EDLD 5352 - Week 5 - Reflections Part 2

Week 5 – 5.2 – Reflections & Status Report

·      Reflections/Status Report of Tech Skills/Knowledge gained in this course: 

o   This course was helpful in allowing me to have my technology toolkit refreshed.  We were required to review Web 2.0 tools and share this information with our team members.

o   Google Document – we were required to use a Google document on which to collaborate with our group members.  I can see that this would have been useful to a person who had never used a cloud based storage to share documents with peers.  It is very similar to the Dropbox account I have been using for a while.

·      Campus-Supervised Internship Activities –

o   This summer, I have completed one task on my internship plan.  This task was the creation of my three year professional growth plan which I completed during my last course.

o   I am nearing the end of my internship and have 7 more tasks to complete.  With school starting soon, I have no doubts that I will quickly finish these 7 tasks.

·      Action Research Project –

o   My Action Research Project is almost finished.  The actual “project” portion is complete.  I must now review the data, evaluate the outcome and finish writing my Action Research Report.  I began writing the ARR during the last course I completed.

EDLD 5352 - Week 5 - Reflections

Week 5 – 5.1 – Web Conference Reflections

·      Web Conference Reflections –

o  I am afraid I do not have very many positive things to reflect upon regarding our web conferences.  I have attended three conferences.

§  Conference 1 – week 2 – this conference was frustrating for all involved because we had many technological issues.  The first 40 minutes or so of the conference were spent troubleshooting audio problems.  The remaining time was spent in a Q & A format, but because audio was poor, I could only hear every fourth or fifth word, so I had to do a lot of inferencing to figure out what the instructors were saying.  I noticed this web conference was never posted for students unable to attend the live conference.

§  Conference 2 – Week 3 – this conference was also extremely frustrating, but for different reasons.  The professor started to review the week 3 assignment which many students had questions about.  He started to review the assignment, but only got as far as the learning outcomes.  Once he came to the actual instructions for the assignment, he stopped reviewing and began asking random discussion questions.  It gave the impression that he was unfamiliar with the week 3 assignment. He refused to answer questions about the assignment and, instead, told us to contact him after the web conference for clarifications on the assignment.  I saw no point to this web conference.  This web conference was also never posted for students who were unable to attend the live conference.

§  Conference 3 – Week 4 – this conference was much better.  There were minimal technological difficulties and the professor (a different professor) was open, friendly, and willing to answer any questions posed by students.  This conference was posted for students unable to attend.

Update of my Action Research Plan....so far, not bad...

My Action Research Plan is to answer the question:  Is Think Through Math and effective intervention for math?  The State of Texas is furnishing public school students interventions in Reading and Math through the Student Success Initiative (SSI).  They have funded the use of Think Through Math and iStation for public school students in grades 3-8. 

Getting Think Through Math (TTM) started was not as easy as I anticipated.  The software appears highly motivational and fun on the surface.  However, I am not sure the company was quite prepared to be launched state-wide when it was released.  There are many components that are still works in progress – some components are highly important, such as reports!    The few reports that are available on the website do not have a printable view option – we must export them to Excel, then “doctor” them to make them look decent.  Without good report data, it is difficult to establish if the program is effective.

I have been in contact with the people of TTM many times in getting started and troubleshooting problems we face. I have attended two web conferences to learn more about the program.  The consultants answer my questions without really answering them, if that makes sense.  I feel like they are trying to gloss over the problems and, instead, draw my attention to the flashy parts.  The program is web-based, and we have found that it is quite “glitchy” with frequent system freezing and errors.  The TTM support staff assure me that it is an error on our end, however, schools all over our district are having the same problems.  Frustrating. 

My campus is using TTM and iStation both as a part of our tutoring programs.  For example, our 5^th graders who are in need of intervention are asked to arrive at school a half hour before school starts to work on these programs in the computer lab.  The teachers call it “Breakfast Club” because on Fridays they reward those who attended faithfully with donuts!

I am considering modifying my action research topic to also include iStation since we are using both of the programs provided by SSI. I’m not sure if that’s allowed…??  Our students MUCH prefer using iStation because of the kid-friendly interface.  They feel like they are playing a game rather than completing lessons.  The iStation program also has not had all of the glitches.  Our students look forward to “playing” iStation.

I'm leading....but wait....who's following???

Have you ever been busy "leading" only to realize that nobody is following?  That’s my reality this week.  I have been working (apparently spinning my wheels) to get TTM implemented fully in the 3^rd-5^th classes on my campus.

A couple of weeks ago, we met at a staff meeting and I shared the benefits and nuts/bolts of TTM and teachers seemed excited.  The next week, several teachers brought their classes to the computer lab (my office is conveniently located in the lab, so I am able to participate).  I did a mini-lesson for their classes and taught students how to use the program.  Everybody was excited….until network issues caused the program to freeze.  Then it freeze some more.  Repeat. Repeat.  

I’ve contacted IT umpteen times and I think we have resolved the issues (something to do with the required flash being blocked on our servers).  However, the only experience teachers have with TTM is frustration, so they are not too eager to try again. 

I’ve done some more research and participated in a webinar to learn more about the program.  Though I am not at all impressed with the reports they have available at this time (hideous, I tell you!) they promise that they are working on them and will have fabulous reports available in November/December.  I’m trusting them for the time being.  And I’m also going to be a squeaky wheel that will ensure they don’t forget their promise. 

I plan to do a little more training (and reassuring) for teachers.  And the best part is, I’m going to initiate a friendly competition on our campus – each week, a trophy will go to the student who earns the most points (the more you engage in TTM, the more points you earn – doesn’t matter if you are a struggling student or an honor student – your efforts will pay off in points).  We may do a Kiss the Pig contest, too. But don’t tell my principal that yet.

Action Plan - Here goes nothing....

This week we were asked to plan the specifics for our research project.  See below for my plan:

Action Planning Template
Goal:  Is Think Through Math an effective mathematics intervention that can improve student math performance and close gaps in math achievement?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Investigate the actions necessary to implement TTM and gain a practical knowledge of how it is intended to be used (i.e. enrolling students, setting up classes, etc.)	Tami Knight	September, 2012-September, 2012	Computer with internet and resources from TTM website	Notes
Gather growth data for target group of students from STAR Math for previous school year	Tami Knight	September, 2012 – September, 2012	Computer, STAR Math software	Data and notes
Create classes and upload student data to TTM system	Tami Knight	September, 2012 – September, 2012	Computer, TTM software, class lists	Notes, compare TTM class lists to school records to ensure all are enrolled
Train teachers in the use of TTM and set up times for students to use the computers in the lab	Tami Knight	September, 2012 – September, 2012	Computer, TTM training video, master schedule	Notes
Establish baseline score using STAR Math	Tami Knight	September, 2012 – September, 2012	Computer lab, STAR Math software, scheduled time in computer lab	Student data
Monitor the launch of TTM and help troubleshoot technical difficulties	Tami Knight	October, 2012 – October, 2012	Computer, TTM software, technology technicians	Student reports from TTM
Periodically monitor that TTM is being used regularly by targeted groups	Tami Knight	October, 2012 – May, 2013	Computer, TTM software reports	Student reports from TTM
Progress monitor targeted group of students	Tami Knight	October, 2012 – May, 2013	Computer, TTM software reports	Student reports from TTM
Check for validity and make adjustments as needed	Tami Knight	October, 2012 – May, 2013	Computer, TTM software reports, conferencing with teachers	Student reports from TTM, notes