Student Records, Training, and Security

                     

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Who? How? Where?

Great questions to ask about all the student data that has to be input, stored, and protected in schools today. 

As the education system has moved to electronic records and data storage, some schools have had to make decisions about who, how, and where all the data will be stored. The best way to do all those things easily is to use a student information system (SIS). This varies in schools, districts, and states immensely. There are many SISs to choose from. Some schools may have the choice to use what they think is best, while others may have to use whatever their district office decides on. Others may be required to use a system that the whole state has established. 

I know that in my district we have to use the state's choice of SIS. I feel like that is a good decision because some students may move schools and this helps with transferring records. We also had a recent change in SIS programs within the last year. The state adopted a completely different SIS that is more widely used. The program does have a lot to offer with the connections between regular student data (grades, family information, courses taken) and things, such as Special Education records. 

As with most changes though, the training was very little or completely non-existent. We switch over to PowerSchool and have the added Special Programs side for Special Education records also. I can usually teach myself a lot of software and programs, but some others cannot. I feel like a lot of people rely on me to teach them because they know I do have a degree in technology. It always goes back to lack of training. It seems to be stuck on repeat. 

                    

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This also included teaching myself how to use the Special Programs software as well, since I am a Special Education teacher. I do have a lot of "rights" within PowerSchool that some teachers do not because I am Special Education. This gives me a lot to learn. I do enjoy being able to have all the information so easily combined. It is limited for our General Education teachers, as they do not have the access to view student Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Maybe as our district continues to roll out updates, they will be able to view them for themselves. 

As a technology leader in my department, I am constantly helping others with the new program and updates. It is a lot to learn and if you are not particularly computer savvy, it can be daunting. It would normally be the job of a technology coordinator to train others, but honestly everyone is still learning it and there has been very little training implemented. Especially with the Special Programs side of the SIS, those that would normally train probably have never used it. It is not something that would be accessible to them because they are not Special Education teachers. 

Below is a quick review given by a teacher about PowerSchool. My opinion of PowerSchool is very good at the moment. It runs smoother than our old SIS, and has less back and forth to switch between features.

        

While PowerSchool is working for our district's needs, we also have to make sure that the data is safe from breeches.  Klose et. al says, "Each type of data can be harmful if disclosed in particular contexts, even if all personally identifiable information is removed" (p. 451). They go on to say, "Any EdTech data breach or unjustified student tracking infringes student privacy, generates huge controversy, and produces big headlines" (p. 451). We must take all the proper precautions and ensure that student information is protected. Each school or district should have a plan for the possibility of breech. 

Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's handbook. International Society for Technology in Education.

Klose, M., Desai, V., Song, Y., & Gehringer, E. (2020). EDM and Privacy: Ethics and Legalities of Data Collection, Usage, and Storage. International Educational Data Mining Society.

YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfgYx_JKed8

How can schools utilize funds to get the most out of it?

                        

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That's what we are talking about here. Public schools get a lot of money to spend each year. A lot of this money is in the form of grants. The problem is that someone has to decide how to spend it while also making sure to follow guidelines laid out by the district or state. This is not an easy job and it may need to be a team effort. Making these decisions needs to be considered carefully with a well thought-out plan. 

There are two basic types of grants that are available: entitlement grants and competitive grants. Entitlement grants include Title I, Title VI, and Eisenhower funds. Schools that qualify for Title I grants must have high numbers of low-income families. The best thing about these grants is that there are so many options of how the money can be used. Each school can use these funds to purchase supplies, instructional materials, programs, and technology. 

Technology is one of the best investments to make using entitlement grants. So many students in low-income schools would never have access to certain technology. It is important that we are able to provide opportunities for these students to learn how to use technology if we want to prepare them for the best possible future outcomes. Title I funding must use some of the funds to create opportunities for parental involvement. The video below is a brief description of examples of how families can become involved with schools through Title I engagements.

          

With competitive grants, schools must provide a proposal to compete for funding with other schools. These grants are awarded using criteria of organizations that provide the funding. This could be used for specific projects that cannot be funded through other means.

The main point here is that schools are funded from many sources, we just have to allocate them in the best way. It is the responsibility of the school to do the research on what those ways are. As a future leader in my own school, I have many ideas that would help improve student learning, teacher preparedness, and family involvement. I would love for these funds to provide students with some opportunities to be involved in new clubs and organizations that focus on using technology in ways that they do not do in the classrooms. Even to offer new courses that could teach students real world uses and problem solving with technology. Students today think they know everything about technology but most of them only know cell phones and how to use those apps. They need to be learning real computer skills that will prepare them for jobs when they graduate. Some students may not attend college and need to have those opportunities in K-12 schools, so they can be successful in the future. I hope that I will be able to have my ideas heard or implemented someday. 

Resources

Frazier, M., & Hearrington, D. (2017). The Technology Coordinator's handbook. International Society for Technology in Education.

YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaJRFQzH1w

Education Week. (2021, June 7). The Every Student Succeeds Act: Explained. Education Week. Retrieved March 15, 2022, from https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/the-every-student-succeeds-act-explained/2015/12

Why do we give teachers tools if we do not take the time to train them how to use them?

I know how most teachers feel about professional development. Ugh!

In my experience as a teacher, I've been given a lot of tools, software, devices, programs. You name it and I probably have a teacher account that my district has provided. What is lacking is the training in how to use all of them or even most of them. So many times, teachers are sent tutorial videos to watch on their own time when given something new to learn. Other times, teachers have to teach themselves or find videos online to learn things. Something that I have noticed is that training is given for things that teachers do not even use on a daily basis. We have to change this.

As a future technology coordinator, I want to make it a mission to provide training for teachers often and make sure that it will actually be relevant. Teachers do not want to feel like their time is wasted on training for "nothing." This means that leaders need to get input from teachers on what they need and what will be the most beneficial. They also need to provide training on new things that will show teachers the ways to use them in their own classrooms. All of this leads to the video below that explains examples of how to make professional development work well.

             

This video is a great overview of why PD fails and how we can improve it in the future. I know that when I just have to sit and listen, I will "zone out" frequently. If someone gives me something to work with and practice, I will stay engaged and remember it better. This is how we are taught to teach our students, so why would teaching adults be any different. If the teachers can learn to use something new, they will be able to incorporate it in lessons to teach the students to use it. In the article, How to Introduce New Tech in Districts, Without Tech Burnout, Akilah Willery, a Texas-based K-12 education strategist is quoted saying, "Kids might be comfortable typing, turning their cameras on or learning from a video, but they still need someone to guide them through it." (Brereton, 2022). Teachers need guidance too. 

I want to make changes like this and become someone that will lead teachers to provide real learning experiences for their students. We are in charge of making the future better for them and the rest of the world.

Resources

GIF - https://giphy.com/

YouTube video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG7fXp5BmOE

Brereton, Erin. (2022, February 4). How to introduce New Tech in districts, without Tech Burnout. Technology Solutions That Drive Education. Retrieved February 14, 2022, from https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2022/02/how-introduce-new-tech-districts-without-tech-burnout

Impact Cycle of Coaching: Learn and Improve

This whole idea of Instructional Coaching is something new to me. I had never heard of it until recently. I knew of mentor teachers but that is not exactly the same thing. Instructional coaching requires a relationship that is trusting and honest. It will be one where all people involved will benefit. The video below is a brief overview of what instructional coaching needs to be.

            

After reading chapter four of The Impact Cycle, I feel that making a checklist will be a great starting point for the coaching process. I will be coaching a veteran teacher. We have discussed that she wants to get more student engagement for the whole class period. Her struggle is with the use of technology in meaningful ways that provide the engagement she wants. I use checklist for myself in other ways all the time. Knight et. al (2018) says, "Checklists help a coach remember everything by providing a clear structure and map for explaining the teaching strategies to teachers." (p. 86).

We will use the checklist and then use modeling. My approach to modeling would one centered around co-teaching. Co-teaching is something common in my school and for my specific job as an inclusion teacher. Students are usually comfortable with multiple teachers in the classroom and it will not be teaching a whole lesson. The plan will be to introduce students to the technology aspect of a lesson and make sure that they are able to get started. This will benefit the teacher by showing the students more ways to accomplish goals also.

My main goal will be to assist on technology implementation and issues. I will not be there to teach for her. I want her to feel like it is her classroom and I am just visiting to help with something. This is most beneficial to all parties involved. 

Glover et. al (2019) talks about using a technology based platform to track the coaching process and keep things moving. About the program they say, "Teachers’ intention to implement interventions and sustain implementation across time and contexts is reinforced within the coaching platform by prompts for coaches to engage in modeling, role play, and provision of feedback in response to teachers’ practices." (p. 99).

The next thing to look at in coaching is to improve. Teachers can now be ready to use these new strategies on their own. Walsh et. al (2020) says, "Through this progress review, coaches intentionally encourage and assist teachers to find success and remain encouraged in their improvement efforts." (p. 1145). Teachers can modified if they need to for students with different needs at this point. They will know what is best for their students. 

I feel like I am becoming more prepared to coach others. Each step of the way has carefully laid out plans and ideas. This helps me make decisions and keep focused on what needs to be done. I hope to continue to grow in my coaching efforts and am able to coach more teachers in the future. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ohssmq5tIE

Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin, A Sage Company.

Knight, J., Knight, J. R., & Carlson, C. (2018). The Reflection Guide to the impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin.

Walsh, N. R., Ginger, K., & Akhavan, N. (2020). Benefits of Instructional Coaching for Teacher Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study with PreK-6 Teachers in California. Issues in Educational Research, 30(3), 1143-1161.

Glover, T. A., Reddy, L. A., Kurz, A., & Elliot, S. N. (2019). Use of an Online Platform to Facilitate and Investigate Data-Driven Instructional Coaching. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44(2), 95-103. 

Instructional Coaching. I CAN Do This.

It is important to start by saying that I am new to the idea of instructional coaching. We don't have what you would call Instructional Coaches in my district. I guess you could consider some of the teachers working at the district office to be instructional coaches. They are what we call Resource Teachers. These select few work in all different departments and are available to educate teachers in anything new that comes through. I would say that is kind of my dream job, to teach teachers. With my master's degree in technology, I would love to be able to help other teachers find and use technology in meaningful ways. The video below talks about coaching teachers to do just that.

              

I feel like all teachers engage in coaching and mentoring with each other on a daily basis. We stand around and talk about students, good and bad. We bounce ideas off of each other and may even decide to try some of those ideas. It could be something as simple as a strategy to stop a problem behavior with one student that worked in another class. 

In the article, Benefits of instructional coaching for teacher efficacy: A mixed methods study with PreK-6 teachers in California, Walsh et. al (2020) says "Instructional coaching is a way of embedding professional learning opportunities into the day-to-day work of teachers. Their work can increase both teacher efficacy and agency in the coachee's ability to promote students' learning and increase teacher retention rates, particularly in urban areas." (p. 1144-1145). This leads me to believe that districts should take the idea of instructional coaches seriously. With more research being done, the number of educators open to the idea will grow. Those of us in college programs that offer tools on instructional coaching will be able to move into those roles as they become more prevalent. 

The instructional coaching cycle is a great way to get started when new to the concept. Most teachers can identify something they need to improve on without having to think too hard. In my first year of teaching, it was definitely classroom management strategies. I would get so much advice from other, more seasoned teachers, but nothing I tried worked for me. I wish that there had been someone to coach me through that difficult time. I did survive, but had a rotten year. Luckily for me, I was not asked back and was able to find a job that helped me grow more as a teacher. 

In The Impact Cycle, Knight (2018) begins by describing a coaching relationship with a teacher in which she was able to find the right goal by having her lesson recorded. This helped her to see what someone else would see if they were in the classroom watching her and her students. This helped herself and her coach to collaborate and make a plan. I think the idea to video is the perfect way to process your own teaching. It could be helpful to imagine that you are being filmed everyday by professionals that will share your teaching. In a way, you sort of are. Every day that you teach, those students are filming you in their minds. That means that everyday is the most important day in your teaching career. 

The next steps in the Impact Cycle are to learn and improve. Walsh et. al (2020) says that "Stage Two, Learn, includes partnership work of discovering, attempting, and enhancing teaching strategies in order to meet the identified goal. This work can include coach modelling [sic], co-teaching, and viewing other teachers' live or recorded examples." (p. 1145). This makes me always think of being a life-long learner. Teachers need to always be learning new things to make sure that they can be the best. With learning new things and strategies, we can apply those to our teaching and improve our methods. 

Back to what I am striving to achieve. I want to use my knowledge of technology to help other teachers enhance their lessons with technology. One thing you always hear from teachers is, "I don't do technology."

                    

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This is a terrible statement. What they really need to say is, "I'm willing to learn." This is why we need instructional coaches. Maybe someday soon I can find this role in my own school or district. 

Knight (2018) says there are three approaches to coaching -- facilitative, directive, and dialogical. I think the best approach is the dialogical approach. In this approach, you should have the best results. Knight says, "Dialogical coaches do not give advice; they share possible strategies with teachers and let teachers decide whether they want to try one of them or some other strategy to meet their goals." (2018, p. 13). This means that the coach is letting the teacher be the decision maker and they will be able to put the students' needs first. When the students are taken into consideration over the teacher, they will have the best outcome.

Now that I have a better understanding of what an instructional coach does, I think I could do that in the future. As long as I continue to learn and practice, I can accomplish those goals and more.

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https://youtu.be/4l5JBUacW1w

Knight, J. (2018). The impact cycle: What instructional coaches should do to foster powerful improvements in teaching. Corwin, A Sage Company.

Walsh, N. R., Ginger, K., & Akhavan, N. (2020). Benefits of Instructional Coaching for Teacher Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study with PreK-6 Teachers in California. Issues in Educational Research, 30(3), 1143-1161.

ED 601 Module 4 Blog Reflection

 

Why do we need to use Instructional Design? 

We have all been to many professional developments (PDs) in our careers. Most of the time we sit there listening to someone lecture for hours and leave feeling like we learned nothing. This is why we need Instructional Design. This helps the teacher/presenter to know what materials will be the best to make the learners achieve their goals. Brown and Green (2020) say, " it includes development of instructional materials and activities, and tryout and evaluation of all instruction and learner activities." (p. 7).

So, what can we do to make sure our own teaching follows a good design? Here are some tips to making your instruction successful.

In this process, I have learned more about the need to plan your instruction. In writing an outline and thinking about what the needs are it has helped me to understand how to implement instruction that will be meaningful now and in the future. Brown and Green (2020) say, " it is good practice for an instructional designer to observe the environment personally rather than solely relying on the client's description." (p. 60). I will use this strategy in all my future professional development planning.

For the purposes of this class, I thought about needs in my own school. I work as a Special Education teacher and try to make the workload easier by using technology. For my own caseload of students, I had established a spreadsheet of services that streamlined all the information into one document. I decided that I would use that to present to the department as a whole so that everyone can streamline their data. This will be utilized through the use of Excel online and can be shared across the school with General Education teachers as well. The process will reduce the amount of paper wasted on copying and printing. It will make our job more efficient so that we have time for other things. Here is a picture of my sample Excel Spreadsheet to use for yourself. 

As you can see this will be able to hold all the information for all Special Education students in one place, with separate sheets for each grade level. I hope that this accepted into our department as a great tool to continue to use in the future. The document can also be printed for teachers that wish to have a hard copy. It will also be a live document that can be edited as IEP accommodations change. 

I am always looking for ways to make my job more efficient and easier in the long run. I do not like writing things out when I can type them. I do not like printing and making copies if I can share it electronically. 

Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2020). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Routledge.

Purdue online. (n.d.). What is instructional design? https://online.purdue.edu/blog/education/what-is-instructional-design.

Teachers' instructional strategies infographic - e-learning infographics. e. (2013, December 22). https://elearninginfographics.com/teachers-instructional-strategies-infographic/.

ED 601 Module 3 Blog Reflection

 

As educators we all dread the words Professional Development (PD). It is just something that makes teachers feel as if they have wasted valuable time that could have been used for something else. As long as students' needs and experiences keep changing, we will still need to engage in PD to learn the tools to connect with them. According to Weidenseld and Bashevis (2013), "teachers report a lack of respect from district personnel in regard to their time and their opinions about PD. (p. 105)." They go on to say that "empowering teachers to select the types of PD and compensating them for time outside the workday would help improve teacher attitudes and participation. (p. 105)." 

In the video below, Eric Sheninger says we have to change to meet the students where they are.

            

First off, I think that learning can occur with so many different resources and in a lot of different places. There is no one right way to learn or to teach. Teachers have to practice their methods and they have to do so in a way that compliments their personality. Brown and Green (2020) say, "As a novice instructional designer developing your own repertoire of instructional activities, it is important to experiment with those that have the greatest potential to positively affect your students' achievement. (p.147)." At the same time, teachers have to think about their learners and how to keep them engaged and motivated. 

We can do this with students and adults by including things they will enjoy. Things like videos, activities to collaborate, small projects that can be done quickly. Something I think is a great tool is Padlet. If you have not used it before, you can access a free trial here. This has unique ways to collaborate and share content with others synchronously or asynchronously. I have been designing ways to use it with students for the school year and I could apply that to use in PD sessions also. Below is an example screenshot of something that I am currently working on with Padlet to use as a "Get to know you" activity. 

I mentioned videos before, but just watching them can be boring to some. You can help break up the video by using EdPuzzle. If you have not tried it, click here for a free trial. With EdPuzzle, you can take any video and edit it to include questions throughout. You can use YouTube videos with it as well. You can make voice recordings over the videos and include notes also. This is a good tool to keep students and adults engaged. 

There are so many more ways to design and present a PD session. I know that my future will include a lot of practice with this. I will leave with a final video that is used often to inspire new educators. I first saw this video as a student in an education course. The video is of Rita Pierson, who was a great educator. She inspired students and teachers throughout her life and continues even after she has passed on. This video works and I would recommend it to any educators that have not seen it before. 

Weidenseld, Y., & Bashevis, Y. (2013). Professional Development: Perspectives, Strategies and Practices. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Brown, A., & Green, T. D. (2020). The essentials of instructional design: Connecting fundamental principles with process and practice. Routledge.

YouTube. (2014). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwrLVvORugw.

YouTube. (2013). YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHhKdkw.