PB Wiki- Stephen M. Annest

 

About Me:

 Family is certainly the most important component of who I am.  I've been married to my high school girlfriend Nicole for 12 years.  Nicole is a surgeon and as such we have moved several times over the past 6 years in order for her to complete her residency and fellowship.  We moved back to Colorado last summer from Del Mar, California in north coast San Diego County.  We have two beautiful daughters Gabriella 10, and Marianna 6.  I spend as much time as possible outside and love to cycle, surf, ski, climb and run.  Additionally, I've found myself watching a ridicuolous number of kid soccer games over the past 4 years. 

 

Professional Experience: 

 I am currently teaching Earth Science at Ralston Valley High School.  I am in my tenth year teaching and have taught an array of science classes at four different high schools in three different states throughout my career. 

 

I attended Colorado State University and graduated in 1997 with a degree in Natural Resource Management.  It was not until I was about four months into a position with an environmental company that I decided my true passion in life was educating young people.  I quit my job and enrolled in DU's Teacher Education Program the following fall.

 

In 1999,  I accepted my first position teaching at Arvada West High School where I spent the next four years.  In addition to teaching at A-West, I was a member of the football coaching staff.  In 2001, I received a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Teaching with Technology from DU.  In 2003, due to my wife's work,  I moved to Iowa City, Iowa and taught for the next three years at Linn-Mar High School during this time I continued coaching football.  I also started teaching Advanced Placement Biology.  In 2006 we moved to California where I taught Advanced Placement Biology at Torrey Pines High School.

 

This class marks the end of my course work in the WSEPP program and I'm very excited to reclaim my weekends.  My intention is to remain a class room teacher until the "right" administrative position becomes available.  I truly love to school that I teach at and work with an outstanding group of teachers.

 

 

 

Action Plan of Stephen M. Annest

 

 

Strand 1 – Basic Technology Skills and Applications

What skills, experience, and/or willingness can an administrator model in regards to using technology without having to be an “expert”?

 

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
III. Productivity and Professional Practice Educational leaders apply technology to enhance their professional practice and to increase their own productivity and that of others.	Explore Web 2.0 Resources and share appropriate resources with staff.	Provide staff development that enables staff to learn and utilize various web 2.0 resources.	Collaborate with staff to use technologies that improve student learning.

 

 

Strand 2 –Leadership Skills

How will you, as a leader and facilitator, help others focus on a vision that improves student achievement and facilitates continuous professional growth?

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
I. Leadership and Vision Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.	Create a visual ranking tool that will allow me to gain an understanding of teachers’ attitudes on ICT and strategies that will improve student learning.	Administer the ranking tool in order to gain consensus among staff.	Encourage staff to collaborate using appropriate technologies to improve student learning.
II. Learning and Teaching Educational leaders ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching.	Introduce staff to selected technologies through tools such as “Innovation Odyssey”, “Thinkfinity” and “Gcast”.   Encourage teachers to utilize the links below to integrate curriculum with ICT.	Assist staff in using these and other technologies. Utilize Intel’s Assessment tools to monitor student progress.	Staff curriculum instruction will be tied to appropriate technologies that improve student learning.
IV. Support, Management, and Operations Educational leaders ensure the integration of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.	Become familiar with District Technology Policy. Research building capabilities including bandwidth, computer speed, wireless capability etc.	Ensure that building capabilities are adequate in order to meet the needs of the shared vision.	Staff will effectively utilize ICT resources that improve curriculum instruction and student learning.
V. Assessment and Evaluation Educational leaders use technology to plan and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation	Staff will complete the survey created in “Survey Monkey”	Data gained will be evaluated and staff development will be designed to meet identified needs	Another survey will be taken to assess and evaluate ongoing development.

 

 

Strand 3 – Social, Legal and Ethical

What systems and resources do you need in place to ensure that available technologies support and enhance the learning environment?

	Short Range	Medium Range	Long Range
VI. Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues Educational leaders understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible decision-making related to these issues.	Staff will complete the “Copyright Quiz”.   This will springboard a discussion of what is and is not successful	Staff development will provide additional resources on copyright law.	Staff will ethically follow copyright law.

 

 

 

Detailed Steps of the Action Plan

Leadership and Vision

Educational leaders inspire a shared vision for comprehensive integration of technology and foster an environment and culture conducive to the realization of that vision.

 

1-      Utilize Intel’s visual ranking tool to gain an understanding of teachers’ attitudes on ICT strategies that will improve student learning.

2-      Teachers will log on to http://educate.intel.com/workspace/student/login.aspx?LID=en

 

Teacher ID- smannest@gmail.com

Team ID- danmorris

Password- danmorris

 

 

Learning and Teaching

Educational leaders ensure that curricular design, instructional strategies, and learning environments integrate appropriate technologies to maximize learning and teaching.

 

 

1-     Encourage teachers to discover existing lessons plans using selected technologies through utilizing “Innovation Odyssey”, “Thinkfinity” and “Gcast”.   Encourage teachers to utilize the links below to integrate curriculum with ICT.

 

 

Innovation Odyssey-http://educate.intel.com/odyssey/index.aspx?i=1

 

 

Thinkfinity- http://www.marcopolo-education.org/

 

2-     Introduce Gcast to staff and encourage the creation of podcasts to facilitate student learning.  Model appropriate uses of podcasts and brainstorm ideas as a staff to utlize podcasts.-   http://www.gcast.com/

 

 

3-     Staff will become familiar with Intel’s Assessment tools.

http://educate.intel.com/en/AssessingProjects/

4- End goal in mind… Staff curriculum instruction will be tied to appropriate technologies that improve student learning.  Formative and summative assessment tools will be utilized as we strive towards increased student learning.

 

Support, Management, and Operations

Educational leaders ensure the integration of technology to support productive systems for learning and administration.

 

1-     Become familiar with District Technology Policy.  Research building capabilities including bandwidth, computer speed, wireless capability etc.

2-     Ensure that building capabilities are adequate in order to meet the needs of the shared vision.

3-     Staff will work in a manner that is consistent with District Policy maximizing existing resources as we continually strive towards increasing student learning.

 

Assessment and Evaluation

Educational leaders use technology to plan and implement comprehensive systems of effective assessment and evaluation

 

1-     Staff will go to the following URL-

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=QPcFcxSVo_2few57xN2ugsww_3d_3d">Click Here to take survey</a>

2-     Data gained will be evaluated and staff development will be designed to meet identified needs

3-     Another survey will be taken to assess and evaluate ongoing development.

 

Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues

Educational leaders understand the social, legal, and ethical issues related to technology and model responsible decision-making related to these issues.

 

1-     Staff will complete the “Copyright Quiz”.   This will springboard a discussion of what is and is not successful

2-     Staff development will provide additional resources on copyright law.

http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/

http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright.php

3-     Administration will monitor and ensure that staff is ethically following copyright law.

 

Some questions to consider while you develop you own action plan (set of next steps) to help you lead to effectively integrate ICT into your school.

 

Describe your greatest strength in helping to integrate ICT into practice in your school

I am able to quickly learn and use new technologies.  I’m excited to increase productivity and am always looking for new ways to work smarter.

 

 

Describe your greatest weakness in helping to integrate ICT into practice in your school

Far too many tasks are constantly in front of me to do that often it is difficult to find the time to try something brand new.

 

 

Describe your greatest “personal” staff development need(s) in the area of ICT

Continued integration of curriculum with ICT.  Not “teach” a new technology but rather use “ICT” to improve curriculum instruction.

 

 

 

Describe what you believe to be the greatest staff development need(s) of teachers in your school in the area of ICT

Simply being made aware of the various free technologies that exist and how they can increase work productivity and student performance.  Simply put, a teacher will not use a new technology unless they are convinced that its use will make things easier and better.

 

Technology Tools you want to explore (software, hardware, Web 2.0, etc.)

Intel’s Education programs, Gcast, Wiki creation

 

School resources and support you will need

I’m fortunate to teach in a school that has abundant resources and very talented technology staff.  The greatest support needed is sufficient time to actually implement curricular change through ICT.