Group Video Project Reflection

I believe that the biggest contributor to our group’s success is our good working relationship. We have worked together before, and we make a good team. We each bring different skills to the team, are patient, and have a commitment to superior work.

One of the first things we did was create a new Google site to house our project plans and upload new content. It was divided up by week. We pasted all the content from each assignment onto its corresponding page, and updated it as we met. We typically meet on Google Wave. It allows everyone the opportunity to contribute and lets us keep a clear record of our plans.

We live in different parts of the state (far west, central, piney woods), so Google sites and Wave are indispensable tools for us. Since Alicia is the film expert, she took the lead on planning shots and handled the final edits. I have a background in writing, so I created the script outline and edited everyone’s contributions. Julie is the artist, so she created our storyboards and talked us through the plans.

We made all of our own content and did not hire actors, so we did not have to worry about copyright infringement. We did a thorough job, so nothing sticks out as a way we might have improved the public service announcement. It occurred to me after it was complete that it might have been interesting for us all to make a PSA from the same raw footage/script, to see how it turns out. But I do not believe that anything I would have made could top what Alicia did.

Don't Text, Don't Drive

Don't Text, Don't Drive by Alicia Brooks, Laura Hearnsberger, Julie Perez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Value of a Web Conference

Web conferences can be a great way to meet with others face to face when time or distance constraints make meeting in person difficult.

To be beneficial, it is important that certain rules be followed, just like at a traditional meeting.

The most important one, to me, is posting an agenda before the conference begins, and sticking to it. I have learned things at our Web conferences, but I feel like most of the time is spent troubleshooting. Since everyone is logged in as a presenter, anyone can mess up the view settings for everyone.

I do anticipate that our Web conferences will improve over time, and it is nice to be able to just go back and skim the notes. It saves time and is an invaluable resource.

How to Make a Simple iMovie

How to Make a Simple iMovie by Laura Hearnsberger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Windows Live Movie Maker vs. Apple iMovie

I have a limited background in movie editing. I purchased a *MacBook Pro in June that came equipped with iMovie. I have tinkered with it, making a few how-to videos from screen recordings, but I still feel like a novice. I frequently revisit Apple’s help site and YouTube tutorials.

For this assignment, I downloaded Windows Live Movie Maker to our family PC for comparison.

Because of my dubious credentials, I decided to focus on each program's value from the perspective of a teacher. I first made a list of things I felt a teacher would be most concerned with: cost, flexibility for imports and exports, functionality, and ease of use.

CostWhile both are considered “free,” it is only true for Windows Live Movie Maker. iMovie came with my Mac as part of iLife, but this software suite costs $79 ($71 for NBISD employees at Apple’s Web site). The least expensive Mac computer costs $949 with the educator discount (MacBook - Intel Core 2 Duo/13” Display/2GB Memory/250GB Hard Drive/Mac OS X Snow Leopard + iLife). A comparable PC from BestBuy (no educator discount) costs $719.99 (Toshiba - Satellite Laptop/Intel i5 Processor/14” Display/4GB Memory/500GB Hard Drive/Windows 7). That $200 difference adds up when making purchases for a whole school. Based on price, Windows Live Movie Maker beats iMovie.

FlexibilityBoth iMovie and Live Movie Maker can import video from cameras and movie files already on the computer. A movie filmed with my iPhone 3G easily worked in both. This is important, because many teachers who want students to use video editing software will not have time to troubleshoot file extensions. iMovie would not import the WMV sample video I took from the PC library, but Live Movie Maker was able to import QuickTime files from the Mac.

Exporting to multiple formats, including YouTube, DVD, and HD movie files (WMV on PC, QuickTime for Mac) was equally easy on both programs.

FunctionalityiMovie has a steeper learning curve, but neither program is too difficult to start using almost immediately. It is possible that I am judging iMovie more harshly because I had no video editing experience prior to using it. The Live Movie Maker interface is simple and easy to understand, but it does not allow for as much advanced editing as iMovie.

One feature that I particularly like about iMovie is the ability to preview individual frames in sequence while editing. At first, it appears that Live Movie Maker has the same capability, but it does not. You see the same frame repeated, not a preview.

Both programs have the ability to automatically turn imported audio and video into a movie, including adding transitions, a beginning and an ending. It is called “AutoMovie” in Live Movie Maker and “Themes” in iMovie. iMovie’s themes offer more variety.

Ease of UseAs a recent Mac convert, I have noticed a trend throughout the Mac platform: Mac stuff works great together. Pictures can be taken in PhotoBooth, edited in iPhoto, and uploaded into iMovie with ease. Problems sometimes arise when using files formatted on a PC (like a WMV). If you intend for all work to be done on the same computer (which is logical for movie-making), Mac cannot be beat.

*The MacBook Pro I purchased in June was my first non-PC, so I am still “PC-oriented” for the most part.

References

Apple education store. (2010, September). Retrieved from http://store.apple.com/us-k12

BestBuy. (2010, September). Retrieved from http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=-1848909986048795109&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=1006408&sc=Global&cp=1&nrp=15&sp=&qp=&list=n&iht=y&usc=All+Categories&ks=960

My Personal Story

Personal Digital Story Reflection

I enjoyed making my video, but it took a lot of work.

I knew I wanted it to be about my dog, but really about my husband and me, told with pictures of us and things that are important to us.

Many of the pictures that showed the beginning of our marriage were taken on film, so one of my first steps was to find and scan them. I went through the box with John, and we both enjoyed the feelings of nostalgia. At the same time, I started constructing sections of the script. Now that I was looking at the pictures, I was able to group them into logical chunks--food, trips, holidays, the lake and watch some themes emerge--home, family, etc.

I recorded the audio on my iPhone, then imported it to iMovie on my Mac. Using iPhoto, I divided the photos into the groups to be imported into the movie. Now came the trick part: making the pictures fit with the audio.

I am new to Mac (I got mine in July) and video production (I am a former yearbook teacher, not video), and I had some issues getting the timing to do what I wanted. I decided to take a more relaxed approach up front, then tweak the photos' locations at the end.

It worked, and we (John, Lou, and I) are pleased with the outcome.

Tool 8.1 CARE Model: Planning Tool (Harris, Edmonson, & Combs, 2010)

Identify Concerns that must change (look to the future)

1. need for as-needed support 
2. need for collaboration 
3. need for real-world, challenge-based instruction 

Identify Affirmations that must be sustained (look to the present)

1. high TAKS scores 
2. teacher ownership of classroom and student success 
3. low discipline problems 

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) Recommendations that must be implemented:

1. Monthly professional development centered around one aspect of 21st Century Instruction in the STaR Chart with follow-up classroom visits to support implementation. 
2. Volunteer inquiry-oriented teacher learning communities, with goal of producing future technology mentors 
3. Robust technology Web site with FAQ, anytime access to help, discussion board, STaR Chart breakdown, tips, forms for input, how-to’s, information from monthly professional development 

EVALUATE – Specifically and Often (Identify the best ways to evaluate the implemented recommendations.)

1. *Level I, participants’ reactions: Interviews/discussion board 
2. *Level II, participants’ learning: discussion/board/surveys 
3. *Level III, organizational support and change: surveys 
4. *Level IV, participants’ use of new knowledge and skills: lesson plans/discussion board/surveys/classroom visits 
5. *Level V, student learning outcomes: artifacts/classroom visits/pictures/videos/benchmarks 
6. Summative: 2011 STaR Chart Results (“District and Campus,” 2003). 

*“Critical levels of professional development evaluation” are formative assessments to guide activities (Guskey, 1998).

References

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education, Inc.

Guskey, T.R. (1998). “The age of our accountability.” Journal of Staff Development, 19(4).

Potential Action Research Challenges and Their Solutions

Specific challenges I foresee in implementing my action research study:

• Administrator support 
• Perceived time constraints 
• “I would, but last time...” or “I would but, the students...” or “I would but, the network...” or “I would, but...” General negativity from a vocal few. 
• Digital “tourists” 
• “Back in my day...” types 
• People not knowing my role 
• People being unaware of the initiative 
• Not enough technology available to support initiative 

I intend to address these challenges by following Malcolm Gladwell’s suggestions for fostering epidemic behavior in “The Tipping Point.”

“Three characteristics--one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment--are the same principles that define how measles moves through a grade school classroom or the flu attacks every winter” (Gladwell, 2002).

Social epidemics are “driven by the efforts of a handful of exceptional people... It’s things like how sociable they are, or how energetic or knowledgeable or influential among their peers” that empower these people to start an epidemic.(Gladwell (2002).

Gladwell identifies three critical types of influential people. “In a social epidemic, Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. But there is also a select group of people--Salesman--with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing” (Gladwell, 2002).

It will be my job to make sure that my message (I am here to help you integrate technology, and this is for real. You can trust me.) is “sticky” by getting it to the “mavens,” “connectors,” and “salesmen” on campus.

For now I do not intend to put much direct effort into converting the technophobes and obstreperous. Ideally, they will get caught up in the epidemic I create.

As for the availability of technology, the final challenge on my list, I believe that teacher demand as a result of my technology epidemic will take care of it.

References

Gladwell, M. (2002). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a BIg Difference (Kindle Edition). New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Action Plan

Goal 
NBHS will be rated “Target” in all key areas of the Texas Campus STaR Chart by May 2015.

Objective/Topic 
Help teachers at NBHS meet “advanced” in the key areas of “Teaching and Learning” and “Educator Preparation and Development” on the 2010-2011 Texas Campus STaR Chart.

Action One 
Monthly professional development centered around one aspect of 21st Century Instruction in the STaR Chart with follow-up classroom visits to support implementation.

Persons responsible
Laura Hearnsberger
Teachers

Timeline
Throughout year 
Monthly, based on participants’ schedules

Resources 
Computer lab

Action Two 
Volunteer inquiry-oriented teacher learning communities, with goal of producing future technology mentors

Persons responsible
Laura Hearnsberger
Teachers

Timeline
Throughout year
August during teacher in-service
First Tuesday of each month thereafter
Classroom visits throughout month

Resources
Computer lab 
Promotion

Action Three 
Robust technology Web site with FAQ, anytime access to help, discussion board, STaR Chart breakdown, tips, forms for input, how-to’s, information from monthly professional development

Persons responsible
Laura Hearnsberger
Other Technology Curriculum Integration Specialists

Timeline
Content updated at least weekly throughout year 
Discussion board changes constantly with new teacher posts

Resources
Computer lab 
Promotion
NCTE Ning, as example

Evaluation 
*Level I, participants’ reactions: Interviews/discussion board
*Level II, participants’ learning: discussion/board/surveys
*Level III, organizational support and change: surveys
*Level IV, participants’ use of new knowledge and skills: lesson plans/discussion board/surveys/classroom visits
*Level V, student learning outcomes: artifacts/classroom visits/pictures/videos/benchmarks
Summative: 2011 STaR Chart Results (“District and Campus,” 2003).

*“Critical levels of professional development evaluation” are formative assessments to guide activities (Guskey, 1998).

References 
Dana, N.F. (2009). Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as Action Researcher. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Education Service Center, Region XV. (2003). District and campus planning and decision making (PowerPoint).

Guskey, T.R. (1998). “The age of our accountability.” Journal of Staff Development, 19(4).

Harris, S., Edmonson, S., & Combs, J. (2010). Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools: 8 Steps from Analysis to Action. Larchmont, NY: Eye On Education, Inc.

Hearnsberger, L.M. (2009, September). On blogging well [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://onbloggingwell.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

Pitler, H. (2005). McREL technology initiative: The development of a technology intervention program final report (Contract Number ED-01-CO-0006). Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. (ERIC Document Reporduction Service No. ED486685) Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED486685.pdf

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, CO: McREL.

Schlecty, P.C. (2001). Inventing Better Schools: An Action Plan for Educational Reform. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.

Texas Education Agency, Instructional Materials and Educational Technology Division. (2009). School technology and readiness: a teacher tool for planning and self-assessing aligned with the long-range plan for technology, 2006-2010.Austin, TX: Retrieved from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/starchart

Action Research Topic

As a teacher with daily access to a computer lab and former grade school student who thrived during challenge-based activities, and current graduate student in educational technology, I have made my class a model of constructivism and 21st century instruction. I encourage students to explore new ideas, provide them with technology that they often know better than I do (firewire, digital video cameras, Photoshop), and let them explore a topic with my help. Since I am the yearbook advisor, these practices come with the territory, but I have expanded them into my English I and Journalism I classes.

I have also seen student technology use encouraged by some of my colleagues teaching core courses: a physics teacher maintains a database of student-created problem solving videos; a government teacher uses PowerPoint to create flashcards that are viewable on a smart-phone; English teachers often require a multi-media presentation of research findings by their students. But these “pockets of innovation” (Henderson, personal conversation) don’t become an instructional habit for all lessons or for all teachers. When I researched NBHS performance on the Texas Campus STaR Chart for EDLD5306, I discovered that no teacher at New Braunfels High School operates at the target level. Our rating in the “Teaching and Learning” subcategory went from “acceptable” to “developing” during school year 2008-2009 and we only rate as “advanced” in one category: Infrastructure. (The other two categories are “Educator Preparation” and “Administration & Support” (Hearnsberger, 2009).

These reasons had led me to the topic I posted on July 24: "How can I alter the culture and practice of NBHS technology staff development to make initiatives 'sticky'?" But as I looked for resources and reviewed lectures, notes, and readings from previous classes, I realized that I wasn't asking the right question. Technology is already "sticky." There has even already been a plan put in place by the State of Texas. So I changed my topic again, and it fits this time. I practically haven't stopped working since it came to me yesterday afternoon.

How can I Help teachers at NBHS meet “advanced” in the key areas of “Teaching and Learning” and “Educator Preparation and Development” on the 2010-2011 Texas Campus STaR Chart.

Finalized Research Topic (as of now)

How can I alter the culture and practice of NBHS technology staff development to make initiatives "sticky"?

Three Possible Action Research Topics

I have narrowed it down to three possible topics, but I am open to change:

• investigate the culture and practice of staff development and its relationship to the "stickiness" of technology initiatives at NBHS (link to similar study: http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED486685.pdf)
• find the best mode for implementing inquiry-oriented teacher learning communities centered around 21st century instruction at NBHS (related *articles attached)
• make collaborating on instruction, via an online discussion board, a "habit of mind" for NBHS teachers (link to example: http://ncte2008.ning.com/forum/topic/list)

Let me know what you think.

*attached articles:
McTighe, J. "Making the most of professional learning communities." Learning Principal. 3.8 (2008): Print.

Wiliam, D. "Changing classroom practice." Educational Leadership. (2008): Print.

Potential Action Research Topics

The purpose of my proposed action research is to identify how best to implement a shift to 21st century instruction at New Braunfels High School. Specifically, I will investigate the culture and practice of staff development and its relationship to the “stickiness” of technology initiatives.

With the results, I hope to create and implement a “comprehensive, research-based model of professional development that helps teachers integrate technology into their classroom instruction, and ultimately, helps students achieve challenging content standards” (Pitler, 2005).

References

Pitler, H. (2005). McREL technology initiative: The development of a technology intervention program final report (Contract Number ED-01-CO-0006). Aurora, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. (ERIC Document Reporduction Service No. ED486685) Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED486685.pdf.

Inquiry-Oriented Learning Communities

What I Have Learned About Action Research

I became interested in action research projects, specifically ones implemented as part of a teacher learning community, during EDLD5333: Leadership for Accountability. The concept, a sidebar to an article by Jay McTighe, was only briefly mentioned, but it seemed like a great way to get everyone at school invested in meaningful reform. I even incorporated it into the professional development I created for my next class, EDLD5368: Instructional Design. It can be seen here (e-mail: nbisdtech@gmail.com, password: unicorn).

Until reading the first chapter of the Dana text, I had not considered that action research can "slow down the harried pace" in a workday (2009). This means that it is a time utilizer, not waster. This is an important benefit, since I intend to recruit teachers into learning communities this fall as part of my new position as Technology Curriculum Integration Specialist, and anticipate hesitance for fear of wasting time.

How I Will Be Able to Use It

My primary goal in my new position is to facilitate a shift toward 21st century instruction distrcit-wide, not just creating small "pockets of innovation" (Maria Henderson, Apple Education Development Executive, personal communication) that go away when a teacher switches schools or lacks support.

To that end, I will will implement inquiry-oriented learning communities this fall, with teachers pondering, researching, and meeting the 21st century needs of our students. I am basing my communities on the model discussed by Dylan Wiliam in "Changing Classroom Practice." He suggests planning "for the teacher learning community to run for at least two years," "start[ing] with volunteers," meeting "monthly for at least 75 minutes," aiming "for a group size of 8-10," trying "to group teachers with similar assignments," establishing "building-based groups," requiring participants "to make detailed, modest, individual action plans," and having "a facilitator, but not a guru" (2009).

Wiliam's model will work perfectly with inquiry-oriented learning communities. Since there is no guru in the room, teachers will work together to generate ideas, conduct research, and make plans. I also intend to have teachers share their progress on the district technology Web site, so others' can learn from their successes and failures.

Technology implementation has been stagnant at the high school for years (see "Teaching and Learning" post), and I hope that action research and my continuous support will help teachers embrace the possibilities of the constructivism and challenge-based learning that comprises 21st century instruction.

How Educational Leaders Might Use It

Education leaders should use action research to foster a culture of continuous learning at their schools.

Whether principals are instituting this model in their own buildings or replicating this model with groups of other principals to serve as role models for their teachers back in their own buildings, the success of inquiry-oriented learning community work within a school is directly tied to how aware and connected principals are to the PLC work unfolding in their buildings (Dana, 2009).

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

McTighe, J. (2008). Making the most of professional learning communities. The Learning Principal, 3(8), 7.

Wiliam, D. (2008). Changing classroom practice. Educational Leadership, 65(4), 36-42.