action plan

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT
Process Overview:
Technology in the Classroom

1. SETTING THE FOUNDATION – Creating a climate to explore action research issues:

Through collaboration with my principal and the site based decision making committee, we have determined that the use of technology in the classroom needs to be addressed. We have identified technology in our Campus Improvement Plan for further development. There are many technological resources not being used and implemented within the classroom. We would like to see teachers seamlessly incorporate these resources into the classroom environment.

2. ANALYZING DATA – There will be many forms of data analyzed and reviewed throughout this process.
Data such as:
- Field notes from technology use observations
- Interviews with single teachers/students and whole group classes
- Student work, documents, scores/grades, and artifacts
- Pictures and videos taken of technology used in the classroom
- Reflective journals/blogs created by teachers
- Surveys given to teachers and students
- Literature read and websites visited

Technology Resources- WOW carts (web on wheels/laptops), web cams, flip videos, digital/document cameras, scanners, printers, projectors, televisions, DVD players, smart boards
Digital Classrooms (an addition to Education Week)
E School News
Baseline Data of Students/Teachers
Teacher/Student Interviews and Surveys
Books:
Using Technology in the Classroom (6th Edition) by Gary G. Bitter and Melissa E. Pierson
Ten Easy Ways to Use Technology in the English Classroom by Hilve Firek
Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach by
Katherine Cennamo, John Ross, and Peggy Ertmer
Technology Websites:
Active Learning with Technology (ALT)
http://www.southcentralrtec.org/alt/alt.html
Virtual Field Trips
http://surfaquarium.com/IT/vft.htm
www.tramline.com Technology in Support of Teaching and Learning
Apple Learning Interchange
http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/ali/index.shtml
CARET-The Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology
http://caret.iste.org
EduWeb - Educational Web Adventures
http://www.eduweb.com/index2.html
George Lucas Education Foundation (GLEF)
http://glef.org
Handhelds
http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/gadgets.html
http://www.handheld.hice-dev.org
Internet Archive: Wayback Machine
http://webdev.archive.org/index.php
Laptop Programs
www.learningwithlaptops.org
http://wireless.mivu.org/edcorner
Learning to Learn: Thinking and Learning Skills
http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/projects.php?id=26
Learning with Technology
http://www.members.shaw.ca/priscillatheroux/images/default.html
National Center for Technology Planning
www.nctp.com
National Education Technology Standards Projects
http://cnets.iste.org
NICENET Internet Classroom Assistant (ICA)
http://www.nicenet.org
Tapped In
http://www.tappedin.org/
One-Computer Classroom
http://facweb.furman.edu/~pecoy/mfl195/onecomputer.html
One Computer Classroom Resources on the Internet
www.lttechno.com/links/onecomputerclassroom.html.
Reviews of Education Software
www.evalutech.sreb.org
Other Organizations that Review Resources.
www.evalutech.sreb.org/otherorgs/index.asp
techLEARNING.com
http://www.techlearning.com
T.H.E. Journal
www.thejournal.com
Educators Road Map
www.thejournal.com/highlights/roadmap/default.cfm .
Thirteen Ed Online
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline
ZD Net
www.zdnet.com


Likely findings will include ways to incorporate technology into teacher lesson plans, student work, and classroom setting.

3. DEVELOPING DEEPER UNDERSTANDING – Initial data gathering is likely to lead to additional questions and an effort to dig deeper in understanding the pros and cons and possible consequences of selecting certain solutions.

I plan to interview key stakeholders to discuss their views on technology in the classroom. I will also review surveys that have been distributed to stakeholders involved. I will continue further investigating into the use of technology in the classroom by reading literature and researching through websites. I will make classroom walkthroughs while taking field notes of my observations. I will participate in active listening and collaboration with all stakeholders and the technology committee. (A timeline of these activities has been documented in assignment part 2)

4. ENGAGE IN SELF-REFLECTION – You begin to ask some reflective questions regarding choices and consequences of particular policy solutions. Questions might include:

Does our campus have the technology resources for all students and classrooms to benefit?

How should we conduct a technology inventory of our campus?

What professional development should be offered to train teachers on the use of our technology resources?

What is our budget for adding new technology devices to our campus?


5. EXPLORING PROGRAMMATIC PATTERNS – After digging deeper and posing some of the reflective questions, begin to formulate a more definite solution, and begin to consider the programmatic impact of the solutions.

Talk with at length with your site supervisor and other people whose opinion you respect to determine the pros and cons of plausible solutions. What skills and resources do they think are essential to successful project implementation? The more pit-falls you can identify before you implement your solution, the better your project will work.

Are there enough technology resources for all classrooms?
What is our technology budget?
What should the process be to fix problems with our technology equipment?
How often should we update technology equipment?
Do the teachers know how to work the technology equipment?
How do we monitor the appropriate use of technology?


6. DETERMINING DIRECTION – You are about ready to launch your action research project but you must be able to answer these questions:

A. Are you clear on what you are attempting to solve?
How can we effectively incorporate technology to enhance student learning?
B. Have you adequately addressed the skills and resources questions? Yes
C. Have you established a collaborative approach to the issue? Yes, and will continue to.
D. Are your timelines realistic? Yes, but will be flexible if needed.
E. Do you have a reasonable plan to monitor the project? Yes, many sources of data.
F. Do you have a reasonable plan for determining the level of success – how do you evaluate if the plan is effective? Feedback, student performance data
G. How will you revise and improve the plan based on monitoring and evaluation? I will make revisions throughout the process. I will collaborate with the technology committee to make any needed changes.

7. TAKING ACTION FOR SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

You may want to organize one or more committees to assist you with your
action research project. You will definitely want to develop a written plan of
action. We suggest you use the appropriate template steps (see Chapter 7 Tool 7.1or ) to guide the implementation of your research project. You will want to monitor the project (formative evaluation) and prepare a summary report (summative evaluation) of the results of your action research project addressing the use of technology in the classroom.

I will be organizing a technology committee to collaborate with throughout this process. My action plan and timeline have been established. I will keep both of these flexible if they need to be changed.

8. SUSTAIN IMPROVEMENT

Learn to maintain the positive aspects of your action research project. Those things that improved the learning or cultural environment should be appreciated and maintained over time. For example, if your research revealed an effective use of technology in the classroom, you would want to share the results with others on your campus and in your school district. You would also want to share the results with your online colleagues. We also suggest that the process you used to gain additional skills and knowledge should be applied to other areas of your personal professional development.

I will choose to share the findings of my research project with many. First and foremost, I will share my findings with my campus. I will meet with the technology committee to review our findings. I will then meet with the Campus Site-Based Decision Making Committee. We will be able to compare the findings of the research to the Campus Improvement Plan established. I will also share my research with staff members during a faculty meeting. I will develop a power point presentation that will promote the use of technology in our classrooms while describing ways to use it and the results of doing so. Sharing the results with parents and students will be just as important. I can do this at a community meeting or through newsletters. This will allow for the promotion of technology outside of the school environment as well. Parents and students will leave with ways to incorporate educational practices with their technology they have access to outside of school. Lastly, I will share this information with other educators, schools, and leaders. The information may bring about a change at another campus department. I will be documenting, journaling, and reflecting on this action research project throughout the journey. Others may read about it on my blog: http://doteacherschangewithtime.blogspot.com/.