Web conferencing is a powerful educational tool. It can bring together students from across the country or across the globe in one virtual classroom. This virtual classroom is a haven to exchange ideas and help one another learn in many formats. It takes the “distance” out of distance learning.
Web conferencing can be a very formal or informal event. Facilitators can lead in a more formal lecture-style fashion with questions at the conclusion of the lecture or attendees can exchange questions and answers with one another and the facilitator in a more informal discussion format. This form of communication’s range of possibilities is endless.
Web conferencing gives distance learning a more personal touch than would be normally allowed. It makes education more intimate and allows the student to connect with the instructor and other students which would traditionally be missing in a conventional distance education setting.
As with all technology, the only barrier to this tool is the possibility of technical difficulties. One must bear in mind, “stuff” happens, and you will get through the challenges and eventually it will run smoothly. The more familiar one gets with the operation of a new system the better it will work.
All in all, web conferencing can be a wonderful instrument to use in education, especially distance education. Educators need to use this tool to create wonderful centers of learning with a more personal touch.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saturday, April 24, 2010
LMS STaR Chart Summary
LMS's overall STaR Chart scores dropped slightly. All key areas were classified as developing technology for the 2008-2009 school year. Key areas should improve with last year's implementation of three technology integrated components.
LMS STaR Chart Summary
View more presentations from Tammy Alford.
National Educational Technology Plan (NETP): Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology
The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP): Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology draft was released March 5th of this year. The plan is calling for action in educating America’s youth in technology so we can prosper and grow as a nation. The current administration is focused on achieving two goals through this plan. One is to increase the number of two and four-year degree college graduates to sixty percent of the American population. The second goal is to help everyone regardless of socio-economic standing to achieve a college education and lucrative career. These are considerable goals but can be achieved with everyone’s combined effort.
The NETP has developed five goals to achieve the goals set by the administration. These include goals in learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Learning should not only be “engaging and empowering” but it should ready students to compete in a global economy not only ethically but also with wisdom and imagination. Assessment should be used to gage achievement and to calculate what really matters. Teachers should be connected and professionally developed to motivate successful learning. Learners and teachers should have 24/7 infrastructure in place to retrieve the information they need. Technology should be developed more advanced and reasonable requiring less investment of time and personnel.
We live in a global marketplace with the most advanced technologies available at our fingertips. There is no reason for America to be in the economic distress we are currently witnessing. We have access to the best educational institutions in the world yet we have just a mere thirty-nine percent of our population receiving this education. Through the achievement of the NETP goals, we should once again see America as the leading nation.
The NETP has developed five goals to achieve the goals set by the administration. These include goals in learning, assessment, teaching, infrastructure, and productivity. Learning should not only be “engaging and empowering” but it should ready students to compete in a global economy not only ethically but also with wisdom and imagination. Assessment should be used to gage achievement and to calculate what really matters. Teachers should be connected and professionally developed to motivate successful learning. Learners and teachers should have 24/7 infrastructure in place to retrieve the information they need. Technology should be developed more advanced and reasonable requiring less investment of time and personnel.
We live in a global marketplace with the most advanced technologies available at our fingertips. There is no reason for America to be in the economic distress we are currently witnessing. We have access to the best educational institutions in the world yet we have just a mere thirty-nine percent of our population receiving this education. Through the achievement of the NETP goals, we should once again see America as the leading nation.
Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020
The Progress Report on the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, was released in December of 2008 by the Texas Education Agency. Overall the plan is realizing improvements in all mandated areas. The largest advancements were seen in leadership, administration, and instructional support and infrastructure for technology.
Leadership, administration, and instructional support jumped seven percent in the advanced and target technology progress levels with infrastructure for technology moving up six percent in the same levels. The area of leadership, administration, and instructional support is just shy of having half of Texas campuses falling in the advanced and target technology levels with four percent of those in target technology. A vast sixty-four percent of the state’s schools are in the upper technology progress levels for infrastructure in technology with seven percent in the highest target technology level. These two areas are very critical in seeing improvements in the two weakest achieving areas.
The two poorest performing areas are educator preparation and development and teaching and learning. Teaching and learning has twenty-five percent of the schools falling in the advanced and target technology progress levels. Although, teaching and learning did see a five percent improvement in the highest progress levels, there still remains much room for achievement. Educator and preparation and development only saw a three percent improvement with a total of twenty-one percent of the schools falling into the advanced and target technology progress levels. These areas are not where they need to be for Texas to meet its Long Range Plan goals. Increases were seen so progress is being made but not at the level we need to meet those goals.
Leadership, administration, and instructional support jumped seven percent in the advanced and target technology progress levels with infrastructure for technology moving up six percent in the same levels. The area of leadership, administration, and instructional support is just shy of having half of Texas campuses falling in the advanced and target technology levels with four percent of those in target technology. A vast sixty-four percent of the state’s schools are in the upper technology progress levels for infrastructure in technology with seven percent in the highest target technology level. These two areas are very critical in seeing improvements in the two weakest achieving areas.
The two poorest performing areas are educator preparation and development and teaching and learning. Teaching and learning has twenty-five percent of the schools falling in the advanced and target technology progress levels. Although, teaching and learning did see a five percent improvement in the highest progress levels, there still remains much room for achievement. Educator and preparation and development only saw a three percent improvement with a total of twenty-one percent of the schools falling into the advanced and target technology progress levels. These areas are not where they need to be for Texas to meet its Long Range Plan goals. Increases were seen so progress is being made but not at the level we need to meet those goals.
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, Educator Preparation and Development Plan
The Texas Long Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020, Educator Preparation and Development Plan wants educators emerging from their respective college programs prepared for today’s 21st century learners and how to educate them using up-to-date technology. Professional development for these educators will need to keep them on the leading edge of technology through the use of mentoring, co-learning, distance and online educational programs.
Educator Preparation and Development is currently the lowest performing area of the Texas Long Range Plan according to the Texas STaR Chart, 2008-2009. Seventy-five percent of the Texas schools reporting fell into the early or developing technology category of the report. Although this is a seven percent improvement over the first report year, 2006-2007, there are still great strides required in this area to meet the goals of the plan.
Texas has the enterprising goal that by 2020 students will be prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century and its technology. The state can achieve this by implementing school programs focusing on learner-centered projects using technology, vertically aligned technology curriculum, 24/7 student access to online resources, all educators meeting state education standards in technology, administrators focusing on the integration of technology, and schools using a minimum of thirty percent of their professional development budget on technology training.
Schools are slowly but surely going to come close to meeting or exceeding this plan’s goal by the year 2020. The first steps in many schools are to build up the necessary infrastructure and get leadership, administrative, and instructional support so the other areas such as educator preparation and development can grow. These two areas are currently with the majority being in the advanced tech area and slowly rising which is a sure sign of progress and future success.
Educator Preparation and Development is currently the lowest performing area of the Texas Long Range Plan according to the Texas STaR Chart, 2008-2009. Seventy-five percent of the Texas schools reporting fell into the early or developing technology category of the report. Although this is a seven percent improvement over the first report year, 2006-2007, there are still great strides required in this area to meet the goals of the plan.
Texas has the enterprising goal that by 2020 students will be prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century and its technology. The state can achieve this by implementing school programs focusing on learner-centered projects using technology, vertically aligned technology curriculum, 24/7 student access to online resources, all educators meeting state education standards in technology, administrators focusing on the integration of technology, and schools using a minimum of thirty percent of their professional development budget on technology training.
Schools are slowly but surely going to come close to meeting or exceeding this plan’s goal by the year 2020. The first steps in many schools are to build up the necessary infrastructure and get leadership, administrative, and instructional support so the other areas such as educator preparation and development can grow. These two areas are currently with the majority being in the advanced tech area and slowly rising which is a sure sign of progress and future success.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
