that school districts need to be prepared with 21st century skills. There are monies that are provided to school districts to ensure the teachers are prepared to use 21st century skills in the classroom using diverse delivery systems. The teachers are the most important factor that affects our student’s success and achievements. Infusing technology integration in professional development is gaining momentum and districts that maximize technology tools and integrate into the classroom will reform the teacher’s classroom practice, thus increasing their proficiency and increasing the intending effect of student engagement and achievement.

The Travelogue Reflection

In reading The Travelogue: Sharing your work with others from the Dana text it was very empowering in realizing how such accomplishments can be when sharing the accomplishments of an action research. There are many ways to share this type of information like the creation of presentations that clarify the action research, the step, and the results. This information can additionally be supplemental information when posting on blogs, wikis, websites and using the old electronic mail form of data sharing. In collaborating and communicating with peers, they can be directed to the sites and responses can be engaging to provide new activities, benchmarking, and evaluation to streamline the research methods. In our school district La Feria ISD providing presentations in the form of a PowerPoint and brochures is very in order to disseminate information to the stakeholders like the school board and the community.


In order for the stakeholders, peers, and the world at-large that are interested in the results of the action we need to the four critical tasks of effectively sharing the information from the research project. First we start with the background information which provides an impetus for the project itself. We addressed the local, state, and national requirements for increased technology proficiency among teachers and student. In order for this to work the teachers must be evaluated and supported for this to happen. Teachers need professional development in an ongoing manner in order to change their knowledge and classroom practice in order to help the students succeed with diverse delivery method and the required 21st century skills. The information we received from the Texas STaR chart, technology assessment tools, and requests from the teachers provided support for this action research.

Secondly in sharing this information we need to provide the procedures, data collection methods, and how it was evaluated. We will utilize the STaR chart, and proficiency assessments to provide part of the information. In order to paint a fuller picture we need to provide how we collected the data like showing the surveys, feedback forms, walkthrough templates, and sample assessment questions with correlating SBEC standards. In order to compile all this data into simpler terms we provide summary reporting in the form of charts and graphs.

The data will show the learning outcomes from the teachers and students. This will be accomplished in the results of post assessments, recurring STaR chart results, classroom walkthroughs showing teacher practices, and ultimately in student achievements.

Providing concluding thoughts and reflection in sharing the action research projects will complete the picture. We can tie in the rationale for the project and its successes and the need to continuation of the systems put in place to sustain school improvement. We can make recommendations based on the results to assist in purchasing additional equipment and help the teachers succeed in the 21st century skills and tools they need for success in student achievement and classroom proficiency.

References:
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press..

Action Plan Template\
Click on image to enlarge

Action Plan Template Continued

Click on image to enlarge

Reflection on Interviews for Action Research

Dr. Johnny Briseno was very cognizant of the value in analyzing data. In the video interview his reflections showed that many of his decisions used data for original analysis. He mentions the use of qualitative data when quantitative data does not provide a clear story. In picking up on his narrative of teacher collaboration to find solutions for student success there was an action research that could be identified. The action research could be worded like “How can the principal facilitate the process of teacher collaboration in analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to address the needs of the students that are considered at-risk?” In proposing an action research with these parameters the analysis of quantitative data would be analyzed to provide insight into the problem of the student with data that includes grades, discipline, and attendance information. When this type of information does not suffice to assist the student then qualitative data must be researched to find the causes such as problems that originate at the home. Some of the situations could be an unsafe environment or insufficient parental involvement.

Dr. Briseno did speak about the value of data and in keeping the data confidential when it pertains to students. The solution to have teachers collaborate with near grade level composition was a good solution to keep the information following and possible resolutions within the grasp of the staff. His suggestion was to continue to use resources at our disposal like the Internet to find solutions to some of our problems, like he said “there is no need to reinvent the wheel.”

Dr. Timothy Chargois is the Director of Research for Planning and Development at Beaumont I.S.D. The research that is done at the district or campus level goes through his office. Dr. Chargois talks about using software to make predictions that impact instruction. He comments on one action research that has gone through his office as “What are teachers doing that show their ethical responsibilities towards students and towards student achievement?” The study could focus on the focus on what the teacher is doing to assure student preparation and success. Questions could be asked of the teachers’ attendance and timeliness in the classroom, proactively being informed of their student matters, conducting class with a caring attitude, updating instructional practices, and collaborating and cooperating with colleagues to ensure student success. Dr. Chargois make a comment on the need for teachers to keep abreast of methodologies in pedagogy and curriculum by saying “You never stop growing, if you are green you are growing, and if you are brown you are dying.”

Dr. Chargois pinpoints that teachers need to think outside the box by doing action research. The teachers can do localized research in their classroom qualitative and quantitative data to understand student problems. A recommendation to the use of Internet based survey tools to retrieve data for analysis is stated.

In reflecting on the video interview, I gained a good understanding of the value of using quantitative and qualitative data to address both teachers and students in an action research. I understand that the confidentiality of data, especially when it pertains student information. The speakers talked about the utilization of resources on the Internet such as research based scenarios and Survey Monkey to provide quantitative data results to improve instruction and the end result of student achievement.

Action Research Reflection

Action research is a very positive and powerful tool in many areas especially school improvement. I have learned that action research/administrator inquiry is an intentional and methodical way of an administrator self-reflecting and being a change agent for school improvement based on the information that is gathered from the inquiry process. Action research is different than the traditional educational research models in that the agents of change and information is done from within rather than from the outside as is consistent with the traditional method. In engaging in action research the administrative team in charge will shift gears from being reactive to more of a proactive approach to dealing with issues that arise in the school. This will empower them and give them a sense of ownership in the knowledge their generated towards the possibility for school improvement. Administrators must make time and be involved in inquiry. This is in their best interest for professional growth and will be build capacity for them and their school.

Action research has many benefits. Some of the benefits are obvious like collaboration with peers and reflection of best practices. Other benefits are actually taking to the time to be involved in the inquiry process that will affect the school for improvement.

I learned that the reflection component of action research is always active to continue sustained school improvement. The steps in action research include initial inquiry, planning, and action then lead to evaluation which in itself is reflection and continued fine tuning of situation.

In conclusion I will mention that the values of action research will not come on deaf ears. There are areas that action research is ripe for in our school district. Consider the relationship with technology integration and improved student scores, parental involvement and increased student performance, and facilities design and improved student scores.

References:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Analysis of how educational leaders might use blogs

Educational leaders could use blogs to journal their thoughts about different issues that occur in the school. This will allow the leader collect all their processes in a single location which is accessible anytime and anywhere. The leader can post just text or add pictures to bring more life to the blog. Inherent in blogging is the ability to have people comment and provide insight to the leader’s blogging and in some cases could be considered collegial communications. This could also be a diary of sorts and the leader could go the blog and look through and reflect on the series of entries.

References:

Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with passion and knowledge: The principal as action researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.