ed7900mod1 discssion2
Response1
Rica Glaze
RE: Discussion 2 - Module 1
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The three target areas in Edtech that I would like to focus on will be:
1. Internet access
As we all know, this became an apparent problem when the schools shut down in March 2020 due to COVID19. Teachers were scrambling to gather all their students online because many of them did not have internet access at home. The school district provided them wifi hotspots, but it took them a while to reach the students’ homes. Learning was difficult during that crisis mode. It was all dependent on how accessible and speedy the teachers’ and students’ home internet connections were. In my school district in Southern California, we waited more than a year to go back to school in-person. By then, it was hybrid. The students SHOULD have internet access at home. Otherwise, they could not attend their classes on the days they were scheduled to stay home. No attendance equates no learning. Similarly, in Grand City, if only 53% of the students have internet access at home (Walden University, 2016b), what education do we expect from those 47% who also have the same assignments, research papers, and homework as the 53%? According to Fullan (2016), the “implementation of educational change involves change in practice” (p.28). The school district budget increased $2000+ per student from 5 years ago (Walden University, 2016b), and they should provide mobile wifi hotspots, especially to the low-income students who cannot afford it. There should be a continuity of practice from the classroom to home to aid in mastering their academic skills. Having internet access is a fitting start.
1. Adequate training for teachers, both in academic areas and technology use
State testing scores of Grand City Grades 3-5 students show a decline within 5 years (Walden University, 2016b). The number of students who do not meet ELA proficiency increased by 10 percentage points, while the state decreased by 3 points. Likewise, the number of students who do not meet Math proficiency increased by 5 percentage points, while the state decreased by 12 points (Walden University, 2016b). What is going on? I do not agree with blaming teachers. Certainly, these teachers are worried the district uses this data in evaluating their performance, and they will be pressured to do better in unrealistic ways (Mandinach, et al., 2015). I do not believe that all Grades 3-5 teachers in Grand City are incompetent. Instead of playing the blame game, this data should be a driving force for all decision makers in the district, school administrators and teachers alike that something needs to be done at the classroom level. Teachers should be given training on how to be data literate, in addition to strengthening their pedagogical practices district-wide (Mandinach, et al., 2015). There are many digital tools available nowadays. There are also numerous programs online that give teachers instant feedback and class/student activity analysis. They can be differentiated for the students, depending on their academic level. If applied well in the classroom, these digital tools can be powerful in learning. If the teachers were data literate, they could use the information for instruction, appropriate data display, and appropriate communication (Mandinach, et al., 2015).
3. strong data infrastructure at the national/state level
Mandinach, et al. (2015) stated that teachers have been teaching in the classroom using data, but it did not have a name then. All this data that they have been using needs a strong infrastructure at the national/state level to store students’ information for many years. Mandinach, et al. (2015) believes that longitudinal data systems is a solution to this. It is best to have this infrastructure wherein administrators and educators can have access to understand a student, a class, school, or even a whole district at a certain year or even a long period of time. This would surely aid the data-literate school administrators and teachers in making decisions to improve not just academic proficiency of students, but also their behavior, attendance, and social and emotional needs.
When all these target areas above are addressed, educational technologists like me would create a great impact not just on a classroom or district level, but also on a state and national level. There will be organization of data for the school officials and teachers to employ so they can make the appropriate decisions for the best of their students. If these target areas are addressed in Grand City, there will be improvement in students’ attendance, proficiency in Math and ELA, and graduation rates. This has a ripple effect throughout the city in the aspect of workforce, social services, etc.
References:
Gonzalez-Sancho, C., & Vincent-Lancrin, S. (2016). Transforming education by using a new generation of information systems. Policy Futures in Education, 14(6), 1-18. doi: 10.1177/1478210316649287.
Mandinach, E. B., Parton, B., Gummer, E. S., & Anderson, R. (2015). Ethical and appropriate data use requires data literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(5), 25–27. doi:10.1177/0031721715569465
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016b). Grand City education and demographic data files [PDF]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
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References
Response 2
Kendall Pankake
Kendall Pankake: Initial Discussion Post
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Good afternoon,
Coming from the view of an administrator, it is difficult to choose only three areas on which to focus as I feel a sense of responsibility to support and grow all initiatives about which the task force members spoke (Walden, 2017a). Working at the secondary level, I will choose to focus on graduation rate, occupational data, and office referrals/suspensions (Walden 2016b).
Student graduation rate is a key performance indicator of a high school. Increased graduation rates mean that stakeholders are creating an environment that supports high achievement and access for all students. Grand City data demonstrated that, overall, the graduation rate has decreased from five years ago (Walden, 2016b). To go into greater detail, it is evident that graduation rates for White students, African American students, Asian students, and American Indian students have increased (Walden, 2016b). Graduation rates for Hispanic students and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students have decreased (Walden, 2016b). There is not sufficient historical data to determine past graduation rates for students from Riza, but the current graduation rate for students from Riza is a staggering 20 percent (Walden, 2016b). An increased graduation rate is important as it is an indicator of student engagement, access to advanced coursework, and opportunities for students to think critically and collaboratively (Heinrich et al., 2021). As an administrator, these are all items on which I am able to have a positive effect.
Second, I would like to focus on occupational data. Reflecting on the data presented, it is clear that over the last five years, there has been a decrease in the education level achieved by the people of the Grand City community (Walen, 2016b). The unemployment rate has almost doubled in the city while it has actually decreased in the state (Walden, 2016b). Furthermore, the population of blue collar workers has decreased by 19% in the last five years (Walden, 2016b). Included within the goals of any high school, there should be one related to preparing students for post-secondary success. The rationale for choosing this as a focus area is because, at the high school level, there are many ways to expose students to postsecondary opportunities when the appropriate structures are put into place.
Finally, I chose to focus on office referrals and suspensions. In the data representation, they are two separate focus areas. However, I would argue that they go hand-in-hand. Looking at the data, office referrals have increased for all students (Walden, 2016b). However, there have been greater increases for African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Riza students (Walden, 2016b). The same is true to an even greater extent for suspension rates (Walden, 2016b). This is a crucial focus area as students are not able to grow and achieve academically when they are removed from the educational setting. If students’ behavior is getting in the way of their learning, an effective administrator would look at the systems involved in supporting students to grow behaviorally so that they are able to access their education. Decreasing these numbers would ultimately lead to higher achievement in other areas.
References
Heinrich, C. J., & Darling-Aduana, J. (2021). Does online course-taking increase high school
completion and open pathways to postsecondary education opportunities? Educational Evaluation & Policy Analysis, 43(3), 367–390. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373721993485
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2017a). Grand City opening task force meeting [Video
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2016b). Grand City education and demographic data files
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