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=​Welcome to Shadow Forest Online Collaboration! = The purpose of this wikispace is to provide for online technology collaboration among teachers, administrators and support staff who have a vested interest in Shadow Forest students. The goal of this online learning community is to improve technology use and integration in the classroom. Shadow Forest is located in Kingwood, Texas and is part of the Humble Independent School District. =Members = Carol Ann - 3rd Grade/Self-Contained Rebecca - 4th Grade/Self-Contained Miriam - 3rd Grade Instructional Support Coach Heather - 4th Grade Instructional Support Coach Carol - Office Professional/Computer Aide Debbie - Computer Teacher/Campus IT Lisa - Assistant Principal Paige - District IT Specialist

All members of this space may "Edit this page," ask questions, and give suggestions. =SFE STaR Chart Data = I have spent some time reviewing the Texas Long-Range Plan for Technology and our campus STaR Chart data from the past 4 years. The PowerPoint presentation below examines SFE's Campus STaR Chart data by the 4 key areas of the Texas Long-Range Plan.

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The data reflects that SFE is scoring within or above the mean of the state. Although, as I examine specifically our campus data, it shows that our scores have dropped or remain stagnant in each of the four key areas. The area with the most significant drop is Teaching and Learning. =Questions = 1. Why do you think SFE's scores have dropped or remain stagnant? There have been several changes over the past 4 years that may have contributed. There has been a change in leadership at the campus, and while the results don't mean one leader was any better than the other, they might reflect that the campus is more focused on other changes right now than on technology. Also, there has been a reduction in personnel in the IT position (aide), which means the IT is now in rotation more and less able to work with teachers. And finally, the district has implemented SEVERAL new initiatives including DBAs which have drawn teachers' time and attention away from technology use.

Four years ago, there was much to be learned about some basic usage of technology in the classroom. In the beginning teachers may have felt like they grew tremendously in their knowledge and expertise, as well as application in the classroom. More currently, the content/practices being learned may be more advanced and teachers may feel like their growth hasn't happened as much as in the past. Other academic demands have increased tremendously and although the use of technology in the classsroom is critical, there is only so much time in the day to learn, plan and prepare, implement, and revisit lessons. We are also still limited with the number of computers available in the classroom.

2. Technology Professional Development should be offered to faculty in a variety of formats. What professional development format works best for you? As a provider of professional development rather than a receiver, I am willing to provide whatever format the campus needs. I do feel, however, that technology staff development needs to be a regular occurance rather than just every once in a while. The longer the time between technology trainings the less likely the teachers are to implement what they learn. Actually have something to walk away from a training to try and then be held accountable for doing it by returning to the next meeting with results can be effective. Once again, because of time constraints, it is critical that the content of the training be directly related to professional development in other academic areas.

I think that we sometimes try to give too much information in one training. I would do better to learn in smaller chunks and then go back to the classroom to apply my new learning. I am guilty of not using new knowledge quickly enough, and then I lose it.

3. What specifically would you like to see in future technology training at SFE? I would like the opportunity to do some training with teachers on the many quick and easy interactive web tools that are available now. This will show teachers how they can use some the the same lessons they have always done but give the kids a more engaging product to create.

Differentiated training on staff's specific interests and areas they would like to become more proficient in may be a route to try. When teachers have an invested interest, they will more likely follow through with implementation. Establishing personal connections within these areas of interest (similar to book studies) or technology groups to support each other may also work wel.

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4. Are there technologies on our campus that you feel you need more training on before using them with your students?