EDLD+5398+Course+Embedded+Summary+Log

• The Internship requires a minimum of 150 course-embedded hours. (Required) || Time Spent on Activity || Description of Activity || Reflection (150 words or less describing what you learned from this activity) (Required) ||
 * ** Course-Embedded Internship Summary and Validation Report ** ||
 * Directions: This report should summarize all Course-Embedded Internship Activities that have been recorded in the log forms. You will submit this completed form in your 12th course.
 * Name: Lisa Breaux**
 * Total Number of Hours: 150** ||
 * State Competency Standard /** ISTE Technology Facilitation Standard ** || Course Number || Date Completed
 * ** II.6 **

Fundamentals of Leadership ||  || 7 hrs || Students will collaborate with the school supervisor and develop the 18 month internship plan. Plans will be based on self-assessment findings, professional goals, and the unique needs of the intern and school. || Working with my principal, we began planning a long-term project to encourage and train teachers to use the newest technology purchase of Mimios for each classroom. Teachers would be given training from peers and technology specialists while with new lessons. The goal was to increase teachers’ confidence in their ability to use technology and to increase students’ interest and engagement in the classroom. While my principal was enthusiastic about beginning, we did not spend the time needed in the pre-planning stage. The discussion was brief with a general outline, and the rest was left up to me. I did feel like I had the support initially but not the resources including time to train the teachers. If the staff knew up front the principal wanted a change in lesson delivery there may have been more by in at the start. || Fundamentals of Leadership ||  || 8 hrs || Students develop an educational vita noting all professional experience, education, relevant training, professional organizations, and references. The vita will become part of the professional portfolio and used to note strengths and areas for further development in devising the internship plan. || Writing the vita was an eye-opening experience. When I actually began putting all my past work on paper I found I had quite a bit to offer as a leader. In fact, I had been working as a leader in many regards. It was helpful to get all the information down in the beginning, as I was able to visually see areas I needed to work on more and gain further experience. It also was helpful to have all resume material completed, as I feel I am ready, in my 12th course, to begin interviewing and need all my papers in order. I did finally understand the differences between a vita and a resume and found the vita to be much more productive and eye catching. ||
 * TF-I, TF-II, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VII, **
 * TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5311
 * ** II.6 **
 * TF-I, TF-II, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VII, **
 * TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5311
 * ** II.6 **

Research ||  || 10 hrs || Students engage in identifying an action research topic(s) or research question(s) and designing a draft action plan completing a recommended template or format of a blueprint of the action research plan. || By designing a template plan for my research project I was able to thoroughly review my steps to be taken and contemplate the time needed for each. Being given some reflection time while planning was necessary as my ideas changed and morphed into a bigger more cohesive document. I discovered planning is such an important of any new endeavor and cannot be overlooked. As the project progressed I would revisit the plan and add or delete sections as needed. I could have spent more time on planning the training portion as I relied on peers teaching each other and teaches using the online information as the basis for the training. It was necessary to have more hands on and in person training, which in turn, need more plans for technology training and follow through. ||
 * TF-III, TF-IV ** || EDLD 5301
 * || EDLD 5301 ||  || 5 hrs || Students review comments from colleagues and site supervisors and engage in revising their draft action research plan. By the end of Week 5, students should confer with their site supervisor(s) and agree on an action research topic and plan. || Writing the plan incorporated input from my principal, assistant principal, and technology specialist. After conferring with my Technology Specialist, she commented on the fact teachers needed some basic computer knowledge and training before the actual application of software could occur. While working with the teachers in our first general meeting, many asked for basic updates to be completed on their laptops. This did not become obvious until we began working with the Mimio software equipment. During this phase of the project, I reflected on the idea of working in ‘baby steps’ towards making change. Or beginning a new project ||
 * ** I.1 **

Leadership for Accountability ||  || 5 hrs || Students create a personal vision of leadership. || Walking through the process of beginning a project, I feel I have learned how important honest and open communication is. When any portion of your staff does not know what is going on, or feel left out, there will be future difficulty with accepting the change. An administrator may be wary of sharing too much information, especially when the beginning information is scarce, but it is better to share that fact itself-rather than no information. Giving the background of the project and why it was chosen needs to be shared with the staff, as they will be more willing to work as a team to make progress. Also, it became apparent how important the planning stage is, including a realistic time table to follow. ||
 * TF-I, TF-IV, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5333
 * ** I.1 **

Leadership for Accountability ||  || 5 hrs || Students attend a Site-Based Decision-Making (SBDM) meeting, record reflections, and interview the principal and one other staff member regarding collaboration, consensus building strategies, ethical relationships, typical agenda items, etc. || Attending the SBDM meeting helped me to understand the importance of organizing the communication between staff, parents, administration, and community members. The committee must be smaller to ensure quick discussion and movement. I did not realize the committee was made up not only of team leaders, but in reality it includes instructional coaches, parents, and community members. Most often, the meetings included a few teachers, a member of administration, and a parent. The meetings were directed by the administrator, with some input from teachers. It is an efficient way to bring ideas back to the rest of the staff, and their opinions back to the table, but the process for change is a bit long, in my opinion. Most of the discussions seem to involve discipline and behavior plans, along with purchasing new books and technology programs. Bringing back changes in discipline procedures are more difficult to communicate in this fashion. Again, this process is more efficient in some ways and less in others. Having one or two parents involved may not be enough to get a varied and true opinion of the general population. ||
 * TF-I, TF-IV, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5333
 * ** I.1 **

Leadership for Accountability ||  || 5hrs || Students demonstrate leadership for accountability by researching best practices, including specific professional development to address a target area and list the strategies and rationale for using each strategy. || While encouraging teachers to use the Mimio equipment, I researched blogs, wikis, and business sites to locate lessons already made and that could be downloaded for the ease of using, as well as modifying. I found the actual Mimio site useful as the Mimio Connect link could be downloaded and incorporated lessons made by teachers for teachers. These lessons were categorized by grade level and subject. Data supporting the use of the Mimo interactive software further supported the need for teachers to use with their students to build motivation. By researching the sites and sharing the information wit the staff, there was more interest in the project than if I had shared our goals with no research data. Researching material made me much more knowledgeable in the application of the software and maintains the hardware, which in turn earned the teachers’ trust and respect for the project. I feel it is very important, and yes, time-consuming, to research and collect data on the chosen project well before the process begins. ||
 * TF-I, TF-IV, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5333
 * ** I.1 **

Leadership for Accountability ||  || 5 hrs || Students conduct a data-based needs assessment. Based on the areas of need identified, students create a campus action plan to address the needs identified including professional development plans, allocation of resources to support the plan, and any tools needed for school improvement efforts || First, I conducted an online survey, which was announced during a staff meeting. Letting teachers know the general plan and idea beforehand, was an important step, and explaining why the survey would occur was necessary to get teachers to participate. However, leaving it as voluntary produced half the desired participation. Although technology and using Web 2.0 tools is the trend, leaving teachers to complete surveys on their own time allows for incomplete data. If a hand written survey had been passed out during the staff meeting that all teachers needed to complete and hand in on their way out the door, would have given much more accurate data to base the project on. The online survey gave me just enough information to transfer to a bar graph and share with the staff at the next staff meeting. Although the visual worked in showing the need for more training and use of the Mimio in the classroom, the teachers shared a desire to hear more theory behind the data and needs. This is where the research step comes into play. ||
 * TF-I, TF-IV, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5333
 * ** I.1 **


 * TF-I, TF-IV, TF-V, TF-VI, TF-VIII ** || EDLD 5333- Leadership for Accountability ||  || 5 hrs || Students conduct a data-driven, comprehensive needs assessment using the latest AYP and AEIS data, a multi-year history of this data, and a comparable improvement report. || In the past, I had reviewed the same data to gather information on students within my classroom and adjust my teaching and provide tutoring accordingly. Reviewing all of the data and searching for specific groups and needs gave me a much bigger picture and more realistic understanding of how schools are rated and compared to other similar schools. Taking a step back and looking at the entire report, it became more apparent as to the specific areas of concern in groups and subject areas. It was fairly easy to determine which areas I would provide before school and after school tutoring. Before this exercise, I was not familiar with the comparison procedures. It was extremely beneficial to have practiced this for my LCE as I was able to read through the material and find my focus quickly. By looking at the data, principals can analyze trends and patterns, relationships, barriers, and causal factors. This is important for the principal to make decisions for improvement and plan development. ||
 * ** II.6 **

School Law ||  || 15 hrs || Application of learning by designing a remediation to a situation you would like to improve in your school. In your School-Based Analysis, you familiarized yourself with special education policies in your state and school district. For your Application, you will use this knowledge as you follow a fictional student, Julia, who has just enrolled at your school. You will develop an Individualized Education Program for “Joseph,” monitor how her program is implemented in the classroom, and use your knowledge of student rights and school management to make sound decisions when she engages in behavior that calls for disciplinary action. This assignment will require you to use knowledge gained from your lectures and readings, and from communication with leaders at your school, including your principal, special education coordinator, and classroom teachers. Your final step will be to make suggestions about how management policies and procedures for special education students at your school can be improved. In all instances, you are expected to cite relevant law and/or policy that you used to formulate your answers. || Participating in this fictional situation gave me a true understanding of the steps an administrator would need to follow when working with discipline issues and staying within the boundaries of policies. I found, again, communication is extremely important in all steps of the IEP implementation process. Documentation must occur, meetings must be held, and practices suggested must be tried before further steps may take place. The principal tends to serve more as a mediator and one who keeps the meetings on track and the policies adhered to. Other important members must attend and are extremely important to the meetings. It was surprising to me that parents can and might refuse help for their child. The biggest eye-opener was the fact special consideration must be given when working with discipline issues if a student has an IEP. An administrator will always want to make sure the student’s needs are being met and special considerations are given before the consequences may take place. ||
 * TF-VI ** || EDLD 5344
 * ** I.3 **

Human Resource Mgt ||  || 5 hrs || Students review Chapter 247 of the Texas Administrative Code, "Educators' Code of Ethics," conduct observations and/or interviews in your school, and use the results of those observations interviews to complete the "Code of Ethics Mind walk." || In working with the Educators’ Code of Ethics one must comply with standard practices and ethical conduct toward students, professional colleagues, school officials, parents, and members of the community. In doing so, an administrator will have to deal with each ethics question and staff conflict on a case by case basis. Not only does the administrator have to take into account the standards but also the emotional state, and individual beliefs of staff members. I found, the truth of the matter is principals often have key personnel they trust to bring forward information concerning conflict and situations that may be brewing. It seems this is the best way to head off situations before a complaint is filed and mediators are necessary. Most of the situations I have witnessed occur between two staff members, both women, and one will eventually be moved to a different grade level. Separation seems to be the key. ||
 * TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5345
 * ** II.6 **

Human Resource Mgt ||  || 5 hrs || Students conduct an interview with an administrator at their school regarding strategies for recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers and administrators. || Interviewing my principal concerning our hiring practices was enlightening as she shared it is much more difficult to find qualified teachers than one would think considering all the teachers applying. Also, teachers are leaving the work education field on an average of five years into their careers. Principals must keep teachers happy and challenged, but at the same time, hire staff in positions that benefit the school and students. They must keep in mind what is the best fit. However, I have found what is perceived the best fit is still subjective. Moves are made to fill slots and allow for growth, but I do not believe teachers are being asked to use their knowledge or gifts. There would be less turn over if teachers felt more validated and were allowed more freedom in teaching. Our hiring process includes interviews being given by a team of various grade level teachers and administrators. The goal is to find people the fit the culture at the school. Keeping teachers is more difficult as the pay scale may be less than in other districts, and growth opportunities may be more elsewhere, as well. Pregnancy seems to be one of the more popular reasons teachers leave, as well as burn out. ||
 * TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5345
 * ** II.6 **

Human Resource Mgt ||  || 5 hrs || Students access the policies and procedures in place in their district related to teacher mentoring programs by accessing the district's webpage or contacting district Human Resources Office and reflect on the policies in place for mentoring induction. || Contacting Human Resources to get more detailed information regarding our mentoring program was more beneficial than just perusing the district web page. I began to understand the philosophy behind our mentoring program. Mentoring new teachers is extremely important to help them assimilate in the new school surroundings, to have a go-to person in case of questions, and to have someone help keep them in line with district policies. As a teacher, I know how important it is to have a more experience person to contact for advice. As a mentor myself, I am available and understand how important it is to communicate and respond quickly. It is important, however, to not depend on just one person for all the answers, but to look to those who you admire, or like their style and questions them as well. Our mentoring program for interns are just as important, however, they often will have several mentors as they are gaining experience in several grade levels. I believe it is an excellent idea that TEA requires a mentoring program as all new teachers need some support during their first year at a new school. ||
 * TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5345
 * ** II.6 **

Human Resource Mgt ||  || 5 hrs || Students complete the Cultural Proficiency Receptivity Scale, use the Cultural Proficiency Professional Development Rubric to assess the level of professional development at their campus or workplace, and identify and describe where and how their campus has responded to each of the elements of Cultural Proficiency || It was interesting to complete the Receptivity Scale, as I had no knowledge of this beforehand. I found it enlightening to see our school is above average in Cultural Proficiency. We have a large mix of students and are constantly receiving professional development to differentiate and meet the needs of all students. We could use more professional development on the differences in cultures and work on our awareness of such. In our ELL program this type of training occurs often. Since we are adopting SIOP and vocabulary building literacy lessons there will be more awareness of the cultural differences and utilization of ideas to work with students of various backgrounds. Much more honest and open discourse needs to take place before we can rate at the top of the Cultural Proficiency scale. ||
 * TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5345
 * ** I.2 **


 * TF-V ** || EDLD 5326 School Community Relations ||  || 5 hrs || Students develop a plan for a family-school-community partnership(s) to increase student achievement || Working through the steps needed in the planning phase I found so helpful and important. I did not realize how much time and effort went in to the pre-planning of a project. It became obvious how important parent-school communication is and how the constant search for new ways to involve parents never stops. Even with invitations and meetings, parents don’t always become involved. I have seen educational nights, such as Literacy Night, Math Night, etc. do very well for enticing parents to visit and gain more knowledge on what their child is learning at school. During these special nights, parents are also educated in ways they can help at school. This step is so important, as they often don’t have the tools or know where to go for help with their students. Working closely with parents and community members is an ongoing process, and continuing to gather information and feedback never stops as programs change to meet the needs of the students. I did not realize the massive amount of record keeping and data collecting needed for such an undertaking, but I do understand the necessity of maintaining good records in order to improve the plan/partnership. ||
 * ** I.2 **


 * TF-V ** || EDLD 5326 School Community Relations ||  || 5 hrs || Students develop a presentation to be given to key stakeholders in their school that emphasizes the importance of parental-community involvement to student achievement. || As I developed the presentation, I compared with others, and found it important to stick to the facts and keep it brief with major points in bold. Using Prezi was a wonderful tool to capture interest and a twist on the same old Power Point. Presenting to stakeholders is such an important part of the project development. By sharing data collected, stakeholders will hopefully see the need for the project. Having the information gathering meetings prior to the presentation helps to keep everyone working towards the same goal. Again, this stage reinforces my thought that communication is key. By sharing the idea plan, timeline, budget, etc. Stakeholders will feel they are true partners and have some leeway to share their ideas. Learning how important key stakeholders are also including learning who they are, which in my mind, is everyone, staff, administrators, parents, and community members. I do feel when school boards, or top administrators get involved some of the autonomy is taken away from the original leaders of the project. ||
 * ** I.2 **


 * TF-I, TF-II, TF-III, TF-V ** || EDLD 5363 Video Technology and Multimedia ||  || 15 hrs || Create a public service announcement for parents and community partners. Capture and integrate sound, video, and digital images; create RSSfeeds; and publish the final product on the web. Use short teacher and student interviews to focus on 21st century technology for engagement and achievement. || I am fascinated with all the new Web 2.0 tools I am introduced to with each lesson activity in this program. Creating the announcement with sound, video, and images was a wonderful way to bring together all of my technology learning and with a purpose. The RSS feed was new information and very helpful to keep abreast of new news and keep track of information I find important. Creating and reporting on engagement is exciting and I enjoyed viewing others’ work and sharing with my staff. The lessons at Lamar were well crafted to ensure students were exposed to many different applications and software. Most I have used in my own classroom and shared with my fellow teachers. As I attend more and more workshops, I find most of what is presented I have already experienced in the Lamar requirements. ||
 * ** III.8, III.9 **


 * TF-I, TF-V, TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5362 Information Systems Management ||  || 6 hrs || Analyze district technology after completing interviews with at least two school administrators who are involved with the planning and budgeting of technology. || Through this lesson, I was able to find the sources for specific information. It was quite difficult to locate the information from one place as most of the budget allocation is split between many departments. I was surprised there did not seem to be any one particular person in charge of the desired information. After completing the interviews, I felt much of the technology purchases and decisions are out of the school administrator’s area of responsibility. The district is moving forward to install faster connectivity and supply tablets to all personnel and some students to keep up with 21st Century learning, however, they are not supplying enough training for the staff. Most of the training is voluntary, and I do not feel this will help move the majority of teachers fast enough in the right direction. Much of our school’s desired technology purchases come from our PTA when we supply a wish list, however, again, these gifts come without training. Our schools are not given much of a budget for new technology for the classrooms, but more the district hardware and management tools. Although we have been using one management tool for several years, we may change again due to the high cost. Constantly changing management tools and retraining teachers does not bode well for a well-run and usable system. Teachers tend to take each new mandate with a grain of salt and not put forth much effort to train, yet again, or perfect their skills, but rather just get by. ||
 * ** III.8, III.9 **


 * TF-I, TF-V, TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5362 Information Systems Management ||  || 5 hrs || Students will evaluate and analyze a school district’s Student Information System, including the evaluation of total cost of ownership, feature set, ease of use, customer support, and training. || Evaluating our present SIS I discovered while some or the system works well, other parts could be improved. The big issue is the cost of the program, though. Our district is always quick to jump on the newest latest ‘good deal’ which ends up costing us in the long run. Our system manages attendance, grades, special program information, and personal student contact information. We have just now, after 4 years, been able to utilize the program for all of the above. There is still an issue with inputting testing information from ELL, GT, etc. and deciding what should be put in and what should not. The goal is to have all information, online, in one place. Access to all parts of the program must be specially granted and testing information is found on a different program, that is still a bit difficult to maneuver around. Staff has had a few trainings, but not enough to use the testing program effectively. So far, we are using three systems, one for managing attendance, grades, etc.; one for managing state and district testing information, and one for managing workshops, class information, etc. Teachers become a bit overwhelmed with too many sites to attend and update, therefore, the information is not entered correctly, or in a timely manner. Another area that I feel is missing from our management system is discipline records. I am assuming there is some thought given to the idea the district would not want this type of information to get out publicly, but it would be extremely helpful to teachers and give super documentation. ||
 * ** II.4, II.5 **

activity, create a wiki-based study group with 3-5 teachers leading and support teachers who analyze data related to student learning, create a lesson using Universal Design for Learning at the CAST Lesson Building at [], create a sample electronic book to share with your learning team members. Lastly, add a team reflection to your Google site about the process of creating an electronic book. || Creating the wiki study group was extremely helpful to me as I am now able to develop and maintain a wiki site on my own, and even share with students how to set up, which I have. Before, I was not quite clear on the differences between a blog and a wiki, let alone how to set one up. The study group worked amazingly well using a Google docs site, and we were able to chat and write the document simultaneously. I am sold on the idea of online classes and homework. We, the study group got to know each other better than most in-person meetings I have participated with. Using the CAST lesson building was helpful in designing lessons and I am still using this format and site. The electronic book, I found to be useful with students who are shy but still want to present, and to share with students with various special needs, plus we can keep the books for future access. What a great tool for teachers and students! I found the electronic book easy to use and the pointer to get the copyright was an important note anytime we are sharing material. ||
 * TF-II, TF-III, TF-IV, TF-V ** || EDLD 5364 Teaching with Technology ||  || 12 hrs || As campus professional development
 * ** I.1.I.2, I.3 **


 * TF-I, TF-II, TF-III, TF-V, TF-VI, **
 * TF-VII ** || EDLD 5366 Graphics Design and Web Publishing ||  || 12 hrs || Students will collaborate to create a website that addresses digital ethics, design principles, diverse learners, and communication with peers, parents, and the larger community in order to nurture student learning. || Designing a website was so helpful and being given a choice in types to use gave me a chance to try out several before choosing one I felt was easier to design. Viewing the various examples helped me to see simplistic is best with just a few colors and similar titles works for catching the interest of the public. I understand how to get my message across, and include all contact information in case there are any questions. A professional looking website will encourage participation and use but the ease of access and readability is even more important for our parents. By sharing information through this format, parents will have access to all the school has to offer and who to contact in each area. Working with a team to design the website was beneficial as it brought in different ideas and beliefs, which in turn was incorporated to meet the needs of diverse parents. The two to three color design principle stands out in my mind, and I have used the basic design principles already with my own parent information brochure and my student’s personal projects. ||