Another day...another change. Change is good. Previously, I was attempting to determine when our customers would access the podcasts that we provide. In my survey the results showed basically whenever. In other words, different times work for different people. That is the point of podcasts. To pinpoint one specific time that our customers would access podcasts really defeats the purpose in the first place.
Therefore, I went back to my school-based days from the previous 6 years and my involvement with school improvement and SAC. I served as SAC chair at 2 different schools and I am currently providing trainings and support for SAC chairs and committees in the county.
My new action research is to draw on my previous experiences from SAC and consider the people that I train. How can podcasts benefit the school improvement process? How can podcasts assist SAC officers in creating more effective meetings? How can podcasts improve the communication between SAC officers from different schools.
We are working on building SAC learning communities and I hope that podcasts can be infused to guide the learning process and the sharing of information, best practices, or whatever.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Friday, November 03, 2006
Progress Report
The title of my action research is when will our audience access the podcasts that we provide? To this point, I have only surveyed members of our learning community and it shows that the ideal time to access podcasts would be after work and after dinner. This is still early in the process, so I anticipate that it might change some. In the future, I will be polling our targeted audience.
My target audience is all staff who will benefit from staff development...which is all staff!!! We should all continue to be life long learners. I will focus on those who are currently participating in staff development to determine their level of comfort with podcasts. Also, that will lead to my action research focus of if they access, when will they access.
The issue that I selected was decided on when I started getting familiar with my iPod. I realized that I had all of this information but I was struggling with finding time to actually access the different podcasts. I am curious if those who access podcasts, will need to give up something else. In other words, will it take the place of reading the newspaper, watching the evening news, watching college football, etc.
This action research will assist in reaching the needs of our customers. Adding new technology to make training easier is a great idea. However, that technology will need to be able to fit into the busy schedules of our customers. Determining what they need and finding out any pitfalls before we unveil some of this technology, will help to provide a more clean and efficient product.
My target audience is all staff who will benefit from staff development...which is all staff!!! We should all continue to be life long learners. I will focus on those who are currently participating in staff development to determine their level of comfort with podcasts. Also, that will lead to my action research focus of if they access, when will they access.
The issue that I selected was decided on when I started getting familiar with my iPod. I realized that I had all of this information but I was struggling with finding time to actually access the different podcasts. I am curious if those who access podcasts, will need to give up something else. In other words, will it take the place of reading the newspaper, watching the evening news, watching college football, etc.
This action research will assist in reaching the needs of our customers. Adding new technology to make training easier is a great idea. However, that technology will need to be able to fit into the busy schedules of our customers. Determining what they need and finding out any pitfalls before we unveil some of this technology, will help to provide a more clean and efficient product.
Friday, October 27, 2006
Direction
Wow! I have finally been able to settle down, after the baby, and take a look at the exciting technology that is in our grasp. iPod's, podcasts, etc. are brand new to me and I really didn't quite understand the potential that they have in regards to my professional and personal life. Now I finally understand.
As I was getting to know my iPod and exploring the different options that are now available, I figured out how to subscribe to different podcasts. The first few that I found were just audio...then video. I was amazed that I can watch CNN in my hand. The quality of the picture was amazing and the fact that my iPod will automatically update with new podcasts is crazy. The potential with this technology has no boundaries.
Then, my initial excitement turned to thoughts of who this technology would be perfect for. I picture the typical person using this as someone who lives in a big city. They travel to and from work via train, cab, bus, etc. They have some time on their hands where they can catch up on the news or other items of interest via podcasts.
Now, I think back to my customers. Are teachers or other district employees going to buy into the podcast/iPod swing? Do they have the time to devote to this technology?
If the answer to those questions are both yes, when will our customers access the professional development podcasts that we provide? That is now my focus for my action research. When will our customers access the podcasts we provide? Are they going to do it during a planning time? Are they going to access that instead of reading the newspaper in the afternoon? After dinner? When?
As I was getting to know my iPod and exploring the different options that are now available, I figured out how to subscribe to different podcasts. The first few that I found were just audio...then video. I was amazed that I can watch CNN in my hand. The quality of the picture was amazing and the fact that my iPod will automatically update with new podcasts is crazy. The potential with this technology has no boundaries.
Then, my initial excitement turned to thoughts of who this technology would be perfect for. I picture the typical person using this as someone who lives in a big city. They travel to and from work via train, cab, bus, etc. They have some time on their hands where they can catch up on the news or other items of interest via podcasts.
Now, I think back to my customers. Are teachers or other district employees going to buy into the podcast/iPod swing? Do they have the time to devote to this technology?
If the answer to those questions are both yes, when will our customers access the professional development podcasts that we provide? That is now my focus for my action research. When will our customers access the podcasts we provide? Are they going to do it during a planning time? Are they going to access that instead of reading the newspaper in the afternoon? After dinner? When?
Friday, October 13, 2006
Intro
I am excited about getting involved in this aspect of technology. It is time to expand my horizons and utilize all of the resources that are available. In my 2+ months with HRD, I have gained valuable skills with technology. I no longer just know how to troubleshoot. Recently, I have grown comfortable with Elluminate and Blackboard. I am gaining experience with i Movie and now I am going to learn all of the uses of i Pods. Blogging is new to me as well but Tanya was very convincing and I am excited to learn via this Learning Community.
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