The Path to Inquiry Never Did Run Smooth

My campus held registration this week, and it gave me the opportunity to visit with some of my colleagues for the first time since they attended SMART Board training over the summer.  I sensed both excitement and trepidation, which is to be expected.  What I didn’t expect was the level of confidence on the part of some of my faculty members that this technology would come “ready-to-use”, meaning the district curriculum would be fully updated to include SMART Board lessons for every objective.  Since I know emphatically that this is not the case, I’m concerned about the moment of hard realization that those colleagues will face in a very short time.  There is a very real chance that this will have a souring effect on some of the enthusiasm for the technology and for my PLC initiative.  I realize, even more so than before, the need for effective communication and building of a shared vision.  If I can show convincing evidence that the PLC’s are, in fact, a practical way to develop this technology, it will go a long way toward building up trust and confidence in the process.  My background research and justifications will be critical.

      As I facilitate this learning community, I must also remain sensitive to the realities of time:  the teachers on my campus, myself included, have many irons in the fire.  Most tutor after school two to three days a week, many attend goal team meetings or professional development of some kind at least once a week, and all have the ongoing demands of parent communication, planning and grading, classroom management, and personal lives.  In order for the PLC to be a successful tool for the faculty, it must be seen as a benefit and not a hindrance.  That will require organization, preparedness, and responsiveness on my part to keep the online mechanisms and the meetings running efficiently. 

     I believe the need for this initiative is real, and I believe that the PLC will prove supportive to teaching and learning with this new technology.  My challenge:  to get, and keep, Wilshire on the bandwagon!

Web Conference July 28, 2010: Persistence Pays Off

The web conference that I participated in this evening was just excellent – I can’t say enough good things about Dr. Jenkins’ support of students through this intimidating process of developing a research plan.  While the conference still had its share of technical difficulties, the flow of the conference never seemed affected.  Early in the conference some dialogue occurred relating to creating a writeable document, embedding the document into a blog, contacting site mentors, and the nuances between sections of the weekly assignment.  These questions were resolved, and Dr. Jenkins set minds at ease about the logistics of plan development.  (Please feel free to go to http://wilsoneduwiki.wikispaces.com if you need a writable copy of the SIP/PIP document.)  As a result, the conference theme was able to move effectively past the ‘nuts and bolts’ of the assignment particulars and into content. 

     I had the privilege of hearing some truly fascinating research topics: from parent involvement in Pre-K to PDAS, many stakeholders will be benefiting from the efforts of these professionals in the coming months.  I had some concerns about how to articulate my plans to share my research data this early in the process; during the conference Dr. Jenkins discussed the need to create a framework for the plan that could be updated as information and guidance became available.   As I read through the class texts this week, I had some questions about how to utilize my campus professional learning community to collect data via peer observations.  Dr. Jenkins advised us to look into some current research that is being conducted on peer-to-peer observations and evaluations, which I hope will help me to formulate a template for our PLC observations. 

     All in all, I feel much more comfortable with my inquiry progress than I did two hours ago.   Hopefully I will be able to meet with my mentor and principal in the next week;  then, it should be all systems go for the project.  It’s exhilarating to get started!

Web Conference July 23, 2010 - Whew!

I must confess, I found myself signing off from today's internship web conference feeling frustrated.  The conferences are incredibly crowded, so generally true conferencing with voice and video is out of the question.  So instead, the process is much more like the chatrooms from times gone by.  However, although the flow of information requires some diligence to follow, I don't find that particularly challenging.


What I do find exasperating is the repetition of questions, not only within a single conference, but over the course of several conferences, and between the written course material and the conferences.  I suspect some of this stems from having several different cohort groups conferencing at the same time, and some of it comes from the few-second delay that we all experience as we essentially IM back and forth on the conference board.  We had multiple questions about whether or not to purchase TK20, our new assessment and portfolio platform; about whether or not to blog on our web conferences;  about whether to include said documentation in our wikis; and about the due date for this week's assignment.  Dr. Abernathy seemed generally unruffled by the repetitiveness, and was exceedingly respectful in her responses, even those that were asked and answered more than once.  I was not so placid.  Although I did get an opportunity to ask two questions about our action research project that I had developed for the conference, I walked away from the conference feeling that we spent far too much time on "nuts and bolts" logistical information, much of which is answered in our written coursework.  


The questions that developed as I conferenced today are; first, "How could the web conferencing system in the Lamar Academic Partnerships Program be made more valid for different groups of students?"; second, "How could the web conference schedule for the Academic Partnerships program enable more students to participate with both voice and video?"; and third, "How is the dissemination of logistical information affecting student outcomes in the Lamar Academic Partnerships program?"  Although I'm not in a position to complete action research on these questions, I find it helpful for me to look at all professional functions with an eye towards inquiry.  I will join in the web conference on July 31, and collect more data on the web conferencing process.  In the meantime, on with my research.  

One Amazing Day - Be a Part of It!

Tomorrow, each of us has the opportunity to participate in something unique and quite special.  On July 24th, Hollywood producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald are challenging the entire world to reveal their lives for the documentary project YouTube Life in a Day.  A quote from the site:


I want you to chronicle your world, your life, your neighborhood on a single day.  You could shoot the  journey you take to work, the visit you make to your son, your mother, your grandmother. Ultimately, this is a unique experiment in social filmmaking, and a time capsule that will forever tell future generations what it was like to be alive on July 24,  2010.


Kevin Macdonald has posed four questions to the world:  "What do you love?", "What do you fear?", "What makes you laugh?", and "What's in your pocket?"  These are questions of the sublime and the mundane, and they are the questions of us all.  We all love, laugh, fear, and walk through life picking up the souvenirs of living on the way.  We see the tiny triumphs of everyday, and the tragedies that scar a nation.  As a teacher, I have seen how moments can bind together children who might otherwise never receive the gift of each other.  I have watched the world around me sprout wings and fly, falter and fall, scream and cry and sing; and I have done all of these things side by side with 6 billion others who have done the same.  How much we all have to say, if only we could truly hear each other.  
So pull out your cameras and get ready!  You have 24 hours to make the everyday amazing. Moms, dads, get your children to do the filming.  Children of the digital age, help everyone who wants to participate to make it happen. This day is a moment for digital natives and digital immigrants (Prensky, 2001) to speak the same language, and to be a part of the change.  Cameras up . . .


  
Works Cited:
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants: part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.  

When Technologies Collide

     Today students in my online master's program received a letter from the Dean of the College of Education stating that the university would be converting to a new integrated assessment system for submitting assignments and creating master's portfolios.  The letter was not clear on exactly when this will occur; I can only hope that it won't be in mid-course.  Prior to today, we've been submitting work through our online courseware, then creating our eportfolios through whatever wiki platform we chose.  I can't help but wonder how much "redo" this update will require on my part in addition to the "one-time fee" that I am required to pay.  As I am early in my coursework, the transition shouldn't be too painful; but, I can well imagine that it will take some doing for students who are farther along to learn an entirely new system midstream then convert all of their documentation over.  
     This development prompted some thought today.  How do we move fluidly through the incompatibilities that come from conflicting systems and updates?  As an iPhone user, I have watched the ongoing war between Apple and Flash, and have more than once been a casualty of battle.  The failure of a common ground for users can prove a real limitation in utilizing online information to its fullest potential.   This line of thought continued to my classroom:  despite the pitfalls of YouTube, it holds an amazing wealth of insight and information.  However, the security risks are simply to great in the eyes of my district to allow classroom use anytime in the near future.  Which leads me to my final thought:  in an educational setting, how do we facilitate such changes for our stakeholders?  My school district adopted Outlook Exchange this year for district ecommunications.  This has, by all accounts, been a positive change for the district; however, the switch has not been without growing pains.  The latest came in a notice from the district that the new system will not support the integration of the Exchange calendar with external calendars, such as Google Calendar.  I know this is a disappointment to many:  integration of calendars was promoted as one of the exciting new features of this implementation.  Further, in addition to a change in our communications system, we've also experienced a major update to our website editing software.  As a result, I question how compatible the website calendar will be with the Exchange calendar.  If conflicts do occur, it will be my responsibility to find ways for my stakeholders to navigate around them successfully.


All of these thoughts lead me to the following conclusion:  change is a necessary part of growth, and growing pains are a part of life.  How I respond to these will provide a role model for my colleagues and my students.  If I can "roll with the punches" and create positive outcomes, then others will follow.

Big Effort for a Small Survey

I spent more time today than I would have ever dreamed creating a simple staff survey.  


     As part of my internship research, I need to collect some preliminary data on my campus' current readiness for our new technology implementation and on the background knowledge and interest in professional learning communities.  At the outset, it seemed to be a short, simple endeavor.  However, almost immediately I realized that there were challenges to getting the information that I truly need.  
     My first goal was to develop useful organization.  How do I organize the questions?  Will my logic be meaningful to my colleagues?  I know from my own experiences that a random, disorganized survey can make it more difficult to respond with clarity.  I created an outline much as I would for any other writing, to ensure that my questions followed a narrative thread. Next, the individual questions required forethought and planning.  Would the wording be confusing for the respondents?  Are we using terms/vocabulary in a uniform way?  With so many different roles on campus, how would I make sure that the answer choices I offered were comprehensive?  And finally came the challenge of length.  I wanted to ask enough questions to ensure that I collected all the data I need, but I know that I need to avoid "numbing" my respondents with too many questions.  
     After 3 hours of writing, rewriting, format changes, and review, I have a survey that I hope will bring me insight into the starting point for my research.  I suppose that, in the spirit of continuous improvement, I will reflect on my results and develop new knowledge for the next survey.  

Thoughts on Web Conference

     Today's web conference was an incredibly productive and informative one.  Dr. Abernathy clarified much of the confusion for ETL students, such as myself, who do not have the resources and assignments from the 5311 course that Educational Leadership students take as an introduction.  Although I realized that I had thrown a bit of time down a black hole creating a second blog, I was incredibly relieved to find out that we would, in fact, be able to use our original blog for this course, as well.  That seems so much more organic and useful for me as a student.  The mystery of the "School Leader Internship" text persists, but I hope to find resolution for that in the next couple of days.  
     Dr. Abernathy spent a significant amount of time discussing the format of the reflections, reports, and summaries required for both the course-embedded activities and the 33 indicators from the ISTE TF Standards. Because this web conference included students from a wide number of cohort groups, those of us who are early in the process had the benefit of the knowledge (and questions) from students much farther along.   Much of the concern and questions regarding these logs came from confusion about the appropriate handbook for students.  The most important "take-away" information for me today:  Use only the 3.1 handbook, and delete all earlier versions!  I also received formal notice today that monthly summaries are not to be sent in, although we are to continue completing them and posting them to our wiki.
     All in all, I feel comfortable that I am keeping pace with expectations, and will be prepared as the school year begins next month to jump into my internship activities.  The conference closed with the professor inviting August graduates to an open house . . . a light at the end of the tunnel!  So, in the meantime, I'll keep learning and growing and plugging away.

Blogging as a Leadership Tool

Over the years I have observed my campus administrators face challenges from the monumental to the mundane:  gang affiliations to Gameboys, police to PTA, TAKS scores to teachers' luncheons.  It seems that one primary thread that weaves through all of these moments is the value of effective, accessible communication with stakeholders.  A typical suburban school community holds dozens of staff, hundreds of students and families, and thousands of community members, all clamoring for time, for answers, for a voice.  A blog can offer one solution to this challenge of access.  Blogging opens up dialogue on school issues,  creates a resource for parents, and connects the various parts of the school community through a common set of information.  It is available 24 hours a day from any location with Internet access, which meets the needs of families with non-traditional scheduling constraints.  Finally, it gives an educational leader a tool to set the climate and vision of the school.  A principal can use blogging to promote the strategic goals of a campus, to address common concerns, and to promote the school to the community.  A blog can act as a vital exchange of  information between an administrator and the public.

JITR in Action

Now . . . What Exactly IS Action Research?

     In education, we constantly wage a battle between "the latest thing" and the "tried and true".  How does an educator navigate the wealth of data and options available and determine what is truly best for her students?  Many believe the solution to this dilemma can be found in the action research, or practitioner inquiry, model.  Professor Nancy Fichtman Dana of the University of Florida describes the inquiry model as one that "focuses on the concerns of practitioners (not outside researchers) and engages practitioners in the design, data collection, and interpretation of data around their question." (Dana, 2009, p. 5)  
     Action research relies on a cycle of inquiry, investigation, analysis, and adjustment.  This regular reflection allows educators to be more readily responsive to data both formal and informal, but does require a significant time investment.  An educator must make a commitment to the rigor necessary to engage in inquiry research.  As with any commitment to process, educators work best when they work together.  Environments that foster collaboration, such as university coursework, leadership teams, and professional learning communities, or PLC's, enable a researcher to develop a network of support and ideas from which to draw .  (Dana, 2009, pp. 20-21)  
     My school district utilizes a continuous improvement model at all levels, from district decision-making at the school board level to PDSA (Plan Do Study Act) cycles in the kindergarten classroom. (12manage.com, 2010)  Teachers collect, analyze, and apply data with fidelity to create plans for future action.  Where I hope to continue to refine this process on my campus is in the creation of a PLC that focuses on a particular technology implementation.  Through this professional collaboration, I believe we can create an implementation that functions effectively for both teaching and learning success.  However, there is no question that it will be a fluid work-in-progress throughout this benchmark year.  Developing an action research plan affords me the opportunity to be reflective about my own work, responsive to the available data, and flexible in my development of future actions.  All of these characteristics are good for me, good for my students, and good for my school. 

Works Cited

12manage.com. (2010). Deming Cycle (PDSA). Retrieved July 9, 2010, from 12manage.com: http://www.12manage.com/methods_demingcycle.html

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