Course Description:
This course will explore the use of productivity tools and instructional software for curricular and administrative applications. Candidates will use advanced features of productivity tools to evaluate artifacts and data for instructional decision-making, and they will use the knowledge base on integrating technology to guide application of specific strategies in support of problem-based curricula. In addition, candidates will assist one or more teacher(s)/colleague(s) in using recommended tools and strategies.

Artifact:
For the final project in this course, I created and presented an Access database that I developed in collaboration with the principal of Holmes Elementary School. The database is to be used as a Behavior System, to replace the system currently in use. The database will allow teachers, other staff and administrators to electronically and more accurately keep track of student behaviors in the school. The principal and I worked closely on this project, and the final product includes fields for time of day, location of incident, staff member reporting the incident and student's homeroom teacher. These fields will allow staff to keep track of any trends or patterns and make adjustments as needed. In addition, various forms that are also included as part of the database will allow for greater ease of communication between the school and parents. The electronic version of the old system allows for greater accountability and access to records.

Reflection:
This project was an incredible learning experience for me. I had used databases for years but had never worked with the Microsoft Access database before. I found Access to be a very sophisticated program, and with that came the incredible learning curve needed to fully understand and appreciate it. Access works unlike the databases I had used in the past (Microsoft Works, AppleWorks), and I found its features to be quite anti-intuitive. In order to learn Access, I spent many hours consulting books (see Library) on Access, and I found using the Atomic Learning website, with its step-by-step videos, to be very helpful.

The really dynamic part of creating this database was the interaction with the principal, for whom I was creating this database. She and I spent many meetings talking about the current system at the school, the flaws she saw with it, and what she hoped to achieve by creating a new system. The database itself took many shapes over the course of this class, and I was forced to learn more about Access and do a lot of problem-solving to find out what could and could not be accomplished. Read more about the process of creating this database, and see more screenshots of what the database looks like, by clicking here.

After creating this database, there was much work to be done modifying it to enable the most efficient use by the end user. In the end the product is one that I am proud of, not only because of the amount of time and learning that went into it, but because it involved active communication between myself and the principal. We were able to design a customized product that will be useful for the staff, easy to access and use, and allow the administration to more efficiently analyze the data created by it.

Standards:
The standards covered in this project include:

The new behavior tracking system was an effective technological solution to providing the staff of the school with an assessment and evaluation strategy that was superior to the current, non-electronic system which included no technology. It allowed staff and administration to assess student behavior, to collect and analyze data, interpret the results and communicate their findings. It also allowed them to analyze the behaviors and their possible effects on student health, safety and learning (TF-4.A, TF-4.B and TF-4.C)