EDLD 5363 Group Video Project

Working with this group has been a dream. Everyone pulling their weight and working to get the project done makes everything so much easier. We used email, Google Drive, and GoToMeeting.com to collaborate and plan our project. The jobs and assignment parts were divided up early on and each of us got our part done with time to spare. Working with a group typically does not sound fun to me. With this group I felt differently. The "many hands make light work" adage rang true this time around.

EDLD 5363 reflection of web conferences

November 20, 2103
Last Wednesday was my very first live web conference. Preferring to watch the conference recording at a later date, I had never before attended one. The session began with greetings and welcomes all around. The sound did not work. Therefore chat was the tool used to communicate. It seemed difficult to have your questions answered because once you typed them in they seemed to disappear or get lost in the shuffle. Twitter was a hot topic of discussion. While this social media tool is optional many students agreed that it was a useful tool for educators to communicate, collaborate, and learn. I have had a Twitter account for awhile. I began using it for professional development purposes after attending the ISTE conference over the summer. The active educator Twitter users put out so many wonderful tools, resources, and ideas daily. I learn a great deal from scrolling through a few 140 character tweets. There were lots of questions over assignment details. With a syllabus, weekly overview, and assignment document the details of each week's expectations can be overwhelming. Not everything matches up and getting points taken away is never fun. Students try to avoid this by asking questions and sometimes answers are just as vague as the original directions. The web conference was a good place to have questions answered. It also helped me realize I am no alone in this endeavor, and that feels good.

December 1, 2013
During this web conference the cameras and sound were working unlike the last web conference I attended. There were a few questions about weeks one and two. Then we moved into week three. There were lots of questions about this week's requirements. This week we were informed that in January if we are not seen on camera and our voice is not heard on the web conferences we will not receive credit. This is new and will force me to at least shower before web conferences. We were told of a new-to-me resource, paper.li, which is a way to cultivate your own online digital newspaper. I think I will look into that this week. It seems interesting. As I do more of these web conferences I get more and more comfortable.

December 18, 2013
Tonight was my last web conference for EDLD 5363. That means the class is coming to a close. The web conference was supposed to begin at 7:00. Sitting here at 7:30 the conference still hadn't started. A bit after 7:30 the conference finally started. The tardiness was never acknowledged. There were lots of questions as our Instructional Associate emailed us earlier telling us to hold off on submitting the week five assignment until they had decided the best way to do so. The professor did not share this idea. She told us to submit the same way we had in week three with updates added. This made sense to me and made everything a bit more simple. I just wish this had been in the course overview or at least in the week 4/5 assignment documents.

WeVideo reflection

Wow! I did it. I finally finished this week's assignment. It seems like it took me ages to get here. But, goodness it feels good to be done.

I used WeVideo to create my video. A classmate in the web conference this past week mentioned it. I am a sucker for anything free and simple. WeVideo seemed to fit those criteria. It was simple enough to upload photo files. It seemed to take way too long to upload the audio file I chose. I realize now that WeVideo and the Chrome browser do not see eye to eye. I got fed up one night working on the video and didn't pick it up again until this evening. I almost threw my computer out the window a couple times before trying WeVideo in the Firefox browser. Light bulb! All went well. I enjoyed adding my voice and learning to adjust the volume of the audio file so that my voice could be heard. Once I loved my video and the way it looked and sounded I was ready to publish. It took awhile but it eventually worked. I had difficulty publishing to YouTube, even though I "connected" my account. So, I published to Google Drive, downloaded the file, and upload to YouTube. I outsmarted the system!

Overall, I am proud of my hard work, new video editing skills, and final product.

EDLD 5301 reflection

What a ride this action research course has been! Coming into this course I had no idea how much time and effort would be put into completing this work. As a result of the time and effort put into this course I have learned a lot about action research.

The lectures gave me a glimpse into what was expected of me each week. However, I found that the weekly overviews to be much more informative as I got more out of them. I appreciate a checklist of activities because it helps me wrap my brain around what I need to do.

The readings guided my completion of assignments. They gave me detailed information about other research inquiries. It was especially helpful in determining my evaluation methods and how I would share my research findings. I believe the most helpful part of the readings came from the Dana text. The chapter beginning on page 29 helped me find my wondering. By guiding me to look deeply at my passions this chapter assisted me in choosing a topic that was interesting and important to me.

A few searches for more information about my action research topic led me to numerous blog posts, articles, and tutorials about iPad implementation in the younger grades. This will be helpful as I come up with new strategies, procedures, and trainings for the teachers I am working with during my research.

The assignments and activities required of me during this course gave me more knowledge on action research. Paired with the readings I was able to apply the knowledge gained to my action research plan. I appreciated having a purpose for doing all of the readings and assignments.

Posting and replying to the discussion board weekly kept me current with the weekly expectations. It also kept me in touch with my classmates and allowed us to problem solve together. I know a few of my classmates' topics really well because of the discussion posts we participated in weekly. Knowing someone's topic well allows you to give more effective feedback and share new ideas freely.

The blogging aspect of the is course is well-intentioned. It allows us to share our thought with the world and with each other. The comments from classmates encouraged me to better my action research and pay close attention to their feedback. It's like the saying "you get out of it what you put into it." So far, I have not put much into my blog. Posting the required posts and nothing more has gotten me a few comments and more followers. But, I can't help but feel there could be more to it.

All of the aspects of the course propelled my action research project forward and gave me the insight to improve my plan along the way. I will take the skills learned here and continue to implement and improve my plan.

action research revised

Action Planning Template
Goal: What are the strategies, trainings, and procedures needed for teachers in order to successfully implement four-to-one iPads in a Kindergarten classroom?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Research different types of trainings, applications, and strategies to implement technology and implement them among the Kindergarten team. 2. Obtain teacher feedback on training to date and training needs 2. Research last year's data on the unit to be taught. 3. Discuss results with site supervisor	Marli Epperson Leslie Kennemer (site supervisor) Marli Epperson Marli Epperson Marli Epperson Leslie Kennemer (site supervisor)	September 2013-September 2014  December 2013 December 2013 January 2013	Use a variety of sources. Possible Resources: edshelf.com educlippper.com  GoogleForm Previous school year data	- survey of teachers that were trained - survey of teachers that were not trained  - survey will detail teacher need and guide future training objectives -this will allow comparison to this years' student data -this will allow for a more precise look into which types of trainings teachers need
4. Train group of teachers on a specific unit to integrate four-to-one iPads into pedagogy. 5. Have another controlled group that is not trained in this area. 6. Evaluate outcomes of students' gained knowledge between the two groups. 6. Compare last years' data to this years' data 7. Share a weekly tip for  resources teachers can use for further professional development implementing iPads four-to-one.	Marli Epperson; Kindergarten teachers	October 2013-October 2014	District Curriculum Edshelf.com Educlipper.com Education Technology websites, magazines and blogs to keep tips current. GoogleForm	- Pre-Assessment of Student Unit Knowledge (journal, drawing, interview) - Procedure or Strategy training for teachers - Post-Assessment of Student Unit Knowledge (journal, drawing, interview) -Student Data - Notes - Teacher Feedback
8.  Conduct regular evaluations by survey	Marli Epperson	November 2013- November 2014	GoogleForm	- Teacher Feedback
9. Close research, accomplish analysis, and distribute findings	Marli Epperson	November 2014		Action research to be completed based off findings.

As a result of the feedback I received I have revised my action research plan a bit. The revisions are noted in purple. 

Any other feedback is greatly appreciated!

Action Research Plan

Action Planning Template
Goal: What are the strategies, trainings, and procedures needed for teachers in order to successfully implement four-to-one iPads in a Kindergarten classroom?
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Research different types of trainings, applications, and strategies to implement technology and implement them among the Kindergarten team. 2. Obtain teacher feedback on training to date and training needs 3. Discuss results with site supervisor	Marli Epperson Leslie Kennemer (site supervisor) Marli Epperson Marli Epperson Leslie Kennemer (site supervisor)	September 2013-September 2014  December 2013 January 2013	Use a variety of sources. Possible Resources: edshelf.com educlippper.com  GoogleForm	- survey of teachers that were trained - survey of teachers that were not trained  - survey will detail teacher need and guide future training objectives -this will allow for a more precise look into which types of trainings teachers need
4. Train group of teachers on a specific unit to integrate four-to-one iPads into pedagogy. 5. Have another controlled group that is not trained in this area. 6. Evaluate outcomes of students' gained knowledge between the two groups. 7. Share a weekly tip for  resources teachers can use for further professional development implementing iPads four-to-one.	Marli Epperson; Kindergarten teachers	October 2013-October 2014	District Curriculum Edshelf.com Educlipper.com Education Technology websites, magazines and blogs to keep tips current. GoogleForm	- Pre-Assessment of Student Knowledge - Procedure or Strategy training for teachers - Notes - Teacher Feedback
8.  Conduct regular evaluations by survey	Marli Epperson	November 2013- November 2014	GoogleForm	- Teacher Feedback
9. Close research, accomplish analysis, and distribute findings	Marli Epperson	November 2014		Action research to be completed based off findings.

Format based on Tool 7.1 from Examining What We Do to Improve Our Schools

(Harris, Edmonson, and Combs, 2010)

week two reflection

This week I have learned more about action research than I knew before the start of this class. Action research seems like such a smart way to do research. You see an issue, you research it, and you use that research to solve the issue. The person who sees the issue performs the research. Genius. The readings, videos, discussion posts, and blogs are teaching me how to go deeply into an action research topic and get the most out of it. We are lucky to have all of these resources at our fingertips as we go through this course.