Course Reflections:
I very much enjoyed this course, the topics discussed, and the relationships built. I feel I am walking away with a new intelligence related to the administrative end of directing technology. I feel that the course fostered learning because of its multi-faceted nature, covering a variety of topics relevant to technology education bringing in theory, academic literature and research findings. I am walking away with some great resources and literature to refer to later on in my career. The professor provided firsthand relevant knowledge on topics covered and backed them up with relevant real world links/stories. The class discussions and interaction with the teacher developed practical information and application of topics. They provided me with insight for my current position and for administrative perspectives of technology in education.
If I ever choose or have the opportunity to serve as a technology director I now possess a variety of understandings from the course that will help me be successful. It is amazing that technology directors are just expected to know this stuff. Learning from a class like this could save a technology director countless hours of research and headaches. I also enjoyed and learned from the broad variety of classmate’s backgrounds and perspectives. It was great networking and added priceless insight to the topics. I also learned a great deal more about incorporating blogs and wikis into classroom education.
My final reflection- the course exposed me to topics of which I would like to learn more about. It showed me some things that for my career it will be helpful to have a broad understanding of.
My only gripe with the course- I wish that the courses thoughtful problems where worth a greater percentage of the course grade. They took a significant amount of work and time and that should be reflected in the grade.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
TP#13 Wikibook Projects
Background:
Your superintendent has learned that you wrote a Wikibook, and he asks you for your reactions to the Wikibook process and how you think writing Wikibooks (or something like it) might have a place in school. He is so intrigued by your response that he asks you to summarize your ideas on one-page and submit it to him.
Topic:
Write a one-page document (three to five paragraphs) that he can use to share your ideas with his cabinet and school board. In it relate your experience (positive and/or negative) in writing a Wikibook. Explain where such a creative (constructivist) activity might fit in a school. You may also explain where it might not be a good fit. Explain the problems you might expect the project to encounter, and how the problems could be minimized. Wikibooks are only for non-fiction textbooks. Don't let that restriction limit your response because other wiki sites could be used for fiction or non-textbooks
Response
Overview:
The world of wikibooks is closely related but not the same thing as wikipedia. Wikipedia is much more well known currently, and serves as an open content online encyclopedia. Wikibooks on the other hand are intended to be textbooks, meaning they are supposed to facilitate teaching in an area of knowledge and include a unifying theme, and chapters. It is not a forum to display original research but instead copyright approved, referenced, and neutral instructional narrative.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikibook Reflection:
The use of wikibooks as an instructional or learning tool is quite innovative. Wikibooks are a relatively new thing and one that many are evaluating based on its prowess for use in the educational setting. In my opinion wikibooks may serve a purpose with education in two ways, one in creating wikibooks as class projects and two for using current wikibooks as educational resources (textbooks). I personally feel that the use of wikibooks as educational texts is not appropriate currently but I feel that developing wikibooks for class projects could be applicable to our school in the near future.
In my personal experience I found using a wikibook to be a quite interesting way to learn information. I feel the largest support for using wikibooks is based in research showing that students retain large amounts of knowledge when they teach others a concept or topic. Using wikibooks allows the students to manipulate information and present in to someone else. Does it far surpass rehearsing information for a presentation or for a research paper? To this question I am not quite sure but I did feel that in creating the wikibook I did spend much more time rehearsing and developing the information for the perspective of teaching someone else. Another positive was in the fact that it fostered a constructivist-learning environment outside of the classroom bounds. Wikibooks allow for collaboration, discussion and peer review. Although using the tool for project based learning was interesting I do feel that once the novelty of using this new tool wore off I was left with some negative reflection. First I spend significant amount of time learning how to use the tool and the sandbox language. I spent hours just developing a simple table and learning how to import graphics. I spent a substantial amount of time just being frustrated with the tool and working to get the pages to look the way I wanted them too.
I hold some reservations with using the tool in a k-12 setting and feel that it may best be used in a higher education for the simple fact that it is difficult to develop, write and organize the project. This holds true both for the learners and the teacher. I also think that because wikibooks are solely meant to be non-fiction it block it for use in many of the k-12 subject areas. In doing a little bit of research I found that wikibooks dose have a subsidiary called wikijunior that could be used for non-fiction writing for students k-7 grades.
Your superintendent has learned that you wrote a Wikibook, and he asks you for your reactions to the Wikibook process and how you think writing Wikibooks (or something like it) might have a place in school. He is so intrigued by your response that he asks you to summarize your ideas on one-page and submit it to him.
Topic:
Write a one-page document (three to five paragraphs) that he can use to share your ideas with his cabinet and school board. In it relate your experience (positive and/or negative) in writing a Wikibook. Explain where such a creative (constructivist) activity might fit in a school. You may also explain where it might not be a good fit. Explain the problems you might expect the project to encounter, and how the problems could be minimized. Wikibooks are only for non-fiction textbooks. Don't let that restriction limit your response because other wiki sites could be used for fiction or non-textbooks
Response
Overview:
The world of wikibooks is closely related but not the same thing as wikipedia. Wikipedia is much more well known currently, and serves as an open content online encyclopedia. Wikibooks on the other hand are intended to be textbooks, meaning they are supposed to facilitate teaching in an area of knowledge and include a unifying theme, and chapters. It is not a forum to display original research but instead copyright approved, referenced, and neutral instructional narrative.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikibook Reflection:
The use of wikibooks as an instructional or learning tool is quite innovative. Wikibooks are a relatively new thing and one that many are evaluating based on its prowess for use in the educational setting. In my opinion wikibooks may serve a purpose with education in two ways, one in creating wikibooks as class projects and two for using current wikibooks as educational resources (textbooks). I personally feel that the use of wikibooks as educational texts is not appropriate currently but I feel that developing wikibooks for class projects could be applicable to our school in the near future.
In my personal experience I found using a wikibook to be a quite interesting way to learn information. I feel the largest support for using wikibooks is based in research showing that students retain large amounts of knowledge when they teach others a concept or topic. Using wikibooks allows the students to manipulate information and present in to someone else. Does it far surpass rehearsing information for a presentation or for a research paper? To this question I am not quite sure but I did feel that in creating the wikibook I did spend much more time rehearsing and developing the information for the perspective of teaching someone else. Another positive was in the fact that it fostered a constructivist-learning environment outside of the classroom bounds. Wikibooks allow for collaboration, discussion and peer review. Although using the tool for project based learning was interesting I do feel that once the novelty of using this new tool wore off I was left with some negative reflection. First I spend significant amount of time learning how to use the tool and the sandbox language. I spent hours just developing a simple table and learning how to import graphics. I spent a substantial amount of time just being frustrated with the tool and working to get the pages to look the way I wanted them too.
I hold some reservations with using the tool in a k-12 setting and feel that it may best be used in a higher education for the simple fact that it is difficult to develop, write and organize the project. This holds true both for the learners and the teacher. I also think that because wikibooks are solely meant to be non-fiction it block it for use in many of the k-12 subject areas. In doing a little bit of research I found that wikibooks dose have a subsidiary called wikijunior that could be used for non-fiction writing for students k-7 grades.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
TP #12 Ethical Issues
Background:
Read the three web pages for class 12 in Course Documents. Select one of these or one of your own that presents a serious ethical problem for the technology director. A serious ethical problem usually has consequences no matter how you decide to act. In three to five paragraphs, discuss as honestly as you can the ethical problem and the possible consequences.
Selection:
Web pages reviewed:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878-1054489.html
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_micro.asp?TRACKID=&CID=1431&DID=34887
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/ethics/ethics_f.html
I selected to discuss the article posted on the techrepublic site, related to an actual tech director’s ethical dilemma. Although this particular article is not the longest or most wrapped in content (like some of the other sites) it does pose a very interesting dilemma and I found that the overall forum for discussion very innovative.
Response:
Ethical Problems & Possible Consequences
The scenario discussed in the forum is honestly frightening from the perspectives of a possible community member, technology director and/or member of the staff. The overall situation and the response from the administration is abominable and chances are this will turn even more so into a very ugly and dirty situation. I applauded the young technology director for sticking to his/her moral bounds and feel deeply that they must continue to pursue this matter further. The scenario addresses a variety of ethical issues that seem to be spawned from an overall school system lacking some degree of moral clarity.
With this particular situation and the way that it has unraveled I really feel that the technology director is obligated to continue to peruse the case both on the ethical and legal nature of what are truly boil down to being crimes. Unfortunately this technology director is being placed in a sticky situation partly because of the administration but also because the technology director is now questioning/second guessing what policies and rights do users of the districts network and email system possess. Even further questioning if in fact the tech director violated any of those rights. At this point the director unfortunately has no other option but to purse the matter to people outside of the district, document everything, and deal with any disciplinary action if it is determined that he/she violated the rights of the users. If in fact the technology director did violate someone’s rights the evidence may be inadmissible so the tech director must work with law enforcement to find acceptable ways of gathering information. There is not other option and this must happen for the greater good and protection of the students.
Reflection on the situation and how it has manifested thus far brings up a very important issue in the world of technology direction. It reinforces the fact that polices must be put into place early to protect all users of the of the computer and network systems. Although in this situation a firm policy may not have saved the technology director the scrutiny that he/she received from the building principal it would have laid firmly the rights all have using the network. Including the technology directors rights that may induce: (because it is the schools network) the right to (protecting confidentiality expect in the cases of misuse) view/investigate anything traveling over the school network including questionable use, materials, or things that may affect the operation of the network. This may be done best by developing an approved Internet use license or terms and conditions of use policy.
Read the three web pages for class 12 in Course Documents. Select one of these or one of your own that presents a serious ethical problem for the technology director. A serious ethical problem usually has consequences no matter how you decide to act. In three to five paragraphs, discuss as honestly as you can the ethical problem and the possible consequences.
Selection:
Web pages reviewed:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878-1054489.html
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_micro.asp?TRACKID=&CID=1431&DID=34887
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/ethics/ethics_f.html
I selected to discuss the article posted on the techrepublic site, related to an actual tech director’s ethical dilemma. Although this particular article is not the longest or most wrapped in content (like some of the other sites) it does pose a very interesting dilemma and I found that the overall forum for discussion very innovative.
Response:
Ethical Problems & Possible Consequences
The scenario discussed in the forum is honestly frightening from the perspectives of a possible community member, technology director and/or member of the staff. The overall situation and the response from the administration is abominable and chances are this will turn even more so into a very ugly and dirty situation. I applauded the young technology director for sticking to his/her moral bounds and feel deeply that they must continue to pursue this matter further. The scenario addresses a variety of ethical issues that seem to be spawned from an overall school system lacking some degree of moral clarity.
With this particular situation and the way that it has unraveled I really feel that the technology director is obligated to continue to peruse the case both on the ethical and legal nature of what are truly boil down to being crimes. Unfortunately this technology director is being placed in a sticky situation partly because of the administration but also because the technology director is now questioning/second guessing what policies and rights do users of the districts network and email system possess. Even further questioning if in fact the tech director violated any of those rights. At this point the director unfortunately has no other option but to purse the matter to people outside of the district, document everything, and deal with any disciplinary action if it is determined that he/she violated the rights of the users. If in fact the technology director did violate someone’s rights the evidence may be inadmissible so the tech director must work with law enforcement to find acceptable ways of gathering information. There is not other option and this must happen for the greater good and protection of the students.
Reflection on the situation and how it has manifested thus far brings up a very important issue in the world of technology direction. It reinforces the fact that polices must be put into place early to protect all users of the of the computer and network systems. Although in this situation a firm policy may not have saved the technology director the scrutiny that he/she received from the building principal it would have laid firmly the rights all have using the network. Including the technology directors rights that may induce: (because it is the schools network) the right to (protecting confidentiality expect in the cases of misuse) view/investigate anything traveling over the school network including questionable use, materials, or things that may affect the operation of the network. This may be done best by developing an approved Internet use license or terms and conditions of use policy.
Wikibook Update (11/21)
My group presented last week and now we are waiting for comments and suggestions from classmates on the chapter. We are working of formulating out the last section of the chapter on grants. Not realizing but when it really came down to it we were lacking some informational resources that we wanted to include in the final chapter layout. From the beginning we wanted to include an actual grant sample but it has been harder to get our hands on one then we thought. Michale even asked if we could post one from his school district but was turned down. To remedy we dug deeper and found some more useful sites/resources and we hope to formulate a alternative. Hopefully that section will be finished soon and modifications will be made based on the classes input.
Monday, November 19, 2007
TP #11 Report Summary
Background:
Busy administrators and lay people (non-technically trained) usually prefer to read a 1-page summary of a technology report. If they have a special reason or interest, they may read the entire document. Your goal is to get them to read at least the 1-page summary. Our Thoughtful Problems have been designed to train you in the preparation of a logically-organized 1-page statement or explanation.
Topic:
Choose a technology topic that interests you. Imagine that your superintendent has requested a report from you on this topic. In 3-5 paragraphs write a clear explanatory report. The report may concern a proposal for a new project, a progress report on a problem like poor network bandwidth, or a status report on a project like a one-to-one computer implementation or technology staff development program. The emphasis in this Thoughtful Problem is the clarity, explanation and persuasion that may be necessary for the report to be effective. Keep in mind that the report may be given to each school board director or to newspaper and television reporters.
Response:
Sample (factious) Report Topic:
Technical Staff Request For Salary Increases
The superintendent of the district has been confronted by members of the technology staff (non-technology staff administrators) related to an increase of salary. To support their proposal the technology staff notes specific grievances and reasons for an increase in salary. Reasons for the salary increase range from the increase of complexity and number of technological items they support to local increases in cost of living.
The superintendent requests that members of the technology department submit well-researched formal requests noting grievances and data to support the increase in salary. The superintendent is clear to YOU (the technology director) that he/she does not have the time or knowledge to research the topic so he/she requests that you prepare a brief and impartial one-page fact-checking summary. The superintendent requests that you review the submitted reports and develop a researched based summary document (weeding out fact from fiction) before he gives any further review, comment or thought to the request.
Summary:
Staffing, staff responsibilities and the number of staff needed to support a technological infrastructure varies greatly between each individual company and organization. This idea is rightly so because all organizations has different needs, sizes, assets, levels of technology and over arching goals. What can be deduced from reviewing the overall trends in technological staffing as well as other organizations that are operate similarly to our school districts are generalizations of comparison.
As outlined by the technology staff request they feel that a raise in salary is best supported by 4 categories: 1) cost of living and history of raises 2) increased number of individual equipment supported 3) industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts) 4) increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
Cost of living increases and history of raises
The cost of living in our local area has shown stead increase over the last 10 years. The local and federal government has increased their personnel’s salaries based on the cost of living increases by 1% each of the past 10 years. Last month the local teachers union successfully negotiated a 4% salary increase for teachers based on cost of living increases. The technology staff is non-unionized and has not received a documented cost of living salary increase since its development in 2000. The technology department did receive an increased hourly salary of 2 dollars and hour in 2002. A request was made for salary increases for technology staff during the 2004-05 school year; the request was voted on by the school board but was not passes with a vote of 3 in favor and 7 not.
Increased in the number of individual pieces of equipment supported
Since the last salary increase (2002) the number of pieces of equipment the technology staff is responsible for supporting has increased district wide. Accompanying the increase in technology there as been school board approval for the hiring of 6 new technology positions. For comparison in 2002 our school districts technology department supported 1,000 pieces of technology equipment including computers (desktop) and printers only. During the 2002 school year we employed 6 positions, responsible for supporting that infrastructure (166 pieces of equipment for each position) In 2007 we are currently supporting 2,500 computers (laptops and desktops) and printers by 12 positions (208 to 1).
Industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts)
As stated in the opening paragraph of this document all organizations are different. Further more there is no complete science to developing a salary scale or job responsibilities across the board. Comparing business industry salary standards to local school districts is ineffective. The best comparable baseline for our needs is other local school districts pay scales based on similar responsibilities. After review of 6 different local school districts structure, similar job responsibilities, and size the overall trend is that there is no comparable discrepancy between our school and others related to salary. Many of these schools support different needs and number of equipment pieces.
Increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
As the number of pieces of technology has increased over the last 5 years so has the sophistication and the diversity of equipment. The skills and knowledge base a support technologist must employ has also diversified. On the other hand technology and the tools to support technology has also become more user and tech friendly. The technology staff is provided each year an average of 12 hours of technology training as well as the opportunity to take 6 credit hours of community college level classes each year (paid for by the school district). Note: The school does not award members of the technology department increased salary steps based on the completion of degree, credits achieved, or certifications as they due with the teaching staff.
Busy administrators and lay people (non-technically trained) usually prefer to read a 1-page summary of a technology report. If they have a special reason or interest, they may read the entire document. Your goal is to get them to read at least the 1-page summary. Our Thoughtful Problems have been designed to train you in the preparation of a logically-organized 1-page statement or explanation.
Topic:
Choose a technology topic that interests you. Imagine that your superintendent has requested a report from you on this topic. In 3-5 paragraphs write a clear explanatory report. The report may concern a proposal for a new project, a progress report on a problem like poor network bandwidth, or a status report on a project like a one-to-one computer implementation or technology staff development program. The emphasis in this Thoughtful Problem is the clarity, explanation and persuasion that may be necessary for the report to be effective. Keep in mind that the report may be given to each school board director or to newspaper and television reporters.
Response:
Sample (factious) Report Topic:
Technical Staff Request For Salary Increases
The superintendent of the district has been confronted by members of the technology staff (non-technology staff administrators) related to an increase of salary. To support their proposal the technology staff notes specific grievances and reasons for an increase in salary. Reasons for the salary increase range from the increase of complexity and number of technological items they support to local increases in cost of living.
The superintendent requests that members of the technology department submit well-researched formal requests noting grievances and data to support the increase in salary. The superintendent is clear to YOU (the technology director) that he/she does not have the time or knowledge to research the topic so he/she requests that you prepare a brief and impartial one-page fact-checking summary. The superintendent requests that you review the submitted reports and develop a researched based summary document (weeding out fact from fiction) before he gives any further review, comment or thought to the request.
Summary:
Staffing, staff responsibilities and the number of staff needed to support a technological infrastructure varies greatly between each individual company and organization. This idea is rightly so because all organizations has different needs, sizes, assets, levels of technology and over arching goals. What can be deduced from reviewing the overall trends in technological staffing as well as other organizations that are operate similarly to our school districts are generalizations of comparison.
As outlined by the technology staff request they feel that a raise in salary is best supported by 4 categories: 1) cost of living and history of raises 2) increased number of individual equipment supported 3) industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts) 4) increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
Cost of living increases and history of raises
The cost of living in our local area has shown stead increase over the last 10 years. The local and federal government has increased their personnel’s salaries based on the cost of living increases by 1% each of the past 10 years. Last month the local teachers union successfully negotiated a 4% salary increase for teachers based on cost of living increases. The technology staff is non-unionized and has not received a documented cost of living salary increase since its development in 2000. The technology department did receive an increased hourly salary of 2 dollars and hour in 2002. A request was made for salary increases for technology staff during the 2004-05 school year; the request was voted on by the school board but was not passes with a vote of 3 in favor and 7 not.
Increased in the number of individual pieces of equipment supported
Since the last salary increase (2002) the number of pieces of equipment the technology staff is responsible for supporting has increased district wide. Accompanying the increase in technology there as been school board approval for the hiring of 6 new technology positions. For comparison in 2002 our school districts technology department supported 1,000 pieces of technology equipment including computers (desktop) and printers only. During the 2002 school year we employed 6 positions, responsible for supporting that infrastructure (166 pieces of equipment for each position) In 2007 we are currently supporting 2,500 computers (laptops and desktops) and printers by 12 positions (208 to 1).
Industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts)
As stated in the opening paragraph of this document all organizations are different. Further more there is no complete science to developing a salary scale or job responsibilities across the board. Comparing business industry salary standards to local school districts is ineffective. The best comparable baseline for our needs is other local school districts pay scales based on similar responsibilities. After review of 6 different local school districts structure, similar job responsibilities, and size the overall trend is that there is no comparable discrepancy between our school and others related to salary. Many of these schools support different needs and number of equipment pieces.
Increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
As the number of pieces of technology has increased over the last 5 years so has the sophistication and the diversity of equipment. The skills and knowledge base a support technologist must employ has also diversified. On the other hand technology and the tools to support technology has also become more user and tech friendly. The technology staff is provided each year an average of 12 hours of technology training as well as the opportunity to take 6 credit hours of community college level classes each year (paid for by the school district). Note: The school does not award members of the technology department increased salary steps based on the completion of degree, credits achieved, or certifications as they due with the teaching staff.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wiki Book Update (11/8)
I am really proud of my group, we have been individually and collectively plugging away at our wikibook chapter. At this point we have some great work done and it should soon be posted to the page. I have been working on a section devoted to the E-rate program. I have some good stuff collected from a number of resources including a flowchart that has been manipulated from a PA organization that helps school districts with E-rate. After an email to the director they were nice enough to grant me free usage (copyright) of the flowchart for manipulation and posting to our page. The flowchart turned out great and I added some extra information documenting the dates and process steps. Before I post the working draft to the wiki site I want to nail down a bit more wikibook conventions, like citations and hyperlinks. I have also been working on converting some charts and graphs from an excel document into the pages so that they will be nicely organized. The process is unfortunately not as easy as a novice may hope but I am figuring it out. I plan on sending my group members a tutorial email so that we can all have high quality charts/tables on our page.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
TP #9: Classroom for the Future Grant
Background: You are asked to prepare a proposal for a Classrooms for the Future grant to provide laptop computers for each student in every high school Math, Science, Social Studies and English class. Your district administration wants this grant so that it doesn't have to purchase new computers with its own money and so that the district will appear to be progressive and competent. The administration sees this as a technology project rather than an education project. The state grant, however, requires that you develop clear educational goals, a reasonable implementation plan, and an effective evaluation plan for the project.
Describe:
1.The educational goals of the project, how they were chosen and why they are important.
2.An implementation plan of how the teachers will be trained and how the laptops will be phased into the classrooms over months or years.
3.An evaluation plan that includes both formative and summative evaluation of the project to determine how well it has met its educational goals (with an appropriate rubric, if possible).
Cite at least one reference from our Class 9 Course Documents to support your ideas.
Response
GOALS:
Educational goals for the classroom of the future project: The following educational goals were established based on the research findings of the Metiri Group in their 2006 research publication Technology in schools: What the research says. Each goal although addressing an individual positive outcome from future technology growth additionally supports an overall framework for teaching and learning development for our school system.
-Support the use of technology as a tool for education as well as student motivation and development of 21st century skills.
-Provide students with further outlets for inquiry and application of understanding in real word contexts.
-Provide technologic tools to improve student achievement on state testing.
IMPLEMENTATION
Central to the implementation process for the addition of Classroom for the Future technology is the training of our teachers. Research such as Wenglinkys 1999, Educational Testing Service report, Does it compute? establishes direct correlations between teacher training and students use of technology to foster academic growth. To aid in our students and teachers making the most out of the additional technologic infrastructure we will plan professional development to address both the integration of the technology into the classrooms (pedagogy, skill training, etc…) as well as provide suggested tools/software/sites for teachers and students. Teacher will also have outlets for ongoing Professional development thought the course of the grant. Professional development will be organized and developed specifically for content specific areas (example: mathematics or history). This organization will allow for the professional development to be specifically tailored to the content that will be taught. Teachers may also use team meeting times and content meetings to discuss and share ideas/resources/successful practices will colleagues. Teacher training will begin as soon as the grant is approved and will be developed though a partnership between content resource teachers and district technology integration specialists. Parents will also be invited to participate in open discussion forum and be provided will information on the project. Computers will be distributed in phases to each individual content area starting with English classes. The entire district wide distribution process is planned for 1 month. Planning for individual classroom/school security procedures are currently being conducted.
EVALUATION PLAN
The technology grant and our integration of the computers will be evaluated through and ongoing process to establish the overall effectiveness of the program as it relates to our established educational goals. The evaluation will provide us will ongoing feedback so that we can grow and adapt the program to best meet the needs of our students and teachers. The formal evaluation will consist of a variety of formative and summative evaluations.
Formative assessments
-Teacher and student self-reflection sheets, teachers and students will reflect and provide feedback to the school district on their use of the computers, observations and any of there further desires or needs.
-The administration of each individual school will record student grades and analyze for development of skills and growth.
-Standardized test scores will be analyzed for trends in growth.
Summative Evaluation
-Student data will be analyzed for the entire course of the grant period. All members of the school community will be provided with research findings and trends.
Describe:
1.The educational goals of the project, how they were chosen and why they are important.
2.An implementation plan of how the teachers will be trained and how the laptops will be phased into the classrooms over months or years.
3.An evaluation plan that includes both formative and summative evaluation of the project to determine how well it has met its educational goals (with an appropriate rubric, if possible).
Cite at least one reference from our Class 9 Course Documents to support your ideas.
Response
GOALS:
Educational goals for the classroom of the future project: The following educational goals were established based on the research findings of the Metiri Group in their 2006 research publication Technology in schools: What the research says. Each goal although addressing an individual positive outcome from future technology growth additionally supports an overall framework for teaching and learning development for our school system.
-Support the use of technology as a tool for education as well as student motivation and development of 21st century skills.
-Provide students with further outlets for inquiry and application of understanding in real word contexts.
-Provide technologic tools to improve student achievement on state testing.
IMPLEMENTATION
Central to the implementation process for the addition of Classroom for the Future technology is the training of our teachers. Research such as Wenglinkys 1999, Educational Testing Service report, Does it compute? establishes direct correlations between teacher training and students use of technology to foster academic growth. To aid in our students and teachers making the most out of the additional technologic infrastructure we will plan professional development to address both the integration of the technology into the classrooms (pedagogy, skill training, etc…) as well as provide suggested tools/software/sites for teachers and students. Teacher will also have outlets for ongoing Professional development thought the course of the grant. Professional development will be organized and developed specifically for content specific areas (example: mathematics or history). This organization will allow for the professional development to be specifically tailored to the content that will be taught. Teachers may also use team meeting times and content meetings to discuss and share ideas/resources/successful practices will colleagues. Teacher training will begin as soon as the grant is approved and will be developed though a partnership between content resource teachers and district technology integration specialists. Parents will also be invited to participate in open discussion forum and be provided will information on the project. Computers will be distributed in phases to each individual content area starting with English classes. The entire district wide distribution process is planned for 1 month. Planning for individual classroom/school security procedures are currently being conducted.
EVALUATION PLAN
The technology grant and our integration of the computers will be evaluated through and ongoing process to establish the overall effectiveness of the program as it relates to our established educational goals. The evaluation will provide us will ongoing feedback so that we can grow and adapt the program to best meet the needs of our students and teachers. The formal evaluation will consist of a variety of formative and summative evaluations.
Formative assessments
-Teacher and student self-reflection sheets, teachers and students will reflect and provide feedback to the school district on their use of the computers, observations and any of there further desires or needs.
-The administration of each individual school will record student grades and analyze for development of skills and growth.
-Standardized test scores will be analyzed for trends in growth.
Summative Evaluation
-Student data will be analyzed for the entire course of the grant period. All members of the school community will be provided with research findings and trends.
Friday, October 26, 2007
TP#8: Policy Recommendations & Viewpoints
Background: Some teachers have complained of students listening to iPods and text messaging on their cell phones during class. Students believe the offenders should be punished, but all students should not have to pay for the misbehavior of a few.
Question: As Technology Coordinator, you are asked to develop a school policy to address student use of portable electronic devices. In your response describe the two points of view and the reasons to be more restrictive or less restrictive of portable electronic devices. Conclude with your policy recommendation to the school board and the reasons for your specific recommendation.
Response: The real underlining theme is the idea of abuse; some students are abusing the use of I pods, cell phones and other portable devises in school. A formal declaration should be prepared by the School District to address the issues surrounding their allowance in the formal school setting. Although many hand held devises are becoming a regular part of our everyday lives the question still remains, are they appropriate part in certain environments like school and the work environment? Just for clarity we are not debating if they can support teaching and learning or if they should be integrated into the school’s curriculum. We are looking at portable devises solely in schools as a platform for entertainment and communication.
Looking at the issue there are two perspectives or paths the SD can take to establish a plan of action to deal with the issues teachers and students are facing. One, the SD can take a more restrictive approach; they can ban the use of these types of devises for all students in the schools. The second approach would be to have a less restrictive approach and allow the use of them during the school day. Only punishing the students who are using the devises during inappropriate times and in inappropriate ways. (Inappropriate use for may come in the form of potable devises being used for: cheating on tests, texting, talking or listening to music during class time, etc…)
The less restrictive approach would still need to have consequences set forth for students who break the rules and ultimately abuse the right the have these types of devises. A rule for cell phones for example may be that they need to stay in the student’s lockers or bags and only be used in case of emergency, after the school day or if the teacher allows the students to use them during class downtime. Students breaking the rules may have there devise confiscated by the teacher or administration for the day or until a parent picks up the devise. This approach would not punish or restrict the students who are using the devises during appropriate in appropriate ways. This approach will probably be more accepted by the student community in the schools but with the allowance for these types of devises open the door for temptation to use inappropriately. By granting the right for students to carry these devices (basically saying its ok to have them out in schools) may add to difficulties the schools staff may encounter related to dealing with theft.
A more restrictive approach would establish rules outlawing these devises punishing all students even if they have not or are not using the inappropriately. Students who are caught with the devises will have them taken by the teacher or administration. Teachers and administration will have to take on the added responsibility of confiscating devises and dealing with disciplinary aspect of enforcement.
My recommendation:
I feel firmly that because I pods and cell phones are not being used to foster or support teaching and learning that they have no real context for being in today’s school environment. They are being used for distraction and entertainment purposes only. Since one of the major goals for our school based education systems is to prepare students for the working world, it is also important to look at the regulations of the modern day work force. In today’s workforce the majority of jobs do not tolerate the use of potable devises for entertainment or personal communication during the work day. If we allow our students to use the devises I feel that we are supporting there development for the working world.
I feel the SD would be best advised to take a mixed approach to the allowance of these devise in school. The SD should not support the use of portable electronic devises during the school day. If students bring the to school it is there responsibility and not of the school distinct to ensure the security of the devise. The devise must remain in the student’s locker or school back during the school day and may not be used during class time. To enforce a standard across all corners of the SD teacher may not allow students to use the devises during the school day even during downtime or study halls. Cell phones are useful devises in case of emergency but they must only be used during the school day for emergency.
Question: As Technology Coordinator, you are asked to develop a school policy to address student use of portable electronic devices. In your response describe the two points of view and the reasons to be more restrictive or less restrictive of portable electronic devices. Conclude with your policy recommendation to the school board and the reasons for your specific recommendation.
Response: The real underlining theme is the idea of abuse; some students are abusing the use of I pods, cell phones and other portable devises in school. A formal declaration should be prepared by the School District to address the issues surrounding their allowance in the formal school setting. Although many hand held devises are becoming a regular part of our everyday lives the question still remains, are they appropriate part in certain environments like school and the work environment? Just for clarity we are not debating if they can support teaching and learning or if they should be integrated into the school’s curriculum. We are looking at portable devises solely in schools as a platform for entertainment and communication.
Looking at the issue there are two perspectives or paths the SD can take to establish a plan of action to deal with the issues teachers and students are facing. One, the SD can take a more restrictive approach; they can ban the use of these types of devises for all students in the schools. The second approach would be to have a less restrictive approach and allow the use of them during the school day. Only punishing the students who are using the devises during inappropriate times and in inappropriate ways. (Inappropriate use for may come in the form of potable devises being used for: cheating on tests, texting, talking or listening to music during class time, etc…)
The less restrictive approach would still need to have consequences set forth for students who break the rules and ultimately abuse the right the have these types of devises. A rule for cell phones for example may be that they need to stay in the student’s lockers or bags and only be used in case of emergency, after the school day or if the teacher allows the students to use them during class downtime. Students breaking the rules may have there devise confiscated by the teacher or administration for the day or until a parent picks up the devise. This approach would not punish or restrict the students who are using the devises during appropriate in appropriate ways. This approach will probably be more accepted by the student community in the schools but with the allowance for these types of devises open the door for temptation to use inappropriately. By granting the right for students to carry these devices (basically saying its ok to have them out in schools) may add to difficulties the schools staff may encounter related to dealing with theft.
A more restrictive approach would establish rules outlawing these devises punishing all students even if they have not or are not using the inappropriately. Students who are caught with the devises will have them taken by the teacher or administration. Teachers and administration will have to take on the added responsibility of confiscating devises and dealing with disciplinary aspect of enforcement.
My recommendation:
I feel firmly that because I pods and cell phones are not being used to foster or support teaching and learning that they have no real context for being in today’s school environment. They are being used for distraction and entertainment purposes only. Since one of the major goals for our school based education systems is to prepare students for the working world, it is also important to look at the regulations of the modern day work force. In today’s workforce the majority of jobs do not tolerate the use of potable devises for entertainment or personal communication during the work day. If we allow our students to use the devises I feel that we are supporting there development for the working world.
I feel the SD would be best advised to take a mixed approach to the allowance of these devise in school. The SD should not support the use of portable electronic devises during the school day. If students bring the to school it is there responsibility and not of the school distinct to ensure the security of the devise. The devise must remain in the student’s locker or school back during the school day and may not be used during class time. To enforce a standard across all corners of the SD teacher may not allow students to use the devises during the school day even during downtime or study halls. Cell phones are useful devises in case of emergency but they must only be used during the school day for emergency.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
TP#7: Systems Protocol
Background: The core mission of any school is to promote powerful learning through effective teaching. As technology director, you are responsible for systems that are directly related to this core mission of teaching and learning such as Internet access, student reporting and curriculum systems. You are also responsible for systems that relate to student safety, finance and personnel that are fundamental to running the institution on a daily basis. You are told that network-related issues, perhaps virus-related, are interrupting the operation of all major systems.
Question: Which systems do you try to stabilize and restore to service first? Why? What systems might be your second priority? Which systems would have a lower priority.
Response:
There are a multitude of systems that are available and currently integrated into the infrastructure of the modern school. It is important for the technology director to first be aware of the systems and second to create an emergency plan incase the systems are compromised by network related issues or perhaps a virus. Although the director and his or her staff cant prepare or even envision every scenario that may arise they can make general plans for what to do incase there is a wide or small spread problem.
In my opinion the first step of the plan would have to do with assessment & protection. If there was a problem the first step the technology director would do is assess the damage with the help of her technology staff (they may need to re-establish the SNMP system in order to monitor the network). Directly following the assessment would be to further protect and stabilize any aspect of the systems which have not been compromised or that have personal data or money. It is important for the technology director to make sure these systems involving money and/or personal data are safeguarded but they may not be prioritized when it comes to restoring the systems for use. Once the network has been assessed and to the best degree protected the technology director should have a hierarchal plan for which systems should be restored first. The technology director must think outside the box and develop an innovative and communicated plan to the school district.
The hierarchy of which systems should be restored first should be based upon there necessity for securing the schools and then upon there necessity for supporting the day to day in fracture of teaching and learning. This begins with the systems that secure students in the schools and provide safety. Systems like building security, emergency services, and the build service (prioritized by energy, heating and if easily possible cooling, etc…).
These systems should be followed by the phone system and intercom. The phone system is a major support incase of emergency situations. In order to support the schools the next round of systems to be worked on should deal with the infrastructure and responsibilities the school has to its students. This involves basic transportation and food services.
Once these systems have been protected and restored to basic use the technology director and staff can begin working on fully bringing back up the personal information/data systems like student information systems, capital inventory, personnel records and the money/financial systems like accounts payable and receivable. Following these coming back online work should be done to bring up some systems that support the teaching and learning in the schools. This should start first (to bring up the moral of teachers and students) with restoring directory services, outgoing Internet, email systems, and content filtering systems. Followed by the library systems, any course management systems and administrative databases that did not contain personal data. Following would be systems on the lower end of the hierarchy like athletics, school websites, admissions/recruiting, TV, alumni, video conferencing.
Question: Which systems do you try to stabilize and restore to service first? Why? What systems might be your second priority? Which systems would have a lower priority.
Response:
There are a multitude of systems that are available and currently integrated into the infrastructure of the modern school. It is important for the technology director to first be aware of the systems and second to create an emergency plan incase the systems are compromised by network related issues or perhaps a virus. Although the director and his or her staff cant prepare or even envision every scenario that may arise they can make general plans for what to do incase there is a wide or small spread problem.
In my opinion the first step of the plan would have to do with assessment & protection. If there was a problem the first step the technology director would do is assess the damage with the help of her technology staff (they may need to re-establish the SNMP system in order to monitor the network). Directly following the assessment would be to further protect and stabilize any aspect of the systems which have not been compromised or that have personal data or money. It is important for the technology director to make sure these systems involving money and/or personal data are safeguarded but they may not be prioritized when it comes to restoring the systems for use. Once the network has been assessed and to the best degree protected the technology director should have a hierarchal plan for which systems should be restored first. The technology director must think outside the box and develop an innovative and communicated plan to the school district.
The hierarchy of which systems should be restored first should be based upon there necessity for securing the schools and then upon there necessity for supporting the day to day in fracture of teaching and learning. This begins with the systems that secure students in the schools and provide safety. Systems like building security, emergency services, and the build service (prioritized by energy, heating and if easily possible cooling, etc…).
These systems should be followed by the phone system and intercom. The phone system is a major support incase of emergency situations. In order to support the schools the next round of systems to be worked on should deal with the infrastructure and responsibilities the school has to its students. This involves basic transportation and food services.
Once these systems have been protected and restored to basic use the technology director and staff can begin working on fully bringing back up the personal information/data systems like student information systems, capital inventory, personnel records and the money/financial systems like accounts payable and receivable. Following these coming back online work should be done to bring up some systems that support the teaching and learning in the schools. This should start first (to bring up the moral of teachers and students) with restoring directory services, outgoing Internet, email systems, and content filtering systems. Followed by the library systems, any course management systems and administrative databases that did not contain personal data. Following would be systems on the lower end of the hierarchy like athletics, school websites, admissions/recruiting, TV, alumni, video conferencing.
Wiki Book Update (10/19)
First off I need to say...... boy O'boy do I need to make more wiki book updates. A lot of time has passed since my last update. We have been working hard, fitting in time/work on the chapter periodically through the gaps in our overwhelming schedules. At this point we have collectively set out chapter layout and outlined what each section will consist of. I have been working on the funding section with Lifang. Michale seems to have the budgeting section well underway. His perspective is priceless because he is actually living the tech director life. My group members and myself have collected a variety of resources and shared them with on another over del.icio.us. Social bookmarking- really cool. Thanks Lifang, for bringing Michale and myself up to speed on how to use the tool.
I am working on developing the E-Rate section of the document- with help from Lifang. I hope in the next two weeks to have a lot more to show from our work.
I am working on developing the E-Rate section of the document- with help from Lifang. I hope in the next two weeks to have a lot more to show from our work.
Monday, October 8, 2007
TP#6: Staffing
Background: Congratulations! You are the new Technology Director of a school district that has outsourced all technology support services in the past. You believe that your district needs its own technology department to address technology needs effectively and economically. The most expensive part of your department will be staff. Do a web search to see how other schools staff their technology departments. Find at websites that help you address the topic.
Question: In three-to-five paragraphs, describe the jobs, tasks qualifications of the kinds of staff you will need. List no more than three websites you found helpful.
Websites I found Helpful
http://www.techlearning.com/index.php
www.thesnorkel.org/download/staffingspreadsheet.xls
Local school districts home pages including- www.beth.k12.pa.us/
Response:
The most expensive aspect of switching from an outsourced based technological services department to a more in-house approach will be in staff salaries. The amount of staff, the overall expenses, and job responsibilities necessary to support such a change will be governed based on the districts overall size, technological infrastructure, and amount of technology. In the business world I have seen quoted rates such as 1:50 meaning one technical service personal for every fifty people using the equipment BUT in the realm of education it is more likely (unfortunately) to be around 1:500. In research I found that the Washington State Networking Guide, a leading publisher related to technology vs. staffing equates a school district to be what they call the “fully staffed model” as being 1:100-250 users. I would think that from the perspective of a new technology director in this situation I would shoot/attempt for the “fully staffed model” and support my reasons for this model with literature and research when submitting to the school board.
Once the school board has allotted a budget for staffing it will be important to specifically create a hierarchy of jobs and responsibilities to support the technology. The process of defining job responsibilities should start from the top down and qualifications should be defined. The hiring process should start as early as possible for these high level positions so that human resources can provide a chance to go after the best most qualified people. Top-level hires will also help create and define the rest of the job titles and responsibilities.
To help structure a hierarchy of jobs and the requirements for hire the technology director should look into how other school districts support technology and also how businesses support. Below is a basic sample hierarchy of jobs and responsibilities for a school district.
Leadership
Director of Technology: oversees all aspects of technology in the district (1 position)
Chief Information Officer: oversees all aspects of data and IT
(1 position)
Network Infrastructure
Network Administrator: Network certified and Cisco certified. With at least five years experience running, servicing, and securing a network. (1)
Network Assistant: Network certified and has at least 5 years of experience, supporting networks. (1)
Support and Infrastructure
Support Technicians/Technical services- Highly trained computer technicians, certified related to the OS and hardware they are supporting. Will fix computers and technology when trouble shooting in the schools by the computer technician fails or if computer part is under warranty and must be serviced by a certified technician. (2)
Computer Technician (school based): Trained in computer technician or technically trained. Will maintain, support and troubleshoot to the best of their ability the teachers and students of each school. (one per high school, one per middle school, one for every 2 or 3 elementary school)
Technical Assistant: Some technical background and training on servicing and trouble shooting computers. (2 or 3 district wide, will float from school to school when needed for things like collection, large jobs, and roll out of computers. Will aid the school based computer technicians)
Teaching and Learning Integration
Computer and Learning Integration Specialist: certified teacher who will support the integration of the technology for teaching and learning. (One per high school, one per middle school, one for every 2 or 3 elementary school)
Professional Development Support: Regular classroom teacher who work periodically (for pay) to support professional development focusing on computer integration in the schools. (Dependent on need)
Question: In three-to-five paragraphs, describe the jobs, tasks qualifications of the kinds of staff you will need. List no more than three websites you found helpful.
Websites I found Helpful
http://www.techlearning.com/index.php
www.thesnorkel.org/download/staffingspreadsheet.xls
Local school districts home pages including- www.beth.k12.pa.us/
Response:
The most expensive aspect of switching from an outsourced based technological services department to a more in-house approach will be in staff salaries. The amount of staff, the overall expenses, and job responsibilities necessary to support such a change will be governed based on the districts overall size, technological infrastructure, and amount of technology. In the business world I have seen quoted rates such as 1:50 meaning one technical service personal for every fifty people using the equipment BUT in the realm of education it is more likely (unfortunately) to be around 1:500. In research I found that the Washington State Networking Guide, a leading publisher related to technology vs. staffing equates a school district to be what they call the “fully staffed model” as being 1:100-250 users. I would think that from the perspective of a new technology director in this situation I would shoot/attempt for the “fully staffed model” and support my reasons for this model with literature and research when submitting to the school board.
Once the school board has allotted a budget for staffing it will be important to specifically create a hierarchy of jobs and responsibilities to support the technology. The process of defining job responsibilities should start from the top down and qualifications should be defined. The hiring process should start as early as possible for these high level positions so that human resources can provide a chance to go after the best most qualified people. Top-level hires will also help create and define the rest of the job titles and responsibilities.
To help structure a hierarchy of jobs and the requirements for hire the technology director should look into how other school districts support technology and also how businesses support. Below is a basic sample hierarchy of jobs and responsibilities for a school district.
Leadership
Director of Technology: oversees all aspects of technology in the district (1 position)
Chief Information Officer: oversees all aspects of data and IT
(1 position)
Network Infrastructure
Network Administrator: Network certified and Cisco certified. With at least five years experience running, servicing, and securing a network. (1)
Network Assistant: Network certified and has at least 5 years of experience, supporting networks. (1)
Support and Infrastructure
Support Technicians/Technical services- Highly trained computer technicians, certified related to the OS and hardware they are supporting. Will fix computers and technology when trouble shooting in the schools by the computer technician fails or if computer part is under warranty and must be serviced by a certified technician. (2)
Computer Technician (school based): Trained in computer technician or technically trained. Will maintain, support and troubleshoot to the best of their ability the teachers and students of each school. (one per high school, one per middle school, one for every 2 or 3 elementary school)
Technical Assistant: Some technical background and training on servicing and trouble shooting computers. (2 or 3 district wide, will float from school to school when needed for things like collection, large jobs, and roll out of computers. Will aid the school based computer technicians)
Teaching and Learning Integration
Computer and Learning Integration Specialist: certified teacher who will support the integration of the technology for teaching and learning. (One per high school, one per middle school, one for every 2 or 3 elementary school)
Professional Development Support: Regular classroom teacher who work periodically (for pay) to support professional development focusing on computer integration in the schools. (Dependent on need)
Friday, September 28, 2007
TP#5: Roll Out
Question: You have been hired as a technology director for a school district that uses an operating system that is not your main area of expertise. Research the topic "imaging" or "cloning" to see how you might rapidly clone a new shipment of 500 laptops. Pay attention to cost, time and expertise. In three-to-five paragraphs, describe your options, why you chose the option you did, and what problems you may expect with that choice.
Side Bar: This particular TP touched home (more like work) with me because today my supervisor and I just completed a roll out of 600 laptop computers to the 8th grade class at one of the schools I am currently supporting. The entire process was new to me and I learned a lot. I was not present during the re-imaging process (these computers had been used prior and were re-imaged over the summer before I was in my position) for most of the computers but observed some being imaged for students. Very shortly I will participate in the roll out of 1,400 new computers to the 6th and 7th graders of this school. Doing research on this topic was very interesting and will be applicable in my understanding of the processes behind imaging/cloning and for planning.
Response:
First lets start with the act of imaging: basically we want to create a copy (file) of the operating system, applications, user settings and any data we want to place on the computers. The reason for doing this is to save time in setting up new machines by eliminating the installation of the operating system and each individual application.
Not just anyone can make an image of a computer OS and applications and place it onto other computers. In order to do this you need the rights/permission/license to copy and redistribute the software. There are different ways to acquire an image file of a computer. For home use there is software that allows you to make an exact replica of your computer hard drive in case of loss or crash. This software can also be used to capture and image file of a school computer. Some software applications for capturing an image file are Norton Ghost®, Partition Image or Clonesilla. These programs will all allow you to create an image file of a computer but dependent on how you wish to then place the image on other computers may or may not work for you.
Back the problem at hand:
In our case I would recommend using a professional group such as (Apples technical services consultants) to create a reliable image for us to use during the distribution. Since we are going to be imaging 500 computers I feel it would be best to have a good and reliable image as well as one that is licensed for distribution and customized to our school. Groups Like Apples technical services consultants can be hired to oversee the entire roll of the new computers but the service is very costly. In our case we will save on cost by only using their services for the creation of the image file.
My recommendation for the best way (considering cost, time, and expertise) to place the images onto the 500 laptops is to hire or use a trained staff member to multi-cast the images over a network to the new computers. Multi-casting will save a significant amount of time and resources. Basically with multi-casting a server will be used to send the image file over a network to the computers. The benefit of multi-casting is that it allows for multiple computers to be imaged at the same time. A network switch can be connected to the server and with good management support 24 computers can be imaging at the same time. Using this method, the 500 laptops could be imaged in less than 1 week. (Estimate 25 computers every 2-3 hours (imaging process 40 min-1hour, organization, connection and disconnection of the 25 laptops 1-1.5 hours, .5-hour cushion in case of problems).
The other option would be to place images onto the new computers using portable hard drives. The image file would be copied off the portable drive on the new hard drive. This process is less complicated as a whole and can be conducted by many helpers after only a short amount of training. This may not serve as the most effective way to image 500 computers because it will take a large amount of organization, space, and workers. I also believe, on the negative side that the option of using portable drives opens the door for issues relating to human error.
Conclusion:
There are several options in how to image a large number of computers. The option that is right for you is very dependent on your resources and needs. Don’t forget that getting images onto the computers is only one step in preparing the computers for educational use. You will also need to plan and calculate the time and resources it will take to assign, identify, secure, store, etc… each of these new computers.
Side Bar: This particular TP touched home (more like work) with me because today my supervisor and I just completed a roll out of 600 laptop computers to the 8th grade class at one of the schools I am currently supporting. The entire process was new to me and I learned a lot. I was not present during the re-imaging process (these computers had been used prior and were re-imaged over the summer before I was in my position) for most of the computers but observed some being imaged for students. Very shortly I will participate in the roll out of 1,400 new computers to the 6th and 7th graders of this school. Doing research on this topic was very interesting and will be applicable in my understanding of the processes behind imaging/cloning and for planning.
Response:
First lets start with the act of imaging: basically we want to create a copy (file) of the operating system, applications, user settings and any data we want to place on the computers. The reason for doing this is to save time in setting up new machines by eliminating the installation of the operating system and each individual application.
Not just anyone can make an image of a computer OS and applications and place it onto other computers. In order to do this you need the rights/permission/license to copy and redistribute the software. There are different ways to acquire an image file of a computer. For home use there is software that allows you to make an exact replica of your computer hard drive in case of loss or crash. This software can also be used to capture and image file of a school computer. Some software applications for capturing an image file are Norton Ghost®, Partition Image or Clonesilla. These programs will all allow you to create an image file of a computer but dependent on how you wish to then place the image on other computers may or may not work for you.
Back the problem at hand:
In our case I would recommend using a professional group such as (Apples technical services consultants) to create a reliable image for us to use during the distribution. Since we are going to be imaging 500 computers I feel it would be best to have a good and reliable image as well as one that is licensed for distribution and customized to our school. Groups Like Apples technical services consultants can be hired to oversee the entire roll of the new computers but the service is very costly. In our case we will save on cost by only using their services for the creation of the image file.
My recommendation for the best way (considering cost, time, and expertise) to place the images onto the 500 laptops is to hire or use a trained staff member to multi-cast the images over a network to the new computers. Multi-casting will save a significant amount of time and resources. Basically with multi-casting a server will be used to send the image file over a network to the computers. The benefit of multi-casting is that it allows for multiple computers to be imaged at the same time. A network switch can be connected to the server and with good management support 24 computers can be imaging at the same time. Using this method, the 500 laptops could be imaged in less than 1 week. (Estimate 25 computers every 2-3 hours (imaging process 40 min-1hour, organization, connection and disconnection of the 25 laptops 1-1.5 hours, .5-hour cushion in case of problems).
The other option would be to place images onto the new computers using portable hard drives. The image file would be copied off the portable drive on the new hard drive. This process is less complicated as a whole and can be conducted by many helpers after only a short amount of training. This may not serve as the most effective way to image 500 computers because it will take a large amount of organization, space, and workers. I also believe, on the negative side that the option of using portable drives opens the door for issues relating to human error.
Conclusion:
There are several options in how to image a large number of computers. The option that is right for you is very dependent on your resources and needs. Don’t forget that getting images onto the computers is only one step in preparing the computers for educational use. You will also need to plan and calculate the time and resources it will take to assign, identify, secure, store, etc… each of these new computers.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
WikiBook Update (9/27)
It is not time to get started, its time to put the car in drive..... My group is each working on gathering resources for the chapter. We will be meeting on Monday (Oct 1) to formally collaborate and organize our chapter. At this point we have a few additions to the wiki pages but not much.
Personal Goals:
research our topic (printing and bookmarking relevant materials)
continue to practice protocols for manipulating information added to the wikibook
Personal Goals:
research our topic (printing and bookmarking relevant materials)
continue to practice protocols for manipulating information added to the wikibook
Thursday, September 20, 2007
TP#4: Wikibook Thinking and Planning
Topic: So far we've discussed technology budgeting, funding and purchasing. What are the most important things you want to convey to future technology directors? What was hardest for you to understand? Maybe that will be hardest to make clear to a reader. What should be covered in depth and what should not be covered in depth? What knowledge would most help you in a Technology Director position?
Response: In synopsis of these 3 separate yet very intertwined topics I believe there are a number of individual concepts and general ideas that I would wish to emphasize to future technology directors. I think most importantly would be to provide new tech directors with concrete resources for them to reference as they actually budget, fund, and purchase technology. It can be difficult to understand much of this information because of its shear volume and the numerous complicated procedures needed to successfully navigate budgeting, funding and purchasing technology. Much of this information is best learned in context and application. New tech directors would benefit from being provided with reliable grant evaluation, e-rate, and purchasing sites. In addition to reliable resources they should be provided with overviews and history of each topic as well as highlights of pitfalls, bureaucratic idiosyncrasies, and process steps. A significant emphasis should be placed on the long range planning steps associated with these three areas of a tech director’s job.
I believe out of the topics of budgeting, funding, and purchasing technology the hardest concept to grasp relates to finding funding options for technology. I find funding especially grants, establishment of grant opportunities, and grant writing to be very difficult to understand. I also believe it to be the most difficult concept of the three to present and for all levels of technology directors (not just novice) to understand. The topic is so diverse and overwhelming especially for new directors. To combat this difficult topic, funding resources should focus on providing tech directors with funding opportunities they can achieve without immense backgrounds in grant writing. Examples of this would be funding resources like non-competitive grant, popular grants (ex: classroom of the future), e-rate, funding foundations, etc…
Response: In synopsis of these 3 separate yet very intertwined topics I believe there are a number of individual concepts and general ideas that I would wish to emphasize to future technology directors. I think most importantly would be to provide new tech directors with concrete resources for them to reference as they actually budget, fund, and purchase technology. It can be difficult to understand much of this information because of its shear volume and the numerous complicated procedures needed to successfully navigate budgeting, funding and purchasing technology. Much of this information is best learned in context and application. New tech directors would benefit from being provided with reliable grant evaluation, e-rate, and purchasing sites. In addition to reliable resources they should be provided with overviews and history of each topic as well as highlights of pitfalls, bureaucratic idiosyncrasies, and process steps. A significant emphasis should be placed on the long range planning steps associated with these three areas of a tech director’s job.
I believe out of the topics of budgeting, funding, and purchasing technology the hardest concept to grasp relates to finding funding options for technology. I find funding especially grants, establishment of grant opportunities, and grant writing to be very difficult to understand. I also believe it to be the most difficult concept of the three to present and for all levels of technology directors (not just novice) to understand. The topic is so diverse and overwhelming especially for new directors. To combat this difficult topic, funding resources should focus on providing tech directors with funding opportunities they can achieve without immense backgrounds in grant writing. Examples of this would be funding resources like non-competitive grant, popular grants (ex: classroom of the future), e-rate, funding foundations, etc…
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
TP#3: Grant Writing Exercise
Topic: Grant Writing Exercise
Directions:
1. Describe the project, its purpose, its intended participants and its expected goals/objectives
2. Explain the division of funding sources you would like among budget, e-rate and grants
3. Find a suitable grant agency and describe why that agency would be interested in funding your project
Response:
CHESSE Project (Choices for a Healthy Environment Student Service Education)
CHESSE project is an environmental initiative for the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system, Maryland. The Project will include all of the 200 countywide schools: Elementary (preK-5): 130, Middle (6-8): 38, High (9-12): 25, and Special or Alternative: 7. MCPS servers a 2006-07 enrolled population of 137,798 students.
Project CHESSE will extend the county and state commitment to environmental education by establishing a network of school based research facilities for students to evaluate and compile student-generated data relating to the local environment. Each school will be provided with a dedicated technology and the environment Hub. Each hub will consist of one computer providing dedicated access to a countywide research and environmental activity database and include GIS equipment and water/air-monitoring devises. One teacher from each school will be provided with professional development on how to use and integrate the equipment. The overall goal of the project is to connect and establish a deeper understanding between the MCPS students/local community and their personal connection to local/and greater environment. The goal of this project is linked and supports the State of Maryland’s 2000 Chesapeake agreement.
The objectives for this project link to the state and local education standards and help to reinforce and extend the concepts students are learning in their classrooms. Objective A- Complete students service learning hours with the CHESSE project. Objective B- Increase awareness about how our personal habits/decisions have a positive and negative effect our local environment.
This project will be funded by a variety of sources including MCPS and the Federal Government. The e-rate program will provide additional support for the infrastructure and utility of the technological hubs. The CHESSE program will continue to work to establish funding donations from local businesses and foundations.
The Federal grant or grants that will support this project are funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and are FY 2006 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education & Training Program, and Bay Watershed Education & Training Program.
Both of these grant opportunities align with the overall goal of the CHESSE project significantly the Stewardship and Community Engagement goals of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.
Directions:
1. Describe the project, its purpose, its intended participants and its expected goals/objectives
2. Explain the division of funding sources you would like among budget, e-rate and grants
3. Find a suitable grant agency and describe why that agency would be interested in funding your project
Response:
CHESSE Project (Choices for a Healthy Environment Student Service Education)
CHESSE project is an environmental initiative for the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) system, Maryland. The Project will include all of the 200 countywide schools: Elementary (preK-5): 130, Middle (6-8): 38, High (9-12): 25, and Special or Alternative: 7. MCPS servers a 2006-07 enrolled population of 137,798 students.
Project CHESSE will extend the county and state commitment to environmental education by establishing a network of school based research facilities for students to evaluate and compile student-generated data relating to the local environment. Each school will be provided with a dedicated technology and the environment Hub. Each hub will consist of one computer providing dedicated access to a countywide research and environmental activity database and include GIS equipment and water/air-monitoring devises. One teacher from each school will be provided with professional development on how to use and integrate the equipment. The overall goal of the project is to connect and establish a deeper understanding between the MCPS students/local community and their personal connection to local/and greater environment. The goal of this project is linked and supports the State of Maryland’s 2000 Chesapeake agreement.
The objectives for this project link to the state and local education standards and help to reinforce and extend the concepts students are learning in their classrooms. Objective A- Complete students service learning hours with the CHESSE project. Objective B- Increase awareness about how our personal habits/decisions have a positive and negative effect our local environment.
This project will be funded by a variety of sources including MCPS and the Federal Government. The e-rate program will provide additional support for the infrastructure and utility of the technological hubs. The CHESSE program will continue to work to establish funding donations from local businesses and foundations.
The Federal grant or grants that will support this project are funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and are FY 2006 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Education & Training Program, and Bay Watershed Education & Training Program.
Both of these grant opportunities align with the overall goal of the CHESSE project significantly the Stewardship and Community Engagement goals of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Thoughtful Problem #1
Thoughtful Problem #1
Briefly describe what attracts you to educational technology. What do you think will be the most interesting part of the kind of position you desire? What personal quality, interest or expertise best qualifies you for this position? What do you see as your biggest challenge in such a position (in terms of your personal qualities)?
I believe my attraction to educational technology can be linked to two overlapping and significant spheres of my life, my personal and my professional interests. First, personally I have been attracted to the benefits technology affords me in my day-to-day life (for example the numerous outlets available to me as I peruse my passion for the process of life long learning). In many ways I have made a personal commitment to embrace technology into my life. I feel it is important to learn from the historical perspective of technology growth, invention, and integration. As technology becomes further ingrained into our society either by choice or by demand society must make a conscious decision, either to embrace or be left behind. From my perspective embracing technology is the only true way to step forward and guarantee that new technologies will be integrated and developed for my personal needs, interests, goals, and benefit. This perspective molds into my second reason/interest related to technology specifically for the benefits of my profession, education. Through my past experiences as an educator I have been granted the opportunity and perspective to attempt comprehension of how truly behind many of our school aged children are in the US. With those experiences I have come to a realization that our teaching approaches/philosophy in today’s schools need to be focus on inspiring students to work and granting them outlets for motivation and construction of knowledge. Changing the mentality on how we teach, especially for our low achieving students moving away from direct instruction to outlets like technology, which through proper integrated can support inquiry-based learning.
My beliefs in the way technology should be embraced and integrated into modern day life and education has influenced my career path. I have begun to think about educational technology integration on a larger scale. I have become more interested in not only using technology in my classroom but also helping others adopt technology as they teach and learn. Supporting an overall goal of helping others see first hand the benefits and growth students can make with proper integration of technology. Within my career path this overarching goal can be fulfilled through multiple levels of positions or specific jobs.
As I evaluate different job positions and professional roles I feel that my best qualification for technology integration is the time and experiences I gained as a classroom teacher. I have learned a great deal about the two most important constituencies in the successful development and use of educational technology. The students and the teachers need to be the main focus and I have experienced their true needs and the demands that influence teaching and learning in today’s classrooms.
Although I do feel qualified from my background knowledge for a leadership position as related to educational technology. I do feel that I would learn and personally grow from experiencing leadership on a larger scale then what I have previously experienced. I feel that in leading a large group of people my biggest challenge may come from my personal quality/flaw of wanting to please everyone. In a large group I may not have the opportunity to explain to all parties involved my reasoning for a decision but instead need to deal with doing what I feel is the best decision even if does not please everyone.
Briefly describe what attracts you to educational technology. What do you think will be the most interesting part of the kind of position you desire? What personal quality, interest or expertise best qualifies you for this position? What do you see as your biggest challenge in such a position (in terms of your personal qualities)?
I believe my attraction to educational technology can be linked to two overlapping and significant spheres of my life, my personal and my professional interests. First, personally I have been attracted to the benefits technology affords me in my day-to-day life (for example the numerous outlets available to me as I peruse my passion for the process of life long learning). In many ways I have made a personal commitment to embrace technology into my life. I feel it is important to learn from the historical perspective of technology growth, invention, and integration. As technology becomes further ingrained into our society either by choice or by demand society must make a conscious decision, either to embrace or be left behind. From my perspective embracing technology is the only true way to step forward and guarantee that new technologies will be integrated and developed for my personal needs, interests, goals, and benefit. This perspective molds into my second reason/interest related to technology specifically for the benefits of my profession, education. Through my past experiences as an educator I have been granted the opportunity and perspective to attempt comprehension of how truly behind many of our school aged children are in the US. With those experiences I have come to a realization that our teaching approaches/philosophy in today’s schools need to be focus on inspiring students to work and granting them outlets for motivation and construction of knowledge. Changing the mentality on how we teach, especially for our low achieving students moving away from direct instruction to outlets like technology, which through proper integrated can support inquiry-based learning.
My beliefs in the way technology should be embraced and integrated into modern day life and education has influenced my career path. I have begun to think about educational technology integration on a larger scale. I have become more interested in not only using technology in my classroom but also helping others adopt technology as they teach and learn. Supporting an overall goal of helping others see first hand the benefits and growth students can make with proper integration of technology. Within my career path this overarching goal can be fulfilled through multiple levels of positions or specific jobs.
As I evaluate different job positions and professional roles I feel that my best qualification for technology integration is the time and experiences I gained as a classroom teacher. I have learned a great deal about the two most important constituencies in the successful development and use of educational technology. The students and the teachers need to be the main focus and I have experienced their true needs and the demands that influence teaching and learning in today’s classrooms.
Although I do feel qualified from my background knowledge for a leadership position as related to educational technology. I do feel that I would learn and personally grow from experiencing leadership on a larger scale then what I have previously experienced. I feel that in leading a large group of people my biggest challenge may come from my personal quality/flaw of wanting to please everyone. In a large group I may not have the opportunity to explain to all parties involved my reasoning for a decision but instead need to deal with doing what I feel is the best decision even if does not please everyone.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Welcome!!
Welcome to my Budgeting, Managing & Evaluating School Technology EDUC 491 personal blog. Feel free to visit and review my personal thoughts, understandings, and comments as they develop during this Fall 2007 class.
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