Standard+V-Productivity+and+Professional+Practice

TF/TL Standard V deals with productivity tools and the use of technology in professional practice. I believe that I have learned a great deal over the course of the master's program at Lamar University. Although I already considered myself to be somewhat advanced when it comes to productivity with technology, I feel that as a campus technology facilitator on my campus next year, I will need to focus on many of the suggestions and performance indicators listed in relation to Standard V in order to help the other members of my campus become more productive in the use of technology tools. One of the primary means of accomplishing this goal is through the use of a wiki that I have already started, which contains a number of helpful websites and resources I have been exposed to throughout the program. Although many of my peers may be a little intimidated by technology tools in general, most are comfortable enough to simply explore links and browse/read for suggestions and new informations if they are readily available and easily accessible. Hopefully, this task will ensure the use of these resources on a more widespread basis. Additionally, I plan to use some of my time this summer to accomplish one of the indicators, which suggested the creation of helpful guides and tip sheets that provide information on common tasks that teachers must complete. The use of these guides and tip sheets will more than likely prove as a means of improving productivity due to the time saving nature of the task. To be specific, many educators fail to use productivity tools as a result of a lack of knowledge coupled with the inability to find time to ask questions and discuss their lack of understanding with other educators who are more informed. With this resource in place, this problem will be somewhat alleviated. With the collaborative efforts of others, once a few technology savvy teachers are more aware of tools such as blogs, wikis, and Google Sites, the creation of helpful tips and guides can be facilitated and easily shared. For example, many teachers on my campus are quite advanced in a very narrow array of software programs and technology tools. It would be ideal to have all of these individuals share their knowledge in the effort to create a broad knowledge base while saving time.
 * Standard V-- Productivity and Professional Practice**
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One issue that concerns me in regard to helping others implement technology tools is the lack of accessibility to technology for some community members and important stakeholders in the educational process, such as low income parents, which often are the support systems for at-risk students. I feel that it is an important issue to address this gap in availability of resources. One possible solution is the distribution of laptops to students within the district, which I would like to explore more in the future. I know there are other districts in close proximity to me that have implemented this strategy for bridging the gap. The most important aspect of this solution is probably budgeting and finance, which I would specifically need to study and review. Once the tools are in place, there is still the issue of Internet availability to all students, but there are some possible solutions already in place to address this. For instance, libraries and open network connections are two likely resolutions.

After completing the course work in this program, I feel much more knowledgeable about technology tools and effective use of technology, so I am very comfortable when my colleagues approach me for assistance with productivity tools. As a result of the combined assignments, I have at least a basic knowledge of almost every software application and its features available to teachers in my district. There are many tools that I still need to examine and learn about, but I feel like I am in a strong starting position to lead others on my campus **.