My daughter shared a thought about the work I was doing in this program. It turned out to be the best quote for this course: "Ice is nothing when you are already sliding down the hill, you have to accept your position and do the best you can to enjoy the ride and look forward to the end of the journey."

Journal entry for Ashley Jaksa for English 101, Mountain View College

I began this course one year ago. I expected to learn new tools, skills, and the best ways to improve the integration of technology into the classroom. I am a Chief Technology Officer in Mansfield ISD. I took this course not for the certification, but to see what I needed to expect from my teachers and professional development team.

The seven participants from MISD all attended this program under a grant from the TIF Board. All of us had technology backgrounds and are very interested in taking the District to the next level for technology. I inject this because, this course was not just about me. It was about the new dreams of integration and how the secondary teachers had to raise the bar. I am proud of each of them and the work they did.

Now, back to me. During the Vision IT class, I learned the expectation of the course, tasks, and the time requirements. The modules in the class showed me the need to weed out participants that did not have the highest level technology skills for this course. Our team project in Vision IT allowed each of us to contribute and measure the direction of the course.

The first full course was the Foundations 100 and it was very hard for me. The art focus and the skills needed and for each of us to use the First Class systems, plus my workday routine, made the first six weeks of the course a nightmare. I realize now, that the first four weeks were to set the standards for the course as setup by Connie and the instructors. They required that all of us participate daily, be on time with all projects, and learn to follow directions. This was the main focus.

During that first course, I personally mastered every research TA TEKS for all five major focuses. My first art project used the computer 3.5 diskette as a "model". I tried to create a simple poster that would allow the poster to be used as a single handout in class. I identified the Principles and Elements for Design for each image we learned. I used Illustrator and digital photos of 3.5 disks for each graphic. I had Illustrator 10 changing images to drawings and added lines, color, and texture. This was fun and I needed the experience of using Illustrator 10. Ethics and documentation were well established by the time we got to the second course. The Copyright Laws appeared in every unit.

The Web Authoring 102 and HTML course were very time consuming and required a ton of patience. I had to go out and purchase a new computer. The one year old Pentium III , just did not have the speed, memory, or drive space to complete this class. My new IBM made the projects so much easier. Then I installed the DSL. This made every assignment so easy to download and upload to the First Class servers.

During this point, I learned about failure, bread crumbs, and parallel navigation. It was a good module. I created a nice web site, learned how to test sites, and improved my HTML scripting skills. I enjoyed the large amounts of feedback. Connie and Kayla were awesome in leading me to the "water." Like any mule, you never know what you have learned until you see it and teach it to someone else.

The Digital Graphics 101 were my most exciting modules. The LiveMotion and the GoLive Acrobat products were so easy to learn. The Political Trading Cards Project was special to me. Everything came together during that month. The new computer, fast internet access, and simple software programs made me successful. I really enjoyed the LiveMotion. I continued to learn about the teachers and the issues that face them during the TATC program. I always want to make a difference in the learning process in our schools and I continued see new ways to improve learning and teacher training.

As I saw the changes in my life and my skills increase, I knew that I needed a new approach to teaching teachers. The Desktop Publishing 104 seemed like a natural connection with the integration of technology and new approaches to professional development. The DTP is very exciting to me. I worked as a marketing person at Apple Computer and Jostens Learning and understood a lot about printing, planning, and design. I hoped I could pick up on the designs principles to share with teachers. Color, cost, and appeal of design are the most important tools in any design. The class discussions made some good points about standards. I used the concepts to target new training skills for our administrators.

I enjoyed all the discussions about the concepts of Multimedia 103. Today, there seems to be a need for people to only want to use the latest and greatest software and tools. I think we need to use the older software and hardware tools to show the process. The older techniques demonstrate the art and skills needed to complete a multimedia project. It is nice that PowerPoint and the Adobe products make the design so easy. But, a camera, and a tape recorder, and slide project can equally create a great multimedia presentation.

I loved the video stuff. The LiveMotion is great and I feel it is very easy to learn and use. I cannot believe how much I have learned about GoLive. I reviewed about a dozen projects and each of them were solid in design in the final product. I do not know how the instructors kept up with all the e-mails and the comments. The First Class System really makes it easy to set guidelines and provide daily thoughts on the projects. The work did get overwhelming

This is what I wrote in my journal during those four weeks of the module.

1. Moments on top

The editing of the sound files with an added video clip Night at the ROXY was the high point in this weeks project. It was fun to work in a new tool and enjoy the experience.

2. Moments down under

I lost the vision of this program several times over the past month. I got confused about the expectations and the goals of the individual learner.

I have tried to apply the course and the projects to better the teachers in my district. Because of my position in the district, this course is not for me, but to see, create, and implement a program for next year that will implement technology into every classroom. Mansfield ISD has seven people taking this course through a grant to build the foundation to provide the TATC program to our schools, but in a different format.

MISD has Technologist at every campus. These are people who teach teachers to teach technology. The lack of understanding of this goal during this module, made all of my people lose the focus and motivation to do their best.

3. Moments of surprise

The lack of positive feed back by the instructor and the support staff during this month. I guess I got spoiled with the daily feed back from the course support staff and the instructors in the past. It seems we had very little feedback to individuals.

4. The sum of all moments

I love this course and know that every module presents its own problems. This was an easy module for me. BUT, it appeared to be overwhelming to many. Everyone has worked hard to improve their skills and with every project I have seen great development. It could be that server problems, spring break, bad weather, and TCEA may have interfered with the daily communication. "Perception is reality."

It was a difficult time for the program. TCEA , TAAS, and TAKS prep really interfered with the projects and the lessons. This was the only time I really lost focus with the program.

It was during this module my daughter shared a thought about the work I was doing in this program. It was written just after the big ice storm. It turned out to be the best quote for this course: "Ice is nothing, when you are already sliding down the hill. You have to accept your position and do the best you can to enjoy the ride and look forward to the end of the journey."

Journal entry for Ashley Jaksa for English 101, Mountain View College

I really enjoyed the Video Tech 105 projects. I learned a lot about compression, editing video, sound, and sound qualities. I tried to share tools and ideas for creating movies, storyboards, and editing with the entire class

During this module we worked with sound and video editing. I created a video called the "Hunting Song." This project was selected for the TATC Hall of Fame. I learned several new concepts and TEKS standards that could be designed, even for the K-4 classes.

They saved the best for last.....Video 105 and Video 205. I loved all of these courses, but the Video Modules were the best for me. I really enjoyed these projects. I learned a lot about editing video and sound . I have tried to share tools and ideas for creating movies, storyboards, and editing. The Multiquence software, I used, made this project easy to edit sound and the software is excellent.

I integrated some tools for the computer to use to introduce myself to the group. The video was called The Introduction, this also was put into the Hall of Fame. I used the text-to-speech software that comes with XP, and MovieMaker2 with Media Player 9.0, to create a different kind of video communications. I really enjoyed the students comments and discussions that week.

The next project was fun, it was called Wacky Video. I was inspired to make a video of wacky golf clips from unusual points of view. The shots were very interesting and really made me plan and think out the "how to."

The video projects for this module were very good. Video and online content can help students make meaningful connections to new information, reinforce previous learning, interact with other learners, and allows teachers to create original content.

I really enjoyed all of these projects. I learned a lot about editing video and sound. I have tried to share tools and ideas for creating movies, storyboards, and editing. The Multiquence and MovieMaker II software were both excellent.

I was often stressed about time. My energy levels were really low as I tried to maintain the high quality standards that were needed for each of the TATC projects during the TATC Courses. The input and discussions during the entire course were very meaningful to me. They helped me re-design my concepts of technology. Our third graders at Tarver Rendon Elementary heard a lesson I gave during career day. The students forced their teachers to write a grant to install splitters to create a video network at their school. In May of 2003, they did their first news cast over their network. It inspired me to use it as one of my projects.

In Conclusion:

This class has been a great research tool for me this year. During my research for articles in these modules, I wrote several articles for national magazines and journals, based on this class and the vision of technology integration. It cleared my perception of where we need to go in the classroom and what the leadership should be saying about technology today. Are the teachers ready? How do we redesign technology certification programs and where do the Superintendents best influence change?

The participants of TATC are THERE.

Everyone else needs to catch up!