EDC638: ARP Cycle One & Two Document - Part 2

Insights

By my practice, over the course of the past school year (seven months), it would seem that I spent the largest portion of my energy creating the computer lab program at my school, in part, because it seemed essential to me to have a working/successful lab program if one is going to help other lab teachers/tech coordinators. I’d learned long ago that it’s essential to understand the environment and those who have toiled in it before one can gain the trust needed to make changes in that environment (and beyond).

Basic things that I wanted to achieve this year at my school site (goals):

Set-up hardware/software in lab (42 computer) w/ standard apps, network access (file sharing) and Internet access. JUSTIFICATION: focus on making the lab into an effective teaching environment. Click here for more information on my school’s computer lab [link no longer functional]
Supervise/arrange school site conversion to Win98 with Novell server access (file sharing), Internet access and standard apps in classrooms (40-plus stations). JUSTIFICATION: What is accessible and lessons begun in the lab can be continued in the classrooms.
Supervise/arrange creation of email accounts for all teachers (Groupwise), & train teachers on the basics of using email. JUSTIFICATION: Staff communication is central to the success of creating the computer lab curriculum and facilitating teacher needs. Click here for “About Us” webpage with one-click email access to teachers [link no longer functional].
Calendar basic classroom curriculum by grade level in order to align computer lab curriculum with classroom activities. JUSTIFICATION: Computer lab curriculum is based on classroom curriculum, technological skills are best learned in conjunction with other learning, not in isolation.
Manage school website as information portal for student work and teacher information. JUSTIFICATION: Communication with the community and to display student work (to provide a forum for students to develop their communication skills), “if it’s important enough to do, it’s important enough to share” Click to visit my school’s website. Future publication of student work will be here [link no longer functional]. Future teacher training/info with be here [link no longer functional].
Manage troubleshooting process of school site (communication, procedures, delegating some tasks).

Every site and environment offers its own challenges and advantages. I happen to be at a very successful school (per most recent test scores) in a very large district (2nd largest in CA). On the one hand that affords me to work with highly skilled educators who have an expectation toward success.

On the other hand, the school technology budget is a great deal smaller than I’ve worked with over the past few years (my former school being “rich” with Title 1 funds and Federal Magnet monies). Also, having been at one of four Federal Magnet schools in my last school district (at a smaller district) I had very direct access to district support and the technology director’s office. Things haven’t been quite the same for me this year where I have to ask permission to have Quicktime installed on my school’s computers. The “district level” part of my original ARP (now called version 0.80) is going to take longer than a single year (see Surprises below).

Surprises

was extremely disappointed that I didn’t receive more responses from my “subject query” than I did. I know that one should not have expected everyone to respond after just one query for information (my former district director of technology said that one has to present the information to teachers at least three times before they will even “see it” much less send in a response). But the initial experience was enough for me to think that I needed to spend more time at this job and in this district before I can expect to have the impact that I was hoping for.

I guess I should have remembered another thing that learned while creating the Magnet/technology program at my former school/district: changing an “average” elementary school in terms of technology without changing staff is a three to five year process. So that If I believe that I must have a platform from which to operate (a functioning/effective computer lab/school technology program) before I can have a real impact on the larger district scheme of things than it’s going to take far longer than seven or even ten months to do this.

Where to go from here

ARP 1.0

Further data gathering from resources sited in my preliminary document (“10 Questions”)
CTAP technology proficiency survey for teachers
Create and administer Computer Lab Program/Curriculum survey primarily to participants, critical friends and staff.

Click Here to Return to EDC638 ARP Docs & Journal

Click Here to Return to EDC638 Collaborative Action Research

Click Here to Return to Pepperdine OMAET (2001-2002)

Click Here to Return to Joe Bustillos’ Academic Portfolio

Click Here to Return to Joe Bustillos’ Resume