Internship+Log+EDLD+5344


 * Appendix H: Course-based Embedded Hours Internship Log Dorothy Patel **




 * Lamar University – M.Ed. in Educational Technology Leadership**

Course-based Embedded Hours Internship Log
**// Directions: //** In submitting your Course-based Embedded Assignment Log for each Assignment in Appendix H of the Internship Handbook, you are required to reflect on the assignments by completing a reflection in your course wiki/e-portfolio that should contain a minimum of 300 words. These logs will be used to assist you in completing your EDLD 5388/5370 *Please note that course number changes in Fall 2010* Internship comprehensive exam final report. Students should use and cite their textbook references as well as two additional references when writing each reflection. The reflection must consist of statements regarding the knowledge you gained from the assignment and how the assignment helped you master the Technology Facilitator Standard(s) /Indicator(s).
 * == Course Number: == || == Course Name:  == || == Course-based Embedded Hours  ==

(see Appendix I)
||
 * **EDLD 5344** ||  **School Law**  || **12 hours** ||


 * == Description of the ==

(see Appendix I)
|| Student and personal management of technology. Based on the week 5 reflection assignment. ||
 * The knowledge you gained from the assignment. (2 points)
 * The relation of new information to Technology Facilitator Standards and Performance Indicators (2 points).
 * The relation of information gained to personal experience. (2 points)
 * Discussion at a critical level, not just recitation of facts. Discussion at a critical level means discussing things such as your opinion of the reading or experience, why you hold that onion, what you see wrong with the reading or experience, how you see the reading or experience is consistent or inconsistent with what you have learned so far, implications for the future, (4 )
 * insights into the patterns of interactions of colleagues.(2 points)
 * group processes including: who had power, authority, or influence; who was participating and who was not, who was not included, how did you or another leader draw the silent participants out; was there confrontation, conflict, consensus, agreement, hurt feelings? (2 points)
 * notations addressing the affective or feeling tone evident, concerns you noticed. (2 points)
 * questions you have that you should research or about which you can seek expert advice from your campus-based supervisor or your professor. (2 points)
 * Issues that puzzle you. (2 points)
 * Issues that puzzle you. (2 points)

(Minimum of 250 Words) || The issue of copyright infringement is one of the most relevant to me as a school technology leader. The reason this issue is so important is that I regularly deal with copyright limitations as a music teacher. Despite my knowledge on the subject in the area of music and music lyrics, I was a little surprised to find that other material on the internet is protected by copyright law.

With so much material readily available, it is important to teach students and teachers alike about copyright infringement, what constitutes fair use, how to find non-copyrighted material, and how to obtain permission to use copyrighted material. As a school technology leader, educating the staff and student body about copyright laws and the consequences for copyright infringement as it pertains to technology would be my responsibility.

Why is this so important? The most important reason is to protect students, teachers and school districts from costly lawsuits and fines. “The key ingredient to avoiding claims of infringement is for schools to understand the law and the need to contact copyright owners to negotiate the terms under which the schools may use the copyrighted works.” (Bissonette, 2009) In addition to avoiding potential litigation, students and teachers must realize that copyright infringement is an ethical issue as well.

Prior to taking this class, I was not aware of the amount of time that administrators spend on teacher evaluations, nor that they generally perceive that teacher evaluations have little direct impact on improving an individual’s teaching and subsequent student learning. (Kersten and Israel, 2005)

Despite these facts, some type of evaluation tool is necessary, as well as professional development designed to create better teachers. Some suggestions for improving teacher performance are to tie staff development to student data, and to make staff development consistent and focused on best practice. (Kersten and Israel, 2005) These suggestions are a good place to start in the area of improving teaching in a school. However, I have much to learn about the teacher evaluation process. The first place to start is to study the detailed rubric for evaluating teachers which is provided by our district. The next step is to research best practices for improving teacher performance, so that I can address any deficiencies observed. The main goal is to use teacher evaluation as a tool to improve teaching, resulting in better student achievement.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> One of the most relevant student-management issues that has come to light, as a result of this course as well as recent media publicity, is the issue of cyber-bullying. It is easy to become annoyed with the blitz of media attention to the problem of bullying, which has been around since the beginning of time. However, the internet brings a whole new form of bullying; and, schools, being the place where most bullying begins, must take action to reduce its occurrence.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As I studied the assigned readings, and listened to the lectures over the last few weeks, I was reminded of an incident that occurred a few years ago. When monitoring my son’s Xanga site, (Xanga is social networking/blog site that has been eclipsed by MySpace and Facebook, but was quite popular a few years ago.) I noticed some disturbing posts from his “friends” about an unpopular teacher. Students who were unhappy with the teacher made very negative “gay” comments, as well as unflattering comments about the school program with which they were all involved. The students had usernames that did not identify them. According the the definition offered by Shariff (2004), this behavior is cyber bullying. I printed the comments and gave them to the teacher, then notified Xanga that the comments violated their policy. I also alerted other parents about the site. The posts were removed by Xanga. The teachers involved warned the students in the group about posting negative comments that mentioned the teachers or organization by name. That was it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">If the school had decided to investigate the incident, could they have done anything, since the comments were made off campus? In light of this incident, and recent cyber-bullying cases, I would like to see a school district policy that addresses the issue. As a technology leader, I would develop professional development that educates teachers; and provide materials and resources for teachers to educate their students.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">References

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Bissonette, A. M. (2009). //Cyber law: Maximizing safety and minimizing risk in classrooms//. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Kersten, T. A., & Israel, M. S. (2005). Teacher evaluation: Principal's insights and suggestions for improvement. //Planning and Changing//, 36(1&2), 47-67.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Shariff, S. (2004). Keeping schools out of court: Legally defensible models of leadership. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.5;">//The Educational Forum//. Wilson Education <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Abstracts. ||