EDLD 5362 - Information Systems Management: Week3 SIS Evaluation

Areas To Address	Your Findings and Evaluation
Total Cost of Software Ownership (including reoccurring and ongoing costs)	According to Plano ISD’s SIS Project Manager, PISD runs multimillion dollar student information systems.  The Plano ISD technology department also has ongoing funding support in the following areas: -technology/curriculum support staff- $6,480,922 -staff development PDH courses- $1,033,022 -technology support staff (district based) and operating budget- $12,232,814
Software Features Set	Pinnacle: Pinnacle SIS has many features including; registration and enrollment, performance-based schedule management, demographics, attendance tracking, discipline management, grade management, health and immunization data, transportation information, test scores, assessment, programs, and athletics.  SAS: SAS SIS has many features including; student assessment, college readiness spreadsheets, student exams and diagnostic data, student learning growth charts, scale score distribution reports, final exam reporting, demographic summaries, and spreadsheets grouped by ethnicity, economically disadvantaged, and STAAR/TAKS scores.
Texas-specific Functionality	The SAS SIS allows teachers and administrators to view their students MAP testing scores from the BOY, MOY, and EOY.  It also houses the student literacy assessment data from IRIs, spelling diagnostics, and writing sample scores.  The system will display the assessment scores as a whole classroom, or individual student.  The MAP scores are broken down into specific content strands/skills.  This way it can pre-identify students in need of tier II and tier III instruction in every subject area.  It can also identify students who are highly gifted in specific subject areas.  As students move through the district from K-12, their SAS student profile will follow them too.  It is great that you can access a new student file as long as they cam from within Plano ISD.  Pinnacle allows teachers to input grades, and then allows for the parents to access this information.
Ease of Use and Reporting	SAS: From my own experience, SAS is somewhat user friendly.  Inputting the data can be a time consuming process.  You can easily print out student assessment data and student growth charts.  This is helpful for parent-teacher conferences.  It is also easy for the district office to view our testing information data for analyzing purposes.  Pinnacle: The Pinnacle SIS is very easy to use.  I have only seen a few maintenance issues throughout this year.  Teachers can easily print out report cards, progress reports, student assignment reports, missing assignment reports, class summary reports, and attendance reports.  Pinnacle makes it very easy to communicate with parents and students about how their student is progressing throughout the year.
Customer Support and Experience of the Support Staff	Customer support for SAS is offered through the PISD Help Desk, as well as, online manuals.  Support for Pinnacle is offered through live customer service, email, and online manuals. Feedback is usually given within the hour.  There is no additional charge for customer support as long as you are under contract.    According to a recent staff survey, 97% of our staff members feel that they have all or most of the technology tools they need to do their job (up from 92% in 2007).
Thorough User Training in the Software System	As new technologies are introduced into the classroom, training sessions are included in PISD’s implementation plan.  The district offers a multitude of courses tanging from introductory to advanced content specific experiences.  The district provides trainings during the workday, before and after school, during the summer months, and during regular and early release staff development days.  There is SAS and Pinnacle training offered at new teacher trainings at the beginning of each school year too.  There are also training materials located online at http://k-12.pisd.edu/ for easy access by all staff members to enable “just-in-time” training options.  On-site trainings are also available to review technologies on request.  The cost of providing this level of professional development is around $1,033,002 of district funds along with donated staff time after hours.

EDLD 5362 - Information Systems Management: Week 2

EDLD 5362 Information Systems Management: Week 1 Internet Interview

The rapid growth of information, coupled with the ability to exchange it more rapidly among more people than ever before, is creating a new environment for education (Hitlin, P., & Rainie, L., 2005).  The Internet has empowered the world to do things that were never thought possible not too long ago.  Through my interview with Sherri Dent, professional educator of over twenty years, I was able to shed some light on what the use of the Internet has done in the field of elementary education.  

Before the Internet, teachers had to put forth more time and effort into planning the day-to-day instruction to ensure that their students were receiving a high quality education that encompassed all of the TEKS.  Mrs. Dent said that she had to do the research herself so that she could adjust the lesson plans to meet the needs of her students.  She would create lessons for those students who were struggling and for those who needed a more challenging experience.  She would also go to other grade level teachers to get ideas.  Now, she uses the Internet to do more research on a topic she is teaching.  She also teaches the students how to use the Internet. “I can use the internet to gain more information on any given topic and then use that information in the teaching of my lesson” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).  She believes her lessons are more up to date and therefore the students can relate to the topic and how it applies to their everyday lives.  Mrs. Dent used to only be able to read to the children, and can now show them.   If the students have questions they can both look the answer up together and get immediate feedback.

“Learning is about reinventing the wheel, and may all learners have the opportunity to do so. The educator is merely a midwife in this process” (Arsham, 2002).  Even since I have been teaching in the district, our reading and language arts curriculum has made mountains of improvements and reinventing the wheel in the technology department.  Mrs. Dent said that she did not have near the resources available for her reading groups.  “I basically choose stories that would enrich my grammar and phonics skill for the week and read those” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).   Mrs. Dent’s groups were leveled but she was not able to give them more challenging assignments because her reading and language arts resources were very limited.  Today, she uses the Internet to access books on line (E-books). There are many programs that Mrs. Dent uses to teach all the language arts topics.  The reading series is on-line and it covers everything from phonics and grammar to reading comprehension.  Having a reading series that has integrated technology allows her to set the students’ assignments to their individual levels on the computer. 

In the content area of mathematics, it was set up much like the language arts curriculum.  Mrs. Dent shared that the lessons were taught straight from the math book, and she basically followed the flow of the book.  Her math lessons were mainly given in a whole group setting with very little differentiation.  Mrs. Dent today uses all kinds of math programs that she has access through the Internet.  “I am able to set goals for each student and keep track of their individual learning needs in any specific math related content area” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).  She also mentioned that the educational games she utilizes make learning fun for her students, instead of the old school method of “skill and drill”.  Based on the findings of the Pew Internet and American life project, 55% of parents say that it is essential for today’s children to learn how to use the Internet in order to be successful and another 40% believe it is important (Graziano, M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M., 2001). 

Science and Social Studies lessons came straight from the teacher edition manuals before the use of the Internet.  Mrs. Dent said that if they needed to do any research, they would have to take the entire class to the school library.  Dent stated that today she uses the Internet to enhance all areas of science and social studies.  “When I teach about a historical person from the past I can pull up an enormous amount of information and pictures for my class to see” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).  They can see how science works by actually experiencing it first hand via the Internet.  Things of the past are made possible in the future by the click of the mouse.  Mrs. Dent said that she uses the Internet more in these two content areas and in any other area she teaches. 

Day-to-day procedures before the use of the Internet were more time consuming.  Taking attendance, lunch count, and correspondence with parents all had to be conducted through notes or phone calls stated Mrs. Dent.  She had to keep up with the number of absences and excuse notes all on paper.  When it came to lesson plans they were all hand written in a plan book and she not able to share my ideas with others across the district.  Now, Mrs. Dent can correspond with teachers across my district about any topic via email.  They share ideas and lesson plans on a weekly basis.  “I have a small percent of the paperwork I had prior to the Internet and less access to information on the students” (S. Dent, personal communication, April 9, 2013).  She also mentioned that our curriculum in available to us via the curriculum planner online and the lessons have video streams, websites and games built in.  This advance in technology makes the students’ learning more meaningful, and allows for the teachers to spend time on individualizing the lessons for small group instruction.  According to Levin and Arafeh’s article on the widening gap between internet-savvy students and their schools, students want to be assigned more—and more engaging—Internet activities that are relevant to their lives. Indeed, many students assert that this would significantly improve their attitude toward school and learning  (Levin, D., & Arafeh, S., 2002).  We are thankful that our district is already on board with many of these Internet provided learning experiences. 

References

Arsham, H. (2002, March). Impact of the Internet on learning and teaching. USDLA Journal, 16.3. Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html

Dent, S. (2013, April 9).  Personal Interview

Graziano, M., Lenhart, A., & Simon, M. (2001, September 1). The internet and education: Findings of the pew internet and American life project. Pew Internet and American Life Project.  Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2001/PIP_Schools_Report.pdf.pd

Hitlin, P., & Rainie, L. (2005). The internet at school. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2005/PIP_Internet_and_schools_05.pdf.pdf

Levin, D., & Arafeh, S. (2002). The digital disconnect: The widening gap between internet-savvy students and their schools. Pew Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2002/PIP_Schools_Internet_Report.pdf.pdf

    

Let the Action Research Begin!

Lamar Documents - HManess Google Site

I have created a new page on my Google site that we created in our last course.  The page will house important documents that I need to keep on file throughout my Masters program.  I have already filed my internship plan, signed and approved action research plan, student surveys, and a link to my blog: edtechtalk.

One specific topic of interest that caught my interest were the many uses for blogging in an educational community.  I have read many of my friends' blogs to keep up with their day-to-day activities, but had never thought about using it as an educational resource.  I have loved getting to post weekly reflections, and receive professional feedback from my classmates.  Using the blog for reflective purposes seems so much more relevant it today's ever-changing educational world.  I look forward to keeping up with my blog throughout this program, and then into my future.  

I would like to learn more about strategies like Force Field Analysis that focus on continued growth in the educational setting. Below is an example that I created using Force Field Analysis in my ARP.  I love that it includes the positive and negative forces that can either drive one to change, or resist one against change.

In order to build my knowledge in this area I will continue to find opportunities where these types of strategies would be beneficial to sustain growth and improvement.  I would love to be part of a large decision making committee at my campus level where I could integrate many of these practices in a real world setting. 

Upcoming Challenges and the Delphi Method

This week has been hard.  My sweet grandfather passed away this week.  It's so hard to stay focused and motivated when there are things going on in your life that are unavoidable and heartbreaking.  It was a true blessing to get comments from my sweet classmates on our class Facebook page.  It's funny how people you have never met in person can have the exact things to say that you need to hear at that specific moment in time.

ANYWAY...

I'm going to share some of the challenges that could come up in the future.  This time of the school year is SO BUSY!  

Time is going to be a challenge for me when it comes to implementing my action research project.  Thinking of how busy school is right now with STAAR testing right around the corner, I can already feel myself begin to stress.  In order to address this challenge, I plan on prioritizing my the daily assignments and ordering them from most important to least.  This will help me feel like I am accomplishing the specific things that I need to get completed.  

Daily demands will also be a struggle when it comes to implementing my action research plan.  On a daily basis, one has to teach all day, lead tier II and tier III intervention groups, reading and math tutorials after school, mentor beginning teachers, plan upcoming instruction, and somehow find the time to enter grades in the grade book.  Daily demands can make one feel like participating in an action research project will be extremely tiring.  However, it helps to remember why we do what we do in the first place.  Keeping the students' needs at the front of my daily demands will help me problem solve, and keep things in check.  

After examining the Delphi Method, I found this website that went more in depth about what it was, and provided a great visual!  

Alison Ruge's Delphi Method Explanation

Action Research Plan

Wow... what a week!  I feel like I need a BREAK from Spring Break!  From the Facebook feed, it seems like I'm not alone with these thoughts!  Below is my draft for my action research plan.  I will be meeting with my site supervisor next week when we return from spring break to get her feedback as well!  Hope everyone is having a great week, and remember Don't STRESS!

School Vision: Our Mission Statement: Uniting a community of self-directed, life-long learners within a challenging and nurturing environment dedicated to excellence
Action Research Question: Examine the effectiveness and motivation related to using traditional reading fluency and comprehension interventions (paper based) with technology enhanced fluency and comprehension interventions.
Goal:  To implement technology enhanced lessons into tier 3 interventions in reading fluency and comprehension, and to increase student motivation during these individualized instructional lessons.
Action Steps	Person(s) Responsible	Timeline	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Survey my PAR (Plano Accelerated Reading) students to identify things they like or dislike about the current traditional paper based comprehension and fluency interventions.	Hannah Maness	April, 2013	Student Survey	Use survey results to guide the action research process.
Review PAR students’ assessment data from the BOY and MOY (IRI level, and fluency rate).  Traditional paper based interventions were used during BOY and MOY.	Hannah Maness	April, 2013	Student assessment information, IRI results, and fluency cwpm results from the BOY and MOY.	Analyze assessment data, and determine different areas needing continued growth in order to be reading on level by the EOY third grade.
Identify current research on using technology-enhanced programs/applications specifically in the areas of reading fluency and comprehension.	Hannah Maness	May, 2013	Educational Technology Literature focusing on best applications and programs to use in the general education classroom, and during tier three interventions.	Reflections from information gathered from the literature, and incorporate in my tier three instruction plans.
Interpret data from the literature review and reflect on technology programs and applications that will best meet my students’ specific needs.	Hannah Maness	May, 2013	Technology Related Literature	Reflect on new information learned from literature review, and use it in my tier three instruction.
Incorporate technology enhanced instruction into my tier three reading intervention groups.	Hannah Maness	June, 2013	Reading and fluency applications and programs	Tier three observations, field notes, and student feedback.
Completion of EOY assessment data (IRI reading comprehension and fluency rates)	Hannah Maness	June, 2013	Student assessment information, IRI results, and fluency cwpm results from the EOY.	Compare the reading assessment information from the BOY/MOY  (paper-based) with the EOY (technically enhanced).
End of the year student survey to identify what they were motivated by throughout the technology enhanced interventions.  What did they like, and what did they not like.	Hannah Maness	August, 2013	Student Survey	Compare student survey data from the beginning of the plan to the end of the plan.
Present my research and data collected to another grade level teacher, and have them incorporate technology enhanced reading interventions into their tier three learning groups, and report the findings.	Hannah Maness and Cody McGregor	June, 2014	All relevant data from action research project.  Including literature review, student surveys, and observation notes	Compare and analyze the effectiveness of the technology enhanced programs and applications between grade levels.  Present information to site supervisor.
Format based on Tool 7.1 Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools (Harris, Edmondson, and Combs 2010)

Action Research Update!

Read On!

I'm getting more excited about starting the action research project (even though it's a few weeks off).  The action research study that I am interested in is to examine the effectiveness and motivation related to using traditional reading fluency and comprehension interventions (paper based) with technology enhanced fluency and comprehension interventions.  I am excited to begin this research topic because in my own tier two and tier three reading groups, motivation can be a clear factor when it comes to how successful the students are.  I have been conducting reading intervention reading groups for the last seven years, and know how effective quality reading intervention can be to the struggling reader.  We have great paper based resources to use for fluency and comprehension interventions  but, I'm not sure the motivation is there for the students to grow as much as they are capable of.  I'm wondering if adding technology enhanced interventions will encourage and motivate these students to work harder, and in the end show greater growth.
The people who will benefit the most from my research will be the struggling readers in my classroom.  The other teachers at my campus will also benefit from this action research project because I will then be able to take my data and report my findings.  The students will benefit because they will hopefully be actively engaged, and highly motivated during my tier two and tier three reading groups.  As most of you know, getting a struggling reader excited about reading is a constant hardship.  In the end, I'm looking forward to see a continued growth in my reading intervention groups.

This is one of my favorite fluency apps that I have on my iPad.  There is a free version that gives most of the basic functions.  Then the priced version will allow you to actually log in multiple students, and it will keep track of their individual progress.  If you're looking for a great elementary reading fluency app. then give it a try!

Source: itunes.apple.com via Susan on Pinterest