Capstone Website Development

The decision to use Wix to build the website on which to mount the products of my project was a simple one to make.  WIx offers an easy to use editor and templates designed to meet a variety of needs.  For the past few websites I have created I have used the Yoga by the Sea template.  This template has embedded pages and menus as well as the links to the other pages within the site.  It is simple to edit the pages in a “what you see is what you get format.”  The preliminary website can be viewed at this link.   Wix is the type of web 2.0 tool that is conducive to this type of project.  It is easy to upload images as well as add pages and other types of materials.  Wix uses a flash based platform to edit and create the pages and links.  When combined with my QUIA pages this allows me to create activities that can accessed for any time anywhere learning.  QUIA is a learning management system that I have subscribed to for a number of years.  With my subscription I get an html editor, access to learning activities as well as the ability to create 16 different types of online activities, surveys and web pages.  This website coupled with the Wix website creates a powerful tool through which to provide interventions.   Here is an example of a recent opportunity I had to be part of a Calgary Catholic District initiative that was planned using the method I have described above. 

One of the shortcomings of this however is that this vision will work only if I am the chief change facilitator.  On the other hand I am hoping that other leaders may be able to learn from the materials on the website and perhaps once other change facilitators see the vision they will be able to craft their own plans for change initiatives at their locations. 

The Process Begins (albeit a bit late)

January 20, 2012

After our online meeting on Tuesday, Jan 17 I began to think even more about the journey that has already begun.  I had already downloaded most of the articles and sources of information for my Capstone project but I had difficulty following the timelines I had set out in my original proposal.  This speaks a bit to the type of learner that I am.  I remember reading in John Ratey`s book Spark that some people need a bit of pressure to motivate themselves.  Unfortunately I am that type of person.  On the other hand being a procrastinator has served me well because I have learned to manage my time. 

Anyway, after Tuesday night I knew it was now or never and seeing as how I had already registered, paid the tuition, downloaded the articles and did a lot of thinking I figured it was time to organize and put pen to paper so to speak.  In this blog post I would like to articulate some of the planning I have completed this far as well as my current outline for my project and how I have decided to organize the contents of my computer hard drive.  It is my hope that by sharing this process I will give others a glimpse into my brain and the direction I am going in with this endeavour. 

First of all, I had the chance to add some sources to my preliminary bibliography.  As I read through, organize and annotate these writings I find myself absorbing more and more of the information.  It is becoming easier to make sense of the papers and the process is becoming a bit easier.  My updated bibliography looks like this.

Appendix 1:  Preliminary Bibliography

Atkins, N., & Vasu, E. (2000). Measuring Knowledge of Technology Usage and Stages of Concern about Computing: A Study of Middle School Teachers. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 8(4), 279-302. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Anderson, S. E. (1997, Fall97). Understanding teacher change: Revisiting the Concerns Based Adoption Model. Curriculum Inquiry. p. 331.

Parsons, J. S., & Fuller, F. F. (1974). Concerns of Teachers: Recent Research on Two Assessment Instruments.

Fuller, F. F., Parsons, J. S., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1972). Current Research on the Concerns of Teachers.

Fuller, F. F., Case, C., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1972). A Manual for Scoring the Teacher Concerns Statement.

Hall, G. E., & George, A. A. (2000). The Use of Innovation Configuration Maps in Assessing  Implementation: The Bridge between Development and Student Outcomes. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., University of Northern Colorado, G. g., & And, O. (1991). Measuring Change Facilitator Stages of Concern. A Manual for Use of the CFSoC Questionnaire. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Hord, S. M., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1986). Configurations of School-Based Leadership Teams. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & George, A. (1988). Development of a Framework and Measure for Assessing Principal Change Facilitator Style. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1974). The Concerns-Based Adoption Model: A Developmental Conceptualization of the Adoption Process Within Educational Institutions. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Rutherford, W. L., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1975). Concerns of Teachers About Implementing the Innovation of Team Teaching. Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations Project. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1977). A Longitudinal Investigation of Individual Implementation of Educational Innovations. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Loucks, S. F., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1978). Innovation Configurations: Analyzing the Adaptations of Innovations. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1979). Levels of Use and Extent of Implementation of New Programs in Teacher Education Institutions: What Do You Do?. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Texas Univ., A. n., & And, O. (1982). Three Change Facilitator Styles: Some Indicators and a Proposed Framework. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1987). The Principal's Role in Setting School Climate (for School Improvement). Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1984). Three Principal Styles of Facilitating School Improvement. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & And, O. (1975). Levels of Use of the Innovation: A Framework for Analyzing Innovation Adoption. Journal of Teacher Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Texas Univ., A. n., & And, O. (1977). Measuring Stages of Concern about the Innovation: A Manual for the Use of the SoC Questionnaire. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (2010). Technology's Achilles Heel: Achieving High-Quality Implementation. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 42(3), 231-253

Loucks, S. F., & Hall, G. E. (1979). Implementing Innovations in Schools: A Concerns-Based Approach. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Newhouse, C. (2001). Applying the Concerns-based Adoption Model to Research on Computers in Classrooms. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 33(5), Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Newlove, B. W., Hall, G. E., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1976). A Manual for Assessing Open-Ended Statements of Concern About an Innovation. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Schoepp, K. (2004, July 1). Technology Integration Barriers in a Technology-Rich Environment: A CBAM Perspective. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

Straub, E. T. (2009). Understanding Technology Adoption: Theory and Future Directions for Informal Learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 625-649. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Wesley, M. r., & Franks, M. (1996). Advanced Adoption of Computer Technology in the Classroom and Teachers' Participation in Voluntary Innovation Adoption Activities. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Reading and annotating all of this material is time consuming and somewhat difficult as I do not have a great deal of experience completing this assignment, however as I googled annotated bibliography a number of websites came up which detailed the process.  I settled on the resources from Purdue University because our cohort had previously been pointed in this direction with other assignments.  I read through the information at this link http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/614/01/

From this information I was able to create the following outline that I have been using to annotate my journal articles.  So far I have summarized 6 of the 25 but the process is accelerating and I plan to spend a lot of time accomplishing this task in the next couple of weeks.

Outline for Annotations

Therefore, an annotated bibliography includes a summary and/or evaluation of each of the sources. Depending on your project or the assignment, your annotations may do one or more of the following:

I. Summarize: Some annotations merely summarize the source. What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say? The length of your annotations will determine how detailed your summary is.

Main Points

For more help, see our handout on paraphrasing sources.

II. Assess: After summarizing a source, it may be helpful to evaluate it. Is it a useful source? How does it compare with other sources in your bibliography? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? What is the goal of this source?

Usefulness:

Compare and Contrast:

What is the goal of this source:

For more help, see our handouts on evaluating resources.

III. Reflect: Once you've summarized and assessed a source, you need to ask how it fits into your research. Was this source helpful to you? How does it help you shape your argument? How can you use this source in your research project? Has it changed how you think about your topic?

Finally, I would like to talk a bit about how I have been organizing my materials.  The next few screenshots show the folders on my hard drive.  I have been guilty of being organizationally challenged in the past.  This along with procrastination does not make for a successful project so I have been extra careful to be organized.   In order to create some order and because for this purpose I think in a linear fashion I have decided to begin my reading and annotating of the articles in chronological order.  In this way I start with the oldest articles first.  This helps me to keep perspective on the historical nature of the concerns based adoption model.

My current outline now looks like this.  I have added the sections Glossary of Terms and links to

Capstone Outline

I.  Introduction

II.  Links to the 3 pillars; Technology, Education, Leadership

III.  Links to ISTE NETS-A

IV. Annotated Bibliography

V. Glossary of Terms

VI. Sample Professional Development Plan

VII. Website development

                        a) Rationale

                        b) Method

VIII. Conclusion

IX.  Appendix

Preliminary bibliography

The bibliography below represents the bulk of the documentation that I have uncovered so far on the concerns based adoption model.  As I go through the process of annotating and reflecting on these articles I feel the need to put in place some sort of organizational method for completing this study.  I have decided to organize my reading in chronological order and I have also grouped the articles  by five.  Doing this helps to keep everything straight and helps me to avoid literary clutter as I go through these pieces. 

ppendix 1:  Preliminary Bibliography

Atkins, N., & Vasu, E. (2000). Measuring Knowledge of Technology Usage and Stages of Concern about Computing: A Study of Middle School Teachers. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 8(4), 279-302. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & George, A. A. (2000). The Use of Innovation Configuration Maps in Assessing Implementation: The Bridge between Development and Student Outcomes. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., University of Northern Colorado, G. g., & And, O. (1991). Measuring Change Facilitator Stages of Concern. A Manual for Use of the CFSoC Questionnaire. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Hord, S. M., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1986). Configurations of School-Based Leadership Teams. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & George, A. (1988). Development of a Framework and Measure for Assessing Principal Change Facilitator Style. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1974). The Concerns-Based Adoption Model: A Developmental Conceptualization of the Adoption Process Within Educational Institutions. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Rutherford, W. L., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1975). Concerns of Teachers About Implementing the Innovation of Team Teaching. Procedures for Adopting Educational Innovations Project. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1977). A Longitudinal Investigation of Individual Implementation of Educational Innovations. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Loucks, S. F., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1978). Innovation Configurations: Analyzing the Adaptations of Innovations. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1979). Levels of Use and Extent of Implementation of New Programs in Teacher Education Institutions: What Do You Do?. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Texas Univ., A. n., & And, O. (1982). Three Change Facilitator Styles: Some Indicators and a Proposed Framework. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1987). The Principal's Role in Setting School Climate (for School Improvement). Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E. (1984). Three Principal Styles of Facilitating School Improvement. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., & And, O. (1975). Levels of Use of the Innovation: A Framework for Analyzing Innovation Adoption. Journal of Teacher Education. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Hall, G. E., Texas Univ., A. n., & And, O. (1977). Measuring Stages of Concern about the Innovation: A Manual for the Use of the SoC Questionnaire. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Loucks, S. F., & Hall, G. E. (1979). Implementing Innovations in Schools: A Concerns-Based Approach. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Newhouse, C. (2001). Applying the Concerns-based Adoption Model to Research on Computers in Classrooms. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 33(5), Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Newlove, B. W., Hall, G. E., & Texas Univ., A. n. (1976). A Manual for Assessing Open-Ended Statements of Concern About an Innovation. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Schoepp, K. (2004, July 1). Technology Integration Barriers in a Technology-Rich Environment: A CBAM Perspective. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost..

Straub, E. T. (2009). Understanding Technology Adoption: Theory and Future Directions for Informal Learning. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 625-649. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Wesley, M. r., & Franks, M. (1996). Advanced Adoption of Computer Technology in the Classroom and Teachers' Participation in Voluntary Innovation Adoption Activities. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Capstone: Post 1

Dec 1, 2011

The first entry in the Capstone Blog finds me feeling somewhat overwhelmed.  As I re-read my capstone proposal I must admit I have bitten off a large chunk of meat.  While I find the process interesting I must dig deep to find the self motivation to begin the tasks I set out for myself in my original proposal.    In order to achieve my objectives I must focus on small pieces of the puzzle.   Indeed, throughout my post grad studies I have learned that this is often the best approach.   Dedicating small amounts of time daily is more effective than attempting to do major pieces of work all in one shot. 

The first thing to do in this endeavour is to get through the reading and write the annotations which will form the bulk of my capstone paper.  The opportunity to work within our District as part of a leadership team on Module 5 of the Leadership Academy has given me a great headstart on the development of the online portion of my artifacts.  http://www.quia.com/pages/dfortier/lamod5

I have also decided to attack the reading in chronological order.  The oldest article on the concerns based adoption model that I have dates back to 1974 while the most recent is from 2009.  I have selected 25 primary sources of information for study.  Through reading and analyzing the bibliographies I will undoubtedly uncover secondary sources of information which I will consider thoroughly. 

Day 10 Ed 5769

Day 10 Blog Post

Today was the last day of our networking course.  There was a feeling of excitement in the air as we set about today’s task of setting up and configuring a VOIP connection.  VOIP stands for Voice Over IP.   This allows users to connect to a telephone or another computer.   It was not quite as simple as just using Skype but this exercise was useful because it taught us a lot about bandwidth and quality of service.  Quality of Service becomes important when using VOIP or VC because if you are not running enough bandwidth the signals become choppy.  Another factor is in the way data packets are transmitted.  Normally, data packets are transmitted to a machine and then the receiving machine sends a confirmation packet.  This 2 way traffic eats up bandwidth.  However by using UDP we can turn this off thereby freeing precious bandwidth space. 

1.  Log into switch using coolterm

telnet 192.168.13.254

2.  QoS must be enabled or else the packets will be competing with each other and the pictures and sound will be muddled.  This is very important when doing VC or VOIP.

3.  Install Wireshark ON A WORKSTATION (we made a mistake on this at first and tried to complete the task on our server)

4.  install X-lite ON A WORKSTATION

Open the X-Litesoftware from the desktop and then fill in the required fields to dial the number.

We were able to contact Lyle on his phone, then we dialled Jenn and she answered the phone.   

After the calls were made we ran the wire shark packet sniffing software.   Wire shark monitors the packets and makes sure that the packets are getting through.  Using wireshark allows users to see the packets.  Using wiresharks allows the packets to be sent WITHOUT requiring a confirmation message beign sent to the originating machine.  This saves bandwidth and the packets are transmitted more efficiently. 

We had to change one of the quality of service settings in X-lite preferences to 46 because 16X2+14=46.  We did another packet sniff with wire shark and found that we had a QoS of 46 rather than 0.  This means  that we had a stronger set of preferences because our call was going out on port 46.  We want it on port 46 because that is a quality port. 

Trix box is the web interface through which all the settings are configured.  It gives you all sorts of info about the machine it is running. 

The last part of the day involved a tour of Chinook High School’s media center.  This is a state of the art theatre with all sorts of technological capabilities.  It will allow students to experience professional quality lighting, sound and imaging in productions.  The theatre is also a fully equipped VC suite capable of video conferencing with high definition images and sound. 

I found the technical specs of the theatre interesting.  I feel envious of the students attending the high school.  They will receive a high quality education which will benefit them in the future.  I think that the benefits they receive will undoubtedly trickle down through the community and that all members of the community will benefit from the new media center at Chinook High. 

Day 9 Blog Post

Day 9 Blog Post

Today`s discussion of security was a real eye opener for me.  It is easy to forget about the implications and simply trust that people are all good.  I am not worried about my interactions at work so much, but my home network concerns me a bit.  Our household does use a secure wireless connection which is password protected and although it is visible it cannot be accessed by passerby.  Another thing worth considering is the security level of free wireless connections at coffee shops and restaurants etc.   As an IT leader at a school I see my role as being an advocate for security best practices.  This includes informing staff of policies set in place by our District.   For example, a policy exists concerning IPPs.  If an IPP must be saved on a flash drive, it must be a flash drive that is encrypted. 

The second part of day 9 was spent on virtual servers.  This software allows a second operating system to be installed on a workstation.  The operating system runs at the same time as the machine’s operating system.   This allows users to install and run software on the second operating system.  This can be advantageous for school districts running blade servers.  A blade server is a piece of hardware that is stripped down to conserve power, RAM and hard drive space. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_server

 Our mini exercise for the day focused on installing virtual box.  Virtual box is software which allows the creation and installation of a second operating system.  Jesse and I followed the steps outlined below to install this software.

1.  Go to the S Drive

2.  Run setup magic disc.

3.  Go through installation process, click next 3 times.

4.  Install driver software.

5.  Finish.  The computer sees a CD on the desktop from which you can install virtual box

6.  Run Virtual Box

7.  Run

8.  Run Oracle VM virtual box, go through installation steps.

9.  Do custom setup Create shortcuts

10. Install the device

11.  Finish

12.  Welcome to virtual box

13.  Create a new virtual machine

14.  Select UNIX Redhat

15.  Select how much memory you want to be able to use.

16.  Create new hard disk

17. Add dynamically expanding storage 20 GB

18.  Finish

19.  Now, Jesse machine is our VM

20. Mount Cent OS (Community Enterprise Operating System)

21 create a Linux red hat 32 bit OS

22.  Adjust the amount of memory

23.  Create a new hard disk

24. 20 GB is sufficient

25. Select location

26. First, run wizard

27. Checking Cent OS disc

28. Reinstall centos to get a graphical interface. 

29. Choose the desktop option that gives you a graphical interface

30.  Once the Centos is installed a screen appears saying that there are few more steps to complete. 

31.  Click forward

32.  Accept the licence agreement

33.  Create user, fill in password fields

34.  Adjust date and time

35. Finish

36. Login as the user we just created

37. Open Firefox

38.   Set up the connections by selecting automatic DHCP

39.  Install guest additions

40.  Verify root password

41.  Restart the virtual computer

Day 8 Blog Post

Day 8 Blog Post

Today’s assignment consisted of installing and configuring print services on our Windows 2008 server and our Windows work station. The printer we were installing was the Xerox Phaser 4510. Lyle explained the procedure at the beginning of the class.

The first thing to do was to locate the correct printer driver on the internet. We used google to do a search. The search returned many possibilities and we had to be careful to select the right driver. The driver we were looking for was the Xerox postscript driver which is located at this link.

http://www.support.xerox.com/support/phaser-4510/downloads/enus.html?operatingSystem=wins2008&fileLanguage=en

Once we had downloaded the driver we went to server manager and installed print management. We had to use print management to install the driver in order to set up print services on our server. This was the first step in being able to print.

Next we opened print management and created a standard TCP/IP port. The IP address of our printer was 192.168.24.51. This is a static IP address that is assigned to the printer.

Next we clicked on ``have disk`` this is where we installed the driver we had just finished downloading.

Once this was complete we were able to print a test page from our server. Next it was time to push the policy out to our workstations. This was accomplished from server manager. We had to go to users and computers, then domain controllers. We were able to apply the policy to our workstations.

Finally, after rebooting the workstation we were able to print from our workstation. Although this procedure worked for us I think it is worth noting that the work we are doing is difficult to document because of the nature of the work. Unexpected problems arise and how you deal with those problems will affect the process.

The rest of the morning was spent touring Blackbridge Data Center. This was an interesting tour even though it was a bit complex. I understand the concept of data storage. Companies who have data to store will take advantage of the Blackbridge`s services. Blackbridge guarantees that their data is safe and secure. Blackbridge uses a variety of processes and equipment to accomplish this task. It is mind boggling when one considers the electricity, wires, cooling system, physical building and security.