EDLD 5363 Multimedia - Week 2 Web Conference Reflections

I was very glad that I was able to participate in this web conference because we received a lot of information about the Week 2 assignment and what to expect in the coming weeks.  Participating in this web conference probably saved me a lot of time and frustration.  After reading the assignment, I thought that I would have to create a video to post to Youtube.  The conference made clear that we were only to produce an audio file (although I did wind up having to import it to Movie Maker and save it as a video file in order to upload to Youtube). 

Although other audio editing programs were discussed, we were told to use Audacity, thus saving me some research into other audio recording programs. 

I also learned that we could use the discussion board to ask each other questions and bounce ideas off of each other.  I did not do that this week as my partner and I had already created a wiki to collaborate.  I will be using the discussion board for other than the assigned discussions in the future.

EDLD 5363 - Week 1 - Reflection about creating personal digital story

The hardest part about creating a digital story was coming up with an idea for the story.  Then I located a partner and began considering the questions, "What is it like to be a firefighter?", "How do you feel about the danger?", and "What keeps you going after 32 years?"  Then I began just jotting down adjectives to describe my feelings about being a firefighter.  The adjectives turned into phrases, and before I knew it, I had written a poem.  I then looked for photographs that illustrated each of the phrases.  I did this by creating a storyboard and placing the pictures above the phrases.  I used Microsoft Photo Story 3 to put together the photos and narrate.  I liked that Photo Story 3 allowed me to edit the photos, type in notes for narration, and add music if I wanted to.  I chose not to add music because I didn't want to take away from the narration.  I really enjoyed this assignment.  I can see where I will use this new skill to create digital stories for the department and/or academy websites, and for projects with my students.

Reflection of Week 4

This week's assignments were geared toward helping me improve my action research plan.  Review of my classmates plans was helpful and so were the suggestions I received from my site supervisor. 
I was able to conference with my site supervisor, Paula Yezak, in person this Thursday afternoon.  I shared my observations from my review of classmates’ blogs and we agreed to modify my plan to include the items described in Assignment 3, i.e., reference the Technology Applications TEKS, and add disciplinary records to methods of evaluation.  Paula suggested adding the students’ previous year assessments to the documents used to assess growth.  She also pointed out some errors related to numbering and grammar in the previously submitted action research plan that should be corrected.  We also discussed some of the challenges of the project such as time constraints, accessibility to teachers and students, and access to and understanding of school reports.  We agreed to establish regular monthly meeting times for review and discussion of the research project and other activities that are a part of my internship plan.

Week 4 Updated Research Plan

Action Plan Template - REVISED

Goal:  Improve the quality of instruction for, and academic success of, ESL learners through technology integration.

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline:  Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Secure principal and teacher approval for research project.	Intern, Internship mentor, ESL Coord., Principal, Teacher	November 2011 / May 2012	MS Word, research plan proposal	Signatures of principals and teacher.
2.  Secure parental permission for sample population of students.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, permission form	Signed release form from parents.
3.   Share details of study with students.	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Research plan proposal	Student meeting held; attendance sheet.
4.  Address Technology Applications TEKS integration.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Technology Applications TEKS	Review TEKS
4.  Develop pre-test	Intern, ESL Coord., Teacher	11/1/2011	Rosetta Stone, Pearson PASeries	Test instrument
5. Administer pre-test	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Pearson PASeries	Test results
6.  Select reading passages for 3-week interval assessments	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Class textbook	Passages selected
7.  Develop reading assessment rubrics	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, Assessment form	Review of rubric
8.  Develop podcast lessons	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011 – 4/1/2011	GarageBand, PhotoStory, MovieMaker,  i-Tunes	Recorded lessons
9.  Develop student surveys to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
10.  Develop teacher survey to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
11. Deliver 3-week assessments	Teacher	11/4/2011 – 5/30/2012	Class textbook	Teacher observation, Assessment results
12.  Conduct student surveys	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
13.  Conduct teacher survey	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
14.  TELPAS test given	Teacher, State of Texas	3/7/2012 - 4/8/2012	TELPAS test from State	Test results
15.  STAAR test given (if applicable)	Teacher, State of Texas	Spring 2012	STAAR test from State	Test results
16.  Prepare spreadsheets and charts from assessments and surveys	Intern	6/15/2012	Excel, Current year’s assessments Previous years’ assessments from Eduphoria, disciplinary records	Analyze collected results from spreadsheets and charts
17.  Share collected periodically results with stakeholders	Intern, teacher, principal, parents, students	Monthly	Reports, meeting space	Comments/ suggestions from stakeholders

Week 3 Research Action Plan Template

Goal:  Improve the quality of instruction for, and academic success of, ESL learners through technology integration.

Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline:  Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Secure principal and teacher approval for research project.	Intern, Internship mentor, ESL Coord., Principal, Teacher	November 2011 / May 2012	MS Word, research plan proposal	Signatures of principals and teacher.
2.  Secure parental permission for sample population of students.	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, permission form	Signed release form from parents.
3.   Share details of study with students.	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Research plan proposal	Student meeting held; attendance sheet.
4.  Develop pre-test	Intern, ESL Coord., Teacher	11/1/2011	Rosetta Stone, Pearson PASeries	Test instrument
5. Administer pre-test	Intern, Teacher	11/4/2011	Pearson PASeries	Test results
6.  Select reading passages for 3-week interval assessments	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Class textbook	Passages selected
7.  Develop reading assessment rubrics	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	MS Word, Assessment form	Review of rubric
7.  Develop podcast lessons	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011 – 4/1/2011	GarageBand, PhotoStory, MovieMaker,  i-Tunes	Recorded lessons
8.  Develop student surveys to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern, Teacher	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
9.  Develop teacher survey to be given at 3 week intervals	Intern	11/1/2011	Eduphoria online survey	Review of survey instrument
10. Deliver 3-week assessments	Teacher	11/4/2011 – 5/30/2012	Class textbook	Teacher observation, Assessment results
11.  Conduct student surveys	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
12.  Conduct teacher survey	Intern	11/4/2011 - 5/30/2012	Eduphoria	Survey results
13.  TELPAS test given	Teacher, State of Texas	3/7/2012 - 4/8/2012	TELPAS test from State	Test results
14.  STAAR test given (if applicable)	Teacher, State of Texas	Spring 2012	STAAR test from State	Test results
14.  Prepare spreadsheets and charts from assessments and surveys	Intern	6/15/2012	Excel	Analyze collected results from spreadsheets and charts
15.  Share collected periodically results with stakeholders	Intern, teacher, principal, parents, students	Monthly	Reports, meeting space	Comments/ suggestions from stakeholders